bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International study to develop a patient-reported outcome measure to evaluate outcomes of gender-affirming care - the GENDER-Q
Authors: Kaur Manraj N. , Morrison Shane D. , Kennedy Shelby L. , van de Grift Tim C. , Højgaard Astrid , Jacobsen Amalie Lind , Johnson Natasha , Mullender Margriet G. , Poulsen Lotte , Satterwhite Thomas , Santucci Richard , Semple John , Rae Charlene , Savard Kinusan , Sørensen Jens Ahm , Young-Afat Danny , Pusic Andrea L. , Klassen Anne F.
Published: November 2024

Background

To meaningfully understand outcomes of gender-affirming care, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that are grounded in what matters to individuals seeking care are urgently needed. The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive PROM to assess outcomes of gender-affirming care in clinical practice, research, and quality initiatives (the GENDER-Q).

Methods

Internationally established guidelines for PROM development were used to create a field test version of the GENDER-Q. In-depth interviews were conducted from December 2018 to March 2020 with youth and adults aged 16 years and older who were seeking or had received gender-affirming care at outpatient clinics providing gender-affirming care located within tertiary care centers or communities in Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands or the US. Data were analyzed and used to develop a conceptual framework and an item pool, which was used to develop preliminary scales. Between February 2021 to November 2021, iterative feedback was sought from clinicians and patient participants on the scales and used to refine or develop new scales. The revised scales were pilot-tested using a crowd-sourcing platform between February 2022 and April 2022.

Results

Data from interviews with 84 participants (aged 34 ± 14 years) resulted in a conceptual framework of the GENDER-Q with 13 domains measuring health-related quality of life, sexual, urination, gender practices, voice, hair, face and neck, body, breasts, genital feminization, chest, genital masculinization, and experience of care. Preliminary versions of 44 scales were developed covering most concepts in the conceptual framework. Iterative feedback was obtained from clinician experts (4 to 37 experts per scale; response rate, 67%) and 7–14 patient participants (depending on scale). All scales were refined, and 15 new scales were developed, resulting in 55 scales in the field test version of the GENDER-Q. In total, 601 transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people (aged 25 ± 6 years) participated in the pilot field test and the data were used to make changes to the field test survey.

Conclusion

The GENDER-Q was developed using extensive input from TGD individuals and clinician experts and represents the most comprehensive set of independently functioning scales that are available to date. An international field test of the GENDER-Q was completed in 2024 and the GENDER-Q is available for use in patient care, clinical research and quality improvement efforts.
Possibilities and Limitations in Substituting anti-Drug Antibody Titers with Signal-to-Noise Ratios: A Comprehensive Comparison Using Two Clinical Trial Datasets of Adalimumab
Authors: Jang Dawon , Kim Jaeil , Jo Youngwon , Lee Hyuna , Go Ahra , Kim Jieun , Choi Soyoung
Published: November 2024

Immunogenicity assessment is vital in clinical trials and is measured through a multi-tiered approach (screening, confirmatory and titer assays). However, recent studies have suggested that titer results could be reported from ADA signal-to-noise ratios (S/N ratios=sample mean signal/negative control mean signal). More data analysis using two clinical trials of adalimumab: SB5-1003 (single-dose, healthy participants) and SB5-4001 (multiple-dose, interchangeability study, patients with plaque psoriasis), therefore, is indispensable whether substituting ADA S/N ratio as an alternative way of reporting titer results has no impact on interpretation on clinical outcome. In this study, we demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between S/N ratios and titers and no impact on overall PK results. Nonetheless, sub-analyses with time or adalimumab level showed a change in the regression between S/N ratios and titers, leading to different titer values from the same S/N ratio. These data demonstrate that S/N ratios may fully replace titers in limited circumstances such as a biosimilar study which goal is to prove equivalence between the originator and candidate product, but need a caution in other cases.

Graphical Abstract
Characterization of sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) and taro (Colocasia esculenta) flours with potential application in the preparation of both gluten-free and high protein foods.
Authors: Narváez Cadena Ruby Aracely , Salas Zambrano Angie Paola , Bravo Gómez Jesús Eduardo , Muñoz Pabon Karen Sofia , Roa-Acosta Diego Fernando
Published: November 2024

Background Interest in alternative sources of tubers and legumes has increased in recent years because of the constant search for raw materials that provide bioactive compounds with antioxidant potential benefits for consumers. The functionality of new raw materials is sought through physical and/or chemical modifications to develop and innovate new foods. The objective of this study was to characterize taro (TF) (Colocasia esculenta) and sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) flours, obtained by the wet (SIF-WM) and defatted method (SIF-DM), as an alternative for the formulation of new functional foods. Methods The free polyphenols of the different mixtures were analyzed, and the antioxidant properties of the extracts obtained were measured using ABTS.* (2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid). The ABTS radical method, which reacts with the phenolic compounds of the food matrix, using Trolox as a standard. The blends were subjected to pasting analysis, flow profile tests, determination of viscoelastic properties (temperature sweep). Characterization of common microorganisms in these foods was performed. Results The highest protein value was obtained in the sacha inchi flour obtained by the defatted method (72.62%). The majority of components in taro were carbohydrates (85.4%). About antioxidant and determination of free polyphenols, taro flour obtained values of 2.71 μmol ET/g and 7.47 mg EAG/g, higher than sacha inchi flours. In the rheological analysis (pasting properties, flow profile, and viscoelasticity), we observed that adding taro flour in different mixtures increases the viscosity peak and a lower breakdown, while there was an increase in setback. Except for defatted sacha flour, the others presented a flow index >1 before heating, showing a dilatant fluid behavior. The presence of taro flour improves gel formation and stability. Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella were present in the taro flour. Conclusions The flours analyzed represent a raw material with great potential for the development of products such as protein snacks due to the contribution of sacha inchi, with good expansion due to taro starch, and naturally gluten-free for people with celiac disease.
Koniec historii i historia po końcu Księgi Królewskie w perspektywie hermeneutycznej
Authors: Pawłowski Zdzisław
Published: November 2024

The Books of Kings, in their narrative and rhetorical composition, were conceived more as a literary work than as history in the modern sense of this term. As a story about the history of Israel, first as a united monarchy and then divided into two kingdoms, they are intended to be read in such a way that they reveal their power of influence on readers, and not redirect them to some kind of hypothetically reconstructed past. In the hermeneutics of the end of history, the narrative descriptions of which can be found at key moments in the literary structure, the question resounds, going back through the plot to the beginning: what events set in motion the chain of cause and effect, the culmination of which turned out to be that end? The specific type of historical narrative in the Books of Kings shows an unsuccessful attempt to create a religious community with political prerogatives, that is, to identify religion with political institutions, which was customary in the culture of the nations of the ancient Near East. After the Babylonian defeat, the Jews never managed (although they tried) to create a political framework for their faith. They remained a religious community separated from political structures, and thus a community that, in exile, felt dependent solely on its God, refusing to accept that its existence be guaranteed by any political authority. The idea of ​​Israel as the people of God living in diaspora was born during profound reflections on the Babylonian catastrophe in 597–87 BC and its traumatic consequences in the event of dispersion. It was then that the framework of the experience was created, the record of which is made up of individual collections of books of the Hebrew Bible. The aim of this book is therefore to show the extraordinary relevance of the biblical message concerning the problem of practicing history, politics and the role of religion, also in the contemporary world.
Klimat religijny w diecezji pomezańskiej u schyłku XIV i w pierwszych dziesięcioleciach XV wieku
Authors: Kwiatkowski Stefan
Published: November 2024

Z Wprowadzenia  „Ustalenia S. Kwiatkowskiego zawarte w monografii Klimat religijny w diecezji pomezańskiej u schyłku XIV i w pierwszych dziesięcioleciach XV wieku nie utraciły swej wartości. Praca wciąż zachowuje metodologiczną świeżość, imponuje interdyscyplinarnym podejściem oraz szeroką podstawą źródłową. Zawarte tutaj konkluzje nie zdezaktualizowały się, a nowsza historiografia ‒ poprzez uwzględnianie nowych kategorii źródłowych i stawianie kolejnych pytań ‒ wzbogaca nakreślony obraz życia religijnego i duchowego mieszkańców Powiśla i Żuław. Dlatego w treść rozprawy ingerowaliśmy w niewielkim stopniu, gdyż wyszliśmy z założenia, że niniejsze wprowadzenie oraz posłowie prof. Mariana Dygo w wystarczającym stopniu spełnią rolę uzupełniającą i wyjaśniającą. Wszelkie uzupełnienia w przypisach oraz w bibliografii zostały zaznaczone w nawiasach kwadratowych. W nowym wydaniu zamieszczono również ilustrację przedstawiającą kartę z anonimowego traktatu z 1426 r. oraz dwie mapy pozwalające umiejscowić w przestrzeni geograficznej wywody Autora”.
Penalty or Reward? The Effect of Social Disincentives on Online Users’ Contributions
Authors: Shen Wenqi , Liu Yan (Lucy) , Wang Yun (Alicia)
Published: November 2024

Existing research on online communities has primarily demonstrated that users are motivated by social rewards or social incentives such as positive social feedback and enhanced reputation. In contrast, this study examines how social penalties, or social disincentives, including negative social feedback and loss in reputation, influence online users’ voluntary contributions in the short and long term. We develop empirical models to investigate reviewers’ decisions on whether to contribute (i.e., review incidence decision) and how much to contribute (i.e., quality-adjusted review effort decision) over time. Using a state-space model, we capture the dynamics in reviewers’ latent review motivation that stems from both social incentives and social disincentives. Based on a unique data set from the Amazon review system, our analysis shows that, surprisingly, social disincentives increase reviewers’ motivations to contribute more frequently and devote more effort to contributions. Such effects prevail in both the short and long term. In addition, a reviewer’s real name identity and experience moderate the impact of social disincentives on a reviewer’s contribution decisions. We find that loss in reputation has more impact on less experienced reviewers and anonymous reviewers. Our policy simulation exercise suggests that not providing negative social feedback could diminish reviewers’ review propensity by 7.85% (2.39%) and review effort by 14.82% (4.50%) in the short term (long term). Not allowing reputation loss on a review site decreases reviewers’ review propensity by 2.82% (1.40%) and review effort by 7.52% (3.45%) in the short term (long term).

This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.

Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.01115 .
ECET plans its 16th conference in Barcelona
Authors: Kroboth Gabriele
Published: November 2024

Gabriele Kroboth details some of the ECET’s recent work and plans for its upcoming conference.
The impact of urinary and bowel incontinence: psychological and physical effects and interventions
Authors: Alsararatee Hasan Hazim
Published: November 2024

This clinical review explores the multifaceted impact of urinary and bowel incontinence on the physical and psychological wellbeing of individuals, particularly older adults. The psychological effects, which often include anxiety, depression and social isolation, are addressed through interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy and peer support groups, which are crucial for alleviating the emotional burden. The review also examines conservative management strategies, such as pelvic floor muscle training, bladder retraining and dietary changes, as well as discussing pharmacological treatments and surgical options for more severe cases. A key emphasis is placed on the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and incorporating the expertise of continence nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and psychologists to comprehensively address patient needs.
Pushing boundaries for patients
Authors: White Emma
Published: November 2024

Probert and Williams Eye Care won the Enhanced Optical Service Award at the Optician Awards 2021. Ceri Probert speaks to Emma White about pushing the boundaries to provide the best care for patients
Christmas is Coming
Authors: COSBY ZOE
Published: November 2024

There is never a more acceptable time to be a little bit extra than at Christmas. Sequins, sparkles, colour and cocktails; it is time to indulge in the excessive and this gift guide is a round-up of the great and the glorious of Christmas extravagance. From superfluous sunglasses to colourful table settings, we have got your Christmas covered.
Gazing into the abyss
Authors: Daly Ilse
Published: November 2024

Dr Ilse Daly continues her series on the visual systems employed in nature with a look at sight in the deepest reaches of the sea
The year that was
Authors: Hale Mike
Published: November 2024

Mike Hale speaks to two independent lab about lens trends in 2022 and what we can expect in 2023
CPD: Fundamentals of ophthalmic dispensing 32
Authors: Black Peter , Black Tina Arbon
Published: November 2024

With Disability History Month taking place between November 16 and December 16, 2022 in the UK with the aims of raising awareness and celebrating the achievements of people living with a disability Tina Arbon Black and Peter Black take the opportunity to consider the range of dispensing challenges patients with special needs can present (C104286, suitable for logging as one provider-led distance learning CPD point for optometrists and dispensing opticians)
It’s always better on holiday
Authors: Bennett Chris
Published: November 2024

Where did your sunglass customers go on holiday this summer and what eyewear influences did they experience while lounging by the pool? Chris Bennett reports on Maui Jim’s efforts to expand its brand by marketing where people use sunglasses rather than just where they buy them
In the lap of luxury
Authors: Hale Mike
Published: November 2024

Mike Hale learns about the role of luxury in optometric retail at the Nikon Business Conference 2022
News review of 2022
Authors: Jones Simon
Published: November 2024

Simon Jones looks back at the stories that made the headlines during 2022
Diary of a Spectacle Designer
Authors: Davies Tom
Published: November 2024

Tom Davies ponders the year drawing to a close and makes some predictions for 2023
Contact lens practice, patients and pandemic
Authors: Armstrong Samantha
Published: November 2024

Samantha Armstrong offers a comparison and contrast of two surveys from different sides - patient and practitioner - in order to identify how priorities have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic
Nurturing energy
Authors: McClean Andrew
Published: November 2024

Andrew McClean reports from the Black & Lizars conference in Crieff
CPD: Age-related Macular Degeneration 3
Authors: Burgess Nigel , Mahmood Mr Sajjad , Jones Dr Nabila , O’Donnell Dr Clare
Published: November 2024

In the third in a series looking at age-related macular degeneration, Nigel Burgess, Mr Sajjad Mahmood, Dr Nabila Jones and Dr Clare O’Donnell discuss the management of age-related macular degeneration with a focus on contemporary approaches to the treatment of wet AMD (C105772, suitable for logging as one provider-led distance learning CPD point for optometrists and dispensing opticians)
CPD: Alcon Talks
Authors: Recchioni Dr Alberto , Mistry Dr Sunayna Verma
Published: November 2024

In the second of a two-part review of the latest quarterly online education event, supported by Alcon, which looked at the latest science regarding contact lens wear and comfort, Dr Alberto Recchioni and Dr Sunayna Verma Mistry discuss the tear film and how interaction with it may dictate the design of the perfect contact lens for comfort. (C105773, suitable for one distance learning CPD point for optometrists, contact lens opticians and dispensing opticians)
Towards Effective Integration: Modeling Strategies to Link Standardized Assessment Results with Educational Policies
Authors: Barragán Moreno Sandra Patricia , Marcelo Escalante Eliacid
Published: November 2024

Considering the importance of the results of national and international standardized tests, which are a benchmark for measuring educational quality, the objective of this research was to model strategies to improve the results of the evaluations, specifically the Saber 11 standardized tests. These tests are applied to students who finish their Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Bogotá, Colombia. To achieve this objective, we employed the Systems Dynamics methodology for a comprehensive analysis, which is a tool that allows for the analysis and projecting of the behavior of different systems, in which anticipation by means of modeling results over time is required. The modeling was conducted in two stages: First, a causal loop diagram and a stock-and-flow diagram that linked 45 variables were designed, showing the underlying physical structure of the system. Then, five groups of alternative simulations were conducted over a time frame of six years: Reference mode, student self-efficacy rate, management rate, teaching competencies rate, and educational policy. An increase in results was observed in each scenario. The combined activity of educational stakeholders is a notably effective strategy to achieve significant improvements. The data used for these simulations came from a six-year period of standardized test results in Bogotá. This period was selected to capture both recent trends and long-term outcomes, ensuring that the model reflects current educational conditions while allowing for meaningful trend analysis.
Travis McGee’s Great Crime
Authors: Dawkins Will
Published: November 2024

Abstract: For many readers, John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee novels are first and foremost about a courageous and likeable private investigator who consistently strives to help his clients even when doing so promises trouble for himself. Yet, the books are also about the place where McGee lives and his relationship with it. MacDonald’s coastal Florida is a region that yields pleasure at the cost of reckless development. These novels depict conflict between McGee’s lifestyle and his purported environmentalism, between a man who expresses the relevance of preserving the natural world and an individualist whose actions and lifestyle often exploit the very place that he supposedly reveres.
The Letter Writer
Authors: Livesey Margot
Published: November 2024

Abstract: “The Letter Writer” is about a young man living in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1911, whose sweetheart has recently emigrated with her family to Brisbane, Australia. Jim is so bereft that he cannot bear even to write to Barbara, but his landlady’s son intervenes. Eventually he is able to write his own letter.
Smog Beauty, and: A Day Before Another
Authors: Raees Ayesha
Published: November 2024

Abstract: In “Smog Beauty,” departure holds the family together. The speaker is in dislocation but not just with her location (which is Lahore, Pakistan) but also with societal complications of beauty, value, worth, time and mortality, and love. The poem was written in reflection of my parents’ moving out of our family house and city towards another where they intended to retire. There were moving boxes and family pictures everywhere during the winter I visited. The sun was out but we could not see it due to the thick smog that refused to shift for weeks. In “A Day Before Another,” the speaker readies herself to depart New York City. She filters through the city, witnessing time, place, and people in interaction and
Changing Central Bank Pressures and Inflation
Authors: Afrouzi Hassan , Halac Marina , Rogoff Kenneth , Yared Pierre
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACT: We introduce a simple long-run aggregate demand and supply framework for evaluating long-run inflation. The framework illustrates how exogenous economic and political economy factors generate pressures that, in the presence of central bank discretion, can have an impact on long-run inflation as well as transitions between steady states. We use the analysis to provide a fresh perspective on the forces that drove global inflation downward over the past four decades. We argue that for inflation to remain low and stable in the future, political economy factors, such as strengthened central bank independence or more credible public debt policy, would need to offset the global economic pressures now pushing average long-run inflation upward.
More-than-Human Canals
Authors: Jonsson Fredrik Albritton
Published: November 2024

Abstract: The aim of this essay is to pierce behind the veil to understand better how social and environmental conditions have shaped the development of Britain's canal network across time. The first part of the argument looks at the place of climate and technology in regulating the water supply in the canal system. The second examines the role of draft animals in supplying motive power for barge transport. Inspiration for this dual framework comes from two closely related methodological strands: the perspectives of political ecology and the labor history of energy.
Historical Geographies of Large Infrastructure in the Long Eighteenth Century: The Case of Water in Britain
Authors: van Lieshout Carry
Published: November 2024

Abstract: Historical geographers consider large infrastructures through their situatedness in place as well as through their entanglements within wider socio-economic and political structures. This contribution examines the historical geographical approach through eighteenth-century water infrastructures in urban and industrializing Britain. As such it explores the tension between an infrastructure embedded in place and the fluid nature of water, how the everyday interactions of people with water shaped the management of these infrastructures, and how their construction interlinked with wider socio-economic narratives. As prominent drivers of the transformation of place and space, large infrastructures often ended up doing more than their constructors intended.
Making Ends Meet: A Conceptual and Ethical Analysis of Efficiency
Authors: Mitchell Polly , Cribb Alan , Entwistle Vikki , Crowe Sonya , Utley Martin
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACT: Efficiency is often overlooked as an ethical value and seen as ethically relevant chiefly when it conflicts with other values, such as equality. This article argues that efficiency is a rich and philosophically interesting concept deserving of independent normative examination. Drawing on a detailed healthcare case study, we argue that making assessments of efficiency involves value-laden, deliberative judgments about how to characterize the functioning of human systems. Personal and emotional resources and ends are crucial to system functioning but are often discounted in favor of a relatively narrow set of financial inputs and institutional or procedural outputs. Judgments about efficiency tend to advantage (or disadvantage) different parties, depending on the resources and ends considered. Different constructions of efficiency can therefore promote or neglect the perspectives and interests of differently placed actors. Models of efficiency do not merely embody contestable ethical standpoints but—put to use—can unwittingly reify and reproduce them.
A Tale of Two Owens: Xiao 孝 as Trusting Others to Know Who You Are
Authors: Ng Sai Ying
Published: November 2024

Abstract: This article offers an account of xiao 孝, often translated as filial piety or familial deference, which is compatible with Bernard Williams' insistence that ethical deliberation should be indeterminate and open-ended, rather than pre-established on the basis of one's social relationships. Through a critical reading of Williams' account of ethical knowledge localized to an advisor model, I suggest that we trust those who share similar experiences in social relationships to offer advice specific to our social roles. This trust exhibits itself as xiao , which amounts to no more than the deference children have toward their parents as their guides on the ethical question of how we ought to live—"we," as individuals who share common experiences of being children, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and other such social roles.
Single-pixel imaging through scattering media employing a circular polarization multiplexing metasurface
Authors: Wang Pengsen , Guo Kai , Guo Zhongyi
Published: November 2024

We propose a scheme of single-pixel imaging through scattering media employing an all-dielectric metasurface, which provides the functions of circular polarization multiplexing and random sampling for single-pixel imaging simultaneously. The former and latter functions are implemented through focusing two orthogonal circular polarization lights with different focal lengths and relative displacements of the metasurface, respectively. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the performance of the metasurface. Whereafter, we simulate the target images projected onto the metasurface and single-pixel imaging reconstructions with these simulated sampling patterns by using the Monte Carlo method, thereby verifying the proposed approach. This technology holds significant potential for applications in microscopic imaging and biological tissue recognition.
Silver mean sequence in extended depth of focus intraocular lenses: a comparative study of kinoform and stepwise designs
Authors: Martínez-Espert Anabel , Ferrando Vicente , Garmendía-Martínez Adrián , Muñoz-Pérez Francisco M. , Monsoriu Juan A. , Furlan Walter D.
Published: November 2024

In this work, we present two new multifocal intraocular lens (MIOL) designs, both based on the silver mean kinoform diffractive lens. We demonstrate that a single aperiodic diffractive profile can be used to create two different MIOLs: one with a kinoform structure and the other with a stepwise profile. Quantitative assessment of the designs was carried out using the through focus modulation transfer function and the area under the modulation transfer function for the prediction of their visual performance. Our results show that both designs exhibit nearly identical optical performance at the design wavelength (λ = 550 nm), though their intrinsic longitudinal chromatic aberration differs significantly. Given that diffractive extended depth of focus (EDoF) intraocular lenses are prone to image degradation due to dysphotopic phenomena, we also compared the halos generated by these two designs and found notable differences in their behavior. Furthermore, under photopic conditions, the proposed lens designs demonstrated the potential to achieve visual acuity values of 0.2 logMAR or better across a vergence range from approximately 0 to 2 D. Finally, to qualitatively assess the behavior of the MIOLs, an objective experimental evaluation was conducted using an adaptive optics visual simulator in a model eye. Experimental results align with the quantitative assessment of the proposed designs.
Circularly coherent vortex beams with coherence singularities in free-space propagation
Authors: Qi Rui , Shiri Arash , Gbur Greg
Published: November 2024

Circularly coherent sources, which are perfectly coherent on any ring that
is concentric to the beam center, can preserve the spiral phase structures
of optical vortices on propagation, making them potentially useful for
free-space applications such as communications and remote sensing. In this
study, we theoretically examine circularly coherent vortex beams by
imposing circular coherence on Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams. The
second-order coherence properties and coherence singularities of these
circularly coherent vortex beams are investigated in free-space
propagation up to 3 km. We discuss the noteworthy features of such
beams, including self-focusing that arises due to the circular
coherence.
Unveiling the self-healing potential of Bessel–Gauss beams in image encryption
Authors: Baliyan Mansi , Nishchal Naveen K.
Published: November 2024

Over the past 30 years, Bessel beams have captivated researchers due to their remarkable properties, viz., diffraction-free and self-healing intensity distribution and the associated orbital angular momentum owing to the helical wavefront. These special characteristics have motivated us in developing an optical cryptosystem that leverages their unique features. Therefore, this study demonstrates an image encryption scheme through the utilization of a spatially concatenated array of Bessel beams enabling high-dimensional encoding. The study explores the robustness of the scheme by intentionally obstructing the plaintext information. Thanks to the self-reconstruction of Bessel beams, the obstructed data can still be retrieved, demonstrating the scheme’s resilience in adverse conditions.
Experimental study of hue cancellation and its mechanism exploration
Authors: Dai Mengshi , Huang Xiaoqiao , Chen Zaiqing , Tai Yonghang , Shi Junsheng
Published: November 2024

To research the distinctions between dichoptic color vision and naked-eye color vision in the human vision system, this study carried out psychophysical experiments to explore hue cancellation phenomena in both dichoptic and naked-eye visual conditions. The experimental results show that dichoptic hue cancellation (DHC) not only occurs in the red and green (R-G), yellow and blue (Y-B), and yellow-green and purple (YG-P) color directions in CIELAB space but also requires color desaturation. In naked-eye vision, a specific color for each color is capable of inducing hue cancellation. The experimental results imply that hue cancellation in naked-eye vision may be a complementary phenomenon. The process of viewing two hues to produce a third hue should be completed in the retina.
Advanced depth-layering using a synthetic-depth map and deep neural network for real-world object-based holographic displays
Authors: Amgalan Tuvshinjargal , Wu Hui-Ying , Erdenebat Munkh-Uchral , Khuderchuluun Anar , Kwon Ki-Chul , Dashdondov Khongorzul , Baasantseren Ganbat , Sim Dongkyu , Kim Nam
Published: November 2024

We propose an advanced layering method for real-world object-based holographic displays, leveraging what we believe to be a novel synthetic-depth map and deep neural network. The proposed system aims to implement a holographic display that displays natural-like three-dimensional visualizations of real objects by enhancing data quantity and ensuring accurate depth layers. A simplified light-field image acquisition system combined with a deep neural network is employed to efficiently gather organized omnidirectional three-dimensional information from the object, achieving high quality while minimizing processing time. Subsequently, a novel high-accuracy synthetic-depth map containing data from both initial depth and position maps is estimated. Finally, the sub-holograms for each depth layer are generated and integrated as a single main hologram by encompassing comprehensive object information, which is displayed on the spatial light modulator of a holographic display system and illuminated by a coherent light source. Experimental results confirm the superiority of the proposed system, particularly demonstrating its effectiveness for objects with a wide depth range or multiple objects separated by considerable distances.
Neuronal fatty acid-binding protein enhances autophagy and suppresses amyloid-β pathology in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Jang Seokhui , Choi Byoungyun , Lim Chaejin , Kim Minkyoung , Lee Ji-Eun , Lee Hyungi , Baek Eunji , Cho Kyoung Sang
Published: November 2024

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are small cytoplasmic proteins involved in intracellular lipid transport and bind free fatty acids, cholesterol, and retinoids. FABP3, the major neuronal FABP in the adult brain, is upregulated in the CSF of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the precise role of neuronal FABPs in AD pathogenesis remains unclear. This study investigates the contribution of fabp, the Drosophila homolog of FABP3 and FABP7, to amyloid β (Aβ) pathology using a Drosophila model. Neuronal knockdown of fabp shortened the lifespan of flies and increased age-related protein aggregates in the brain. In an AD model, fabp knockdown in neurons increased Aβ accumulation and Aβ-induced neurodegeneration, whereas fabp overexpression ameliorated Aβ pathology. Notably, fabp overexpression stimulated autophagy, which was inhibited by the knockdown of Eip75B, the Drosophila homolog of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR). The PPAR activator rosiglitazone restored autophagy impaired by fabp knockdown and reduced fabp knockdown-induced increased Aβ aggregation and cell death. Furthermore, knockdown of either fabp or Eip75B in the wing imaginal disc or adult fly brain reduced the expression of Atg6 and Atg8a. Additionally, treatment of the fabp knockdown AD model flies with polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid or linoleic acid, partially alleviated cell death in the developing eye, restored impaired autophagy flux, reduced Aβ aggregation, and attenuated Aβ-induced cell death. Our results suggest that Drosophila fabp plays an important role in maintaining protein homeostasis during aging and protects neurons from Aβ-induced cell death by enhancing autophagy through the PPAR pathway. These findings highlight the potential importance of neuronal FABP function in AD pathogenesis.
Do penguins care about their neighborhood? Population implications of bioerosion in Magellanic penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus, at Martillo Island, Beagle Channel, Argentina
Authors: Scioscia Gabriela , Harris Sabrina , Schiavini Adrián , Pütz Klemens , Raya Rey Andrea
Published: November 2024

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as bioerosion at nesting sites, regulate population dynamics and are relevant for the long-term conservation of penguins. Colony trends (between 2004–2022) were studied in a Magellanic penguin colony on Martillo Island, Beagle Channel, Argentina and compared between zones with contrasting degrees of erosion (high, medium, low). Individuals from each zone were characterized for foraging ecology, stress, and reproductive performance during the 2017–2018 breeding season to better understand the colony dynamics. Changes in nest abundance varied in magnitude between nesting zones with different characteristics of occupation time, density and erosion. Declines in nest abundance in the densest, most eroded and longest occupied zone suggests that environmental degradation may be limiting the colony’s carrying capacity. A higher percentage of late breeders (probably younger breeders) occupied the less eroded and more recently occupied zone. Foraging, breeding and stress barely differed between zones. New individuals recruiting into the breeding colony select less-eroded zones, either to reduce competition for nests or to avoid other effects of erosion and high-density areas. If this is the mechanism behind the shift in numbers throughout the island, we expect the island to be progressively occupied to the west. If competition or other density dependent factors are at play, a time will come when the vacant east side will begin to be recolonized by younger individuals. However, if erosion or other long-term effects spread throughout the island, recolonization may not occur and the colony may ultimately be abandoned as individuals search for new breeding grounds. Erosion at the breeding site may be a key factor in regional population trends of this burrow nesting species, by following an extinction / colonization of new sites process.
Towards sustainable land management in small islands: A Water-Energy-Food nexus approach
Authors: Authier Romain , Pillot Benjamin , Guimbretière Guillaume , Corral-Broto Pablo , Gervet Carmen
Published: November 2024

The environmental and multi-sectoral challenges faced by small islands requires consideration of sustainability issues. The sustainability challenges in these regions involve in particular the achievement of a greater autonomy through the development of local resources. This is a complex system that encompasses interconnections between the resources available and the land use. In this article we focus on the study of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus, and propose an integrated and systemic approach to do so. Our contribution consists in studying food system sustainability of small islands by exploring the reciprocal influences between the valorization of local WEF resources and land use competition for various integrated WEF scenarios. Additionally, we integrate dietary behaviors and demonstrate their close interlinking with land use practices, and thus their impact on the potential for transitioning towards a more sustainable food system. To achieve this, we present a generic combined Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and robust optimization model. This model is then applied to Reunion island using collected real data. Our approach aims to assist local policymakers, at the island scale, by constructing insightful scenarios to facilitate informed decision-making. Our results highlight the need to save land space when developing local resources through effective land use management policies combined with a shift in food practices. This shift would imply in particular, to convert some of the sugarcane areas into subsistence farming. Furthermore, the results emphasize the importance of transitioning consumption practices under various integrated WEF scenarios, showcasing our model as an insightful decision-support tool.
Genomic variants associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus among Filipinos
Authors: C. Cutiongco-de la Paz Eva Maria , Nevado Jr. Jose B. , Paz-Pacheco Elizabeth T. , Jasul Jr. Gabriel V. , Aman Aimee Yvonne Criselle L. , Francisco Mark David G.
Published: November 2024

Type 2 diabetes mellitus leads to debilitating complications that affect the quality of life of many Filipinos. Genetic variability contributes to 30% to 70% of T2DM risk. Determining genomic variants related to type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility can lead to early detection to prevent complications. However, interethnic variability in risk and genetic susceptibility exists. This study aimed to identify variants associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus among Filipinos using a case-control design frequency matched for age and sex. A comparison was made between 66 unrelated Filipino adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 121 without. Genotyping was done using a candidate gene approach on genetic variants of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications involving allelic association and genotypic association studies with correction for multiple testing. Nine (9) significant variants, mostly involved in glucose and energy metabolism, associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Filipinos were found. Notably, a CDKAL1 variant (rs7766070) confers the highest level of risk while rs7119 (HMG20A) and rs708272 (CETP) have high risk allele frequencies in this population at 0.77 and 0.66, respectively, making them potentially good markers for type 2 diabetes mellitus screening. The data generated can be valuable in developing genetic risk prediction models for type 2 diabetes mellitus to diagnose and prevent the condition among Filipinos.
Genomic variability in Zika virus in GBS cases in Colombia
Authors: Rivera-Franco Nelson , López-Alvarez Diana , Castillo Andrés , Aristizabal Erica , Puiu Daniela , Salzberg Steven L. , Pardo Carlos A. , Parra Beatriz ,   on behalf of NEAS
Published: November 2024

Major clusters of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) emerged during the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks in the South Pacific and the Americas from 2014 to 2016. The factors contributing to GBS susceptibility in ZIKV infection remain unclear, although considerations of viral variation, patient susceptibility, environmental influences, and other potential factors have been hypothesized. Studying the role of viral genetic factors has been challenging due to the low viral load and rapid viral clearance from the blood after the onset of Zika symptoms. The prolonged excretion of ZIKV in urine by the time of GBS onset, when the virus is no longer present in the blood, provides an opportunity to unravel whether specific ZIKV mutations are related to the development of GBS in certain individuals. This study aimed to investigate the association between specific ZIKV genotypes and the development of GBS, taking advantage of a unique collection of ZIKV-positive urine samples obtained from GBS cases and controls during the 2016 ZIKV outbreak in Colombia. Utilizing Oxford-Nanopore technology, we conducted complete genome sequencing of ZIKV in biological samples from 15 patients with GBS associated with ZIKV and 17 with ZIKV infection without neurological complications. ZIKV genotypes in Colombia exhibited distribution across three clades (average bootstrap of 90.9±14.9%), with two clades dominating the landscape. A comparative analysis of ZIKV genomes from GBS and non-neurological complications, alongside 1368 previously reported genomes, revealed no significant distinctions between the two groups. Both genotypes were similarly distributed among observed clades in Colombia. Furthermore, no variations were identified in the amino acid composition of the viral genome between the two groups. Our findings suggest that GBS in ZIKV infection is perhaps associated with patient susceptibility and/or other para- or post-infectious immune-mediated mechanisms rather than with specific ZIKV genome variations.
Computational investigation of missense somatic mutations in cancer and potential links to pH-dependence and proteostasis
Authors: Sallah Shalaw , Warwicker Jim
Published: November 2024

Metabolic changes during tumour development lead to acidification of the extracellular environment and a smaller increase of intracellular pH. Searches for somatic missense mutations that could reveal adaptation to altered pH have focussed on arginine to histidine changes, part of a general arginine depletion that originates from DNA mutational mechanisms. Analysis of mutations to histidine, potentially a simple route to the introduction of pH-sensing, shows no clear biophysical separation overall of subsets that are more and less frequently mutated in cancer genomes. Within the more frequently mutated subset, individual sites predicted to mediate pH-dependence upon mutation include NDST1 (a Golgi-resident heparan sulphate modifying enzyme), the HLA-C chain of MHCI complex, and the water channel AQP-7. Arginine depletion is a general feature that persists in the more frequently mutated subset, and is complemented by over-representation of mutations to lysine. Arginine to lysine balance is a known factor in determining protein solubility, with higher lysine content being more favourable. Proteins with greater change in arginine to lysine balance are enriched for cell periphery location, where proteostasis is likely to be challenged in tumour cells. Somatic missense mutations in a cancer genome number only in the 10s typically, although can be much higher. Whether the altered arginine to lysine balance is of sufficient scale to play a role in tumour development is unknown.
The queering of monuments: Hauntological remembrance in Vienna
Authors: Landau-Donnelly Friederike , Schwarz Mareike , Santacana López Pablo
Published: November 2024

This article examines entanglements between past, present and futures of queerness visible in monuments as materialized forms of memory. We distinguish between queer monuments (i.e. positioning, and potentially imposing reified representations of queer history or memory) and the queering of monuments (i.e. challenging heteronormative or otherwise reductionist historical discourses, practices or memorial cultures of remembrance). By reflecting on oscillations between institutionalization, recognition, commodification and counter-memorial practice, we suggest the queering of monuments as an unfinished conceptual trope that embraces the non-conclusiveness of the past and future. Queering monuments nuances underlying tensions about the meaning and aesthetics of queer-themed heritage sites, objects and subjects, which emerge from multi-stakeholder arrangements of monument-making. Our approach chimes with critical heritage and monument studies that emphasize performative, affective-emotional and ghostly dimensions of heritage. By pulling hauntology into queer memorial discourse, we discuss queerness as an embodied and epistemological appearance that can challenge presentist, monolithic and thus potentially exclusive understandings of both heritage and monuments. Through queer temporality we situate our reflections in the public monument ARCUS – Shadow of a Rainbow – Memorial for Homosexuals Persecuted during the Nazi Era in Vienna, Austria (2023). We unpack the conflictual constellations of past and present voices, materialities and memories around the sculpture, using the rainbow motif (which became a symbol for queer people in the 1970s) to remember the persecution of queers during the Nazi Era. The monument begs the question how Vienna seeks to brand itself as a ‘rainbow city’, while continuously displacing queer practices from urban public space. Queering, in sum, embraces ghosts of past and present complex histories, trauma and joy instead of squeezing them into smooth or unambiguous narratives. Queering monuments thus outline a conflict-attuned approach to queer(ing) art, curation and collaboration.
Scratchy script
Authors: Jenkins Fritha , Ashcroft Louise
Published: November 2024

We, Louise Ashcroft and Fritha Jenkins, are writing this article together, oscillating queerly, changing its mind as it goes and talking itself into and out of forms, to reflect the way we work together. We have run frequent performance art scratch nights for more than ten years. These events are fast, creatively risky, chaotic and experimental, but the expertise from years of performing together and separately give the whole thing a rhythm that feels disciplined and formally cohesive in its own way. Louise has ADHD and Fritha is Autistic. We are both queer. We both have unique strengths and weaknesses (and queer ND pride and shame) which has led us to nurture a way of supporting one another. The scratch nights are a defiant space, unfunded and anarchically unconventional. Here we take a moment to reflect, in true Unperforming style, on our creative collaborative methodologies.