bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Double-layer biodegradable temporising matrix reconstruction for abdominal skin and soft-tissue reconstruction
Authors: Shah Rushabh , Kiely Ailbhe , McKirdy Stuart
Published: November 2022

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare, locally invasive dermal sarcoma. The management is generally surgical, with wide local excision (WLE) forming the mainstay of treatment. Large abdominal wall defects are most aesthetically reconstructed using pedicled or free flaps; however, these require tumour-free surgical margins, and are off-set by donor site morbidity. We describe an alternative, aesthetic and low-morbidity technique for reconstruction of a subfascial defect following WLE of DFSP in a young woman in her early 20s, using two layers of a novel synthetic dermal matrix (NovoSorbBTM). To our knowledge, a double-layer reconstruction using an artificial dermal matrix has never been described for trunk reconstruction. We found that double-layer biodegradable temporising matrix can restore the inherent thickness and pliability of skin in a partial-thickness abdominal wall defect and offers improved durability and cosmesis compared with skin grafting or indeed single layer skin substitutes alone.
Prognostic implications of atrial fibrillation in adults with Ebstein anomaly
Authors: Martin de Miguel Irene , Madhavan Malini , Miranda William R , Connolly Heidi M , Egbe Alexander C
Published: November 2022

Objective

Supraventricular arrhythmias are common in adults with Ebstein anomaly (EA). However, there are limited data about prognostic implications of atrial fibrillation (AF) in this population. Accordingly, our aim was to assess the clinical profile and burden of AF in adults with EA, and the relationship between AF and outcomes.

Methods and results

Six hundred eighty-two consecutive adults with a median age of 36 (24–49) years from Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, USA, between 2003 and 2020 were included. Sustained episodes of AF, clinical, echocardiographic, rhythm and surgical data were collected. Prevalence of AF at baseline was 18% (126 patients); the first episode occurred at a mean age of 43±17 years. Patients with AF were older, were more likely men, and had hypertension, renal dysfunction, cardiac devices, and more advanced right-sided and left-sided remodelling. During a median follow-up of 156 (81–240) months, 62 patients (11%) developed incident AF. At the last encounter, prevalence of AF was 28% (188 patients); of those, 63 (34%) had recurrent AF. Hospitalisation for heart failure (HF) occurred in 51 patients (7%). AF (HR 2.32, 95% CI 1.18 to 4.47; p=0.01) was independently associated with hospitalisation for HF. All-cause death occurred in 53 patients (8%); it was more frequent in those with AF in the univariable analysis, although it did not remain significant in the multivariable analysis.

Conclusions

AF in EA develops at relatively young ages with one-third of the cohort exhibiting a recurrent pattern. Patients with AF had a higher prevalence of comorbidities and worse right-sided and left-sided cardiac remodelling. AF was independently associated with HF hospitalisation.
Strong solutions to a nonlinear stochastic aggregation-diffusion equation
Authors: Tang Hao , Wang Zhi-An
Published: November 2022

It is well-known that solutions to deterministic nonlocal aggregation-diffusion models may blow up in two or higher dimensions. Various mechanisms hence have been proposed to “regularize” the deterministic aggregation-diffusion equations in a manner that allows pattern formation without blow-up. However, stochastic effect has not been ever considered among other things. In this work, we consider a nonlocal aggregation-diffusion model with multiplicative noise and establish the local existence and uniqueness of strong solutions on [Formula: see text]. If the noise is non-autonomous and linear, we establish the global existence and large-time behavior of strong solutions with decay properties by combining the Moser-Alikakos iteration technique and some decay estimates of Girsanov type processes. If the noise is nonlinear and strong enough, we show that blow-up can be prevented. As such, our results assert that certain multiplicative noise can also regularize the aggregation-diffusion model.
What Can Cluster Analysis Offer Stock Investors? Evidence from the China’s Energy Industry
Authors: Liu Luxing , Cai Yufeng , Wei Yalu , Jin Hong , Teng Yin Pei
Published: November 2022

China is one of the world’s major producers and consumers of energy. The investment value of China’s energy industry has attracted the attention of investors at home and abroad. Few studies, however, have specifically investigated investment ratings in China’s traditional energy industry. This study, therefore, uses scientific analysis methods to help investors measure the investment value and returns of China’s energy industry. From the perspectives of market performance and earnings management, we select factors that influence stock value evaluation indicators and undertake an empirical analysis using financial statement data for 2020 from the Wind database. Based on a factor analysis of the main financial indicators (e.g. amplitude, turnover rate, gross profit margin of sales, growth rate of operating revenue), we obtain five main factors: stock market performance, trading heat, profit quality, profit scale, and profit potential. The [Formula: see text]-means algorithm in Python is then used to analyse 56 stocks in China’s energy industry, and we divide their investment ratings into six grades: risk stocks, prudent holding, undetermined class, hold rating, ordinary rating, and buy rating. By identifying the group characteristics of different types of stocks, this study can provide a decision-making basis for investors while also having reference value for research institutions, financial departments, and government departments.
Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots with Free Radical Scavenging Abilities as Fluorescence Probes for Cr(VI) Sensing in Bio-Systems
Authors: Shen Jie , Zheng Xujing , Xu Guihua
Published: November 2022

Carbon dots (CDs) are a new class of fluorescent nanomaterials that can be used in optical devices, fluorescence sensing and bio-imaging. Recently, the preparation of CDs from biomass gained great interest because the source is plentiful and they are friendly to environment. However, there still exist some problems including low quantum yield (QY) and limited application. Although CDs have been successfully applied in detection of various ions, the sensing of Cr(VI) and the corresponding mechanism is rarely proposed. Here, a facile and effective preparation of N-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) from sweet potatoes was developed through hydrothermal synthesis, using urea as passivator. The characterization was performed to demonstrate the morphology and chemical composition of the N-CDs. In particular, it is confirmed that N element exists in NH2 group on the surface of the N-CDs. Because of doing with N element, the QY of these CDs significantly increases to 31%. In addition, the N-CDs exhibit favorable free radical scavenging activities toward DPPH, hydroxyl and superoxide anion free radicals. This antioxidant property, combined with inner filter effect, endows the N-CDs with florescence response to Cr(VI). The further study showed that linear range of Cr(VI) concentration is from 1[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M to 80[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M with a detection limit of 0.61[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M. Subsequently, the N-CDs were competent to detect trace Cr(VI) both in human serum and pig liver. Based on the fact that the N-CDs are biocompatible by MTT experiment, the N-CDs were excellent in fluorescent sensing of Cr(VI) in living cells. In a word, the N-CDs are suitable to be applied for Cr(VI) detection in bio-systems, as well as in antioxidant fields.
Exploration of the Requirements of College English Follow-Up Teaching Courses Through Mobile Web Application
Authors: Tan Juan
Published: November 2022

The purpose is to analyze the implementation status and students' requirements of English follow-up teaching courses in universities and provide a basis for improving the quality of English teaching in universities. Here, a detailed analysis is conducted for college students and their FL (Foreign Language) requirements through basic theories and RA (Requirements Analysis) model. Then, the implementation status of college English follow-up courses is analyzed, including its advantages and disadvantages. A total of 150 English majors and 150 non-English majors (international economy and trade) in Xi'an International Studies University are selected as subjects. Afterward, 300 QSs (Questionnaire Survey) are distributed, and 280 valid QSs are collected. The data are analyzed with STAT (Statistical) SW (Software). The results show that both English majors and international economic and trade majors prefer the original English textbooks over school-teachers-written textbooks, and students love humorous teachers more. Students from both majors like the curriculum arrangement of integration of English skills, intercultural knowledge, and humanistic literacy the best. Meanwhile, the requirement of English majors is stronger for the integrated curriculum. The teaching mode and teaching assessment method of English majors are quite different from those of international economic and trade majors. English majors are more inclined to combine online teaching, classroom teaching, and thematic lectures, while classroom teaching is the last thing they want. At the same time, they assess English follow-up teaching through curriculum papers rather than examinations. It shows that different majors have different requirements for follow-up teaching courses. Universities provide a customized and localized follow-up teaching mechanism for students.
Auggie: Encouraging Effortful Communication through Handcrafted Digital Experiences
Authors: Zhang Lei , Chen Tianying , Seow Olivia , Chong Tim , Kratz Sven , Tham Yu Jiang , Monroy-Hernández Andrés , Vaish Rajan , Liu Fannie
Published: November 2022

Digital communication is often brisk and automated. From auto-completed messages to "likes," research has shown that such lightweight interactions can affect perceptions of authenticity and closeness. On the other hand, effort in relationships can forge emotional bonds by conveying a sense of caring and is essential in building and maintaining relationships. To explore effortful communication, we designed and evaluated Auggie, an iOS app that encourages partners to create digitally handcrafted Augmented Reality (AR) experiences for each other. Auggie is centered around crafting a 3D character with photos, animated movements, drawings, and audio for someone else. We conducted a two-week-long field study with 30 participants (15 pairs), who used Auggie with their partners remotely. Our qualitative findings show that Auggie participants engaged in meaningful effort through the handcrafting process, and felt closer to their partners, although the tool may not be appropriate in all situations. We discuss design implications and future directions for systems that encourage effortful communication.
"Adulthood is trying each of the same six passwords that you use for everything": The Scarcity and Ambiguity of Security Advice on Social Media
Authors: Bhagavatula Sruti , Bauer Lujo , Kapadia Apu
Published: November 2022

In order to keep one's computing systems and data secure, it is critical to be aware of how to effectively maintain security and privacy online. Prior experimental work has shown that social media are effective platforms for encouraging security-enhancing behavior. Through an analysis of historical social media logs of 38 participants containing almost 200,000 social media posts, we study the extent to which participants talked about security and privacy on social media platforms, specifically Facebook and Twitter. We found that interactions with posts that feature content relevant to security and privacy made up less than 0.09% of all interactions we observed. A thematic analysis of the security- and privacy-related posts that participants interacted with revealed that such posts very rarely discussed security and privacy constructively, instead often joking about security practices or encouraging undesirable behavior. Based on the overall findings from this thematic analysis, we develop and present a taxonomy of how security and privacy may be typically discussed on social networks, which is useful for constructing helpful security and privacy advice or for identifying advice that may have an undesirable impact. Our findings, though based on a fraction of the population of social media users, suggest that while social networks may be effective in influencing security behavior, there may not be enough substantial or useful discussions of security and privacy to encourage better security behaviors in practice and on a larger scale. Our findings highlight the importance of increasing the prevalence of constructive security and privacy advice on online social media in order to encourage widespread adoption of healthy security practices.
"Money Doesn't Buy You Happiness": Negative Consequences of Using the Freemium Model for Mental Health Apps
Authors: Eagle Tessa , Mehrotra Aman , Sharma Aayush , Zuniga Alex , Whittaker Steve
Published: November 2022

As global rates of anxiety and depression increase, we observe millions of downloads of mobile apps addressing mental health that adopt 'freemium' charging models offering complex combinations of free and paid features. We explore potentially negative outcomes of deploying such freemium designs to vulnerable MH populations. We assess outcomes for 41 frequently downloaded mental health apps, by combining thematic analysis of 41K user reviews with audits to validate app descriptions and reviews. We propose a new analytic framework identifying three types of negative outcomes for freemium deployments: first vulnerable users currently experiencing crises may feel pressure to download unhelpful or costly apps. Second unintuitive descriptions of complex apps can lead to inappropriate treatments and expensive subscriptions. Third, limited duration offers may result in incomplete treatments or unexpected charges. We discuss ethical considerations and broader HCI consequences. We describe implications for mental health app design, including the need for greater transparency around free versus paid features, and propose new approaches to provide vulnerable users with validated information about these commonly downloaded apps.
"We Need a Woman in Music": Exploring Wikipedia's Values on Article Priority
Authors: Houtti Mo , Johnson Isaac , Cepeda Joel , Khandelwal Soumya , Bhatnagar Aviral , Terveen Loren
Published: November 2022

Wikipedia---like most peer production communities---suffers from a basic problem: the amount of work that needs to be done (articles to be created and improved) exceeds the available resources (editor effort). Recommender systems have been deployed to address this problem, but they have tended to recommend work tasks that match individuals' personal interests, ignoring more global community values. In English Wikipedia, discussion about Vital articles constitutes a proxy for community values about the types of articles that are most important, and should therefore be prioritized for improvement. We first analyzed these discussions, finding that an article's priority is considered a function of 1) its inherent importance and 2) its effects on Wikipedia's global composition. One important example of the second consideration is balance, including along the dimensions of gender and geography. We then conducted a quantitative analysis evaluating how four different article prioritization methods---two from prior research---would affect Wikipedia's overall balance on these two dimensions; we found significant differences among the methods. We discuss the implications of our results, including particularly how they can guide the design of recommender systems that take into account community values, not just individuals' interests.
Gay Dating on Non-dating Platforms: The Case of Online Dating Activities of Gay Men on a Q&A Platform
Authors: Wang Ye , Lu Zhicong , Wattenhofer Roger
Published: November 2022

Gay dating applications, such as Grindr and SCRUFF, are considered the primary platforms for gay men to conduct online dating activities. However, on Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer website, tens of thousands of homosexual users have been searching for romantic partners, which suggests that Zhihu may have unique affordances in online dating activities for Chinese gay men. To better understand how Chinese gay men perceive the affordances of a non-dating platform for online dating, we conduct a mixed-methods study, including observations, interviews, and quantitative and qualitative analysis of users' self-presentations. We find that gay men users publish personal ads by answering "fishing questions" on Zhihu. Through our analysis, we examine how users perceive the affordances of Zhihu to satisfy their social and psychological gratifications at the self, community, and audience levels. Although gay users face the risk of disclosing homosexual identity on mainstream social media, they perceive such risk as acceptable for better online dating experience. We discuss how users respond to severe social stigma in China, and the gap between user needs and the design of gay dating applications. We elaborate on the implications of our findings to discuss the potential benefits for LGBTQ users if LGBTQ service providers collaborate with social media.
Handoff and Deposit: Designing Temporal Coordination in Cross-Device Transfer Techniques for Mixed-Focus Collaboration
Authors: Homaeian Leila , Wallace James R. , Scott Stacey D.
Published: November 2022

When working together, people frequently share information with each other to enable division of labour, assistance, and delegation of responsibility. The literature has explored both synchronous and asynchronous transfer techniques, known as Handoff and Deposit, respectively. However, current cross-device environments tend to only provide a single mechanism. Moreover, we have little understanding of the impact of different techniques on collaborative process. To understand how Handoff and Deposit may be designed to support complex sensemaking tasks, we followed a Research through Design process to iteratively design Handoff and Deposit techniques using paper and digital sketches and high-fidelity prototypes. We consulted the HCI literature to corroborate our findings with studies and descriptions of existing cross-device transfer designs and to understand the potential impact of those designs on mixed-focus collaboration. We learned that as we move away from a restricted physical workspace and leverage the flexibility of digital personal devices, there is a large design space for realizing cross-device transfer. To inform these designs, we provide five design considerations for cross-device transfer techniques: Transfer Acceptance, Action Dependencies, Immediate Usability, Interruption Potential, and Connection Actions.
Opportunities and Challenges in Repeated Revisions to Pull-Requests: An Empirical Study
Authors: Li Zhixing , Yu Yue , Wang Tao , Li Shanshan , Wang Huaimin
Published: November 2022

Background: The Pull-Request (PR) model is a widespread approach adopted by open source software (OSS) projects to support collaborative software development. However, it is often challenging to continuously evaluate and revise PRs in several iterations of code reviewsinvolving technical and social aspects. Aim: Our objective is twofold: identifying best practices for effective collaboration in continuous PR improvement and uncovering problems that deserve special attention to improve collaboration efficiency and productivity. Method: We conducted a mixed-methods empirical study of repeatedly revised PRs (i.e. those that have undergone a high number of revisions). Historical trace data of five long-lived popular GitHub projects were used for manual investigation of practices for requesting changes to PRs and reasons for nonacceptance of repeatedly revised PRs. Surveys of OSS practitioners were conducted to evaluate the results of manual analysis and to provide additional insights into developers' willingness regarding PR revisions and factors causing avoidable revisions in practice. Results: The main results of our research were as follows: (1) We identified 15 code review practices for requesting changes to PRs, among which practices with respect to explaining the reasoning behind requested changes and tracking the progress of PR review and revision were undervalued by reviewers; (2) While submitters can in general undergo 1-5 rounds of revisions, they are willing to offer more revisions when they are in a friendly community and receive helpful feedback; (3) We revealed 11 factors causing avoidable revisions regarding to reviewers' feedback, code review policy, pre-submission issues, and implementation of new revisions; and (4) Nonacceptance of repeatedly revised PRs was due mainly to inactivity of submitters or reviewers and being superseded for better maintenance. Finally, based on these findings, we proposed recommendations and implications for OSS practitioners and tool designers to facilitate efficient collaboration in PR revisions.
SenseMyStreet: Sensor Commissioning Toolkit for Communities
Authors: Puussaar Aare , Montague Kyle , Peacock Sean , Nappey Thomas , Anderson Robert , Jonczyk Jennine , Wright Peter , James Philip
Published: November 2022

The rise of big data and smart sensing, with the promise of more educated and informed decisions, has fuelled a shift towards more data-driven decision-making in local and national government. However, we are observing a disconnect between the people who are affected by these decisions and their access to tools and resources to collect data in order to provide the needed evidence for change. To truly democratise this process and for citizens to become active prosumers of data, new mechanisms of citizen data production are needed. In this paper we report on a two-year ethnographic and iterative co-design process with the local community. This work encompassed the design, development and deployment of SenseMyStreet (SeMS), a bespoke sensor commissioning toolkit that enables citizens and community groups to use and commission a city's scientific-grade environmental monitors, determining where they will be located on their streets and collecting data to evidence hyper-local issues. Unlike prior research, which creates alternative data sources to contest city data, our toolkit helps integrate citizen commissioned data into the city datasets used by citizens and decision-makers. Reflecting on the design process and evaluating the ways people engaged with the digital tools of the toolkit, we highlight how commissioning can be configured to promote equity in the smart city, empower citizens to take ownership of issues and facilitate the creation of community networks that utilise the data for local benefit.
"Is It My Turn?"
Authors: Benk Michaela , Weibel Raphael P. , Feuerriegel Stefan , Ferrario Andrea
Published: November 2022

Immersive analytics has the potential to promote collaboration in machine learning (ML). This is desired due to the specific characteristics of ML modeling in practice, namely the complexity of ML, the interdisciplinary approach in industry, and the need for ML interpretability. In this work, we introduce an augmented reality-based system for collaborative immersive analytics that is designed to support ML modeling in interdisciplinary teams. We conduct a user study to examine how collaboration unfolds when users with different professional backgrounds and levels of ML knowledge interact in solving different ML tasks. Specifically, we use the pair analytics methodology and performance assessments to assess collaboration and explore their interactions with each other and the system. Based on this, we provide qualitative and quantitative results on both teamwork and taskwork during collaboration. Our results show how our system elicits sustained collaboration as measured along six distinct dimensions. We finally make recommendations how immersive systems should be designed to elicit sustained collaboration in ML modeling.
"I was Confused by It; It was Confused by Me:" Exploring the Experiences of People with Visual Impairments around Mobile Service Robots
Authors: Bhat Prajna , Zhao Yuhang
Published: November 2022

Mobile service robots have become increasingly ubiquitous. However, these robots can pose potential accessibility issues and safety concerns to people with visual impairments (PVI). We sought to explore the challenges faced by PVI around mainstream mobile service robots and identify their needs. Seventeen PVI were interviewed about their experiences with three emerging robots: vacuum robots, delivery robots, and drones. We comprehensively investigated PVI's robot experiences by considering their different roles around robots---direct users and bystanders. Our study highlighted participants' challenges and concerns about the accessibility, safety, and privacy issues around mobile service robots. We found that the lack of accessible feedback made it difficult for PVI to precisely control, locate, and track the status of the robots. Moreover, encountering mobile robots as bystanders confused and even scared the participants, presenting safety and privacy barriers. We further distilled design considerations for more accessible and safe robots for PVI.
Speculative Vulnerability
Authors: Seberger John S. , Obi Ike , Loukil Mariem , Liao William , Wild David J. , Patil Sameer
Published: November 2022

Pandemic-tracking apps may form a future infrastructure for public health surveillance. Yet, there has been relatively little exploration of the potential societal implications of such an infrastructure. In semi-structured interviews with 23 participants from India, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the United States, we discussed attitudes and preferences regarding the deployment of apps that support contact tracing to contain the spread of COVID-19. Through interpretive analysis, we examined the relationship between persistent discomfort and vulnerability when using such apps. Such an examination yielded three temporal forms of vulnerability: real, anticipatory, and speculative. By identifying and defining the temporalities of vulnerability through an analysis of people's pandemic-related thoughts and experiences, we develop the overlapping discourses of humanistic infrastructure studies and infrastructural speculation. In doing so, we explore the concept of vulnerability itself and present implications for the study of vulnerability in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and for the oversight of app-based public health surveillance.
Education, Personal Experiences, and Advocacy
Authors: Niu Shuo , McKim Katherine G. , Palm Reed Kathleen
Published: November 2022

Drug addiction has become one of the most severe worldwide social problems. Recent research has examined utilizing social media to support addiction recovery and the problematic use of social media for selling drugs and glamorizing drug use. Prior studies have focused on textual and networking-based social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, but there is limited understanding of how video-based platforms like YouTube allow creators to share drug addiction-related videos and discourse about addiction problems. This work performs a content analysis of 387 drug-addiction-related videos collected from YouTube. The grounded-theory approach based on the health-emergency framework identifies how drug-addiction videos discourse the addiction-related risk, blame, urgency, praise, and solution. Video viewership and comments are also compared between the emerged video themes. Results suggest YouTubers educate others about drug addiction, disclose personal experiences, and advocate for addiction prevention and recovery. Based on our findings, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of using video-sharing to prevent and educate drug addiction.
From Self-Tracking to Sleep-Hacking
Authors: Karlgren Kasper , Brown Barry , McMillan Donald
Published: November 2022

With growing interest in how technology can make sense of our body and bodily experiences, this work looks at how these experiences are communicated through and with the help of technology. We present the ways in which knowledge about sleep, and how to manipulate it, is collectively shared online. This paper documents the sleep-change practices of four groups of 'Sleep Hackers' including Nurses, Polyphasic Sleeper, Over-sleepers, and Biohackers. Our thematic analysis uses 1002 posts taken from public forums discussing sleep change. This work reveals the different ways individuals share their experiences and build communal knowledge on how to 'hack' their sleep -- from using drugs, external stimulation, isolation, and polyphasic sleeping practices where segmented sleep schedules are shared between peers. We describe how communal discussions around the body and sleep can inform the development of body sensing technology. We discuss the opportunities and implications for designing for bodily agency over sleep changes both in relation to collaboratively developed understandings of the body and social context of the user. We also discuss notions of slowly changing bodily processes and sensory manipulation in relation to how they can build on the exploration of soma-technology.
LGBTQ Futures and Participatory Design
Authors: Hardy Jean , Geier Caitlin , Vargas Stefani , Doll Riley , Howard Amy Lyn
Published: November 2022

This paper presents the findings from a series of participatory design workshops with LGBTQ people living in the rural Midwestern United States. Using future workshops as a method, we seek to understand contemporary problems facing rural LGBTQ people and leverage design exercises to facilitate community members to come up with creative solutions. What we find are people grappling with the complexities of visibility, safety, and resource access in their rural communities; people who wanted to be able to use and create sociotechnical solutions that could help them navigate these complexities. Drawing on these findings, we argue for further exploration of design that experiments with the tension between visibility and safety for LGBTQ people. Further, we argue that future workshops and participatory design are well-positioned for continued work with marginalized communities, but that we need to maintain political orientations towards liberation and justice.?
Peritext: A CRDT for Collaborative Rich Text Editing
Authors: Litt Geoffrey , Lim Sarah , Kleppmann Martin , van Hardenberg Peter
Published: November 2022

Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) support decentralized collaborative editing of shared data, enabling peer-to-peer sharing and flexible branching and merging workflows. While there is extensive work on CRDTs for plain text, much less is known about CRDTs for rich text with formatting. No algorithms have been published, and existing open-source implementations do not always preserve user intent.

In this paper, we describe a model of intent preservation in rich text editing, developed through a series of concurrent editing scenarios. We then describe Peritext, a CRDT algorithm for rich text that satisfies the criteria of our model. The key idea is to store formatting spans alongside the plaintext character sequence, linked to a stable identifier for the first and last character of each span, and then to derive the final formatted text from these spans in a deterministic way that ensures concurrent operations commute.

We have prototyped our algorithm in TypeScript, validated it using randomized property-based testing, and integrated it with an editor UI. We also prove that our algorithm ensures convergence, and demonstrate its causality preservation and intention preservation properties.
Risk, Resilience and Reward: Impacts of Shifting to Digital Sex Work
Authors: Hamilton Vaughn , Barakat Hanna , Redmiles Elissa M.
Published: November 2022

Workers from a variety of industries rapidly shifted to remote work at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While existing work has examined the impact of this shift on office workers, little work has examined how shifting from in-person to online work affected workers in the informal labor sector. We examine the impact of shifting from in-person to online-only work on a particularly marginalized group of workers: sex workers. Through 34 qualitative interviews with sex workers from seven countries in the Global North, we examine how a shift to online-only sex work impacted: (1) working conditions, (2) risks and protective behaviors, and (3) labor rewards. We find that online work offers benefits to sex workers' financial and physical well-being. However, online-only work introduces new and greater digital and mental health risks as a result of the need to be publicly visible on more platforms and to share more explicit content. From our findings we propose design and platform governance suggestions for digital sex workers and for informal workers more broadly, particularly those who create and sell digital content.
Unveiling Practices of Customer Service Content Curators of Conversational Agents
Authors: Candello Heloisa , Pinhanez Claudio , Muller Michael , Wessel Mairieli
Published: November 2022

Conversational interfaces require two types of curation: data curation by data science workers and content curation by domain experts. Recent years have seen the possibilities for content curators to instruct conversational machines in the customer service domain (i.e., Machine Teaching). The activities of curating specialized data are time-consuming. These activities have a learning curve for the domain expert, and they rely on collaborators beyond the domain experts, including product owners, technology expert curators, management, marketing, and communication employees. However, recent research has looked at making this task easier for domain experts with a lack of knowledge in the Machine Learning system, and few papers have investigated the work practices and collaborations involved in this role. This paper aims to fill this gap, presenting and unveiling practices extracted from eleven semi-structured interviews and four design workshops with experts in Banking, Technical support, Humans Resources, Telecommunications, and Automotive sectors. First, we investigate the articulation work of the content curators and tech curators in training conversational machines. Second, we inspect the curatorial and collaboration strategies they use, which are not afforded by current conversational platforms. Third, we draw the design implications and possibilities to support individual and collaboration curating practices. We reflect on how those practices rely on self and collaboration with others for curation, trust, and data tracking and ownership.
No! Re-imagining Data Practices Through the Lens of Critical Refusal
Authors: Garcia Patricia , Sutherland Tonia , Salehi Niloufar , Cifor Marika , Singh Anubha
Published: November 2022

Critical refusal is an active process; an informed practice of investigating power differences in order to generate more just and equitable alternatives to the status quo. In this paper, we examine what it means to utilize critical refusal as a tool for investigating unequal power dynamics that are produced and reified by data practices. We illustrate the generative capacity of critical refusal by drawing on declarations from The Feminist Data Manifest-No to examine data practices across three real-world cases. By pairing a conceptual exploration of critical refusal with real-world examples, we make a theoretical contribution that is grounded in concrete approaches for generating alternative data practices in ways that account for interlocking struggles across contexts and communities.
Morphologically Motivated Input Variations and Data Augmentation in Turkish-English Neural Machine Translation
Authors: Yi̇rmi̇beşoğlu Zeynep , Güngör Tunga
Published: November 2022

Success of neural networks in natural language processing has paved the way for neural machine translation (NMT), which rapidly became the mainstream approach in machine translation. Significant improvement in translation performance has been achieved with breakthroughs such as encoder-decoder networks, attention mechanism, and Transformer architecture. However, the necessity of large amounts of parallel data for training an NMT system and rare words in translation corpora are issues yet to be overcome. In this article, we approach NMT of the low-resource Turkish-English language pair. We employ state-of-the-art NMT architectures and data augmentation methods that exploit monolingual corpora. We point out the importance of input representation for the morphologically rich Turkish language and make a comprehensive analysis of linguistically and non-linguistically motivated input segmentation approaches. We prove the effectiveness of morphologically motivated input segmentation for the Turkish language. Moreover, we show the superiority of the Transformer architecture over attentional encoder-decoder models for the Turkish-English language pair. Among the employed data augmentation approaches, we observe back-translation to be the most effective and confirm the benefit of increasing the amount of parallel data on translation quality. This research demonstrates a comprehensive analysis on NMT architectures with different hyperparameters, data augmentation methods, and input representation techniques, and proposes ways of tackling the low-resource setting of Turkish-English NMT.
Deep phenotyping of two preclinical mouse models and a cohort of RBM20 mutation carriers reveals no sex-dependent disease severity in RBM20 cardiomyopathy
Authors: Lennermann David C. , Pepin Mark E. , Grosch Markus , Konrad Laura , Kemmling Elena , Hartmann Joshua , Nolte Janica L. , Clauder-Münster Sandra , Kayvanpour Elham , Sedaghat-Hamedani Farbod , Haas Jan , Meder Benjamin , van den Boogaard Malou , Amin Ahmad S. , Dewenter Matthias , Krüger Marcus , Steinmetz Lars M. , Backs Johannes , van den Hoogenhof Maarten M. G.
Published: November 2022

Optimal management of the cardiac disease is increasingly personalized, partly because of differences in outcomes between sexes. RBM20 cardiomyopathy has been described to be more severe in male patients, and this carries the risk that male patients are more scrutinized in the clinic than female patients. Our findings do not support this observation and suggest that treatment should not differ between male and female RBM20 cardiomyopathy patients, but instead should focus on the underlying disease mechanism.
Detrimental effects of transient cerebral ischemia on middle cerebral artery mitochondria in female rats
Authors: Rutkai Ibolya , Merdzo Ivan , Wunnava Sanjay , McNulty Catherine , Chandra Partha K. , Katakam Prasad V. , Busija David W.
Published: November 2022

We propose that differences in mitochondrial characteristics of males and females, including mitochondrial morphology, respiration, and calcium sparks activity contribute to sex differences in protective and repair mechanisms in response to transient ischemia-reperfusion.
Whither digitalis? What we can still learn from cardiotonic steroids about heart failure and hypertension
Authors: Blaustein Mordecai P. , Gottlieb Stephen S. , Hamlyn John M. , Leenen Frans H. H.
Published: November 2022

Cloning of the “Na+ pump” (Na+,K+-ATPase or NKA) and identification of a circulating ligand, endogenous ouabain (EO), a cardiotonic steroid (CTS), triggered seminal discoveries regarding EO and its NKA receptor in cardiovascular function and the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) and hypertension. Cardiotonic digitalis preparations were a preferred treatment for HF for two centuries, but digoxin was only marginally effective in a large clinical trial (1997). This led to diminished digoxin use. Missing from the trial, however, was any consideration that endogenous CTS might influence digitalis’ efficacy. Digoxin, at therapeutic concentrations, acutely inhibits NKA but, remarkably, antagonizes ouabain’s action. Prolonged treatment with ouabain, but not digoxin, causes hypertension in rodents; in this model, digoxin lowers blood pressure (BP). Furthermore, NKA-bound ouabain and digoxin modulate different protein kinase signaling pathways and have disparate long-term cardiovascular effects. Reports of “brain ouabain” led to the elucidation of a new, slow neuromodulatory pathway in the brain; locally generated EO and the α2 NKA isoform help regulate sympathetic drive to the heart and vasculature. The roles of EO and α2 NKA have been studied by EO assay, ouabain-resistant mutation of α2 NKA, and immunoneutralization of EO with ouabain-binding Fab fragments. The NKA α2 CTS binding site and its endogenous ligand are required for BP elevation in many common hypertension models and full expression of cardiac remodeling and dysfunction following pressure overload or myocardial infarction. Understanding how endogenous CTS impact hypertension and HF pathophysiology and therapy should foster reconsideration of digoxin’s therapeutic utility.
Cardiac epigenetic changes in VEGF signaling genes associate with myocardial microvascular rarefaction in experimental chronic kidney disease
Authors: Eirin Alfonso , Chade Alejandro R.
Published: November 2022

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) often leads to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) and heart failure. Using a novel translational swine model of CKD-LVDD, we characterize the cardiac epigenetic landscape, identifying site-specific 5-methylcytosine changes in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-related genes associated with impaired angiogenesis and cardiac microvascular rarefaction. These observations shed light on the mechanisms of cardiac microvascular damage in CKD-LVDD and may assist in developing novel therapies for these patients.
SARS-CoV-2 infection downregulates myocardial ACE2 and potentiates cardiac inflammation in humans and hamsters
Authors: Viveiros Anissa , Noyce Ryan S. , Gheblawi Mahmoud , Colombo Daniele , Bilawchuk Leanne M. , Clemente-Casares Xavier , Marchant David J. , Kassiri Zamaneh , Del Nonno Franca , Evans David H. , Oudit Gavin Y.
Published: November 2022

Cardiac manifestations of COVID-19 in humans are mirrored in the SARS-CoV-2 hamster model, recapitulating myocardial damage, ACE2 downregulation, and a consistent pattern of immune cell infiltration independent of viral dose and variant. Therefore, the hamster model is a valid approach to study therapeutic strategies for COVID-19-related heart disease.
Hypermixed Convolutional Neural Network for Retinal Vein Occlusion Classification
Authors: Zhang Guanghua , Sun Bin , Zhang Zhaoxia , Wu Shiyu , Zhuo Guangping , Rong Huifang , Liu Yunfang , Yang Weihua
Published: November 2022

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is one of the most common retinal vascular diseases leading to vision loss if not diagnosed and treated in time. RVO can be classified into two types: CRVO (blockage of the main retinal veins) and BRVO (blockage of one of the smaller branch veins). Automated diagnosis of RVO can improve clinical workflow and optimize treatment strategies. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are few reported methods for automated identification of different RVO types. In this study, we propose a new hypermixed convolutional neural network (CNN) model, namely, the VGG-CAM network, that can classify the two types of RVOs based on retinal fundus images and detect lesion areas using an unsupervised learning method. The image data used in this study is collected and labeled by three senior ophthalmologists in Shanxi Eye Hospital, China. The proposed network is validated to accurately classify RVO diseases and detect lesions. It can potentially assist in further investigating the association between RVO and brain vascular diseases and evaluating the optimal treatments for RVO.
Orbital Angular Momentum Wave Generation and Multiplexing: Experiments and Analysis Using Classical and Quantum Optics
Authors: Khulbe Manisha , Parthasarathy Harish
Published: November 2022

Optical fiber communication is known as the backbone of communication today for voice, video, and data transmission. Recent advancements in optical technologies are leading us to many new forms of generation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) waves and its transmission technologies. Among them are hypergeometric waveform (HG), Bessel’s waveforms, Laguerre Gaussian waveforms, and other forms of OAMs. This mode of communication is by the twisted form of electromagnetic wave which can accommodate a larger number of channels making communication simpler for wired and wireless communication. In this paper, various methods of OAM waveform generation are presented and are compared in details discussing the various needs in communication. OAM multiplexing is done by spatial division multiplexing (SDM) and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Methods of OAM communication, generation techniques, power analysis, and bit error analysis prove efficient transmission capability of OAM waves using low power consumption and low bit error rate in optical communication networks. OAM from fiber can be directly communicated to atmosphere which is found very useful for short distance wireless communication. Experimental validation is discussed for HG, Bessel’s waveforms, and LG waveforms. Pure Optical Vertices (OV) are generated by VCSELs (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) and transmitted by (MMF) multimode fibers. Various atmospheric effects and challenges are also elaborated in this paper. RSoft OptSim software is used for simulation.
A Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Study on the Performance of Age-Friendly Digital Retrofit Based on User Experience: Take the “Elder Mode” App as an Example
Authors: Ji Hao , Yu Yingying
Published: November 2022

To study the digital needs, activities, and experiences of elderly users, evaluate the performance of age-friendly digital retrofit, and provide a path to bridge the digital divide among elderly users. Based on the user experience perspective, the age-friendly evaluation model of the “elder mode” APP was constructed, the index weights were determined based on the entropy weight method, and WeChat, Alipay, ZOA, and ZARA of the “elder mode” were selected as the research objects. We use questionnaires and in-depth interviews to collect user data and use a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method for empirical evaluation. The overall experience of elderly users on the four APPs is at the upper level of “generally satisfied,” among which the age-friendly level of “visual experience” and “behavioral experience” is high, while the level of “interaction experience” and “value experience” needs to be improved. In particular, attention needs to be paid to the retrofit of the fault-tolerant mechanism, toughness, and error correction of digital products. The paper proposes countermeasures in terms of enhancing the compatibility of interface elements of digital products, optimizing embedded interaction procedures, improving human-computer interaction options, enhancing fault tolerance of operations, and improving age-friendly continuity and thoroughness.