bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dogs and the Good Life: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Association Between the Dog–Owner Relationship and Owner Mental Wellbeing
Authors: Merkouri Aikaterini , Graham Taryn M. , O’Haire Marguerite Elizabeth , Purewal Rebecca , Westgarth Carri
Published: July 2022

Dog ownership is believed to benefit owner wellbeing but, contrary to popular belief, there is limited evidence to suggest that simply owning a dog is associated with improved mental health. This mixed-methods study investigates whether dog owners with stronger relationships with their dogs experience better mental health. Participants (n = 1,693, adult United Kingdom dog owners) completed an online survey. Owners’ health was measured using the validated PROMIS questions regarding depression, anxiety, emotional support, and companionship. The dog–owner relationship was measured using the validated MDORS scale, which has three subscales: interaction, emotional closeness, and perceived costs. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for confounding factors. Additionally, positive and negative impacts of dog ownership on mental wellbeing were coded from open questions using thematic analysis. A stronger dog–owner relationship was associated with greater feelings of emotional support and companionship but poorer mental health in terms of anxiety or depression. However, the perceived costs (burden) subscale was consistently associated with better mental health outcomes. Direction of causality cannot be inferred as people with poor mental health may acquire dogs to help relieve symptoms, which qualitative analysis supported. Key themes included positive impacts on owner wellbeing and happiness through providing purpose, companionship and self-acceptance, pleasure and distraction, as well as lessening emotional pain and suffering and reducing risk behaviors. However, negative impacts of a strong relationship include anticipatory grief over loss of the dog, and concerns regarding the burden of responsibility and ability to meet dog’s needs. Perceived ability to adequately meet dog’s needs promoted personal growth and positive relationships with others, whereas perceived inability led to feelings of guilt, or anger/frustration, and reduced autonomy and sense of environmental mastery. Dog ownership contributes to both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing in multiple ways, including supporting owners through periods of poor mental health and providing purpose. However, the burden of responsibility and owner and dog characteristics can create challenges, and owners may benefit from support in caring for their dogs and reducing problematic behaviors.
English Language Teacher Agency in Response to Curriculum Reform in China: An Ecological Approach
Authors: Wang Lian
Published: July 2022

This study draws on the ecological perspective of teacher agency to examine the manifestation of English teachers' agency toward the ongoing curriculum reform in China and the factors that impact it. This study surveyed 353 high school English teachers and then collected data from three case study participants through in-depth interviews. The findings showed that the majority of teachers surveyed exhibited positive attitudes and beliefs about implementing the reform and inclinations to change, but the teachers also showed a constrained state of agency in practice. Teacher agency developed as the teachers exerted sustained pedagogical change and reflection on reform-based practices. Through the findings, prior experiences and reform-oriented beliefs were found to mediate teachers' agency, and reform-related experiences were more influential than future goals in shaping agency. The factors of perceived school culture that involved teachers' interaction with students, colleague cooperation, and administrative support also medicated teachers' agency in practice. Implications are proposed for policymakers and school leaders to help teachers coordinate inconsistencies between high-stakes examination preparation and holistic education and make positive sense of professional development in the context of educational changes.
Cross-Countries Comparison Toward Digital Currency Acceptance: Integrating UTAUT2 Into ITM
Authors: Lin Xin , Zhang Qiuxiang , Jong Din
Published: July 2022

In the context of digital monetary market integration, the importance of cross-border digital currency research is receiving prominent attention. This study integrated Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and initial trust factors (ITM) into an integrative framework, which synthetically complemented the objective measures and subjective insights of digital currencies. The results indicated the integrated framework, which verified its robustness predicting the acceptance and recommendation intention of digital currency. By analyzing the two different features of digital currencies, this research puts forward a set of targeted solutions to ensure that users of Chinese and Korean digital currencies make a long-term policy for the sustainability, eventually benefitting the cross-border digital monetary transactions and economic cooperation in Asia, which leads the world to the sustainable development in the digital currencies field.
Work-Family Conflict and Unethical Pro-family Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Threat Appraisal and the Moderating Effect of Family Collectivism Orientation
Authors: Li Mozhi , Zhang Lanxia , Zhang Zhuo , Hai Xin
Published: July 2022

Unethical pro-family behavior (UPFB) is prevalent in organizations and has adverse effects on organizations, but very few studies have examined the factors that lead to UPFB. We use a cognitive appraisal theoretical framework to argue that employees’ unethical pro-family (UPFB) behavior results from work and family conflicts (WFC/FWC) are mediated by threat appraisal and moderated family collectivism orientation. Based on the questionnaire data of 496 full-time employees from two-time points, we found that WFC/FWC was positively correlated with UPFB where threat appraisal played a mediating role in this relationship; Family collectivism orientation strengthens the threat appraisal-UPFB relationship and the mediation relationship between WFC/FWC and UPFB via threat appraisal. These findings offer an understanding of the theoretical and practical implications which could help organizations reduce UPFB. Finally, we discuss possible directions for future research.
A bibliometrics analysis and visualization of autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Rong Ping , Fu Qianfang , Zhang Xilian , Liu Hui , Zhao Shuyi , Song Xinxin , Gao Puxing , Ma Rong
Published: July 2022

Background

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increased rapidly in the last 20 years. Although related research has developed rapidly, little is known about its etiology, diagnostic marker, or drug treatment, which forces researchers to review and summarize its development process and look for the future development direction.

Methods

We used bibliometrics to analyze papers of ASD in the Web of Science from 1998 to 2021, to draw the network of authors, institutions, countries, and keywords in the ASD field, and visualize the results.

Results

A total of 40,597 papers were included with a continually increasing trend. It turns out that the research on ASD is mainly concentrated in universities. The United States has the largest number of ASD studies, followed by England and Canada. The quality of papers related to ASD is generally high, which shows that ASD research has become a hot spot of scientific research. The keywords of ASD etiology and diagnostic markers can be classified into at least 7 aspects. The detection of keywords shows that ASD research is mostly based on its subtypes, takes children as the study population, focuses on neurodevelopmental imaging or genetics, and pays attention to individual differences. And ASD research has changed greatly under the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 in the past 2 years.

Conclusion

We consider the future development direction should be based on the improvement of case identification, accurate clinical phenotype, large-scale cohort study, the discovery of ASD etiology and diagnostic markers, drug randomized controlled trials, and telehealth.
P300 Modulation via Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Crossover Study
Authors: Kannen Kyra , Aslan Behrem , Boetzel Cindy , Herrmann Christoph S. , Lux Silke , Rosen Helena , Selaskowski Benjamin , Wiebe Annika , Philipsen Alexandra , Braun Niclas
Published: July 2022

Objective

A repeated finding regarding event-related potentials (ERPs) is that patients with ADHD show a reduced P300 amplitude. This raises the question of whether the attention of ADHD patients can be increased by stabilizing the P300. Assuming that the P300 is generated by event-related oscillations (EROs) in the low frequency range (0–8 Hz), one approach to increase the P300 could be to stimulate the patient’s P300 underlying ERO by means of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). The aim of this follow-up study was to investigate this hypothesized mechanism of action in adult ADHD patients.

Materials and Methods

Undergoing a crossover design, 20 adult ADHD patients (10 female) received an actual stimulation via tACS on one day and a sham stimulation on another day. Before and after each intervention, EEG characteristics (P300 amplitudes, low frequency power) and attention performances (d2 attention test, visual oddball task (VOT)) were recorded.

Results

Electrophysiological analyses revealed no evidence for an enhanced P300 amplitude or low frequency power increase after actual stimulation compared to sham stimulation. Instead, a significant effect was found for a stronger N700 amplitude increase after actual stimulation compared to sham stimulation. Consistent with the P300 null results, none of the examined neuropsychological performance measures indicated a tACS-induced improvement in attentional ability.

Conclusion

Contrary to a previous study using tACS to modulate the P300 in adult ADHD patients, the current study yields no evidence that tACS can increase the P300 amplitude in adult ADHD patients and that such P300 enhancement can directly improve neuropsychological parameters of attention.
The Prevalence of Scoliosis Screening Positive and Its Influencing Factors: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Zhejiang Province, China
Authors: Zou Yan , Lin Yun , Meng Jia , Li Juanjuan , Gu Fang , Zhang Ronghua
Published: July 2022

Objective

Early detection of scoliosis is of great significance to patients with scoliosis and the whole society. This paper aims to learn the prevalence of scoliosis screening positive among students in primary and secondary schools and to explore the influencing factors.

Methods

In 2019, a stratified cluster sampling technique was employed in this school-based cross-sectional study. The sampling covers all prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province. Based on the whole class, at least 80 students in each grade of primary school, junior high school, and senior high school were selected. Physical examination and scoliosis screening were performed in the school-based investigation. The distribution of demographic characteristics and nutritional status of children and adolescents with scoliosis screening positive were explored.

Results

A total of 45,547 students were screened. The overall prevalence of children and adolescents with scoliosis screening positive were 3.9%. Higher prevalence of scoliosis screening positive was found in students living in urban area (4.1%), women students (4.1%), students with low weight (5.3%) (p < 0.05), and the prevalence increased with age (p < 0.05). In logistic analysis, we found age (OR = 1.145; 95% Cis: 1.128, 1.162), gender (OR = 1.118; 95% Cis: 1.016, 1.230) and low weight (OR = 1.48; 95% Cis: 1.25, 1.751) were the influencing factors for prevalence of scoliosis screening positive (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

There were no disparities between living areas, but there was a significant difference between genders, among different ages, and among different nutritional statuses of children and adolescents with or without scoliosis screening positive. In multi-analysis, age, gender, and low weight were the influencing factors for the prevalence of scoliosis screening positive. Age and gender-specific scoliosis screening strategies and nutritional public health policies for children and adolescents are needed.
Chronic diseases and emotional disorders are associated with low perception of quality of life in food insecurity/security
Authors: Pequeno Nila Patrícia Freire , Cabral Natália Louise de Araújo , Oliveira Ângelo Giuseppe Roncalli Costa , Crispim Sandra Patrícia , Rocha Cecília , Marchioni Dirce Maria , Lima Severina Carla Vieira Cunha , Lyra Clélia de Oliveira
Published: July 2022

Understanding individual perception of Quality of Life (QoL) can help combat social and health inequalities. We aimed to identify factors associated with Low Perceived Quality of Life (LPQoL) in 295 adults and older adults with food security and food insecurity, in the city of Natal, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2019, with collection of data on socioeconomic demographic status, lifestyle information, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and risk factors, emotional disorders, food (in) security and quality of life. To assess food insecurity, the Brazilian Scale of Food Insecurity—EBIA was used, and the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire was used to assess quality of life. Poisson's Regression was used to verify associations between variables and LPQoL, stratifying the sample into food secure (FS) and food insecure (FI) groups. In the FI group, being overweight, older adult, having no partner, drinking alcoholic beverages twice a week or more, and not having daily availability of water were associated with LPQoL, and in the FS group, having diabetes, monthly family income in the 1st and 2nd tertiles, and never having studied was associated with LPQoL. Reporting emotional disorders and sleeping < 7 h/day were associated with LPQoL in both FI and FS groups. LPQoL was associated with the occurrence of NCDs and risk factors, and emotional disorders, regardless of the food security measure. However, the lack of adequate access to water highlights the social vulnerability of the FI group.
Reinfection of Nine-Valent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Types Among HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Liu Lirong , Zhang Guozhen , Zhang Zewen , Wang Lu , Wang Duolao , Dai Jianghong
Published: July 2022

Objectives

Reinfection of human papillomavirus (HPV) among men who have sex with men (MSM) after clearing the infection of HPV has not been well characterized. To understand the reinfection of HPV among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative MSM without HPV vaccine, we analyzed the reinfection of nine-valent HPV vaccine (9v-HPV) types.

Methods

Data were acquired from a prospective cohort study among HIV-negative MSM in Urumqi of Xinjiang from 1 April 2016 to 14 July 2020. Participants were recruited through a local non-government organization using a website advertisement. Self-administered questionnaires and self-collected anal swabs were collected at baseline and every 6 months. The incidence rates of reinfection was calculated based on the number of events divided by person-months of observation of event risk. 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated based on the Poisson distribution.

Results

A total of 515 HIV-negative unvaccinated MSM were included with a mean age of 30.93 years (SD 7.85), and 27.68% were reinfected with any 9v-HPV type after clearance. The reinfection incidence rate of any 9v-HPV was 14.47 per 1000 person-months (95% CI: 11.52–17.87). HPV52 was the most common type of reinfection, with a reinfection rate of 17.96 per 1,000 person months (95% CI: 11.58–26.33). Univariate analysis showed that MSM over the age of 30 had a slightly higher risk of reinfection with any 9v-HPV (Hazard ratio (HR): 1.57; 95% CI: 1.01–2.45), but no significant association was observed in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Our study showed MSM without HPV vaccine will become reinfected following the natural clearance of specific HPV types. It is also suggested that HPV vaccination is recommended not only prior to sexual debut but also after viral clearance for MSM to reduce HPV prevalence.
IP-10 Interferes With the Antiviral Response of Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents for Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Authors: Wang Yadong , Hu Yangyang , Zhang Xing , Luo Yue , Ma Luyuan , Lu Jingjing , Liang Qianfei , Xu Chengjun , Zhao Caiyan , Pan Calvin Q.
Published: July 2022

Background

Increased interferon (IFN)-gamma inducible protein-10 (IP-10) level has been shown to be associated with sustained virologic responses (SVRs) to pegylated interferon-alpha 2a/ribavirin-based therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We investigated the relationship between IP-10 and treatment response in patients with CHC treated with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) therapy.

Methods

We measured the dynamic changes of IP-10 in samples from 90 patients with CHC. The serum IP-10 levels, intrahepatic expressions of IP-10 mRNA, and protein were determined, respectively. For the in vitro experiments, the expression changes of IP-10 in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-replicating Huh-7 cells with or without non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitor were analyzed using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting.

Results

Patients with chronic hepatitis C had increased baseline IP-10 levels, intrahepatic IP-10 mRNA, and protein expression. After initiating DAAs therapy, serum IP-10 levels decreased gradually in patients who achieved cure, whereas in patients who failed the therapy, IP-10 levels did not change significantly or recovered from the initial decline. Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that baseline IP-10 level ≤ 450 pg/ml and decline >30% at 12 weeks independently predicted the SVR in patients with CHC who received DAAs. In vitro, the expression of IP-10 mRNA and protein in HCV-replicating Huh-7 cells increased significantly. However, such activities were downregulated by NS5A inhibitor, followed by the reduction of HCV RNA levels and a decline in IP-10 levels.

Conclusion

IP-10 interfered with HCV replication in hepatocytes and the dynamic decline in IP-10 levels during DAA treatment predicted the SVR in patients with CHC.
Successful Use of a 5G-Based Robot-Assisted Remote Ultrasound System in a Care Center for Disabled Patients in Rural China
Authors: Chai Hui-hui , Ye Rui-zhong , Xiong Lin-fei , Xu Zi-ning , Chen Xuan , Xu Li-juan , Hu Xin , Jiang Lian-feng , Peng Cheng-zhong
Published: July 2022

Background

Disability has become a global population health challenge. Due to difficulties in self-care or independent living, patients with disability mainly live in community-based care centers or institutions for long-term care. Nonetheless, these settings often lack basic medical resources, such as ultrasonography. Thus, remote ultrasonic robot technology for clinical applications across wide regions is imperative. To date, few experiences of remote diagnostic systems in rural care centers have been reported.

Objective

To assess the feasibility of a fifth-generation cellular technology (5G)-based robot-assisted remote ultrasound system in a care center for disabled patients in rural China.

Methods

Patients underwent remote robot-assisted and bedside ultrasound examinations of the liver, gallbladder, spleen, and kidneys. We compared the diagnostic consistency and differences between the two modalities and evaluated the examination duration, image quality, and safety.

Results

Forty-nine patients were included (21 men; mean age: 61.0 ± 19.0 [range: 19–91] years). Thirty-nine and ten had positive and negative results, respectively; 67 lesions were detected. Comparing the methods, 41 and 8 patients had consistent and inconsistent diagnoses, respectively. The McNemar and kappa values were 0.727 and 0.601, respectively. The mean duration of remote and bedside examinations was 12.2 ± 4.5 (range: 5–26) min and 7.5 ± 1.8 (range: 5–13) min (p < 0.001), respectively. The median image score for original images on the patient side and transmitted images on the doctor side was 5 points (interquartile range: [IQR]: 4.7–5.0) and 4.7 points (IQR: 4.5–5.0) (p = 0.176), respectively. No obvious complications from the examination were reported.

Conclusions

A 5G-based robot-assisted remote ultrasound system is feasible and has comparable diagnostic efficiency to traditional bedside ultrasound. This system may provide a unique solution for basic ultrasound diagnostic services in primary healthcare settings.
The Association Between Diabetic Retinopathy and the Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration—The Kailuan Eye Study
Authors: Yongpeng Zhang , Yaxing Wang , Jinqiong Zhou , Qian Wang , Yanni Yan , Xuan Yang , Jingyan Yang , Wenjia Zhou , Ping Wang , Chang Shen , Ming Yang , Yanan Luan , Jinyuan Wang , Shouling Wu , Shuohua Chen , Haiwei Wang , Lijian Fang , Qianqian Wan , Jingyuan Zhu , Zihan Nie , Yuning Chen , Ying Xie , Jonas Jost B. , Wenbin Wei
Published: July 2022

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) and analyze whether DR is a risk factor for AMD. This population-based epidemiological study included 14,440 people from the Kailuan Eye Study in 2016, of whom 1,618 were patients with type 2 DM aged over 50 years, and 409 had DM with DR. We analyzed whether there were differences in the prevalence of AMD between DM with DR and DM without DR, and conducted a hierarchical statistical analysis according to different stages of DR. Using variable regression analysis, we explored whether DR constituted a risk factor for AMD. In the DM population, the prevalence of wet AMD in patients with DM with and without DR was 0. 3 and 0.2%, respectively, with no significant difference (P = 0.607). Meanwhile, the prevalence of dry AMD in patients with DM with and without DR was 20.8 and 16.0%, respectively, with a significant difference. In the subgroup analysis of dry AMD, the prevalence of early, middle, and late dry AMD in DM with DR was 14.4, 5.9, and 0.5%, respectively. In DM without DR, the prevalence of early, middle, and late dry AMD was 10.5, 4.8, and 0.7%, respectively (P = 0.031). In the subgroup analysis of DR staging, statistical analysis could not be performed because of the limited number of patients with PDR. In the variable regression analysis of risk factors for dry AMD, after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, DR constituted the risk factor for dry AMD. In conclusion, DM did not constitute a risk factor for AMD, and the prevalence of wet AMD and dry AMD in patients with DM and DR was higher than that in patients with DM without DR (among which dry AMD was statistically significant). Multivariate regression analysis confirmed that DR is an independent risk factor for dry AMD. Reasonable control of DM and slowing down the occurrence and development of DR may effectively reduce the prevalence of AMD in patients with DM.
Human-computer interactive physical education teaching method based on speech recognition engine technology
Authors: Sang Yunpeng , Chen Xingquan
Published: July 2022

With the advent of the era of artificial intelligence, speech recognition engine technology has a profound impact on social production, life, education, and other fields. Voice interaction is the most basic and practical type of human-computer interaction. To build an intelligent and automatic physical education teaching mode, this paper combines human-computer interaction based on speech recognition technology with physical education teaching. Students input through voice signals, and the system receives signals, analyzes signals, recognizes signals, and feeds back information to students in multiple forms. For the system to process the external speech signal, this paper uses the Mel cepstral coefficient algorithm to extract the speech information. By comparing the speech recognition rate and antinoise rate of Hidden Markov Model, Probabilistic Statistics Neural Network, and Hybrid Model (Hidden Markov and Rate Statistical Neural Network combination), the speech recognition engine uses the hybrid model, and its speech recognition rate is 98.3%, and the average antinoise rate can reach 85%. By comparing the human-computer interaction physical education teaching method with the traditional teaching method, the human-computer interaction method is superior to the traditional teaching method in the acquisition of physical knowledge, the acquisition of physical skills, the satisfaction of physical education courses and the ability of active learning. It effectively solves the drawbacks of traditional physical education and rationally uses human-computer interaction technology. On the basis of not violating physical education, realize the diversification of physical education, improve the quality of teaching, improve students' individual development and students' autonomous learning ability. Therefore, the combination of human-computer interaction and physical education based on recognition engine technology is the trend of today's physical education development.
Argument mining as rapid screening tool of COVID-19 literature quality: Preliminary evidence
Authors: Brambilla Gianfranco , Rosi Antonella , Antici Francesco , Galassi Andrea , Giansanti Daniele , Magurano Fabio , Ruggeri Federico , Torroni Paolo , Cisbani Evaristo , Lippi Marco
Published: July 2022

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the scientific community to share timely evidence, also in the form of pre-printed papers, not peer reviewed yet.

Purpose

To develop an artificial intelligence system for the analysis of the scientific literature by leveraging on recent developments in the field of Argument Mining.

Methodology

Scientific quality criteria were borrowed from two selected Cochrane systematic reviews. Four independent reviewers gave a blind evaluation on a 1–5 scale to 40 papers for each review. These scores were matched with the automatic analysis performed by an AM system named MARGOT, which detected claims and supporting evidence for the cited papers. Outcomes were evaluated with inter-rater indices (Cohen's Kappa, Krippendorff's Alpha, s* statistics).

Results

MARGOT performs differently on the two selected Cochrane reviews: the inter-rater indices show a fair-to-moderate agreement of the most relevant MARGOT metrics both with Cochrane and the skilled interval scores, with larger values for one of the two reviews.

Discussion and conclusions

The noted discrepancy could rely on a limitation of the MARGOT system that can be improved; yet, the level of agreement between human reviewers also suggests a different complexity between the two reviews in debating controversial arguments. These preliminary results encourage to expand and deepen the investigation to other topics and a larger number of highly specialized reviewers, to reduce uncertainty in the evaluation process, thus supporting the retraining of AM systems.
Did States With More Social Capital Pre-pandemic Offer Mental Health Protection During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Cross-Sectional View
Authors: Dauner Kim Nichols , Wilmot Neil A.
Published: July 2022

Background

Social capital is a well-known health determinant with both relational and geographic aspects. It can help mitigate adverse events and has been shown to impact behaviors and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and social capital, may serve to buffer those declines.

Methods

Building from this, we assessed whether pre-pandemic social capital and contemporaneous social policy, which included indicators of social trust, civic participation, and presence of mask mandates, affected pandemic mental health, measured as the percent of the population experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety at the state level.

Results

Generalized social trust and state mask mandates were significantly associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety. Conversely, states with greater civic engagement prior to the pandemic experienced more anxiety and depression.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that existing social capital, particularly social trust, may protect against anxiety and depression and contribute to community resilience during times of adversity. States should invest in policies and programs that increase social trust.
A Modular Vision Language Navigation and Manipulation Framework for Long Horizon Compositional Tasks in Indoor Environment
Authors: Saha Homagni , Fotouhi Fateme , Liu Qisai , Sarkar Soumik
Published: July 2022

In this paper we propose a new framework—MoViLan (Modular Vision and Language) for execution of visually grounded natural language instructions for day to day indoor household tasks. While several data-driven, end-to-end learning frameworks have been proposed for targeted navigation tasks based on the vision and language modalities, performance on recent benchmark data sets revealed the gap in developing comprehensive techniques for long horizon, compositional tasks (involving manipulation and navigation) with diverse object categories, realistic instructions and visual scenarios with non reversible state changes. We propose a modular approach to deal with the combined navigation and object interaction problem without the need for strictly aligned vision and language training data (e.g., in the form of expert demonstrated trajectories). Such an approach is a significant departure from the traditional end-to-end techniques in this space and allows for a more tractable training process with separate vision and language data sets. Specifically, we propose a novel geometry-aware mapping technique for cluttered indoor environments, and a language understanding model generalized for household instruction following. We demonstrate a significant increase in success rates for long horizon, compositional tasks over recent works on the recently released benchmark data set -ALFRED.
Xenophobia in urban spaces: Analyzing the drivers and social justice goals from the Ugandan-Asian debacle of 1972 and xenophobic attacks in South Africa (2008-2019)
Authors: Sempijja Norman , Mongale Collin Olebogeng
Published: July 2022

Xenophobic attacks have long been prevalent in post-independence Africa, as shown by the expulsion of Ugandans of Asian origin from Uganda in 1972. Post-apartheid South Africa has experienced continuous xenophobic attacks on Africans since 2008. In both cases the attacks were not framed as xenophobic by the state. Instead, they were framed within a socio-economic context, where the targeted groups were criminalized and securitised by the general population. The goal of this qualitative study is to analyse the drivers and social justice goals of xenophobia in urban spaces. This is done by looking into case studies of the 1972 Ugandan-Asian expulsion in Uganda, and the xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa (2008–2019). The case studies provide key debates surrounding the drivers and social justice goals of xenophobic attacks in both Uganda and South Africa. The paper thus examines the relative deprivation in both countries, which assists in explaining the onset of the xenophobic attacks. Findings are that although the Ugandan-Asian debacle and xenophobic attacks in South Africa were triggered by drivers such as income inequality, inter-group hatred, racism, poverty, unemployment and competition for resources, the quest for social justice emanating from historical socio-economic grievances was deeply entrenched in both cases. Yet the paper further argues that rather than addressing social injustice, xenophobia perpetuates it by creating new victims and shielding the governments from the spotlight on their failings especially in addressing poverty, inequality, and overall access to economic opportunities to mention but a few. The paper recommends a need for political will to tackle xenophobia and the socio-economic challenges and a need for community dialogue and inter-community linkages crucial when dealing with grievances.
Correction of inter-mission inconsistencies in merged ocean colour satellite data
Authors: van Oostende Marit , Hieronymi Martin , Krasemann Hajo , Baschek Burkard , Röttgers Rüdiger
Published: July 2022

Consistency in a time series of ocean colour satellite data is essential when determining long-term trends and statistics in Essential Climate Variables. For such a long time series, it is necessary to merge ocean colour data sets from different sensors due to the finite life span of the satellites. Although bias corrections have been performed on merged data set products, significant inconsistencies between missions remain. These inconsistencies appear as sudden steps in the time series of these products when a satellite mission is launched into- or removed from orbit. This inter-mission inconsistency is not caused by poor correction of sensor sensitivities but by differences in the ability of a sensor to observe certain waters. This study, based on a data set compiled by the ‘Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative’ project (OC-CCI), shows that coastal waters, high latitudes, and areas subject to changing cloud cover are most affected by coverage variability between missions. The “Temporal Gap Detection Method” is introduced, which temporally homogenises the observations per-pixel of the time series and consequently minimises the magnitude of the inter-mission inconsistencies. The method presented is suitable to be transferred to other merged satellite-derived data sets that exhibit inconsistencies due to changes in coverage over time. The results provide insights into the correct interpretation of any merged ocean colour time series.
Simultaneous Retrieval of Trace Gases, Aerosols, and Cirrus Using RemoTAP—The Global Orbit Ensemble Study for the CO2M Mission
Authors: Lu Sha , Landgraf Jochen , Fu Guangliang , van Diedenhoven Bastiaan , Wu Lianghai , Rusli Stephanie P. , Hasekamp Otto P.
Published: July 2022

In support of the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring (CO2M) mission, this study evaluates the performance of the Remote sensing of Trace gas and Aerosol Product (RemoTAP) algorithm based on synthetic orbit measurements of realistic atmospheric and geophysical scenes over land. To make use of the added value of the multi-angle polarimeter (MAP) aboard the CO2M mission, the RemoTAP algorithm is developed to perform simultaneous retrieval of trace gas and aerosol properties from both MAP and CO2 imager (CO2I) measurements. At the same time, it has the capability to perform the retrieval of trace gas from only CO2I measurements. To set up the baseline tests, we apply a simple filter based on non-scattering retrievals in different CO2I bands which is able to filter out 80% of the cirrus-contaminated pixels, and after posterior filtering based on goodness of fit, 95% of the cirrus-contaminated cases are screened out. The MAP-CO2I retrieval method is able to reduce the aerosol-induced retrieval error in column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of CO2 (XCO2) in terms of RMSE and bias by more than a factor of 2, compared to CO2I-only retrievals on the filtered pixels. A strong correlation between XCO2 error and surface albedo in CO2I-only retrievals is significantly reduced for MAP-CO2I retrievals. Moreover, XCO2 biases in CO2I-only retrievals exhibit a significant spatiotemporal variability caused by a strong dependence on aerosol load. The biases can be up to 2 ppm over some regions, which are much larger than for the global case. It shows that only by the inclusion of MAP measurements, the large aerosol-induced biases can be mitigated, resulting in the retrievals that meet the mission requirement (precision <0.7 ppm and bias <0.5 ppm). The error estimates for XCO2 retrievals cover the uncertainties related to the instrument, aerosol, and cirrus, although other error sources, for example, in temperature and pressure profiles, may increase the overall error somewhat. The impact of cirrus on the retrieval, which can be significant, is also investigated. When not accounted for in the retrieval, the presence of a thin layer of cirrus with an optical thickness at 550 nm smaller than 0.3 can increase XCO2 errors by a factor of about 3 for MAP-CO2I retrievals, leading to an RMSE of 2.3 ppm for cirrus-contaminated scenes. When fitting cirrus properties, this can be reduced to 1.27 ppm for cirrus-contaminated cases. For CO2 retrievals using the proxy method, in a highly idealized situation where it is assumed that a perfect CH4 prior is available, an RMSE of 0.93 ppm and a bias of 0.3 ppm are achieved. These retrievals are hardly influenced by cirrus but depend linearly on the accuracy of the CH4 prior.
The integration of extended reality for student-developed games to support cross-curricular learning
Authors: MacCallum Kathryn
Published: July 2022

While eXtended Reality (XR) ha s been shown to provide rich promise, its adoption within the educational context for student created games is still limited. Recent advances in XR technology, especially in mobile XR tools, have made XR more accessible. These advances have also enabled the development of student-created XR experiences that provide opportunities for integrating learning with technology skills development. Through the integration of critical digital skills across the curriculum, students can demonstrate a range of learning outcomes across many different learning areas. In this study, we explore how the affordances of XR can be leveraged to enable new learning opportunities, specifically in enabling students to design their own XR learning experiences. We also explore how the added context of XR games provides additional benefits to engage and motivate learners. In this article, we identify and explore twelve affordances framed in the notions of engagement, authenticity and contextualisation. These affordances have been identified in the literature to highlight the benefits of XR and were explored in terms of how the added context of student-created games leveraged these affordances. Drawing on a wider research project, we identify three scenarios that were adopted by three teachers (Mathematics, Science and Language teacher) to teach a range of subjects that drew on XR student-created games. From this analysis, we conclude with six proposed design principles that could be adopted by other teachers to help guide them in applying a similar approach in their teaching.
The efficacy and safety of paravertebral block for postoperative analgesia in renal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Zhao You , Kan Yanan , Huang Xin , Wu Ming , Luo Weiping , Nie Jun
Published: July 2022

Background

Paravertebral block (PVB) has been widely used in postoperative analgesia, especially in thoracic and breast surgery. However, the efficacy and safety of PVB for analgesia after renal surgery remains uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the postoperative analgesic efficacy and safety of PVB in renal surgery.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched up to December 20, 2021. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the postoperative analgesic efficacy of PVB in renal surgery were collected. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata/MP 14.0 software.

Results

A total of 16 RCTs involving 907 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Ten studies investigated patients under percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), and six studies were done for patients under other renal surgery (nephrectomy or pyeloplasty). Compared with control groups (no block, sham block, or other nerve blocks), meta-analysis showed that PVB reduced 24-hour postoperative opioid consumption significantly (SMD = −0.99, 95%CI: −1.60–0.38, p = 0.001, I2 = 92%) and reduced pain scores at various time points within 24 h at rest and 1 h, 4 h, and 24 h at movement after renal surgery, furthermore, PVB prolonged the time to first postoperative analgesic requirement (SMD = 2.16, 95%CI: 0.94–3.39, p = 0.005, I2 = 96%) and reduced the incidence of postoperative additional analgesia (OR = 0.14, 95%CI: 0.06∼0.33, p < 0.00001, I2 = 50%). Subgroup analysis revealed that the postoperative analgesia effect of PVB was more significant in PCNL, and the use of bupivacaine for PVB seemed to have a better performance. Besides, there was no difference in the incidence of postoperative nausea, vomiting, and itching between PVB and control groups.

Conclusion

This study indicates that PVB may provide effective postoperative analgesia in patients under renal surgery, especially PCNL patients. Moreover, PVB is a safe analgesic method without significant analgesia-related complications.
Gender profile of principal investigators in a large academic clinical trials group
Authors: Luong Vi Thi Thao , Ho Cindy , Aedo-Lopez Veronica , Segelov Eva
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Gender equity in medicine has become a significant topic of discussion due to consistently low female representation in academia and leadership roles. Gender imbalance directly affects patient care. This study examined the gender and craft group of the Principal Investigators (PI) of clinical trials run by the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG)

Methods

Publicly available data was obtained from the AGITG website. Trials were divided into upper, lower gastrointestinal cancer, miscellaneous (neuroendocrine and gastrointestinal stromal tumours). Where multiple PIs were listed, all were counted. Craft group was assigned as surgical, medical, radiation oncology or other.

Results

There were 69 trials with 89 PI, where 52 trials were represented exclusively by male PIs. Of all PIs, 18 were women (20.2%); all were medical oncologists. Prior to 2005, all PIs were male. The craft group distribution of PIs was: 79% medical oncologists, 12% surgical oncologists, 8% radiation oncologist, 1% nuclear medicine physicians. Regarding trials with multiple PI's, there were 19 in total. Of these, 11 had only male PIs, which included 5 surgeons. Females were more likely to be a co-PI (42%) as opposed to sole PI (18%). There was no gender policy publicly available on the AGITG website.

Conclusions

There is a low percentage of female PIs in academic oncology trials in the portfolio of this large international trials group. No trial was led by a female surgical or radiation oncologist. There is a need to understand the reasons driving the disparity so that specific strategies can be put in place.
Leveraging Systems Immunology to Optimize Diagnosis and Treatment of Inborn Errors of Immunity
Authors: Mauracher Andrea A. , Henrickson Sarah E.
Published: July 2022

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are monogenic disorders that can cause diverse symptoms, including recurrent infections, autoimmunity and malignancy. While many factors have contributed, the increased availability of next-generation sequencing has been central in the remarkable increase in identification of novel monogenic IEI over the past years. Throughout this phase of disease discovery, it has also become evident that a given gene variant does not always yield a consistent phenotype, while variants in seemingly disparate genes can lead to similar clinical presentations. Thus, it is increasingly clear that the clinical phenotype of an IEI patient is not defined by genetics alone, but is also impacted by a myriad of factors. Accordingly, we need methods to amplify our current diagnostic algorithms to better understand mechanisms underlying the variability in our patients and to optimize treatment. In this review, we will explore how systems immunology can contribute to optimizing both diagnosis and treatment of IEI patients by focusing on identifying and quantifying key dysregulated pathways. To improve mechanistic understanding in IEI we must deeply evaluate our rare IEI patients using multimodal strategies, allowing both the quantification of altered immune cell subsets and their functional evaluation. By studying representative controls and patients, we can identify causative pathways underlying immune cell dysfunction and move towards functional diagnosis. Attaining this deeper understanding of IEI will require a stepwise strategy. First, we need to broadly apply these methods to IEI patients to identify patterns of dysfunction. Next, using multimodal data analysis, we can identify key dysregulated pathways. Then, we must develop a core group of simple, effective functional tests that target those pathways to increase efficiency of initial diagnostic investigations, provide evidence for therapeutic selection and contribute to the mechanistic evaluation of genetic results. This core group of simple, effective functional tests, targeting key pathways, can then be equitably provided to our rare patients. Systems biology is thus poised to reframe IEI diagnosis and therapy, fostering research today that will provide streamlined diagnosis and treatment choices for our rare and complex patients in the future, as well as providing a better understanding of basic immunology.
Isolation and immortalization of macrophages derived from fetal porcine small intestine and their susceptibility to porcine viral pathogen infections
Authors: Takenouchi Takato , Masujin Kentaro , Miyazaki Ayako , Suzuki Shunichi , Takagi Michihiro , Kokuho Takehiro , Uenishi Hirohide
Published: July 2022

Macrophages are a heterogeneous population of cells that are present in all vertebrate tissues. They play a key role in the innate immune system, and thus, in vitro cultures of macrophages provide a valuable model for exploring their tissue-specific functions and interactions with pathogens. Porcine macrophage cultures are often used for the identification and characterization of porcine viral pathogens. Recently, we have developed a simple and efficient method for isolating primary macrophages from the kidneys and livers of swine. Here, we applied this protocol to fetal porcine intestinal tissues and demonstrated that porcine intestinal macrophages (PIM) can be isolated from mixed primary cultures of porcine small intestine-derived cells. Since the proliferative capacity of primary PIM is limited, we attempted to immortalize them by transferring the SV40 large T antigen and porcine telomerase reverse transcriptase genes using lentiviral vectors. Consequently, immortalized PIM (IPIM) were successfully generated and confirmed to retain various features of primary PIM. We further revealed that IPIM are susceptible to infection by the African swine fever virus and the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and support their replication. These findings suggest that the IPIM cell line is a useful tool for developing in vitro models that mimic the intestinal mucosal microenvironments of swine, and for studying the interactions between porcine pathogens and host immune cells.