bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distance Learning and the Question of Educational Justice: A Dialogic Approach to Digital Diversity in Schools
Authors: Redecker Anke
Published: September 2023

This chapter introduces a theory of postdigital recognition that highlights the vulnerable, empowered, critical, and resistant learner in transformative education via co-creative learning settings. It problematizes digital learning in online scenarios fostered by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly drill-and-practice routines, and shows how, while e-portfolios can overcome the schematized self-guidance demanded by drill-and-practice scenarios, they can also exercise a more harmful form of control as a result of postdigital practices that norm creativity. This can be particularly harmful to disadvantaged students. Similarly, while video conferences provide a digital space in which processes of transformative education can be inspired, these are also prone to the postdigital pressures of control and contingency. The theory of postdigital recognition proposed by the author empowers students to interact with digitality in a meaningful and responsible manner.
Expanding the Pedagogical Space: Co-design and Participation in an Online Postgraduate Course
Authors: Fawns Tim , Aitken Gill , Maheswaran Yathu , Yasotharan Kanastana
Published: September 2023

Here, teachers and students of an online, postgraduate course, “Current Issues in Clinical Education” (part of the MSc Clinical Education at the University of Edinburgh), consider co-participation from a postdigital view in which learning is neither fully online nor offline, but spills into and out of formal, digital and physical spaces. The course begins empty, other than a task structure and some resources. This leaves “pedagogical space” for content to emerge through dialogue, and ideas from students’ practice settings. The teacher undertakes the assignment alongside the students, and boundaries are eroded without dissolving. In reflecting on our different experiences of the course, we foreground some power relations and political economics of contemporary, online postgraduate education, and the implications for meaningful participation, co-design, and co-creation.
Let’s Figure It Out: Participatory Methods for Reflecting on Educational Media in a Postdigital World
Authors: Weich Andreas , Schiering Ina , Friedewald Michael , Deny Philipp , Priedigkeit Marvin
Published: September 2023

The “postdigital condition” is characterized by an entanglement of digital and analogue media technologies and practices, with two of today’s primary societal challenges being a loss of privacy in data-driven media practices and the implicit power relations within media constellations that determine who is able to participate how. Education plays a crucial role in this context, being both the sphere in which reflection on these challenges can take place and also being itself based on digital media constellations that must in turn be reflected upon. This chapter considers two workshop concepts that facilitate such reflection: one based on Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA), based on risk management and the tradition of technology impact assessments, and an original approach for reflection on media constellations that has its roots in media and practice theory.
From Official Document Utopias to a Collective Utopian Imagination
Authors: Teräs Marko , Teräs Hanna , Suoranta Juha
Published: September 2023

In their chapter, Teräs, Teräs, and Suoranta critique the current dominant narrative of the digitalization of higher education. They argue that reports and vision papers by powerful international and national organizations such as the OECD not only predict but also build a certain kind of digital future. They call these reports “official document utopias,” and reflect on their discursive truth with past utopian literature. The authors argue that we should use collective utopian methods to imagine genuinely alternative “postdigital” futures, and to this end, they introduce the Method of Empathy-Based Stories. While discussing its history, they also reflect on its potential and limitations through a study with Finnish teacher students, imagining the digitalization of higher education in 2050.
Software Description of the AR Mobile Application
Authors: Ivanov Vitalii , Pavlenko Ivan , Evtuhov Artem , Trojanowska Justyna
Published: September 2023

Before using Augmented Reality (AR) and its application in engineering graphics, the answer to the primary question should be received: “What is the need for augmented reality in technical drawing?”. The following reasons should be considered to answer this question precisely.
Advances of autoimmune rheumatic diseases related to malignant tumors
Authors: Zhao Miaomiao , Mi Liangyu , Ji Yuli , He Xiaoyao , Gao Yanan , Hu Yuting , Xu Ke
Published: September 2023

Background

Malignant neoplasms are a well-recognized global public health concern, with significant impacts on human health and quality of life. The interplay between tumors and autoimmune rheumatic diseases is complex, and the resulting tumor-associated rheumatic diseases represent a rare and intricate group of conditions that occur in the context of malignant tumors. In addition, various rheumatic diseases can arise as a consequence of oncology treatment. These diseases present with intricate clinical manifestations and pathological features, often rendering them challenging to diagnose and impacting patients' quality of life. Despite this, they have yet to be fully recognized.

Methods

This article presents a literature review of published original articles and review articles concerning paraneoplastic rheumatic syndromes and rheumatic diseases associated with cancer treatment. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, excluding duplicated and irrelevant studies. In cases of duplicated research, we selected articles with higher impact factors for the review.

Results

This review focuses on the clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of paraneoplastic rheumatic diseases, as well as the pathogenesis of these diseases. Additionally, we summarize the autoimmune rheumatic diseases associated with cancer treatment. Ultimately, the goal of this review is to enhance recognition and improve the management of autoimmune rheumatic diseases related to tumors.
Strategic discrimination and the emergence of systematic exclusion
Authors: Arvate Paulo , Lenz Lisa , Mittlaender Sergio
Published: September 2023

This paper studies how individuals consider other individuals’ preferences when selecting whom to include in a group or network in the absence of any personal taste or statistical reason associated with the inclusion of a particular applicant. This type of decision emerges, for instance, when unprejudiced white landlords discriminate against black applicants because of the prejudice of existing white tenants, or when employers hire an employee-referred candidate instead of an outsider who is disfavored by current employees. We investigate the potential causes as to why selectors consider the group composition preferences of other group members. First, selectors have altruistic feelings toward them and select their preferred candidates. Second, selectors anticipate that their cooperativeness depends on who will be included and so strategically select candidates who are preferred by current group members. We investigate the reasons for this type of discrimination in an experiment in which we allow for endogenous group formation and show that discriminatory behavior in embedded contexts emerges even when selectors have no taste for any candidate nor any reason to discriminate statistically, but still discriminate in favor of a current group member’s preferred candidate both for altruistic and strategic reasons. We thereby identify a new major source for discrimination and for the perpetuation of systematic exclusion of outsiders disfavored by insiders, even when the latter do not participate in the decision of whom to include. We discuss the implications for policies aimed at overcoming strategic discrimination in hiring decisions, employee referral programs, quotas, and bonus payments.
Peptide collision cross sections of 22 post-translational modifications
Authors: Will Andreas , Oliinyk Denys , Bleiholder Christian , Meier Florian
Published: September 2023

Recent advances have rekindled the interest in ion mobility as an additional dimension of separation in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. Ion mobility separates ions according to their size and shape in the gas phase. Here, we set out to investigate the effect of 22 different post-translational modifications (PTMs) on the collision cross section (CCS) of peptides. In total, we analyzed ~4300 pairs of matching modified and unmodified peptide ion species by trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS). Linear alignment based on spike-in reference peptides resulted in highly reproducible CCS values with a median coefficient of variation of 0.26%. On a global level, we observed a redistribution in the m/z vs. ion mobility space for modified peptides upon changes in their charge state. Pairwise comparison between modified and unmodified peptides of the same charge state revealed median shifts in CCS between −1.4% (arginine citrullination) and +4.5% (O-GlcNAcylation). In general, increasing modified peptide masses were correlated with higher CCS values, in particular within homologous PTM series. However, investigating the ion populations in more detail, we found that the change in CCS can vary substantially for a given PTM and is partially correlated with the gas phase structure of its unmodified counterpart. In conclusion, our study shows PTM- and sequence-specific effects on the cross section of peptides, which could be further leveraged for proteome-wide PTM analysis.

Graphical Abstract
Fixation probability in evolutionary dynamics on switching temporal networks
Authors: Bhaumik Jnanajyoti , Masuda Naoki
Published: September 2023

Population structure has been known to substantially affect evolutionary dynamics. Networks that promote the spreading of fitter mutants are called amplifiers of selection, and those that suppress the spreading of fitter mutants are called suppressors of selection. Research in the past two decades has found various families of amplifiers while suppressors still remain somewhat elusive. It has also been discovered that most networks are amplifiers of selection under the birth-death updating combined with uniform initialization, which is a standard condition assumed widely in the literature. In the present study, we extend the birth-death processes to temporal (i.e., time-varying) networks. For the sake of tractability, we restrict ourselves to switching temporal networks, in which the network structure deterministically alternates between two static networks at constant time intervals or stochastically in a Markovian manner. We show that, in a majority of cases, switching networks are less amplifying than both of the two static networks constituting the switching networks. Furthermore, most small switching networks, i.e., networks on six nodes or less, are suppressors, which contrasts to the case of static networks.
IQ changes after pediatric epilepsy surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Schmidlechner Tristan , Zaddach Malin , Heinen Florian , Cornell Sonia , Ramantani Georgia , Rémi Jan , Vollmar Christian , Kunz Mathias , Borggraefe Ingo
Published: September 2023

Objective

This systematic review aimed to assess the intellectual outcome of children who underwent surgery for epilepsy.

Methods

A systematic review of electronic databases was conducted on December 3, 2021, for PubMed and January 11, 2022, for Web of Science. The review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. The included studies reported on intelligence quotient (IQ) or developmental quotient (DQ) before and after epilepsy surgery in children. Studies were included, if the patients had medically intractable epilepsy and if the study reported mainly on curative surgical procedures. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis to determine the mean change of IQ/DQ.

Results

Fifty-seven studies reporting on a total of 2593 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age at surgery was 9.2 years (± 3.44; range 2.4 months–19.81 years). Thirty-eight studies showed IQ/DQ improvement on a group level, 8 yielded stable IQ/DQ, and 19 showed deterioration. Pooled analysis revealed a significant mean gain in FSIQ of + 2.52 FSIQ points (95% CI 1.12–3.91). The pooled mean difference in DQ was + 1.47 (95% CI − 6.5 to 9.5). The pooled mean difference in IQ/DQ was 0.73 (95% CI − 4.8 to 6.2). Mean FSIQ gain was significantly higher in patients who reached seizure freedom (+ 5.58 ± 8.27) than in patients who did not (+ 0.23 ± 5.65). It was also significantly higher in patients who stopped ASM after surgery (+ 6.37 ± 3.80) than in patients who did not (+ 2.01 ± 2.41). Controlled studies showed a better outcome in the surgery group compared to the non-surgery group. There was no correlation between FSIQ change and age at surgery, epilepsy duration to surgery, and preoperative FSIQ.

Significance

The present review indicates that there is a mean gain in FSIQ and DQ in children with medically intractable epilepsy after surgery. The mean gain of 2.52 FSIQ points reflects more likely sustainability of intellectual function rather than improvement after surgery. Seizure-free and ASM-free patients reach higher FSIQ gains. More research is needed to evaluate individual changes after specific surgery types and their effect on long-term follow-up.
Organizational interventions and occupational burnout: a meta-analysis with focus on exhaustion
Authors: Bes Isabelle , Shoman Yara , Al-Gobari Muaamar , Rousson Valentin , Guseva Canu Irina
Published: September 2023

Purpose

To assess whether organizational interventions are effective to prevent or reduce exhaustion, the core dimension of occupational burnout.

Methods

We searched in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library databases randomized and non-randomized controlled trials conducted among active workers and reporting the outcome as exhaustion score. We calculated the effect sizes using the pre-test–post-test control group design’s estimate. We used the random effects model in meta-analysis and Cochrane collaboration’s tool for interventions to assess the risk of bias. Overall quality of evidence was appraised using the GRADE.

Results

From the 2425 identified records, we assessed 228 full texts for eligibility and included 11 original articles describing 13 studies, 11 on organizational interventions, and 2 on combined inventions. The interventions were participatory (n = 9), focused on workload (n = 2), or on work schedule (n = 2). The overall effect size was − 0.30 ((95% CI = − 0.42; − 0.18), I2 = 62.28%), corresponding to a small reduction in exhaustion with a very low quality of evidence. Combined interventions had a larger effect (− 0.54 (95% CI = − 0.76; − 0.32)) than organizational interventions. When split by type of intervention, both participatory interventions and interventions focused on workload had a benefic effect of exhaustion reduction, with an estimated effect size of − 0.34 (95% CI = − 0.47; − 0.20) and − 0.44 (95% CI = − 0.68, − 0.20), respectively.

Conclusion

Interventions at combined level in workplaces could be helpful in preventing exhaustion. However, the evidence is still limited, due to a high heterogeneity between studies, bias potential, and small number of eligible studies. This calls for further research, using workload interventions at organizational level, especially in sectors with high risk of job stress and exhaustion.
Changes in cardiovascular health and white matter integrity with aerobic exercise, cognitive and combined training in physically inactive healthy late-middle-aged adults: the “Projecte Moviment” randomized controlled trial
Authors: Roig-Coll Francesca , Castells-Sánchez Alba , Monté-Rubio Gemma , Dacosta-Aguayo Rosalía , Lamonja-Vicente Noemí , Torán-Monserrat Pere , Pere Guillem , García-Molina Alberto , Tormos José Maria , Alzamora Maria Teresa , Stavros Dimitriadis , Sánchez-Ceron Marta , Via Marc , Erickson Kirk I. , Mataró Maria
Published: September 2023

Introduction

This is a 12-weeks randomized controlled trial examining the effects of aerobic exercise (AE), computerized cognitive training (CCT) and their combination (COMB). We aim to investigate their impact on cardiovascular health and white matter (WM) integrity and how they contribute to the cognitive benefits.

Methods

109 participants were recruited and 82 (62% female; age = 58.38 ± 5.47) finished the intervention with > 80% adherence. We report changes in cardiovascular risk factors and WM integrity (fractional anisotropy (FA); mean diffusivity (MD)), how they might be related to changes in physical activity, age and sex, and their potential role as mediators in cognitive improvements.

Results

A decrease in BMI (SMD = − 0.32, p = 0.039), waist circumference (SMD = − 0.42, p = 0.003) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (SMD = − 0.42, p = 0.006) in the AE group and a decrease in BMI (SMD = − 0.34, p = 0.031) and DBP (SMD = − 0.32, p = 0.034) in the COMB group compared to the waitlist control group was observed. We also found decreased global MD in the CCT group (SMD = − 0.34; p = 0.032) and significant intervention-related changes in FA and MD in the frontal and temporal lobes in the COMB group.

Conclusions

We found changes in anthropometric measures that suggest initial benefits on cardiovascular health after only 12 weeks of AE and changes in WM microstructure in the CCT and COMB groups. These results add evidence of the clinical relevance of lifestyle interventions and the potential benefits when combining them.

Clinical Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT031123900.
Combined endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery (CELS) for early colon cancer in high-risk patients
Authors: Hartwig Morten F. S. , Bulut Mustafa , Ravn-Eriksen Jens , Hansen Lasse B. , Bojesen Rasmus D. , Klein Mads Falk , Jakobsen Henrik L. , Rasmussen Morten , Rud Bo , Eriksen Jens-Ole , Eiholm Susanne , Fiehn Anne-Marie K. , Quirke Phil , Gögenur Ismail
Published: September 2023

Background

Local excision of early colon cancers could be an option in selected patients with high risk of complications and no sign of lymph node metastasis (LNM). The primary aim was to assess feasibility in high-risk patients with early colon cancer treated with Combined Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgery (CELS).

Methods

A non-randomized prospective feasibility study including 25 patients with Performance Status score ≥ 1 and/or American Society of Anesthesiologists score ≥ 3, and clinical Union of International Cancer Control stage-1 colon cancer suitable for CELS resection. The primary outcome was failure of CELS resection, defined as either: Incomplete resection (R1/R2), local recurrence within 3 months, complication related to CELS within 30 days (Clavien–Dindo grade ≥ 3), death within 30 days or death within 90 days due to complications to surgery.

Results

Fifteen patients with clinical T1 (cT1) and ten with clinical T2 (cT2) colon cancer and without suspicion of metastases were included. Failure occurred in two patients due to incomplete resections. Histopathological examination classified seven patients as having pT1, nine as pT2, six as pT3 adenocarcinomas, and three as non-invasive tumors. In three patients, the surgical strategy was changed intraoperatively to conventional colectomy due to tumor location or size. Median length of stay was 1 day. Seven patients had completion colectomy performed due to histological high-risk factors. None had LNM.

Conclusions

In selected patients, CELS resection was feasible, and could spare some patients large bowel resection.
Rurality of patient residence and access to transplantation among children with kidney failure in the United States
Authors: Accetta-Rojas Gabriela , McCulloch Charles E. , Whelan Adrian M. , Copeland Timothy P. , Grimes Barbara A. , Ku Elaine
Published: September 2023

Background

Residence in rural areas is often a barrier to health care access. To date, differences in access to kidney transplantation among children who reside in rural and micropolitan areas of the US have not been explored.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of children < 18 years who developed kidney failure between 2000 and 2019 according to the United States Renal Data System (USRDS). We examined the association between rurality of patient residence and time to living and/or deceased donor kidney transplantation (primary outcomes) and waitlist registration (secondary outcome) using Fine–Gray models.

Results

We included 18,530 children, of whom 14,175 (76.5%) received a kidney transplant (39.8% from a living and 60.2% from a deceased donor). Residence in micropolitan (subhazard ratio (SHR) 1.16; 95% CI 1.06–1.27) and rural (SHR 1.18; 95% CI 1.06–1.3) areas was associated with better access to living donor transplantation compared with residence in metropolitan areas. There was no statistically significant association between residence in micropolitan (SHR, 0.95; 95%CI 0.88–1.03) and rural (SHR, 0.94; 95%CI 0.86–1.03) areas compared with metropolitan areas in the access of children to deceased donor transplantation. There was also no difference in the time to waitlist registration comparing micropolitan (SHR 1.04; 95%CI 0.98–1.10) and rural (SHR 1.05; 95% CI 0.98–1.13) versus metropolitan areas.

Conclusions

In children with kidney failure, residence in rural and micropolitan areas was associated with better access to living donor transplantation and similar access to deceased donor transplantation compared with residence in metropolitan areas.

Graphical abstract
Perceptual cue-guided adaptive image downscaling for enhanced semantic segmentation on large document images
Authors: Pack Chulwoo , Soh Leen-Kiat , Lorang Elizabeth
Published: September 2023

Image downscaling is an essential operation to reduce spatial complexity for various applications and is becoming increasingly important due to the growing number of solutions that rely on memory-intensive approaches, such as applying deep convolutional neural networks to semantic segmentation tasks on large images. Although conventional content-independent image downscaling can efficiently reduce complexity, it is vulnerable to losing perceptual details, which are important to preserve. Alternatively, existing content-aware downscaling severely distorts spatial structure and is not effectively applicable for segmentation tasks involving document images. In this paper, we propose a novel image downscaling approach that combines the strengths of both content-independent and content-aware strategies. The approach limits the sampling space per the content-independent strategy, adaptively relocating such sampled pixel points, and amplifying their intensities based on the local gradient and texture via the content-aware strategy. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we plug our adaptive downscaling method into a deep learning-based document image segmentation pipeline and evaluate the performance improvement. We perform the evaluation on three publicly available historical newspaper digital collections with differences in quality and quantity, comparing our method with one widely used downscaling method, Lanczos. We further demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method by using three different training scenarios: stand-alone, image-pyramid, and augmentation. The results show that training a deep convolutional neural network using images generated by the proposed method outperforms Lanczos, which relies on only content-independent strategies.
SOX combined with sintilimab versus SOX alone in the perioperative management of locally advanced gastric cancer: a propensity score–matched analysis
Authors: Huang Xingmao , Fang Jingquan , Huang Ling , Chen Hang , Chen Han , Chai Tengjiao , Ye Zeyao , Chen Hanguang , Xu Qi , Du Yian , Yu Pengfei
Published: September 2023

Objectives

To evaluate the efficacy of SOX combined with a programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor compared with SOX alone in the perioperative management of locally advanced gastric cancer and to explore biomarkers that may predict response to anti-PD-1 therapy.

Methods

Data of patients with clinical stage T3–4aN0–3M0 (IIb–III) gastric cancer were reviewed to create a primary database. Patients treated with perioperative SOX combined with sintilimab were included in Group A, while those treated with SOX alone were included in Group B. After one-to-one propensity score matching, pathological response and short-term survival outcomes were compared between the two groups. In addition, potential efficacy-related biomarkers were analyzed.

Results

Between January 2018 and December 2022, a total of 150 patients were included in the analysis, with 75 patients in each group. The rates of pathological complete response (21.3% vs. 4.0%; P = 0.001) and major pathological response (45.3% vs. 22.7%; P = 0.003) in Group A were statistically higher than those in Group B. There was no significant difference in 1-year overall survival (92.8% vs. 92.0%; P = 0.392) and disease-free survival (88.9% vs. 88.0%; P = 0.357) between the two groups. Subgroup analysis of Group A showed that the pathological complete response (40.6% vs. 8.6%; P = 0.002) and major pathological response (65.6% vs. 28.6%; P = 0.002) rates were significantly higher in programmed death ligand-1-positive patients with a combined positive score of ≥ 5. A pathological complete response was achieved in 42.9% patients (3/7) with mismatch repair deficiency. For the two patients confirmed as Epstein-Barr virus-positive, one patient achieved a pathological complete response and the other achieved a major pathological response.

Conclusions

The adoption of SOX combined with a PD-1 inhibitor may improve the pathological response rate of patients with locally advanced gastric cancer, especially those with programmed death ligand-1 combined positive score ≥ 5, Epstein–Barr virus-positivity and mismatch repair deficiency. However, further prospective studies are still warranted to confirm the long-term survival benefit.
Detecting and Characterizing Inferior Vena Cava Filters on Abdominal Computed Tomography with Data-Driven Computational Frameworks
Authors: Candemir Sema , Moranville Robert , Wong Kelvin A. , Campbell Warren , Bigelow Matthew T. , Prevedello Luciano M. , Makary Mina S.
Published: September 2023

Two data-driven algorithms were developed for detecting and characterizing Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters on abdominal computed tomography to assist healthcare providers with the appropriate management of these devices to decrease complications: one based on 2-dimensional data and transfer learning (2D + TL) and an augmented version of the same algorithm which accounts for the 3-dimensional information leveraging recurrent convolutional neural networks (3D + RCNN). The study contains 2048 abdominal computed tomography studies obtained from 439 patients who underwent IVC filter placement during the 10-year period from January 1st, 2009, to January 1st, 2019. Among these, 399 patients had retrievable filters, and 40 had non-retrievable filter types. The reference annotations for the filter location were obtained through a custom-developed interface. The ground truth annotations for the filter types were determined based on the electronic medical record and physician review of imaging. The initial stage of the framework returns a list of locations containing metallic objects based on the density of the structure. The second stage processes the candidate locations and determines which one contains an IVC filter. The final stage of the pipeline classifies the filter types as retrievable vs. non-retrievable. The computational models are trained using Tensorflow Keras API on an Nvidia Quadro GV100 system. We utilized a fine-tuning supervised training strategy to conduct our experiments. We find that the system achieves high sensitivity on detecting the filter locations with a high confidence value. The 2D + TL model achieved a sensitivity of 0.911 and a precision of 0.804, and the 3D + RCNN model achieved a sensitivity of 0.923 and a precision of 0.853 for filter detection. The system confidence for the IVC location predictions is high: 0.993 for 2D + TL and 0.996 for 3D + RCNN. The filter type prediction component of the system achieved 0.945 sensitivity, 0.882 specificity, and 0.97 AUC score with 2D + TL and 0. 940 sensitivity, 0.927 specificity, and 0.975 AUC score with 3D + RCNN. With the intent to create tools to improve patient outcomes, this study describes the initial phase of a computational framework to support healthcare providers in detecting patients with retained IVC filters, so an individualized decision can be made to remove these devices when appropriate, to decrease complications. To our knowledge, this is the first study that curates abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans and presents an algorithm for automated detection and characterization of IVC filters.
Response Rate, Acceptability and Effectiveness of an Intervention Offering HIV/STI Testing Via Apps Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in Barcelona, Spain, from 2016 to 2020
Authors: Alarcón Gutiérrez Miguel , Palma Díaz David , Alberny Iglesias Mireia , Ruiz Riera Rafael , Guayta-Escolies Rafael , García de Olalla Patricia , Rius Gibert Cristina
Published: September 2023

We evaluated the response rate, acceptability, and effectiveness of a preventive programme offering rapid HIV and other STI testing, as well as sexual counselling to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) via dating apps over a 4-year period. The programme was carried out in 9 out of the 10 districts in the city of Barcelona, Spain. The response rate was defined as the proportion of people responding to the message sent, acceptability as the proportion of those responding favourably, and effectiveness as the proportion of users requesting a test. We performed univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression in relation with the response rate, acceptability and effectiveness. A total of 5,254 messages were send to different users. The response rate was 33.1% (n = 1,741), acceptability was 86.2% (n = 1,500), and effectiveness was 10.1% (n = 532). The factors associated with user response were recent connection to the app (aOR = 1.85; CI:1.39–2.46) and the presence of a profile photograph (aOR = 1.34; CI:1.11–1.64). Acceptability was associated with recent connection to the app (aOR = 1.98; CI:1.09–3.58). Effectiveness was associated with lower reported age (aOR = 0.98; CI:0.97–0.99), contact before 14:00 (aOR = 2.47; CI: 1.77–3.46), and recent connection to the app (aOR = 4.89; CI:1.98–12.08). Effectiveness was also greater in districts that were more disadvantaged or had fewer sexual health services. This study demonstrates that the use of these apps is an acceptable and effective method of prevention and sexual health promotion in GBMSM in this setting and identifies the associated factors that could guide such interventions.
Transporting an Evidence-based Youth Development Program to a New Country: A Narrative Description and Analysis of Pre-implementation Adaptation
Authors: Green Finlay , Axford Nick , Eastmond Ntale , Berry Vashti , Mannes Julia , Allen Kate , Callaghan Lynne , Hobbs Tim
Published: September 2023

There is a pressing need to prevent and address youth crime and violence owing to its prevalence, harms and cost to society. Interventions with proven effectiveness in doing this exist. Adopting and adapting them in new contexts is potentially cost-effective. However, more research is needed into how to make adaptations that enhance intervention implementation, effectiveness and maintenance in new settings. This article reports thepre-implementationadaptation work involved in transporting Becoming a Man (BAM) from the US to the UK. BAM is a selective school-based youth development program for 12–18 year-old boys that aims to improve school engagement and reduce interactions with the criminal justice system. We describe the nature of and rationale for adaptations and identify learning for future adaptation efforts. An adaptation team comprising the intervention developers, new providers and the evaluators met weekly for 10 weeks, applying a structured, pragmatic and evidence-informed approach to adapt the BAM curriculum and implementation process. Changes were informed by documentary analysis, group-based discussions and site visits. The group agreed 27 changes to the content of 17/30 lessons, at bothsurface(e.g., cultural references) anddeep(key mechanisms or concepts) levels. Of 28 contextual factors considered, 15 discrepancies between the US and UK were identified and resolved (e.g., differences in staffing arrangements). Strengths of the process were the blend of expertise on the adaptation team in the program and local context, and constant reference to and ongoing refinement of the program theory of change. Limitations included the lack of involvement of school staff or students. Further research is needed into potential conflicts between stakeholder perspectives during adaptation and whose views to prioritise and when.
Digital communication as part of family language policy: the interplay of multimodality and language status in a Finnish context
Authors: Palviainen Åsa , Räisä Tiina
Published: September 2023

While mobile app-mediated communication between children and members of their family represents a substantial part of contemporary family communication and language input, we still know very little about the role of these technologies in family language policy (FLP). With an explorative questionnaire survey, the current study set out to examine (1) how Finnish state and language-in-education policies intersect with how families make use of their languages in spoken and in app-mediated communication, and (2) to what extent app-mediated FL practices function as a space for spoken and literacy language development. 1002 nine to twelve year-olds in minority-language Swedish-medium schools in Finland responded to the survey. The results showed the dominance of the two national, high-status languages Swedish and Finnish in the families, with texting being the most common app practice. Languages other than Swedish and Finnish (LOTSF) were used in 17% of the families and to a great extent also in the family apps. While app-mediated family communications overall were shown to serve as significant spaces for language and literacy development, in some cases of LOTSF with a lower status and less educational support, and with linguistic and writing systems deviating from Swedish and Finnish, children refrained from texting in the apps. The findings suggest that the relationship between choice of modalities in language(s) of different status and educational support is complex and needs further attention in future FLP studies.
Design and implementation of a deep learning-empowered m-Health application
Authors: Akbulut Akhan , Desouki Sara , AbdelKhaliq Sara , Khantomani Layal , Catal Cagatay
Published: September 2023

Many people are unaware of the severity of melanoma disease even though such a disease can be fatal if not treated early. This research aims to facilitate the diagnosis of melanoma disease in people using a mobile health application because some people do not prefer to visit a dermatologist due to several concerns such as feeling uncomfortable by exposing their bodies. As such, a skincare application was developed so that a user can easily analyze a mole at any part of the body and get the diagnosis results quickly. In the first phase, the corresponding image is extracted and sent to a web service. Later, the web service classifies using the pre-trained model built based on a deep learning algorithm. The final phase displays the confidence rates on the mobile application. The proposed model utilizes the Convolutional Neural Network and provides 84% accuracy and 72% precision. The results demonstrate that the proposed model and the corresponding mobile application provide remarkable results for addressing the specified health problem.
Electronic properties and molecular electrostatic potential mapping of edge functionalized GQDs with ZnO, CuO, and TiO2
Authors: Ibrahim Asmaa , Ezzat Hend A. , Aal Mervat Abd El
Published: September 2023

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are a cutting-edge material that has excellent electrical, thermal, and mechanical characteristics, as well as minimal toxicity and powerful photoluminescence. These unique properties give GQDs the ability to be used in different electrical, optical, and optoelectronic applications. GQDs with hexagonal and triangular cuts with armchair and zigzag ends (ATRI, AHEX, ZTRI, and ZHEX) were decorated with different metal oxides such as ZnO, CuO, and TiO2. Metal oxides (MOs) were employed to tune the band gap and electrical properties of GQDs for usage in certain applications. The influence of functionalization on the GQDs electronic properties was examined utilizing HOMO–LUMO orbital distribution and molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) mapping calculations. The model structures were calculated using density functional theory (DFT: B3LYP/ LanL2DZ). The band gap energies of AHEX C42, ZHEX C54, ATRI C60, and ZTRI C46 were found to be 3.508, 2.886, 3.177, and 0.305 eV, respectively. The findings show that addition of MOs increases the total dipole moment (TDM) while decreasing the band gap energy ∆E. The most effective metal MO on GQDs band gap and electronic properties was TiO2, which enhanced the band gap energy ∆E for AHEX C42-TiO2, ZHEX C54-TiO2, ATRI C60-TiO2, and ZTRI C46-TiO2 to 0.391, 0.530, 0.287, and 0.250 eV, respectively. Accordingly, GQDs seem to be excellent for certain applications. Accordingly, GQDs functionalized with ZnO could be used for sensors, due to their increased responsiveness and energy gap variation while GQDs functionalized with TiO2 is excellent to be applied as optoelectronic materials.
The Multi-Hollow Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Usage for the Seeds' Treatment Aimed to the Dustiness Decrease of Free-Floating Particles from Agrochemicals
Authors: Slavíček Pavel , Štěpánová Vlasta , Fleischer Michal , Kelar Jakub , Kelar Tučeková Zlata , Jurmanová Jana , Pazderka Michal , Prášil Václav , Prášil Jan
Published: September 2023

The Multi-hollow Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (MSDBD) generated in ambient air at atmospheric pressure was used to treat maize, pea, wheat and parsley seeds. Plasma exposure was applied as a pre-treatment before the seeds coating with agrochemicals. The aim of this study was to decrease the dustiness of coated seeds using plasma pre-treatment. The optimization process of plasma treatment parameters for individual seed species consisted of choosing a suitable exposure time (20 s, 60 s) and airflow (10 L/min, 15 L/min). The plasma made the seeds' surface more hydrophilic; therefore, better agrochemicals adhesion was achieved on the seeds' surface. Wettability improvement was demonstrated via water uptake of seeds and apparent contact angle change. Ambient air plasma at a 15 L/min flow rate was measured using optical emission spectroscopy, and the values of vibrational (3000 K) and rotational (347 K) temperatures were obtained from spectra simulation. The surface temperature of the MSDBD ceramics plate was measured with a thermal camera for different gas flow rates and constant input power of 30 W because the temperature is crucial parameter for seed treatment. The surface morphology was not affected due to plasma treatment, even for a longer exposure time. A significant decrease in dustiness measured according to the Heubach method was achieved for pea (57.1%) and parsley (41.4%) seeds. A lower decrease in dustiness was registered in the case of wheat (14.6%) and maize (17%) seeds. The results showed that MSDBD plasma generated in the air at optimized conditions is able to decrease the coated seed dustiness regardless of seed type and size, while seeds germination and surface coverage percentage remained unchanged.
Democracy and fiscal-policy response to COVID-19
Authors: Yasar Sezer , Elgin Ceyhun
Published: September 2023

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the level of democracy and fiscal-policy response to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. We use a novel cross-country panel dataset of fiscal-policy responses with time variation. Our results suggest that more democratic countries adopted substantially larger fiscal-policy packages (in % GDP), and the gap regarding the size of packages between more democratic and less democratic countries widened over time. Our analysis of the components of fiscal policy shows that democracies, in particular, provide larger packages that benefit the broad public. Furthermore, our system-equations estimations suggest that the relation of democracy level with the fiscal-policy response is established through democracy’s relation with inclusive institutions, represented by the parliamentary system, and corruption.
Using video analysis and artificial neural network to explore association rules and influence scenarios in elite table tennis matches
Authors: Liu Jing-Wei , Hsu Ming-Hua , Lai Chun-Liang , Wu Sheng-K
Published: September 2023

To become an elite table tennis player, aside from continually practicing, players must know their strengths and weaknesses to plan their strategy beforehand and increase their winning rate. The main problems with previous research were that the data collected were incomplete and imprecise. To address these problems, we established “The Intellectual Tactical System in Competitive Table Tennis”, using video analysis to collect competitive data. Additionally, we proposed a machine learning method using a combination of feature-selection and association rules to discover interesting rules from the data. The international matches of the Taiwanese table tennis single player Yun-Ju Lin were used as research samples by applying 3 S (speed, spin, spot) theory to collect and analyze data. The critical factors and scenarios were analyzed to identify the winning tactical models. The results of this study may provide useful suggestions for Yun-Ju Lin on training and building tactics in competitions. The similar approach may be essential for elite players and coaches to have appropriate tactical analysis.
Arbitrary switching and concern for truth
Authors: Dandelet Sophia
Published: September 2023

This essay is about a special kind of transformative choice that plays a key role in debates about permissivism, the view that some bodies of evidence permit more than one rational response. A prominent objection to this view contends that its defender cannot vindicate our aversion to arbitrarily switching between belief states in the absence of any new evidence. A prominent response to that objection tries to provide the desired vindication by appealing to the idea that arbitrary switching would involve a special kind of transformative choice: the choice to change one’s epistemic standards, i.e., one’s commitments regarding the relative importance of achieving true belief and avoiding false belief. My first aims here are to argue that this response is unsuccessful and propose an alternative. My secondary aim is to consider how this discussion might bear on more general debates about transformative choice.
A Pore-Scale Model for Electrokinetic In situ Recovery of Copper: The Influence of Mineral Occurrence, Zeta Potential, and Electric Potential
Authors: Tang Kunning , Li Zhe , Da Wang Ying , McClure James , Su Hongli , Mostaghimi Peyman , Armstrong Ryan T.
Published: September 2023

Electrokinetic in-situ recovery is an alternative to conventional mining, relying on the application of an electric potential to enhance the subsurface flow of ions. Understanding the pore-scale flow and ion transport under electric potential is essential for petrophysical properties estimation and flow behavior characterization. The governing physics of electrokinetic transport is electromigration and electroosmotic flow, which depend on the electric potential gradient, mineral occurrence, domain morphology (tortuosity and porosity, grain size and distribution, etc.), and electrolyte properties (local pH distribution and lixiviant type and concentration, etc.). Herein, mineral occurrence and its associated zeta potential are investigated for EK transport. The new Ek model which is designed to solve the EK flow in complex porous media in a highly parallelizable manner includes three coupled equations: (1) Poisson equation, (2) Nernst–Planck equation, and (3) Navier–Stokes equation. These equations were solved using the lattice Boltzmann method within X-ray computed microtomography images. The proposed model is validated against COMSOL multiphysics in a two-dimensional microchannel in terms of fluid flow behavior when the electrical double layer is both resolvable and unresolvable. A more complex chalcopyrite-silica system is then obtained by micro-CT scanning to evaluate the model performance. The effects of mineral occurrence, zeta potential, and electric potential on the three-dimensional chalcopyrite-silica system were evaluated. Although the positive zeta potential of chalcopyrite can induce a flow of ferric ion counter to the direction of electromigration, the net effect is dependent on the occurrence of chalcopyrite. However, the ion flux induced by electromigration was the dominant transport mechanism, whereas advection induced by electroosmosis made a lower contribution. Overall, a pore-scale EK model is proposed for direct simulation on pore-scale images. The proposed model can be coupled with other geochemical models for full physicochemical transport simulations. Meanwhile, electrokinetic transport shows promise as a human-controllable technique because the electromigration of ions and the applied electric potential can be easily controlled externally.

Graphical abstract
Genetic parameter estimates for daily predicted gross feed efficiency and its association with energy-corrected milk in South African Holstein cattle
Authors: Madilindi Matome A. , Zishiri Oliver T. , Dube Bekezela , Banga Cuthbert B.
Published: September 2023

Genetic parameters for daily predicted gross feed efficiency (pGFE) and energy corrected milk (ECM) in the first three parities of South African Holstein cattle were estimated by repeatability animal models. Data comprised of 11,068 test-day milk production records of 1,575 Holstein cows that calved between 2009 and 2019. Heritability estimates for pGFE were 0.12 ± 0.06, 0.09 ± 0.04 and 0.18 ± 0.05 in early, mid and late lactation, respectively. Estimates were moderate for primiparous (0.21 ± 0.05) and low for multiparous (0.10 ± 0.04) cows. Heritability and repeatability across all lactations were 0.14 ± 0.03 and 0.37 ± 0.03, respectively. Genetic correlations between pGFE in different stages of lactation ranged from 0.87 ± 0.24 (early and mid) to 0.97 ± 0.28 (early and late), while a strong genetic correlation (0.90 ± 0.03) was found between pGFE and ECM, across all lactations. The low to moderate heritability estimates for pGFE suggest potential for genetic improvement of the trait through selection, albeit with a modest accuracy of selection. The high genetic correlation of pGFE with ECM may, however, assist to improve accuracy of selection for feed efficiency by including both traits in multi-trait analyses. These genetic parameters may be used to estimate breeding values for pGFE, which will enable the trait to be incorporated in the breeding objective for South African Holstein cattle.