bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Continuous sign language recognition based on hierarchical memory sequence network
Authors: Xue Cuihong , Jia Jingli , Yu Ming , Yan Gang , Guo Yingchun , Liu Yuehao 
Published: September 2023

AbstractWith the goal of solving the problem of feature extractors lacking strong supervision training and insufficient time information concerning single‐sequence model learning, a hierarchical sequence memory network with a multi‐level iterative optimisation strategy is proposed for continuous sign language recognition. This method uses the spatial‐temporal fusion convolution network (STFC‐Net) to extract the spatial‐temporal information of RGB and Optical flow video frames to obtain the multi‐modal visual features of a sign language video. Then, in order to enhance the temporal relationships of visual feature maps, the hierarchical memory sequence network is used to capture local utterance features and global context dependencies across time dimensions to obtain sequence features. Finally, the decoder decodes the final sentence sequence. In order to enhance the feature extractor, the authors adopted a multi‐level iterative optimisation strategy to fine‐tune STFC‐Net and the utterance feature extractor. The experimental results on the RWTH‐Phoenix‐Weather multi‐signer 2014 dataset and the Chinese sign language dataset show the effectiveness and superiority of this method.
Political stability and foreign direct investment inflows in 25 Asia-Pacific countries: the moderating role of trade openness
Authors: Le Ai Ngoc Nhan , Pham Ha , Pham Dung Thi Ngoc , Duong Khoa Dang 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis article analyzes how trade openness and political stability affect foreign direct investment (FDI) in 25 Asia-Pacific countries from 1990 to 2020. This study employs the dynamic system Generalized Method of Moments to mitigate the heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation issues. We also perform the Johnson–Neyman test to examine whether trade openness moderates the relationship between political stability and FDI. Our findings show that trade openness positively affects FDI, while political stability has a negative effect. Noticeably, the Johnson–Neyman test indicates that Trade Openness moderates the relationship between political stability and FDI in Asia-Pacific nations. Trade openness and its moderating role remained robust before the 2008 financial crisis. The impacts of trade openness and political stability on FDI persist in non-tax-heaven countries. Our findings align with market-seeking, efficiency, resource-seeking, and regulatory risk theories. Finally, these findings are helpful for policymakers to attract FDI projects sustainably across the Asia-Pacific region.
The tightrope of real genesis: on philosophy’s generative thirdness and the creative self-grounding of thought
Authors: Fraser Will 
Published: September 2023

AbstractMotivated to bypass the twin basins of absolute relativism and dogmatic absolutism, an antinomic polarity into which thought tendentially falls, this paper offers various conceptual frameworks for overcoming antinomies in philosophical thought, and ultimately asserts that this overcoming occurs at a philosophical system’s purported source: its active site of real genesis. The author traces a constellation of thinkers who all invoke this suspended thirdness in their own disciplinary and conceptual registers, from Jean Cavaillès to Gilles Châtelet, C.S. Peirce to Cécile Malaspina, ultimately and speculatively suggesting that this third space, the (abductive) hinge of real genesis, might precede and activate a priori the consequent diremptions into the polarities of the transcendental and the historical, the mathematical and the physical, the global and the local, the continuous and the discrete, the rational and the empirical, and so on. Such a genetic realism, then, places a radical exigency on philosophical thinking: to grasp its real genetic conditions, that is, without a previously given criterion or method. Ultimately, the paper is most interested in suggesting ways to reconfigure the conceptual landscape around this genetic tension or originating hinge, to encourage thought towards the genetic real and away from disciplinary stagnation, towards generative models for systematic thought itself.
Educating global Africans: possibilities of Chinese language learning in international higher education
Authors: XU Wen 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe number of international students in Chinese higher education has expanded unprecedentedly over the past decade. As opposed to neoliberal marketisation, this expansion is backed up by a community of shared future for mankind rationale, which is well articulated within the policy rhetoric as well as keynote speeches by Chinese senior government officials. However, there is a paucity of research and thoresiation into how Chinese universities may be contributing to this strategic priority in specific contexts. This article presents a case study that examines the aspirations of a cohort of African international students enroled in a Chinese language programme in a vocational college in Southeast China. Their narratives highlight the previously neglected relevance of international higher education and Chinese language learning to the process of global citizenship education. The participants in this study displayed positive dispositions of global citizenship such as an in-depth understanding of the world, promoting hargramony and contributing to the common good. As such, this article underscores the affordances and possibilities of Chinese language learning in international higher education, in addressing a torrent of mounting concerns of ‘China threat’ to the world order.
Breaking through ingrained beliefs: revisiting the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions
Authors: Wang Haisen , Yang Gangqiang , Yue Ziyang 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions has become a topic of contention due to the paucity of guiding theoretical and empirical research. This study presents a comprehensive causal mediation model based on an expanded structural equation model. Leveraging extensive big data analysis and data sourced from developing nations, this research aims to elucidate the precise impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions and unravel the underlying mechanism. The findings unequivocally demonstrate the pivotal role played by the digital economy in mitigating carbon emissions. Even after subjecting the conclusions to a battery of robustness and endogeneity tests, their validity remains intact. The mechanism analysis reveals that the digital economy effectively curbs carbon emissions through low-carbon technological innovation and industrial diversification. The disproportionate dominance of digital industrialization is a significant factor contributing to the emergence of the “Digital Economy Paradox”. Consequently, this paper not only introduces a novel analytical perspective that systematically comprehends the carbon impact of the digital economy but also presents fresh empirical evidence that advocates for the transformation and development of a low-carbon economy.
Topic and Accent Coverage in a Commercialized L2 Listening Test: Implications for Test-takers’ Identity
Authors: Aryadoust Vahid 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
I analyzed a corpus of the international English language testing system (IELTS) comprising 256 listening sections (1996–2021). The primary objective of the study was to gain insights into the assumptions made by test designers regarding the real-life contexts that test-takers will encounter. Overall, 15 superordinate topic areas and 300 subtopics were identified in the corpus. There was relatively more diversity in topic coverage before 2000. However, the test did not incorporate texts that would address sociocultural matters related to local or international contexts. Additionally, English-as-L2 accents were virtually unrepresented with only three samples from 514 speakers, potentially suggesting a racialized perspective on the listening construct. I argue that it is possible that this way of testing promotes and normalizes test designers’ ideologies, while overlooking the importance of the diversity of domains that test-takers will encounter in daily life. I discuss the potential construction of test-takers’ identity through exposure to these topics and suggest that test designers may consider reevaluating topic and accent coverage in the test to improve fairness and equity in the test. Finally, I provide ideas on how the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance quality of language assessments.
phippery: a software suite for PhIP-Seq data analysis
Authors: Galloway Jared G , Sung Kevin , Minot Samuel S , Garrett Meghan E , Stoddard Caitlin I , Willcox Alexandra C , Yaffe Zak A , Yucha Ryan , Overbaugh Julie , Matsen Frederick A 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Summary
We present the phippery software suite for analyzing data from phage display methods that use immunoprecipitation and deep sequencing to capture antibody binding to peptides, often referred to as PhIP-Seq. It has three main components that can be used separately or in conjunction: (i) a Nextflow pipeline, phip-flow, to process raw sequencing data into a compact, multidimensional dataset format and allows for end-to-end automation of reproducible workflows. (ii) a Python API, phippery, which provides interfaces for tasks such as count normalization, enrichment calculation, multidimensional scaling, and more, and (iii) a Streamlit application, phip-viz, as an interactive interface for visualizing the data as a heatmap in a flexible manner.

Availability and implementation
All software packages are publicly available under the MIT License. The phip-flow pipeline: https://github.com/matsengrp/phip-flow. The phippery library: https://github.com/matsengrp/phippery. The phip-viz Streamlit application: https://github.com/matsengrp/phip-viz.
Use of multimodal sensory cues in predator avoidance by wild-caught zebrafish shoals
Authors: Mukherjee Ishani , Malakar Aniket , Das Dipjyoti , Bhat Anuradha 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Fishes rely on a multimodal sensory system to assess cues from environmental factors, such as predation, vegetation cover, water flow and food availability. Here, we conducted laboratory-based experiments to examine the immediate response of wild-caught zebrafish (Danio rerio) shoals, comprising ten individuals, to one of the following treatments: (1) olfactory predator cue; (2) visual predator cue; (3) both cues simultaneously; and (4) control with no cue. Experiments were performed in a 75cm × 75cm arena, and test shoals were provided with olfactory cues from a predator and with a model predator as visual information on the presence of a predator. Using the idTracker software, we tracked and analysed shoal responses across these treatments. We found that in comparison to the control treatment, shoals receiving either visual or olfactory cues had significantly greater: (1) cohesion (inter-individual distance); (2) polarization (tendency of shoal members to orient in a common direction); and (3) velocity (directional speed). Interestingly, when the shoals received both visual and olfactory cues simultaneously, the cohesion, polarization and velocity decreased, and such shoals exhibited significantly more individual freezing events. Therefore, our study not only indicates that zebrafish rely comparably on vision and olfaction to escape predation but also shows that the anti-predator response elicited by zebrafish varies based on the number of cues provided.
Unstable patterns of flower structure and development in the almost dioecious species Acer negundo (Sapindaceae, Sapindales)
Authors: Zavialov Alexander E , Remizowa Margarita V 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Acer negundo L. is a wind-pollinated, dioecious tree that occasionally produces flowers with rudiments of the opposite sex. Both the male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers possess only two whorls: sepals and stamens or carpels, the arrangement of which is disputed. Here we present data on inflorescence and floral development, pollen fertility in staminodes and the diversity of male and female flowers. We found that the merism of male flowers is unstable, and the numbers of stamens and sepals vary independently. The different floral groundplans always occur within the inflorescences of the same generative shoot. The development of a flower begins with the initiation of sepals, but in female flowers, sepals are initiated sequentially and remain of different sizes, whereas in male flowers, sepals are initiated almost simultaneously and are equal. After the appearance of stamen primordia or carpel primordia, a part of the undifferentiated meristem remains. This unused meristem can be involved in producing staminodes or pistillodia. Both unisexual and (partly) bisexual flowers are found in the same inflorescence. Staminodes are either completely sterile or produce some amount of viable pollen. These features indicate the possibility of functional bisexuality in A. negundo.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Postacute Risk of Non–Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infectious Disease Hospitalizations: A Nationwide Cohort Study of Danish Adults Aged ≥50 Years
Authors: Andersson Niklas Worm , Thiesson Emilia Myrup , Lassaunière Ria , Hansen Jørgen Vinsløv , Hviid Anders 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Background
Reports suggest that the potential long-lasting health consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may involve persistent dysregulation of some immune populations, but the potential clinical implications are unknown. We investigated the associated risk of hospitalization due to non–coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infectious diseases following the postacute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods
By cross-linking data from the comprehensive Danish test and surveillance system for COVID-19 together with nationwide healthcare and demographic registers, we established a study cohort of 2 430 694 individuals aged ≥50 years, from 1 January 2021 to 10 December 2022, with no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to study entry. Using Poisson regression, we compared the outcome rates of non-COVID-19 infectious disease hospitalizations following the acute phase of (a first) SARS-CoV-2 infection (defined as ≥29 days since the day of infection) in recovered individuals with rates among SARS-CoV-2–uninfected individuals.

Results
Among 2 430 694 included individuals (mean age, 66.8 [standard deviation, 11.3] years), 930 071 acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection during follow-up totaling 4 519 913 person-years. The postacute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI]: .88–.92) for any infectious disease hospitalization. Findings (IRR [95% CI]) were similar for upper respiratory tract (1.08 [.97–1.20]), lower respiratory tract (0.90 [.87–.93]), influenza (1.04 [.94–1.15]), gastrointestinal (1.28 [.78–2.09]), skin (0.98 [.93–1.03]), urinary tract (1.01 [.96–1.08]), certain invasive bacterial (0.96 [.91–1.01]), and other (0.96 [.92–1.00]) infectious disease hospitalizations and in subgroups.

Conclusions
Our study does not support an increased susceptibility to non-COVID-19 infectious disease hospitalization following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Prevalence, mechanisms, and prognostic impact of dynamic mitral regurgitation assessed by isometric handgrip exercise
Authors: Spieker Maximilian , Lagarden Hannah , Sidabras Jonas , Veulemans Verena , Christian Lucas , Bejinariu Alex , Akhyari Payam , Rana Obaida , Polzin Amin , Horn Patrick , Kelm Malte , Westenfeld Ralf 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Aims
The extent of mitral regurgitation (MR) may vary depending on the haemodynamic situation; thus, exercise testing plays an important role in assessing the haemodynamic relevance of MR. We aim to assess prevalence, mechanisms, and prognostic impact of exercise-induced changes in MR in patients with degenerative MR (DegMR) and functional MR (FMR).

Methods and results
We enrolled 367 patients with at least mild MR who underwent standardized echocardiography at rest and during handgrip exercise. Handgrip exercise led to an increase in MR by one grade or more in 19% of DegMR and 28% of FMR patients. In FMR, patients with exercise-induced increases in MR, handgrip exercise led to a reduction in left ventricular stroke volume index, being maintained in DegMR patients. Exercise-induced changes in systolic pulmonary artery pressure were linked to changes in effective regurgitant orifice area (DegMR: r = 0.456; P &lt; 0.001; FMR: r = 0.326; P &lt; 0.001). Thus, 26% of patients with DegMR and FMR developed pulmonary hypertension during exercise. In both cohorts, a significant proportion of patients with non-severe MR at rest and exercise-induced severe MR underwent mitral valve surgery/intervention during follow-up. In FMR patients (but not in DegMR patients), early mitral valve surgery/intervention was independently associated with lower event rates during follow-up [0.177 (0.027–0.643); P = 0.025].

Conclusions
Handgrip exercise echocardiography provides important information regarding the dynamic nature of MR, exercise-induced changes in left ventricular function, and pulmonary circulation with subsequent consequences for further therapeutic decision making. Thus, it should be considered as a diagnostic tool in symptomatic patients with non-severe MR at rest.
Effects of renin–angiotensin system blockers on outcomes from COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Lee Matthew M Y , Kondo Toru , Campbell Ross T , Petrie Mark C , Sattar Naveed , Solomon Scott D , Vaduganathan Muthiah , Jhund Pardeep S , McMurray John J V 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Background and aims
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have assessed the effects of renin–angiotensin system (RAS) blockers in adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This meta-analysis provides estimates of the safety and efficacy of treatment with (vs. without) RAS blockers from these trials.

Methods
PubMed, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched (1 March–12 April 2023). Event/patient numbers were extracted, comparing angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor/angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) treatment with no treatment, for the outcomes: intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation, vasopressor use, acute kidney injury (AKI), renal replacement therapy (RRT), acute myocardial infarction, stroke/transient ischaemic attack, heart failure, thromboembolic events, and all-cause death. Fixed-effects meta-analysis estimates were pooled.

Results
Sixteen RCTs including 3492 patients were analysed. Compared with discontinuation of RAS blockers, continuation was not associated with increased risk of ICU [risk ratio (RR) 0.96, 0.66–1.41], ventilation (RR 0.77, 0.55–1.09), vasopressors (RR 0.92, 0.58–1.44), AKI (RR 1.01, 0.40–2.56), RRT (RR 1.01, 0.46–2.21), or thromboembolic events (RR 1.07, 0.36–3.19). RAS blocker initiation was not associated with increased risk of ICU (RR 0.71, 0.47–1.08), ventilation (RR 1.12, 0.91–1.38), AKI (RR 1.28, 0.89–1.86), RRT (RR 1.66, 0.89–3.12), or thromboembolic events (RR 1.20, 0.06–23.70), although vasopressor use increased (RR 1.27, 1.02–1.57). The RR for all-cause death in the continuation/discontinuation trials was 1.24 (0.80–1.92), and 1.22 (0.96–1.55) in the initiation trials. In patients with severe/critical COVID-19, RAS blocker initiation increased the risk of all-cause death (RR 1.31, 1.01–1.72).

Conclusion
ACE inhibitors and ARBs may be continued in non-severe COVID-19 infection, where indicated. Conversely, initiation of RAS blockers may be harmful in critically ill patients.
PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023408926.
Host-associated transmission favors transition of a commensal toward antagonism
Authors: Stoy Kayla S , Díaz-Almeyda Erika M , Bartelt Chris , Acosta Alice , Morran Levi T , Gerardo Nicole M 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The impacts of host-associated microbes on their hosts vary along a continuum of antagonistic, neutral, and beneficial interactions. Transmission mode is predicted to contribute to transitions along the continuum by altering opportunities for the alignment of host and microbe fitness interests. Under vertical transmission, microbial evolution is tightly coupled to the host environment, which may facilitate fitness alignment. In contrast, environmentally transmitted microbes spend time in the external environment, outside of hosts, partially decoupling their evolution from the host. This decoupling may misalign host and microbe fitness interests, potentially favoring antagonistic microbial traits. Here, we tested whether transmission environment alters microbial evolution by manipulating the interaction between a commensal Serratia marcescens bacteria and their insect host Anasa tristis, which is the primary vector of these bacteria into plants, where they cause disease. We experimentally evolved S. marcescens through several selection environments. The bacteria were passaged between A. tristis hosts, between A. tristis hosts and soil, through soil, or through standard culture media. We observed rapid evolution of virulence toward hosts across treatments when bacterial evolution occurred within the host environment, indicating that direct host-to-host transmission can increase opportunities for microbes to adapt to hosts and evolve antagonistic traits.
Comparison between the gut bacterial community of laboratory cultured and wild Daphnia
Authors: Houwenhuyse Shira , Callens Martijn , Bulteel Lore , Decaestecker Ellen 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The fitness of an organism is often impacted by the composition and biological activity of its associated bacterial community. Many factors, including host genetics, diet, and temperature can influence the bacterial community composition. Furthermore, these factors can differ strongly between natural and laboratory environments. Consequently, several studies have highlighted results from laboratory experiments investigating host-associated bacterial communities to be conflicting with those obtained under field conditions. Here, we compared the Daphnia magna gut bacterial communities in natural host populations with those of laboratory cultured hosts. We further analyzed changes in the gut bacterial communities after transferring hosts from natural populations to the laboratory on the short- and long-term. Results show that, in general, the gut bacterial communities from natural populations differ from those of laboratory cultures and that their composition and diversity changed one hour after being transferred to the laboratory. Over the following 14 days, the composition and diversity changed gradually. On the longer term (after two years of rearing hosts in the laboratory) the composition and diversity of the gut bacterial communities was strongly altered compared to the initial state. Our findings indicate that the gut bacterial communities of Daphnia magna in laboratory experiments is not representative for natural field conditions, and that caution should be taken when interpreting results from laboratory experiments for natural settings.