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Investigating the Emergence of Collective States Within Rugby Sevens Gameplay
No full textRugby sevens is a small-sided variant of rugby union characterised by fast-moving, high-intensity gameplay and is an example of a team invasion sport, where players work together to achieve a shared goal of attacking and defending as a cohesive unit. The dynamics of such sports can be viewed as self-organizing systems, where individual players form collective patterns without a centralized mechanism of control. Inspired by the analysis of collective movement in animals, this novel study investigates the emergent patterns of order and disorder in sub-elite female rugby sevens using order parameters (typically used to analyse particle systems) to characterize the team’s collective state during different phases of play. The findings demonstrate that defensive gameplay is more ordered, with more compact formations, compared to attacking play, and there is a correlation between alignment/order in player motion and group speed. The work further suggests that the collective states formed differ between sequences of play with different levels of ground gained by the attacking team. These observations provide a sound justification for player training with a focus on cohesive defensive movements to resist disruptions from opposing attackers, while employing attacking tactics that disrupt the cohesion and order of opposing teams
AI can make up songs now, but who owns the copyright? The answer is complicated
No full textArtificial intelligence (AI) text and image generation tools have now been around for a while, but in recent weeks, apps for making AI-generated music have reached consumers as well. Just like other generative AI tools, the two products – Suno and Udio (and others likely to come) – work by turning a user’s prompt into output. For example, prompting for “a rock punk song about my dog eating my homework” on Suno will produce an audio file (see below) that combines instruments and vocals. The output can be downloaded as an MP3 file. The underlying AI draws on unknown data sets to generate the music. Users have the option of prompting the AI for lyrics or writing their own lyrics, although some apps advise the AI works best when generating both. But who, if anyone, owns the resulting sounds? For anyone using these apps, this is an important question to consider. And the answer is not straightforward
Parental experiences of stigma and discrimination of living with children in families of Bangladesh
No full textImplications of climate change on the behaviour and activity patterns of the ubiquitous meat ant, 'Iridomyrmex purpureus' (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Smith, 1858)
No full textGround temperatures can significantly influence the behaviour and activity patterns of small ectothermic and regional heterothermic species. This is critical to consider in light of a rapidly changing macroclimate, as shifts in behaviours such as foraging and aggression levels will also have more extreme impacts at smaller spatial scales. Here we assessed the effect temperature has on the actual behaviours completed, or 'task allocation' of the dominant Australian meat ant, Iridomymex purpureus (Smith, 1858), at a temperate site in south-eastern Australia. Results indicate that I. purpureus activity is directly affected by temperature, with higher levels of activity being carried out at greater speeds as soil surface temperatures increase. In addition, this study provides the first ethogram of I. purpureus behaviours. As temperatures are expected to continue increasing owing to anthropogenic climate change, the ants may modify their behaviours to effectively forage in a warmer climate. This may include foraging earlier and later during the day, and changing interaction patterns between nest mates
Myanmar’s military coup: The Rohingya caught “Between the devil and the deep sea”
No full textThis article explores the consequences of the recent military coup in Myanmar for the Rohingya crisis. Data from seven semi-structured interviews were collected from academic and Rohingya leaders in the Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane. The findings suggest that the regime change that has taken place will not resolve the Rohingya crisis unless the Myanmar government moves away from its current anti-Rohingya, religious nationalism policy agenda. A military coup on 1 February 2021 overthrew the relatively new democratic government in Myanmar. The anti-military movement now faces the military’s brutal force for restoring democracy in the country. The elected parliament members established an interim National Unity Government (NUG) to lead anti-military protests. Regarding the military junta and NUG’s strategy concerning the Rohingya crisis, both aim toget international support for their endeavours. The Rohingya became a sacrificial lamb for both of these competitors. The Rohingya now face a dilemma in making the decision to support one or the other political parties, as the leaders of both parties were involved actively in instigating the Rohingya genocide in 2017. The situation for the Rohingya becomes complicated as they now find themselves caught between the ‘devil and the deep sea’
Editorial: Psychometrics in psychiatry 2022: psychological therapy and psychosomatics
No full textThe importance of evidence-based assessment and measurement in mental healthcare has become increasingly recognized in recent decades. However, psychiatry has long grappled with challenges in quantifying subjective psychological constructs and patient experiences into objective metrics (1). Unlike other medical specialties that can rely on quantifiable biomarkers (2), psychiatry relies heavily on patient self-reports, clinical evaluations, and rater-based scales. The field of psychiatry has long struggled with the issue of accurately and reliably measuring and assessing mental health constructs and disorders. The subjective nature of psychiatric symptoms and presentations contributes to challenges in quantitative measurement and in evaluating the efficacy of interventions. However, the importance of evidence-based assessment and treatment in mental healthcare cannot be understated. This makes scientifically rigorous assessment and measurement difficult. Historically, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment depended predominantly on clinical intuition rather than empirical data (3, 4). However, the rise of evidence-based medicine, and movements pushing for more reliable and valid psychiatric assessment, led to growing appreciation of the need for quantitative metrics and psychometrics. With the recent replication crisis highlighting issues in reproducibility of psychiatric research, improving measurement methodology has become even more critical (5)
Perceptions and Interest in Lung Cancer Screening by Smoking Status: A Cross-Sectional Study of HINTS 6 (2022)
No full textBackground: Lung cancer screening guidelines prioritize individuals with a history of smoking due to their higher risk of the disease. Methods: Our study examines the awareness and interest in low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening among different smoking statuses using data from the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 6 (2022). We analyzed data from HINTS 6, including 3915 participants on smoking status, LDCT screening, and telehealth use. Participants were categorized as current smokers, former smokers, and non-smokers. Results: Current smokers had the highest likelihood of being recommended for LDCT screening (OR: 7.1, aOR: 10.4) compared with non-smokers. Former smokers also had increased odds of screening recommendations (OR: 3.1, aOR: 3.4) than non-smokers. Despite higher screening recommendations, current smokers exhibited significantly lower interest in cancer screening (interest rating score: 2.1) compared with non-smokers (interest rating score: 2.4) and former smokers (interest rating score: 2.5). Current smokers rated their telehealth care experiences more positively in terms of care quality compared with non-smokers. Conclusions: Our findings underscore a gap in cancer screening interest among current smokers despite their higher likelihood of being recommended for LDCT screening. The favorable perception of telehealth among current smokers provides an opportunity to enhance engagement and promote LDCT scan through telehealth care
Between Efficiency and Righteousness—The Aftermath of Mandating CSR In India
No full textThe Indian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) law was enacted to encourage the social responsibility performance of medium to large companies and to promote the implementation of public policies. While the law has led to an increase in Indian companies’ CSR projects with a certain degree of efficiency, there are concerns about the righteousness of the projects. Many CSR initiatives only address surface-level social needs, rather than fully integrating CSR principles into corporate decision-making process. This warrants a critical review of the Indian CSR law to ensure that it not only promotes sustainable business practices but also addresses pressing social issues
Characterization of an experimental model to determine streptococcal M protein–induced autoimmune cardiac and neurobehavioral abnormalities
No full textGroup A streptococcal (GAS) infection is associated with a spectrum of autoimmune diseases including acute rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease (ARF/RHD) and neurobehavioral abnormalities. Antibodies against GAS M proteins cross-react with host tissue proteins in the heart and brain leading to the symptomatology observed in ARF/RHD. As throat carriage of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis (SDSE) has been reported to be relatively high in some ARF/RHD endemic regions compared with GAS, and both SDSE and GAS express coiled-coil surface protein called M protein, we hypothesized that streptococci other than GAS can also associated with ARF/RHD and neurobehavioral abnormalities. Neurobehavioral assessments and electrocardiography were performed on Lewis rats before and after exposure to recombinant GAS and SDSE M proteins. Histological assessments were performed to confirm inflammatory changes in cardiac and neuronal tissues. ELISA and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the cross-reactivity of antibodies with host connective, cardiac and neuronal tissue proteins. Lewis rats injected with M proteins either from GAS or SDSE developed significant cardiac functional and neurobehavioral abnormalities in comparison to control rats injected with phosphate-buffered saline. Antibodies against GAS and SDSE M proteins cross-reacted with cardiac, connective and neuronal proteins. Serum from rats injected with streptococcal antigens showed higher immunoglobulin G binding to the striatum and cortex of the brain. Cardiac and neurobehavioral abnormalities observed in our experimental model were comparable to the cardinal symptoms observed in patients with ARF/RHD. Here for the first time, we demonstrate in an experimental model that M proteins from different streptococcal species could initiate and drive the autoimmune-mediated cardiac tissue damage and neurobehavioral abnormalities
Influence of hydroperiod on aquatic food-web structure and energy production in a floodplain wetland: implications for environmental flow management
No full textContext. Environmental water is often used to manage floodplain wetlands that support many taxa, both terrestrial and aquatic. It is important to optimise the managed hydroperiod to maximise the provision of aquatically derived resources from wetlands. Aims. To test the hypothesis that increasing hydroperiod affects food-web structure and energy production in floodplain wetlands. Methods. Fatty acids and stable isotopes of δ13C and δ15N were used to define food-web structure, and estimate total energy production throughout a managed inundation event in a wetland in the northern Murray–Darling Basin. Key results. Food-web complexity increased with an increasing hydroperiod in line with predictable patterns of community assemblage development, before reducing sharply immediately prior to drying. Energy availability increased with an increasing hydroperiod and there was a strong correlation (ρ = 0.669, P = 0.0001) between energy availability and fatty acid concentration, which was in turn related to patterns of taxon occurrence. Conclusions and implications. Hydroperiod exerts a strong influence on aquatic invertebrate community trophic dynamics and energy provision. Planned flows should support maturation and stabilisation of the invertebrate community to optimise energy provision to consumers