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Correction: Pessali-Marques et al. Musculoskeletal Morphology and Joint Flexibility-Associated Functional Characteristics across Three Time Points during the Menstrual Cycle in Female Contemporary Dancers. J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2024, 9, 38
Full text linkIn the original publication [1], there was a mistake in Table 2 as published. Several rows were misaligned: towards the lower part of the table (from the ‘SJ impulse (Ns)’ row to ‘SJ vtake-off (m/s)’ row), some values are displayed one row below their intended position. We have also updated the decimals in values to provide greater details (from below the ‘CMJ vtake-off (m/s)’ row). The corrected Table 2 appears below. The authors state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected. This correction was approved by the Academic Editor. The original publication has also been updated.
Table 2. Descriptive analysis of the dancers across three menstrual cycle phases (average ± standard deviation). Note that there are no statistically significant differences in raw data
Praxeological analysis (PA/CPA) for stigma, health inequalities, and coercion in women’s services
Full text linkThis paper sets out a practical, interview-free protocol for studying how stigma, inequalities, and restrictive practices are done in women’s mental health, learning-disability, and autism services, with a particular focus on women detained in inpatient and other institutional settings. Building on Praxeological Analysis (PA) and Critical Praxeological Analysis (CPA), we specify data pathways for naturally occurring materials (clinical letters, triage logs, ward round notes, safeguarding records, complaint correspondence, public hearings/transcripts, and, where ethically approved, audio/video recordings of clinical interactions between people who use services and healthcare professionals), and a replicable analytic procedure keyed to linguistic/praxeological Gestalts. Rather than treating “stigma” as an attitude, attribute or variable, we investigate stigma in its sites of production, the situations in which discrimination, discreditation, degradation etc are done, experienced and witnessable. The protocol operationalizes what we call a praxeological respecification: a shift from traits to scenes and from beliefs and attitudes to practices, enabling research and quality improvement that directly addresses the levers through which inequalities are produced and maintained and which supports least-restrictive, trauma-informed, autism-informed and culturally competent inpatient care in line with current NHS culture-of-care standards
Arnold Toynbee, Force China To Give Up A-Bomb (1965) https://www.academia.edu/164451388/Arnold_Toynbee_Force_China_To_Give_Up_A_Bomb_1965_
No full textADDITIONS, INTEGRATIONS, CORRECTIONS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ARNOLD JOSEPH TOYNBEE, No. 807, Addition to Part I, Works by Arnold J. Toynbe
Involvement of serotonin receptor 7 in synaptic dysfunctions in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder
No full textAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication, repetitive behaviors, and altered brain plasticity. Emerging evidence indicates that impairment in the serotonergic system, particularly involving serotonin receptor 7 (5-HT7 receptor), plays a crucial role in ASD pathophysiology. In this study, we investigated the synaptic alterations in the brain of juvenile and adult BTBR T + Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mice, a well-established ASD model, emphasizing the pivotal role of 5-HT7 receptor in regulating synaptic morphology and functions. Our analyses revealed a significant alteration of pre- and post-synaptic proteins expression, impaired synaptic protein synthesis, and abnormal dendritic spine morphology in the brain cortex of BTBR mice. These synaptic deficits were accompanied by a reduction in 5-HT7 receptor expression in brain cortex synaptosomes of BTBR mice, underscoring the importance of 5-HT7 receptor in maintaining synaptic homeostasis. Remarkably, pharmacological activation of 5-HT7 receptor with the selective agonist LP-211 restored synaptic protein synthesis and ameliorated dendritic spine abnormalities in brain cortex of BTBR mice. Altogether, our findings provide new insights into the molecular underpinnings of ASD, suggesting that targeting the 5-HT7 receptor is a promising therapeutic approach to address synaptic dysfunctions in neurodevelopmental disorders
Vegetable-inspired biomimetic surfaces for preventing Escherichia coli binding in the food industry
Full text linkPathogen contamination of food contact surfaces poses serious public health and economic risks. Bacterial binding to these surfaces enhances microbial resistance to cleaning and disinfection, thus requiring novel antifouling strategies. This study explored a biomimetic approach to surface engineering by replicating the microtopographies of four plant leaves – Tenderheart (TH), Cauliflower (CF), White Cabbage (WC) and Leek (L) – onto wax and silicone substrates, aiming to reduce Escherichia coli binding. The biomimetic surfaces were fabricated using a moulding technique and characterized for topography (Optical Profilometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy), wettability (Water Contact Angle), and surface chemistry (Raman Spectroscopy), before and after conditioning with a casein film. Antifouling performance was evaluated through spray-and-wash (Attachment) and 1-hour static immersion (Retention) assays. All biomimetic surfaces exhibited significantly higher roughness and lower wettability than the flat controls. Silicone biomimetic surfaces, being less wettable, generally outperformed the wax surfaces, reducing bacterial attachment by up to 88% (CF) and retention by up to 82% (WC). The L topography consistently demonstrated strong anti-binding activity against E. coli attachment, whereas the WC surface proved particularly effective in reducing bacterial numbers in retention assays. Although conditioning the surfaces with casein partially masked the surface features and increased their wettability, silicone biomimetic surfaces (WC and L) maintained a significant antifouling efficacy (up to 90% reduction). Overall, higher roughness and low wettability synergistically hindered bacterial colonization. These findings support the potential of nature-inspired surfaces as a promising strategy to minimize bacterial contamination in food processing equipment
Skeletal muscle metabolomic markers underlying the enhanced exercise-induced hypertrophy response to resistance training in older adults
Full text linkResistance training (RT) is an effective intervention for improving muscle health and metabolism in ageing, but the degree of responsiveness (hypertrophy) to RT varies substantially. We examined muscle metabolomic profiles before and after 10-weeks RT in older adults classified into upper (UPPER) and lower (LOWER) tertiles of hypertrophy to identify key metabolic adaptation differences. Fifty older adults (23 males, 27 females, mean 68.2 years old) completed 10 weeks of RT combined with whey protein supplementation. Quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA) was assessed via magnetic resonance imaging before and after RT. Participants were grouped into UPPER (n = 25, 10.3 ± 2% CSA increase) or LOWER (n = 25, 3.3 ± 2% CSA increase) based on ranked CSA changes. We profiled skeletal muscle tissues from the UPPER and LOWER groups using a metabolomics platform. Over 2,500 metabolites were mapped to 104 metabolic pathways. In the UPPER group, upregulation of tryptophan-indole metabolites and the kynurenine pathway suggests a potential role of gut function and anti-inflammatory effect on RT-induced hypertrophy. Also, leucine, isoleucine and valine were significantly upregulated in the absence of their catabolites. Enrichment of urea cycle/amino group metabolism alongside mitochondria-matrix metabolites in the UPPER group indicates improved amino acids and energy homeostasis. Our findings highlight distinct RT-induced skeletal muscle metabolic profiles between UPPER and LOWER in older adults, underscoring the value of metabolic data. These metabolic pathways are important for understanding what contributes to the heterogeneity of hypertrophic response to RT in older adults
Spatiotemporal association analysis of incident data: a multi-temporal framework based on Geographically and Temporally Weighted Co-Location Quotient
Full text linkIncident data that occur in close spatial and temporal proximity often share latent or unob-served influences. Understanding the spatiotemporal associations among different categoriesof such incidents is therefore crucial for urban studies and public health research. Spatialstatistical methods have been widely employed to investigate association patterns; however,several methodological challenges persist – particularly regarding sample size determination,class imbalance, and bandwidth selection. This study proposes a methodological frameworkfor analyzing multi-temporal scale association patterns in incident data using theGeographically and Temporally Weighted Co-Location Quotient (GTWCLQ) method. First, wedesign and validate a systematic parameter optimization approach to address limitations insample size, class distribution, and spatial-temporal bandwidth settings. Second, we develop a structured framework to explore the spatiotemporal associations across multiple temporalscales in the incident data. We demonstrate the utility of this framework through an empiricalcase study examining the spatiotemporal association patterns of childhood respiratory dis-eases in Nanning City, China, using incident data from December 2016 at both monthly anddaily resolutions. The results reveal that our validated multi-scale spatiotemporal associationanalysis framework effectively captures the dynamic associations in disease incident dataacross different temporal scales, visualizes the spatiotemporal heterogeneity, and furtherexamines the scaling effect of multiple temporal data on the co-location patterns. The findingscontribute to methodological rigor in co-location association analysis of spatiotemporal inci-dent data and have practical implications for disease surveillance, environmental healthmonitoring, and spatial decision-makin
Navigating ethical considerations and implications of AI chatbots in higher education: A systematic review
Full text linkThis systematic review explores the ethical challenges associated with the use of AI-based chatbots in higher education, focusing on their implications for students, educators, institutions, and administrative stakeholders. Following PRISMA guidelines, peer-reviewed literature published between 2014 and 2024 was systematically identified across eight major academic databases, yielding a total of 109 eligible studies. A thematic analysis of the included literature indicates that concerns related to academic integrity are most frequently discussed, alongside recurring issues involving data privacy and security, algorithmic bias, overreliance on automated systems, and the risk of inaccurate or misleading outputs. The findings further demonstrate considerable variation in institutional responses to AI chatbot adoption ranging from the development of formal governance structures and ethical guidelines to more cautious, selective implementation strategies, and, in some cases, restrictive or prohibitive policies. While many studies report positive outcomes associated with AI chatbots particularly in relation to student engagement, personalised learning support, and administrative efficiency, their expanding use raises complex ethical, regulatory, and governance challenges. Collectively, these findings highlight the need for clearer institutional policies, responsible implementation practices, and ongoing evaluation mechanisms. The review also identifies persistent gaps in empirical research and outlines priorities for future studies aimed at supporting the ethical, inclusive, and sustainable integration of AI chatbots in higher education
Bridging Accuracy and Explainability: A SHAP-Enhanced CNN for Skin Cancer Diagnosis
No full textEarly detection of melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer, can greatly enhance patient survival rates. Although AI models have demonstrated strong diagnostic capabilities, their integration into clinical practice remains limited due to concerns over explainability and trust. This work proposes a SHAP-enhanced Convolutional Neural Network (SCNN) for binary classification of skin lesions into melanoma and non-melanoma categories, directly integrating Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) as an additional input channel to enhance performance and explainability. We evaluated SCNN on the ISIC 2017 and ISIC 2018 datasets, achieving ROC-AUC scores of 0.80 and 0.91, respectively. These results indicate substantial improvements in classification accuracy and robustness compared to baseline models. An analysis of model explainability on the ISIC 2017 dataset reveals that SCNN more accurately highlights lesion areas identified by experts, achieving a mean Intersection-over-Union score of 0.34, which marginally improved the baseline score of 0.32. 53% of the correct melanoma predictions made by the SCNN model were based on clinically relevant regions, compared to only 40% for the baseline model. Qualitative evaluations via Grad-CAM visualisations further confirmed that SCNN prioritised medically meaningful features, such as lesion asymmetry and border irregularities. These results demonstrate that integrating explainability into model training can enhance transparency without compromising performance, thereby gaining more trust from clinicians
Psychosocial Strengths Associated with Higher Functioning after Interpersonal Adversity in the United Kingdom and Ireland
No full textObjective: Over the past two decades, positive psychology research has identified correlates of resilience. Although a range of strengths have been explored, there is a need to identify specific strengths that best support individuals to thrive after interpersonal trauma and adversity. This study assessed the contribution of 24 strengths from the Values in Action (VIA) positive psychology survey, alongside five other measures of strengths identified from resilience research, to identify those that show most promise. Method: In total, 1,440 adults from the United Kingdom and Ireland completed the online VIA survey, and questions on five psychosocial strengths (ecoconnections, mindfulness, psychological endurance, sense of purpose, and social support), adversities (interpersonal victimization and institutional betrayal), and current functioning (subjective well-being, posttraumatic growth, and health-related quality of life). Results: In the first U.K. and Ireland study to assess institutional betrayal alongside other interpersonal adversities and a range of resiliency factors, participants reported high rates of victimization and other trauma. Strengths accounted for greater proportions of variance in all three outcomes compared to adversities. Hope and zest were significantly and positively associated with all three outcomes. Sense of purpose, gratitude, social support, mindfulness, psychological endurance, spirituality, and self-regulation were positively related to at least one outcome. Humor, spirituality, fairness, and leadership were associated with worse functioning in some analyses. Conclusions: Some strengths are more helpful than others for overcoming adversity, and could serve as useful targets for intervention to mitigate the burden of interpersonal adversity. Further work is needed to understand the complexities of strengths on resilience in global contexts