Ambivalent Affective Labour, Datafication of Qing and Danmei Writers in the Cultural Industry

Danmei 耽美 culture, which features male-male romance and/or erotica, emerged in mainland China in the late 1990s and has been flourishing since the 2010s across East and Southeast Asia. The dynamic Chinese danmei culture has received significant attention in academia in recent years, either by mapping out the resistant potential against the heteronormativity or by highlighting the escapist route for expressing the women participants’ desires. The danmei culture has evolved into a transmedia landscape, and at the same time, an ever-expanding cultural industry being exploited by the logic of capital. Danmei writers as affective labors living in such a cultural industry have been rarely considered in present danmei studies. Through exploring the datafication of qing (情, affects and desires) via in-depth interviews with contracted danmei writers on Jinjiang, I examine the distinct feature of danmei writers as ambivalent affective labor. For danmei writers, the datafication and monetization of qing leads to increasingly formulaic writing. By selecting, appropriating and combing the elements in the database of qing, danmei writers are able to swiftly generate a male homoerotic love story that efficiently and effectively invoke the affects and desires of readers for better monetization. Pleasures and pains are both involved in doing the ambivalent affective labor, which further consolidates the precariousness of the affective labour. However, the affects and desires per se cannot be fully manipulated – transformative momentum is embedded in the water-like qing all the time

Cortical lesions impact cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis via volume loss of nonlesional cortex

OBJECTIVE: To assess the interrelationship between cortical lesions and cortical thinning and volume loss in people with multiple sclerosis within cortical networks, and how this relates to future cognition. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 230 people with multiple sclerosis and 60 healthy controls underwent 3 Tesla MRI at baseline and neuropsychological assessment at baseline and 5-year follow-up. Cortical regions (N = 212) were divided into seven functional networks. Regions were defined as either lesional or normal-appearing cortex based on presence of a cortical lesion on artificial intelligence-generated double inversion-recovery scans. Cortical volume and thickness were determined within lesional or normal-appearing cortex. RESULTS: Prevalence of at least one cortical lesion was highest in the limbic (73%) followed by the default mode network (70.9%). Multiple sclerosis-related cortical thinning was more pronounced in lesional (mean Z-score = 0.70 ± 0.84) compared to normal-appearing cortex (−0.45 ± 0.60; P < 0.001) in all, except sensorimotor, networks. Cognitive dysfunction, particularly of verbal memory, visuospatial memory, and inhibition, at follow-up was best predicted by baseline network volume of normal-appearing cortex of the default mode network [B (95% CI) = 0.31 (0.18; 0.43), P < 0.001]. Mediation analysis showed that the effect of cortical lesions on future cognition was mediated by volume loss of the normal-appearing instead of lesional cortex, independent of white matter lesion volume. INTERPRETATION: Multiple sclerosis-related cortical thinning was worse in lesional compared to normal-appearing cortex, while volume loss of normal-appearing cortex was most predictive of subsequent cognitive decline, particularly in the default mode network. Mediation analyses indicate that cortical lesions impact cognitive decline plausibly by inducing atrophy, rather than through a direct effect

Modelling of basin-scale nutrient loading variations under the synergistic influences of climate change and socioeconomic development

Achieving reasonable and effective nutrient management requires a comprehensive framework that seamlessly integrates modelling outcomes for both present conditions and future projections. Due to the diversity of basin attributes and variations of removal processes in large-scale basins, it remains difficult to understand nutrient budgets in basins with complex stream networks. Additionally, external environmental changes induced by climate change and socioeconomic development, will also bring uncertainty to water management policies based on current assessments. This study develops a new holistic framework based on the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) model coupling with the interaction of climate change and socioeconomic development. The framework can integrate multi-source information and model present and future scenarios to evaluate the nutrient status comprehensively. The application of this methodology is demonstrated through a case study in the Danjiangkou Reservoir basin (DJKRB) in China. Findings revealed that atmospheric deposition emerged as the predominant total nitrogen (TN) source in the DJKRB, contributing over 60% on average; while total phosphorus (TP) sources were more diversified, with untreated urban wastewater being a significant contributor, accounting for roughly 37%. The analysis of future uncertainties based on scenario simulations and sensitivity analyses further shows the need for prioritising efforts to mitigate atmospheric nitrogen pollution and promote precipitation-induced runoff management within the DJKRB. This study not only serves as a scientific basis for nutrient modelling in the context of evolving environmental conditions but also proposes a practical methodological framework for water resources management in expansive basins through a real-world case study in the DJKRB

Strategies and resources used by public health units to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among priority groups: a behavioural science-informed review of three urban centres in Canada

BACKGROUND: Ensuring widespread COVID-19 vaccine uptake is a public health priority in Canada and globally, particularly within communities that exhibit lower uptake rates and are at a higher risk of infection. Public health units (PHUs) have leveraged many resources to promote the uptake of recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses. Understanding barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake, and which strategies/resources have been used to address them to date, may help identify areas where further support could be provided. We sought to identify the strategies/resources used by PHUs to promote the uptake of the first and third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine among priority groups in their jurisdictions. We examined the alignment of these existing strategies/resources with behavioral science principles, to inform potential complementary strategies/resources. METHODS: We reviewed the online and in-person strategies/resources used by three PHUs in Ontario, Canada to promote COVID-19 vaccine uptake among priority groups (Black and Eastern European populations, and/or neighbourhoods with low vaccine uptake or socioeconomic status). Strategies/resources were identified from PHU websites, social media, and PHU liaison. We used the Behaviour Change Techniques (BCT) Taxonomy - which describes 93 different ways of supporting behaviour change - to categorise the types of strategies/resources used, and the Theoretical Domains Framework - which synthesises 14 factors that can be barriers or facilitators to decisions and actions - to categorise the barriers and facilitators addressed by strategies/resources. RESULTS: PHUs operationalised 21 out of 93 BCTs, ranging from 15 to 20 BCTs per PHU. The most frequently operationalised BCTs were found in strategies/resources that provided information about COVID-19 infection and vaccines, increased access to COVID-19 vaccination, and integrated social supports such as community ambassadors and engagement sessions with healthcare professionals. Identified BCTs aligned most frequently with addressing barriers and facilitators related to Knowledge, Environmental context and resources, and Beliefs about consequences domains. CONCLUSION: PHUs have used several BCTs to address different barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccine uptake for priority groups. Opportunities should be pursued to broaden the scope of BCTs used (e.g., operationalizing the pros and cons BCT) and barriers/facilitators addressed in strategies/resources for ongoing and future COVID-19 vaccine uptake efforts among general and prioritised populations

A 50-year data-driven model of disability and lesion load trajectories in progressive multiple sclerosis

This scientific commentary refers to 'A data-driven model of disability progression in progressive multiple sclerosis', by Garbarino et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcae434)

Between Recognition and Erasure: Indigenous Knowledge, Gender, Culture, and Socio-Environmental Politics in Nepal

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Contested Spaces: Negotiating Native American Artistic Identity in Los Angeles

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Relationship between ice adhesion force and interface micromechanics

The tangential ice adhesion force on a substrate with varying surface temperatures and the freezing interface strain were simultaneously measured to study the formation process of the ice adhesion force. The tangential adhesion force at different surface temperatures of icing and the tangential freezing interface strain formed by the attached water in the freezing process were tested and collected with a self-made experimental device. The ice adhesion force and freezing interface strain in the tangential direction gradually increased with the surface temperature decreasing. For example, compared to the ice adhesion force and the freezing interface strain at a surface temperature of −10°C, the ice adhesion force and freezing interface strain on the substrate surface at −15°C increased by 45.37% and 5.13%, respectively. A quadratic function relationship with a good fitness between the ice adhesion force and the freezing interface strain was constructed. The continuous increase of the freezing interface strain will elevate the relative sliding between the attached water and the substrate, so the ice adhesion force will also increase to avoid sliding. The present study will help to reveal the formation mechanism and process of ice adhesion force from the perspective of the freezing interface strain

Views of Suicide-Bereaved Adults Regarding the Significance of the Deceased’s Death Date

Empirical research suggests that the date of death by suicide may have had particular significance to the deceased, for example their birthday or an anniversary. However, no research has explored the views of the social network of the deceased as to any perceived significance of the date of the suicide. We conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data from a large online UK survey of suicide-bereaved adults conducted in 2017–2018, including a question on whether suicide deaths of those in the respondent’s social network were thought to be related to a significant date. We presented descriptive statistics for participants’ socio-demographic characteristics and conducted a descriptive thematic analysis of free-text responses capturing views about any perceived links between suicides in the respondent’s social network and any dates of significance, to establish a classification of types of significant dates relating to a close contact’s suicide. Of the 7,158 eligible survey respondents, 203 (2.8%) individuals endorsed that the suicide of a friend/relative had occurred on a date of significance. We classified such dates as: 1) birthdays (39.5%), 2) death anniversaries (30.2.%), 3) other significant dates (23.9%), 4) coinciding dates (3.9%), and 5) ambiguous date categories (2.4%). Participants often identified interpersonal issues between the deceased and others as a potential explanation for a specific date having significance. Despite the potential for recall bias in participants seeking meaning to a traumatic loss, our results identify the need for suicide risk assessments to consider specific significant dates as temporal risk factors for distress and suicide risk