Entangling Data while Entangling Disciplines. Discussing the Future of Anthropological Collaborations with Data Scientists

This special issue discusses forms of possible collaboration and mutual intermixing between anthropology and data science, by presenting projects and creative experiments that have been conducted astray the two fields. While we may say that all scientists work with data, this special issue focuses on data that are collected and/or processed by digital means. In addition, attention will be paid to computation as anthropologists have recently turned to the study of data, AI and algorithms, offering critical insights about their production and implementation. They have addressed the effects of algorithmic automation (e.g. increasing surveillance, inequality exacerbation, new forms of discrimination) and conducted fieldwork among data scientists in order to bring the socio- cultural dimensions of their work to the forefront. In this introduction, we will illustrate what motivated this special issue and will introduce the articles by positioning them critically within the current debate about computation, big data and AI

The Italian validation of the University Student Engagement Inventory

Student Engagement (SE) refers to the extent to which a student participates in academic and non-academic activities, invests in and commits to learning, belonging and identification with the educational institution. Despite the relevance of SE for students’ success, a few valid and reliable instruments have been developed. This study presents the Italian validation of the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI), which adopts both a 3 first-order conceptualization of the SE and a secondorder construct (engagement). The paper reports the psychometric analyses (test–retest reliability, construct, convergent, discriminant validities, internal consistency) on a validation sample of 628 Italian university students from 2 areas of study (psychology and biology). Criterion validity was assessed in relation to students’ drop-out intention, academic achievements, Grade Point Average (GPA) and motivation. Invariance analysis was performed for gender and area of studies. Results showed that the USEI presented a good test–retest reliability and factorial construct validity (both for the three-factor and one-factor models), it positively predicted students’ academic motivation, GPA and academic achievements, and negatively intention to drop out. The results indicate that the USEI can produce valid data on SE in the Italian context and may have implications for assessing SE and implementing intervention programs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Meaning coconstruction in group counseling: The development of innovative moments

This study discusses a model of group counseling, the narrative mediation path (NMP), which is a unique narrative, multimodal approach that combines four narrative modes (metaphoric, iconographic, writing, and bodily ) and the narrative group. The purpose of the NMP is to foster reflexive processes with underachieving university students and to improve their academic performance. The study analyzes a single case of group counseling for seven underachieving economics students at an Italian university and the process of meaning construction among NMP narrative modes and the follow-up session. It applies the innovative moments coding system, a reliable method for studying change by tracking narrative innovations in sessions. More specifically, we focus on how innovative moments (IMs: action, reflection, protest, and reconceptualization) evolve during the four different narrative modes and the follow-up session. The findings suggest that the NMP fosters narrative innovations, mainly of a reflexive nature (reflection and reconceptualization). Moreover, during counseling and the follow-up session, the pattern of change is primarily characterized by reconceptualization IMs, the most complex form of narrative innovationEuropean Commission (Grant Agreement 2011-4040 Project 517750-LLP-1-2011-1-IT-ERASMUS-ESIN

Glucan particles loaded with a NIRF agent for imaging monocytes/macrophages recruitment in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis

Glucan Particles (GPs) are hollow pseudo-microspheres (average diameter 3?5 mm) obtained from common baker´s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in which mannan, lipids and proteins are removed through a process of chemical extraction. GPs shell is mostly made of 1,3-b-D-glucan that allows for their prompt in vivo uptake by immune system cells. In this work, the inner cavity of the particles has been loaded with two amphiphilic fluorescent dyes (based on cyanine for in vivo imaging purposes and rhodamine for ex vivo microscopy experiments) through a sudden change in solvent polarity that allowed the entrapment of the molecules as microemulsion. The ability of fluorescent GPs to label immune cells in vivo and report on their recruitment in inflamed sites has been successfully demonstrated in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis (CIA) by NIRF imaging. Besides providing the visualization of the mononuclear cell infiltration in the lesion, the fluorescent signal well correlated with the clinical score associated with the disease. Very interestingly, the signal detected in lesions with the same clinical score allowed the assessment of the time evolution (progression or remission) of the pathology.Fil: Garello, Francesca. Universitã â  Di Torino; ItaliaFil: Arena, Francesca. Universitã â  Di Torino; ItaliaFil: Cutrin, Juan Carlos. Universitã â  Di Torino; Italia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas (i); ArgentinaFil: Esposito, Giovanna. Universita di Torino; ItaliaFil: D'angeli, Luca. University Of London; Reino UnidoFil: Cesano, Federico. Universita di Torino; ItaliaFil: Filippi, Miriam. Universitã â  Di Torino; ItaliaFil: Figueiredo, Sara. Universitã â  Di Torino; Italia. Universidad de Coimbra; PortugalFil: Terreno, Enzo. Universita di Torino; Itali

Evaluation of the Acceleration and Deceleration Phase-Rectified Slope to Detect and Improve IUGR Clinical Management

Objective. This study used a new method called Acceleration (or Deceleration) Phase-Rectified Slope, APRS (or DPRS) to analyze computerized Cardiotocographic (cCTG) traces in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), in order to calculate acceleration- and deceleration-related fluctuations of the fetal heart rate, and to enhance the prediction of neonatal outcome. Method. Cardiotocograms from a population of 59 healthy and 61 IUGR fetuses from the 30th gestation week matched for gestational age were included. APRS and DPRS analysis was compared to the standard linear and nonlinear cCTG parameters. Statistical analysis was performed through the -test, ANOVA test, Pearson correlation test and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves (). Results. APRS and DPRS showed high performance to discriminate between Healthy and IUGR fetuses, according to gestational week. A linear correlation with the fetal pH at birth was found in IUGR. The area under the ROC curve was 0.865 for APRS and 0.900 for DPRS before the 34th gestation week. Conclusions. APRS and DPRS could be useful in the identification and management of IUGR fetuses and in the prediction of the neonatal outcome, especially before the 34th week of gestation

Trend of change of sperm count and concentration over the last two decades: A systematic review and meta‐regression analysis

Background: Since the 1970s, several studies found that sperm concentration (SC) and total sperm count (TSC) constantly worsened over time, mainly in high-income countries. Objectives: To evaluate whether the decreasing trend in sperm count is continuing in Western European countries and USA, we performed a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Materials and methods: Embase and Pubmed/Medline were searched papers published in English in the 2000-2020 period limiting the search to data collected in the USA and Western European countries. Results: We identified 62 articles and pooled information on 24,196 men (range 10-2,523), collected from 1993 to 2018. Considering all the studies, random-effects meta-regression analyses showed no significant trend for SC (slope per year -0.07 mil/mL, p-value = 0.86). Negative trends of SC were detected in Scandinavian countries (slope per year -1.11 mil/mL, 95% CI: -2.40 to +0.19; p-value = 0.09), but the findings were statistically not significant. No significant trends of SC were detected in Central Europe (slope per year +0.23, 95% CI -2.51 to +2.96; p-value = 0.87), the USA (slope per year +1.08, 95% CI -0.42 to +2.57; p-value = 0.16), and Southern Europe (slope per year +0.19, 95% CI -0.99 to +1.37; p-value = 0.75). We have analyzed separately findings from studies including sperm donors, fertile men, young unselected men (unselected men, study mean age < 25 years) and unselected men (unselected men, study mean age ≥ 25 years). No significant trends of SC were observed among sperm donors (slope per year -2.80, 95% CI -6.76 to +1.17; p-value 0.16), unselected men (slope per year -0.23, 95% CI -1.58 to +1.12; p-value 0.73), young unselected men (slope per year -0.49, 95% CI -1.76 to +0.79; p-value 0.45), fertile men (slope per year +0.29, 95% CI -1.09 to +1.67; p-value 0.68). Discussion and conclusion: The results of this analysis show no significant trends in SC, in USA, and selected Western European countries

Synthesis of built-in highly strained monolayer MoS2 using liquid precursor chemical vapor deposition

Strain engineering is an efficient tool to tune and tailor the electrical and optical properties of 2D materials. The built-in strain can be tuned during the synthesis process of a two dimensional semiconductor, as molybdenum disulfide, by employing different growth substrate with peculiar thermal properties. In this work we demonstrate that the built-in strain of MoS2 monolayers, grown on SiO2/Si substrate using liquid precursors chemical vapor deposition, is mainly dominated by the size of the monolayer. In fact, we identify a critical size equal to 20 um, from which the built-in strain increases drastically. The built-in strain is maximized for 60 um sized monolayer, leading to 1.2% tensile strain with a partial release of strain close to the monolayer triangular vertexes due to formation of nanocracks. These findings also imply that the standard method for evaluation of the number of layers based on the Raman modes separation becomes unreliable for monolayer with a lateral size above 20 um

Fetal Vibroacoustic Stimulation in Computerized Cardiotocographic Analysis: The Role of Short-Term Variability and Approximate Entropy

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of vibroacoustic stimulation (VAS) on computerized cardiotocography short-term variability (STV) and approximate entropy (ApEn) in both low- and high-risk pregnancies. VAS was performed on 121 high- and 95 low-risk pregnancies after 10 minutes of continuous quiet, while their FHR parameters were monitored and recorded by cCTG analysis. Fetal heart rate was recorded using a computer-assisted equipment. Baseline FHR, accelerations, decelerations, STV, long-term irregularity (LTI), ApEn, and fetal movements (FMs) were calculated for defined observational periods before VAS and after 10 minutes. Data were also investigated in relationship with the perinatal outcome. In each group of patients, FHR after VAS remained almost unmodified. Fetal movements significantly increased after VAS in both groups. Results show that only in the high-risk pregnancies, the increase of STV and the decrease of ApEn after VAS were significantly associated with favorable perinatal outcomes

Ethnic analogies and differences in fetal heart rate variability signal: A retrospective study

Aim: We aimed to analyze computerized cardiotocographic (cCTG) parameters (including fetal heart rate baseline, short-term variability, Delta, long-term irregularity [LTI], interval index [II], low frequency [LF], movement frequency [MF], high frequency [HF], and approximate entropy [ApEn]) in physiological term pregnancies in order to correlate them with ethnic differences. The clinical meaning of numerical parameters may explain physiological or paraphysiological phenomena that occur in fetuses of different ethnic origins. Methods: A total of 696 pregnant women, including 384 from Europe, 246 from sub-Saharan Africa, 45 from South-East Asia, and 21 from South America, were monitored from the 37th to the 41st week of gestation. Statistical analysis was performed with the analysis of variance test, Pearson correlation test and receiver–operator curves (P < 0.05). Results: Our results showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between white and black women for Delta, LTI, LF, MF, HF, and ApEn; between white and Asian women for Delta, LTI, MF, and the LF/(HF + MF) ratio; and between white and Latina women for Delta, LTI, and ApEn. In particular, Delta and LTI performed better in the white group than in the black, Asian, and Latina groups. Instead, LF, MF, HF, and ApEn performed better in the black than in the white group. Conclusion: Our results confirmed the integrity and normal functionality of both central and autonomic nervous system components for all fetuses investigated. Therefore, CTG monitoring should include both linear and nonlinear components of fetal heart rate variability in order to avoid misinterpretations of the CTG trace among ethnic groups

Disability assessment using Google Maps

Objectives To evaluate the concordance between Google Maps  application (GM ) and clinical practice measurements of ambulatory function (e.g., Ambulation Score (AS) and respective Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)) in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Materials and methods This is a cross-sectional multicenter study. AS and EDSS were calculated using GM  and routine clinical methods; the correspondence between the two methods was assessed. A multinomial logistic model is investigated which demographic (age, sex) and clinical features (e.g., disease subtype, fatigue, depression) might have influenced discrepancies between the two methods. Results Two hundred forty-three pwMS were included; discrepancies in AS and in EDDS assessments between GM  and routine clinical methods were found in 81/243 (33.3%) and 74/243 (30.4%) pwMS, respectively. Progressive phenotype (odds ratio [OR] = 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–7.11, p = 0.03), worse fatigue (OR = 1.03; 95% CI 1.01–1.06, p = 0.01), and more severe depression (OR = 1.1; 95% CI 1.04–1.17, p = 0.002) were associated with discrepancies between GM  and routine clinical scoring. Conclusion GM  could easily be used in a real-life clinical setting to calculate the AS and the related EDSS scores. GM  should be considered for validation in further clinical studies