Negative Features Research Articles

Animal exploitation in SW Iberian Peninsula during the Neolithic period: A Zooarchaeological perspective from Barranco do Xacafre (Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal)

This study analyses the faunistic collection recovered at Barranco do Xacafre (Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal). The intervention undertaken revealed two negative features interpreted as ditches, dating back to the second half of the 4th millennium BC (Late Neolithic). The main goal of this paper is to study the relationship between the Neolithic communities and animals from a sociocultural and economic perspective. In particular, it aims to understand the importance of domestication in relation to hunting activities and verify the use that was given to each species, as well as the strategies for exploitation of the carcasses and management of animal resources. The collection is composed mostly of mammalian fauna, where sheep and goat as well as cow and aurochs are the prevalent species, while pig, wild boar and dog are significantly less represented. Domestic and/or wild horse and cervids, namely red deer and roe deer are also significant. The malacological remains observed correspond to bivalves, such as the scallop, the clam, the mussel and the smooth clam. Fragments of undetermined passeriform birds were also identified. The results revealed a significant presence of wild but also domestic species, indicating exploitation strategies based on both hunting and pastoralism.

Magneto‐Electroluminescence Responses Mediated by Magneto‐Conductance in Polymer and Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence‐Emitter‐Based Light‐Emitting Diodes

The magneto‐electroluminescence (MEL) responses of polymer and thermally activated delayed fluorescence‐emitter‐based light‐emitting diodes (TADF LEDs) under constant voltage and current regimes are characterized to elucidate that the current as regulated by magneto‐conductance (MC) mediates MEL of devices. Through the analytical fitting of MC and MEL curves, it is disclosed that MC (as interpreted by the polar pair model) partially involves the changes in the curve features, magnitudes, and shapes of MEL responses. A negative curve feature in the MEL response of TADF‐based LEDs is visualized under the electric bias in a low magnetic field regime. This feature should be attributed to the mediation of the MEL by the negative MC due to the unbalanced carrier dynamics of the device. When carrier dynamics are balanced, the specific negative curve feature at low magnetic field regime disappears. In this work, the solid correlation between the MEL and MC responses is revealed and the negative curve feature of MEL under the constant voltage at the low magnetic field regime that involves the contribution from the triplet exciton charge reaction in TADF‐based LEDs is validated.

Extensions and Detailed Analysis of Synergy Between Traditional Classification and Classification Based on Negative Features in Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

In recent times, deep convolutional neural networks became an irreplaceable tool for pattern recognition in many different machine learning applications, especially in image classification. On the other hand, these models are often used in critical systems which are the reason for new and recent research regarding their robustness and reliability. One of the most important issues for these models is their susceptibility to different adversarial attacks. In our previous work Milošević and Racković (Neural Network World. 2019;29(4):221–34), and Milošević and Racković (Neural Comput Applic. 2021;33:7593–602), the new type of learning applicable to all the convolutional neural networks was introduced: the classification based on the negative features and the synergy of traditional and those newly introduced network models. In the case of partial inputs/image occlusion, it was shown that our new method creates models that are more robust and perform better when compared to traditional models of the same architecture. In this paper, some extensions of the earlier proposed synergy are given by introducing negatively trained features and additional synergy between four independent neural network models. A detailed analysis of the robustness of the newly proposed model is performed on EMNIST and CIFAR-10 image classification data sets in the case of the selected input occlusions and adversarial attacks. The newly proposed neural network architecture improves the robustness of the neural network and increases its resistance to various types of input damage and adversarial attacks.

A Review of Economic Data on the Capitalization of Agricultural Goods from Small-Scale Agricultural Holdings in the

The economic effects of the First World War included various direct and indirect dimensions. The war resulted not only in material and human loss but also in significant restructuring of economic flows and mechanisms; further displacements and reorganizations arose from the new political and economic order established post-1918. Discussing the direct impact of the war as well as the economic fallout from the 1918 Union of the historical provinces of Romania is necessary in this specific instance. Historiographically, it is important to acknowledge that the immediate repercussions of the war have frequently been examined, whereas historians have typically avoided scrutinizing the economic ramifications of the “Great Union” and have been even less inclined to regard the war's consequences as a cost of the 1918 Union. The significant endeavors to establish a state including all Romanian historical regions during the First World War were driven by national goals and should stay untainted by secondary economic factors. Historians` inclination to attribute the negative features to the conflict while deeming the positive ones as beneficial outcomes of the “Great Union” is, however, less legitimate. Had Romanian society and political entities not truly pursued the reunification of Romanian territory in Austria-Hungary with the “Old Kingdom”, Romania would not have engaged in the war in 1916. Therefore, we consider that it is justifiable to include the economic implications of the war as integral to the comprehensive assessment of the Union of 1918.

A refined model of lithium-ion battery considering agglomerated active material and non-uniform graphite particle

This study presents a refined lithium-ion battery model based on the Newman model, incorporating agglomerate structures in the positive electrode and non-uniform particle size distribution in the negative electrode. The agglomerates in the positive region consist of nano-scale primary particles, pore spaces, and binders, while the negative region features a random distribution of particle sizes. The model employs the volume averaging method and integrates a thermal model to provide a comprehensive simulation framework. The results of the numerical calculations and experimental measurements show that the model is in good agreement with the experimental data. The predicted discharge capacity of the proposed model is significantly higher than that of the traditional P2D model. This improvement is primarily due to the increased diffusion distance in agglomerates and the non-uniform particle sizes, which result in substantial changes in overpotential, electrolyte concentration, and solid-phase lithium-ion distribution. The model effectively captures the complex electrochemical behavior during discharge, underscoring the importance of considering structural heterogeneities in battery modeling.

The possibilities of using of captive and domestic broodstocks for saving of natural populations. 2. Salmonidae. Atlantic salmon (Part 2)

In first review we considered the problems of creation of sturgeon broodstocks in freshwater with full exclusion of marine phase. Several species of salmonids (trouts) which easily change their life stategy (sea trout/brown trout Salmo trutta, steelhead/rainbow trout, brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and other chars) also could be grown in fresh water up to definitive sizes and maturation. Atlantic salmon differs from above species. In present article the intraspecific structure of Atlantic salmon and its life strategies (anadromous, potamodromos and riverine/residential), development of methods of artificial propagation of salmonids and possibilities of Atlantic salmon growing in conditions of freshwater farm are considered. Three types of broodstocks could be created — sea-run (wild), captive (grown from wild smolts) and domestic (grown from eggs) ones. The creation of domestic freshwater broodstock of Atlantic salmon is more complicated in comparison with “trouts” because of precocious maturation of great percent of males and low quality of mature germinal cells in males and females. The other negative features of domestic breeders are decreased genetic variability, increased straying and reduced reproductive success. So commercial aquaculture uses traditional scheme of transfer of large smolts (near 100 g) to sea cages. Conservation aquaculture prefers wild non-resident breeders. Atlantic salmon is characterized by riverspecific broodstocks, so each river should have its own broodstock. As a result, domestic broodstock of Atlantic salmon in conservation aquaculture could be used only as last measure when all other possibilities are already exhaused.

Advantages and disadvantages of virtual tourism

This article examines theoretical and applied issues that arise in tourism activities when using innovative technologies of virtual reality. The position is argued that virtual tourism is an additional tool and cannot replace the real tourist experience, but can create new impressions, even those that are impossible under normal conditions. The subtleties of the boundary that exists between real and virtual tourism depends on the psycho-emotional attitude and perception of the tourist (user) of the tourist experience using virtual reality technologies. The purpose of the research is: analysis of positive and negative qualities of virtual tourism based on a comprehensive review of experimental research by foreign scientists in this field; study of the importance and impact of virtual tourism on the development of the tourism industry in general as a necessary element of the stage of rejuvenation of this sector of the economy; identifying the further place of virtual tourism in the field of tourist activity as an additional tool for providing tourist services, or the main one, which will depend on the attitude of tourists to this technology. Within the framework of our research, attention is paid to the positive and negative aspects of virtual tourism. Among the positive ones, such as saving money and time, the possibility of obtaining a tourist experience for persons with limited physical capabilities, receiving tourist services anywhere and at any time, improving the ecological situation in the world by minimizing the impact on the environment and ensuring the sustainability of the environment are highlighted environment Among the negative features of virtual tourism, one can highlight such as the lack of personal contact and the necessary human interaction, the limited view provided by virtual tours, which does not allow users to move freely or explore certain areas of interest, which leads to a narrower view of the area. In any case, the development of virtual tourism is useful and necessary not only as a successful marketing solution, but also for the rejuvenation of the tourism sector.

Rural Tourist Attractions Recommendation Model Based on Multi-Feature Fusion Graph Neural Networks

With the rapid growth of the rural tourism industry, traditional tourism recommendation technologies can no longer meet the necessary requirements. To address the issue of rural tourist attraction recommendations, a rural tourist attraction recommendation model is constructed based on a multi-feature fusion graph neural network. First, construct a feature map based on the relationship between tourists’ preferences and tourist attractions, and incorporate the attention mechanism to enhance the model’s learning capabilities. Second, utilize a two-part graph model to extract positive and negative preference features of tourists, and a conversation graph model to extract tourists’ transfer preference features. Finally, various features are utilized to generate suggested content by computing scores for tourists’ travel preferences. To address the problem of recommending tourist groups, suitable features for random group matching are collected and the cosine function is employed to identify users with similar random group features. Finally, the multi-features are merged, and the tourists’ interest preferences are scored to arrive at content recommendations. In the experiment on individualized attraction recommendations, data from the Chengdu area were used to test the proposed model. The accuracy of the model’s recommendations was 0.822 for five recommendations which outperformed the other models. In the experiment for group-based attraction recommendations, this experiment tested the Chengdu dataset. The proposed model achieved the highest accuracy of 0.972 when the group size was 70, outperforming the other two models. Additionally, with regards to different numbers of recommendations, the proposed model’s accuracy was 0.5241, which was the best performance among the three models when the number of recommendations was set to five. The proposed recommendation model performs optimally in suggesting tourist attractions and meets the needs of rural tourism. The research content provides crucial technical references for tourist traveling and rural tourism development.

Abstract 4112944: A diagnostic challenge overcome with persistent clinical suspicion in a case of cardiac AL amyloidosis

Case: A 62-year old male with a history of chronic kidney disease and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation presented with several months of fatigue, a progressive decline in functional status (NYHA IIIb-IV), weight loss, and intermittent lower extremity swelling. Blood pressure was 92/72 mmHg on presentation, and heart rate was 90 bpm. Physical examination revealed a jugular venous pressure of 12-14 cm H2O and 2+ bilateral lower extremity edema with mild wheezing. Methods/workup: Laboratories are shown in Table 1 and were notable for a serum free light chain ratio of 0.14. Transthoracic echocardiogram (figure 1) revealed a left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction of 33% with increased LV wall thickness and severe bi-atrial enlargement. Bone marrow biopsy revealed 2% lambda restricted plasma cells without evidence of amyloid deposits; metastatic bone survey was negative. A fat pad biopsy and endomyocardial biopsy stained negative for amyloid with Congo red. Cardiac MRI showed diffuse, circumferential subendocardial late gadolinium enhancement, most compatible with cardiac amyloidosis (figure 2). The patient also had a chest CT scan that demonstrated a few patchy nodular pulmonary infiltrates. Given his extensive negative workup, he was referred to pulmonary and endobronchial biopsy was positive for amyloid on Congo red staining (figure 3). Biopsy tissue typing revealed Lambda subtype AL amyloidosis. Management: The patient was started on Daratumumab, Cyclophosphamide, Bortezomib, and Dexamethasone by Hematology. Unfortunately, about a month after his diagnosis, he developed worsening heart failure despite treatment. He was admitted to an outside hospital with refractory cardiogenic shock and passed away during that admission. Discussion: The diagnosis of AL amyloidosis requires a high index of suspicion for prompt diagnosis and treatment. We present a case in which cardiac amyloidosis was suspected based on the patient’s clinical picture and cardiac imaging; however, multiple initial biopsies were negative. An expedited, multimodal and interdisciplinary diagnostic assessment is imperative as prognosis with chemotherapy is highly dependent on extent of AL disease, patient functional status, and presence of cardiac compromise. Elevated natriuretic peptides, troponins, autonomic dysfunction, and hypotension are negative prognostic features.

A Practical Contrastive Learning Framework for Single-Image Super-Resolution.

Contrastive learning has achieved remarkable success on various high-level tasks, but there are fewer contrastive learning-based methods proposed for low-level tasks. It is challenging to adopt vanilla contrastive learning technologies proposed for high-level visual tasks to low-level image restoration problems straightly. Because the acquired high-level global visual representations are insufficient for low-level tasks requiring rich texture and context information. In this article, we investigate the contrastive learning-based single-image super-resolution (SISR) from two perspectives: positive and negative sample construction and feature embedding. The existing methods take naive sample construction approaches (e.g., considering the low-quality input as a negative sample and the ground truth as a positive sample) and adopt a prior model (e.g., pretrained very deep convolutional networks proposed by visual geometry group (VGG) model) to obtain the feature embedding. To this end, we propose a practical contrastive learning framework for SISR (PCL-SR). We involve the generation of many informative positive and hard negative samples in frequency space. Instead of utilizing an additional pretrained network, we design a simple but effective embedding network inherited from the discriminator network, which is more task-friendly. Compared with the existing benchmark methods, we retrain them by our proposed PCL-SR framework and achieve superior performance. Extensive experiments have been conducted to show the effectiveness and technical contributions of our proposed PCL-SR thorough ablation studies. The code and resulting models will be released via https://github.com/Aitical/PCL-SISR.

Dealing with dichotomies in health care: Case reports

ABSTRACT Dichotomies with respect to medical orientations and public health have been common in the past and even in the present probably orchestrated by the traditional versus modern medical concepts that became eternal arena for disquiet in the healing world of many countries. In public health, the so-called technology tradition was especially dominant which assumed the power of technology and the paternalistic ‘managerial mode’ regarding disease control programs. Such a ‘managerial perversion’ has demolished the positivity of primary health care as well as the social determinants framework. It is important to consider cultural background, the belief systems and perceptions of the people in shaping the health behaviour of the people. We are presenting here two case reports on distinct scenarios in order to show the conceptual problems with respect to the notion of dichotomies and the linkages with health. These are based on our empirical explorations using qualitative methodologies. The first case is on non-communicable diseases in a tribal society in Kerala and the second one on utilization of Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) among palliative cancer patients from a district in Kerala. It is seen that as new problems emerge or when people struggle with diseases as presented in the two case reports, they tend to depend on the positivity of the deeply entrenched cultural artefacts in combination with modern systems and they tend to bridge the dichotomies rationally instead of viewing them retrograde. It is necessary to examine the reasons for engaging in such syncretic health behaviour which could be popular realizations on the positive and negative features of both health orientations. This approach of the people could be used effectively for managing such health problems in the community.

Why greenhouse agricultural workers do not use pesticide protection methods? A case study

Abstract Background Exposure to pesticides in individuals working in greenhouse agriculture is an important public health problem that threatens their health more than individuals working in other agricultural jobs for the same period of time, causing an increase in mortality and morbidity rates. Applying protection methods plays an important role in reducing/preventing exposure-related health risks. It is aimed to explore the reasons why greenhouse agricultural workers do not use pesticide protection methods. Methods This case study was adopted the descriptive qualitative approach between February-March 2024. Individual in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with semi-structured interviews, resulting in 20 participants. The inclusion criteria for participants include being a greenhouse agricultural worker (at least 1 year), being 18 years of age or older, using pesticides, not using any personal protective equipment, and not engaging in protective behavior. Braun and Clark’s (2021) reflexive thematic analysis methodology was used to analyze the data. Results In this study generated three main themes and fourteen subthemes. The main themes identified were a) personal attitudes/ characteristics b) negative features of the physical environment, c) negative features of personal protective equipment. Conclusions The reasons why greenhouse agricultural workers do not use pesticide protection methods are individual attitudes/characteristics such as laziness and not to care about, negative characteristics of the environment such as temperature, humidity and wetness, and negative characteristics of personal protective equipment such as being heavy and inflexibility. Health institutions and health professionals serving in regions where agricultural workers should develop interventional studies, intervention programs and strategies to protect and improve the health of these individuals. Key messages • Greenhouse agriculture workers do not use any of the pesticide protection methods due to individual attitudes/characteristics, negative characteristics of environment and personal protective equipment. • Health professionals can ensure that greenhouse agricultural workers use pesticide protection methods by increasing their awareness of health risks and planning interventional studies.

A Comprehensive Approach for Selecting Third-Party Logistics Providers

The finest third-party logistics (3PL) supplier is a vital decision for businesses trying to streamline their supply chain operations. In order to free up time for businesses to concentrate on their core skills, third-party logistics providers offer a variety of services, such as distribution management, warehousing, and transportation. However, selecting the best 3PL supplier necessitates a rigorous assessment of variables including sector expertise, technical prowess, service quality, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. This introduction discusses the significance of choosing the best 3PL supplier and emphasizes important factors to take into account when making a choice. It is essential since there is a chance that third-party logistics (3PL) provider selection study may boost the supply chain's effectiveness and competitiveness. Firms may make selections that are tailored to their unique requirements by recognizing and assessing the elements that affect the choosing process. Proper 3PL selection may boost market response, save costs, expand the capacity of operations, and improve customer happiness. As a result, research in this field helps to create best practices and strategies that enhance supply chain management and promote entrepreneurship. A multi-criteria decision-making approach called The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used to rank and choose the best option from a list of options. To determine how closely each alternative resembles the ideal answer, TOPSIS takes into account both positive and negative features. Based on the greatest distance from the inverse idealistic and the lowest distance to the positive ideal, the outcome score is calculated. This approach facilitates decision-making processes in a variety of contexts, such as project prioritization, supplier selection, and investment appraisal. Alternative parameters taken as 3PL-1, 3PL-2, 3PL-3, 3PL-4, 3PL-5. Evaluation parameters taken as Delivery Service (%), Quality of the Customer Experience (Quos), Coverage of the EU Territories (%), Flexibility, and Cost (EUR/km). From the result it is seen that 3PL-2 secures the first rank which is acquired by the TOPSIS method. To secure the first place on the table consistency will be the key factor which was maintained by 3PL-2

Interpretations of Generic Versus Comparative Statements About Groups: Similarities and Differences

We compare interpretations of two kinds of statements that are important for stereotype transmission: generics (e.g., “women are helpful”) and comparatives (e.g., “women are more helpful than men”). Participants ( N = 338) read and interpreted generic or comparative statements about positive and negative features of gender (Experiment A) and age groups (Experiment B). We found similarities and differences. Participants interpreted both generics and comparatives as conveying information not only about the target (women in the example) but also about the referent (men in the example), whether the statement explicitly mentioned the referent (in comparatives) or not (in generics). When statements said something positive (negative) about the target, they also communicated a rather negative (positive) view of the referent. Remarkably, although comparatives explicitly contrast groups while generics do not, generics implied bigger differences between the groups and provoked more extreme assumptions about the groups. We discuss implications for stereotype transmission.

The possibilities of using of captive and domestic broodstocks for saving of natural populations. 2. Salmonidae. Atlantic salmon (Part 1)

In first review we considered the problems of creation of sturgeon broodstocks in freshwater with full exclusion of marine phase. Several species of salmonids (trouts) which easily change their life stategy (sea trout/brown trout Salmo trutta, steelhead/rainbow trout, brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and other chars) also could be grown in fresh water up to definitive sizes and maturation. Atlantic salmon differs from above species. In present article the intraspecific structure of Atlantic salmon and its life strategies (anadromous, potamodromos and riverine/residential), development of methods of artificial propagation of salmonids and possibilities of Atlantic salmon growing in conditions of freshwater farm are considered. Three types of broodstocks could be created — sea-run (wild), captive (grown from wild smolts) and domestic (grown from eggs) ones. The creation of domestic freshwater broodstock of Atlantic salmon is more complicated in comparison with trouts because of precocious maturation of great percent of males and low quality of mature germinal cells in males and females. The other negative features of domestic breeders are decreased genetic variability, increased straying and reduced reproductive success. So commercial aquaculture uses traditional scheme of transfer of large smolts (near 100 g) to sea cages. Conservation aquaculture prefers wild non-resident breeders. Atlantic salmon is characterized by riverspecific broodstocks, so each river should have its own broodstock. As a result domestic broodstock of Atlantic salmon in conservation aquaculture could be used only as last measure when all other possibilities are already exhausted.

A multi-instrument study of UV bursts and associated surges in AR 12957

The relationship between UV bursts and solar surges is complex, with these events sometimes being observed together and sometimes being observed independently. Why this sporadic association exists is unknown; however, it likely relates to the physical conditions at the site of the energy release that drives these events. Here, we aim to better understand the relationship between UV bursts and solar surges through a multi-instrument analysis of several associated events that occurred around the trailing sunspot in AR $12957$. We used data from Solar Orbiter, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) to achieve our aims. These data were sampled on 3 March 2022 between $09$:$30$:$30$ UT and $11$:$00$:$00$ UT, during which time a coordinated observing campaign associated with the Slow Solar Wind Connection Solar Orbiter Observing Plan (SOOP) took place. Numerous small-scale negative polarity magnetic magnetic features (MMFs) were observed to move quickly (potentially up to $3.3$ km s$^ $) away from a sunspot until they collided with a more stable positive polarity plage region around $7$ Mm away. Several UV bursts were identified in IRIS slit-jaw imager (SJI) $1400$ data co-spatial to where these opposite polarity fields interacted, with spatial scales ($2$ Mm$<$) and lifetimes ($20<$ minutes) larger than typical values for such events. Two surges were also observed to occur at these locations, with one being short ($5$ Mm) and hot (bright in the IRIS SJI images), whilst the other was a cooler (dark in coronal imaging channels), longer surge that appeared to fill an active region loop. Magnetic reconnection between the negative polarity MMFs around the sunspot and the positive polarity plage region appears to be the driver of these events. Both the speed of the MMFs and the locally open magnetic topology of the plage region could possibly have been important for forming the surges.

About the characteristic features of Russians (territorial and settlement aspect)

Relevance. In the post-Soviet era, changes in the consciousness and behavior of the masses of people became inevitable. The study of the structure of characteristic features (consciousness and behavior) of Russians (both positive and negative) in modern conditions is of great scientific and practical interest.The purpose is to use sociological materials to identify the hierarchical structure of characteristic positive and negative traits (consciousness and behavior) of Russians, including by territorial settlement groups.Objectives: to analyze the assessments of positive and negative traits inherent, in the opinion of respondents, to people of their generation; to identify their hierarchical structure and characteristics by territorial settlement groups.Methodology. The sociological survey and the sampling method, methods of grouping data, their analysis and generalization, and correlation analysis were used.Results. The leading features (both positive and negative) inherent, in the opinion of respondents, to people of their generation are revealed, as well as the relationships between them by territorial settlement groups are revealed.Conclusions. The positive features that have taken the leading places indicate the high potential of humanism and harmonious personality development among the majority of Russians. The negative traits that took the leading places indicate a relatively low level of sociality, social empathy and social responsibility of significant masses of people (according to respondents' estimates). However, the respondents' overall assessment of people of their generation is predominantly positive, which gives grounds for social optimism. At the same time, although the differences between territorial settlement groups in both positive and negative features are not antagonistic, they can be the basis for elements of contradictions and conflicts. Consistent active work of advanced social forces is necessary, first of all, by means of education to strengthen the positive traits of people as a "situationally dominant factor" and a center of attraction, a positive pole, especially for the younger generations.

Modelling indirect tensile strength of warm mix asphalt with variable reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) content

Introduction. There is a world-wide trend to also increase the sustainability of the road sector. The growing use of various industrial by-products, together with economical and eco-friendly construction and maintenance techniques can be observed in many countries. Problem Statement. The utilization of warm mix asphalt and the use of relatively high share of reclaimed asphalt materials in new asphalt mixtures can have negative features, as well. Purpose. Modelling indirect tensile strength of warm mix asphalt with variable reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) content was aimed at based on Hungarian laboratory test series.

Trauma Exposure Checklist: Preliminary Results Show Promising Psychometric Properties to Assess Subjective Perceptions of Exposure to Potentially Traumatic Events.

Most individuals in the general population will be exposed to potentially traumatic situations at some point in their lifespan. There is a strong body of research focusing on the clinical implications of exposure to potentially traumatic situations, but less attention has been given to psychological adjustment following these events. Very few available instruments assess trauma exposure while considering subjective perceptions of both positive and negative features. In this study, 304 adults from the general population, mostly women of middle and high socioeconomic status (mean age = 43), filled in a questionnaire with sociodemographic questions and an adapted version of the Trauma Exposure Checklist, which was originally developed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that most participants have experienced a potentially traumatic event, most prevalently related to violence and/or criminality and to the severe illnesses and deaths of close relatives. Principal components and reliability analyses lent support to a three-factor structure that considers perceptions of internal and external losses and a positive factor that addresses resources and social support. This study is a first step towards advancing our knowledge on the impact of developmental and sociodemographic factors on subjective experiences of psychological crises and, consequently, psychological adjustment throughout the lifespan.

Thermal Shrinking of Biopolymeric Hydrogels for High Resolution 3D Printing of Kidney Tubules

AbstractThe effective replication of microtubular structures in tissue engineering remains a great challenge. In this study, the temperature‐responsive characteristics of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) to create intricate, high‐resolution tubular structures through a shrinking mechanism is investigated by exploring 2 thermosensitive hydrogels–gelatin methacryloyl (gelMA) and silk fibroin methacryloyl (silkMA)–combined with pNIPAM. Systematic investigations revealed precise control of shrinking behavior at elevated temperatures (33–37 °C) as a function of polymer concentration. The hydrogel sizes reduce by ≈15% from room temperature (RT) to 33 °C and ≈40% from RT to 37 °C for both hydrogel types. The shrinking affects the mechanical properties, increasing the compressive modulus by ≈2.8‐fold for gelMA‐pNIPAM gels and ≈5.1‐fold for silkMA‐pNIPAM gels at 37 °C. Combined with volumetric printing, these materials achieve resolution enhancements of ≈20% for positive features and ≈70% for negative features, enabling the creation of complex, high‐resolution structures within seconds, with open channels (≈50 µm). GelMA‐pNIPAM hydrogels show better cell compatibility compared to silkMA‐pNIPAM hydrogels, promoting cell adhesion and viability. This study demonstrates the thermosensitive hydrogels' capability to engineer intricate, high‐resolution tubular structures with volumetric printing–an efficient route to fabricate microenvironments mimicking native tissues with potential for developing relevant in vitro models.