Exploring how workspace awareness cues affect distributed meeting outcome

Nowadays, using the online whiteboard to share knowledge in distributed meetings has become a common practice. Existing studies and practices have attempted to visualize attendees’ interactive activities in whiteboard tools to support the virtual team’s workspace awareness (WA). However, the impact of such visual cues on meeting success remains unclear. For this purpose, we primarily explore whether and to what extent WA cues are conducive to meeting outcome. This study applies activity theory to guide our prototype design and research analysis. A customized web-based whiteboard interface is implemented under two conditions. We conduct a study with 42 subjects in a distributed meeting scenario via a controlled experiment. Also, we analyze the system affordance via user experience. The results demonstrate that the benefits of WA cues to meeting outcome are especially embodied in goal attainment and quality of contributions, but not effectively supported in productivity and user satisfaction. Moreover, subjects report that they do not feel distracted by the system’s visual cues because they do not notice those cues most of the time and use them only when needed. Drawing upon findings from our trial work, we provide several implications for designing a collaborative knowledge-sharing environment to assist the visual support of WA in distributed meetings

BNoteHelper: a note-based outline generation tool for structured learning on video-sharing platforms

Usually generated by ordinary users and often not particularly designed for learning, the videos on video-sharing platforms are mostly not structured enough to support learning purposes, although they are increasingly leveraged for that. Most existing studies attempt to structure the video using video summarization techniques. However, these methods focus on extracting information from within the video and aiming to consume the video itself. In this article, we design and implement BNoteHelper, a note-based video outline prototype that generates outline titles by extracting user-generated notes on Bilibili, using the BART model fine-tuned on a built dataset. As a browser plugin, BNoteHelper provides users with video overview and navigation as well as note-taking template, via two main features: outline table and navigation marker. The model and prototype are evaluated through automatic and human evaluations. The automatic evaluation reveals that, both before and after fine-tuning, the BART model outperforms T5-Pegasus in BLEU and Perplexity metrics. Also, the results from user feedback reveal that the generation outline sourced from notes is preferred by users over that sourced from video captions due to its more concise, clear, and accurate characteristics but also too general with less details and diversities sometimes. Two features of the video outline are also found to have respective advantages, especially in holistic and fine-grained aspects. Based on these results, we propose insights into designing a video summary from the user-generated creation perspective, customizing it based on video types, and strengthening the advantages of its different visual styles on video-sharing platforms

Spatiotemporal patterns and spatial risk factors for visceral leishmaniasis from 2007 to 2017 in Western and Central China: a modelling analysis

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease caused by trypanosomatid protozoa in the genus Leishmania, which is transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies. Although this vector-borne disease has been eliminated in several regions of China during the last century, the reported human VL cases have rebounded in Western and Central China in recent decades. However, understanding of the spatial epidemiology of the disease remains vague, as the spatial risk factors driving the spatial heterogeneity of VL. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of annual human VL cases in Western and Central China from 2007 to 2017. Based on the related spatial maps, the boosted regression tree (BRT) model was adopted to explore the relationships between VL and spatial correlates as well as predicting both the existing and potential infection risk zones of VL in Western and Central China. The mined links reveal that elevation, minimum temperature, relative humidity, and annual accumulated precipitation make great contributions to the spatial heterogeneity of VL. The maps show that Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu, western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Sichuan are predicted to fall in the highest infection risk zones of VL. Approximately 61.60 million resident populations lived in the high-risk regions of VL in Western and Central China. Our results provide a better understanding of how spatial risk factors driving VL spread as well as identifying the potential endemic risk region of VL, thereby enhancing the biosurveillance capacity of public health authorities

Effect of Phosphorus Modulation in Iron Single-Atom Catalysts for Peroxidase Mimicking

Fe-N-C single-atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit excellent peroxidase (POD)-like catalytic activity, owing to their well-defined isolated iron active sites on the carbon substrate, which effectively mimic the structure of natural peroxidase's active center. To further meet the requirements of diverse biosensing applications, SAC POD-like activity still needs to be continuously enhanced. Herein, a phosphorus (P) heteroatom is introduced to boost the POD-like activity of Fe-N-C SACs. A 1D carbon nanowire (FeNCP/NW) catalyst with enriched Fe-N-4 active sites is designed and synthesized, and P atoms are doped in the carbon matrix to affect the Fe center through long-range interaction. The experimental results show that the P-doping process can boost the POD-like activity more than the non-P-doped one, with excellent selectivity and stability. The mechanism analysis results show that the introduction of P into SAC can greatly enhance POD-like activity initially, but its effect becomes insignificant with increasing amount of P. As a proof of concept, FeNCP/NW is employed in an enzyme cascade platform for highly sensitive colorimetric detection of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine

Quantifying risk factors and potential geographic extent of African swine fever across the world

African swine fever (ASF) has spread to many countries in Africa, Europe and Asia in the past decades. However, the potential geographic extent of ASF infection is unknown. Here we combined a modeling framework with the assembled contemporary records of ASF cases and multiple covariates to predict the risk distribution of ASF at a global scale. Local spatial variations in ASF risk derived from domestic pigs is influenced strongly by livestock factors, while the risk of having ASF in wild boars is mainly associated with natural habitat covariates. The risk maps show that ASF is to be ubiquitous in many areas, with a higher risk in areas in the northern hemisphere. Nearly half of the world’s domestic pigs (1.388 billion) are in the high-risk zones. Our results provide a better understanding of the potential distribution beyond the current geographical scope of the disease

Global and regional seroprevalence, incidence, mortality of, and risk factors for scrub typhus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Scrub typhus is underdiagnosed and underreported but emerging as a global public health problem. We aimed to provide the first comprehensive review on the seroprevalence, incidence, mortality of and risk factors for scrub typhus. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and other databases. Trended incidence and median mortality were calculated and pooled seroprevalence and risk factors for scrub typhus were evaluated using the random-effects meta-analysis. Findings We included 663 articles from 29 countries/regions. The pooled seroprevalence was 10·73% (95%CI 9·47%-12·13%) among healthy individuals and 22·58% (95%CI: 20·55%-24·76%) among febrile patients. Mainland China reported the highest number of cases and South Korea and Thailand had the highest incidence rates. Median mortalities were 5·00% (range: 0·00%-56·00%) among hospital inpatients, 6·70% (range: 0·00%∼33·33%) among patients without specified admission status and 2·17% (range: 0·00%-22·22%) among outpatients. The significant risk factors included agricultural work, specific vegetation exposure, other outdoor activities, risky personal health habits, and proximity to rodents, livestock, or poultry. Conclusions Our comprehensive review elucidates the significant yet variable burden of scrub typhus across different regions, underscoring its emergence as a critical public health concern globally

Benefits of public awareness in mitigating cystic echinococcosis risk in Western China: A climate and socio-economic perspective

Background: The prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE), a widespread zoonotic disease, imposes a significant public health burden, especially in western China. However, under the background of global change, how to meet the challenge of the future risk of CE remains unclear. As global climate change, land use changes, and socio-economic factors continue to progress, the spread and intensity of CE may potentially worsen, making it crucial to assess and mitigate future risks. Methods: By employing Bayesian additive regression trees model to develop risk models for CE in animal hosts (cattle, sheep and dogs) and humans, this study mapped the current distribution of infection risk for CE and projected future risks under the SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. The projections considered both constant and increased rates of public awareness rates regarding CE prevention in the future. Results: Current simulations indicate that the regions with a high risk of CE infection are primarily concentrated in Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, and Xinjiang. Future projections suggest that heightened CE risks will be experienced in regions such as Yunnan, Gansu, and Sichuan will experience heightened CE risks. Notably, predictions suggest that increased public awareness is estimated to be linked to accompanied by a reduction of the population at risk by 2.72% to 3.35% in western China by 2030. Conclusion: This research offers a comprehensive understanding of the future distribution of epidemic risk for CE under climate and socio-economic changes. It highlights that enhancing public awareness regions with high-risk is a critical factor associated with reduced infection rates. Furthermore, the study offers a valuable framework for assessing the risk associated with other zoonotic diseases

Epidemiological characteristics and risk factors for cystic and alveolar echinococcosis in China: an analysis of a national population-based field survey

Background Human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis are neglected tropical diseases that WHO has prioritized for control in recent years. Both diseases impose substantial burdens on public health and the socio-economy in China. In this study, which is based on the national echinococcosis survey from 2012 to 2016, we aim to describe the spatial prevalence and demographic characteristics of cystic and alveolar echinococcosis infections in humans and assess the impact of environmental, biological and social factors on both types of the disease. Methods We computed the sex-, age group-, occupation- and education level-specific prevalences of cystic and alveolar echinococcosis at national and sub-national levels. We mapped the geographical distribution of echinococcosis prevalence at the province, city and county levels. Finally, by analyzing the county-level echinococcosis cases combined with a range of associated environmental, biological and social factors, we identified and quantified the potential risk factors for echinococcosis using a generalized linear model. Results A total of 1,150,723 residents were selected and included in the national echinococcosis survey between 2012 and 2016, of whom 4161 and 1055 tested positive for cystic and alveolar echinococcosis, respectively. Female gender, older age, occupation at herdsman, occupation as religious worker and illiteracy were identified as risk factors for both types of echinococcosis. The prevalence of echinococcosis was found to vary geographically, with areas of high endemicity observed in the Tibetan Plateau region. Cystic echinococcosis prevalence was positively correlated with cattle density, cattle prevalence, dog density, dog prevalence, number of livestock slaughtered, elevation and grass area, and negatively associated with temperature and gross domestic product (GDP). Alveolar echinococcosis prevalence was positively correlated with precipitation, level of awareness, elevation, rodent density and rodent prevalence, and negatively correlated with forest area, temperature and GDP. Our results also implied that drinking water sources are significantly associated with both diseases. Conclusions The results of this study provide a comprehensive understanding of geographical patterns, demographic characteristics and risk factors of cystic and alveolar echinococcosis in China. This important information will contribute towards developing targeted prevention measures and controlling diseases from the public health perspective. Graphical Abstract

Mapping Worldwide Environmental Suitability for Artemisia annua L.

Artemisinin, which is isolated from the naturally occurring plant Artemisia annua L. (A. annua; Qinghao in traditional Chinese medicine), is considered to be the active ingredient in the most effective treatment for malaria. Current malaria eradication plans rely on an affordable and robust supply of artemisinin, resulting in the demand to expand the area of A. annua under cultivation. However, there is no reliable assessment of the potential land resources suitable for planting A. annua at the global scale. By explicitly incorporating the assembled contemporary occurrence records of A. annua with various spatial predictor variables, a species distribution modelling procedure was adopted to produce the first global environmental suitability map for A. annua with high geographic detail (5 × 5 km2). The estimated map reveals that the total amount of potential land resources suitable for planting A. annua is approximately 1496.56 million hectares, mainly distributed in Asia (516.50 million hectares), Europe (378.82 million hectares), North America (354.56 million hectares) and South America (172.01 million hectares). The relationships between the relevant variables and A. annua were explored, and these illustrated that the most noteworthy predictor variables were meteorological factors, followed by solar radiation factors, soil factors and topographical factors. The map provides a rigorous environmental niche baseline to support the reasonable expansion of the A. annua cultivation area