Easy to Snack - Hard to Digest? Strategies of Dis/Array in Streaming, Social Media, and Television

In the digital age, the television landscape is profoundly expanded and dispersed across multiple media, introducing new paradigms of (post-)televisuality shaped by its constant digital transformation. Television content is distributed across digital platforms that fundamentally change its consumption practices. Through its fragmentation and digitization, television is breaking down into snippets - short, engaging pieces of media - that provide a dynamic, customizable, and "snackable" viewing experience, so that it is supposedly easy to digest. As a result, not only is there a shift in how content is viewed, but there is also a shift in how content is produced. Social media platforms and their algorithms have emerged as central to this transformation, facilitating the dissemination and discovery of television content in unprecedented ways. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are not just venues for discussion and sharing but are also directly influencing the digital transformation of television. While specific essential characteristics define television (such as its seriality, scheduling, or formats), the digital transformation emerging from the internet is disrupting the medium and requiring (or even demanding) participatory modifications based on experimenting with different forms of media so that television gets expanded, explored, manipulated, and played with by consuming snackable content bit by bit. The concept of dis/array proposed in this article encapsulates the dual forces of fragmentation and reorganization. Disarray, characterized by the oversupply of content, reflects the challenges audiences face in navigating a dispersed landscape. Conversely, array represents the efforts by platforms and users to restore order through algorithms, categorization, and interactive engagement. By analyzing current trends and audience behaviors, this article reveals how streaming, social media, and snippets contribute to the transformation of television

Psychological outcomes in ethnically minoritised adolescents and young adults with cancer: A systematic review

Background Ethnic disparities in cancer prevalence and health outcomes have been widely documented in adults. However, less is known about the impact of ethnic differences in young cancer patients who present with complex needs along their developmental trajectories. The present review aimed to examine psychological outcomes amongst ethnically minoritised adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Method A systematic search was conducted on four databases using terms related to AYAs, cancer, ethnic minority and psychological outcomes. Quantitative studies of any design were included and screened against the eligibility criteria. Studies were rated for methodological quality and synthesised narratively. Results Twelve studies conducted in the United States were identified with mostly moderate to low quality and the evidence was mixed. Six studies found ethnic disparities in psychological outcomes: the majority demonstrated that ethnically minoritised AYAs experienced significantly more distress compared to White peers with cancer. Hispanic youths were highlighted as a vulnerable group that fared worse in their mental health compared to other minoritised youths. Longitudinal data showed that minoritised AYAs experienced more marked improvement in their psychological health over time compared to Caucasians. Conclusion There is emerging evidence regarding inter-ethnic differences in psychological outcomes amongst AYAs with cancer. However, the findings are inconsistent, reflecting methodological weaknesses and the complexities of intersectionality impacting on mental health. Further cross-cultural research is necessary to substantiate these findings and elucidate mechanisms behind these inequalities to promote more equitable healthcare

Materialism and Well-Being in Children

Past research on materialism has focussed on adults and adolescents, with very little attention paid to younger children. In older populations, materialism has been linked to low self-esteem, increased aggression and delinquency, low prosocial behaviour and increased narcissism. This study aimed to identify whether these results could be replicated in pre-teen children, with particular attention paid to the impact of materialism-narcissism interactions on behavioural outcomes. Seventy-five children aged between 8 and 11 were assessed using child self-report measures of materialism and self-esteem, and teacher reported measures of relational and physical aggression, and narcissism. Results found that, unlike in previous studies of adults, materialism had no independent effects on adjustment variables. However, significant interactions with narcissism were identified indicating that children high in narcissism and high in materialism were particularly likely to be relationally aggressive. In contrast, high materialistic high narcissistic children were also far less likely to be physically aggressive. Results were discussed with reference to models of narcissism and materialism, and particular characteristics of the study sample. Suggestions for future research were considered

Preserved emotional awareness of pain in a patient with extensive bilateral damage to the insula, anterior cingulate, and amygdala

Functional neuroimaging investigations of pain have discovered a reliable pattern of activation within limbic regions of a putative "pain matrix" that has been theorized to reflect the affective dimension of pain. To test this theory, we evaluated the experience of pain in a rare neurological patient with extensive bilateral lesions encompassing core limbic structures of the pain matrix, including the insula, anterior cingulate, and amygdala. Despite widespread damage to these regions, the patient's expression and experience of pain was intact, and at times excessive in nature. This finding was consistent across multiple pain measures including self-report, facial expression, vocalization, withdrawal reaction, and autonomic response. These results challenge the notion of a "pain matrix" and provide direct evidence that the insula, anterior cingulate, and amygdala are not necessary for feeling the suffering inherent to pain. The patient's heightened degree of pain affect further suggests that these regions may be more important for the regulation of pain rather than providing the decisive substrate for pain's conscious experience

Episodic Memory and Appetite Regulation in Humans

Psychological and neurobiological evidence implicates hippocampal-dependent memory processes in the control of hunger and food intake. In humans, these have been revealed in the hyperphagia that is associated with amnesia. However, it remains unclear whether 'memory for recent eating' plays a significant role in neurologically intact humans. In this study we isolated the extent to which memory for a recently consumed meal influences hunger and fullness over a three-hour period. Before lunch, half of our volunteers were shown 300 ml of soup and half were shown 500 ml. Orthogonal to this, half consumed 300 ml and half consumed 500 ml. This process yielded four separate groups (25 volunteers in each). Independent manipulation of the 'actual' and 'perceived' soup portion was achieved using a computer-controlled peristaltic pump. This was designed to either refill or draw soup from a soup bowl in a covert manner. Immediately after lunch, self-reported hunger was influenced by the actual and not the perceived amount of soup consumed. However, two and three hours after meal termination this pattern was reversed - hunger was predicted by the perceived amount and not the actual amount. Participants who thought they had consumed the larger 500-ml portion reported significantly less hunger. This was also associated with an increase in the 'expected satiation' of the soup 24-hours later. For the first time, this manipulation exposes the independent and important contribution of memory processes to satiety. Opportunities exist to capitalise on this finding to reduce energy intake in humans

Novel human liver-tropic AAV variants define transferable domains that markedly enhance the human tropism of AAV7 and AAV8

Recent clinical successes have intensified interest in using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for therapeutic gene delivery. The liver is a key clinical target, given its critical physiological functions and involvement in a wide range of genetic diseases. Here, we report the bioengineering of a set of next-generation AAV vectors, named AAV-SYDs (where “SYD” stands for Sydney, Australia), with increased human hepato-tropism in a liver xenograft mouse model repopulated with primary human hepatocytes. We followed a two-step process that staggered directed evolution and domain-swapping approaches. Using DNA-family shuffling, we first mapped key AAV capsid regions responsible for efficient human hepatocyte transduction in vivo. Focusing on these regions, we next applied domain-swapping strategies to identify and study key capsid residues that enhance primary human hepatocyte uptake and transgene expression. Our findings underscore the potential of AAV-SYDs as liver gene therapy vectors and provide insights into the mechanism responsible for their enhanced transduction profile

Sodastream will sich mit neuem Sprudler absetzen

Frankfurt. In der Corona-Pandemie boomt das Geschäft mit Wassersprudlern. Hersteller wollen mit neuen Maschinen von der Sonderkonjunktur profitieren. Dem Marktführer Sodastream nutzt sein neuer Sprudler Duo doppelt: Neben den direkten Verkaufserlösen winken regelmäßige Umsätze aus dem Geschäft mit Zylindern. Denn die neuen passen nur in den neuen.</p

„Die Preise gleichen sich an“

Bleiben ethische Überlegungen beim Einkaufen in inflationären Zeiten auf der Strecke? Nein, sagen Otto-Group-CEO Alexander Birken und Trendforscher Peter Wippermann im LZ-Gespräch.</p

Hoher Gastro-Anteil macht Bitburger zu schaffen

Bitburg. Der Brauer von Deutschlands größter Fassbiermarke bekommt die Pandemie stärker als andere große Biermarken zu spüren. Im Handel läuft es für Bitburger gut – bislang auch in diesem Jahr. Und das, obwohl der Pils-Markt ins Minus gerutscht ist.</p