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High elbow varus torque during baseball pitching has been identified as a potential cause of ulnar collateral ligament injury in baseball pitchers. In general, elbow varus torque increases as ball velocity increases across pitchers. However, studies incorporating within-subject analyses report that not all professional pitchers have a positive relationship between elbow varus torque and ball velocity (T-V relationship). It remains unknown whether collegiate pitchers show the same trend as professionals in their T-V relationships. The current study investigated the T-V relationship of collegiate pitchers focusing on both across and within pitchers. Division 1 collegiate pitchers (n = 81) were assessed for elbow torque and ball velocity during pitching. Both across- and within-pitcher T-V relationships were significant (p < 0.05) using linear regression. However, more variance in elbow varus torque was explained using the within-pitcher relationship (R2 = 0.29) than the across-pitcher relationship (R2 = 0.05). Of the 81 pitchers, nearly half (n = 39) had significant T-V relationships, while the other half (n = 42) did not. Our findings indicate that the T-V relationship should be assessed on an individual basis as T-V is pitcher-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Due to constrained resources, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often have a low capacity to innovate. While research has focused chiefly on empowering SMEs' innovation through tangible factors, this paper explores the contribution of intangible factors towards innovation under frugality conditions. We address this gap using data collected from Indonesian SME automobile component manufacturers. We employ the expanded CDM (Crepon Duguet Mairesse) model that divides innovation into three stages: effort, output, and productivity. The findings showed that in addition to common tangible factors, intangible factors contribute to all stages of innovation, though tangible factors appear to exert greater influence. The direct impact of product innovation on firm performance is moderated by tangible factors, whereas the indirect impact is moderated by intangible factors. By examining how intangible and tangible factors simultaneously empower SMEs’ innovation and hence firms’ performance, we significantly contribute to advancing the theory of frugal innovation, the competition and strategy theory, and the extended resource-based view (ERBV).

The 1990s saw art exhibitions and biennials staged in East and Southeast Asia and Australia representing a contemporary rather than traditional Asia. These events were supported by region-wide fora on Asian contemporary art that promoted the discursive and imaginative capacity to curate such an Asia. The Japan Foundation Asia Center contributed to this capacity building via what could be called cultural infrastructural networks – their symposia on Asian contemporary art from 1994 to 2008. The concern was to increase a regional representational capacity based on sound art-critical and historical approaches and to ascertain the contemporaneity of present artistic practice. An emphasis on present-day art established a relational approach to temporality in which the recognition that contemporary artistic formations occupied a coeval time zone with contemporary western art in turn implied increased equality with the western metropole. However, the capacity to exhibit the regional contemporary of an Asia that has economically arrived did not overcome the apprehension of older modernizing ideologies linked with fraught ideas of Asia that had led to the Pacific War. Nevertheless, a multicultural Asia – the aspirational conjuncture of diverse regional locales with still disparate development levels and temporalities to produce a fictional totalized present – was projected in exhibitions that strove to rise above inter-Asian national clashes. These may have been performative projections of the contemporary, but such possibilities were not available during Asia's colonial period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundIn endemic COVID-19, immunocompromised children are vulnerable until vaccinated but the optimal primary vaccination regime and need for booster doses remains uncertain.MethodsWe recruited 19 immunocompromised children (post-solid organ transplantation, have autoimmune disease or were on current or recent chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and followed them from the start of primary vaccination with BNT162b2 mRNA SARS-CoV-2 until 1-year post-vaccination. We investigated the quality of vaccine immunogenicity, and longevity of hybrid immunity, in comparison to healthy children.ResultsImmunocompromised children failed to produce T cell and memory B cell (MBC) responses reaching thresholds of protection after 2 doses; a third dose however improved both responses. Initially robust hybrid immunity demonstrated significantly more decline in T cell and MBC responses in immunocompromised compared to healthy children, to levels below the protective threshold by month 12.DiscussionImmunocompromised children may benefit from a 3-dose primary vaccination regime, with yearly or twice-yearly booster doses for sustained immunity.

Abstract Liquid‐solid triboelectric nanogenerator (LS‐TENG) harvests energy efficiently while eliminating wear issues associated with solid‐solid TENG. However, the effect of ions or charges in the liquid on output performance needs further examination. In this work, the impact of fluorine and copper ions introduced through deionized water with sodium fluoride (DI‐NaF) and deionized water with copper sulfate (DI‐CuSO4) solution on the output voltage, charge and current of a tubular LS‐TENG with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Nylon as solid materials is examined. The results indicate that fluorine and copper ions have opposite effects on PTFE and Nylon LS‐TENG's output. The fluorine (F−) ions enhance the triboelectric effect and charge transfer in Nylon LS‐TENG, increasing output, while they hinder the charge transfer process in PTFE LS‐TENG, consequently decreasing its output. Conversely, the copper (Cu2+) ions have a positive effect on the output of PTFE LS‐TENG and a detrimental effect on Nylon LS‐TENG's output. Moreover, the results indicate that LS TENG's output performance depends on the charges of solid and liquid triboelectric materials. Thus, this study provides insights into material‐ion interaction in LS‐TENG and underscores the importance of triboelectric material selection for optimizing output performance.

Objectives: We studied the immunogenicity after primary and booster vaccinations of the Abdala COVID-19 vaccine, a receptor-binding domain protein subunit vaccine, in Vietnamese people by determining the level of neutralization and cross-neutralization activities against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and its variants and SARS-CoV-1. Methods: We performed a prospective observational study, enrolling adults aged 19-59 years in Dong Thap province, southern Vietnam, and collected blood samples from baseline until 4 weeks after the booster dose. We measured anti-nucleocapsid, anti-spike, and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and assessed the cross-neutralization against 14 SARS-CoV-2 variants and SARS-CoV-1. Complementary antibody data came from Vietnamese health care workers fully vaccinated with ChAdOx1-S. Results: After primary vaccination, anti-spike antibody and neutralizing antibodies were detectable in 98.4% and 87% of 251 study participants, respectively, with neutralizing antibody titers similar to that induced by ChAdOx1-S vaccine. Antibody responses after a homologous (Abdala COVID-19) or heterologous (messenger RNA BNT162b2) booster could neutralize 14 SARS-CoV-2 variants (including Omicron) and SARS-CoV-1. Conclusions: Abdala COVID-19 vaccine is immunogenic in Vietnamese people. Enhanced antibody response after a booster dose could cross-neutralize 14 SARS-CoV-2 variants and SARS-CoV-1. Our results have added to the growing body of knowledge about the contribution of protein subunit vaccine platforms to pandemic control.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are an important, though uncommon, cause of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and may rarely be associated with genodermatoses such as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). NF1-related GISTs have unique phenotypic features compared with sporadic GISTs and may elude diagnosis due to their predilection for the small bowel. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 45-year-old Singaporean woman with café-au-lait macules and cutaneous neurofibromas who presented with occult obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and was eventually discovered to have a bleeding jejunal GIST. This finding, considered together with her cutaneous signs, eventually led to the diagnosis of NF1. Conclusion: Genodermatoses and their gastrointestinal complications are likely under-reported in adult Southeast Asian populations and deserve greater awareness from gastroenterologists practising in this region.

Abstract Despite the importance of the PhD viva in assessing the quality of doctoral research, how examiners approach the PhD viva remains underexplored in the Global South. This study fills this gap by investigating the conceptions of doctoral examiners in Malaysia, shedding light on how they approach the PhD viva and what they believe its key purposes are. Through qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with twelve examiners, this study reveals that examiners place a significant emphasis on the quality of the research thesis, empower candidates to demonstrate mastery of the research subject, initiate dialogue for research engagement, and foster socialisation within the disciplinary community. The study contributes to the conceptualisation of the purposes of the PhD viva, encompassing gatekeeping, empowerment, dialogue, and enculturation, which can provide valuable guidance for examiner practices. The implications of these findings are discussed, highlighting the facilitative role of examiners in the examination process.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the approaches applied to analyze solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) microstructural properties. Both manual and automated image processing approaches applied on SOFC microstructural images which are obtained from several types of tomography such as dual-beam focused ion beam with scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and others are discussed. In fact, to achieve a realistic and accurate SOFC microstructural properties, such as average diameter, volume fraction, triple phase boundary (TPB), area interface density and tortuosity factor, the approaches of image processing and quantification are crucial for a reliable image generation for quantification purposes. The microstructural properties are optimized to improve SOFC electrode performance. Therefore, the image processing and quantification approaches are outlined and reviewed. Despite the automated image processing and quantification algorithms significantly outperform manual image processing and quantification approaches in terms of computing speed when evaluating and measuring microstructural properties, the efficiency and productivity are still extremely taken into concern. As a result, image processing and quantification approaches are concluded and presented respectively in this paper.

Doctoral examiners play a pivotal role in upholding academic standards; therefore, they must be supported in their work. Drawing on situated learning theory, this paper proposes a conceptual training framework to empower examiners, particularly those participating in the PhD viva. The framework comprises three key initiatives: a professional development programme, a peer review, and an accreditation programme. The paper further highlights the potential benefits of the training initiatives and discusses implementation challenges aimed at fostering examiners’ continuous professional development, promoting a deeper understanding of assessment literacy, and maintaining the overall quality of doctoral assessment.

This article argues that the artistic-cultural work of the late Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002) from the mid-1990s commenced on what tentatively can be called an extraterritorial theatre practice that engaged with the modern state's capacity to make national identity singular in the interests of political, military and economic goals, and in which cultural formation and identity must exceed the nation-state's purview. The present, "globalised" moment requires freedom from local jurisdictions: this is the line of thought regarding a truly contemporary theatre's direction cut short by his demise in 2002. Two plays represent Kuo's new direction: Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral (1995) and the The Spirits Play (1998 and 2000). His deliberations on contemporary art and culture draw from older ideals of modern cultural formation and is conjoined, it may be contradictorily, with postmodernism's rhetoric of the decentred and the multiple; but if so, this contradiction becomes an adumbration of the fraught attributes of the contemporary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kuo reflects upon the Pacific War and what he feels holds post-war Japanese culture back from attaining "genuine greatness," given a capacity enabled by its early modernising efforts for "the liberation of the self, the democratisation of society and ... the realisation of the knowledge-based mode of production and exchange." He also argues that nations in East and Southeast Asia share a similar socio-political "baggage with Japan — chiefly the semi-feudal [and also nationalistic] culture which impedes our [joint] fuller entry into modernity." The challenge for Asian intellectuals — and particularly for Southeast Asians with their complex and multiple cultural makeup — is to initiate dialogue as to how regional diversity and "civilisational assets" can be turned into a "living multiculture" that will be an advantage for "the region's long-term progress and prosperity." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including theatre director Kuo Pao Kun; theatre art; and art and politics.

Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002) was often regarded as the doyen of Singapore theatre. The interview reveals how his theatre practice in the 1960s–1970s worked through Chinese theatre (in both its spoken and more traditional sung forms), Brechtian theatre (with its alienation effect) and modern Russian theatre (in its naturalistic form) in the attempt to form a flexible modern Chinese-language theatre in Singapore that could intellectually engage with the city-state's economic-development imperatives during the height of the Cold War. This interview is an extract from a longer interview conducted by Quah Sy Ren in 2002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic Web is the vision to make Internet data machine-readable to achieve information retrieval with higher granularity and personalisation. Semantic annotation is the process that binds machine-understandable descriptions into Web resources such as text and images. Hence, the success of Semantic Web depends on the wide availability of semantically annotated Web resources. However, there remains a huge amount of unannotated Web resources due to the limited annotation capability available. In order to address this, machine learning approaches have been used to improve the automation process. This Systematic Review aims to summarise the existing state-of-the-art literature to answer five Research Questions focusing on machine learning driven semantic annotation automation. The analysis of 40 selected primary studies reveals that the use of unitary and combination of machine learning algorithms are both the current directions. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is the most-used algorithm, and supervised learning is the predominant machine learning type. Both semi-automated and fully automated annotation are almost nearly achieved. Meanwhile, text is the most annotated Web resource; and the availability of third-party annotation tools is in-line with this. While Precision, Recall, F-Measure and Accuracy are the most deployed quality metrics, not all the studies measured the quality of the annotated results. In the future, standardising quality measures is the direction for research.

Pteropine orthoreoviruses (PRVs) are an emerging group of fusogenic, bat-borne viruses from the Orthoreovirus genus. Since the isolation of PRV from a patient with acute respiratory tract infections in 2006, the zoonotic potential of PRV has been further highlighted following subsequent isolation of PRV species from patients in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia. However, the entry mechanism of PRV is currently unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of previously identified mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) receptors, sialic acid and junctional adhesion molecule-1 for PRV infection. However, none of these receptors played a significant role in PRV infection, suggesting PRV uses a distinct entry receptor from MRV. Given its broad tissue tropism, we hypothesized that PRV may use a receptor that is widely expressed in all cell types, heparan sulphate (HS). Enzymatic removal of cell surface HS by heparinase treatment and genetic ablation of HS biosynthesis genes, SLC35B2, exostosin-1, N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase I and beta-1,3-glucuronyltransferase 3, significantly reduced infection with multiple genetically distinct PRV species. Replication kinetic of PRV3M in HS knockout cells revealed that HS plays a crucial role in the early phase of PRV infection. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that HS is an essential host-factor for PRV attachment and internalization into cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of HS as an attachment receptor by PRVs.

Harvesting power from walking-related motions can be a sustainable energy source for powering wearables. This paper proposes a shoe insole with a 3D stackable self-supporting structure and energy harvesting capability based on triboelectrification. Initial tests showed that a unit cell of the structure could produce an open-circuit voltage of 164.5 V with a charge density of 2.02 nC/cm2, and the performance can be further improved with a higher force and a structure of multiple cells.

Abstract The human population has doubled in the last 50 years from about 3.7 billion to approximately 7.8 billion. With this rapid expansion, more people live in close contact with wildlife, livestock, and pets, which in turn creates increasing opportunities for zoonotic diseases to pass between animals and people. At present an estimated 75% of all emerging virus-associated infectious diseases possess a zoonotic origin, and outbreaks of Zika, Ebola and COVID-19 in the past decade showed their huge disruptive potential on the global economy. Here, we describe how One Health inspired environmental surveillance campaigns have emerged as the preferred tools to monitor human-adjacent environments for known and yet to be discovered infectious diseases, and how they can complement classical clinical diagnostics. We highlight the importance of environmental factors concerning interactions between animals, pathogens and/or humans that drive the emergence of zoonoses, and the methodologies currently proposed to monitor them—the surveillance of wastewater, for example, was identified as one of the main tools to assess the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by public health professionals and policy makers during the COVID-19 pandemic. One-Health driven approaches that facilitate surveillance, thus harbour the potential of preparing humanity for future pandemics caused by aetiological agents with environmental reservoirs. Via the example of COVID-19 and other viral diseases, we propose that wastewater surveillance is a useful complement to clinical diagnosis as it is centralized, robust, cost-effective, and relatively easy to implement.

The article presents a case study of a 3-year-old Chestnut Thoroughbred filly with a recurrent right forelimb (RF) lameness. Examinations showed an ovoid radiolucent lesion with a sclerotic rim, and a diagnosis of an intermediate humeral tubercle osseous cyst-like lesion (OCLL) was made, which was uncommon for lameness for a racehorse in training. The horse's right bicipital bursa was medicated intrathecally, and the filly was sound 12 weeks post-treatment and had returned to training.

Hypoxia can promote tumor escape from immune surveillance and immunotherapy. Here, the authors show that hypoxia induces T and NK cell dysfunction through HIF1α-mediated epigenetic suppression of effector gene expression, conferring resistance to anti-PD1 blockade in triple negative breast cancer models.