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The contemporary communication landscape enables individuals to connect and engage with collective action efforts in multifaceted and ambiguous ways. This complexity makes membership in collective action groups particularly intriguing and important because of its pivotal role as a mechanism that connects individual behavior to group, organizational, and societal dynamics. This study seeks to examine the spread of membership types in the digital environment and explores how different kinds of prompts for collective action are associated with particular types of membership groups. Through a survey of participants on a popular global digital platform for collective decision-making, we found evidence of a broad range of membership types in the digital space, associated with particular prompts calling for action. The results suggest that there is a strong relationship between membership type and participatory styles of individuals. Implications of the results are discussed.

Workplace cyberbullying has emerged as a new issue. This study aimed to explore individual and organizational factors that affect nurses' workplace cyberbullying in hospital settings. A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-report questionnaire. Three tertiary and 18 general hospitals were selected from one city in Korea. A total of 270 nurses with 6 months to 10 years of experience in the current department were enrolled. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors associated with cyberbullying. Workplace cyberbullying was affected by self-labeled victimization due to face-to-face bullying, subjective health level, years of experience as a nurse (β = 0.148, p = 0.009), and relation-oriented nursing organizational culture. Face-to-face bullying must be addressed to prevent workplace cyberbullying. It is important to assist nurses to maintain good health-considering that, new nurses with less than 1 year of experience are vulnerable to being victimized. Effective prevention strategies should be prepared to control workplace cyberbullying in clinical practice.

The surroundings of livestock farms, including dairy farms, are known to be a major source of development and transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To control antibioticresistant bacteria in the livestock breeding environment, farms have installed livestock wastewater treatment facilities to treat wastewater before discharging the final effluent in nearby rivers or streams. These facilities have been known to serve as hotspots for inter-bacterial antibiotic-resistance gene transfer and extensively antibiotic-resistant bacteria, owing to the accumulation of various antibiotic-resistant bacteria from the livestock breeding environment. This review discusses antibiotic usage in livestock farming, including dairy farms, livestock wastewater treatment plants as hotspots for antibiotic resistant bacteria, and nonenteric gram-negative bacteria from wastewater treatment plants, and previous findings in literature.

This paper investigates the relationship between business cycle synchronization and trade integration in the Latin American region. Using data for 17 Latin American countries and the United States (US) from 1980 to 2018, we document the time-series characteristics of business cycle synchronization and intraand inter-regional trade in the region and empirically test whether trade integration contributed to business cycle synchronization. The data demonstrate that the business cycle synchronization index has been steadily increasing in the region. Regional trade integration increased until the financial crisis in 2008 and decreased slightly thereafter. The results of a system generalized method of moments (GMM) regression indicate that bilateral trade with the US significantly increased business cycle synchronization in the region, except during the 2000s, while regional trade had no significant effect. These results emphasize the importance of the indirect trade channel, especially with the US, as a main channel of business cycle synchronization in Latin America.

Global dissemination of mobilized colistin resistance (

The characteristics of individual members and how the members are assembled in a group are critical foundations for various group processes and outcomes and often determine important staffing and hiring decisions in organizations. This chapter offers an overview of the history of group composition research across multiple disciplines and identifies three distinct approaches to studying group composition with an emphasis on the role of communication. Scholars treat group composition as a cause that leads to group outcomes, a consequence that results from social and psychological processes, or a process in response to dynamic team environments. A synthesis of previous research reveals that studying group composition as a cause has dominated the field and that the role of communication in group composition has gained little attention. The chapter concludes with a set of future research directions targeting the new digital environment, the role of communication, and research methodologies with special attention to the consequence- and process-oriented approaches.

매튜 아놀드와 김광섭은 각각 영국의 산업화와 한국의 근대화를 지나오며 개발우선주의의 비판의식 없는 팽창 과정을 지켜본다. 자연과의 조화를 파괴하며 이루어진 기형적 발전은 인간으로 하여금 전통을 저버리게 하였으며 절대적 존재로부터 얻을 수 있는 심신의 안정을 상실도록 한다. 아놀드와 김광석은 ｢도버 해안｣과 ｢성북동 비둘기｣를 통해 모든 유기적 존재들의 지배자로 군림하려 한 인간이 종국엔 성난 자연에 의해 쫓기는 신세가 되어가는 모습을 지적한다. 그러나 두 작가의 작의는 자연에의 굴복이나 전통 문화로의 회귀에 있지 않다. 그들은 인간이 자신 또한 자연의 일부이면서도 문명의 발전을 위해 자연을 이용하려 하는 이원적 욕망의 존재라는 사실을 견지하고 있기에 자연을 대하는 인간의 태도는 필요에 따라 이중적일 수밖에 없음을 덧붙인다. 아놀드와 김광섭은 외경의 대상인 자연을 통해 인간과 자연이 상호의존적 관계에 놓여 있다는 진리를 깨닫는다면 인간은 소외된 유기체로서 정신적 불구의 삶을 연명하는 것으로부터 벗어날 수 있음을 강조한다. 사회 지식층으로서 ‘올바른 진화’를 주창한 그들은 자연과 유기적 관계에 놓인 인간으로 하여금 자기반성을 촉구하도록 하는 의식의 첨병으로서의 역할을 수행한다.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the type of formulation on the efficacy of warfarin. Materials and methods The electronic medical records of patients with cerebral infarction, who were administered tablet or powder formulations of warfarin from 2013-2015, were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical data, changes in the international normalized ratio (INR), the warfarin dose, and the time to reach the plasma warfarin concentration that could induce an adverse effect, such as bleeding, were evaluated. Coefficients of variation of INR and of the warfarin dose, as well as the warfarin sensitivity index (WSI), were used to evaluate the INR stability. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using a independent t-test. Additionally, survival analysis was performed. Results The data showed that 57 and 137 patients were administered warfarin as powder and tablet formulations, respectively. We noted that INR, WSI, and INR/dose × body weight differed significantly between the two groups of patients. The median survival times to reach the plasma warfarin concentration that could induce adverse effects were 3.6 and 4.2 days of treatment with the powder and tablet formulations, respectively. The efficacy of warfarin was higher when the drug was administered as a powder than when it was administered as a tablet. Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that INR should be carefully monitored in the first 4 days of warfarin administration as a powder formulation.

Collective intelligence (CI) is critical to solving many scientific, business, and other problems, but groups often fail to achieve it. Here, we analyze data on group performance from 22 studies, including 5,279 individuals in 1,356 groups. Our results support the conclusion that a robust CI factor characterizes a group's ability to work together across a diverse set of tasks. We further show that CI is predicted by the proportion of women in the group, mediated by average social perceptiveness of group members, and that it predicts performance on various out-of-sample criterion tasks. We also find that, overall, group collaboration process is more important in predicting CI than the skill of individual members.

Feline parvovirus (FPV) is a small, non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA virus that infects cats. We recently isolated a feline parvovirus Fe–P2 strain from a dead stray cat in Iksan, 2017. Its partial genomic sequence (4,643 bases) was obtained, and phylogenetic analysis based on the VP2 nucleotide sequence showed that the FPV Fe-P2 strain was closely related to the FPV isolate Gigucheon in cat, 2017 (MN400978). In addition, we performed a serum neutralization (SN) test with the FPV isolates in various mammalian sera. These were from raccoon dog, water deer, Eurasian otter, Korean hare, leopard cat, and Asian badger, which were kindly provided by Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center. Notably, serological evidence of its infection was found in Asian badger, Meles leucurus (2/2) and leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis (5/8) through SN tests, whereas there was no evidence in raccoon dog, water deer, Eurasian otter, and Korean hare based on the collected sera in this study. These findings might provide partial evidence for the possible circulation of FPV or its related viruses among wild leopard cat and Asian badger in Korea. There should be additional study to confirm this through direct detection of FPVs in the related animal samples.

Collective intelligence (CI) is the ability of a group to solve a wide range of problems. Synchrony in nonverbal cues is critically important to the development of CI; however, extant findings are mostly based on studies conducted face-to-face. Given how much collaboration takes place via the internet, does nonverbal synchrony still matter and can it be achieved when collaborators are physically separated? Here, we hypothesize and test the effect of nonverbal synchrony on CI that develops through visual and audio cues in physically-separated teammates. We show that, contrary to popular belief, the presence of visual cues surprisingly has no effect on CI; furthermore, teamswithoutvisual cues are more successful in synchronizing their vocal cues and speaking turns, and when they do so, they have higher CI. Our findings show that nonverbal synchrony is important in distributed collaboration and call into question the necessity of video support.

Collective intelligence (CI) is the ability of a group to solve a wide range of problems.Synchrony in nonverbal cues is critically important to the development of CI; however, extant findings are mostly based on studies conducted face-to-face. Given how much collaboration takes place via the internet, does nonverbal synchrony still matter and can be achieved when collaborators are physically separated? Here, we hypothesize and test the effect of nonverbal synchrony on CI that develops through visual and audio cues in physically-separated teammates. We show that, contrary to popular belief, the presence of visual cues surprisingly has no effect on CI; furthermore, teams without visual cues are more successful in synchronizing their vocal cues and speaking turns, and when they do so, they have higher CI. Our findings show that nonverbal synchrony is important in distributed collaboration and calls into question the necessity of video support it.

Cases of human infection with a swine influenza A virus variant have been reported in the United States, and since 2011, H3N2 variant viruses have also been regularly isolated from swine in the Republic of Korea. Here, we genetically characterized an influenza A H3N2 isolate (A/swine/P17-4/2017). BLASTN analysis of the 8 gene sequences revealed a high degree of nucleotide similarity (97.0 to 99.0%) to porcine strains circulating in the Republic of Korea and the United States. Specifically, we found a high degree of similarity in the nucleotide matrix gene to those of recent isolates from North Carolina., Cases of human infection with a swine influenza A virus variant have been reported in the United States, and since 2011, H3N2 variant viruses have also been regularly isolated from swine in the Republic of Korea. Here, we genetically characterized an influenza A H3N2 isolate (A/swine/P17-4/2017). BLASTN analysis of the 8 gene sequences revealed a high degree of nucleotide similarity (97.0 to 99.0%) to porcine strains circulating in the Republic of Korea and the United States. Specifically, we found a high degree of similarity in the nucleotide matrix gene to those of recent isolates from North Carolina. Therefore, continuous epidemiological surveillance is necessary to monitor the variation and evolution of influenza A viruses.

The presence of unwanted competing flora has been the most common confounding factor in the enumeration of Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) using selective media such as mannitol-yolk-polymyxin B agar (MYPA). The objective of this study was to improve MYPA selectivity for B. cereus by supplementation with a second-generation cephalosporin, cefuroxime. The performance of cefuroxime-supplemented MYPA (cefu-MYPA) was evaluated by comparison with original MYPA in 60 food products with established microbiological standards for B. cereus contamination. Cefu-MYPA demonstrated superior recoverability and selectivity for B. cereus compared with original MYPA in most tested foods. B. cereus numbers on MYPA and cefu-MYPA were 363.5 and 462.0 CFU/g, respectively. Competing flora on cefu-MYPA was detected in significantly less samples (70%) compared to original MYPA (93%). In addition, the detection and isolation of suspected colonies were significantly improved in cefu-MYPA because of the reduction or elimination of competing flora in all tested foods except fruit juice, indicating superior selectivity of the modified medium. Our findings suggest that cefuroxime supplementation of MYPA would markedly improve the detection rate of B. cereus, particularly in foods with high levels of indigenous flora.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of infectious intestinal disease, with nearly all cases caused by two species: C. jejuni and C. coli. We recently reported a gold nanoparticle-based two-stage aptasensing platform, which was improved in the present study for the rapid and on-site detection of both C. jejuni and C. coli in food samples. Compared to the previous platform, the improved platform yielded a more obvious colour change from red to purple due to the aggregation of gold nanoparticles, and does not require additional time or a pH optimization step for the aptamers to be adsorbed onto the gold nanoparticles. Using a highly specific aptamer that binds to live C. jejuni and C. coli, the improved aptasensor was highly effective for testing pure culture samples. The accuracy of the newly developed platform was comparable (p = 0.688) to that of the gold-standard detection method of tazobactam-supplemented culture, whereas it was superior to the official agar-based detection method (p = 0.016) in a validation study with 50 naturally contaminated chicken carcass samples. This is the first study on a colorimetric sensor that targets both live C. coli and C. jejuni in naturally contaminated samples. In addition, we provide the first evidence that both morphological status and the amount of Campylobacter present play key roles in the effectiveness of colorimetric detection. Thus, suitable selection of an antibody or aptamer with consideration of the morphological status of pathogens in samples is essential for direct detection without enrichment. Our data suggest that the sensor developed in this study can provide an excellent screening method, with a reduction in the detection time from 48 h to 30 min after enrichment, thus saving time, labour, and cost.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that release treated wastewater into the environment have emerged as a major threat to public health. In this study, we investigated Escherichia coli load and antibiotic-resistance profiles across different treatment processes at a swine farm WWTP. The frequency of the detection of class 1 and 2 integrons, and their association with antibiotic resistance, were also analyzed. Samples were obtained at each of five sampling sites that represented each processing step within the WWTP. The largest decrease in E. coli load was observed during the anaerobic digestion step (from 4.86 to 2.89log CFU/mL). Isolates resistant to β-lactam antibiotics were efficiently removed after a series of treatment steps, whereas the proportions of isolates resistant to non-β-lactam antibiotics and multidrug-resistant strains were maintained across treatments. The occurrence of integron-positive strains was not significantly different at the various sampling sites (43.4-70%; p>0.05). Of the class 1 integron-positive isolates, 17.9% harbored the integron-associated gene cassettes aadA2, aadA12, aadA22, and dfrA15. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a class 1 integron containing the aadA12 gene cassette from a swine farm and the presence of a class 1 integron containing dfrA15 in E. coli. This suggests that novel antibiotic-resistance gene cassette arrays could be generated in swine farm WWTPs. Moreover, 75% of integron-positive strains were categorized as multidrug resistant, whereas only 15.4% of integron-negative strains were multidrug resistant (p

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in poultry meat are a threat to public health. In this study, we compared the Enterococcus spp. loads and antibiotic-resistance profiles between carcasses of conventionally and organically raised chickens. A total of 144 chicken carcasses (72 conventional and 72 organic) was collected from local retail markets in Seoul, South Korea. Overall, 77.7% (112 of 144; 75% conventional and 80% organic) of chicken carcasses were positive for Enterococcus. The mean loads of Enterococcus spp. were greater in conventional chicken carcasses, at 2.9 ± 0.4 log CFU/mL, than those in organic chicken carcasses, at 1.78 ± 0.3 log CFU/mL (p0.05). A total of 104 isolates (52 from conventional and 52 from organic chicken carcasses) was randomly selected for further analysis. The predominant species was Enterococcus faecalis in both conventional and organic chicken carcasses (57.7 and 76.9%, respectively; P 0.05). Rates of resistance to ciprofloxacin and erythromycin, which are used in veterinary medicine in South Korea, were significantly higher in conventional chicken carcasses than in organic chicken carcasses. However, we found no difference between the rates of resistance to antibiotics such as vancomycin and tigecycline, which were not registered for use in veterinary medicine in South Korea, of Enterococcus isolates from conventional and organic chicken carcasses. In addition, although multidrug resistant isolates were obtained from both types of chicken samples, the prevalence of samples positive for Enterococcus was significantly higher in conventional chicken carcasses than in organic chicken carcasses (P0.05). The most common multidrug resistance pattern was erythromycin-tetracycline-rifampicin in conventional chicken carcasses and quinupristin-dalfopristin-tetracycline-rifampicin in organic chicken carcasses. A high level of gentamicin resistance was observed in isolates from not only conventional (5.8%) but also organic chicken (1.9%) carcasses, with no significant difference in rates between them (P 0.05). Despite this, our results suggest that organic food certification is effective in reducing fecal contamination and the burden of antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus spp. in chicken carcasses.

Bombyx mori (silkworm pupae) is a unique and biologically significant insect, which is a recognized source of high quality protein that provides all the essential amino acids required for human health. Recently, many studies have focused on various biomedical applications of B. mori proteins. The purpose of this study was to manufacture protein-fortified kefir containing different concentrations of B. mori powder according to pH and sensory evalua-tions. The value of the protein-fortified kefir increased but the pH decreased with increasing incubation time, indicating that the amount of B. mori powder did not affect and pH. Addition of B. mori powder also did not affect the sensory properties of overall acceptability, texture, and color compared to control group without addition of B. mori powder. However, flavor and taste were affected by increasing the amounts of B. mori powder, with a significant difference in both flavor and taste between the control and treated groups (both p

Objective: A general prejudice exists that all herbal medicines are not good for liver. We report that herbal medicine can have positive effects on the liver, based on the improved liver function test levels observed in one patient. We also suggest the effectiveness of co-administration of herbal an...

Salmonella contamination in chicken samples can cause major health problems in humans. However, not only the effects of antibiotic treatment during growth but also the impacts of the poultry slaughter line on the prevalence of Salmonellae in final chicken meat sold to consumers are unknown. In this study, we compared the isolation rates and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonellae among antibiotic-free, conventional, conventional Korean native retail chicken meat samples, and clonal divergence of Salmonella isolates by multilocus sequence typing. In addition, the distribution of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes in ESBL-producing Salmonella isolates was analyzed. A total of 72 retail chicken meat samples (n = 24 antibiotic-free broiler [AFB] chickens, n = 24 conventional broiler [CB] chickens, and n = 24 conventional Korean native [CK] chickens) was collected from local retail markets in Seoul, South Korea. The isolation rates of Salmonellae were 66.6% in AFB chickens, 45.8% in CB chickens, and 25% in CK chickens. By analyzing the minimum inhibitory concentrations of β-lactam antibiotics with the disc-diffusion test, we found that 81.2% of Salmonella isolates from AFB chickens, 63.6% of isolates from CB chickens, and 50% of isolates from CK chickens were ESBL producers; all ESBL-positive isolates had the CTX-M-15 genotype. Interestingly, all ESBL-producing Salmonellae were revealed as ST16 by multilocus sequence typing and had the genetic platform of blaCTX-M gene (IS26-ISEcp1-blaCTX-M-15-IS903), which was first reported in Salmonellae around the world. The Salmonella ST33 strain (S. Hadar) isolated in this study has never been reported in South Korea. In conclusion, our findings showed that antibiotic-free retail chicken meat products were also largely contaminated with ESBL-producing Salmonellae and that their ESBL genes and genetic platforms were the same as those isolated from conventional retail chicken meat products.

Exponential growth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli in Campylobacter media has become a common problem for the detection of Campylobacter in chicken meats. We investigated the minimum inhibitory concentration of 40 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from meats obtained from various countries against antibacterial agents in Bolton broth (cefoperazone, vancomycin, and trimethoprim). All ESBL-producing E. coli strains were resistant to cefoperazone and vancomycin, whereas 50% of them were resistant to trimethoprim and grew in Bolton broth. We found that 20 μg/mL of rifampicin inhibited the growth of trimethoprim-resistant E. coli strains. Hence, we added 20 μg/mL of rifampicin to Bolton broth to improve the isolation of Campylobacter from chicken carcass rinses. The isolation rate of Campylobacter was significantly higher in the modified broth (44 out of 58, 75.9%, P < 0.05) than in the normal broth (0 out of 58, 0%). Furthermore, the number of agar plates with non-Campylobacter spp. was much lower after enrichment in the modified broth (4 out of 58, 6.9%, P < 0.05) than in the normal broth (58 out of 58, 100%).

We investigated the efficacy of syringe filtration for selective isolation of Campylobacter from chicken carcass rinse by combining syringe filtration with the conventional culture method. Whole chicken carcass rinses were incubated in Bolton enrichment broth, set aside or subjected to syringe filtration, and streaked on Campy-Cefex agar with or without cefoperazone antibiotic supplement. Compared with the conventional method without filtration, 0.65-μm-pore-size syringe filtration resulted in a significantly higher number of Campylobacter-positive samples (23.8 to 37.5% versus 70.0 to 72.5%; P0.05), a lower number of plates contaminated with non-Campylobacter (93.8% versus 6.3 to 26.3%), and a lower growth index (1 = growth of a few colonies; 2 = growth of colonies on about half of the plate; and 3 = growth on most of the plate) for competing microbiota (2.9 to 3.0 versus 1.2 to 1.4). When syringe filtration was applied, agar plates containing the antibiotic had significantly less contamination (6.3% versus 26.3%; P0.05) and a lower growth index (1.2 versus 1.4) compared with plates without the antibiotic, although the Campylobacter isolation rate was similar (P0.05). Syringe filtration combined with conventional enrichment improved the rate and selectivity of Campylobacter isolation from chicken carcasses.

Made using a natural mixed starter of lactic acid bacteria and yeast, Koumiss is a slightly alcoholic fermented mare`s milk beverage, and a traditional drink of the nomadic populations of Central Asia. Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) is a sedative with potential cardioactive pro-perties, and its oligosaccharides are beneficial in maintaining healthy gastrointestinal flora. Hence, in this study, we have generated a functional Koumiss containing two different concen-trations of chicory. After fermentation of the Koumiss premix, the TA increased to 0.85~ 0.88%, and the pH decreased to ~4.3. The addition of either concentration of chicory had no significant effect on pH and TA. However, the taste, flavor, color, texture, and overall accept-ability decreased in proportion to the added amount of chicory. This study has provided the first data on Koumiss supplemented with chicory. The results could be useful in developing high-quality Koumiss with functional activity using chicory, and allowing large-scale industrial production. Further studies are needed to determine if chicory root extract is beneficial for lifestyle-related diseases.

Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) roots and leaves are widely used in herbal preparations, which have beneficial effects on the stimulation of digestion and metabolism of food ingredients, gastric juice excretion, diuretic action, and bile excretion. Notably, chicory root is well known as a source of polyphenols, compounds with recognized value in health improvement. In this study, we examined the physicochemical characteristics (TA, pH, and sensory evaluation) of bioactive yoghurt containing different concentrations of chicory. With increasing incubation time (5 h), the TA of the yoghurt increased whereas the pH decreased, regardless of the amount of chicory. As the amount of chicory increased, the scores for color, flavor, taste, and overall acceptability generally decreased. Among the tested groups, yoghurt with the addition of 1% chicory attained the highest scores. Further studies on the production of bioactive yogurt with optimum chicory concentration are needed.

Cronobacter sakazakii constitutes one of the most life-threatening foodborne pathogens in neonates, and is typically acquired via contaminated powdered infant formula. In this study, we developed a sensitive and convenient two-stage label-free aptasensing platform for colorimetric detection of C. sakazakii in powdered infant formula. In this system, C. sakazakii depletes aptamers from the test solution, and the reduction of aptamers induces aggregation of gold nanoparticles in salt, a process accompanied by a color change from red to purple. Under optimal conditions, C. sakazakii present in PIF at a concentration as low as 7.1 × 103 CFU mL−1 could be visually detected within 30 min, with a linear range between 7.1 × 103 and 7.1 × 107 CFU mL−1. This novel assay provides new opportunities to detect bacteria in real-world samples.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The first-line medications for the symptomatic treatment of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) are clonazepam and melatonin taken at bedtime. We aimed to identify the association between depression and treatment response in patients with idiopathic RBD (iRBD). METHODS We reviewed the medical records of 123 consecutive patients (76 males; age, 66.0±7.7 years; and symptom duration, 4.1±4.0 years) with iRBD who were treated with clonazepam and/or melatonin. Clonazepam and melatonin were initially administered at 0.25-0.50 and 2 mg/day, respectively, at bedtime, and the doses were subsequently titrated according to the response of individual patients. Treatment response was defined according to the presence or absence of any improvement in dream-enacting behaviors or unpleasant dreams after treatment. RESULTS Forty (32.5%) patients were treated with clonazepam, 56 (45.5%) with melatonin, and 27 (22.0%) with combination therapy. The doses of clonazepam and melatonin at followup were 0.5±0.3 and 2.3±0.7 mg, respectively. Ninety-six (78.0%) patients reported improvement in their RBD symptoms during a mean follow-up period of 17.7 months. After adjusting for potential confounders, depression was significantly associated with a negative treatment response (odds ratio=3.76, 95% confidence interval=1.15-12.32, p=0.029). CONCLUSIONS We found that comorbid depression is significantly associated with a negative response to clonazepam and/or melatonin in patients with iRBD. Further research with larger numbers of patients is needed to verify our observations and to determine the clinical implications of comorbid depression in the pathophysiology of iRBD.

The advancements in information and communication technologies in the past few decades, as represented by ubiquitous computing, social media, and artificial intelligence, have made it possible for people to connect with each other and with technologies anytime and everywhere. These developments challenge the traditional distinctions between online and offline groups, raise questions about the relations between people and technology, and provide opportunities to study emergent dynamics of social interaction in groups. Building on the multidimensional network perspective, this chapter conceptualizes online groups as multidimensional networks (a) composed of both human members and non-human artifacts and agents; (b) characterized by multiplex relationships among their components; and (c) embedded in social environments. This conceptualization places technology as an intrinsic component of online groups, and highlights the existence of multiple types of relationships among group members. It also stresses embedding contexts as a defining feature of online groups, and calls for more research attention on the interdependence between online groups and their environments.