DemoTest0122/ScienceMetaBench105 huggingface dataset:
Augmentative and alternative communication in autism spectrum disorder: transitioning from letter board to iPad – a case study
Authors: Dionisia Mavritsakis
Published: 2024
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), communication and language, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), cognitive abilities, apraxia
Abstract: This case study examines the effective use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools in enhancing communication skills in a 15-year-old male with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Initially exhibiting non-verbal tendencies, the subject experienced significant improvements in communication and social interaction following the introduction of a letter board and subsequent transition to an iPad. These AAC tools facilitated a marked development in his ability to articulate thoughts, engage in academic activities, and express complex ideas, particularly in science. The study highlights the role of AAC in expanding the communicative capabilities of individuals with limited or no verbal language, demonstrating notable advancements in both verbal expression and cognitive engagement. The findings underscore the transformative impact of personalized AAC interventions and suggest the potential for broader application in ASD support strategies. This case highlights the need for further research, including randomized controlled trials, to explore the efficacy of AAC tools in diverse ASD contexts.
Data-driven methods for situation awareness and operational adjustment of sustainable energy integration into power systems
Authors: Shi Jin, Qian Liu, Wenlu Zhang, Zhihong He, Yuxiong He, Lihong Zhang, Yuan Liu, Peidong Xu, Xiao Zhang, Yuhong He
Published: 2023
Keywords: power system, situation awareness, operational adjustment, forecasting, reinforcement learning
Abstract: In the context of increasing complexity in power system operations due to the integration of renewable energy sources, two main challenges arise: accurate short-term wind power forecasting and power flow convergence control. Accurate wind power forecasting plays a crucial role in power system scheduling, while controlling power flow convergence is essential for system stability. This study proposes a concise short-term wind power generation prediction model that combines a feature selection-based convolutional neural network-bidirectional long short-term memory network (CNN-BiLSTM) model. By effectively screening multidimensional feature datasets, the model optimizes the selection of highly correlated feature parameters and assigns weights to input data based on feature correlation. The CNN-BiLSTM combination model is then employed to establish a predictive model for wind power generation based on multiple features. Additionally, this study introduces an automatic adjustment model for power flow convergence using the D3QN (Double Dueling Q Network) reinforcement learning algorithm. This addresses the challenge of power imbalance leading to flow non-convergence, enabling effective control of power flow convergence and adaptive adjustment of operating modes. Experiments conducted using the KDD Cup 2022 wind power prediction dataset validate the wind power prediction method. The results demonstrate that the CNN-BiLSTM model effectively utilizes time-series data, surpassing other neural networks in prediction accuracy. Simulation results based on the PYPOWER case39 standard case reveal that the reinforcement learning model’s reward value increases with training rounds and stabilizes at 40. Remarkably, more than 72% of abnormal flow samples achieve rapid convergence within 10 steps, affirming the proposed method's efficacy and computational efficiency. The findings of this study contribute to enhancing the accurate awareness of new energy integration into power systems and provide a novel adaptive control method for power flow.
Predicting diagnostic gene expression profiles associated with immune infiltration in patients with lupus nephritis
Authors: Lin Wang, Zhihua Yang, Hangxing Yu, Wei Lin, Ruoxi Wu, Hongtao Yang and Kang Yang
Published: 2022
Keywords: lupus nephritis, immune infiltration, comprehensive bioinformatics, biomarkers, CIBERSORT
Abstract: Objective: To identify potential diagnostic markers of lupus nephritis (LN) based on bioinformatics and machine learning and to explore the significance of immune cell infiltration in this pathology.
Methods: Seven LN gene expression datasets were downloaded from the GEO database, and the larger sample size was used as the training group to obtain differential genes (DEGs) between LN and healthy controls, and to perform gene function, disease ontology (DO), and gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA). Two machine learning algorithms, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), were applied to identify candidate biomarkers. The diagnostic value of LN diagnostic gene biomarkers was further evaluated in the area under the ROC curve observed in the validation dataset. CIBERSORT was used to analyze 22 immune cell fractions from LN patients and to analyze their correlation with diagnostic markers.
Results: Thirty and twenty-one DEGs were screened in kidney tissue and peripheral blood, respectively. Both of which covered macrophages and interferons. The disease enrichment analysis of DEGs in kidney tissues showed that they were mainly involved in immune and renal diseases, and in peripheral blood it was mainly enriched in cardiovascular system, bone marrow, and oral cavity. The machine learning algorithm combined with external dataset validation revealed that C1QA(AUC = 0.741), C1QB(AUC = 0.758), MX1(AUC = 0.865), RORC(AUC = 0.911), CD177(AUC = 0.855), DEFA4(AUC= 0.843)and HERC5(AUC = 0.880) had high diagnostic value and could be used as diagnostic biomarkers of LN. Compared to controls, pathways such as cell adhesion molecule cam, and systemic lupus erythematosus were activated in kidney tissues; cell cycle, cytoplasmic DNA sensing pathways, NOD-like receptor signaling pathways, proteasome, and RIG-1-like receptors were activated in peripheral blood. Immune cell infiltration analysis showed that diagnostic markers in kidney tissue were associated with T cells CD8 and Dendritic cells resting, and in blood were associated with T cells CD4 memory resting, suggesting that CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells and dendritic cells are closely related to the development and progression of LN.
Conclusion: C1QA, C1QB, MX1, RORC, CD177, DEFA4 and HERC5 could be used as new candidate molecular markers for LN. It may provide new insights into the diagnosis and molecular treatment of LN in the future.
Research progress of drug eluting balloon in arterial circulatory system
Authors: Keji Lu, Xianglin Ye, Yaoxuan Chen, Peng Wang, Meiting Gong, Bing Xuan, Zhaobing Tang, Meiling Li, Jun Hou, Ke Peng and Haifeng Pei
Published: 2024
Keywords: drug eluting balloon, arterial circulatory system diseases, coronary artery diseases, instent restenosis, paclitaxel
Abstract: The arterial circulatory system diseases are common in clinical practice, and their treatment options have been of great interest due to their high morbidity and mortality. Drug-eluting balloons, as a new type of endovascular interventional treatment option, can avoid the long-term implantation of metal stents and is a new type of angioplasty without stents, so drug-eluting balloons have better therapeutic effects in some arterial circulatory diseases and have been initially used in clinical practice. In this review, we first describe the development, process, and mechanism of drug-eluting balloons. Then we summarize the current studies on the application of drug-eluting balloons in coronary artery lesions, in-stent restenosis, and peripheral vascular disease. As well as the technical difficulties and complications in the application of drug-eluting balloons and possible management options, in order to provide ideas and help for future in-depth studies and provide new strategies for the treatment of more arterial system diseases.
利用重要节日培养中职学生核心素养研究
Authors: 柏桧
Published: 2022
Abstract: 重要节日作为文化传承的载体，对于中职学生的成长具有重要意义。本文从核心素养的概念出发，探讨了重要节日与培养中职学生核心素养的关系，包括传统节日对于文化素养的培养、现代节日对于 全球视野的拓展、节日庆祝活动对于社交能力的锻炼和节日心理对于情感素养的培养等多个方面。
事业单位党建工作质量:问题与对策
Authors: 李红, 赵国付
Published: 2017
Keywords: 事业单位, 党建工作, 信用记录
Abstract: 事业单位党建工作发展现状中存在学习内容缺乏吸引力、政策保障不足、入党标准良莠不齐、理论学习时间仓促等问题，从提升队伍素质水平、加强政治学习效果与宣传效果的角度出发，应丰富宣传载体，注重学习内容设计，增加信用记录为入党门槛条件，加大政治理论学习深度，突出党建文化宣传引导，从而提高事业单位党建工作质量。
透视房地产开发融资渠道的变化
Authors: 李楠, 赵财福
Published: 2002
Abstract: 房地产开发是典型的投资额大、投资回收期长的资金密集型行业，资金是制约行业发展的瓶颈，如何有效融资一直是房地产开发商最关心的问题。
目前对于我国的房地产开发企业来说，商业银行贷款仍然是最主要的融资渠道，具体表现有：凭借开发商的资信获取的贷款、开发商以自己的房地产或其他资产作抵押或质押担保获取的贷款、由第三者提供担保的贷款等。在90年代初期，银行较为宽松的融资贷款环境，促进了房地产行业的迅猛发展，但同时也使银行承担了巨大的贷款风险，因房地产开发过热，银行出现了大量坏帐。经过几年的低潮期，房地产行业从去年开始叉表现出了强劲的上升势头，房地产业被定位为国民经济新的增长点和支柱产业，而房地产开发企业进入资本市场的禁令解除、房地产投资基金从理论探讨到实际操作以及中国加入世贸组织都为房地产开发融资提供了全新的渠道，这些扩展的融资渠道将有力地推动房地产市场的发展，对未来的房地产行业具有重要影响。
“低筋小麦粉 + 白灵菇”无糖营养饼干的工艺优化及消化特性研究
Authors: 陈旭斌, 陈培泓
Published: 2024
Keywords: 无糖营养饼干, 工艺优化, 消化特性
Abstract: 本研究以黑龙江新良粮油集团有限公司的低筋小麦粉为基础材料，结合福建武夷山夷达菇业有限公司的白灵菇粉，通过正交试验设计和单因素试验，优化了无糖营养饼干的工艺配方。最终确定的最佳工艺条件为白灵菇粉 10%、木糖醇 25%、食盐 0.5%、油脂 30%、泡打粉 3%。通过验证试验，表明该配方在感官评分和剪切力方面表现出较高的稳定性和可重复性。
388例宫颈上皮内瘤样病变筛查结果分析
Authors: 白合尼莎, 房新志, 迪丽努尔
Published: 2007
Abstract: 近年随着宫颈细胞学采用描述性诊断(TBS)的应用，临床上结合阴道镜及活检检查提高了对宫颈病变，特别是对官颈早期癌及癌前病变的诊断率达到了早期诊断、早期治疗的目的现总结对新疆肿瘤医院388例宫颈细胞学涂片异常的患者阴道镜下检查及多点活检，作组织病理学检查，结果作对照研究。
为测试工具选择正确的保险丝
Authors:  美国福禄克公司
Published: 2005
Abstract: 本文介绍了在使用那些内部未设计有保险丝保护功能的测试仪进行电压和电流测量时的潜在危险 , 这些危险会造成严重的烧伤，甚至可能会导致生命危险 。
智能压力变送器多种应用方式的探讨
Authors: 刘洋, 孙克梅
Published: 2006
Keywords: 压力, 变送器, 测量方式
Abstract: 压力、差压变送器是过程变量变送器中最重要的一类，随着生产过程自动化程度的不断提高，在生产过程控制领域得到越来越广泛的应用，除了可用于压力、差压测量之外，还可用于流量、液位、比重等其他参数测量，以差压原理的流量测量技术更是在流量测量领域占有绝对的高的比例。差压变送器在各种应用领域中的安装及设置方法也多种多样，针对其在这些测量领域的测量方法及原理进行分类的阐述。
浅议手术室安全护理及术前健康教育的重要性
Authors: 王安先, 李方燕
Published: 2004
Abstract: 近年来我院对手术室护理工作进行了改革，重视了术前对手术病人的健康教育和术后的随访工作，形成了以病人为中心，以工作为轴心，满足了护患需求，并逐步完善术中护理质量，使护理工作有了新的起色和进步，受到了病人的好评，也得到了护理人员的认可，现结合实践对我院术中安全护理的点滴体会浅议如下。
Indirect illusory inferences from disjunction: a new bridge between deductive inference and representativeness 
Authors: Mathias Sablé-Meyer, Salvador Mascarenhas
Published: 2021
Abstract: We provide a new link between deductive and probabilistic reasoning fallacies. Illusory inferences from disjunction are a broad class of deductive fallacies traditionally explained by recourse to a matching procedure that looks for content overlap between premises. In two behavioral experiments, we show that this phenomenon is instead sensitive to real-world causal dependencies and not to exact content overlap. A group of participants rated the strength of the causal dependence between pairs of sentences. This measure proved to be a near perfect predictor of fallacious reasoning by an independent group of participants in illusory inference tasks with the same materials. In light of these results, we argue that all extant accounts of these deductive fallacies require non-trivial adjustments. Crucially, these novel indirect illusory inferences from disjunction bear a structural similarity to seemingly unrelated probabilistic reasoning problems, in particular the conjunction fallacy from the heuristics and biases literature. This structural connection was entirely obscure in previous work on these deductive problems, due to the theoretical and empirical focus on content overlap. We argue that this structural parallelism provides arguments against the need for rich descriptions and individuating information in the conjunction fallacy, and we outline a unified theory of deductive illusory inferences from disjunction and the conjunction fallacy, in terms of Bayesian confirmation theory.
Study protocol: Social Health Impact of Network Effects (SHINE) Study
Authors: Danielle Cosme, Yoona Kang, José Carreras-Tartak, Jeesung Ahn, Faustine Corbani, Nicole Cooper, Bruce P. Doré, Xiaosong He, Chelsea Helion, Mia Jovanova, Silicia Lomax, Arun S. Mahadevan, Amanda L. McGowan, Alexandra M. Paul, Rui Pei, Anthony Resnick, Ovidia Stanoi, Tianyun (Sky) Zhang, Yi Zhang, Dani S. Bassett, Zachary M. Boyd, David M. Lydon-Staley, Peter J. Mucha, Kevin N. Ochsner, Emily B. Falk

Keywords: mindfulness, perspective-taking, social influence, intervention, longitudinal data 
Abstract: Humans are a fundamentally social species whose well-being depends on how we connect with and relate to one another. As such, scientific understanding of factors that promote health and well-being requires insight into causal factors present at multiple levels of analysis, ranging from brain networks that dynamically reconfigure across situations to social networks that allow behaviors to spread from person to person. The Social Health Impacts of Network Effects (SHINE) study takes a multilevel approach to investigate how interactions between the mind, brain, and community give rise to well-being. The SHINE protocol assesses multiple health and psychological variables, with particular emphasis on alcohol use, how alcohol-related behavior can be modified via self-regulation, and how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors unfold in the context of social networks. An overarching aim is to derive generalizable principles about relationships that promote well-being by applying multilayer mathematical models and explanatory approaches such as network control theory. The SHINE study includes data from 711 college students recruited from social groups at two universities in the northeastern United States of America, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed at least one of the following study components: baseline self-reported questionnaires and social network characterization, self-regulation intervention assignment (mindful attention or perspective taking), functional and structural neuroimaging, ecological momentary assessment, and longitudinal follow-ups including questionnaires and social network characterization. The SHINE dataset enables integration across modalities, levels of analysis, and timescales to understand young adults’ well-being and health-related decision making. Our goal is to further our understanding of how individuals can change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and of how these changes unfold in the context of social networks.
From distal to proximal to interactive: Behavioral and brain synchrony during attraction, courtship, and sexual interaction 
Authors: James G. Pfaus, Ellen Zakreski, Adam Safron
Abstract: We tend move in time and space in what feels like a synchronous flow. Flow appears as movement along a steady and continuous stream, and is determined by external contingencies or operants, Pavlovian associations among stimuli, and a set of internal neural mechanisms that make the required movements appear fluid, goal directed, and meaningful. Some movements are relatively hardwired, such as those required to suckle a breast for food or to scratch an itch. Others are formed as motor habits, such as those required to ride a bike or drive a car, and become automated and hardwired with practice. Some movements become self-synchronized and coordinated with other movements, for example, body and limb movements with the production of phonemes and meaningful speech (e.g., Condon, 1977; 1979; Fentress, 1984). Such movements become gestures that convey emphasis and emotional meaning.
Harmless bodily pleasures are moralized because they are perceived as reducing self-control and cooperativeness
Authors: Léo Fitouchi, Jean-Baptiste André, Nicolas Baumard & Daniel Nettle

Keywords: morality; cooperation; self-control; values; social cognition; evolutionary psychology
Abstract: Why do many people moralize harmless bodily pleasures, such as gluttony, masturbation, and drinking alcohol? In three pre-registered experiments (N > 1,600), we investigated whether this is because they perceive bodily pleasures as indirectly facilitating antisocial behaviors by altering self-control. In Study 1 and 2, participants judged that targets who increased (vs. decreased) their indulgence harmless sex, food, alcohol, and laziness had become less cooperative, an effect mediated by the perception that they had become less self-controlled. In Study 3, participants judged that relaxing regulations over sex, food, and alcohol in a village would decrease self-control and cooperation in the village, although they judged enforcing puritanical prohibitions even more negatively. In all studies, the perception that indulgence reduces self-control and cooperativeness predicted the moral condemnation of harmless bodily pleasures. This supports the idea that some purity violations, although apparently harmless, are moralized because they are perceived as indirectly affecting cooperation.
Technology Habits: Progress, Problems, and Prospects
Authors: Joseph B. Bayer, Robert LaRose
Published: 2018
Keywords: Internet, Online, Smartphone, Digital, Addiction, Components, Cues, Contexts
Abstract: Technology habits have been objects of research for over 100 years and provided heuristic cases for the study of habits over the last two decades. This chapter traces the history of research on information and communication technologies in daily life, with an eye toward measurement and conceptualization problems. Similar to the new technologies of earlier eras, the prominence of current habitual manifestations has raised challenging questions for both researchers and societies. These new-er media habits may exaggerate core habitual mechanisms by providing a wide spectrum of potential cues, possible contexts, and complex rewards—resulting in dynamic habits that appear to be “special”. We discuss how research on technology habits serves to uncover the assumptions, boundaries, and moderators of habit, while calling for a revised approach to address recurring problems in the literature. Altogether, the chapter clarifies how technology habit research contributes to a broader understanding of habitual behaviour.
GROUPS 4 HEALTH versus Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in young people with depression and loneliness: A randomized, Phase 3, non-inferiority trial with 12-month
Authors: Tegan Cruwys, Catherine Haslam, Joanne A Rathbone, Elyse Williams, S Alexander Haslam, Zoe C Walter

Published: 2021
Keywords: loneliness, group psychotherapy, mood disorders, depression, mental health, adolescence, youth, social isolation, social identity
Abstract: Background. Depression treatments are typically less effective for young people than for adults. However, extant treatments rarely target loneliness, which is a key risk factor in the onset, maintenance, and development of depression.
Aims. This study evaluated the efficacy of a novel loneliness intervention, GROUPS 4 HEALTH (G4H), relative to best-practice treatment Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) in reducing loneliness and depression over a 12 month period.
Methods. The study was a Phase 3, randomised non-inferiority trial comparing G4H to dose-controlled group CBT. Participants were 174 young people aged 15-25 years experiencing loneliness and clinically significant symptoms of depression, who were not in receipt of adjunct treatment. Participants were recruited from mental health services in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Randomisation was conducted using computer software. Follow-up assessments and statistical analyses were blind to allocation. Both interventions consisted of 5 x 75 min group-based psychotherapy sessions. The primary outcomes were depression and loneliness, with a non-inferiority margin of 2.20 for depression. The trial was prospectively registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12618000440224) on 27 March 2018 and is closed to new participants.
Results. 174 participants were enrolled between 24 April 2018 and 25 May 2019, with 84 in the G4H condition and 90 in the CBT condition. All randomised participants were included in the intention-to-treat analyses (N=174). The pre-post effect sizes for depression were d=- .71G4H and d=-.91CBT. For loneliness, they were d=-1.07G4H and d=-0.89CBT. At 12-month follow-up, the absolute difference between groups in depression was 1.176 (95%CI: -1.94, 4.29), and in loneliness was -0.679 (95%CI: -.1.43, .07). No adverse effects were observed.
Conclusions. G4H was non-inferior to CBT for depression and showed a slight advantage over CBT for loneliness that emerged after treatment completion.
Benefits of Adaptive Learning Transfer from Typing-Based Learning to Speech-Based Learning
Authors: Thomas Wilschut, Florian Sense, Maarten van der Velde, Zafeirios Fountas, Sarah C. Maaß, Hedderik van Rijn
Keywords: adaptive learning, memory, pronunciation, speech, vocabulary learning, reaction times, ACT-R
Abstract: Memorizing vocabulary has led to an important aspect of formal foreign-language learning. Advances in cognitive psychology have led to the development of adaptive learning systems that make vocabulary learning more efficient. One way these computer-based systems optimize learning is by measuring learning performance in real time to create optimal repetition schedules for individual learners. While adaptive learning systems have been successfully applied to word learning using keyboard-based input, they have thus far seen little application in spoken word learning. Here we present a system for adaptive, speech-based word learning using an adaptive model that was developed for and tested with typing-based word learning. We show that typing- and speech-based learning result in similar behavioral patterns that can be used to reliably estimate individual memory processes, and we extend earlier findings demonstrating that a response-time based adaptive learning system outperforms an accuracy-based, Leitner flashcard learning algorithm. In short, we show that adaptive learning benefits transfer from typing-based learning, to speech based learning. Our work provides a basis for the development of language learning applications that use real-time pronunciation assessment software to score the accuracy of the learner's pronunciations. The development of adaptive, speech-based learning applications is important for two reasons. First, by focusing on speech, the model can be applied for individuals whose typing skills are insufficient—as is demonstrated by the successful application of the model in an elderly participant population. Second, speech-based learning models are educationally relevant because they focus on what may be the most important aspect of language learning: to practice speech.
Elevated moral condemnation of third-party violations in multiple sclerosis patients
Authors: Indrajeet Patil, Liane Young, Vladimiro Sinay, Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht
Keywords: morality, punishment, alexithymia, multiple sclerosis , moral luck
Abstract: Recent research has demonstrated impairments in social cognition associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present work asks whether these impairments are associated with atypical moral judgment. Specifically, we assessed whether MS patients are able to integrate information about intentions and outcomes for moral judgment (i.e., appropriateness and punishment judgments) in the case of third-party acts. We found a complex pattern of moral judgments in MS patients: although their moral judgments were comparable to controls’ for specific types of acts (e.g., accidental or intentional harms), they nevertheless judged behaviors to be less appropriate and endorsed more severe punishment across the board, and they were also more likely to report that others’ responses would be congruent with theirs. Further analyses suggested that elevated levels of externally oriented cognition in MS (due to co-occurring alexithymia) explain these effects. Additionally, we found that the distinction between appropriateness and punishment judgments, whereby harmful outcomes influence punishment judgments to a greater extent than appropriateness judgments, was preserved in MS despite the observed disruptions in affective and motivational components of empathy. The current results inform the two-process model for intent-based moral judgments as well as possible strategies for improving the quality of life in MS patients.
Periodic solutions of perturbed isochronous hamiltonian systems at resonance
Authors: Christian Fabry, Alessandro Fonda
Published: 2005
Keywords: Periodic solution, Hamiltonian systems, opological degree
Abstract: We look for periodic solutions of planar systems obtained by adding an asymptotically positively homogeneous nonlinear term to an isochronous hamiltonian system. Precise computations of the topological degree are obtained by elementary phase-plane analysis.
Influence of Clay Modification on the Properties of Resol Nanocomposites
Authors: Liliana B. Manfredi, Debora Puglia, Annalisa Tomasucci, José M. Kenny, Analia Vázquez
Published: 2008
Abstract: Two organically modified (Cloisite1 30B and 10A) and one unmodified clay (Cloisite1 Na) were added to a resol-type phenolic prepolymer. The modified montmorillonites showed a better dispersion in the prepolymer. The dispersion of the clay, the chemical structure as well as the thermal degradation behavior of the cured polymer and nanocomposites were studied. It was observed that the addition of Cloisite1 Na leads to enhanced crosslinking of the cured polymer, leading to a higher activation energy for thermal degradation. The resol with Cloisite1 10A contained a higher percentage of voids, which seems to be one of the major factors that reduce hardness and adhesive strength when the nanocomposite was applied to a metal substrate.
The ‘molten globule’ state is involved in the translocation of proteins across membranes?
Authors: Valentina E. Bychkova, Roger H. Pain, Oleg B. Ptitsyn
Published: 1988
Keywords:    
Protein folding, Molten globule state, Protein translocation, Membrane translation, Deraturation
 
 
Abstract: Strong evidence exists that the translocation of proteins across a variety of membranes involves a non-native or denatured conformational state. On the other hand a compact state having secondary but not rigid tertiary structure and called the 'molten globule' state has been identified as being stable under mild denaturing conditions. A similar state has been shown to accumulate on the folding pathway of globular proteins. These states are compact though sufficiently expanded to include water, and they are internally mobile. It is proposed that these molten globule states may be suitable candidates for protein translocation across biological membranes.
Neither Fish nor Fowl. How EU Delegations Challenge the Institution of Diplomacy: The Cases of Moscow and Washington
Authors: Heidi Maurer, Kristi Raik
Published: 2018
Keywords: diplomacy, EU foreign policy, EU delegations, United States, Russia
Abstract: The paper explores European diplomatic cooperation abroad since 2009 by studying the diplomatic structures and practices in two key locations, Moscow and Washington. It analyses the functions of EU delegations as part of the hybrid EU foreign policy system and their way of engaging with the changing global patterns of diplomatic practice. The empirical analysis draws on extensive semi-structured interviews conducted in Moscow and Washington in 2013/14. Our cases confirm the deeper institutionalisation and intensification of European diplomatic cooperation abroad. The EU delegations increasingly took over traditional diplomatic tasks and coordinated member states on the ground. The ability of the EU delegations to establish a good working relationship with member states as well as the leadership of key individuals (notably EU ambassadors) were key factors in shaping the way this new system fell into place, which shows the continued prevalence of hybridity in EU foreign policy making.
A Method of Effective Quarry Water Purifying Using Artificial Filtering Arrays
Authors: M Tyulenev, E Garina, A Khoreshok, O Litvin, Y Litvin, E Maliukhina
Published: 2017
Abstract: The development of open pit mining in the large coal basins of Russia and other countries increases their negative impact on the environment. Along with the damage of land and air pollution by dust and combustion gases of blasting, coal pits have a significant negative impact on water resources. Polluted quarry water worsens the ecological situation on a much larger area than covered by air pollution and land damage. This significantly worsens the conditions of people living in cities and towns located near the coal pits, and complicates the subsequent restoration of the environment, irreversibly destroying the nature. Therefore, the research of quarry wastewater purifying is becoming an important mater for scholars of technical colleges and universities in the regions with developing open-pit mining. This paper describes the method of determining the basic parameters of the artificial filtering arrays formed on coal pits of Kuzbass (Western Siberia, Russia), and gives recommendations on its application.
Life Cycle Assessment and Economic Analysis of an Innovative Biogas Membrane Reformer for Hydrogen Production
Authors: Gioele Di Marcoberardino, Xun Liao, Arnaud Dauriat, Marco Binotti, Giampaolo Manzolini
Published: 2019
Keywords: biogas, hydrogen production, fluidized bed membrane reactor, life cycle assessment, economic analysis

Abstract: This work investigates the environmental and economic performances of a membrane reactor for hydrogen production from raw biogas. Potential benefits of the innovative technology are compared against reference hydrogen production processes based on steam (or autothermal) reforming, water gas shift reactors and a pressure swing adsorption unit. Both biogas produced by landfill and anaerobic digestion are considered to evaluate the impact of biogas composition. Starting from the thermodynamic results, the environmental analysis is carried out using environmental Life cycle assessment (LCA). Results show that the adoption of the membrane reactor increases the system efficiency by more than 20 percentage points with respect to the reference cases. LCA analysis shows that the innovative BIONICO system performs better than reference systems when biogas becomes a limiting factor for hydrogen production to satisfy market demand, as a higher biogas conversion efficiency can potentially substitute more hydrogen produced by fossil fuels (natural gas). However, when biogas is not a limiting factor for hydrogen production, the innovative system can perform either similar or worse than reference systems, as in this case impacts are largely dominated by grid electric energy demand and component use rather than conversion efficiency. Focusing on the economic results, hydrogen production cost shows lower value with respect to the reference cases (4 €/kgH2 vs 4.2 €/kgH2) at the same hydrogen delivery pressure of 20 bar. Between landfill and anaerobic digestion cases, the latter has the lower costs as a consequence of the higher methane content.
Small Theropod Teeth from the Late Cretaceous of the San Juan Basin, Northwestern New Mexico and Their Implications for Understanding Latest Cretaceous Dinosaur Evolution
Authors: Thomas E. Williamson, Stephen L. Brusatte
Published: 2014
Abstract: Studying the evolution and biogeographic distribution of dinosaurs during the latest Cretaceous is critical for better understanding the end-Cretaceous extinction event that killed off all non-avian dinosaurs. Western North America contains among the best records of Late Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates in the world, but is biased against small-bodied dinosaurs. Isolated teeth are the primary evidence for understanding the diversity and evolution of small-bodied theropod dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous, but few such specimens have been well documented from outside of the northern Rockies, making it difficult to assess Late Cretaceous dinosaur diversity and biogeographic patterns. We describe small theropod teeth from the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. These specimens were collected from strata spanning Santonian – Maastrichtian. We grouped isolated theropod teeth into several morphotypes, which we assigned to higher-level theropod clades based on possession of phylogenetic synapomorphies. We then used principal components analysis and discriminant function analyses to gauge whether the San Juan Basin teeth overlap with, or are quantitatively distinct from, similar tooth morphotypes from other geographic areas. The San Juan Basin contains a diverse record of small theropods. Late Campanian assemblages differ from approximately co-eval assemblages of the northern Rockies in being less diverse with only rare representatives of troodontids and a Dromaeosaurus-like taxon. We also provide evidence that erect and recurved morphs of a Richardoestesia-like taxon represent a single heterodont species. A late Maastrichtian assemblage is dominated by a distinct troodontid. The differences between northern and southern faunas based on isolated theropod teeth provide evidence for provinciality in the late Campanian and the late Maastrichtian of North America. However, there is no indication that major components of small-bodied theropod diversity were lost during the Maastrichtian in New Mexico. The same pattern seen in northern faunas, which may provide evidence for an abrupt dinosaur extinction.
Composite suspended sediment particles in river systems: their incidence, dynamics and physical characteristics
Authors: J. C. Woodward, D. E. Walling
Published: 2006
Keywords: suspended sediment, composite particles, aggregation, flocculation, particle size, water elutriation, time-integrated sampling
Abstract: Most of the existing data on the effective particle size characteristics of fluvial suspended sediment derive from instantaneous sampling methods that may not be representative of the overall suspended sediment loads. This presents difficulties when there is a need to incorporate effective particle size data into numerical models of floodplain sedimentation and sediment-associated contaminant transfer. We have used a field-based water elutriation apparatus (WEA) to assemble a large (36 flood) database on the time-integrated nature of the effective and absolute particle size characteristics of suspended sediment in four subcatchments of the River Exe basin of southwest England. These catchments encompass a wide range of terrains and fluvial environments that are broadly representative of much of the UK and temperate, low relief northwest Europe. The WEA provides important data on the physical characteristics of composite particles that are not attainable using other methods. This dataset has allowed, for the first time, detailed interbasin comparisons of the time-integrated particle size characteristics of suspended sediment and reliable estimates of the contribution of five effective size classes to the mean annual suspended sediment load of the study catchments. The suspended sediment load of each river is dominated by composite rather than primary particles, with, for example, almost 60% (by mass) of the sediment load of the River Exe at Thorverton transported as composite particles >16 µm in size. All the effective size classes contain significant clay components. A key outcome of this study is the recognition that each catchment has a distinctive time-integrated effective particle size signature. In addition, the time-integrated effective particle size characteristics of the suspended loads in each of the catchments display much greater spatial variability than the equivalent absolute particle size distributions. This indicates that the processes producing composite particles vary significantly between these catchments, and this has important implications for our understanding of the dynamics of suspended sediment properties.
Addressing the Privacy Paradox by Expanded Privacy Awareness - The Example of Context-Aware Services
Authors: André Deuker 
Published: 2009
Keywords: Privacy Paradox, Privacy Awareness, Economics of Privacy, Context-Aware Services 
Abstract: When interacting with applications, users are less restrictive in disclosing their personal data than if asked in an application-independent context. On a more general level this behavior is termed as privacy paradox. The creation of privacy awareness can assist users in dealing with context-aware services without harming their privacy unintentionally, thereby addressing the privacy paradox. The paper in hand provides a research approach towards the integration of privacy awareness on an application-specific level, especially taking into account conflicting interests between users and providers of context-aware services. It shows that expanding privacy awareness towards knowledge about methods and tools to react turns out to be useful.
Oxidation and Volatilization from Tungsten Brush High Heat Flux Armor During High Temperature Steam Exposure
Authors: G. R. Smolik, R. J. Pawelko, R. A. Anderl, D. A. Petti
Published: 2000
Abstract: Tungsten brush accommodates thermal stresses and high heat flux in fusion reactor components such as plasma facing surfaces or armor. However, inherently higher surface areas are introduced with the brush design. We have tested a specific design of tungsten brush in steam between 500 and 1100ºC. Hydrogen generation and tungsten volatilization rates were determined to address fusion safety issues. The brush prepared from 3.2-mm diameter welding rods had a packing density of 85 percent. We found that both hydrogen generation and tungsten volatilization from brush, fixtured to represent a unit within a larger component, were less than projections based upon the total integrated surface area (TSA). Steam access and the escape of hydrogen and volatile oxide from void spaces within the brush are restricted compared to specimens with more direct diffusion pathways to the test environment. Hydrogen generation rates from restrained specimens based on normal surface area (NSA) remain about five times higher than rates based on total surface areas from specimens with direct steam access. Volatilization rates from restrained specimens based upon normal surface area (NSA) were only 50 percent higher than our historic cumulative maximum flux plot (CMFP) for tungsten. This study has shown that hydrogen generation and tungsten volatilization from brush do not scale according to predictions with previously determined rates, but in fact, with higher packing density could approach those from flat surfaces.
Subcontracting and the Size and Composition of the Informal Sector: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing
Authors: Ana I. Moreno-Monroy, Janneke Pieters, Abdul A. Erumban
Published: 2012
Keywords: informal sector, formal sector, subcontracting, manufacturing, India
Abstract: This paper analyzes the relationship between formal sector subcontracting and the evolution of the informal sector using nationally representative survey data of Indian manufacturing enterprises for the period 1995-2006. In these years of fast economic growth, subcontracting by formal enterprises gained importance, while the informal sector continued to account for 90 per cent of total manufacturing employment. In order to contrast between a ‘modernization’ and a ‘stagnation’ view on formal-informal production linkages, we test whether subcontracting is related to the size of more modern versus more traditional segments of the informal sector. The results show that formal sector subcontracting is positively related to the size of the informal sector only for the most modern informal activities, supporting the view that subcontracting is related to informal sector modernization. We find no support for the claim that the continued expansion of very traditional informal activities is related to increased outsourcing by formal manufacturing enterprises.
Lost in Transition: The Influence of Locus of Control on Delaying Educational Decisions
Authors: Katharina Jaik, Stefan C. Wolter
Published: 2016
Keywords: locus of control, school-to-school transition, school-to-work transition
Abstract: The transition from compulsory schooling to upper-secondary education is a crucial and frequently difficult step in the educational career of young people. In this study, we analyze the impact of one non-cognitive skill, locus of control, on the intention and the decision to delay the transition into post-compulsory education in Switzerland. We find that locus of control, measured at ages 13–14, has a significant impact on the intention to delay the transition into upper-secondary education. Furthermore, we find that the intention to delay the transition is strongly correlated with the actual delay, measured one and a half years after the intention. Finally, students with the initial intention to delay but successfully continuing into upper-secondary education show a stronger internal locus of control than comparable students who do delay their transition.
Gender Diversity, Labour in the Boardroom and Gender Quotas
Authors: Astrid Kunze Katrin, Scharfenkamp
Published: 2022
Keywords: affirmative action, employee representation, shared governance, co-determination, women, boards of directors, firm size
Abstract: This study investigates boards of (non-executive) directors and whether employee representation has a positive effect on gender diversity on boards. We exploit rich, newly assembled board–director matched panel data for Norway and Germany, which contain unique information on whether a director represents shareholders or employees during the period around 2008, when a Norwegian board gender quota came into effect. We present two novel results that challenge previous thinking about the effects of board gender quotas on women directors. First, we find a positive impact of employee representation before the gender quota reform on gender diversity. Second, although the Norwegian gender quota has increased the probability of a director being female, the effect through employee representation has relatively decreased after the implementation of the reform. We discuss potential mechanisms and implications for the design of co-determination laws and gender quotas.
Demand for Redistribution, Support for the Welfare State, and Party Identification in Austria
Authors: Andreas Kuhn 
Published: 2009
Keywords: subjective inequality measures, demand for redistribution, support for the welfare state, party identification
Abstract: This paper describes subjective wage inequality and the demand for redistribution in Austria using individuals' estimates of occupational wages from the International Social Survey Program. Although these estimates differ widely across individuals, the data clearly show that most individuals would like to decrease wage inequality, relative to the level of inequality which they perceive to exist. The empirical analysis also shows that the demand for redistribution is strongly associated not only with variables describing self-interested motives for redistribution, but also with perceptions of and social norms with respect to inequality. Further, the demand for redistribution is a strong predictor for whether an individual is supportive of redistribution by the state. On the other hand, however, I find almost no evidence for an empirical association between the demand for redistribution and individuals' party identification.
Recession Experiences during Early Adulthood Shape Prosocial Attitudes Later in Life
Authors: Jan Bietenbeck, Uwe Sunde, Petra Thiemann
Published: 2023
Keywords: prosocial attitudes, impressionable years, experience effects, cohort effects
Abstract: This paper explores whether the experience of a severe recession during early adulthood shapes individuals’ prosocial attitudes. The analysis uses survey responses to experimentally validated questions that measure prosocial attitudes for approximately 65,000 respondents in 75 countries. The identification approach exploits variation in recession experiences across 78 different birth cohorts. We find that exposure to a recession during early adulthood is associated with lower levels of prosociality later in life. The effect only emerges for experiences during impressionable years (age 18–25), mainly affects prosocial attitudes among men, and is orthogonal to the effect of experiences with democracy.
Firms, Industries, and Unemployment Insurance: An Analysis Using Employer-Employee Data
Authors: Miles Corak, Wen-Hao Chen
Published: 2003
Keywords: unemployment insurance, payroll taxes
Abstract: Administrative data on the universe of employees, firms, and unemployment insurance (UI) recipients in Canada over an 11 year period are used to examine the operation of UI using the firm as the unit of analysis. Persistent transfers through UI are present at both industry and firm levels, and an analysis using firm fixed effect indicates that an important fraction of variation in them can be attributed to firm effects. Calculations of overall efficiency loss are very sensitive to the degree to which firm level information is used. A full appreciation of how UI interacts with the labour market requires recognition of the characteristics and human resource practices of firms.
The Effectiveness of Health Screening
Authors: Franz Hackl, Martin Halla, Michael Hummer, Gerald J. Pruckner
Published: 2012
Keywords: health screening, health care costs, sick leave, mortality
Abstract: Using a matched insurant-general practitioner panel data set, we estimated the effect of a general health-screening program on individuals’ health status and health care cost. To account for selection into treatment, we used regional variations in the intensity of exposure to supply-determined screening recommendations as an instrumental variable. We found that screening participation substantially increased inpatient and outpatient health care costs for up to two years after treatment. In the medium term, we found cost savings in the outpatient sector, whereas in the long run, no statistically significant effects of screening on either health care cost component could be discerned. In summary, screening participation increases health care costs. Since we did not find any statistically significant effect of screening participation on insurants’ health status at any point in time, we do not recommend a general health-screening program. However, given that we found some evidence for cost-saving potentials for the sub-sample of younger insurants, we suggest more targeted screening programs.
Inference with Imperfect Randomization: The Case of the Perry Preschool Program
Authors: James Heckman, Rodrigo Pinto, Azeem M. Shaikh, Adam Yavitz
Published: 2011
Keywords: multiple testing, multiple outcomes, randomized trial, randomization tests, imperfect randomization, Perry Preschool Program, program evaluation, familywise error rate, exact inference, partial identification
Abstract: This paper considers the problem of making inferences about the effects of a program on multiple outcomes when the assignment of treatment status is imperfectly randomized. By imperfect randomization we mean that treatment status is reassigned after an initial randomization on the basis of characteristics that may be observed or unobserved by the analyst. We develop a partial identification approach to this problem that makes use of information limiting the extent to which randomization is imperfect to show that it is still possible to make nontrivial inferences about the effects of the program in such settings. We consider a family of null hypotheses in which each null hypothesis specifies that the program has no effect on one of several outcomes of interest. Under weak assumptions, we construct a procedure for testing this family of null hypotheses in a way that controls the familywise error rate – the probability of even one false rejection – infinite samples. We develop our methodology in the context of a reanalysis of the HighScope Perry Preschool program. We find statistically significant effects of the program on a number of different outcomes of interest, including outcomes related to criminal activity for males and females, even after accounting for the imperfectness of the randomization and the multiplicity of null hypotheses.