bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Egocentric sexual network analysis among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men with and without mpox infection
Authors: Sönmez İbrahim , Martínez Riveros Héctor , Folch Cinta , Suñer Clara , Díaz Yesika , Alonso Lucía , Agusti Cristina , Mendoza Adrià , Tarín-Vicente Eloy José , Oller Xènia , Alemany Andrea , Rivero Àngel , Orviz Eva , Silva-Klug Ana , Mitjà Oriol , Casabona Jordi
Published: September 2023

Objectives

Recent outbreaks of the mpox (monkeypox) virus have been detected in dense sexual networks of gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM). The objective of this study is to describe and compare the epidemiological and behavioural characteristics, as well as the sexual networks, of GBMSM diagnosed with mild mpox in Spain.

Methods

A prospective case–control study was conducted in Spain from July 2022 to February 2023. The study targeted a key population of GBMSM aged 18 years or older. Study participants were categorised into cases, those who were diagnosed with mpox virus infection; and controls, those who were not diagnosed. We examined and compared the sexual network characteristics of the two groups—mpox-positive (mpox-P) and mpox-negative (mpox-N) egos—using χ2, t-test and Wilcoxon test to examine the differences between the two groups in each section. Finally, we conducted univariable and multivariable logistic regressions to determine the factors associated with mpox infection.

Results

Among the 105 participants, 35 (33.3%) were mpox-P. Compared with mpox-N, mpox-P respondents more frequently reported syphilis (mpox-P: 31.4%; mpox-N: 12.9%) and HIV (mpox-P: 45.7%; mpox-N: 18.6%), and mpox-P individuals to have had at least one sexual contact with a confirmed mpox case (mpox-P: 62.5%; mpox-N: 8.3%). In the egocentric network analysis, mpox-P respondents had a higher prevalence of group sex with alters (mpox-P: 18.5%; mpox-N: 8.9%) and one-time sexual partners (mpox-P: 46.1%; mpox-N: 31.7%). Multivariable logistic regressions showed that reporting stranger/client ties (adjusted OR (aOR)=10.3, 95% CI 1.39 to 76.6) with alters, being vaccinated for mpox (aOR=0.07, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.24) and tie strength heterogeneity (aOR=0.01, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.42) were associated with mpox infection.

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the role of demographic, epidemiological and sexual network characteristics in the transmission of mpox virus during the outbreak in Spain. These findings have important implications for future prevention efforts.
Optimising the quantum/classical interface for efficiency and portability with a multi-level hardware abstraction layer for quantum computers
Authors: Barnes Kenton M. , Buyskikh Anton , Chen Nicholas Y. , Gallardo Gabriel , Ghibaudi Marco , Ruszala Matthew J. A. , Underwood Daniel S. , Agarwal Abhishek , Lall Deep , Rungger Ivan , Schoinas Nikolaos
Published: September 2023

Steady progress is being made in the development of quantum computing platforms based on different types of qubit technologies. Each platform requires bespoke strategies to maximise the efficiency of the quantum/classical interface when operating close to the qubits. At a higher level, however, a shared interface allowing portability of quantum algorithms across all the available quantum platforms is preferred. Striking the right balance between portability and performance of the algorithm as implemented on quantum hardware remains a major challenge for this field. Here, we propose a quantum hardware abstraction layer (QHAL) providing a multi-level intermediate representation of the quantum stack. A collaborative effort between software specialists and quantum hardware developers operating on four major qubit technologies (photonics, silicon, superconducting and trapped ions) led to the identification of a minimum common set of instructions and metadata allowing the QHAL to interact efficiently with multiple platforms. Access to the stack from the higher levels increases latency yet minimises the amount of hardware architecture parameters to be handled by the algorithm developer, thus simplifying code development and reducing security threats from misuse or malicious access for hardware developers. Access to the stack from the lowest—closest to the qubits—level provides the highest hardware responsiveness, suitable for algorithms requiring minimum latency for data and instruction transfer. With respect to existing quantum assembly languages, the QHAL extends further down in the stack by defining an application-binary interface to interact with the quantum hardware. By defining a standard representation of the quantum stack, a common reference framework is provided to both software and hardware developers which would ensure future integration of their R&D efforts.
A “magic” approach to octonionic Rosenfeld spaces
Authors: Marrani Alessio , Corradetti Daniele , Chester David , Aschheim Raymond , Irwin Klee
Published: September 2023

In his study on the geometry of Lie groups, Rosenfeld postulated a strict relation between all real forms of exceptional Lie groups and the isometries of projective and hyperbolic spaces over the (rank-2) tensor product of Hurwitz algebras taken with appropriate conjugations. Unfortunately, the procedure carried out by Rosenfeld was not rigorous, since many of the theorems he had been using do not actually hold true in the case of algebras that are not alternative nor power-associative. A more rigorous approach to the definition of all the planes presented more than thirty years ago by Rosenfeld in terms of their isometry group, can be considered within the theory of coset manifolds, which we exploit in this work, by making use of all real forms of Magic Squares of order three and two over Hurwitz normed division algebras and their split versions. Within our analysis, we find seven pseudo-Riemannian symmetric coset manifolds which seemingly cannot have any interpretation within Rosenfeld’s framework. We carry out a similar analysis for Rosenfeld lines, obtaining that there are a number of pseudo-Riemannian symmetric cosets which do not have any interpretation á la Rosenfeld.
Inertia modified by electromagnetic Abelian gauge transformations
Authors: Garat Alcides
Published: September 2023

This paper is about inertia modified by electromagnetic Abelian gauge transformations. We will establish an experiment proposal in order to control the gravitational acceleration constant near the surface of the planet. We will achieve this goal by establishing a change in electromagnetic gauge in a region of flat spacetime. The change in gauge will be generated by the Aharonov–Bohm effect through the use of a solenoid. The spacetime boosts outside the solenoid caused by the change in electromagnetic gauge will counteract the gravitational acceleration constant [Formula: see text] attenuating its local value as seen from the planet surface reference frames. Therefore, we will be able to establish local control of gravity on electrically charged particles like electrons in synchrotron motion outside the solenoid.
Data Access Control for Secure Authentication Using Dual VC Scheme Based on CP-ABE in DID
Authors: Kim Taehoon , Hwang Yong-Woon , Seo Daehee , Lee Im-Yeong
Published: September 2023

In a Decentralized Identifier (DID), the Holder does not depend on a third party but controls self-identity information and is authenticated by the Verifier. Therefore, the Verifier can request verification data for access control from the Verifiable Data Registry (VDR) and credentials to authenticate the Holder. Data access control should be used when requesting data access such that only authorized Verifiers can access it. Consequently, studies on secure and efficient data access control have been conducted, and among them a scheme using Ciphertext Policy Attribute-based Encryption (CP-ABE) is underway. However, when the CP-ABE scheme is applied to the DID, the Holder’s extended Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), which proves that the Holder has approved access to the Holder’s data stored in the VDR, is not ensured. Furthermore, the VDR does not verify the Verifier’s data access rights, resulting in unauthorized verification and illegal access to data by the user. And issue infringement of the Holder’s privacy, where Verifiers can infer the Holder by sharing and connecting the same DID-based Verifiable Presentations (VPs) of the Holder. Also, it leads to overheads in the amount of computation and search time for encryption/decryption. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a data access control for secure authentication by solving the security vulnerabilities of CP-ABE and using a CP-ABE-based dual Verifiable Credential (VC) scheme in DID.
A Dynamic Drilling Sampling Method and Evaluation Model for Big Streaming Data
Authors: Zhang Zhaohui , Zhang Pei , Zhang Peng , Xu Fujuan , Hu Chaochao , Wang Pengwei
Published: September 2023

The big data sampling method for real-time and high-speed streaming data is prone to lose the value and information of a large amount of discrete data, and it is not easy to make an efficient and accurate evaluation of the value characteristics of streaming data. The SDSLA sampling method based on mineral drilling exploration can evaluate the valuable information of streaming data containing many discrete data in real-time, but when the range of discrete data is irregular, it has low sampling accuracy for discrete data. Based on the SDSLA algorithm, we propose a dynamic drilling sampling method SDDS, which takes well as the analysis unit, dynamically changes the size and position of the well, and accurately locates the position and range of discrete data. A new model SDVEM is further proposed for data valuation, which evaluates the sample set from discrete, centralized, and overall dimensions. Experiments show that compared with the SDSLA algorithm, the sample sampled by the SDDS algorithm has higher evaluation accuracy, and the probability distribution of the sample is closer to the original streaming data, with the AOCV indicator being nearly 10% higher. In addition, the SDDS algorithm can achieve over 90% accuracy, recall, and F1 score for training and testing neural networks with small sampling rates, all of which are higher than the SDSLA algorithm. In summary, the SDDS algorithm not only accurately evaluates the value characteristics of streaming data but also facilitates the training of neural network models, which has important research significance in big data estimation.
Holographic description of the dissipative unified dark fluid model with axion field
Authors: Brevik I. , Timoshkin A. V.
Published: September 2023

In this paper, we extend an axion [Formula: see text] gravity model, and apply the holographic principle to describe in a unifying manner the early and the late-time universe when the general equation-of-state (EoS) contains a bulk viscosity. We assume a spatially flat Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) universe model. We use a description based on the generalized infrared-cutoff holographic dark energy proposed by Nojiri and Odintsov [Eur. Phys. J. C 77 (2017) 528; Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 38 (2006) 1285], and explore the evolution of the universe when the EoS describes the asymptotic behavior between the dust in the early universe and the late universe. We explore various forms of the bulk viscosity, and calculate analytical expressions for the infrared cutoffs in terms of the particle horizon. In this way, we obtain a unifying description of the early and the late-time universe in the presence of axion matter, via a viscous holographic fluid model.
ENGINEERING GEOMETRIC PHASE AND CORRELATION DYNAMICS OF NITROGEN VACANCIES IN DIAMOND INTERACTING WITH TWO NANOCAVITIES
Authors: ABDEL-ATY ABDEL-HALEEM
Published: September 2023

In this paper, we study the interaction of Nitrogen Vacancies in Diamond (NVD) with quantized cavity field. The system is explored analytically and the effect of the system parameters is analyzed. The stability of a quantum system with influencing factors is investigated using the Mandal Parameter. The generated correlation between the NVD and the quantized cavity field is quantified using the negativity. This study also investigates geometric phase and its dependence on the system parameters. The results show that this system holds great potential applications in quantum computation and quantum memory. Additionally, the features of the system can be controlled by the system parameters.
INVESTIGATION OF THE ELABORATE DYNAMICS OF WEAKLY NONLINEAR FRACTIONAL ION-ACOUSTIC WAVES IN MAGNETIZED ELECTRON–POSITRON PLASMA
Authors: KHATER MOSTAFA M. A. , ATTIA RAGHDA A. M.
Published: September 2023

This study employs three advanced computational and numerical techniques to solve the nonlinear fractional modified Korteweg–de Vries–Zakharov–Kuznetsov (mKdV–ZK) equation in magnetized plasma. The reductive perturbation approach is utilized to investigate the dynamics of various components, namely isothermal species, immobile background species, and warm adiabatic fluid, in magnetized plasma. Emphasis is placed on unraveling the asymmetrical propagation characteristics of nonlinear electrostatic waves. The model’s solutions encompass diverse types of solitons, including ion-acoustic, dust acoustic, and electron acoustic solitons. Analytical solutions are obtained using a variety of mathematical functions, such as exponents, trigonometry, and hyperbolas. Two- and three-dimensional density graphs illustrate the practical behavior of a single soliton. The primary objective of employing numerical schemes is to assess the accuracy of the derived solutions, and the outcomes demonstrate the efficacy of the analytical method in solving nonlinear mathematical and physical problems. Several techniques are employed to validate the consistency between calculated and estimated results, ensuring the study’s accuracy and reliability. Overall, this investigation underscores the effectiveness of numerical and analytical techniques in tackling complex mathematical models, offering a promising avenue for future research in the field. The findings carry significant implications for comprehending nonlinear phenomena in magnetized plasma and contribute to advancing the field.
SIMULATION OF CHLORIDE ION TRANSPORT AND EROSION IN FRACTAL POROUS MEDIA UNDER MULTI-FIELD COUPLING
Authors: JI MING , LIU GUANNAN , YU BOMING , LIU >HU , CHENG GAOJIE
Published: September 2023

Concrete is an important part of submarine building structure, which is eroded by hydrostatic pressure and chloride ion. In this study, concrete is regarded as a dually-porous structure composed of pores and fractures. Considering hydrostatic pressure and fractal characteristics of concrete structure, a fractal model is established for chloride ion diffusion under the dual drive of concentration and pressure. Considering the effective stress caused by water pressure in pores of concrete, a fluid–solid model for chloride ion migration is proposed. The fluid–solid coupling fractal model for chloride ion migration was verified by comparing with the experimental data. The numerical simulation results show that: (1) the influence of fractal dimension on the chloride ion diffusion coefficient and chloride ion concentration is nonlinear; (2) compared with low hydrostatic pressure, high hydrostatic pressure has more significant effects on chloride ion concentration and diffusion coefficient; (3) when the effective stress and water pressure in pores are not considered, the diffusion coefficient of chloride ion is always a constant.
CHARACTERIZATION OF CORROSION BEHAVIOR OF INCONEL 617 WELDED JOINTS USING CMT-GMAW MULTI-CONTROL WELDING
Authors: PRAMOD KUMAR G. , BALASUBRAMANIAN K. R. , CHEEPU MURALIMOHAN , KOTTALA RAVI KUMAR
Published: September 2023

This work addressed the effect of CMT-GMAW multi-control welding of Inconel 617 alloy with different wire feed rates (8.9, 9.4, and 9.9 m/min) on the microstructure, hardness, and electrochemical properties. The weld joints are composed of columnar dendritic structure with cellular crystals. Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) study showed equiaxed dendrite at the center of weld metal with growth direction perpendicular to the fusion boundary. The weldments showed diffraction peaks at [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text], and these peaks mainly represent gamma ([Formula: see text]) and gamma prime ([Formula: see text]’) phases along with the carbide peaks of Ti (C, N), M[Formula: see text]C6 and M6C. The Base metal (BM) had a lower hardness (232 ± 10 HV[Formula: see text]) and lower corrosion rate (0.212 mpy) than the weld joints. The increase in wire feed rate (WFR) results in the decrease of microhardness (267 ± 5 − 251 ± 6 HV[Formula: see text]) and increase in corrosion rate (1.833-28.140 mpy). The base metal exhibited higher potential ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]) and lower current density ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]) than the weld joints. As wire feed rate (WFR) increases, heat input increases; solidification time increases, grain boundaries coarsen, resulting in a lower grain boundary (GB) density, and hence increased carbide precipitation and segregation in weld zone leading to higher stable anodic current density, which caused corrosion resistance to deteriorating. The BM was more corrosion resistant than the weld joints. The metallurgical and physical changes caused by the welding process affect the corrosion resistance of the weld joints. This leads to the weld metal corroding faster than the base metal.
Existence of multiple solutions for a Schrödinger logarithmic equation via Lusternik–Schnirelmann category
Authors: Alves Claudianor O. , da Silva Ismael S.
Published: September 2023

This paper concerns the existence of multiple solutions for a Schrödinger logarithmic equation of the form [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is a continuous function that satisfies some technical conditions and [Formula: see text] is a positive parameter. We will establish the multiplicity of solution for [Formula: see text] by using the notion of Lusternik–Schnirelmann category, by introducing a new function space where the energy functional is [Formula: see text].
Physically viable strange quark star models in modified teleparallel gravity
Authors: Saleem Rabia , Zubair M. , Aslam M. Israr , Karamat Faisal
Published: September 2023

The aim of this paper is to develop the isotropic and anisotropic quark stars configurations in the context of [Formula: see text] gravity in the static spherically symmetric background. To explore the combined effects of torsion scalar [Formula: see text] and the trace of energy–momentum tensor (EMT) [Formula: see text] on relativistic astrophysics, we use diagonal as well as non-diagonal tetrad fields. By considering the conformal Killing vectors along with the MIT bag model, the interior solutions of the field equations corresponding to the linear [Formula: see text] model (in which [Formula: see text] are the constants and [Formula: see text] indicates the cosmological constant) are calculated. The feasibility of the obtained solutions is confirmed by implementing several physical tests. The model parameters are constrained subject to the existence and stability of the quark star models. We formulate the energy constraints, stability equations, mass function, compactness and redshift factor, and present the graphical analysis of all physical quantities. It is found that the derived solutions for both diagonal and non-diagonal tetrad exhibit well-behaved profiles in the framework of modified teleparallel gravity.
Field Observations and Damage Evaluation in Reinforced Concrete Buildings After the February 6th, 2023, Kahramanmaraş–Türkiye Earthquakes
Authors: Altunişik Ahmet Can , Arslan Mehmet Emin , Kahya Volkan , Aslan Banu , Sezdirmez Tuğrul , Dok Gökhan , Kirtel Osman , Öztürk Hakan , Sunca Fezayil , Baltaci Alihan , Emiroğlu Mehmet , Günaydin Murat , Adanur Süleyman , Atmaca Barbaros , Akgül Tahir , Demir Aydın , Tatar Tuba , Aykanat Batuhan , Haciefendioğlu Kemal , Saribiyik Ali , Yurdakul Muhammet , Akbulut Yunus Emrahan , Okur Fatih Yesevi , Şen Furkan , Genç Ali Fuat , Başağa Hasan Basri , Demirkaya Eren , Güleş Osman , Nas Murat
Published: September 2023

On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes (Mw 7.7 and Mw 7.6) occurred in the province of Kahramanmaraş in southern Türkiye at 9-h intervals, causing a lot of loss of life and destruction in the region where approximately 16% of the country’s population lives. This study provides a comprehensive summary of common structural deficiencies that occurred in reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in earthquake-prone cities and proposes actionable measures systematically for future disasters. The evaluated data are based on the field observations of the authors. The main reasons for damages in RC buildings in the observation field can be classified into two categories: (1) the errors during the design stage (strong beam–weak column, short column, soft story, pounding effects, the existence of short and unconfined lap splices, insufficient transverse reinforcement, column–beam connection failures), and (2) the errors during the construction stage (poor concrete quality, unribbed reinforcing steel bar and corrosion, incorrect placement of reinforcement bars, incorrect end hook angle and length, weak gable walls, workmanship defects). Furthermore, a comparative nonlinear finite element analysis of the seismic impacts caused by the first earthquake on an existing RC building fully collapsed in the earthquake was conducted as a case study considering Türkiye Building Earthquake Code 2018 [TBEC 2018] “Türkiye Bina Deprem Yönetmeliği,” Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı, Ankara (in Turkish)]. The validity and accuracy of the reasons for damages, which were reached by the field observations, were also proven by numerical analysis results. The importance of complying with the regulations, conducting the performance evaluations and controls of the buildings according to the renewed earthquake regulations and, if necessary, repairing–strengthening works were emphasized. The loss of life and property after the earthquakes that we experienced on February 6, 2023, which were called the “Disaster of the Century”, showed that Türkiye’s current building stock, especially those built before a certain date, is insufficient against earthquakes.
On perfect Italian domination in graphs
Authors: Paleta Leonard M. , Jamil Ferdinand P.
Published: September 2023

For a vertex [Formula: see text] in a simple, finite and undirected graph [Formula: see text], the neighborhood [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] is the set consisting of all vertices of [Formula: see text] which are adjacent to [Formula: see text]. A perfect Italian dominating function on [Formula: see text] is a function [Formula: see text] such that for each [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]. The weight of a perfect Italian dominating function [Formula: see text] is the value [Formula: see text]. The perfect Italian domination number of [Formula: see text] is the minimum weight of a perfect Italian dominating function on [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we study the perfect Italian domination in graphs under some binary operations.
Asymptotic Edge of Chaos as Guiding Principle for Neural Network Training
Authors: Zhang Lin , Feng Ling , Chen Kan , Lai Choy Heng
Published: September 2023

It has been recently demonstrated that optimal neural networks operate near the asymptotic edge of chaos for state-of-the-art feed-forward neural networks, where its generalization power is maximal due to the highest number of asymptotic metastable states. However, how to leverage this principle to improve the model training process remains open. Here, by mapping the model evolution during training to the phase diagram in the classic analytic result of Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model in spin glasses, we illustrate on a simple neural network model that one can provide principled training of the network without manually tuning the training hyper-parameters. In particular, we provide a semi-analytical method to set the optimal weight decay strength, such that the model will converge toward the edge of chaos during training. Consequently, such hyper-parameter setting leads the model to achieve the highest test accuracy. Another benefit for restricting the model at the edge of chaos is its robustness against the common practical problem of label noise, as we find that it automatically avoids fitting the shuffled labels in the training samples while maintaining good fitting to the correct labels, providing simple means of achieving good performance on noisy labels without any additional treatment.
The influence of synorogenic extension on the crustal architecture of North Gondwana during the assembly of Pangaea (Ossa–Morena Zone, SW Iberia)
Authors: Dias da Silva Ícaro , Pereira Manuel Francisco , Gama Cristina , Steel Hart Lourenço , Barrios Sánchez Santos , dos Santos Alves Kelvin , Gómez Barreiro Juan , Tassinari Colombo Celso Gaeta , Sato Kei
Published: September 2023

We present a new structural study of a D
2
–M
2
tectono-thermal structure in SW Iberia (Ponte de Sor–Seda gneiss dome) characterized by a spatial distribution of telescoping isograds providing a record of Buchan-type metamorphic conditions. The gneiss dome comprises an infrastructure made up of a lower gneiss unit (LGU) and an intermediate schist unit (ISU), separated by early D
2
ductile extensional shear zones. The LGU and the ISU are composed of Ediacaran–Cambrian rocks that experienced the highest-grade M
2
metamorphic conditions (amphibolite facies). Late Ediacaran–Early Terreneuvian and Late Miaolingian–Early Furongian protolith ages for LGU (496 ± 3 Ma) and ISU (539 ± 2 Ma) orthogneisses are reported. A superstructure made of Cambrian–Devonian rocks (Upper Slate Unit, USU) deformed under M
2
greenschist facies conditions, tectonically overlies the ISU across a D
2
extensional shear zone. Kinematic criteria associated with D
2
–M
2
fabrics indicate top-to-ESE–SE sense of shear. A late-D
2
brittle-ductile high-angle extensional shear zone (Seda shear zone) crosscuts the gneiss dome. D
3
upright folds, thrusts and transpressive shear zones caused the steepening of D
2
structures and the local crenulation of S
2
foliation. The Mississippian D
2
–M
2
event recorded in the Ossa–Morena Zone may be regarded as a regional-scale phenomenon that markedly influenced the crustal architecture of North Gondwana during the assembly of Pangaea.
Study on Logistic Service Management of Colleges and Universities Based on Data Mining Algorithms
Authors: Zhang Zhicheng
Published: September 2023

Construction of a large logistics service (LS) that can adapt to the new situation is necessary for improving the self-development capability of university logistics in the reform process of socialization, and the measures are as follows: with support from the government sector, to create an external environment; with resource integration as a goal, to create an organizational structure; with market mechanism as a promoter, to the Independent college is a significant innovation of the higher education system, whose method of operation achieves the partnership between resources and social forces in higher education. There are several references in the text for further logistic reform in universities via data mining (DM) algorithms concerning logistic entities and autonomous colleges, which examine the market features and interaction between them. The logistics service data mining (LS-DM) approach plays a critical role in advancing logistic management science while boosting the economy's overall benefits when used with other measures. As a result of the rapid popularization of higher education, new features and models place an even greater demand on logistics management in colleges and universities. Refined management must be advocated and implemented in the new scenario. To apply refined management, you must alter your management philosophy, fine-tune your rules and regulations, enhance performance capabilities, and put mechanisms for monitoring and assessing progress. As a result, logistics management can be continuously improved, students and teachers receive better and more gratifying services, and the scientific growth of colleges and universities may be laid solidly.. The proposed LS-DM system with logistics service, data mining, and machine learning model demonstrates simulation outcomes with an accuracy of 89.7% and a precision of 87.8%, which is greater than the accuracy and precision exhibited by the existing models.
Don't Forget to Disinfect: Understanding Technology-Supported Hand Disinfection Stations
Authors: Keppel Jonas , Strauss Marvin , Faltaous Sarah , Liebers Jonathan , Heger Roman , Gruenefeld Uwe , Schneegass Stefan
Published: September 2023

The global COVID-19 pandemic created a constant need for hand disinfection. While it is still essential, disinfection use is declining with the decrease in perceived personal risk (e.g., as a result of vaccination). Thus this work explores using different visual cues to act as reminders for hand disinfection. We investigated different public display designs using (1) paper-based only, adding (2) screen-based, or (3) projection-based visual cues. To gain insights into these designs, we conducted semi-structured interviews with passersby (N=30). Our results show that the screen- and projection-based conditions were perceived as more engaging. Furthermore, we conclude that the disinfection process consists of four steps that can be supported: drawing attention to the disinfection station, supporting the (subconscious) understanding of the interaction, motivating hand disinfection, and performing the action itself. We conclude with design implications for technology-supported disinfection.
Drawing Connections: Designing Situated Links for Immersive Maps
Authors: Ghaemi Zeinab , Ens Barrett , Engelke Ulrich , Jenny Bernhard
Published: September 2023

We explore the design of situated visual links in outdoor augmented reality (AR) for connecting miniature buildings on a virtual map to their real-world counterparts. We first distill design criteria from prior work, then conduct two user studies to evaluate a set of proposed link designs to better understand users' preferences for different design choices of the links. In two user studies we evaluated, respectively, a set of link geometries in a virtual environment and a refined AR prototype in two different outdoor environments. The studies reveal that links help in identifying buildings in the environments. Participants prefer straight rather than curved links, simple and thin links to avoid information occlusion, and links and maps aligned with their direction of view. We recommend using a consistent color with a strong contrast to the background color for all links in a scene. To improve visibility, the diameter of links should grow with distance to the viewer and optional animated stripes can be placed on links. The findings of this study have the potential to bolster the development of various situated visualization applications, such as those used in urban planning, tourism, smart agriculture, and other fields.
DrivingVibe: Enhancing VR Driving Experience using Inertia-based Vibrotactile Feedback around the Head
Authors: Yu Neng-Hao , Ma Shih-Yu , Lin Cong-Min , Fan Chi-Aan , Taglialatela Luca E. , Huang Tsai-Yuan , Yu Carolyn , Cheng Yun-Ting , Liao Ya-Chi , Chen Mike Y.
Published: September 2023

We present DrivingVibe, which explores vibrotactile feedback designs around the head to enhance VR driving motion experiences. We propose two approaches that use a 360-degree vibrotactile headband: 1) mirroring and 2) 3D inertia-based. The mirroring approach extends the vibrotactile patterns of handheld controllers to actuate the entire headband uniformly. The 3D inertia-based approach uses the acceleration telemetry data that driving games/simulators export to motion platforms to generate directional vibration patterns, including: i) centrifugal forces, ii) horizontal acceleration/deceleration, and iii) vertical motion due to rough terrain. The two approaches are complementary as the mirroring approach supports all driving games because it does not require telemetry data, while the 3D inertia-based approach provides higher feedback fidelity for games that provide such data. We conducted a 24-person user experience evaluation in both passive passenger mode and active driving mode. Study results showed that both DrivingVibe designs significantly improved realism, immersion, and enjoyment (p<.01) with large effect sizes for the VR driving experiences. For overall preference, 88% (21/24) of participants preferred DrivingVibe, with a 2:1 preference for 3D inertia-based vs. mirroring designs (14 vs. 7 participants). For immersion and enjoyment, 96% (23/24) of participants preferred DrivingVibe, with nearly a 3:1 preference (17 vs. 6 participants) for the 3D inertia-based design.
Exploring Visual Signifier Characteristics to Improve the Perception of Affordances of In-Place Touch Inputs
Authors: Mackamul Eva , Casiez Géry , Malacria Sylvain
Published: September 2023

Touch screens supporting different inputs such as 'Tap', 'Dwell', 'Double Tap' and 'Force Press' are omnipresent in modern devices and yet this variety of interaction opportunities is rarely communicated to the user. Without visual signifiers, these potentially useful inputs remain unknown or underutilised. We propose a design space of visual signifier characteristics that may impact the perception of in-place one finger inputs. We generated 36 designs and investigated their perception in an online survey (N=32) and an interactive experiment (N=24). The results suggest that visual signifiers increase the perception of input possibilities beyond 'Tap', and reduce perceived mental effort for participants, who also prefer added visual signifiers over a baseline. Our work informs how future touch-based interfaces could be designed to better communicate in-place single finger input possibilities.
SyncLabeling: A Synchronized Audio Segmentation Interface for Mobile Devices
Authors: Tang Yi , Chang Chia-Ming , Yang Xi , Igarashi Takeo
Published: September 2023

Manual audio segmentation is a time-consuming process, especially when there is more than one sound playing simultaneously that needs to be segmented and annotated (e.g., target and background sounds). In conventional audio annotation interfaces, users need to repeatedly pause and replay the audio to complete an overlap segmentation task, which is very inefficient. In this paper, we propose "SyncLabeling," a synchronized audio segmentation interface for smartphones that allows users to segment and annotate two overlapping sounds in a single audio stream at a time using a game-like labeling interface on mobile devices. We conducted a user study to compare the proposed SyncLabeling interface with a conventional audio annotation interface on four types of audio segmentation tasks. The results showed that the proposed interface is much more efficient than the conventional interface (2.4× faster) under comparable annotation accuracy in most tasks. In addition, more than half of the participants enjoyed using the proposed SyncLabeling interface and showed willingness to use it.
The Loop and Reasons to Break It: Investigating Infinite Scrolling Behaviour in Social Media Applications and Reasons to Stop
Authors: Rixen Jan Ole , Meinhardt Luca-Maxim , Glöckler Michael , Ziegenbein Marius-Lukas , Schlothauer Anna , Colley Mark , Rukzio Enrico , Gugenheimer Jan
Published: September 2023

Today's social media (SM) platforms are toolkits consisting of features with different use cases, some strongly related to habitual and regretful use. Especially Infinite Scrolling (IS) has been reported to make users feel like they are being caught in a loop, regretfully elongating SM sessions. We investigated and defined this loop while unveiling the processes that make users break it. Based on a one-week-long field study (N=46), we unfolded and categorized general reasons for leaving social media and related those to IS. In light of our findings, we argue that SM interventions should not only focus on the app but incorporate the user's context, as most reasons to break SM sessions were not related to the app but the user's general context. Our findings and prior work also indicate the coexistence of multiple loops, which we define as inner (intra-session) loops surrounded by an outer (habitual) loop.
UnifiedSense: Enabling Without-Device Gesture Interactions Using Over-the-shoulder Training Between Redundant Wearable Sensors
Authors: Azim Md Aashikur Rahman , Rahman Adil , Heo Seongkook
Published: September 2023

Wearable devices allow quick and convenient interactions for controlling mobile computers. However, these interactions are often device-dependent, and users cannot control devices in a way they are familiar with if they do not wear the same wearable device. This paper proposes a new method, UnifiedSense, to enable device-dependent gestures even when the device that detects such gestures is missing by utilizing sensors on other wearable devices. UnifiedSense achieves this without explicit gesture training for different devices, by training its recognition model while users naturally perform gestures. The recognizer uses the gestures detected on the primary device (i.e., a device that reliably detects gestures) as labels for training samples and collects sensor data from all other available devices on the user. We conducted a technical evaluation with data collected from 15 participants with four types of wearable devices. It showed that UnifiedSense could correctly recognize 5 gestures (5 gestures × 5 configurations) with an accuracy of 90.9% (SD = 1.9%) without the primary device present.
VPRNet: Voxel-based Efficient and Partial-to-Partial Point Cloud Registration on Mobile Devices
Authors: Yin Zihao , Qiu Chen , Yu Zhiwen , Guo Bin
Published: September 2023

With the popularity of embedded devices such as LIDAR sensors and depth cameras, the resulting point clouds become the main data format for representing the 3D world and spawn various smart mobile applications. A key technology for enabling these applications to furnish high-quality services is real-time point cloud registration on mobile devices, which synthesizes a complete model or a large-scale scene from multiple partial scans. It aims to deliver increasing sensing range, faster 3D reconstruction and more robust robot navigation. Unfortunately, the performance of these applications is limited by the scale and partial loss of raw point cloud frame. The existing solutions for point cloud registration are difficult to deploy on mobile devices due to their complex models and assumptions about point cloud pairs with large overlap, which cause significant delay and inaccuracy. This paper proposes VPRNet - the first voxel-based registration solution that can achieve real-time partial-to-partial registration with competitive registration quality while being more advantageous for large-scale point clouds on mobile devices. We conduct real-world experiments and extensive simulations cross various datasets and platforms to validate the efficacy of VPRNet and further compare the performance with state-of-the-art approaches.
XVDPU: A High-Performance CNN Accelerator on the Versal Platform Powered by the AI Engine
Authors: Jia Xijie , Zhang Yu , Liu Guangdong , Yang Xinlin , Zhang Tianyu , Zheng Jia , Xu Dongdong , Liu Zhuohuan , Liu Mengke , Yan Xiaoyang , Wang Hong , Zheng Rongzhang , Wang Li , Li Dong , Pareek Satyaprakash , Weng Jian , Tian Lu , Xie Dongliang , Luo Hong , Shan Yi
Published: September 2023

Today, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are widely used in computer vision applications. However, the trends of higher accuracy and higher resolution generate larger networks. The requirements of computation or I/O are the key bottlenecks. In this article, we propose XVDPU: the AI Engine (AIE)-based CNN accelerator on Versal chips to meet heavy computation requirements. To resolve the IO bottleneck, we adopt several techniques to improve data reuse and reduce I/O requirements. An arithmetic logic unit is further proposed that can better balance resource utilization, new feature support, and efficiency of the whole system. We have successfully deployed more than 100 CNN models with our accelerator. Our experimental results show that the 96-AIE-core implementation can achieve 1,653 frames per second (FPS) for ResNet50 on VCK190, which is 9.8× faster than the design on ZCU102 running at 168.5 FPS. The 256-AIE-core implementation can further achieve 4,050 FPS. We propose a tilling strategy to achieve feature-map-stationary for high-definition CNN with the accelerator, achieving 3.8× FPS improvement on the residual channel attention network and 3.1× on super-efficient super-resolution. This accelerator can also solve the 3D convolution task in disparity estimation, achieving end-to-end performance of 10.1 FPS with all the optimizations.
Understanding Human Dynamic Sampling Objectives to Enable Robot-assisted Scientific Decision Making
Authors: Liu Shipeng , Wilson Cristina G. , Krishnamachari Bhaskar , Qian Feifei
Published: September 2023

Truly collaborative scientific field data collection between human scientists and autonomous robot systems requires a shared understanding of the search objectives and tradeoffs faced when making decisions. Therefore, critical to developing intelligent robots to aid human experts is an understanding of how scientists make such decisions and how they adapt their data collection strategies when presented with new information
in situ
. In this study, we examined the dynamic data collection decisions of 108 expert geoscience researchers using a simulated field scenario. Human data collection behaviors suggested two distinct objectives: an information-based objective to maximize information coverage and a discrepancy-based objective to maximize hypothesis verification. We developed a highly simplified quantitative decision model that allows the robot to predict potential human data collection locations based on the two observed human data collection objectives. Predictions from the simple model revealed a transition from information-based to discrepancy-based objective as the level of information increased. The findings will allow robotic teammates to connect experts’ dynamic science objectives with the adaptation of their sampling behaviors and, in the long term, enable the development of more cognitively compatible robotic field assistants.
Collecting Multi-type and Correlation-Constrained Streaming Sensor Data with Local Differential Privacy
Authors: Fu Yue , Ye Qingqing , Du Rong , Hu Haibo
Published: September 2023

Local differential privacy (LDP) is a promising privacy model for distributed data collection. It has been widely deployed in real-world systems (e.g. Chrome, iOS, macOS). In LDP-based mechanisms, an aggregator collects private values perturbed by each user and then analyses these values to estimate their statistics, such as frequency and mean. Most existing works focus on simple scalar value types, such as boolean and categorical values. However, with the emergence of smart sensors and Internet of Things, high-dimensional data are gaining increasing popularity. In many cases where more than one type of sensor data are collected simultaneously, correlations exist between various attributes of such data, e.g. temperature and luminance. To ensure LDP for high-dimensional data, existing solutions either partition the privacy budget ϵ among these correlated attributes or adopt sampling, both of which dilute the density of useful information and thus result in poor data utility.

In this paper, we propose a relaxed LDP model, namely, univariate dominance local differential privacy (UDLDP), for high-dimensional data. We quantify the correlations between attributes and present a correlation-bounded perturbation (CBP) mechanism that optimizes the partitioning of privacy budget on each correlated attribute. Furthermore, we extend CBP to support sampling, which is a common bandwidth reduction technique in sensor networks and Internet of Things. We derive the best allocation strategy of sampling probabilities among attributes in terms of data utility, which leads to the correlation-bounded perturbation mechanism with sampling (CBPS). Finally, we discuss how to collect and leverage the correlation from real-time data stream with a by-round algorithm to enhance the utility. The performance of the proposed mechanisms is evaluated and compared with state-of-the-art LDP mechanisms on real-world and synthetic datasets.
PLACE Dropout: A Progressive Layer-wise and Channel-wise Dropout for Domain Generalization
Authors: Guo Jintao , Qi Lei , Shi Yinghuan , Gao Yang
Published: September 2023

Domain generalization (DG) aims to learn a generic model from multiple observed source domains that generalizes well to arbitrary unseen target domains without further training. The major challenge in DG is that the model inevitably faces a severe overfitting issue due to the domain gap between source and target domains. To mitigate this problem, some dropout-based methods have been proposed to resist overfitting by discarding part of the representation of the intermediate layers. However, we observe that most of these methods only conduct the dropout operation in some specific layers, leading to an insufficient regularization effect on the model. We argue that applying dropout at multiple layers can produce stronger regularization effects, which could alleviate the overfitting problem on source domains more adequately than previous layer-specific dropout methods. In this article, we develop a novel layer-wise and channel-wise dropout for DG, which randomly selects one layer and then randomly selects its channels to conduct dropout. Particularly, the proposed method can generate a variety of data variants to better deal with the overfitting issue. We also provide theoretical analysis for our dropout method and prove that it can effectively reduce the generalization error bound. Besides, we leverage the progressive scheme to increase the dropout ratio with the training progress, which can gradually boost the difficulty of training the model to enhance its robustness. Extensive experiments on three standard benchmark datasets have demonstrated that our method outperforms several state-of-the-art DG methods. Our code is available at
https://github.com/lingeringlight/PLACEdropout
.
Recent Developments in Partial Identification
Authors: Kline Brendan , Tamer Elie
Published: September 2023

Identification strategies concern what can be learned about the value of a parameter based on the data and the model assumptions. The literature on partial identification is motivated by the fact that it is not possible to learn the exact value of the parameter for many empirically relevant cases. A typical result in the literature on partial identification is a statement about characterizing the identified set, which summarizes what can be learned about the parameter of interest given the data and model assumptions. For instance, this may mean that the value of the parameter can be learned to be necessarily within some set of values. First, the review surveys the general frameworks that have been developed for conducting a partial identification analysis. Second, the review surveys some of the more recent results on partial identification.
Local Projections for Applied Economics
Authors: Jordà Òscar
Published: September 2023

The dynamic causal effect of an intervention on an outcome is of paramount interest to applied macro- and microeconomics research. However, this question has been generally approached differently by the two literatures. In making the transition from traditional time series methods to applied microeconometrics, local projections can serve as a natural bridge. Local projections can translate the familiar language of vector autoregressions and impulse responses into the language of potential outcomes and treatment effects. There are gains to be made by both literatures from greater integration of well-established methods in each. This review shows how to make these connections and points to potential areas of further research.