bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Public Preferences for Disaster Federalism: Comparing Public Risk Management Preferences Across Levels of Government and Hazards
Authors: Wehde Wesley , Choi Junghwa
Published: September 2021

Despite a general lack of political knowledge among the public, research demonstrates that individuals intuitively know which level of government should be, and sometimes is, responsible for policy problems. In this article, we look at public federalism preferences in the context of disaster management, particularly for managing the risks associated with three different types of hazards—specifically global warming, earthquakes, and wildfires—and examine if their preferences are aligned with the division of responsibility in disaster management. Using survey data from Oklahoma, we find that individuals appropriately match their preferences to the intergovernmental nature of disaster federalism in the United States. Additionally, knowing the causes of these hazards is strongly associated with a preference for the appropriate, to disaster scope and scale, level of government. Finally, using seemingly unrelated regression techniques, we find that many, but not all, relationships are hazard general while some are hazard specific.
Tradeoffs in habitat value to maximize natural resource benefits from coastal restoration in a rapidly eroding wetland: is monitoring land area sufficient?
Authors: Carruthers Tim J. B. , Kiskaddon Erin P. , Baustian Melissa M. , Darnell Kelly M. , Moss Leland C. , Perry Carey L. , Stagg Camille
Published: September 2021

Louisiana contains nearly 40% of estuarine herbaceous wetlands in the contiguous United States, supporting valuable ecosystem services and providing significant economic benefits to the state and the entire United States. However, coastal Louisiana is a hotspot for rapid land loss from factors including hurricanes, land use change, and high subsidence rates contributing to high relative sea‐level rise. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) was established after major hurricanes in 2005 to coordinate coastal restoration in Louisiana and develop the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. The LA Coastal Master Plan uses numerical modeling of multiple scenarios to select a suite of restoration projects based on maximum land area created and flood reduction (as proxies for ecosystem value). Using potential value to aquatic, terrestrial, and social resources, our work compared habitat value of shallow open water areas to emergent wetland. While potential resource benefits varied by emergent wetland salinity type and emergent wetland versus water, they were similar, suggesting that restoration planning based primarily on wetland land area may not achieve the maximum possible ecosystem benefits. After nearly 20 years of integrated restoration planning in coastal Louisiana, a reassessment of restoration planning decision drivers may be beneficial to ensure maximum benefits from coastal restoration. As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, settlement funds will be a major support to coastal restoration in Louisiana for many years. Assessing potential habitat value to multiple natural and social resources in Louisiana has potential to maximize synergy with large northern Gulf of Mexico restoration programs.
Gravity of intermediate inputs in productivity spillovers: Evidence from foreign direct investment in China
Authors: Xie Yiqing , Wang Xiao
Published: September 2021

The literature on the effect of multinational firms on the productivity of domestic firms has received wide attention; however, the exact channel of productivity spillover at a more micro firm level is underexplored. Based on a multisector production model, we examine heterogeneous productivity spillovers through the channel of upstream foreign direct investment (FDI) inputs at the firm level. We construct a firm‐level distance statistic for the upstream FDI and estimate the gravity of inputs: A firm is more productive if it gains access to more FDI inputs (general productivity‐enhancing effect) and is geographically closer to upstream FDI firms (proximity effect). We find in the 2000–2007 Chinese firm data that (i) if a domestic firm’s FDI input share increases by 1 percentage point, then its productivity is increased by 2.02%, and (ii) if the firm’s distance from upstream FDI firms is 10% greater, then its productivity is reduced by 0.59%. The results are robust after controlling for FDI firm location selection bias and other productivity spillover channels.
Sex‐positive criminology: Possibilities for legal and social change
Authors: Wodda Aimee , Panfil Vanessa R.
Published: September 2021

This article provides an introduction to sex‐positive criminology and its goals for change. Sex‐positive criminology draws from the “thick desire” organizing principle, which is a rights‐based approach to human sexuality, as well as from positive sexuality approaches. It also draws from critical, queer, and feminist criminological traditions and abolitionist sensibilities. We discuss examples that pertain to key tenets of sex‐positivity: consent and bodily autonomy, education, medical access, harm reduction, and ways to increase agency. Main topics of discussion include addressing deeply harmful and sex‐negative laws and policies that perpetuate state violence, such as coerced or forced sterilization, criminalization of abortion and pregnancy loss, sexual and physical assault of sex workers by police, criminalization through medically inaccurate laws, and legislation such as Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act that puts marginalized populations at risk. Throughout, we reflect on possibilities for sex‐positive laws and policies and the social impacts they would have, such as improving health and well‐being.
Soil amendments for sustainable agriculture: Microbial organic fertilizers
Authors: Bamdad Hanieh , Papari Sadegh , Lazarovits George , Berruti Franco
Published: September 2021

There is an enormous body of the literature, proving that soil amendments enhance plant growth/yield and prevent the impact of pathogens/toxins. To the best of our knowledge, there is no comprehensive assessment focused on the synergistic effects of microorganisms and soil amendments with biochar or compost for upgrading the current fertilizers towards a more sustainable agriculture. The main objective of the present work is to discuss the most current information needed for developing advanced soil amendments using microorganisms along with safe, sustainable and low‐cost waste sourced materials. The first step in designing the biofertilizer is the selection of a microorganism from among a variety of bacterial/fungi strains that have been identified as plant growth promoting (PGP) in the literature. This study classifies the effective types of soil microorganisms with respect to their functionality to facilitate the choice of the best compatible microbial strain(s) in order to satisfy the host environment requirements. The second part is dedicated to various inorganic and organic carriers, such as perlite, peat, fly ash and compost, for delivering of microorganism into the soils. The role of carriers in the survival and the functional contribution of the microbes to soil–plant systems are investigated. Lastly, biochar is evaluated as a promising microbial carrier together with its influence on the soil biota including microorganisms and plants. The superior features of biochar, for example high surface area, porosity, customizable structure, high stability, carbon sequestration and synergy, with other fertilizers are also discussed.
Youth transitions in protracted crises: conceptualising the ‘rupture’ of refugees' pathways to adulthood in Uganda and Jordan
Authors: van Blerk Lorraine , Shand Wayne , Prazeres Laura , Bukenya Badru , Essaid Aida A. , Hunter Janine , Ibrahim Rawan W. , Kasirye Rogers
Published: September 2021

Youth displaced from home by war, civil conflict, and poverty face a difficult transition into adulthood. Their ability to access education, employment, and social adulthood is often disrupted, restricted, and delayed. Yet, despite youth making up a large percentage of refugees in Africa and the Middle East, their specific circumstances are rarely considered. While international humanitarian and development programming aims to respond to the disrupted lives of youth affected by prolonged displacement, little is known about how these conditions affect transitions as youth struggle to create adult lives in contexts of multiple and competing survival pressures. This paper conceptualises youth transitions to adulthood for young refugees growing up in situations of protracted crisis, suggesting that major global challenges such as conflict not only delay, modify, or disrupt certain life events but in fact can have a rupturing effect on young people's capabilities and aspirations for the future. The paper draws on research with over 500 10–24‐year‐olds growing up as refugees in Uganda and Jordan, from five different national groups and located in camp and urban settings. Analysis of their in‐depth experiences highlights that current thinking around youth transitions has not yet accounted for the ruptures they experience, located outside of their home countries for extended periods of time. This "rupture," as an accumulation of the effects of displacement itself, the extended temporality of displacement, and the life course phase affected, more fundamentally impacts on the key phase for creating adult lives than has previously been understood.
From post‐political to authoritarian planning in England, a crisis of legitimacy
Authors: Fearn Gareth , Davoudi Simin
Published: September 2021

This paper argues that the crisis of post‐politics has sparked an authoritarian turn in spatial planning in England. The proposed reform of the English planning system in 2020 is a defining moment, marking not only the failure of consensus‐seeking politics in governing dissents but also the rising authoritarian responses to fix it. This is manifest in the intensification of state control, strengthening of executive power, and decline of democratic institutions, with a shift of emphasis from techno‐managerial to executive‐punitive practices, and from seemingly consensual to openly antagonistic approaches. This drift to authoritarianism has been justified by invoking a “state of exception,” whereby the established rules and procedures are displaced by the appeal to “exceptional” circumstances, such as emergencies, national securities, and global pandemics. We draw on a case study of shale gas “fracking” in England to show how authoritarianism has crept into planning processes through changes in legislation, reconfiguration of rules, rescaling of decision‐making, and shrinking of democratic spaces. We discuss the role of a “political moment” in the politicisation of fracking, arguing that the return of the political has engendered antagonistic and exclusionary practices, rather than the agonistic pluralism that planning scholars have called for. In managing planning conflicts, consent, compromise, and co‐option are increasingly complemented or replaced by discipline, control, and explicit exclusion. Instead of denying, neutralising, or suppressing antagonism by calling for consensus, authoritarian politics exaggerates it by establishing frontiers between legitimate and non‐legitimate voices of dissents. The paper concludes by emphasising that the authoritarian turn can only offer a contingent and fleeting solution to the failure of post‐political planning to deliver neoliberal pro‐growth goals. It cannot eradicate the crisis of legitimacy in planning, nor can it foreclose the political struggle for fixing its meaning and purpose.
Laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy for dogs under 5 kg body weight
Authors: Matsunami Tokio
Published: September 2021

Objective

To describe the surgical method, operative time, safety, and usefulness of 3‐port laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy (LOHE) using an ultrasonic coagulation and incision device in dogs <5 kg.

Study design

Retrospective study.

Animals

Female dogs (n = 147).

Methods

Animals were allocated to one of four groups by bodyweight: <2 kg (n = 18), 2–3 kg (n = 37), 3–4 kg (n = 55), and 4–5 kg (n = 37). All surgical procedures were recorded on video. Mean operative time (i.e., time from first skin incision to last suture), clinical variables, hematologic variables, and blood biochemistry were recorded. Intrasurgical and postsurgical complications were recorded, and wound complications, including signs of inflammation or hernia formation were monitored for 3 months.

Results

The mean operative time for all groups was 18 min, with no significant differences between groups. Eight dogs bled from the mesometrium during surgery. Two dogs had hernia formation at a midline port incision; this complication developed by month 3. No complications such as wound dehiscence or infection of the surgical field were observed at the time of suture removal in any of the dogs.

Conclusion

We performed LOHE using an ultrasonic coagulation and incision device in dogs <5 kg, and found it to be a safe procedure with minimal complications.

Clinical significance

We believe that LOHE, using a 3‐port and ultrasonic coagulation and incision device, is a safe, useful, and minimally invasive surgical method for sterilization of dogs <5 kg with minimal complications.
Using systems biology approaches to identify signalling pathways activated during chronic wound initiation
Authors: Basu Proma , Kim Jane Hannah , Saeed Shayan , Martins‐Green Manuela
Published: September 2021

Chronic wounds are a significant health problem worldwide. However, nothing is known about how chronic wounds initiate and develop. Here we use a chronic wound model in diabetic mice and a Systems Biology Approach using nanoString nCounter technology and weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA), with tissues collected at 6, 12, 24 and 48 h post‐wounding, to identify metabolic signalling pathways involved in initiation of chronicity. Normalized counts obtained from the nanoString nCounter Mouse Metabolic Panel were used for the WGCNA, which groups genes into co‐expression modules to visualize the correlation network. Genes with significant module membership and gene trait significance (p < 0.05) were used to identify signalling pathways that are important for the development of chronicity. The pathway analysis using the Reactome database showed stabilization of PTEN, which down‐regulates PI3K/AKT1, which in turn down‐regulates Nrf2, as shown by ELISA, thus disabling antioxidant production, resulting in high oxidative stress levels. We find that pathways involved in inflammation, including those that generate pro‐inflammatory lipids derived from arachidonic acid metabolism, IFNγ and catecholamines, occur. Moreover, HIF3α is over‐expressed, potentially blocking Hif1α and preventing activation of growth factors and cytokines that promote granulation tissue formation. We also find that FGF1 is under‐expressed, while thrombospondin‐1 is over‐expressed, resulting in decreased angiogenesis, a process that is critical for healing. Finally, enzymes involved in glycolysis are down‐regulated, resulting in decreased production of pyruvate, a molecule critical for ATP production, leading to extensive cell death and wound paralysis. These findings offer new avenues of study that may lead to the development of novel treatments of CW to be administered right after debridement.
A new graphical depiction of the barn and pole paradox
Authors: Reed B. Cameron
Published: September 2021

A novel graphical depiction of the relativistic barn and pole paradox is constructed in such a way that the space-time plot axes are dimensionless for both observers. Times of events over the entire range of pole-to-barn length ratio and relative speeds can be displayed in one plot for each observer. That for the barn frame clearly depicts the range of pole-to-barn length ratio over which the paradox appears, while that for the pole frame shows that the pole vaulter will only see the pole within the barn if the proper length of the pole is smaller than the contracted length of the barn.
Photoelectric effect measurements on a conventional neon bulb
Authors: González-Laprea Jesús , Borrero-González L. J. , Sulca Kabir , Díaz-Echeverría Santiago , Durante Rincón Carlos Alberto
Published: September 2021

This work outlines a new instructional laboratory experiment focused on the photoelectric effect and the determination of Planck's constant. The described laboratory system employs contemporary experimental techniques, including real-time data acquisition based on the use of Arduino boards. The basis of this experiment is to measure the associated turn-on voltages of a small neon bulb as it is illuminated with several different optical wavelengths. Six different LED and laser illumination sources were used with wavelengths ranging from UV (383 nm) to red (659 nm). A plot of the bulb's turn-on voltage as a function of the inverse of the excitation wavelength showed a linear relationship with a high correlation coefficient. Planck's constant was determined from this plot, yielding a value of h=7.4±1.1×10−34 J·s. Additionally, the system allows for experimental verification of the independence between excitation light intensity and the energy needed to ionize the gas inside the bulb.
Molecular dynamics simulation of synchronization of a driven particle
Authors: Guerrero Tiare , McDermott Danielle
Published: September 2021

Synchronization plays an important role in many physical processes. We discuss synchronization in a molecular dynamics simulation of a single particle moving through a viscous liquid while being driven across a washboard potential energy landscape. Our results show many dynamical patterns as the landscape and driving force are altered. For certain conditions, the particle's velocity and location are synchronized or phase-locked and form closed orbits in phase space. Quasi-periodic motion is common, for which the dynamical center of motion shifts the phase space orbit. By isolating synchronized motion in simulations and table-top experiments, we can study complex natural behaviors important to many physical processes.
Analyzing the motion of a mass sliding on a sphere with friction
Authors: McDaniel Terry W.
Published: September 2021

A well-known problem in classical mechanics that is often presented for pedagogical purposes involves a small mass that slides without friction under a gravitational force on the surface of a sphere. Commonly, students are asked to find the angular position where a mass with no azimuthal motion leaves the spherical surface, and this question is easily within the reach of most intermediate physics students. However, a complete solution for more general motion of the mass on the spherical surface (including friction) may be suitable for many advanced undergraduates. Without friction, the problem including azimuthal motion is really an inverted version of an ideal spherical pendulum. This problem is also useful for extending discussion in classical mechanics to more sophisticated topics beyond solving Newton's laws of motion, such as the importance of conservation laws and constants of motion as they relate to symmetry, conservative versus dissipative forces, and the role of constraints.
Direction-of-arrival estimation for coherent signals through covariance-based grid free compressive sensing
Authors: Zhang Yahao , Yang Yixin , Yang Long , Wang Yong
Published: September 2021

This letter solves direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation of coherent signals for uniform linear array. The proposed method reformulates the covariance matrix as a multiple-snapshot array output model to obtain a high array signal-to-noise ratio. Then the scheme of the atomic norm minimization [Yang and Xie, IEEE Trans. Signal Process. 64(19), 5145–5157 (2016)] is extended to this model, thus estimating the DOAs in a continuous space. The proposed method avoids the condition where DOAs deviate from the discretized grid, i.e., basis mismatch. The simulation and experimental results verify the good performance of the proposed method for coherent signals.
Motor Competence–Related Age and Living Environment in Girls: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Amraei Marziyeh , Azadian Elaheh
Published: September 2021

This study aims to investigate the effect of age and urban and rural living environments on children’s actual and perceived motor competence. To that end, 320 female students aged 8–12 years were selected through random cluster sampling. The perceived motor competence of the participants was assessed using Marsh’s Physical Self-Description Questionnaire, and their actual motor competence was measured by the Test of Gross Motor Development-3. The results showed significant differences between urban and rural girls in perceived and actual motor competence (p < .05). However, age did not make any significant difference in motor competence (p > .05). The most significant differences in actual and perceived motor competence between urban and rural girls were observed in girls aged 8 and 10 (p < .05). The findings also indicated that rural children performed better in actual motor skills, especially ball skills. Therefore, based on the findings, it was concluded that the rural environment could have a greater impact on actual motor competence.
Photoactivated Carbon Dots for Inactivation of Foodborne Pathogens
Listeria
and Salmonella
Authors: Dong Xiuli , Wang Ping , Darby Jasmine P. , Tang Yongan , Overton Christopher M. , Kathariou Sophia , Sun Ya-Ping , Yang Liju
Published: September 2021

Foodborne infectious diseases have long been recognized as major challenges in public health. Contaminations of food processing facilities and equipment with foodborne pathogens occur often.
Finding the Middle Ground with the Clinical Laboratory’s Role in SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Surveillance
Authors: Graf Erin H.
Published: September 2021

Continued replacement of the dominant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineages, and associated surges, highlights the importance of genomic surveillance to identify the next possible threats. Despite concerted efforts between clinical laboratories and public health to generate sequence data, the United States has lagged in percentage of SARS-CoV-2 cases sequenced.
The opportunity of patient-journey studies for academic clinical research in oncology
Authors: Perrone Francesco , Di Liello Raimondo , Gargiulo Piera , Arenare Laura , Guizzaro Lorenzo , Chiodini Paolo , Gallo Ciro , Piccirillo Maria Carmela
Published: September 2021

A wave of new treatments and treatment combinations are becoming available for solid tumours. Trials performed to obtain registration establish a positive benefit-risk but unavoidably leave many questions unanswered on place-in-therapy and the relative efficacy of different treatment sequences. Such limitations create problems in terms of strength of treatment guidelines and reimbursement (in countries where a public payer exists). Data on new drugs arriving during the last 10 years for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and renal cancer are reported as an example of how the fortunate condition of having new effective treatments may translate into uncertainty regarding the optimal treatment plan. We suggest that academic research should react to such limitations and propose a model of patient-journey study (PJS), where patients are followed from the initial diagnosis across subsequent lines of treatment. A PJS master protocol might include at each node of clinical decision either the possibility of choosing treatment according to guidelines (generating prospective real-world evidence) or the possibility to randomise where uncertainty exists (generating comparative effectiveness data). PJS protocols might be adaptively modified every time a new drug arrives on the market. Overall, methodologically sound analyses of PJS will produce knowledge on the efficacy and the effectiveness of different treatment pathways and might significantly optimise treatment of patients in clinical practice. PJS would represent a jump from a few snapshots (trials performed to get regulatory approval) to a full movie (evidence on the relative value of treatment pathways).
Ocular manifestations of RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases in a large database cross-sectional study
Authors: Sarkar Deepayan , Soni Deepak , Nagpal Aniza , Khurram Fazil , Karkhur Samendra , Verma Vidhya , Mohan Rajiv R , Sharma Bhavana
Published: September 2021

Objective

To evaluate ocular manifestations of reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected patients in a validated comparative model, and additionally to evaluate the correlation between severity of COVID-19 and ocular manifestations.

Methods and Analysis

In a prospective cross-sectional study, a total of 2400 subjects were enrolled over a period of 8 months. To eliminate bias of identical ocular symptom profile in other non-COVID-19 respiratory infections and to acquire a comparative model, 1200 COVID-19 RT-PCR-positive patients (group 1) and 1200 RT-PCR-negative patients (group 2) were included. Data collection included use of a prestructured tool and ‘Google-forms’, along with stratification of patients into‘mild, moderate, and severe’ categories. Study subjects were evaluated for ocular manifestations by clinical examination and laboratory work-up. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results

144 (12%) patients in group 1 had ocular symptoms as compared with 24 (2%) patients in group 2 (p<0.001). Ocular manifestations (symptoms and signs) comprising burning sensation (6.7%, p<0.001), foreign body sensation and irritation (7.0%, p<0.001), and conjunctival signs (2.7%, p<0.001) were found statistically significant in group 1 as compared with group 2. Ocular involvement increased in proportion to severity of COVID-19: mild (5.3%), moderate (24.6%) and severe (58.8%) (p=0.0006).

Conclusion

The frequency of occurrence of ocular manifestations was higher in group 1 as opposed to group 2. Furthermore, the presence of ocular manifestations carried a direct correlation with severity of systemic disease and presence of comorbidities.
Correlation of theoretical uncertainties in PDF fits and theoretical uncertainties in predictions
Authors: Ball Richard D. , Pearson Rosalyn L.
Published: September 2021

We show how to account for correlations between theoretical uncertainties incorporated in parton distribution function (PDF) fits, and the theoretical uncertainties in the predictions made using these PDFs. We demonstrate by explicit calculations, both analytical and numerical, that these correlations can lead to corrections to the central values of the predictions, and reductions in both the PDF uncertainties and the theoretical uncertainties in the prediction. We illustrate our results with predictions for top production rapidity distributions and the Higgs total cross-section at the LHC, using the NLO NNPDF3.1 PDF set which incorporates missing higher order uncertainties. We conclude that the inclusion of correlations can increase both the accuracy and precision of predictions involving PDFs, particularly for processes with data already included in the PDF fit.
A 3D image encryption algorithm based on chaos and random cross diffusion
Authors: Sun Jilei
Published: September 2021

3D image is a kind of image closer to life, and 3D image has a stronger visual impact. In the past, researchers mostly protected flat images, but ignored the protection of 3D images. This paper combines the 2D chaotic system and uses random cross diffusion to propose a new encryption algorithm for 3D images which are STL format. Different from the traditional scrambling and diffusion operations, this paper uses only one iterative operation to achieve the effects of scrambling and diffusion, making the algorithm more secure. In the encryption algorithm, each value of the ciphertext is XORed with the value of the plaintext on the same coordinate axis and different from the coordinate where the ciphertext is located, the chaotic sequence, the ciphertext of different coordinate axes significantly reduces the correlation between the adjacent coordinate values. In addition, the proposed 3D image encryption algorithm is tested by statistical analysis. The experimental results show that this 3D image encryption algorithm has high security.
Simulation of bright–dark soliton solutions of the Lonngren wave equation arising the model of transmission lines
Authors: Yokuş Asif
Published: September 2021

In this study, the auxiliary equation method is applied successfully to the Lonngren wave equation. Bright soliton, bright–dark soliton solutions are produced, which play an important role in the distribution and distribution of electric charge. In the conclusion and discussion section, the effect of nonlinearity term on wave behavior in bright soliton traveling wave solution is examined. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed. While graphs representing the stationary wave are obtained, special values are given to the constants in the solutions. These graphs are presented as 3D, 2D and contour.
Effect of the generalized uncertainty principle on QGP phase transition
Authors: Elmashad I. A. , Shalaby Asmaa G.
Published: September 2021

The QCD phase transition exhibits different periods during the evolution time of the universe. We explore the cosmological implications of QCD phase transition in the early universe, which was mainly full of QGP matter, through the Friedmann equations. This is performed by studying the effect of GUP on the MIT bag model. The obtained modified MIT bag model alongside with the Friedmann equations is utilized to study the thermodynamical quantities in terms of the evolution time. The effect of GUP is set by inserting the parameter [Formula: see text]. It is found that the GUP effect on the evolution time of the universe makes it shorter, i.e. the time span of each phase takes shorter time to transfer to another phase than their corresponding ones without GUP effect.
Near Polygroups on Nearness Approximation Spaces
Authors: Mostafavi M. , Davvaz B.
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we consider the problem of how to establish algebraic structures of near sets on nearness approximation spaces. Essentially, our approach is to define the near polygroup of all weak cosets by considering an hyperoperation on the set of all weak cosets. Afterwards, our aim is to study near homomorphism theorems on near polygroups, and investigate some characterizations of near polygroups.
Six reasons why virtual reality is a game-changing computing and communication platform for organizations
Authors: Torro Osku , Jalo Henri , Pirkkalainen Henri
Published: September 2021

Beyond the pandemic, organizations need to recognize what digital assets, interactions, and communication processes reap the most benefits from virtual reality.
Model-driven Per-panel Solar Anomaly Detection for Residential Arrays
Authors: Feng Menghong , Bashir Noman , Shenoy Prashant , Irwin David , Kosanovic Beka
Published: September 2021

There has been significant growth in both utility-scale and residential-scale solar installations in recent years, driven by rapid technology improvements and falling prices. Unlike utility-scale solar farms that are professionally managed and maintained, smaller residential-scale installations often lack sensing and instrumentation for performance monitoring and fault detection. As a result, faults may go undetected for long periods of time, resulting in generation and revenue losses for the homeowner. In this article, we present SunDown, a sensorless approach designed to detect per-panel faults in residential solar arrays. SunDown does not require any new sensors for its fault detection and instead uses a model-driven approach that leverages correlations between the power produced by adjacent panels to detect deviations from expected behavior. SunDown can handle concurrent faults in multiple panels and perform anomaly classification to determine probable causes. Using two years of solar generation data from a real home and a manually generated dataset of multiple solar faults, we show that SunDown has a Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 2.98% when predicting per-panel output. Our results show that SunDown is able to detect and classify faults, including from snow cover, leaves and debris, and electrical failures with 99.13% accuracy, and can detect multiple concurrent faults with 97.2% accuracy.
Algorithmic Ethics: Formalization and Verification of Autonomous Vehicle Obligations
Authors: Shea-Blymyer Colin , Abbas Houssam
Published: September 2021

In this article, we develop a formal framework for automatic reasoning about the obligations of autonomous cyber-physical systems, including their social and ethical obligations. Obligations, permissions, and prohibitions are distinct from a system's mission, and are a necessary part of specifying advanced, adaptive AI-equipped systems. They need a dedicated deontic logic of obligations to formalize them. Most existing deontic logics lack corresponding algorithms and system models that permit automatic verification. We demonstrate how a particular deontic logic, Dominance Act Utilitarianism (DAU) [23], is a suitable starting point for formalizing the obligations of autonomous systems like self-driving cars. We demonstrate its usefulness by formalizing a subset of Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) in DAU; RSS is an industrial proposal for how self-driving cars should and should not behave in traffic. We show that certain logical consequences of RSS are undesirable, indicating a need to further refine the proposal. We also demonstrate how obligations can change over time, which is necessary for long-term autonomy. We then demonstrate a model-checking algorithm for DAU formulas on weighted transition systems and illustrate it by model-checking obligations of a self-driving car controller from the literature.
Rtkaller: State-aware Task Generation for RTOS Fuzzing
Authors: Shen Yuheng , Sun Hao , Jiang Yu , Shi Heyuan , Yang Yixiao , Chang Wanli
Published: September 2021

A real-time operating system (RTOS) is an operating system designed to meet certain real-time requirements. It is widely used in embedded applications, and its correctness is safety-critical. However, the validation of RTOS is challenging due to its complex real-time features and large code base.

In this paper, we propose
Rtkaller
, a state-aware kernel fuzzer for the vulnerability detection in RTOS. First,
Rtkaller
implements an automatic task initialization to transform the syscall sequences into initial tasks with more real-time information. Then, a coverage-guided task mutation is designed to generate those tasks that explore more in-depth real-time related code for parallel execution. Moreover,
Rtkaller
realizes a task modification to correct those tasks that may hang during fuzzing. We evaluated it on recent versions of rt-Linux, which is one of the most widely used RTOS. Compared to the state-of-the-art kernel fuzzers Syzkaller and Moonshine,
Rtkaller
 achieves the same code coverage at the speed of 1.7X  and 1.6X, gains an increase of 26.1% and 22.0% branch coverage within 24 hours respectively. More importantly,
Rtkaller
 has confirmed 28 previously unknown vulnerabilities that are missed by other fuzzers.
New life for cordless communication, old regrets for software projects
Authors: Sukhov Andrei , Sorokin Igor , Meil Doug
Published: September 2021

The
Communications
website, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of
Communications
, we'll publish selected posts or excerpts.

twitter

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM

http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm

Andrei Sukhov and Igor Sorokin ponder the potential benefits of DECT to the Internet of Things, while Doug Meil considers how software engineers should reflect on their accomplishments.
Flatter chips
Authors: Monroe Don
Published: September 2021

Two-dimensional materials---graphene and its cousins---could enable better integrated circuits.
AI futures
Authors: Dubhashi Devdatt
Published: September 2021

Three books offer varied perspectives on the ascendancy of artificial intelligence.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Linking Human Cortical Development and Evolution
Authors: Libé-Philippot Baptiste , Vanderhaeghen Pierre
Published: September 2021

The cerebral cortex is at the core of brain functions that are thought to be particularly developed in the human species. Human cortex specificities stem from divergent features of corticogenesis, leading to increased cortical size and complexity. Underlying cellular mechanisms include prolonged patterns of neuronal generation and maturation, as well as the amplification of specific types of stem/progenitor cells. While the gene regulatory networks of corticogenesis appear to be largely conserved among all mammals including humans, they have evolved in primates, particularly in the human species, through the emergence of rapidly divergent transcriptional regulatory elements, as well as recently duplicated novel genes. These human-specific molecular features together control key cellular milestones of human corticogenesis and are often affected in neurodevelopmental disorders, thus linking human neural development, evolution, and diseases.
Advances in Morphological Theory: Construction Morphology and Relational Morphology
Authors: Audring Jenny
Published: September 2021

In recent years, construction-based approaches to morphology have gained ground in the research community. This framework is characterized by the assumption that the mental lexicon is extensive and richly structured, containing not only a large number of stored words but also a wide variety of generalizations in the form of schemas. This review explores two construction-based theories, Construction Morphology and Relational Morphology. After outlining the basic theoretical architecture, the article presents an array of recent applications of a construction-based approach to morphological phenomena in various languages. In addition, it offers reflections on challenges and opportunities for further research. The review highlights those aspects of the theory that have proved particularly helpful in accommodating both the regularities and the quirks that are typical of the grammar of words.
Argument Structure in Sign Languages
Authors: Kimmelman Vadim
Published: September 2021

Although sign languages are crucial for research on the human linguistic capacity, argument structure in these languages is rarely addressed in theoretical and typological studies. This article provides an overview of existing research on argument structure and argument structure alternations in sign languages. It demonstrates that there are many fundamental similarities between the two modalities in the domain of argument structure, such as the basic valency patterns and the semantic basis of argument structure. At the same time, modality effects, such as iconicity, simultaneity, and the use of space, play an important role in argument structure realization. Finally, the article discusses how emerging sign languages present an opportunity to observe and study the emergence of argument structure.
Neurophysiology of Remembering
Authors: Buzsáki György , McKenzie Sam , Davachi Lila
Published: September 2021

By linking the past with the future, our memories define our sense of identity. Because human memory engages the conscious realm, its examination has historically been approached from language and introspection and proceeded largely along separate parallel paths in humans and other animals. Here, we first highlight the achievements and limitations of this mind-based approach and make the case for a new brain-based understanding of declarative memory with a focus on hippocampal physiology. Next, we discuss the interleaved nature and common physiological mechanisms of navigation in real and mental spacetime. We suggest that a distinguishing feature of memory types is whether they subserve actions for single or multiple uses. Finally, in contrast to the persisting view of the mind as a highly plastic blank slate ready for the world to make its imprint, we hypothesize that neuronal networks are endowed with a reservoir of neural trajectories, and the challenge faced by the brain is how to select and match preexisting neuronal trajectories with events in the world.
Methods to Address Confounding and Other Biases in Meta-Analyses: Review and Recommendations
Authors: Mathur Maya B. , VanderWeele Tyler J.
Published: September 2021

Meta-analyses contribute critically to cumulative science, but they can produce misleading conclusions if their constituent primary studies are biased, for example by unmeasured confounding in nonrandomized studies. We provide practical guidance on how meta-analysts can address confounding and other biases that affect studies’ internal validity, focusing primarily on sensitivity analyses that help quantify how biased the meta-analysis estimates might be. We review a number of sensitivity analysis methods to do so, especially recent developments that are straightforward to implement and interpret and that use somewhat less stringent statistical assumptions than do earlier methods. We give recommendations for how these newer methods could be applied in practice and illustrate using a previously published meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses can provide informative quantitative summaries of evidence strength, and we suggest reporting them routinely in meta-analyses of potentially biased studies. This recommendation in no way diminishes the importance of defining study eligibility criteria that reduce bias and of characterizing studies’ risks of bias qualitatively.
A Machine Learning Approach for Improving the Movement of Humanoid NAO’s Gaits
Authors: Baothman Fatmah Abdulrahman
Published: September 2021

A humanoid robot’s development requires an incredible combination of interdisciplinary work from engineering to mathematics, software, and machine learning. NAO is a humanoid bipedal robot designed to participate in football competitions against humans by 2050, and speed is crucial for football sports. Therefore, the focus of the paper is on improving NAO speed. This paper is aimed at testing the hypothesis of whether the humanoid NAO walking speed can be improved without changing its physical configuration. The applied research method compares three classification techniques: artificial neural network (ANN), Naïve Bayes, and decision tree to measure and predict NAO’s best walking speed, then select the best method, and enhance it to find the optimal average velocity speed. According to Aldebaran documentation, the real NAO’s robot default walking speed is 9.52 cm/s. The proposed work was initiated by studying NAO hardware platform limitations and selecting Nao’s gait 12 parameters to measure the accuracy metrics implemented in the three classification models design. Five experiments were designed to model and trace the changes for the 12 parameters. The preliminary NAO’s walking datasets open‐source available at GitHub, the NAL, and RoboCup datasheets are implemented. All generated gaits’ parameters for both legs and feet in the experiments were recorded using the Choregraphe software. This dataset was divided into 30% for training and 70% for testing each model. The recorded gaits’ parameters were then fed to the three classification models to measure and predict NAO’s walking best speed. After 500 training cycles for the Naïve Bayes, the decision tree, and ANN, the RapidMiner scored 48.20%, 49.87%, and 55.12%, walking metric speed rate, respectively. Next, the emphasis was on enhancing the ANN model to reach the optimal average velocity walking speed for the real NAO. With 12 attributes, the maximum accuracy metric rate of 65.31% was reached with only four hidden layers in 500 training cycles with a 0.5 learning rate for the best walking learning process, and the ANN model predicted the optimal average velocity speed of 51.08% without stiffness: V1 = 22.62 cm/s, V2 = 40 cm/s, and V = 30 cm/s. Thus, the tested hypothesis holds with the ANN model scoring the highest accuracy rate for predicting NAO’s robot walking state speed by taking both legs to gauge joint 12 parameter values.
Exact Artificial Boundary Conditions for Quasi-Linear Problems in Semi-Infinite Strips
Authors: Chen Yajun , Du Qikui
Published: September 2021

In this paper, the exact artificial boundary conditions for quasi-linear problems in semi-infinite strips are investigated. Based on the Kirchhoff transformation, the exact and approximate boundary conditions on a segment artificial boundary are derived. The error estimate for the finite element approximation with the artificial boundary condition is obtained. Some numerical examples show the efficiency of this method.
Relationship between Different Psoriasis Types and Thyroid Dysfunction: A Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Du Juan , Ma Chunyue , Wang Runnan , Lin Lanmei , Gao Luhui , Chen Sunyi , Lu Xiaonian
Published: September 2021

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between different psoriasis types and thyroid dysfunction. Methods. The data of patients diagnosed with psoriasis between January 2013 and October 2018 who underwent thyroid function tests were collected. Free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb), and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) were measured. The thyroid function of patients with psoriasis vulgaris, pustular psoriasis, erythrodermic psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis was evaluated, and the differences in hormone levels and antibodies in the pituitary-thyroid axis with psoriasis type were analyzed. Results. The data of a total of 468 patients were analyzed in this study. The proportion of normal hormone levels was higher among vulgaris patients (

P
<
0.001

), while the erythrodermic patients were more likely to have decreased FT3 or FT4 but normal TSH (

P
<
0.001

). FT3 levels were lower in pustular patients (

P
<
0.05

), FT4 levels were lower in erythrodermic patients (

P
<
0.05

), and TSH levels were higher in patients with psoriatic arthritis (

P
<
0.05

). TPOAb levels were higher than normal in all patients, but there was no significant difference in the levels of TPOAb and TGAb among 4 types of the patients. Conclusion. Psoriasis is related to thyroid dysfunction, especially in patients with atypical psoriasis types. The possibility of complications should be considered in erythrodermic patients.
Joint Design of Beamforming and Edge Caching in Fog Radio Access Networks
Authors: Lv Wenjing , Wang Rui , Wu Jun , Fang Zhijun , Cheng Songlin
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we study a novel transmission framework based on statistical channel state information (SCSI) by incorporating edge caching and beamforming in a fog radio access network (F-RAN) architecture. By optimizing the statistical beamforming and edge caching, we formulate a comprehensive nonconvex optimization problem to minimize the backhaul cost subject to the BS transmission power, limited caching capacity, and quality-of-service (QoS) constraints. By approximating the problem using the

l

0

-norm, Taylor series expansion, and other processing techniques, we provide a tailored second-order cone programming (SOCP) algorithm for the unicast transmission scenario and a successive linear approximation (SLA) algorithm for the joint unicast and multicast transmission scenario. This is the first attempt at the joint design of statistical beamforming and edge caching based on SCSI under the F-RAN architecture.