bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An IMU-Based Wearable System for Respiratory Rate Estimation in Static and Dynamic Conditions
Authors: Angelucci Alessandra , Aliverti Andrea
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Breathing parameters change with activity and posture, but currently available solutions can perform measurements only during static conditions.

Methods

This article presents an innovative wearable sensor system constituted by three inertial measurement units to simultaneously estimate respiratory rate (RR) in static and dynamic conditions and perform human activity recognition (HAR) with the same sensing principle. Two units are aimed at detecting chest wall breathing-related movements (one on the thorax, one on the abdomen); the third is on the lower back. All units compute the quaternions describing the subject’s movement and send data continuously with the ANT transmission protocol to an app. The 20 healthy subjects involved in the research (9 men, 11 women) were between 23 and 54 years old, with mean age 26.8, mean height 172.5 cm and mean weight 66.9 kg. Data from these subjects during different postures or activities were collected and analyzed to extract RR.

Results

Statistically significant differences between dynamic activities (“walking slow”, “walking fast”, “running” and “cycling”) and static postures were detected (p < 0.05), confirming the obtained measurements are in line with physiology even during dynamic activities. Data from the reference unit only and from all three units were used as inputs to artificial intelligence methods for HAR. When the data from the reference unit were used, the Gated Recurrent Unit was the best performing method (97% accuracy). With three units, a 1D Convolutional Neural Network was the best performing (99% accuracy).

Conclusion

 Overall, the proposed solution shows it is possible to perform simultaneous HAR and RR measurements in static and dynamic conditions with the same sensor system.
Fuzzy TOPSIS-based privacy measurement in multiple online social networks
Authors: Guo Lijun , Yao Zhiqiang , Lin Mingwei , Xu Zeshui
Published: February 2023

Information leakage has become an urgent problem in multiple Online Social Networks (OSNs). The interactive communication of users has raised several privacy concerns. However, the current related work on privacy measurement only considers the privacy disclosure of user profile settings, ignoring the importance of profile attributes. To solve the efficient measurement problem, we consider the influence of attribute weight on privacy disclosure scores and propose a privacy measurement method by quantifying users’ privacy disclosure scores in social networks. Through introducing Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), we propose a Privacy Scores calculation model based on Fuzzy TOPSIS decision method (PSFT), that is more accurate calculate users’ privacy disclosure scores and that can improve users’ privacy awareness in multiple OSNs. Users can reasonably set the attribute file configuration based on privacy scores and attribute weight. We conduct extensive experiments on synthetic data set and real data set. The results of the experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.
Wie verzichtbar sind Kollektivsingulare wirklich?
Authors: Gehring Petra
Published: February 2023

Großbegriffe und, genauer, die seit Koselleck als auch sozialhistorisch wirksam geschilderten »Kollektivsingulare« stehen in der historischen, der literaturwissenschaftlichen wie auch der philosophischen Begriffsgeschichte unter Metaphysikverdacht, Ideologieverdacht oder mindestens Vereinfachungsverdacht. Dass dies berechtigt ist, stellt der Beitrag nicht in Abrede, plädiert mit einer gewissen Melancholie jedoch für eine pflegliche Archivierung und auch Mitführung der fraglichen Begriffswörter mitsamt ihrer facettenreichen historischen Semantologie. Dies gilt sogar für den »Geist«. Ihn zu verabschieden kann nicht heißen, ihn zu ersetzen oder gar zu tilgen.
Benchmarking of VIV numerical analysis with prototype response for fatigue assessment of inverse catenary coldwater pipelines
Authors: Saravanan R. , Bhattacharyya S. K. , Ramanamurthy M. V. R. , Panneer Selvam R.
Published: February 2023

High density polyethylene pipe has been used to draw coldwater for low temperature thermal desalination plants since the year 2006 at Lakshadweep Islands, India. The pipeline endured in-line oscillations due to shear current in one of the desalination plants, and this gave an opportunity to observe the response parameters of the prototype pipeline. The recorded oscillation parameters are utilized as a benchmark to verify the results of the vortex induced vibration (VIV) analysis in frequency domain and time domain, and the results show good concurrence. The in-line fatigue damage assessment is carried out for a range of current profiles showing the need for mitigation of pipeline VIV. The helical strakes on a partial length of the pipeline is modeled numerically showing significant suppression of VIV response as well as substantial increase in fatigue life of the pipeline. The benchmarking of the VIV response analysis with prototype measurements enhances the reliability of using numerical VIV fatigue analysis and mitigation measures.
Visuelle Kommunikation von Fahrradrouten mittels kartographischer Symbolisierung
Authors: Fuest Stefan , Golze Jens , Wage Oskar , Feuerhake Udo , Dornbusch Sharon , Sester Monika
Published: February 2023

With the increasing promotion of sustainable forms of mobility in the context of the traffic policies, bicycles represent an environmentally friendly alternative to motorized private transport This especially accounts for coping with inner-city routes. However, in contrast to car drivers, the perceived riding comfort and safety of cyclists strongly depends on route characteristics, such as surface conditions or traffic infrastructure. However, currently available bicycle navigation systems hardly consider these factors relevant for the route choice of cyclists, and the visualization is often limited to a simple highlighting of the recommended route. Therefore, this article investigates the appropriateness of different cartographic representations of bicycle routes for the visual communication of route characteristics, such as type of terrain, terrain roughness, terrain gradient, and interruptions. A user survey is conducted to assess the effectiveness, attractiveness, appropriateness, and dispensability of a legend of the various display options for the different route features. The results of the survey indicate that many of the proposed visualization variants are appropriate for the visual communication of bicycle routes. This concerns in particular color representations as well as representations using symbols. However, with respect to the bicycle route features tested, the most appropriate representation heavily depends on the information being communicated. The findings of this study should contribute to the development of route visualizations that are specifically tailored to the needs of cyclists and thus support developers of bicycle navigation systems in making design decisions.
Operation Optimization of Circulating Cooling Water System Based on Adaptive Differential Evolution Algorithm
Authors: Niu Dapeng , Liu Xudong , Tong Yudong
Published: February 2023

The circulating cooling water system (CCWS) is a commonly used auxiliary system in industrial production, and it is also one of the main energy-consuming systems. The operating conditions of the system vary with the temperature changes caused by seasons, day and night, causing different energy consumption. If the system still maintains conditions when the actual conditions change, energy would be wasted. Operation optimization for the system can improve the operation effect of the system, reduce energy consumption, and increase operating efficiency. Therefore, through operation mechanism analysis for the main energy-consuming components of the CCWS that has been put into use, an operation optimization model is established integrating the domain knowledge. After that, an adaptive differential evolution (ADE) algorithm is proposed by introducing the adaptive mutation and crossover operator to solve the model. According to the minimum circulating water volume and air volume required by the system under different working conditions, the optimal start-up combination mode and operating frequency of the water pumps and fans are determined. And then, the optimal opening values of the regulating valves and baffles in the system are determined, thereby saving the energy of the system. Considering system operation knowledge, the synchronous optimization of the operation mode and operation status of the components in the system is realized. Finally, the effectiveness of the optimization method is verified through a case study.
Carbon emissions from buildings based on a life cycle analysis: carbon reduction measures and effects of green building standards in China
Authors: Guo Zhenwei , Wang Qingqin , Zhao Na , Dai Ruiye
Published: February 2023

Carbon emissions from buildings account for approximately half of China's total social carbon emissions. Focusing only on the carbon emissions of building operation tends to neglect the carbon emissions of other related parts of the building sector, thus slowing down the progress of carbon peaking in the building sector. By applying life-cycle analysis to calculate carbon emissions throughout the building's life cycle, the performance of carbon emissions at each stage of building materials, construction, operation and end-of-life demolition can be identified, so that carbon reduction strategies in building design can be selected.. This paper constructed a method for calculating the carbon emissions of green buildings in whole-building life cycle, and conducted a summary analysis of the carbon emissions of 33 projects that were awarded green building certification. The study found that the Chinese Assessment Standard for Green Buildings has a significant effect on reducing the carbon emissions of buildings in whole-building life cycle. Compared with the current average operational carbon emissions of buildings in China, the carbon intensity of green public buildings is 41.43% lower under this standard and the carbon intensity of green residential buildings is 13.99% lower. A carbon correlation analysis of the provisions of the current Chinese Assessment Standard for Green Buildings was conducted, comparing the changes in the carbon intensity of buildings before and after the revision of the standards. The study concluded that the new version of the standards has a greater impact on public buildings than residential buildings, the requirement of carbon emission reduction in the production stage of building materials is strengthened in terms of carbon emission during the whole-building life cycle. This study addresses the current problem of unclear carbon emission reduction effect of green buildings.
Refining Archaeological Data Collection and Management
Authors: Heilen Michael , Manney Shelby A.
Published: February 2023

Most archaeological investigations in the United States and other countries must comply with preservation laws, especially if they are on government property or supported by government funding. Academic and cultural resource management (CRM) studies have explored various social, temporal, and environmental contexts and produce an ever-increasing volume of archaeological data. More and more data are born digital, and many legacy data are digitized. There is a building effort to synthesize and integrate data at a massive scale and create new data standards and management systems. Taxpayer dollars often fund archaeological studies that are intended, in spirit, to promote historic preservation and provide public benefits. However, the resulting data are difficult to access and interoperationalize, and they are rarely collected and managed with their long-term security, accessibility, and ethical reuse in mind. Momentum is building toward open data and open science as well as Indigenous data sovereignty and governance. The field of archaeology is reaching a critical point where consideration of diverse constituencies, concerns, and requirements is needed to plan data collection and management approaches moving forward. This theme issue focuses on challenges and opportunities in archaeological data collection and management in academic and CRM contexts.
Beyond our parochialism
Authors: Storr Virgil Henry , Romero Michael R.
Published: February 2023

Parochialism, by which we mean in-group preferences and out-group prejudice, has the potential to influence public policy. In-group preferences and out-group prejudice can lead individuals to evaluate a policy based on how that policy affects the groups they belong to rather than on the basis of their ideological priors or the impact of that policy on society at large. Unchecked, parochialism likely leads to problematic policies and perverse social outcomes. While the evidence suggests that this bias can be mitigated if issues are framed in ways that encourage reflection as opposed to unreflective immediate responses, policy makers face incentives to leverage parochialism rather than combat it. The solution may instead require limiting policy makers and our ability to make decisions for others and promoting an institutional environment that encourages our interacting with diverse others rather than insularity. Stated another way, limited government and open society may be the path beyond our parochialism.
Negative Concord and locality in Russian
Authors: Lyutikova Ekaterina , Gerasimova Anastasia
Published: February 2023

This article addresses locality conditions on Negative Concord (NC) in Russian. We examine long-distance licensing of “negative”ni-pronouns in subject- and object-control infinitives. Existing theories of negative concord rely in one way or another on the movement of negative concord items (NCI): either as a direct licensing condition, or as a prerequisite for entering a local configuration with the licensor. Consequently, theories predict thatni-pronoun movement to the matrix clause (i.e., the local domain of the matrix licensor) would increase acceptability ofni-licensing. Using experimental data, we explore various linear positions available forni-pronouns in the matrix clause and in embedded infinitival clauses. We show that movement is not required for long-distance licensing, and that derived positions ofni-pronouns are independent ofni-licensing. We argue that althoughni-licensing and movement both obey locality constraints, they differ as to the type of locality required. This article presents evidence for recent proposals that movement and agreement have different properties with respect to locality constraints.
Comparison of the Level of Disaster Preparedness Between Private and Government Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Alruwaili Abdullah Saleh , Islam Md Shahidul , Usher Kim
Published: February 2023

Objective:

The objective of this study was to describe and compare almost all the components of disaster preparedness between private and government hospitals in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) checklist.

Methods:

We assessed and compared the disaster preparedness between government and private hospitals in Province, using the 10-key component WHO checklist in a descriptive cross-sectional study. Of 72 hospitals in the region, 63 responded to the survey.

Results:

All 63 hospitals had an HDP plan and reported having a multidisciplinary HDP committee. In all responding hospitals, HDP was acceptable in most indicators of preparedness; however, some hospitals to some extent fell short of preparedness in surge capacity, equipment and logistic services, and post-disaster recovery. Government and private hospitals were generally comparable in disaster preparedness. However, government hospitals were more likely to have HDP plans that cover WHO’s “all-hazard” approach, both internal and external disasters, compared to private hospitals.

Conclusion:

HDP was acceptable, however, preparedness in surge capacity, equipment and logistic services, and post-disaster recovery fell short. Government and private hospitals were comparable in preparedness with regards to all indicators except surge capacity, post-disaster recovery, and availability of some equipment.
Artificial Intelligence Functionalities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Ahmadi Marzaleh Milad , Peyravi Mahmoudreza , Mousavi Shahrokh , Sarpourian Fatemeh , Seyedi Milad , Shalyari Naseh
Published: February 2023

Background:

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led us to use virtual solutions and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Recent studies have clearly demonstrated the role of AI in health care and medical practice; however, a comprehensive review can identify potential yet not fulfilled functionalities of such technologies in pandemics. Therefore, this scoping review study aims at assessing AI functionalities in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.

Methods:

A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Cochran Library, Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest, and Web of Science from 2019 to May 9, 2022. Researchers selected the articles according to the search keywords. Finally, the articles mentioning the functionalities of AI in the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated. Two investigators performed this process.

Results:

Initial search resulted in 9123 articles. After reviewing the title, abstract, and full text of these articles, and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 4 articles were selectd for the final analysis. All 4 were cross-sectional studies. Two studies (50%) were performed in the United States, 1 (25%) in Israel, and 1 (25%) in Saudi Arabia. They covered the functionalities of AI in the prediction, detection, and diagnosis of COVID-19.

Conclusions:

To the extent of the researchers’ knowledge, this study is the first scoping review that assesses the AI functionalities in the COVID-19 pandemic. Health-care organizations need decision support technologies and evidence-based apparatuses that can perceive, think, and reason not dissimilar to human beings. Potential functionalities of such technologies can be used to predict mortality, detect, screen, and trace current and former patients, analyze health data, prioritize high-risk patients, and better allocate hospital resources in pandemics, and generally in health-care settings.
Pedagogies of Development, Conceptions of Efficiency: Modern Managerialism in Industrial Ahmedabad, 1950s–1960s
Authors: Wani Kena
Published: February 2023

This paper aims to trace the historical trajectory of management as a professional discipline in the post-independence period in India during the 1950s and 1960s. It tracks the discipline’s formative interests in the management of industrial labor, the views of its major proponents, and the processes through which the discipline sought generalized relevance within the postcolonial regime. It also discusses the intersection of managerial concerns with the globally emergent discourses on development and industrial reform and follows the eventual institutionalization of the discipline as an educational concern through the setting up of management schools. In doing so, the paper examines the modes and rationales through which managerialism established its own normative vocabulary and deployed it for assessing not just the objectives of industrial capital but also the newly consolidating postcolonial state and its developmental ambitions. This circulation of management ideas is analyzed by following the experiments that were conducted in the industrial enterprises of Ahmedabad by a group of textile industrialists, UN developmental pedagogues, and Ford Foundation consultants. Even when, in most cases, such studies on management did not succeed in achieving their ascribed goals, the paper demonstrates how managerialism maintained its relevance by parallelly turning its focus onto the postcolonial state and its developmental activities. Broadly, the paper argues that management in the mid-twentieth century functioned as a solution in search of a problem. It eventually acquired prominence by tautologically reading institutions and various aspects of the society as organizations that needed the prescription of management to resolve their operations.
A report on an ergodic dichotomy
Authors: SAMBARINO ANDRÉS
Published: February 2023

We establish (some directions of) a Ledrappier correspondence between Hölder cocycles, Patterson–Sullivan measures, etc for word-hyperbolic groups with metric-Anosov Mineyev flow. We then study Patterson–Sullivan measures for
$\vartheta $
-Anosov representations over a local field and show that these are parameterized by the
$\vartheta $
-critical hypersurface of the representation. We use these Patterson–Sullivan measures to establish a dichotomy concerning directions in the interior of the
$\vartheta $
-limit cone of the representation in question: if
${\mathsf {u}}$
is such a half-line, then the subset of
${\mathsf {u}}$
-conical limit points has either total mass if
$|\vartheta |\leq 2$
or zero mass if
$|\vartheta |\geq 4.$
The case
$|\vartheta |=3$
remains unsettled.
Thermodynamical u-formalism I: measures of maximal u-entropy for maps that factor over Anosov
Authors: URES RAUL , VIANA MARCELO , YANG FAN , YANG JIAGANG
Published: February 2023

We construct measures of maximal u-entropy for any partially hyperbolic diffeomorphism that factors over an Anosov torus automorphism and has mostly contracting center direction. The space of such measures has finite dimension, and its extreme points are ergodic measures with pairwise disjoint supports.
Horseshoes and Lyapunov exponents for Banach cocycles over non-uniformly hyperbolic systems
Authors: ZOU RUI , CAO YONGLUO
Published: February 2023

We extend Katok’s result on ‘the approximation of hyperbolic measures by horseshoes’ to Banach cocycles. More precisely, let f be a
$C^r(r>1)$
diffeomorphism of a compact Riemannian manifold M, preserving an ergodic hyperbolic measure
$\mu $
with positive entropy, and let
$\mathcal {A}$
be a Hölder continuous cocycle of bounded linear operators acting on a Banach space
$\mathfrak {X}$
. We prove that there is a sequence of horseshoes for f and dominated splittings for
$\mathcal {A}$
on the horseshoes, such that not only the measure theoretic entropy of f but also the Lyapunov exponents of
$\mathcal {A}$
with respect to
$\mu $
can be approximated by the topological entropy of f and the Lyapunov exponents of
$\mathcal {A}$
on the horseshoes, respectively. As an application, we show the continuity of sub-additive topological pressure for Banach cocycles.
Body image as a global mental health concern
Authors: Rodgers Rachel F. , Laveway Katherine , Campos Priscila , de Carvalho Pedro Henrique Berbert
Published: February 2023

Body image concerns related to weight or other dimensions of appearance are now prevalent on a global scale. This paper reviews the theoretical frameworks that account for the global similarities and regional differences in rates and presentation of body image concerns, as well as reviewing the extant data. Given the harmful consequences of body image concerns in terms of mental and physical health, their global burden is high. Interventions to mitigate these concerns at the individual and systemic level are warranted.
Aerodynamic droplet atomization model (ADAM)
Authors: Jackiw Isaac M. , Ashgriz Nasser
Published: February 2023

The present work studies low viscosity twin-fluid atomization experimentally and analytically to characterize and predict the droplet size distribution of the spray. The study is based on experiments conducted using commercially available twin-fluid nozzles with water as the liquid. Shadowgraph images were used to visualize the near-nozzle flow while the droplet size distribution was measured in the far field using a Malvern Spraytec. To analytically model the atomization of the spray, the authors’ recent works on aerodynamic droplet breakup, which describe the formation and breakup of ligament and bag structures by multiple mechanisms, are extended to provide an analytical prediction of the droplet size distribution of the spray that is validated against the present experiments. The present model is developed to be a good physical representation of the spray behaviour at practical operating conditions. A Python implementation of the model has been deposited in a GitHub repository to accompany this work.
Conical focusing: mechanism for singular jetting from collapsing drop-impact craters
Authors: Tian Yuan Si , Yang Zi Qiang , Thoroddsen Sigurður T.
Published: February 2023

Fast microjets can emerge out of liquid pools from the rebounding of drop-impact craters, or when a bubble bursts at its surface. The fastest jets are the narrowest and are a source of aerosols both from the ocean and from a glass of champagne, of importance to climate and the olfactory senses. The most singular jets, which we observe experimentally at a maximum velocity of

$137\pm 4\ {\rm m}\ {\rm s}^{-1}$

and a diameter of

$12\ \mathrm {\mu }{\rm m}$

, under reduced ambient pressure, are produced when a small dimple forms at the crater bottom and rebounds without pinching off a small bubble. The radial collapse and rebounding of this dimple is purely inertial, but highly sensitive to initial conditions. High-resolution numerical simulations reveal a new focusing mechanism, which drives the fastest jet within a converging conical channel, where an entrained air sheet provides effective slip at the outer boundary of the conically converging flow into the jet. This configuration bypasses any viscous cutoff of the jetting speed and explains the extreme sensitivity to initial conditions observed in detailed experiments of the phenomenon.
Compressibility effects on Reynolds stress amplification and shock structure in shock–isotropic turbulence interactions
Authors: Grube Nathan E. , Martín M. Pino
Published: February 2023

Recent direct numerical simulation studies of canonical shock–isotropic turbulence interactions (SITIs) in the highly compressible regime exhibit streamwise Reynolds stress amplification that is significantly higher in some cases than in previous studies; an explanation is offered based on a relatively high Mach number combined with significant dilatational energy in the incident flow. Some cases exhibit a loss of amplification that is associated with a highly perturbed shock structure as the flow parameters approach the threshold between the wrinkled and broken shock regimes. The shock structure perturbations due to the highly compressible incident turbulence match those proposed by Donzis (Phys. Fluids, vol. 24, 2012, 126101) relatively well, but due to the presence of thermodynamic fluctuations in addition to velocity fluctuations in the incident flow, we propose a generalized parametrization based on the root-mean-square Mach number fluctuation in place of the turbulence Mach number. This is found to improve the collapse of the shock structure data, suggesting that the wrinkled–broken shock regime threshold determined previously for vortical turbulence (Donzis, Phys. Fluids, vol. 24, 2012, 126101; Larsson et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 717, 2013, pp. 293–321) can be applied to more general isotropic inflow fields using the proposed parametrization.
Coffee stain effect on a fibre from axisymmetric droplets
Authors: Corpart Marie , Restagno Frédéric , Boulogne François
Published: February 2023

The so-called coffee stain effect has been intensively studied over the past decades, but most of the studies have focused on sessile droplets. In this paper, we analyse the origin of the difference between the deposition of suspended particles in a sessile drop and in an axisymmetric drop deposited on a fibre. First, we model the shape of a drop on a fibre and its evaporative flux with some approximations to derive analytical calculations. Then, for pinned contact lines, we solve the hydrodynamics equations in the liquid phase under the lubrication approximation to determine the flow velocity toward the contact lines. We comment on these results by comparison to a sessile drop of similar evaporating conditions, and we show that the substrate curvature plays a role on the contact line depinning, the local evaporative flux and the liquid flow field. The competition between the advection and the Brownian motion indicates that the transport of the particles toward the contact line occurs in a volume localised in the close vicinity of the contact lines for a drop on a fibre. Thus, the fibre geometry induces a weaker accumulation of particles at the contact line compared to a sessile drop, leading to the more homogeneous deposit observed experimentally.
Uniform momentum and temperature zones in unstably stratified turbulent flows
Authors: Salesky Scott T.
Published: February 2023

Wall-bounded turbulent flows exhibit a zonal arrangement, in which streamwise velocity organizes into uniform momentum zones (UMZs), separated by thin layers of elevated interfacial shear. While significant research efforts have focused on these structural features in neutrally stratified flows, the effects of unstable thermal stratification on UMZs and on analogous uniform temperature zones (UTZs) have not been considered previously. In this article, statistical properties of UMZs and UTZs are investigated using a suite of large eddy simulations of unstably stratified turbulent channel flow spanning weakly to highly convective conditions. When normalized by the friction velocity and stability-dependent mixing length, the mean velocity gradient based on UMZ interfacial velocity jumps and the vorticity thickness exhibits good collapse for all stabilities, establishing a link between UMZ properties and scaling predictions from Monin–Obukhov similarity theory. A similar relationship is found between UTZ properties and surface-layer scaling of the mean temperature gradient. In the mixed layer, mean UMZ depth is quasi-constant with wall-normal distance, while the deepest UTZs are found in the centre of the boundary layer. These instantaneous structures are found to be linked to the well-mixed velocity and temperature profiles in the convective mixed layer. Conditional averaging indicates that both UMZ and UTZ interfaces are associated with ejections of momentum and warm updrafts below the interface and sweeps of momentum and cool downdrafts above the interface. These results demonstrate a tangible connection between instantaneous structural features, mean properties and scaling laws in unstably stratified flows.
Diversification Experiences and Firm Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Industries: The Moderating Role of Absorptive Capacity
Authors: Shukla Dhirendra Mani , Kumar Sushil
Published: February 2023

In this study, we examine the moderation effect of absorptive capacity on the performance consequences of diversification experiences. We suggest that absorptive capacity positively moderates the performance effects of product and international diversification experiences and those of unrelatedness in product and international diversification experiences. An empirical analysis conducted using a longitudinal dataset of Indian firms, from knowledge-intensive manufacturing sectors, for the period 2008–2018, broadly supports our arguments. Findings imply that firms with superior absorptive capacity can acquire and leverage knowledge from their diversification experiences effectively and mitigate the risks of negative transfer associated with unrelatedness in diversification experiences. Findings contribute to the organizational learning literature by examining the role of absorptive capacity in enabling performance outcomes of diversification experiences.
Challenges and directions in analytical paleobiology
Authors: Dillon Erin M. , Dunne Emma M. , Womack Tom M. , Kouvari Miranta , Larina Ekaterina , Claytor Jordan Ray , Ivkić Angelina , Juhn Mark , Milla Carmona Pablo S. , Robson Selina Viktor , Saha Anwesha , Villafaña Jaime A. , Zill Michelle E.
Published: February 2023

Over the last 50 years, access to new data and analytical tools has expanded the study of analytical paleobiology, contributing to innovative analyses of biodiversity dynamics over Earth's history. Despite—or even spurred by—this growing availability of resources, analytical paleobiology faces deep-rooted obstacles that stem from the need for more equitable access to data and best practices to guide analyses of the fossil record. Recent progress has been accelerated by a collective push toward more collaborative, interdisciplinary, and open science, especially by early-career researchers. Here, we survey four challenges facing analytical paleobiology from an early-career perspective: (1) accounting for biases when interpreting the fossil record; (2) integrating fossil and modern biodiversity data; (3) building data science skills; and (4) increasing data accessibility and equity. We discuss recent efforts to address each challenge, highlight persisting barriers, and identify tools that have advanced analytical work. Given the inherent linkages between these challenges, we encourage discourse across disciplines to find common solutions. We also affirm the need for systemic changes that reevaluate how we conduct and share paleobiological research.
Transnational scientific advising: occupied Japan, the United States National Academy of Sciences and the establishment of the Science Council of Japan
Authors: Ito Kenji
Published: February 2023

Given that the practices and institutions of knowledge production commonly referred to as ‘science’ are believed to have ‘Western’ origins, their apparent proliferation entails negotiations and power dynamics that shape both science and diplomacy in specific locales. This paper investigates a facet of this co-production of science and diplomacy in the emergence of knowledge infrastructure in Japan during the Allied Occupation. It focuses on the 1947 delegation from the United States National Academy of Sciences to Japan and its role in creating the Science Council of Japan (SCJ). While historians view this mission as having been dispatched to provide advice on the foundation of the SCJ, it was in fact an unintentional outcome. The original plan was to recruit long-term scientific advisers on science policy to Douglas MacArthur's headquarters. The creation of the SCJ was not the brainchild of any individual but the result of an unforeseen alteration of the original idea through negotiations among various actors. By examining the transnational aspects of this process and the complex social process underlying it, and drawing on Manuel DeLanda's assemblage theory, this paper proposes the concept of ‘techno-diplomatic assemblage’ for understanding the transnational construction of knowledge infrastructure such as the emergence of the SCJ.
Ecological notes onActinostella flosculifera(Le Sueur, 1817) (Cnidaria: Actiniaria: Actiniidae) in the South-western Atlantic, Brazil
Authors: Durán-Fuentes Jeferson A. , Mendes Flávio , da Costa Rogério Caetano , Pescinelli Régis Augusto , Floeter Sergio R. , Stampar Sérgio N.
Published: February 2023

Sea anemones have developed various strategies for interspecific interaction with other organisms and their own ability to obtain food, due to their coevolutionary history, ranging from mutualistic (e.g. clownfish, crustaceans, etc.) and symbiotic associations (zooxanthellae or zoochlorellae) to depredation (e.g. sea slug). This study aims to record some observations on feeding habits and interspecific interactions ofActinostella flosculifera(Le Sueur, 1817) in the locality of Pedra da Sereia in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil, and to describe the hunting strategy of the sea slugSpurilla brazilianaMacFarland, 1909 and the escape strategy ofA. flosculifera. We found that the habitat ofA. flosculiferais characterized by shallow pools ~10 cm deep at low tides, and this functions as a trap for many organisms and some biowaste (e.g. bones or fish drifting in from nearby populations) that fall into the oral disc. This is the first report ofS. brazilianapredating onA. flosculifera. We also report interspecific relationships betweenA. flosculiferawith four species of crustaceans:Omalacantha bicornuta(Latreille, 1825),Menippecf.nodifronsStimpson, 1859,Alpheuscf.angulosusMcClure, 2002, andAlpheuscf.carlaeAnker, 2012.
The Possession Islands Ross Sea Antarctica: A history of exploration and scientific endeavour at a Ross Sea archipelago since the first landing in 1841
Authors: Harrowfield D. L. , Mabin M. C. G.
Published: February 2023

Possession Island was one of the first landing places in the Antarctic region, now more than 180 years ago, yet there is little scientific knowledge of this island archipelago in the western Ross Sea. Although the islands are often passed and have been landed on for a few brief hours a number of times, the area is a challenging environment to visit or work in, as weather, sea and ice conditions can be unpredictable.

This paper documents the discovery of the islands, and their history of exploration, the broad range of fleetingly conducted science endeavours, weather and climate and since the 1990s, eco-tourism visits. The islands deserve to be better known, and their rich history provides a foundation for future research and eco-tourism.
Exploring associations of older adults with virtual nature: a randomised factorial online survey
Authors: Otten Kars , van Rompay Thomas J. L. , van ’t Klooster Jan-Willem J. R. , Gerritsen Debby L. , Westerhof Gerben J.
Published: February 2023

Loneliness and social isolation are important social determinants of wellbeing of older adults. Conversational exchanges can promote connectedness between older adults, however, conversations may not always come easy. Research shows that exposure to nature-based stimuli such as pictures and videos can stimulate social aspirations and trigger associations that could facilitate conversations, in particular when nature scenery is perceived as fascinating, mysterious, spacious and suited for social interaction. Therefore, this study investigated whether exposure to these nature characteristics (high versus low) lead to associations that could act as conversational material. A randomised factorial design, using a virtual reality-based approach for experimental control, led to 17 different virtual representations of nature (VN). In total, 150 participants (60 years and older) were recruited for an online survey. Spontaneous associations were coded on personal engagement and valence. The number of associations was measured with one multiple-choice question. VN exposure successfully triggered personally engaging and positively valenced associations and were related to multiple associations, in particular when the VN were high on mystery. Furthermore, positive effects of VN exposure was more pronounced for participants with high (rather than low) levels of nature relatedness and many (rather than few) available nature opportunities. These findings indicate that VN exposure provides fertile ground for conversations as a means to promote connectedness and social wellbeing of older adults.
Research ethics in applied linguistics
Authors: Yaw Katherine , Plonsky Luke , Larsson Tove , Sterling Scott , Kytö Merja
Published: February 2023

For many researchers in the social sciences, including those in applied linguistics, the term ethics evokes the bureaucratic process of fulfilling the requirements of an ethics review board (e.g., in the US, an Institutional Review Board, or IRB) as a preliminary step in conducting human subjects research. The expansion of ethics review boards into the social sciences in the early 2000s has led applied linguistics as a field to experience what Haggerty (2004) termed ethics creep, a simultaneous expansion and intensification of external regulation of research activities. The aims of these ethical review boards are: (a) to evaluate the types and risk of harm to participants as a result of research activities, (b) ensure that participants can give informed consent to be part of the research activities, and (c) provide oversight on researcher procedures to maintain participant anonymity/confidentiality (Haggerty, 2004).
Social Isolation of Older Adults Living in a Neighbourhood of Montreal: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of the Perspectives of Older Adults and Community Stakeholders
Authors: DeBroux Leduc Roxane , Bier Nathalie , Couture Mélanie , Ansaldo Ana Inès , Belleville Sylvie , Ben Gaied Nouha , Chesneau Sophie , Belchior Patricia , Fonseca Raquel , Hebblethwaite Shannon , Jarema Gonia , Lacerda Adriana , Rousseau Jacqueline , Van De Velde Cécile , Filiatrault Johanne
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study was to describe the social isolation of older adults in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood (Montreal, Canada) from the perspectives of older adults and community stakeholders. To do so, a descriptive qualitative study was conducted, involving community-dwelling older adults and a variety of key stakeholders from the neighbourhood. Seven focus groups were held, with a total of 37 participants. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using the approach of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. Participants reported that social isolation of older adults is characterized by gaps in social interactions (scarcity of social interactions, lack of social support, and unsatisfying relationships) as well as by low social participation that can be depicted in three ways: (1) exclusion by society, (2) self-restriction of participation, and (3) low eagerness to socialize. This study highlights that there is a diversity in how social isolation of older adults manifests itself. It can be the result of a deliberate choice (or not), as well as being desired (or not). These aspects of the phenomenon of social isolation of older adults are still not well described. However, they offer relevant avenues for rethinking approaches to intervention development.
Transporting monovalent rotavirus vaccine efficacy estimates to an external target population: a secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial in Malawi
Authors: St Jean Denise T. , Edwards Jessie K. , Rogawski McQuade Elizabeth T. , Thompson Peyton , Thomas James C. , Becker-Dreps Sylvia
Published: February 2023

Oral rotavirus vaccine efficacy estimates from randomised controlled trials are highly variable across settings. Although the randomised study design increases the likelihood of internal validity of findings, results from trials may not always apply outside the context of the study due to differences between trial participants and the target population. Here, we used a weight-based method to transport results from a monovalent rotavirus vaccine clinical trial conducted in Malawi between 2005 and 2008 to a target population of all trial-eligible children in Malawi, represented by data from the 2015–2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). We reweighted trial participants to reflect the population characteristics described by the Malawi DHS. Vaccine efficacy was estimated for 1008 trial participants after applying these weights such that they represented trial-eligible children in Malawi. We also conducted subgroup analyses to examine the heterogeneous treatment effects by stunting and tuberculosis vaccination status at enrolment. In the original trial, the estimates of one-year vaccine efficacy against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis and any-severity rotavirus gastroenteritis in Malawi were 49.2% (95% CI 15.6%–70.3%) and 32.1% (95% CI 2.5%–53.1%), respectively. After weighting trial participants to represent all trial-eligible children in Malawi, vaccine efficacy increased to 62.2% (95% CI 35.5%–79.0%) against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis and 38.9% (95% CI 11.4%–58.5%) against any-severity rotavirus gastroenteritis. Rotavirus vaccine efficacy may differ between trial participants and target populations when these two populations differ. Differences in tuberculosis vaccination status between the trial sample and DHS population contributed to varying trial and target population vaccine efficacy estimates.
A Review of Ambulance Terrorism on the African Continent
Authors: Besenyő János , Barten Dennis G. , De Cauwer Harald G. , Tin Derrick , Gulyás Attila
Published: February 2023

Background:

In recent decades, an increasing number of terrorist attacks have been carried out against medical institutions, hospitals, and health care workers. These attacks, that often result in high numbers of casualties and impaired access to health services, have a more significant impact on people’s sense of security than attacks against military and police targets. Attacks on ambulances – especially on the African continent – have been sparsely studied. This study examines attacks on ambulances on the African continent during the period from 1992-2022 (until December 31, 2021).

Methods:

Reports of ambulance terrorism were extracted from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), RAND Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents (RDWTI), United Nation’s Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) database, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) database, and Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD). Furthermore, a grey literature search was performed. The date and location of the attacks, perpetrators, weapon and attack types, and the number of victims (dead and wounded) and hostages were collected. Results were exported into an Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corp.; Redmond, Washington USA) for analysis.

Results:

During the 30-year study period, 166 attacks were observed in 18 African countries. The number of attacks significantly increased since 2016, with 81.3% of the attacks taking place from 2016 to 2022. In total, 193 people died and another 208 were injured. Attacks with firearms were most frequently noted (92 cases; 55.4%), followed by attacks with explosive devices (26 cases; 15.7%). A significant number of ambulances were hijacked (26 cases; 15.7%) and subsequently used for other terrorist attacks. In seven attacks, ambulances were used as vehicle-born improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs).

Conclusion:

In this database study on ambulance terrorism in Africa, it was found that the reported occurrence of attacks increased from 2013 onwards, including the rise of ambulances used as VBIEDs. These findings suggest that ambulance terrorism represents a real, significant risk that both governments and health care institutions must address.
SMITH AT 300: ADAM SMITH ON RHETORIC AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Authors: Dow Sheila
Published: February 2023

“We need not be surprised … that the Cartesian philosophy …, though it does not perhaps contain a word of truth, … should nevertheless have been so universally received by all the Learned in Europe at that time. … [They] greedily receive[d] a work which we justly esteem one of the most entertaining Romances that has ever been wrote.”

LRBL ii.134
From tomb-keeper to tomb-occupant: the changing conceptualisation of dogs in early China
Authors: Granger Kelsey
Published: February 2023

Dogs have played a vital and varied role in the social history of early China. Whether used as a source of food, a hunting-aid, or a sacrificial victim, dogs were intimately connected with human life and death. The placement and significance of dismembered and slaughtered dogs in human tombs have been a source of scholarly interest across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. However, less attention has been paid to sources which present us with a spectrum of concerns surrounding the treatment of dogs after their death. Should they be consumed, discarded, or buried? Which dogs were deserving of burial, and how were such burials viewed by human commentators? By analysing textual, archaeological, and material sources, this article explores the changing conceptualisation of dogs in life and in death through the medium of the tomb, showing how the transition from tomb-keeper to tomb-occupant reflects an increasingly anthropomorphic view of canine potential and moral fibre by the early medieval period.