bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New directions for narrative approaches to urban planning
Authors: Ameel Lieven
Published: July 2022

This reflection reacts to Mark Tewdwr-Jones's and Robert Beauregard's review of my book The Narrative Turn in Urban Planning. It considers the suggestions made by Tewdwr-Jones and Beauregard, and examines new directions for narrative approaches to urban planning.
Study of Influences on the Direct Electrolysis of Silica in Molten Salt: Particle Size, Temperature, Time, and Voltage
Authors: Cheng Jiaxu , Cheng Yanbing , Jiang Siwei , Qiao Jinghan , Zhang Yan , Zeng Xiaoyuan , Zhang Yingjie , Zhou Zhongren , He Shiwei , Dong Peng
Published: July 2022

In this study, molten-salt electrolysis of silica was investigated to identify the role played by electrolytic conditions on the deoxidization depth. Four key conditions that included particle size, electrolytic temperature, working time, and cell voltage were systematically compared using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission SEM, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The results suggest that prolonging the cell voltage is another key factor that determines the reduction process. Based on the given current conditions, the order of effect on the experiment is working time, cell voltage, electrolytic temperature, and particle size. The obtained specimen under optimized condition is Si and Fe–Si alloy composite with silicon porous nanosphere and Fe–Si nanoparticles in a structure that is prepared using 10 nm SiO2 nanosphere as a raw material at 800 °C for 5 h at a cell voltage of 2.6–2.8 V. The present research provides a promising guidance for practical application using the method of molten-salt electrolysis.
Systematic position of Fuscozetes setiger (Acari: Oribatida: Ceratozetidae) in the light of ontogenetic studies
Authors: Seniczak Anna , Seniczak Stanisław
Published: July 2022

The systematic position of Fuscozetes setiger (Trägårdh, 1910) n. comb. is investigated in the light of ontogenetic studies. This species is classified by most authors as Trichoribates Berlese, 1910, but this classification is not supported by the morphology of juvenile stages of this species. In all juveniles of F. setiger, a humeral organ is present, and all nymphs have a humeral sclerite, which is typical of Fuscozetes Sellnick, 1928. The larva has a pygidial sclerite, with three pairs of setae (dp, lp, h1), the nymphs have a gastronotal sclerite, with 10 pairs of setae (d-, l-, h-series and p1), and setae p2 and p3 are inserted on unsclerotized integument. The nymphs have a large humeral sclerite, bearing seta c1, while setae c2 and c3 are inserted on unsclerotized integument. The adult of F. setiger has thin seta l" on genu and tibia I and II, which is typical of Fuscozetes.
A gynandromorph of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Latreille, 1806) from Colombia
Authors: Ortíz-Giraldo Mateo , Cardona-Giraldo Alexandra , Velásquez-Guarín Daniela , Ramírez-Chaves Héctor E. , A. Rivera-Páez Fredy
Published: July 2022

Gynandromorphism is a condition in which an organism exhibits both male and female characters simultaneously. This condition is the result of an abnormal process during embryonic development, and has been frequently reported in arthropods, especially crustaceans, insects, and arachnids. Here, we report a case of gynandromorphism in the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. in Colombia. The individual was collected from a domestic dog in the municipality of Samaná, Department of Caldas, in the inter-Andean Valley of the Magdalena River Basin of the country. This record is the first documented for this species in Colombia, and the fourth in America where this anomaly was previously reported in countries such as Brazil (two cases) and Mexico (one case).
Short-Term Muscle Power Is Related to Lower Limb Muscle Volume in Young Children
Authors: Obst Steven J. , Florance Kaysie , Heales Luke , Job Sasha , Barber Lee
Published: July 2022

Purpose: Muscle power is a component of muscular fitness and is proportional to its volume. Reduced muscular fitness in children is linked to negative health outcomes. Associations between muscle volume (MV) and power have not been examined in young children and could reveal important insights into early neuromuscular development. Method: Forty-four children (2–8 y) completed 3 tests of short-term muscular power: repeated anaerobic sprint test, vertical jump, and horizontal jump. MV was assessed using 3D ultrasound for 3 lower limb muscles (rectus femoris, medial gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior) and summed for across legs. Associations between muscular power and summed MV were assessed using Pearson correlation (r). Sex-based differences in muscular power and MV were assessed using 1-way analysis of covariance. Results: Moderate–strong associations (r = .57 − .87) were found between muscular power and summed MV. No differences were found between boys and girls for height, weight, MV, or muscular power. Conclusions: Young children who have larger lower limb muscles perform better at tasks dependent on short-term muscular power, such as running and jumping, compared with children with smaller muscles. Sex-based differences in short-term muscular power do not exist in young children and reflect similar anthropometry, including lower limb MV.
Near-zero cohesion and loose packing of Bennu’s near subsurface revealed by spacecraft contact
Authors: Walsh Kevin J. , Ballouz Ronald-Louis , Jawin Erica R. , Avdellidou Chrysa , Barnouin Olivier S. , Bennett Carina A. , Bierhaus Edward B. , Bos Brent J. , Cambioni Saverio , Connolly Harold C. , Delbo Marco , DellaGiustina Daniella N. , DeMartini Joseph , Emery Joshua P. , Golish Dathon R. , Haas Patrick C. , Hergenrother Carl W. , Ma Huikang , Michel Patrick , Nolan Michael C. , Olds Ryan , Rozitis Benjamin , Richardson Derek C. , Rizk Bashar , Ryan Andrew J. , Sánchez Paul , Scheeres Daniel J. , Schwartz Stephen R. , Selznick Sanford H. , Zhang Yun , Lauretta Dante S.
Published: July 2022

When the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft pressed its sample collection mechanism into the surface of Bennu, it provided a direct test of the poorly understood near-subsurface physical properties of rubble-pile asteroids, which consist of rock fragments at rest in microgravity. Here, we find that the forces measured by the spacecraft are best modeled as a granular bed with near-zero cohesion that is half as dense as the bulk asteroid. The low gravity of a small rubble-pile asteroid such as Bennu effectively weakens its near subsurface by not compressing the upper layers, thereby minimizing the influence of interparticle cohesion on surface geology. The underdensity and weak near subsurface should be global properties of Bennu and not localized to the contact point.
Spacecraft sample collection and subsurface excavation of asteroid (101955) Bennu
Authors: Lauretta D. S. , Adam C. D. , Allen A. J. , Ballouz R.-L. , Barnouin O. S. , Becker K. J. , Becker T. , Bennett C. A. , Bierhaus E. B. , Bos B. J. , Burns R. D. , Campins H. , Cho Y. , Christensen P. R. , Church E. C. A. , Clark B. E. , Connolly H. C. , Daly M. G. , DellaGiustina D. N. , Drouet d’Aubigny C. Y. , Emery J. P. , Enos H. L. , Kasper S. Freund , Garvin J. B. , Getzandanner K. , Golish D. R. , Hamilton V. E. , Hergenrother C. W. , Kaplan H. H. , Keller L. P. , Lessac-Chenen E. J. , Liounis A. J. , Ma H. , McCarthy L. K. , Miller B. D. , Moreau M. C. , Morota T. , Nelson D. S. , Nolau J. O. , Olds R. , Pajola M. , Pelgrift J. Y. , Polit A. T. , Ravine M. A. , Reuter D. C. , Rizk B. , Rozitis B. , Ryan A. J. , Sahr E. M. , Sakatani N. , Seabrook J. A. , Selznick S. H. , Skeen M. A. , Simon A. A. , Sugita S. , Walsh K. J. , Westermann M. M. , Wolner C. W. V. , Yumoto K.
Published: July 2022

Carbonaceous asteroids, such as (101955) Bennu, preserve material from the early Solar System, including volatile compounds and organic molecules. We report spacecraft imaging and spectral data collected during and after retrieval of a sample from Bennu’s surface. The sampling event mobilized rocks and dust into a debris plume, excavating a 9-meter-long elliptical crater. This exposed material is darker, spectrally redder, and more abundant in fine particulates than the original surface. The bulk density of the displaced subsurface material was 500 to 700 kilograms per cubic meter, which is about half that of the whole asteroid. Particulates that landed on instrument optics spectrally resemble aqueously altered carbonaceous meteorites. The spacecraft stored 250 ± 101 grams of material, which will be delivered to Earth in 2023.
Ultrastructure reveals ancestral vertebrate pharyngeal skeleton in yunnanozoans
Authors: Tian Qingyi , Zhao Fangchen , Zeng Han , Zhu Maoyan , Jiang Baoyu
Published: July 2022

Pharyngeal arches are a key innovation that likely contributed to the evolution of the jaws and braincase of vertebrates. It has long been hypothesized that the pharyngeal (branchial) arch evolved from an unjointed cartilaginous rod in vertebrate ancestors such as that in the nonvertebrate chordate amphioxus, but whether such ancestral anatomy existed remains unknown. The pharyngeal skeleton of controversial Cambrian animals called yunnanozoans may contain the oldest fossil evidence constraining the early evolution of the arches, yet its correlation with that of vertebrates is still disputed. By examining additional specimens in previously unexplored techniques (for example, x-ray microtomography, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry element mapping), we found evidence that yunnanozoan branchial arches consist of cellular cartilage with an extracellular matrix dominated by microfibrils, a feature hitherto considered specific to vertebrates. Our phylogenetic analysis provides further support that yunnanozoans are stem vertebrates.
Policing in patriarchy: An experimental evaluation of reforms to improve police responsiveness to women in India
Authors: Sukhtankar Sandip , Kruks-Wisner Gabrielle , Mangla Akshay
Published: July 2022

Gender-targeted police reforms are frequently proposed to tackle the global problem of rising yet under-reported gender-based violence (GBV)—but with mixed and often disappointing results. We explore this issue in India, a country with alarming rates of GBV and limited police capacity, by studying the impact of Women’s Help Desks (WHDs): dedicated spaces for women in local police stations, staffed by trained officers. Drawing on the largest randomized controlled trial of a police reform to date (180 police stations serving 23.4 million people), we find that officers in stations with WHDs are more likely to register cases of GBV, particularly where female officers run the desks. This suggests that even in resource-constrained and patriarchal environments, police responsiveness can be improved by focusing and mainstreaming attention to women’s cases and by greater gender representation within the police.
A processable, high-performance dielectric elastomer and multilayering process
Authors: Shi Ye , Askounis Erin , Plamthottam Roshan , Libby Tom , Peng Zihang , Youssef Kareem , Pu Junhong , Pelrine Ron , Pei Qibing
Published: July 2022

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) can act as deformable capacitors that generate mechanical work in response to an electric field. DEs are often based on commercial acrylic and silicone elastomers. Acrylics require prestretching to achieve high actuation strains and lack processing flexibility. Silicones allow for processability and rapid response but produce much lower strains. In this work, a processable, high-performance dielectric elastomer (PHDE) with a bimodal network structure is synthesized, and its electromechanical properties are tailored by adjusting cross-linkers and hydrogen bonding within the elastomer network. The PHDE exhibits a maximum areal strain of 190% and maintains strains higher than 110% at 2 hertz without prestretching. A dry stacking process with high efficiency, scalability, and yield enables multilayer actuators that maintain the high actuation performance of single-layer films.
Maximizing noble metal utilization in solid catalysts by control of nanoparticle location
Authors: Cheng Kang , Smulders Luc C. J. , van der Wal Lars I. , Oenema Jogchum , Meeldijk Johannes D. , Visser Nienke L. , Sunley Glenn , Roberts Tegan , Xu Zhuoran , Doskocil Eric , Yoshida Hideto , Zheng Yanping , Zečević Jovana , de Jongh Petra E. , de Jong Krijn P.
Published: July 2022

Maximizing the utilization of noble metals is crucial for applications such as catalysis. We found that the minimum loading of platinum for optimal performance in the hydroconversion of
n
-alkanes for industrially relevant bifunctional catalysts could be reduced by a factor of 10 or more through the rational arranging of functional sites at the nanoscale. Intentionally depositing traces of platinum nanoparticles on the alumina binder or the outer surface of zeolite crystals, instead of inside the zeolite crystals, enhanced isomer selectivity without compromising activity. Separation between platinum and zeolite acid sites preserved the metal and acid functions by limiting micropore blockage by metal clusters and enhancing access to metal sites. Reduced platinum nanoparticles were more active than platinum single atoms strongly bonded to the alumina binder.
Noise from deep-sea mining may span vast ocean areas
Authors: Williams Rob , Erbe Christine , Duncan Alec , Nielsen Kimberly , Washburn Travis , Smith Craig
Published: July 2022

Potential harm is understudied and largely overlooked
From bugs to β cells
Authors: Hill Jennifer Hampton
Published: July 2022

Do ancient microbial irritants offer early life protection against diabetes?
Sounding out pain
Authors: Kuner Rohini , Kuner Thomas
Published: July 2022

A circuit for sound-induced analgesia has been found in the mouse brain
Wall Teichoic Acids Facilitate the Release of Toxins from the Surface of Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Brignoli Tarcisio , Douglas Edward , Duggan Seána , Fagunloye Olayemi Grace , Adhikari Rajan , Aman M. Javad , Massey Ruth C.
Published: July 2022

The production and release of cytolytic toxins is a critical aspect for the pathogenicity of many bacterial pathogens. In this study, we demonstrate a role for wall teichoic acids, molecules that are anchored to the peptidoglycan of the bacterial cell wall, in the release of toxins from
S. aureus
cells into the extracellular environment.
Persistent Reptarenavirus and Hartmanivirus Infection in Cultured Boid Cells
Authors: Lintala Annika , Szirovicza Leonora , Kipar Anja , Hetzel Udo , Hepojoki Jussi
Published: July 2022

Mammarenaviruses cause a persistent infection in their natural rodent and bat hosts. Reptarenaviruses cause boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) in constrictor snakes, but it is unclear whether snakes are the natural host of these viruses.
Surgical uterus-preserving therapy after uterine rupture and haemorrhage due to placenta percreta in the first trimester following embolisation of the uterine arteries and B-Lynch suture in a previous pregnancy
Authors: Gabriel Laura , Ederhof Louisa , Fellmann Ursula , Meili Gesine
Published: July 2022

A woman in her early 30s in the 11 2/7 week of pregnancy was admitted with severe abdominal pain and emesis. One year prior, the patient had undergone hysteroscopic adhesiolysis to treat Asherman syndrome resulting from a prior pregnancy. Examination of the patient revealed a haemoperitoneum and an intact intrauterine pregnancy. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis and haemostasis was performed and the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit. Subsequent examination due to persistent abdominal pain revealed an occult iatrogenic perforation of the uterus and placenta percreta with spontaneous uterine rupture. Although treatment for placenta percreta has generally been hysterectomy, in this case, the rupture and perforation sites were resected, representing successful fertility preserving management for this oft-overlooked pregnancy complication.
Examining the substance use, violence, and HIV and AIDS (SAVA) syndemic among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda: cross-sectional survey findings
Authors: Logie Carmen H. , Okumu Moses , Malama Kalonde , Mwima Simon , Hakiza Robert , Kiera Uwase Mimy , Kyambadde Peter
Published: July 2022

Background

Interactions between substance use, violence, HIV and AIDS, known as the ‘SAVA’ syndemic, are understudied among refugee youth. We assessed the synergistic effects of frequent alcohol use, depression and violence on HIV vulnerability among urban refugee youth aged 16–24 years in Kampala, Uganda.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey between January and April 2018 with a convenience sample of refugee youth aged 16–24 years living in informal settlements in Kampala (Kabalagala, Rubaga, Kansanga, Katwe, Nsambya). We assessed non-communicable health conditions (frequent [≥3 times per week] alcohol use [FAU]; depression); violence (young adulthood violence [YAV] at age ≥16 years, intimate partner violence [IPV]), and HIV vulnerability (past 12-month transactional sex; recent [past 3-month] multiple [≥2] sex partners). We calculated the prevalence and co-occurrence of non-communicable health conditions, violence and HIV vulnerability variables. We then conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to first create unique profiles of FAU, depression, YAV and IPV exposures, and second to assess for interactions between exposures on HIV vulnerability outcomes.

Results

Most participants (n=445; mean age: 19.59, SD: 2.6; women: n=333, 74.8%, men: n=112, 25.2%) reported at least one non-communicable health condition or violence exposure (n=364, 81.8%), and over half (n=278, 62.4%) reported co-occurring exposures. One-fifth reported FAU (n=90; 20.2%) and one-tenth (n=49; 11%) major depression. In logistic regression models including all two-way product terms, adjusted for sociodemographics, we found (a) multiplicative interaction for joint effects of FAU and IPV (adjusted OR (aOR)=4.81, 95% CI: 1.32 to 17.52) on multiple sex partners, and (b) multiplicative interaction for joint effects of FAU and IPV (aOR=3.72, 95% CI: 1.42 to 9.74), and YAV and depression (aOR=7.13, 95% CI: 1.34 to 37.50), on transactional sex.

Conclusion

Findings signal the importance of addressing the SAVA syndemic among urban refugee youth in Uganda. Synergistic interactions indicate that addressing FAU, depression or violence may concomitantly reduce HIV vulnerability with urban refugee youth.
Institutions, crisis and type 2 diabetes policy in Venezuela
Authors: Gomez Eduardo J
Published: July 2022

In a context of economic, political and humanitarian crisis, ensuring effective type 2 diabetes self-care management services in Venezuela has been an ongoing public health challenge. Repeated shortfalls in access to medicine, healthcare workers and food scarcity have hampered the ability of patients with diabetes to effectively manage their condition and receive the healthcare support that they deserve. With respect to methodology, the author relied on qualitative research methods, with a focus on in-depth document analysis. Primary and secondary document data sources were used through a systematic key word search in online search engines and library databases. While one may attribute these challenges in Venezuela to ongoing economic, political and humanitarian crisis, this article combines this perspective with health systems and institutional challenges that appear to have perpetuated and in fact worsened Venezuela’s diabetic situation. Specifically, a weakened healthcare system, fragmentation in diabetic primary care services and corruption in a context of ongoing humanitarian crisis have contributed to these ongoing challenges. Within humanitarian and political crisis conditions, future research on type 2 diabetic treatment and self-care management may benefit from combining perspectives in political science institutional theory and public health systems analysis to explain why governments in these settings continue to fall short of providing effective and equitable diabetic care.
Autonomic dysfunction and gastroparesis in Gulf War veterans
Authors: Verne Zachary Thomas , Fields Jeremy Z , Zhang Benjamin Buyi , Zhou QiQi
Published: July 2022

Over 25% of veterans with Gulf War illness developed chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms of unknown etiology after they returned from deployment to the Persian Gulf. To determine the prevalence of delayed gastric emptying and its association with autonomic dysfunction in returning Gulf War (GW) veterans with chronic GI symptoms, we prospectively studied 35 veterans who were deployed to the Persian Gulf and developed chronic nausea, vomiting, postprandial abdominal pain, and bloating during their tour of duty and 15 asymptomatic controls. All veterans underwent 5 standardized cardiovascular tests to assess autonomic function. Each test was scored from 0 (normal) to 5 (severe disease) and the mean was calculated. A composite score >1.5 was considered abnormal, with 5 representing severe autonomic dysfunction. A standardized gastric emptying test with a solid phase was performed in each veteran. A gastric retention of >50% at 100 minutes was considered abnormal. The composite autonomic score was 3.7 in veterans with GI symptoms (vs 1.3 in controls) (p<0.01). The mean solid phase retention at 100 minutes was 72.6% in the symptomatic veterans versus 24.6% in controls (p<0.001). Our results suggest that autonomic dysfunction and delayed gastric emptying are common in returning GW veterans with GI symptoms. Autonomic dysfunction was positively correlated with the severity of delayed gastric emptying and may account for the GI symptoms of nausea, vomiting, postprandial abdominal pain, and bloating. These new findings are important for an increasing number of veterans who are serving in the Persian Gulf and are at a high risk of developing GI disorders while deployed.
Future monitoring of litter and microplastics in the Arctic—challenges, opportunities, and strategies
Authors: Provencher Jennifer F. , Aliani Stefano , Bergmann Melanie , Bourdages Madelaine , Buhl-Mortensen Lene , Galgani Francois , Gomiero Alessio , Granberg Maria , Grøsvik Bjørn Einar , Hamilton Bonnie M. , Kögel Tanja , Larsen Jan Rene , Lusher Amy L. , Mallory Mark L. , Murphy Peter , Peeken Ilka , Primpke Sebastian , Strand Jakob , Vorkamp Katrin
Published: July 2022

The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme has published a plan and guidelines for the monitoring of litter and microplastics (MP) in the Arctic. Here, we look beyond suggestions for immediate monitoring and discuss challenges, opportunities, and future strategies in the long-term monitoring of litter and MP in the Arctic. Challenges are related to environmental conditions, lack of harmonization and standardization of measurements, and long-term coordinated and harmonized data storage. Furthermore, major knowledge gaps exist with regard to benchmark levels, transport, sources, and effects, which should be considered in future monitoring strategies. Their development could build on the existing infrastructure and networks established in other monitoring initiatives in the Arctic, while taking into account specific requirements for litter and MP monitoring. Knowledge existing in northern and Indigenous communities, as well as their research priorities, should be integrated into collaborative approaches. The monitoring plan for litter and MP in the Arctic allows for an ecosystem-based approach, which will improve the understanding of linkages between environmental media of the Arctic, as well as links to the global problem of litter and MP pollution.
Survival of a threatened salmon is linked to spatial variability in river conditions
Authors: Hause Colby L. , Singer Gabriel P. , Buchanan Rebecca A. , Cocherell Dennis E. , Fangue Nann A. , Rypel Andrew L.
Published: July 2022

Extirpation of the Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) evolutionary significant unit (ESU) from the San Joaquin River is emblematic of salmonid declines across the western seaboard of the United States. Habitat restoration and fish reintroduction efforts are ongoing, but recent telemetry studies have revealed low outmigration survival of juveniles to the ocean. Previous investigations have focused on modeling survival relative to river discharge and geographic regions, but have largely overlooked the effects of habitat variability. To evaluate the link between environmental conditions and survival of juvenile spring-run Chinook salmon, we combined high spatial resolution habitat mapping approaches with acoustic telemetry along a 150 km section of the San Joaquin River during the spring of 2019. While overall outmigration survival was low (5%), our habitat-based classification scheme described variation in survival of acoustic-tagged smolts better than other candidate models based on geography or distance. Two regional mortality sinks were evident along the longitudinal profile of the river, revealing poor survival in areas that shared warmer temperatures but that diverged in chlorophyll a, fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM), turbidity, and dissolved oxygen levels. These findings demonstrate the value of integrating river habitat classification frameworks to improve our understanding of survival dynamics of imperiled fish populations.
Recasting LHC searches for long-lived particles with MadAnalysis 5
Authors: Araz Jack Y. , Fuks Benjamin , Goodsell Mark D. , Utsch Manuel
Published: July 2022

We present an extension of the simplified fast detector simulator of MadAnalysis 5   – the SFS framework – with methods making it suitable for the treatment of long-lived particles of any kind. This allows users to make use of intuitive Python commands and straightforward C++ methods to introduce detector effects relevant for long-lived particles, and to implement selection cuts and plots related to their properties. In particular, the impact of the magnetic field inside a typical high-energy physics detector on the trajectories of any charged object can now be easily simulated. As an illustration of the capabilities of this new development, we implement three existing LHC analyses dedicated to long-lived objects, namely a CMS run 2 search for displaced leptons in the $$e\mu $$

e
μ

channel (CMS-EXO-16-022), the full run 2 CMS search for disappearing track signatures (CMS-EXO-19-010), and the partial run 2 ATLAS search for displaced vertices featuring a pair of oppositely charged leptons (ATLAS-SUSY-2017-04). We document the careful validation of all MadAnalysis 5   SFS implementations of these analyses, which are publicly available as entries in the MadAnalysis 5   Public Analysis Database and its associated dataverse.
Coloured gravitational instantons, the strong CP problem and the companion axion solution
Authors: Chen Zhe , Kobakhidze Archil
Published: July 2022

Quantum gravity introduces a new source of the combined parity (CP) violation in gauge theories. We argue that this new CP violation gets bundled with the strong CP violation through the coloured gravitational instantons. Consequently, the standard axion solution to the strong CP problem is compromised. Further, we argue that the ultimate solution to the strong CP problem must involve at least one additional axion particle.
An Algorithmic Study of Fully Dynamic Independent Sets for Map Labeling
Authors: Bhore Sujoy , Li Guangping , Nöllenburg Martin
Published: July 2022

Map labeling is a classical problem in cartography and geographic information systems that asks to place labels for area, line, and point features, with the goal to select and place the maximum number of independent (i.e., overlap-free) labels. A practically interesting case is point labeling with axis-parallel rectangular labels of common size. In a fully dynamic setting, at each timestep, either a new label appears or an existing label disappears. Then, the challenge is to maintain a maximum cardinality subset of pairwise independent labels with sublinear update time. Motivated by this, we study the maximal independent set (
MIS
) and maximum independent set (
Max-IS
) problems on fully dynamic (insertion/deletion model) sets of axis-parallel rectangles of two types: (i) uniform height and width and (ii) uniform height and arbitrary width; both settings can be modeled as rectangle intersection graphs.

   We present the first deterministic algorithm for maintaining an
MIS
(and thus a 4-approximate
Max-IS
) of a dynamic set of uniform rectangles with polylogarithmic update time. This breaks the natural barrier of

\( \Omega (\Delta) \)

update time (where

\( \Delta \)

is the maximum degree in the graph) for
vertex updates
presented by Assadi et al. (STOC 2018). We continue by investigating
Max-IS
and provide a series of deterministic dynamic approximation schemes. For uniform rectangles, we first give an algorithm that maintains a 4-approximate
Max-IS
with

\( O(1) \)

update time. In a subsequent algorithm, we establish the trade-off between approximation quality

\( 2(1+\frac{1}{k}) \)

and update time

\( O(k^2\log n) \)

, for

\( k\in \mathbb {N} \)

. We conclude with an algorithm that maintains a 2-approximate
Max-IS
for dynamic sets of unit-height and arbitrary-width rectangles with

\( O(\log ^2 n + \omega \log n) \)

update time, where

\( \omega \)

is the maximum size of an independent set of rectangles stabbed by any horizontal line. We implement our algorithms and report the results of an experimental comparison exploring the trade-off between solution quality and update time for synthetic and real-world map labeling instances. We made several major observations in our empirical study. First, the original approximations are well above their respective worst-case ratios. Second, in comparison with the static approaches, the dynamic approaches show a significant speedup in practice. Third, the approximation algorithms show their predicted relative behavior. The better the solution quality, the worse the update times. Fourth, a simple greedy augmentation to the approximate solutions of the algorithms boost the solution sizes significantly in practice.
EarlyScreen
Authors: Kalanadhabhatta Manasa , Santana Adrelys Mateo , Zhang Zhongyang , Ganesan Deepak , Grabell Adam S. , Rahman Tauhidur
Published: July 2022

Emotion dysregulation in early childhood is known to be associated with a higher risk of several psychopathological conditions, such as ADHD and mood and anxiety disorders. In developmental neuroscience research, emotion dysregulation is characterized by low neural activation in the prefrontal cortex during frustration. In this work, we report on an exploratory study with 94 participants aged 3.5 to 5 years, investigating whether behavioral measures automatically extracted from facial videos can predict frustration-related neural activation and differentiate between low- and high-risk individuals. We propose a novel multi-scale instance fusion framework to develop EarlyScreen - a set of classifiers trained on behavioral markers during emotion regulation. Our model successfully predicts activation levels in the prefrontal cortex with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.85, which is on par with widely-used clinical assessment tools. Further, we classify clinical and non-clinical subjects based on their psychopathological risk with an area under the ROC curve of 0.80. Our model's predictions are consistent with standardized psychometric assessment scales, supporting its applicability as a screening procedure for emotion regulation-related psychopathological disorders. To the best of our knowledge, EarlyScreen is the first work to use automatically extracted behavioral features to characterize both neural activity and the diagnostic status of emotion regulation-related disorders in young children. We present insights from mental health professionals supporting the utility of EarlyScreen and discuss considerations for its subsequent deployment.
IF-ConvTransformer
Authors: Zhang Ye , Wang Longguang , Chen Huiling , Tian Aosheng , Zhou Shilin , Guo Yulan
Published: July 2022

Recent advances in sensor based human activity recognition (HAR) have exploited deep hybrid networks to improve the performance. These hybrid models combine Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) to leverage their complementary advantages, and achieve impressive results. However, the roles and associations of different sensors in HAR are not fully considered by these models, leading to insufficient multi-modal fusion. Besides, the commonly used RNNs in HAR suffer from the 'forgetting' defect, which raises difficulties in capturing long-term information. To tackle these problems, an HAR framework composed of an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) fusion block and an applied ConvTransformer subnet is proposed in this paper. Inspired by the complementary filter, our IMU fusion block performs multi-modal fusion of commonly used sensors according to their physical relationships. Consequently, the features of different modalities can be aggregated more effectively. Then, the extracted features are fed into the applied ConvTransformer subnet for classification. Thanks to its convolutional subnet and self-attention layers, ConvTransformer can better capture local features and construct long-term dependencies. Extensive experiments on eight benchmark datasets demonstrate the superior performance of our framework. The source code will be published soon.
Reliable Digital Forensics in the Air
Authors: Li Zhengxiong , Chen Baicheng , Chen Xingyu , Xu Chenhan , Chen Yuyang , Lin Feng , Li Changzhi , Dantu Karthik , Ren Kui , Xu Wenyao
Published: July 2022

As the drone becomes widespread in numerous crucial applications with many powerful functionalities (e.g., reconnaissance and mechanical trigger), there are increasing cases related to misused drones for unethical even criminal activities. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to identify these malicious drones and track their origins using digital forensics. Traditional drone identification techniques for forensics (e.g., RF communication, ID landmarks using a camera, etc.) require high compliance of drones. However, malicious drones will not cooperate or even spoof these identification techniques. Therefore, we present an exploration for a reliable and passive identification approach based on unique hardware traits in drones directly (e.g., analogous to the fingerprint and iris in humans) for forensics purposes. Specifically, we investigate and model the behavior of the parasitic electronic elements under RF interrogation, a particular passive parasitic response modulated by an electronic system on drones, which is distinctive and unlikely to counterfeit. Based on this theory, we design and implement DroneTrace, an end-to-end reliable and passive identification system toward digital drone forensics. DroneTrace comprises a cost-effective millimeter-wave (mmWave) probe, a software framework to extract and process parasitic responses, and a customized deep neural network (DNN)-based algorithm to analyze and identify drones. We evaluate the performance of DroneTrace with 36 commodity drones. Results show that DroneTrace can identify drones with the accuracy of over 99% and an equal error rate (EER) of 0.009, under a 0.1-second sensing time budget. Moreover, we test the reliability, robustness, and performance variation under a set of real-world circumstances, where DroneTrace maintains accuracy of over 98%. DroneTrace is resilient to various attacks and maintains functionality. At its best, DroneTrace has the capacity to identify individual drones at the scale of 104 with less than 5% error.
SunBox
Authors: Tapia Miguel Chávez , Xu Talia , Wu Zehang , Zamalloa Marco Zúñiga
Published: July 2022

A recent development in wireless communication is the use of optical shutters and smartphone cameras to create optical links solely from ambient light. At the transmitter, a liquid crystal display (LCD) modulates ambient light by changing its level of transparency. At the receiver, a smartphone camera decodes the optical pattern. This LCD-to-camera link requires low-power levels at the transmitter, and it is easy to deploy because it does not require modifying the existing lighting infrastructure. The system, however, provides a low data rate, of just a few tens of bps. This occurs because the LCDs used in the state-of-the-art are slow single-pixel transmitters. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a novel multi-pixel display. Our display is similar to a simple screen, but instead of using embedded LEDs to radiate information, it uses only the surrounding ambient light. We build a prototype, called SunBox, and evaluate it indoors and outdoors with both, artificial and natural ambient light. Our results show that SunBox can achieve a throughput between 2 kbps and 10 kbps using a low-end smartphone camera with just 30 FPS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first screen-to-camera system that works solely with ambient light.
Driver Maneuver Identification with Multi-Representation Learning and Meta Model Update Designs
Authors: Tabatabaie Mahan , He Suining , Yang Xi
Published: July 2022

Driver maneuver identification (DMI), i.e., the task of predicting the driver maneuver classes given sensor measurements (such as IMU sensors from mobile devices), can serve as a key enabler for many ubiquitous driver behavior analysis applications. Despite the prior studies, two major technical challenges remain before an effective DMI system can be deployed: (i) latent complex maneuver behavior feature relations for accuracy enhancement, and (ii) inconsistency and uncertainty in model adaptation given dynamic data collection settings (e.g., given different urban environments, drivers, and mobile devices). To address the aforementioned challenges, we propose MetaDMI, a novel and adaptive driver maneuver identification framework based on multi-representation learning and meta model update, with the case study on the inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor measurements (i.e., accelerometer and gyroscope). Specifically, we first extract multiple feature representations for each driver maneuver record in the forms of graph, spectral, and time sequence. Next, MetaDMI processes them with a novel multi-representation learning network, extracting complex patterns and feature relations from the driver maneuvers. Finally, to further enhance the adaptivity of our DMI model to external impacts with dynamic data collection, we have designed a regularized meta learning-based training method to regularize the knowledge transfers across the source and target datasets (e.g., across cities/devices, and few-shot initialization) for consistent and robust identification performance. We have conducted extensive experimental studies upon our MetaDMI prototype based on two datasets (one is collected on our own) and shown that our approach outperforms other baseline approaches for DMI in terms of accuracy and adaptivity.
GoPose
Authors: Ren Yili , Wang Zi , Wang Yichao , Tan Sheng , Chen Yingying , Yang Jie
Published: July 2022

This paper presents GoPose, a 3D skeleton-based human pose estimation system that uses WiFi devices at home. Our system leverages the WiFi signals reflected off the human body for 3D pose estimation. In contrast to prior systems that need specialized hardware or dedicated sensors, our system does not require a user to wear or carry any sensors and can reuse the WiFi devices that already exist in a home environment for mass adoption. To realize such a system, we leverage the 2D AoA spectrum of the signals reflected from the human body and the deep learning techniques. In particular, the 2D AoA spectrum is proposed to locate different parts of the human body as well as to enable environment-independent pose estimation. Deep learning is incorporated to model the complex relationship between the 2D AoA spectrums and the 3D skeletons of the human body for pose tracking. Our evaluation results show GoPose achieves around 4.7cm of accuracy under various scenarios including tracking unseen activities and under NLoS scenarios.
ToothSonic
Authors: Wang Zi , Ren Yili , Chen Yingying , Yang Jie
Published: July 2022

Earables (ear wearables) are rapidly emerging as a new platform encompassing a diverse range of personal applications. The traditional authentication methods hence become less applicable and inconvenient for earables due to their limited input interface. Nevertheless, earables often feature rich around-the-head sensing capability that can be leveraged to capture new types of biometrics. In this work, we propose ToothSonic that leverages the toothprint-induced sonic effect produced by a user performing teeth gestures for earable authentication. In particular, we design representative teeth gestures that can produce effective sonic waves carrying the information of the toothprint. To reliably capture the acoustic toothprint, it leverages the occlusion effect of the ear canal and the inward-facing microphone of the earables. It then extracts multi-level acoustic features to reflect the intrinsic toothprint information for authentication. The key advantages of ToothSonic are that it is suitable for earables and is resistant to various spoofing attacks as the acoustic toothprint is captured via the user's private teeth-ear channel that modulates and encrypts the sonic waves. Our experiment studies with 25 participants show that ToothSonic achieves up to 95% accuracy with only one of the users' tooth gestures.
Ask the Users
Authors: Kabir Kazi Sinthia , Kenfield Stacey A. , Van Blarigan Erin L. , Chan June M. , Wiese Jason
Published: July 2022

Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) are envisioned to harness rich data on users' contexts. However, many JITAIs fall short in leveraging the value of the data while sculpting the interventions. Investigating the literature reveals a lack of user-centered design (UCD) methods in designing JITAIs. Our case study of applying a UCD process revealed that even without deploying a JITAI, UCD could uncover user interactions that inform critical design decisions of a JITAI's components. We reflect on our experiences engaging in a user-centered JITAI design process and urge the broader human-computer interaction (HCI) community to devise concrete design guidelines for JITAIs. We take the first step toward that goal by proposing a checklist of key design considerations for future JITAIs. Together, this case study contributes insights on applying UCD to the design of all components of a JITAI, which can help capture users' needs and provide actionable interventions.
A Design Space for Human Sensor and Actuator Focused In-Vehicle Interaction Based on a Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Jansen Pascal , Colley Mark , Rukzio Enrico
Published: July 2022

Automotive user interfaces constantly change due to increasing automation, novel features, additional applications, and user demands. While in-vehicle interaction can utilize numerous promising modalities, no existing overview includes an extensive set of human sensors and actuators and interaction locations throughout the vehicle interior. We conducted a systematic literature review of 327 publications leading to a design space for in-vehicle interaction that outlines existing and lack of work regarding input and output modalities, locations, and multimodal interaction. To investigate user acceptance of possible modalities and locations inferred from existing work and gaps unveiled in our design space, we conducted an online study (N=48). The study revealed users' general acceptance of novel modalities (e.g., brain or thermal activity) and interaction with locations other than the front (e.g., seat or table). Our work helps practitioners evaluate key design decisions, exploit trends, and explore new areas in the domain of in-vehicle interaction.
A Case Study Investigating a User-Centred and Expert Informed 'Companion Guide' for a Complex Sensor-based Platform
Authors: Eardley Rachel , Mackinnon Sue , Tonkin Emma L. , Soubutts Ewan , Ayobi Amid , Linington Jess , Tourte Gregory J. L. , Gross Zoe Banks , Bailey David J. , Knights Russell , Gooberman-Hill Rachael , Craddock Ian , O'Kane Aisling Ann
Published: July 2022

We present a case study that informs the creation of a 'companion guide' providing transparency to potential non-expert users of a ubiquitous machine learning (ML) platform during the initial onboarding. Ubiquitous platforms (e.g., smart home systems, including smart meters and conversational agents) are increasingly commonplace and increasingly apply complex ML methods. Understanding how non-ML experts comprehend these platforms is important in supporting participants in making an informed choice about if and how they adopt these platforms. To aid this decision-making process, we created a companion guide for a home health platform through an iterative user-centred-design process, seeking additional input from platform experts at all stages of the process to ensure the accuracy of explanations. This user-centred and expert informed design process highlights the need to present the platform's entire ecosystem at an appropriate level for those with differing backgrounds to understand, in order to support informed consent and decision making.
AHA: An Agile Approach to the Design of Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Accelerators and Compilers
Authors: Koul Kalhan , Melchert Jackson , Sreedhar Kavya , Truong Leonard , Nyengele Gedeon , Zhang Keyi , Liu Qiaoyi , Setter Jeff , Chen Po-Han , Mei Yuchen , Strange Maxwell , Daly Ross , Donovick Caleb , Carsello Alex , Kong Taeyoung , Feng Kathleen , Huff Dillon , Nayak Ankita , Setaluri Rajsekhar , Thomas James , Bhagdikar Nikhil , Durst David , Myers Zachary , Tsiskaridze Nestan , Richardson Stephen , Bahr Rick , Fatahalian Kayvon , Hanrahan Pat , Barrett Clark , Horowitz Mark , Torng Christopher , Kjolstad Fredrik , Raina Priyanka
Published: July 2022

With the slowing of Moore’s law, computer architects have turned to domain-specific hardware specialization to continue improving the performance and efficiency of computing systems. However, specialization typically entails significant modifications to the software stack to properly leverage the updated hardware. The lack of a structured approach for updating the compiler and the accelerator in tandem has impeded many attempts to systematize this procedure. We propose a new approach to enable flexible and evolvable domain-specific hardware specialization based on coarse-grained reconfigurable arrays (CGRAs). Our agile methodology employs a combination of new programming languages and formal methods to automatically generate the accelerator hardware and its compiler from a single source of truth. This enables the creation of design-space exploration frameworks that automatically generate accelerator architectures that approach the efficiencies of hand-designed accelerators, with a significantly lower design effort for both hardware and compiler generation. Our current system accelerates dense linear algebra applications but is modular and can be extended to support other domains. Our methodology has the potential to significantly improve the productivity of hardware-software engineering teams and enable quicker customization and deployment of complex accelerator-rich computing systems.
Why you being WEIRD to me?
Authors: Coney Leslie
Published: July 2022

HCI researchers and practitioners of all backgrounds need to consider the role WEIRD-ness plays in HCI methods, research, and communities and the impact that has on marginalized communities.
Asian-Americans, we must resign from our role as Silicon Valley's model minority mascot
Authors: Muthukumar Raksha
Published: July 2022

This article interrogates the role of the "model minority" myth in the lives and careers of Asian Americans in tech. The author shares research as well as her own experiences and that of her peers to illuminate the harmful misconceptions and microaggressions that make up daily life. This article is particularly poignant as we mark the conclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States.