bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lebanon’s October 2019 Uprising
Authors: Makdisi Karim
Published: February 2021

This essay frames the early promise and energy of Lebanon’s October 2019 uprising, triggered by the government’s announcement of a series of regressive taxes. After fifteen years of civil war (1975–90) and three decades of postwar neoliberal policies, people rose up against a kleptocratic ruling class of sectarian leaders and financiers that had captured and bankrupted the state through a nationwide Ponzi scheme. Protests were nation-wide, calling for the downfall of the government and reform of the sectarian political and clientalist system. Many demanded a new form of politics based on social and economic justice. The essay then charts the uprising’s demise amid protestor division, mass poverty and unemployment, galloping inflation, palpable insecurity, COVID-19 lockdowns, and external intervention. Hizbullah became the elephant in the room, with sectarian tension and some protestor resentment stoked by Trump’s US “maximum pressure” policies. A massive blast in Beirut’s port in August 2020 ended any lingering hope for reform and prompted Macron to personally unveil a stabilization plan through IMF neoliberal reforms, a carrot to Trump’s stick. The essay concludes that, one year on, Macron’s neoliberal plan is the only game in town, and protestors need to urgently remobilize for the struggles and catastrophic social realities ahead.
Beyond Trigger Warnings
Authors: Hanhardt Christina B. , Puar Jasbir K. , Ahuja Neel , Amar Paul , Dutta Aniruddha , El-Tayeb Fatima , Holmes Kwame , Seikaly Sherene
Published: February 2021

This roundtable asks what queer studies might offer to an analysis of debates on campus safety. New approaches in queer studies take as their object of study not only sex and gender but also the cultural politics of liberalism; in turn, scholarship on the geopolitics of injury demonstrates the situatedness of both identity and economic forms. Brought together, these scholarly approaches provide an important lens on many of the contradictions of contemporary college campuses. Rendering classrooms and other places on campus as intrinsically embedded in global relations of militarization, securitization, dispossession, and risk management, “safe space” is elaborated in this roundtable in material, administrative, and pragmatic terms: from the conceptualization of alert systems to the racialized fears driving insurance calculations for international study programs to the struggles over academic freedom and student organizing.
Disability, Debility, and Caring Queerly
Authors: Crosby Christina , Jakobsen Janet R.
Published: February 2021

As one approach to the left of queer, the authors explore the juncture between queer studies and disability studies. Queer disability studies offers ways of conceptualizing the world as relationally complex, thus contributing additional pathways for the long project of rethinking justice in light of the critique of the liberal individual who is the bearer of rights. Debility, disability, care, labor, and value form a complex assemblage that shapes policies, bodies, and personhood. Putting disability and debility in relation to each other creates perverse sets of social relations that both constrain and produce queer potentialities, connecting affect and action in unexpected ways. A queer materialist focus on nonnormative labor opens the possibility of revaluing domestic work and caring labor generally as a first step to shifting relations between disabled people and those who do the work of care. Building social solidarity from the ground up requires both a queer theory of value and a geopolitical model of disability as vital components for queer materialism. Through a combination of embodied narrative and activist examples, the analysis frames the complexities of care and possibilities for a similarly complex coalitional politics.
What’s Normative Got to Do with It?
Authors: Byrd Jodi A.
Published: February 2021

This article considers the queer problem of Indigenous studies that exists in the disjunctures and disconnections that emerge when queer studies, Indigenous studies, and Indigenous feminisms are brought into conversation. Reflecting on what the material and grounded body of indigeneity could mean in the context of settler colonialism, where Indigenous women and queers are disappeared into nowhere, and in light of Indigenous insistence on land as normative, where Indigenous bodies reemerge as first and foremost political orders, this article offers queer Indigenous relationality as an additive to Indigenous feminisms. What if, this article asks, queer indigeneity were centered as an analytic method that refuses normativity even as it imagines, through relationality, a possibility for the materiality of decolonization?
A lamin A/C variant causing striated muscle disease provides insights into filament organization
Authors: Kronenberg-Tenga Rafael , Tatli Meltem , Eibauer Matthias , Wu Wei , Shin Ji-Yeon , Bonne Gisèle , Worman Howard J. , Medalia Ohad
Published: February 2021

The LMNA gene encodes the A-type lamins, which polymerize into ∼3.5-nm-thick filaments and, together with B-type lamins and associated proteins, form the nuclear lamina. Mutations in LMNA cause a wide variety of pathologies. In this study, we analyzed the nuclear lamina of embryonic fibroblasts from LmnaH222P/H222P mice, which develop cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy. Although the organization of the lamina appeared unaltered, there were changes in chromatin and B-type lamin expression. An increase in nuclear size and consequently a relative reduction in heterochromatin near the lamina allowed for a higher resolution structural analysis of lamin filaments using cryo-electron tomography. This was most apparent when visualizing lamin filaments in situ and using a nuclear extraction protocol. Averaging of individual segments of filaments in LmnaH222P/H222P mouse fibroblasts resolved two polymers that constitute the mature filaments. Our findings provide better views of the organization of lamin filaments and the effect of a striated muscle disease-causing mutation on nuclear structure.
Why Does the United States Have the Best Research Universities? Incentives, Resources, and Virtuous Circles
Authors: MacLeod W. Bentley , Urquiola Miguel
Published: February 2021

Around 1875, the US had none of the world’s leading research universities; today, it accounts for the majority of the top-ranked. Many observers cite events surrounding World War II as the source of this reversal. We present evidence that US research universities had surpassed most countries’ decades before World War II. An explanation of their dominance must therefore begin earlier. The one we offer highlights reforms that began after the Civil War and enhanced the incentives and resources the system directs at research. Our story is not one of success by design, but rather of competition leading American colleges to begin to care about research. We draw on agency theory to argue that this led to increasing academic specialization, and in turn, to more precise measures of professors’ research output. Combined with sorting dynamics that concentrated talent and resources at some schools—and the emergence of tenure—this enhanced research performance.
Taxing Our Wealth
Authors: Scheuer Florian , Slemrod Joel
Published: February 2021

This paper evaluates proposals for an annual wealth tax. While a dozen OECD countries levied wealth taxes in the recent past, now only three retain them, with only Switzerland raising a comparable fraction of revenue as recent proposals for a US wealth tax. Studies of these taxes sometimes, but not always, find a substantial behavioral response, including of saving, portfolio change, avoidance, and evasion, and the impact depends crucially on design features, especially the broadness of the base and enforcement provisions. Because the US proposals are very different from any previous wealth tax, experience in other countries offers only broad lessons, but we can gain insights from closely related taxes, such as the property and the estate tax, and from optimal tax analysis of the role of wealth taxation.
The Rise of American Minimum Wages, 1912–1968
Authors: Fishback Price V. , Seltzer Andrew J.
Published: February 2021

This paper studies the judicial, political, and intellectual battles over minimum wages from the early state laws of the 1910s through the peak in the real federal minimum in 1968. Early laws were limited to women and children and were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court between 1923 and 1937. The first federal law in 1938 initially exempted large portions of the workforce and set rates that became effectively obsolete during World War II. Later amendments raised minimum rates, but coverage did not expand until 1961. The states led the way in rates and coverage in the 1940s and 50s and again since the 1980s. The most contentious questions of today—the impact of minimum wages on earnings and employment—were already being addressed by economists in the 1910s. By about 1960, these discussions had surprisingly modern concerns about causality but did not have modern econometric tools or data.
Interproximal contact areas of primary molars based on OXIS classification – a two centre cross sectional study
Authors: Walia Tarun , Kirthiga M , Brigi Carel , Muthu M S , Odeh Ruba , Pakash Mathur Vijay , Rodrigues Steven
Published: February 2021

Background: Contact areas in primary teeth are known to be broader, flatter and situated farther gingivally than permanent teeth. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of OXIS contact areas between primary molars using die models of children from two different ethnic populations. The research question of the present study is “What is the prevalence OXIS contact areas of primary molars in the populations studied?”.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was planned in a representative sample of 200 caries-free contact areas among children aged 3-6 years in two centers, Ajman and Puducherry. Data collection was performed from sectional or full-arch die stone models. The contacts were assessed according to OXIS classification by a single calibrated examiner at Center 2. Prevalence was expressed as numbers and percentages. The Chi-square test was applied to determine the association of OXIS contacts across genders and arches.

Results: The prevalence of O, X, I, and S contacts were 19%, 22.5%, 53%, and 5.5% in Center 1 and 6%, 1.5%, 75.5%, and 17% in Center 2, respectively. Significant results (p=0.005) were obtained in Center 1 when inter-arch comparison was performed and between the centers with respect to type of contact. No significant difference was obtained with respect to gender and OXIS contact areas.

Conclusions: The present study confirmed OXIS contacts in both the centers. The ‘O’ and ‘X’ types of contacts were observed more in Center 1, whereas ‘I’ and ‘S’ contacts were observed more in Center 2.
Selected problems in the use of genetic engineering biological therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Leonova K.
Published: February 2021

Rheumatoid arthritis, like any chronic non-infectious disease, requires constant pharmacological therapy and monitoring of treatment. To relieve exacerbation, maintain long-term remission and improve the quality of life of patients, basic anti-inflammatory drugs are used, which have passed many years of testing for efficacy and safety and are available for patients. But there is a group of drugs that have appeared relatively recently - genetically engineered biological drugs. At the moment, their use is somewhat limited due to the presence of a number of problems. With the accumulation of data on the study of the safety of genetically engineered drugs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, it will be possible to solve many practical issues that arise in the attending physician during the supervision of patients.
Near-Linear Time Local Polynomial Nonparametric Estimation with Box Kernels
Authors: Wang Yining , Wu Yi , Du Simon S.
Published: February 2021

Summary of Contribution: Big data analytics has become essential for modern operations research and operations management applications. Statistics methods, such as nonparametric density and function estimation, play important roles in predictive and exploratory data analysis for economics and operations management problems. In this paper, we concentrate on efficiently computing local polynomial regression estimates. We significantly accelerate the computation of such local polynomial estimates by novel applications of multidimensional binary indexed trees ( Fenwick 1994 ) and lazy memory allocation via hashing. Both time and space complexity of our proposed algorithm are nearly linear in the number of inputs. Simulation results confirm the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed methods.
A Dynamic Model of Optimal Retargeting
Authors: Villas-Boas J. Miguel , Yao Yunfei (Jesse)
Published: February 2021

The optimal retargeting strategy requires dynamic analysis, with better information tracking potentially leading to less retargeting.
Calibration of Distributionally Robust Empirical Optimization Models
Authors: Gotoh Jun‐ya , Kim Michael Jong , Lim Andrew E. B.
Published: February 2021

In “Calibration of Robust Empirical Optimization Models,” Gotoh, Kim, and Lim study the statistical properties of ɸ-divergence distributionally robust optimization with concave rewards. They show that worst-case sensitivity of the expected reward to deviations from the nominal is equal to the in-sample variance and that significant out-of-sample variance (sensitivity) reduction is possible with little impact on the mean if the robustness parameter is properly chosen. The authors also explain theoretically why the out-of-sample expected reward of robust solutions can sometimes “beat” that of sample average optimization, a phenomenon that has been observed empirically, and that the difference is typically small. This paper highlights that robust solutions are not “too conservative” if both mean and variance (sensitivity) are considered when selecting the size of the uncertainty set (e.g., via the bootstrap).
Being Counted and Remaining Accountable: Maintenance of Quarterly Earnings Guidance by U.S. Public Companies
Authors: Park Sun Hyun , Patterson Kelly
Published: February 2021

Organizations are often pressured to adopt and maintain institutionally supported practices. Why do some companies remain committed to these practices, despite high operational cost and widespread frustration with them? Although prior theorists have emphasized the importance of institutional pressure at the broader population level, less research attention has been paid to the abandonment of a practice as a result of resource dependence between a firm and market intermediaries. In this paper, we theorize intermediary coverage breadth and depth as two important structural indicators of resource dependence. Firms lacking in coverage breadth (as indicated by the degree of reporting by market intermediaries) and firms with deeper coverage (as evidenced by a prolonged relationship with market intermediaries) are less likely to abandon a practice due to an increase in power imbalance and mutual dependence within the firm-intermediary relationships. We also theorize how a firm’s resource dependence, as determined by coverage structure, moderates the firm’s sensitivity to (1) observed peer support for the practice, (2) the intermediary’s expectation regarding the continued use of the practice, and (3) performance deviations that fail to meet intermediary expectations. Our empirical study of the abandonment of quarterly earnings guidance by U.S. public companies during 2001–2010 provides overall support for our theoretical arguments.
Prototype Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) on the Generator to Anticipate Blackouts
Authors: Irfani M. Maslahatul , Herlina Amalia , Safrudin Safrudin
Published: February 2021

It has been designed and built a device to transfer the load from the PLN to the generator called the Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) and at the same time able to turn on the generator automatically called Automatic Main Falure (AMF). This tool is in the form of a prototype that has successfully fulfilled its function so that it can be applied for domestic or industrial purposes. This tool is also economically valuable, because the price of its production is able to compete with similar products in the market, but by having more capabilities in the form of fuel detection and lubrication. With the results of the study covering the duration of the network load outages during the process of switching the electricity grid from PLN to the generator on average 3.5 seconds, and 0 seconds (instantaneous) during the process of switching the electricity grid from the generator to PLN, the ATS-AMF that is created automatically is able to light Genset engine when PLN dies and turns off the Genset engine when PLN starts again after it goes out, and the ATS-AMF that is made automatically is able to give a warning (alert) to the engine operator when Gasoline or Oil will run out at the level of 20% of the capacity of Gasoline or Oil.
A Study on the Time Lag and Compensation of a Variable-Rate Fertilizer Applicator
Authors: Zhang Jinqin , Liu Gang , Huang Jiayun , Zhang Yaohui
Published: February 2021

Highlights

A lag time detection system for variable-rate fertilization was developed.

The lag time of a variable-rate fertilizer applicator was obtained and analyzed.

A sigmoid equation was fitted to the data of rate change transition tests.

The planar coordinates-based lag distance compensation method (LDCM) could reduce the lag distance effectively.

Abstract. The location accuracy of fertilizer application is an essential aspect of the performance of variable-rate fertilizer applicators. The lag time of the fertilization system is an important cause of fertilizer rate transition lags. In order to obtain the lag time and make proper corrections, we developed a lag time detection system for a fluted roller-based variable-rate fertilizer applicator, taking into account the distance between the on-tractor GNSS antenna and the applicator furrow openers, and applied a planar coordinates-based lag distance compensation method (LDCM) to reduce the lag distance. To verify the performance of the LDCM, we conducted fertilization tests with and without LDCM at tractor forward speeds of 3.8, 5.5, and 8 km/h. First, the lag time detection sensors were installed on the fertilizer applicator, and the lag times were measured. Then, the corrected relative position coordinates of the fertilizer outlets were calculated according to the real-time speed and position data from the GNSS receiver. By implementing the control function of the applicator, the fertilization lags were corrected. A sigmoid equation was fitted to the rate change transition data. The results showed that for rate changes from 200 to 325 kg/ha, the delay distances were reduced from 1.10 to -0.84 m (at V = 3.8 km/h), from 1.97 to 0.09 m (at V = 5.5 km/h), and from 6.38 to 0.80 m (at V = 8 km/h). As a result, the LDCM can efficiently decrease lag distances of the variable-rate fertilizer applicator and meet the requirements of accurate fertilization in precision agriculture. Keywords: Fertilization lag, Lag distance compensation, Lag time, Variable-rate fertilization.
Integration of Auxiliary Sensor Data to ISOBUS for Agricultural Machinery Data Collection
Authors: Stoll Gabe P. , Luck Joe D. , Pitla Santosh K. , Rohrer Rodney A.
Published: February 2021

Highlights

A novel data acquisition system was developed to synchronously log CANbus machine operating parameters with auxiliary sensor data converted and transmitted via the ISObus.

A relationship between the number of added messages and frequency of transmission was evaluated.

Knowledge of existing bus loads can lead to successful deployment of the data acquisition system for field data logging of both machine and implement data.

Abstract. While standalone CAN data loggers offer a simplified, plug-and-play solution for agricultural machinery performance data collection, information that can be obtained from these devices are limited to data contained within interpretable messages broadcast over the machinery CAN bus. For machinery performance parameters that cannot be interpreted from CAN data, alternative methods are needed to record these variables. This application note discusses the development of a customized solution, named the Sensor CAN Gateway (or SCANGate), that integrates various components, including an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU), to allow auxiliary sensor data to be recorded by a CAN data logger through message transmission over a tractor’s ISOBUS. Testing with a modern tractor validated that the impact on bus load from added messages transmitted by the SCANGate could be determined based on the number of additional messages added per time interval. With knowledge of existing bus load requirements for an implement connected to a tractor’s ISOBUS, it can be determined whether the SCANGate can further enhance a standalone CAN data logger for a given application. Keywords: Agricultural machinery, CAN bus, Controller Area Network (CAN), Data acquisition, SAE J1939.
Polarized beam steering using multiply-cascaded rotating polarization gratings
Authors: Sakamoto Moritsugu , Nhan Huynh Thanh , Noda Kohei , Sasaki Tomoyuki , Kamei Tadayoshi , Sakai Takeya , Hattori Yukitoshi , Kawatsuki Nobuhiro , Ono Hiroshi
Published: February 2021

A polarized laser beam steering system using multiply cascaded rotating polarization gratings (PGs) is presented. The rotating PGs steer incident circularly polarized beams with high optical throughput because the theoretical limitation of the PG diffraction efficiency is 100%. The system also offers more rapid rotation when compared with wedge prism pairs because of the weight of the PGs. The beam steering performance was analyzed theoretically for schemes using two and four rotating PGs. The system’s feasibility was demonstrated experimentally by projecting Lissajous and raster patterns using PGs fabricated from photocrosslinkable polymer liquid crystal films via a photo-alignment technique. The steered beam’s diffraction efficiency and ellipticity were maintained at

83

∼

89
%

and

96

∼

99
%

, respectively, during PG rotation. This beam steering system will be applicable to light detection and ranging, optical imaging, and laser displays.
Optimal allocation of quantized human eye depth perception for multi-focal 3D display design
Authors: Aghasi Alireza , Heshmat Barmak , Wei Leihao , Tian Moqian
Published: February 2021

Creating immersive 3D stereoscopic, autostereoscopic, and lightfield experiences are becoming the center point of optical design of future head mounted displays and lightfield displays. However, despite the advancement in 3D and light field displays, there is no consensus on what are the necessary quantized depth levels for such emerging displays at stereoscopic or monocular modalities. Here we start from psychophysical theories and work toward defining and prioritizing quantized levels of depth that would saturate the human depth perception. We propose a general optimization framework, which locates the depth levels in a globally optimal way for band limited displays. While the original problem is computationally intractable, we manage to find a tractable reformulation as maximally covering a region of interest with a selection of hypographs corresponding to the monocular depth of field profiles. The results indicate that on average 1731 stereoscopic and 7 monocular depth levels (distributed optimally from 25 cm to infinity) would saturate the visual depth perception. Such that adding further depth levels adds negligible improvement. Also the first 3 depth levels should be allocated at (148), then (83, 170), then (53, 90, 170) distances respectively from the face plane to minimize the monocular error in the entire population. The study further discusses the 3D spatial profile of the quantized stereoscopic and monocular depth levels. The study provides fundamental guidelines for designing optimal near eye displays, light-field monitors, and 3D screens.
Compact, UAV-mounted hyperspectral imaging system with automatic geometric distortion rectification
Authors: Xue Qingsheng , Yang Bai , Wang Fupeng , Tian Zhongtian , Bai Haoxuan , Li Qian , Cao Diansheng
Published: February 2021

A highly compact hyperspectral imager with an automatic geometric rectification function is developed in this study, which can be mounted on a UAV for ultra-wide range hyperspectral imaging. For better application, the system can provide visible light image transmission and hyperspectral imaging in the real-time mode. A specific design is proposed to allow the visible light camera and hyperspectral camera to share the same telescope optical path, making the system have a high integration level with a total mass of 1.9 kilograms. Thanks to the sharing-optical-path design, the field of view (FOV), frame rate, and spatial resolution are modified the same between the visible light camera and hyperspectral camera. As a result, the geometric rectification is easily performed, and repeated rectifications are eliminated to improve the imaging efficiency. A FOV of 40 degrees in the frame direction and 26 degrees in the flight direction are realized with a focal length of 13mm, providing a large spectral range from 400 nm to 1000 nm and an excellent spectral resolution of 2.5 nm. An automatic geometric rectification workflow is presented and verified in experiments, which can improve the geometric rectification of hyperspectral images in the presence of low-quality UAV navigation data through the incorporation of frame images. Experimental results show that the relative accuracy of geometric rectification is less than 2 pixels when applying the algorithm to our system dataset.
Optical-transparent metasurface for flexible manipulation and analog information modulation
Authors: Luo Si Si , Ruan Ying , Chen Lei
Published: February 2021

Recently, optically-transparent metasurface based on indium tin oxide (ITO) film has attracted wide attention due to its remarkable optical and electromagnetic characteristics. However, most previous researches on the ITO film mainly focus on the absorption because of its prominent loss-resistance property, but neglecting the further exploration on programmable functions. Here, we present a programmable metasurface based on an optically-transparent ITO glass, on which varactors are integrated to achieve flexible amplitude manipulation range of about 25 dB. More importantly, the presented programmable design can be applied for direct modulation on the carrier incident wave with the desired pre-designed analog wave-form. Within the 10 MHz modulation speed, both programmable amplitude manipulation and analog information modulation are demonstrated in the measurements, showing good agreement with theoretical analysis and simulations. Combining both optical transparency and programmable modulation capability, the presented metasurface will promote the potential applications in wireless communication, internet of things and other smart scenarios.
Sub-7 fs radially-polarized pulses by post-compression in thin fused silica plates
Authors: Cao Huabao , Nagymihaly Roland S. , Khodakovskiy Nikita , Pajer Viktor , Bohus Janos , Lopez-Martens Rodrigo , Borzsonyi Adam , Kalashnikov Mikhail
Published: February 2021

We experimentally demonstrate the post-compression of radially polarized 25 fs pulses at 800 nm central wavelength in a multiple thin plate arrangement for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Sub-7 fs pulses with 90 µJ energy were obtained after dispersion compensation, corresponding to a compression factor of more than 3.5. Preservation of radial polarization state was confirmed by polarized intensity distribution measurements. Linear projections of the radially polarized pulses were also fully characterized in the temporal domain.
Ultra-light planar meta-absorber with wideband and full-polarization properties
Authors: Du Zhiqiang , Liang Jiangang , Cai Tong , Wang Xin , Zhang Qingdong , Deng Taowu , Wu Borui , Mao Ruiqi , Wang Dengpan
Published: February 2021

Absorbers have high potential application values in the military field, such as electronic screening, radar cross-section reduction and invisible cloaking. However, most methods have the defects of narrow bandwidth, low absorptivity, complex three-dimensional structure and fixed polarizations. In this paper, we realize an ultra-broadband and full-polarization planar metamaterial absorber (PMA) with a three-layer composite structure, which exhibits multi-resonant and impedance matching properties by combining the ultra-light foams and indium tin oxide (ITO) ﬁlms. The bottom two layers achieve a high-efficiency absorption rate at the low and medium spectrum, while the upper layer realizes a absorption property at a high frequency. Also, an equivalent circuit model is extracted to explain its operating mechanism. The experimental results show that our meta-absorber can achieve great absorber performance of better than 90% within 1-18 GHz for full-polarization incident waves, which is in great agreement with the numerical simulations. Moreover, our device is insensitive to oblique incidences and polarizations and possesses the physical characteristics of an ultralight, weighing 0.6 kg for a square meter, which is only 1/85.0-1/126.7 of the conventional absorbers under the same size. All these excellent performances determine that our research can be a good candidate for military stealth materials.
Thermally tunable high-Q metamaterial and sensing application based on liquid metals
Authors: Ma Liang , Chen Dexu , Zheng Wenxian , Li Jian , Wang Wenjiao , Liu Yifeng , Zhou Yuedan , Huang Yongjun , Wen Guangjun
Published: February 2021

Achieving a high Q-factor metamaterial unit for a precision sensing application is highly demanded in recent years, and most of the developed high-performance sensors based on the high-Q metamaterial units are due to the dielectric/magnetic property changes of the substrate/superstrate. In this paper, we propose a completely different sensing metamaterial unit configuration, with good sensing sensitivity and precision properties, based on the thermally tunable liquid metals. Specifically, a basic thermally tunable metamaterial unit, the mercury-inspired split ring resonator (SRR), is firstly presented to theoretically show the magnetic resonance and negative permeability frequency band shift properties under different background temperatures. Then, considering the radiation loss mechanism of the conventional SRR metamaterial unit and based on the physically reliable ability of liquid metals, the modified mercury-inspired Fano and toroidal resonators with a large frequency tuning range and high Q-factor are developed and discussed. The numerical demonstrations have shown that the designed Fano and toroidal resonators have much better sensing precision performances compared to the conventional SRR for the temperature sensing application. The experimental demonstrations have also been used to verify the proposed mercury-based toroidal resonators, and good agreements are achieved.
Silicon reconfigurable mode-selective modulation for on-chip mode-multiplexed photonic systems
Authors: Zhou Gangqiang , Guo Yuyao , Lu Liangjun , Chen Jianping , Zhou Linjie
Published: February 2021

Recently, optical mode-division multiplexing has drawn a lot of attention due to its ability to increase the optical communication capacity in one physical channel with a single wavelength carrier. In this Letter, we demonstrate reconfigurable mode-selective modulation which is potentially useful for on-chip mode-multiplexed photonic systems. The device consists of two mode exchangers and one

T
E

1

mode modulator. The mode exchanger is based on a Mach–Zehnder interferometer that performs mode exchange between

T
E

0

and

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E

1

modes. The

T
E

1

mode modulator consists of a pair of

1

×

3

/

3

×

1

multimode interferometers acting as a mode (de)multiplexer. It only selectively modulates the

T
E

1

mode while bypassing the

T
E

0

mode. 32 Gb/s on-off keying (OOK) modulation is successfully demonstrated for both input

T
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0

and

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1

modes. This device can be used as a building block for on-chip multimode interconnect networks.
Microwave resonator lattices for topological photonics [Invited]
Authors: Reisner Mattis , Bellec Matthieu , Kuhl Ulrich , Mortessagne Fabrice
Published: February 2021

We present a microwave experimental setup emulating tight-binding systems that is now widely used in the realm of topological photonics. A thorough description of the experimental building blocks is presented, showing the advantages and the limits of this platform. Various experimental realizations are then described, ranging from the selective enhancement of a defect state in a non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain, to the generation of giant pseudo-magnetic fields in deformed honeycomb lattices. Introducing nonlinear losses, the interplay between nonlinearity and topological protection can be engineered to realize a nonlinearly functionalized topological mode with promising applications in receiver protection.
Optical analysis of facial nerve degeneration in Bell’s palsy
Authors: Yitzhak Hadas Lupa , Wolf Michael , Ozana Nisan , Kelman Yarden Tzabari , Zalevsky Zeev
Published: February 2021

This paper is an initial proof of concept for an optical speckled-based method for the evaluation of facial nerve paralysis. Differences between the affected and the healthy sides of the face were measured in patients with Bell's palsy—a peripheral facial nerve paralysis. The patients’ faces were illuminated with two symmetrical spots on their nasolabial folds and the reflected speckle patterns were analyzed. Muscle activity was evaluated by muscle tone contraction-release motion inducing associated skin tilting movements. The skin movements were imaged with a defocused lens, which enables extraction of the speckle pattern's time changing trajectory. We found an asymmetry ratio expression that may be the key for the estimation of the degeneration level in Bell's palsy.
Dynamics of COVID-19 under social distancing measures are driven by transmission network structure
Authors: Nande Anjalika , Adlam Ben , Sheen Justin , Levy Michael Z. , Hill Alison L.
Published: February 2021

In the absence of pharmaceutical interventions, social distancing is being used worldwide to curb the spread of COVID-19. The impact of these measures has been inconsistent, with some regions rapidly nearing disease elimination and others seeing delayed peaks or nearly flat epidemic curves. Here we build a stochastic epidemic model to examine the effects of COVID-19 clinical progression and transmission network structure on the outcomes of social distancing interventions. Our simulations show that long delays between the adoption of control measures and observed declines in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths occur in many scenarios. We find that the strength of within-household transmission is a critical determinant of success, governing the timing and size of the epidemic peak, the rate of decline, individual risks of infection, and the success of partial relaxation measures. The structure of residual external connections, driven by workforce participation and essential businesses, interacts to determine outcomes. We suggest limited conditions under which the formation of household “bubbles” can be safe. These findings can improve future predictions of the timescale and efficacy of interventions needed to control second waves of COVID-19 as well as other similar outbreaks, and highlight the need for better quantification and control of household transmission.
ViralLink: An integrated workflow to investigate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on intracellular signalling and regulatory pathways
Authors: Treveil Agatha , Bohar Balazs , Sudhakar Padhmanand , Gul Lejla , Csabai Luca , Olbei Marton , Poletti Martina , Madgwick Matthew , Andrighetti Tahila , Hautefort Isabelle , Modos Dezso , Korcsmaros Tamas
Published: February 2021

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic of 2020 has mobilised scientists around the globe to research all aspects of the coronavirus virus and its infection. For fruitful and rapid investigation of viral pathomechanisms, a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach is required. Therefore, we have developed ViralLink: a systems biology workflow which reconstructs and analyses networks representing the effect of viruses on intracellular signalling. These networks trace the flow of signal from intracellular viral proteins through their human binding proteins and downstream signalling pathways, ending with transcription factors regulating genes differentially expressed upon viral exposure. In this way, the workflow provides a mechanistic insight from previously identified knowledge of virally infected cells. By default, the workflow is set up to analyse the intracellular effects of SARS-CoV-2, requiring only transcriptomics counts data as input from the user: thus, encouraging and enabling rapid multidisciplinary research. However, the wide-ranging applicability and modularity of the workflow facilitates customisation of viral context, a priori interactions and analysis methods. Through a case study of SARS-CoV-2 infected bronchial/tracheal epithelial cells, we evidence the functionality of the workflow and its ability to identify key pathways and proteins in the cellular response to infection. The application of ViralLink to different viral infections in a context specific manner using different available transcriptomics datasets will uncover key mechanisms in viral pathogenesis.
Deep learning framework for subject-independent emotion detection using wireless signals
Authors: Khan Ahsan Noor , Ihalage Achintha Avin , Ma Yihan , Liu Baiyang , Liu Yujie , Hao Yang
Published: February 2021

Emotion states recognition using wireless signals is an emerging area of research that has an impact on neuroscientific studies of human behaviour and well-being monitoring. Currently, standoff emotion detection is mostly reliant on the analysis of facial expressions and/or eye movements acquired from optical or video cameras. Meanwhile, although they have been widely accepted for recognizing human emotions from the multimodal data, machine learning approaches have been mostly restricted to subject dependent analyses which lack of generality. In this paper, we report an experimental study which collects heartbeat and breathing signals of 15 participants from radio frequency (RF) reflections off the body followed by novel noise filtering techniques. We propose a novel deep neural network (DNN) architecture based on the fusion of raw RF data and the processed RF signal for classifying and visualising various emotion states. The proposed model achieves high classification accuracy of 71.67% for independent subjects with 0.71, 0.72 and 0.71 precision, recall and F1-score values respectively. We have compared our results with those obtained from five different classical ML algorithms and it is established that deep learning offers a superior performance even with limited amount of raw RF and post processed time-sequence data. The deep learning model has also been validated by comparing our results with those from ECG signals. Our results indicate that using wireless signals for stand-by emotion state detection is a better alternative to other technologies with high accuracy and have much wider applications in future studies of behavioural sciences.
The three NADH dehydrogenases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Their roles in energy metabolism and links to virulence
Authors: Hreha Teri N. , Foreman Sara , Duran-Pinedo Ana , Morris Andrew R. , Diaz-Rodriguez Patricia , Jones J. Andrew , Ferrara Kristina , Bourges Anais , Rodriguez Lauren , Koffas Mattheos A. G. , Hahn Mariah , Hauser Alan R. , Barquera Blanca
Published: February 2021

Pseudomonas aeruginosais a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen which relies on a highly adaptable metabolism to achieve broad pathogenesis. In one example of this flexibility, to catalyze the NADH:quinone oxidoreductase step of the respiratory chain,P.aeruginosahas three different enzymes: NUO, NQR and NDH2, all of which carry out the same redox function but have different energy conservation and ion transport properties. In order to better understand the roles of these enzymes, we constructed two series of mutants: (i) three single deletion mutants, each of which lacks one NADH dehydrogenase and (ii) three double deletion mutants, each of which retains only one of the three enzymes. All of the mutants grew approximately as well as wild type, when tested in rich and minimal medium and in a range of pH and [Na+] conditions, except that the strain with only NUO (ΔnqrFΔndh) has an extended lag phase. During exponential phase, the NADH dehydrogenases contribute to total wild-type activity in the following order: NQR > NDH2 > NUO. Some mutants, including the strain without NQR (ΔnqrF) had increased biofilm formation, pyocyanin production, and killed more efficiently in both macrophage and mouse infection models. Consistent with this, ΔnqrFshowed increased transcription of genes involved in pyocyanin production.
The effect of spokesperson attribution on public health message sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Abu-Akel Ahmad , Spitz Andreas , West Robert
Published: February 2021

It is urgent to understand how to effectively communicate public health messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous work has focused on how to formulate messages in terms of style and content, rather than on who should send them. In particular, little is known about the impact of spokesperson selection on message propagation during times of crisis. We report on the effectiveness of different public figures at promoting social distancing among 12,194 respondents from six countries that were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of data collection. Across countries and demographic strata, immunology expert Dr. Anthony Fauci achieved the highest level of respondents’ willingness to reshare a call to social distancing, followed by a government spokesperson. Celebrity spokespersons were least effective. The likelihood of message resharing increased with age and when respondents expressed positive sentiments towards the spokesperson. These results contribute to the development of evidence-based knowledge regarding the effectiveness of prominent official and non-official public figures in communicating public health messaging in times of crisis. Our findings serve as a reminder that scientific experts and governments should not underestimate their power to inform and persuade in times of crisis and underscore the crucial importance of selecting the most effective messenger in propagating messages of lifesaving information during a pandemic.
A new root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne vitis sp. nov. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), parasitizing grape in Yunnan
Authors: Yang Yanmei , Hu Xianqi , Liu Pei , Chen Li , Peng Huan , Wang Qiaomei , Zhang Qi
Published: February 2021

An unknown root-knot nematode was found at high density on grape roots collected from Yunnan Province. Morphometric traits and measurements, isozyme phenotypes, and molecular analysis clearly differentiated this nematode from previously described root-knot nematodes. This new species is described, illustrated and namedMeloidogyne vitissp. nov. The new species can be distinguished from otherMeloidogynespp. by a unique combination of characters. Females display a prominent neck, an excretory pore is located on the ventral region between 23rd and 25th annule behind lips, an EP/ST ratio of approximately 2.5 (1.98–2.96), a perineal pattern with two large and prominent phasmids, and a labial disc fused with the medial lips to form a dumbbell-shaped structure. Males display an obvious head region, a labial disc fused with the medial lips to form a dumbbell-shaped structure, no lateral lips, a prominent slit-like opening between the labial disc and medial lips, a distinct sunken appearance of the middle of the medial lips, and four incisures in the lateral field. Second-stage juveniles are characterized by a head region with slightly wrinkled mark, a labial disc fused with the medial lips to form a dumbbell-shaped structure, a slightly sunken appearance of the middle of the medial lips, a slit-like amphidial openings between the labial disc and lateral lips, and four incisures in the lateral field. The new species has rare Mdh (N3d) and Est phenotypes (VF1). Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, D2D3 fragments of rDNA, and coxI and coxII fragments of mtDNA sequences clearly separated the new species from other root-knot nematodes, and the closest relative wasMeloidogyne mali.Meloidogyne maliwas collected for amplifying these sequences as mentioned above, which were compared with the corresponding sequences of new species, the result showed that all of these sequences with highly base divergence (48–210 base divergence). Moreover, sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) primers for rapid identification of this new species were designed.
Comparing driving behavior of humans and autonomous driving in a professional racing simulator
Authors: Remonda Adrian , Veas Eduardo , Luzhnica Granit
Published: February 2021

Motorsports have become an excellent playground for testing the limits of technology, machines, and human drivers. This paper presents a study that used a professional racing simulator to compare the behavior of human and autonomous drivers under an aggressive driving scenario. A professional simulator offers a close-to-real emulation of underlying physics and vehicle dynamics, as well as a wealth of clean telemetry data. In the first study, the participants’ task was to achieve the fastest lap while keeping the car on the track. We grouped the resulting laps according to the performance (lap-time), defining driving behaviors at various performance levels. An extensive analysis of vehicle control features obtained from telemetry data was performed with the goal of predicting the driving performance and informing an autonomous system. In the second part of the study, a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm was trained to control the brake, throttle and steering of the simulated racing car. We investigated how the features used to predict driving performance in humans can be used in autonomous driving. Our study investigates human driving patterns with the goal of finding traces that could improve the performance of RL approaches. Conversely, they can also be applied to training (professional) drivers to improve their racing line.
Untangling the complexity of market competition in consumer goods—A complex Hilbert PCA analysis
Authors: Mizuno Makoto , Aoyama Hideaki , Fujiwara Yoshi
Published: February 2021

Today’s consumer goods markets are rapidly evolving with significant growth in the number of information media as well as the number of competitive products. In this environment, obtaining a quantitative grasp of heterogeneous interactions of firms and customers, which have attracted interest of management scientists and economists, requires the analysis of extremely high-dimensional data. Existing approaches in quantitative research could not handle such data without any reliable prior knowledge nor strong assumptions. Alternatively, we propose a novel method called complex Hilbert principal component analysis (CHPCA) and construct a synchronization network using Hodge decomposition. CHPCA enables us to extract significant comovements with a time lead/delay in the data, and Hodge decomposition is useful for identifying the time-structure of correlations. We apply this method to the Japanese beer market data and reveal comovement of variables related to the consumer choice process across multiple products. Furthermore, we find remarkable customer heterogeneity by calculating the coordinates of each customer in the space derived from the results of CHPCA. Lastly, we discuss the policy and managerial implications, limitations, and further development of the proposed method.