bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corporate: Managing Risk
Authors: Benjamin Garfield
Published: May 2024

This chapter looks at the way trustification works within corporate logics of power in technology discourses, beginning with an overview of how corporate priorities such as risk have come to dominate and legitimize specific ways of counting people and society for profit. The links between capital and colonial histories of accounting and managing people are discussed in relation to risk and power. The influence of economic narratives is traced through to contemporary issues such as the platformization of work, the power of data brokers, and algorithmic scoring of people for credit and other opportunities. The dominance of innovation as a legitimizing discourse is linked to the measurement of risk and adoption as proxies for trust, perpetuating economic inequalities in ways that entrench power and avoid scrutiny.
Case Study: COVID-19 Tracing Apps
Authors: Benjamin Garfield
Published: May 2024

This case study discusses the multiple roles of trustification within contact tracing apps during the COVID-19 pandemic. The internal problems of the UK’s design and deployment of a contact tracing app is discussed in relation to trust in governments, companies, research communities and the role of the media. This is brought into perspective by thinking about the global neo-colonial impact of the UK and the apps in general, with examples from specific countries from across the Global South. These examples draw on the commonalities and contextual differences that shape the experiences of different marginalized populations. The drive towards quantification and solutionism is critiqued under the assumptions on which it is based, assumptions that conceal and perpetuate inequalities.
Young Refugee Men: Saarbrücken
Authors: Etzel Morgan
Published: May 2024

This chapter addresses the experience of young men and how they apply their social networks to navigate access to language courses and cope with previous traumas. It begins by highlighting the regional particularities during the summer of 2015, the way in which the Integration Law is structured, and the primary themes associated with integration. In broad terms, the accessing of private housing, attending language courses and finding work are the main policy frameworks for integration law, and in turn are some areas of analysis found in the book. Refugee access to private housing, which was characterized by precarity and transitoriness, is highlighted as a practical and symbolic point of settlement. This chapter contains some of the deeper ethnographic work, which is shown through the refugee experience with the regional Job Centres, a local branch of the Federal Employment Agency. These agencies served as the primary support mechanisms for unemployed refugees, but they also regulated the administration of the integration courses, which included language and socially based orientation courses that were prerequisites for securing a permanent residency. Highlighted here are the regional qualities of the language courses, conflicts and resources of the Job Centres, and the access to specially funded programmes provided by the state.
Institutionalized Integration: Munich and Kassel
Authors: Etzel Morgan
Published: May 2024

This chapter shifts the focus to the outcomes following the language element of integration programmes. It presents a multitude of factors that influenced if and when refugees were able to complete either symbolic or tangible forms of requirements, such as language learning, retirement contributions, and adherence to normative ‘Germanness’. In order to present the potential outcomes, this chapter presents analysis and empirical work from inside the various bureaucracies. Here, extensive ethnographic fieldwork in one Foreigner’s Office and in two Job Centres is analysed to give a holistic picture of the internal and structural challenges faced by street-level bureaucrats in interpreting legal facets of the integration regime. It shows how the integration regime is structured as a rewards-based system which, instead of punishing migrants for failing to achieve milestones like learning German, rewards them with shorter pathways to permanent residency and citizenship. Lastly, the chapter closes with some key arguments about the arbitrary outcomes produced by bureaucracies. In part, the federal state has developed a legal framework that often fails to reward refugees for meeting the legal requirements for long-term residency.
Hybrid Anti-Impunity Commissions and the Rule of Law
Authors: Reinold Theresa
Published: May 2024

This chapter analyses a novel type of hybrid governance arrangement, namely hybrid anti-impunity commissions, which involve both external and domestic actors in the exercise of public functions. The present study examines how the new hybrids’ entanglement in a web of inter-organizational relations shapes their impact on the rule of law, as the new hybrids interact with players at the domestic, regional and global levels. In this multilevel interaction, support from three actors in particular enables the hybrid to carry out its mandate successfully; namely, civil society organizations, powerful donor states and the Attorney-General’s office. The interplay of these factors will determine if changes initiated by the hybrid will lead to a deeper cultural transformation in the host state. If no such culture of lawfulness is consolidated, it is very likely that, after the hybrid’s departure, a relapse into the bad old habits of impunity will occur.
Inter-Organizational Relations in Counterterrorism
Authors: Herschinger Eva , Koch Martin
Published: May 2024

For more than two decades, the UN and the EU have cooperated in the field of counterterrorism. This chapter analyses the relationship between the two international governmental organizations and how they organize the field of counterterrorism through terrorist watch lists. To this end, we combine two theoretical approaches. First, we use organizational fields and isomorphism from sociological neo-institutionalism to explain why the UN and EU have followed each other’s lead to adopt and adapt the lists at different times. In a second step, we examine how international governmental organizations attempt to govern through discursive closure, a concept drawn from post-structuralist discourse theory. Both organizations use lists as organizational routines that help to organize the environment for both organizations and for other organizations that refer to those lists. Against this background, terrorist watch lists can be understood as manifestations and attempts to close a ‘field of the sayable’.
Does All This Really Happen? The Experimental Setting of Public Sphere Resilience
Authors: Trenz Hans-Jörg
Published: May 2024

This chapter turns to contemporary public sphere struggles as resilience and resistance to democratic backlash. I will identify the critical voice of citizens and progressive movements by looking at manifestations of public sphere resistance and resilience in the context of digitalization and globalization: first, the rebalancing of private–public relationships; secondly, the populist backlash and the struggle over political representation; and thirdly, the COVID-19 pandemic public sphere. Selected examples of public sphere resilience refer to: (1) the rebalancing of the public–private relationship with regard to the power of digital industries and the emergence of what is called ‘surveillance capitalism’; (2) the populist and anti-populist backlash, and the struggle over political representation as exemplified in the 48 per cent anti-Brexit mobilization in the UK, the ‘Popolo delle Sardine’ mobilization in Italy, the Yellow Vest Movement in France, and the #FridaysforFuture international mobilization of the younger generations; and (3) resilience and resistance during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown of the public sphere. This detracts attention from considering the new media as an arena of claims and strategic political mobilization to the digital public sphere as the principal arena for the contestation of democratic legitimacy.
Quantum-fluctuation asymmetry in multiphoton Jaynes–Cummings resonances
Authors: Mavrogordatos Th. K.
Published: May 2024

We explore the statistical behavior of the light emanating from a coherently driven Jaynes–Cummings (JC) oscillator operating in the regime of multiphoton blockade with two monitored output channels causing the loss of coherence at equal rates. We do so by adopting an operational approach that draws the particle and wave aspects of the forward-scattered radiation together, building upon the relationship between quantum optical correlation functions and conditional measurements. We first derive an analytical expression of the intensity cross-correlation function at the peak of the two-photon JC resonance to demonstrate the breakdown of detailed balance. The application of the quantum trajectory theory in parallel with the quantum regression formula subsequently uncovers various aspects of temporal asymmetry in the quantum fluctuations characterizing the cascaded process through which a multiphoton resonance is established and read out. We find that monitoring different quadratures of the cavity field in conditional homodyne detection affects the times waited between successive photon counter “clicks,” which in turn trigger the sampling of the homodyne current. Despite the fact that the steady-state cavity occupation is of the order of a photon, monitoring of the developing bimodality also impacts the ratio between the emissions directed along the two decoherence channels.
Multifunctional and bidirectional tunable terahertz device for polarization conversion and absorption based on black phosphorus
Authors: Chen Zhe , Chen Zhonghua , Tang Haowen , Fu Jia , Shen Tao , Zhang Hui
Published: May 2024

In this work, a multifunctional and bidirectional tunable terahertz (THz) device for polarization conversion and absorption is proposed. The device can modulate both forward and backward incident electromagnetic waves. When x/y-polarized and circularly polarized (CP) waves are backward incident, the polarization conversion rate (PCR) exceeds 90% in the range of 0.69–1.62 THz with a relative bandwidth of 80.5%. The ellipticity reaches 1 at 0.65 THz and 1.64 THz. When u/v-polarized and CP waves are forward incident, PCR exceeds 90% in the frequency range of 1.71–3.07 THz with a relative bandwidth of 56.9%. The absolute ellipticity values reach 1 at 0.86 THz, 1.1 THz, and 1.63 THz. When the forward incident wave is x-polarized, the device exhibits absorption rates of 98.9% at 0.96 THz and 97.7% at 1.67 THz. Meanwhile, linear dichroism reaches 0.75 at 0.96 THz. Importantly, all functions can be turned on or off by the carrier density of black phosphorus. The proposed device has potential applications in detection, sensors, imaging, and multifunctional terahertz systems.
Modified diabolo antennas for broadband enhancement of sub-terahertz oscillating magnetic fields
Authors: Ohmichi Eiji , Takigawa Ryoto , Igo Yuma , Ohta Hitoshi
Published: May 2024

Enhancement of the magnetic field components of electromagnetic waves is of particular interest across a wide range of applications such as enhanced magnetic dipole emission and increased sensitivity of magnetic resonance. Diabolo antennas are known to significantly enhance the local intensity of oscillating magnetic fields. Although the enhancement factor is sufficiently high for these purposes, the drawback is a narrow frequency band due to their resonant nature. Here we propose modified diabolo antennas, or nested U-shaped antennas, to expand the working frequency band in the sub-terahertz region. In this study, we investigated the geometrical dependence of nested U-shaped antennas and optimized their shape for practical applications in sub-terahertz electron spin resonance spectroscopy.
Microwave power self-coherent reference measurement based on ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond
Authors: Li Zhonghao , Yang Chenyu , Huang Yingying , Guo Hao , Wen Huanfei , Li Xin , Ma Zongmin , Tang Jun , Liu Jun
Published: May 2024

Microwave detection based on optical detection magnetic resonance technology (ODMR) of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers is simple and non-invasive. However, in high microwave power ranges, saturation appears and cannot be used for accurate power measurement. The self-coherent reference measurement for high-power microwave based on ODMR of NV centers has been demonstrated. Firstly, by introducing the principle of microwave self-coherent reference, that is, by adjusting the phase difference to achieve power regulation of microwave, a conversion model by phase modulation between enhancement and attenuation of microwave power is introduced. Then, the microwave self-coherent reference measurement is established under combinations of microwave power with different phase settings. Combined with the frequency modulation technology, the sensitivity of measurement is significantly improved from 4.59 nT/Hz1/2 to 67.69 pT/Hz1/2. The maximum measurement range of microwave power can be extended to 2×104 times the initial saturated power of direct measurement with ODMR. The results show that the method efficiently overcomes saturation under the direct measurement of ODMR and provides useful technical assistance for near-field detection, performance monitoring, and problem diagnostics for microwave devices.
Dual-wavelength distributed feedback laser array based on four-phase-shifted sampled Bragg grating for terahertz generation
Authors: Fan Yizhe , Yuan Bocheng , Al-Rubaiee Mohanad , Sun Yiming , Zhu Simeng , Marsh John H. , Hou Lianping
Published: May 2024

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a dual-wavelength distributed feedback (DFB) laser array utilizing a four-phase-shifted sampled Bragg grating. By using this grating, the coupling coefficient is enhanced by approximately 2.83 times compared to conventional sampled Bragg gratings. The devices exhibit a stable dual-mode lasing achieved by introducing further π-phase shifts at 1/3 and 2/3 positions along the cavity. These devices require only one stage of lithography to define both the ridge waveguide and the gratings, mitigating issues related to misalignment between them. A dual-wavelength laser array has been fabricated with frequency spacings of 320 GHz, 500 GHz, 640 GHz, 800 GHz, and 1 THz. When integrated with semiconductor optical amplifiers, the output power of the device can reach 23.6 mW. Furthermore, the dual-wavelength lasing is maintained across a wide range of injection currents, with a power difference of <3 dB between the two primary modes. A terahertz (THz) signal has been generated through photomixing in a photoconductive antenna, with the measured power reaching 12.8 µW.
Silica aerogel cavity enhancement of spectral reflection from distributed Bragg reflectors with patterned surfaces
Authors: Sani Saina Farrokhpour , Sendur Kursat
Published: May 2024

Distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) can experience thermomechanical issues under an intense incident beam. A remedy for this issue is to pattern the DBR structure to facilitate thermal expansion in the structure. However, finite-size patterns reduce the design’s electromagnetic performance, including the reflectivity amplitude and the operational bandwidth. Here, we introduce a silica aerogel cavity medium between the DBR layer and the substrate to increase the reflection by stimulating the cavity modes. By altering the cavity layer’s thickness and the pattern width, the interference of reflected lights can be controlled and enhance the reflectivity at desired wavelengths. The results show a significant enhancement in the reflection by introducing the cavity in the design. For a comprehensive investigation of the mechanisms, the interaction of the DBR layers with the substrate, the effect of patterns, and the propagation of electric fields, especially in the cavity layer, are examined.
Asymptotic proximal point algorithm for wavefront sensorless adaptive optics
Authors: Yu Huanhuan , Xu Xin , Wang Yisen , Zhang Enmao , Luo Xiaopeng
Published: May 2024

Solving the distorted wavefront in wavefront sensorless adaptive optics (WFSL-AO) relies on excellent optimizers. Many local or global optimization algorithms have been applied to WFSL-AO; however, there is still a challenge to balance the effect and speed of correcting aberrations. To overcome this, a novel global optimization algorithm named asymptotic proximal point (APP) method is introduced into WFSL-AO in this Letter. We compare this algorithm with the various existing optimization algorithms in convergence speed and correction capability by performing numerical simulations. The results show that the APP method beats all competitors with a better correction effect and faster speed.
Multicolor phase-correlation interferometer for shock wave refractive index measurements
Authors: Wang Gwendolyn T. , Peng Yuzhe , Sun Wenting , Mazumdar Yi C.
Published: May 2024

Refractive index measurements are critical for characterizing the properties of hypersonic flows, but moderate- to high-pressure experiments require alternative methods to traditional interferometric fringe counting. In this work, we introduce a novel, to the best of our knowledge, multi-wavelength phase-correlation interferometric technique to estimate the refractive index changes across nearly discrete shock wave boundaries and also simultaneously capture optical dispersion and vibrational relaxation times. By comparing the interference pattern of three or more wavelengths against each other, the refractive index can be accurately determined. To demonstrate this technique, laser diodes in two wavelength combinations are tested producing refractive index resolutions on the order of 2.65 × 10−7. Results in air across a range of initial pressure conditions (P1 = 2.66 to 5.33 kPa) and incident wave speeds (Mach 2 to 5) show density changes that agree with theoretical estimates within 2%. Single-shot dispersion and vibrational relaxation measurements with this method also illustrate good agreement with other techniques.
Weight-adaptive joint mixed-precision quantization and pruning for neural network-based equalization in short-reach direct detection links
Authors: Xu Zhaopeng , Wu Qi , Lu Weiqi , Ji Honglin , Chen Hui , Ji Tonghui , Yang Yu , Qiao Gang , Tang Jianwei , Cheng Chen , Liu Lulu , Wang Shangcheng , Liang Junpeng , Wei Jinlong , Hu Weisheng , Shieh William
Published: May 2024

Neural network (NN)-based equalizers have been widely applied for dealing with nonlinear impairments in intensity-modulated direct detection (IM/DD) systems due to their excellent performance. However, the computational complexity (CC) is a major concern that limits the real-time application of NN-based receivers. In this Letter, we propose, to our knowledge, a novel weight-adaptive joint mixed-precision quantization and pruning approach to reduce the CC of NN-based equalizers, where only integer arithmetic is taken into account instead of floating-point operations. The NN connections are either directly cutoff or represented by a proper number of quantization bits by weight partitioning, leading to a hybrid compressed sparse network that computes much faster and consumes less hardware resources. The proposed approach is verified in a 50-Gb/s 25-km pulse amplitude modulation (PAM)-4 IM/DD link using a directly modulated laser (DML) in the C-band. Compared with the traditional fully connected NN-based equalizer operated with standard floating-point arithmetic, about 80% memory can be saved at a minimum network size without degrading the system performance. Quantization is also shown to be more suitable to over-parameterized NN-based equalizers compared with NNs selected at a minimum size.
Dual-band high-Q near-perfect absorption by tilted Si-assisted metasurfaces
Authors: Zhang Haosen , Wu Kedi , Ping Wang Guo
Published: May 2024

All-dielectric metasurface perfect absorbers (MPAs) based on quasibound states in the continuum (QBICs) play a crucial role in optical and photonic devices as they can excite high-Q resonances. These structures require adding back reflectors or placing at least two asymmetric elements in each unit to break the absorption limit of 50%, which will increase the design complexity. In this work, we propose a high-Q monolayer MPA (MMPA) composed of a tilted Si nanocube array. By tuning the tilted angle of the nanocube, dual-QBIC modes at two different wavelengths are excited, which corresponds to magnetic quadrupole (MQ) and toroidal dipole (TD) modes, respectively. The high-reflection but low-Q magnetic dipole (MD) background mode excited by such a dual-band structure can decrease the radiative loss of transmission of MQ and TD modes, enabling the structure to break the absorption limit of 50%. The maximum absorption achieves 94% simultaneously at the wavelength of 933 and 961 nm, with the Q factors of 759 and 986, respectively. Our work provides a simple paradigm for designing dual-band high-Q MMPAs, which would greatly expand their range of applications, such as multiplexed optical nanodevices.
Dorsal and median raphe neuronal firing dynamics characterized by nonlinear measures
Authors: Pascovich Claudia , Serantes Diego , Rodriguez Alejo , Mateos Diego , González Joaquín , Gallo Diego , Rivas Mayda , Devera Andrea , Lagos Patricia , Rubido Nicolás , Torterolo Pablo
Published: May 2024

The dorsal (DRN) and median (MRN) raphe are important nuclei involved in similar functions, including mood and sleep, but playing distinct roles. These nuclei have a different composition of neuronal types and set of neuronal connections, which among other factors, determine their neuronal dynamics. Most works characterize the neuronal dynamics using classic measures, such as using the average spiking frequency (FR), the coefficient of variation (CV), and action potential duration (APD). In the current study, to refine the characterization of neuronal firing profiles, we examined the neurons within the raphe nuclei. Through the utilization of nonlinear measures, our objective was to discern the redundancy and complementarity of these measures, particularly in comparison with classic methods. To do this, we analyzed the neuronal basal firing profile in both nuclei of urethane-anesthetized rats using the Shannon entropy (Bins Entropy) of the inter-spike intervals, permutation entropy of ordinal patterns (OP Entropy), and Permutation Lempel-Ziv Complexity (PLZC). Firstly, we found that classic (i.e., FR, CV, and APD) and nonlinear measures fail to distinguish between the dynamics of DRN and MRN neurons, except for the OP Entropy. We also found strong relationships between measures, including the CV with FR, CV with Bins entropy, and FR with PLZC, which imply redundant information. However, APD and OP Entropy have either a weak or no relationship with the rest of the measures tested, suggesting that they provide complementary information to the characterization of the neuronal firing profiles. Secondly, we studied how these measures are affected by the oscillatory properties of the firing patterns, including rhythmicity, bursting patterns, and clock-like behavior. We found that all measures are sensitive to rhythmicity, except for the OP Entropy. Overall, our work highlights OP Entropy as a powerful and useful quantity for the characterization of neuronal discharge patterns.
MGDrivE 3: A decoupled vector-human framework for epidemiological simulation of mosquito genetic control tools and their surveillance
Authors: Mondal Agastya , Sánchez C. Héctor M. , Marshall John M.
Published: May 2024

Novel mosquito genetic control tools, such as CRISPR-based gene drives, hold great promise in reducing the global burden of vector-borne diseases. As these technologies advance through the research and development pipeline, there is a growing need for modeling frameworks incorporating increasing levels of entomological and epidemiological detail in order to address questions regarding logistics and biosafety. Epidemiological predictions are becoming increasingly relevant to the development of target product profiles and the design of field trials and interventions, while entomological surveillance is becoming increasingly important to regulation and biosafety. We present MGDrivE 3 (Mosquito Gene Drive Explorer 3), a new version of a previously-developed framework, MGDrivE 2, that investigates the spatial population dynamics of mosquito genetic control systems and their epidemiological implications. The new framework incorporates three major developments: i) a decoupled sampling algorithm allowing the vector portion of the MGDrivE framework to be paired with a more detailed epidemiological framework, ii) a version of the Imperial College London malaria transmission model, which incorporates age structure, various forms of immunity, and human and vector interventions, and iii) a surveillance module that tracks mosquitoes captured by traps throughout the simulation. Example MGDrivE 3 simulations are presented demonstrating the application of the framework to a CRISPR-based homing gene drive linked to dual disease-refractory genes and their potential to interrupt local malaria transmission. Simulations are also presented demonstrating surveillance of such a system by a network of mosquito traps. MGDrivE 3 is freely available as an open-source R package on CRAN (https://cran.r-project.org/package=MGDrivE2) (version 2.1.0), and extensive examples and vignettes are provided. We intend the software to aid in understanding of human health impacts and biosafety of mosquito genetic control tools, and continue to iterate per feedback from the genetic control community.
Estimating mutation rates under heterogeneous stress responses
Authors: Lansch-Justen Lucy , El Karoui Meriem , Alexander Helen K.
Published: May 2024

Exposure to environmental stressors, including certain antibiotics, induces stress responses in bacteria. Some of these responses increase mutagenesis and thus potentially accelerate resistance evolution. Many studies report increased mutation rates under stress, often using the standard experimental approach of fluctuation assays. However, single-cell studies have revealed that many stress responses are heterogeneously expressed in bacterial populations, which existing estimation methods have not yet addressed. We develop a population dynamic model that considers heterogeneous stress responses (subpopulations of cells with the response off or on) that impact both mutation rate and cell division rate, inspired by the DNA-damage response in Escherichia coli (SOS response). We derive the mutant count distribution arising in fluctuation assays under this model and then implement maximum likelihood estimation of the mutation-rate increase specifically associated with the expression of the stress response. Using simulated mutant count data, we show that our inference method allows for accurate and precise estimation of the mutation-rate increase, provided that this increase is sufficiently large and the induction of the response also reduces the division rate. Moreover, we find that in many cases, either heterogeneity in stress responses or mutant fitness costs could explain similar patterns in fluctuation assay data, suggesting that separate experiments would be required to identify the true underlying process. In cases where stress responses and mutation rates are heterogeneous, current methods still correctly infer the effective increase in population mean mutation rate, but we provide a novel method to infer distinct stress-induced mutation rates, which could be important for parameterising evolutionary models.
Spatial clustering of domestic violence attitudes toward women in Ghana
Authors: Richardsen Cecilia , Ba Djibril M. , Ssentongo Anna E. , Ssentongo Paddy
Published: May 2024

Violence against women is a global public health issue associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. There is paucity of data on the spatial distribution and predictors of violence against women in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution of attitudes toward wife beating in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African country, utilizing data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Participants from over eleven thousand households were surveyed on topics of demographics and justification of wife beating in at least one of five different scenarios. The identification of geographic clusters of men and women who endorsed wife beating was performed using Ripley K functions. The comparison of the spatial distributions of women and men justifying wife beating were performed using spatial relative risk surfaces. The spatial analysis indicated the presence of clusters in women and men’s approval for wife beating compared to those who do not approve of wife beating, with a statistical significance level set at p < 0.01. Major spatial clusters of approval of wife beating were in the Northern region, for both men and women, and in the Upper West region of Ghana for the men participants. This is the first study to explore the geographical distribution of attitudes toward wife beating in Ghana, and revealed evidence of several regional heterogeneous clusters where wife beating was more commonly justified by both men and women. Targeted intervention for reducing the justification of wife beating in Ghana should be focused in these regions.
Trajectories of medical care expenditure in the last year of life associated with long-term care utilization in frail older adults: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Yoshiyuki Noriko , Ishihara Takuma , Kono Ayumi , Fukushima Naomi , Miura Takeshi , Kaneko Katsunori
Published: May 2024

Background

Medical care and long-term care utilization in the last year of life of frail older adults could be a key indicator of their quality of life. This study aimed to identify the medical care expenditure (MCE) trajectories in the last year of life of frail older adults by investigating the association between MCE and long-term care utilization in each trajectory.

Methods

The retrospective cohort study of three municipalities in Japan included 405 decedents (median age at death, 85 years; 189 women [46.7%]) from a cohort of 1,658 frail older adults aged ≥65 years who were newly certified as support level in the long-term care insurance program from April 2012 to March 2013. This study used long-term care and medical insurance claim data from April 2012 to March 2017. The primary outcome was MCE over the 12 months preceding death. Group-based trajectory modeling was conducted to identify the MCE trajectories. A mixed-effect model was employed to examine the association between long-term care utilization and MCE in each trajectory.

Results

Participants were stratified into four groups based on MCE trajectories over the 12 months preceding death as follows: rising (n = 159, 39.3%), persistently high (n = 143, 35.3%), minimal (n = 56, 13.8%), and descending (n = 47, 11.6%) groups. Home-based long-term care utilization was associated with increased MCE in the descending trajectory (coefficient, 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35–1.62). Facility-based long-term care utilization was associated with reduced MCE in the rising trajectory (coefficient, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.50–0.69). Both home-based (coefficient, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85–0.99) and facility-based (coefficient; 0.53; 95% CI, 0.41–0.63) long-term care utilization were associated with reduced MCE in the persistently high trajectory.

Conclusions

These findings may facilitate the integration of medical and long-term care models at the end of life in frail older adults.
Dividing time—An absolute chronological study of material culture from Early Iron Age urnfields in Denmark
Authors: Rose Helene Agerskov , Meadows John
Published: May 2024

Chronological frameworks based on artefact typologies are essential for interpreting the archaeological record, but they inadvertently treat transitions between phases as abrupt events and disregard the temporality of transformation processes within and between individual phases. This study presents an absolute chronological investigation of a dynamic material culture from Early Iron Age urnfields in Denmark. The chronological framework of Early Iron Age in Southern Scandinavia is largely unconstrained by absolute dating, primarily due to it coinciding with the so-called ‘Hallstatt calibration plateau’ (c.750 to 400 cal BC), and it is difficult to correlate it with Central European chronologies due to a lack of imported artefacts. This study applies recent methodological advances in radiocarbon dating and Bayesian chronological modelling, specifically a statistical model for wood-age offsets in cremated bone and presents the first large-scale radiocarbon investigation of regional material culture from Early Iron Age in Southern Jutland, Denmark. Dated material is primarily cremated bone from 111 cremation burials from three urnfields. The study presents absolute date ranges for 16 types of pottery and 15 types of metalwork, which include most of the recognised metalwork types from the period. This provides new insights into gradual change in material culture, when certain artefact types were in production and primary use, how quickly types were taken up and later abandoned, and distinguishing periods of faster and slower change. The study also provides the first absolute chronology for the period, enabling correlation with chronologies from other regions. Urnfields were introduced at the Bronze-Iron Age transformation, which is often assumed to have occurred c.530-500 BC. We demonstrate that this transformation took place in the 7th century BC, however, which revives the discussion of whether the final Bronze Age period VI should be interpreted as a transitional phase to the Iron Age.
Formamide denaturation of double-stranded DNA for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) distorts nanoscale chromatin structure
Authors: Shim Anne R. , Frederick Jane , Pujadas Emily M. , Kuo Tiffany , Ye I. Chae , Pritchard Joshua A. , Dunton Cody L. , Gonzalez Paola Carrillo , Acosta Nicolas , Jain Surbhi , Anthony Nicholas M. , Almassalha Luay M. , Szleifer Igal , Backman Vadim
Published: May 2024

As imaging techniques rapidly evolve to probe nanoscale genome organization at higher resolution, it is critical to consider how the reagents and procedures involved in sample preparation affect chromatin at the relevant length scales. Here, we investigate the effects of fluorescent labeling of DNA sequences within chromatin using the gold standard technique of three-dimensional fluorescence in situ hybridization (3D FISH). The chemical reagents involved in the 3D FISH protocol, specifically formamide, cause significant alterations to the sub-200 nm (sub-Mbp) chromatin structure. Alternatively, two labeling methods that do not rely on formamide denaturation, resolution after single-strand exonuclease resection (RASER)-FISH and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Sirius, had minimal impact on the three-dimensional organization of chromatin. We present a polymer physics-based analysis of these protocols with guidelines for their interpretation when assessing chromatin structure using currently available techniques.
Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe corylacearum: An emerging problem on hazelnut in Italy
Authors: Matić Slavica , Caruso Andrea G. , D’Errico Chiara , Botto Camilla Sacco , Noris Emanuela , Trkulja Vojislav , Panno Stefano , Davino Salvatore , Moizio Marco
Published: May 2024

Erysiphe corylacearum has recently been reported in northern Italy (Piedmont) and other European countries as the causal agent of a new emerging powdery mildew on hazelnut. This disease is much more dangerous than the common hazelnut powdery mildew caused by Phyllactinia guttata as it significantly reduces yield and quality of hazelnuts. This study aimed to perform morphological and molecular characterization of the fungal isolates from powdery mildew-infected plants in the Piedmont Italian region. Additionally, genetic diversity studies and pathogenicity tests were conducted. Thirty-six fungal isolates originating from symptomatic hazelnut plants exhibiting specific powdery mildew symptoms on the superior leaf side were identified morphologically as E. corylacearum. Single- and multilocus sequence typing of five loci (ITS, rpb2, CaM, GAPDH and GS) assigned all isolates as E. corylacearum. Multilocus and GAPDH phylogenetic studies resulted in the most efficient characterization of E. corylacearum. Studied fungal isolates were able to cause new emerging powdery mildew disease by fulfilling Koch’s postulates. The emergence of powdery mildew disease in Italy revealed the E. corylacearum subgrouping, population expansion, and high nucleotide similarity with other recently identified E. corylacearum hazelnut isolates. To contain this harmful disease and inhibit the fungus spread into new geographical zones, it will be necessary to implement more rigorous monitoring in neighboring hazelnut plantations near infected hazelnuts, use sustainable fungicides and search for new biocontrol agents.
Influencing factors and realization paths for smart community construction in China
Authors: Li Wenjing , Zhang Lijian
Published: May 2024

The analysis of influencing factors serves as the cornerstone for the research on smart community construction. Drawing upon both field research and extensive literature study, this paper explores the influencing factors of China’s smart community construction and its effective paths by taking 52 national pilot zones for community governance and service innovation in China as examples. In the constructed analytical framework of influencing factors, elements such as economic development, capital investment, information infrastructure, community governance, public support system, and smart platform are included. By the use of the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method, the results of the study show that community governance, public support system, and smart platform are necessary conditions for smart community construction, while economic development, capital investment and information infrastructure play a leading role in the four combined paths. Finally, this study provides a new perspective for theoretical research, a reference forgovernmental departments to make decisions, and experience for the construction of smart communities in other developing countries.
Fostering human learning in sequential decision-making: Understanding the role of evaluative feedback
Authors: Gupta Piyush , Biswas Subir , Srivastava Vaibhav
Published: May 2024

Cognitive rehabilitation, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skill acquisition, and coaching games such as chess often require tutoring decision-making strategies. The advancement of AI-driven tutoring systems for facilitating human learning requires an understanding of the impact of evaluative feedback on human decision-making and skill development. To this end, we conduct human experiments using Amazon Mechanical Turk to study the influence of evaluative feedback on human decision-making in sequential tasks. In these experiments, participants solve the Tower of Hanoi puzzle and receive AI-generated feedback while solving it. We examine how this feedback affects their learning and skill transfer to related tasks. Additionally, treating humans as noisy optimal agents, we employ maximum entropy inverse reinforcement learning to analyze the effect of feedback on the implicit human reward structure that guides their decision making. Lastly, we explore various computational models to understand how people incorporate evaluative feedback into their decision-making processes. Our findings underscore that humans perceive evaluative feedback as indicative of their long-term strategic success, thus aiding in skill acquisition and transfer in sequential decision-making tasks. Moreover, we demonstrate that evaluative feedback fosters a more structured and organized learning experience compared to learning without feedback. Furthermore, our results indicate that providing intermediate goals alone does not significantly enhance human learning outcomes.
Impact of viral telomeric repeat sequences on herpesvirus vector vaccine integration and persistence
Authors: Denesvre Caroline , You Yu , Rémy Sylvie , Vychodil Tereza , Courvoisier Katia , Penzes Zoltán , Bertzbach Luca D. , Kheimar Ahmed , Kaufer Benedikt B.
Published: May 2024

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) vaccines were the first vaccines that protected against cancer. The avirulent turkey herpesvirus (HVT) was widely employed and protected billions of chickens from a deadly MDV infection. It is also among the most common vaccine vectors providing protection against a plethora of pathogens. HVT establishes latency in T-cells, allowing the vaccine virus to persist in the host for life. Intriguingly, the HVT genome contains telomeric repeat arrays (TMRs) at both ends; however, their role in the HVT life cycle remains elusive. We have previously shown that similar TMRs in the MDV genome facilitate its integration into host telomeres, which ensures efficient maintenance of the virus genome during latency and tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigated the role of the TMRs in HVT genome integration, latency, and reactivation in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, we examined HVT infection of feather follicles. We generated an HVT mutant lacking both TMRs (vΔTMR) that efficiently replicated in cell culture. We could demonstrate that wild type HVT integrates at the ends of chromosomes containing the telomeres in T-cells, while integration was severely impaired in the absence of the TMRs. To assess the role of TMRs in vivo, we infected one-day-old chickens with HVT or vΔTMR. vΔTMR loads were significantly reduced in the blood and hardly any virus was transported to the feather follicle epithelium where the virus is commonly shed. Strikingly, latency in the spleen and reactivation of the virus were severely impaired in the absence of the TMRs, indicating that the TMRs are crucial for the establishment of latency and reactivation of HVT. Our findings revealed that the TMRs facilitate integration of the HVT genome into host chromosomes, which ensures efficient persistence in the host, reactivation, and transport of the virus to the skin.
Meta-analysis of Epstein-Barr virus genomes in Southern Chinese identifies genetic variants and high risk viral lineage associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Wong Ka Wo , Hui Kwai Fung , Lam Ki Pui , Kwong Dora Lai-wan , Lung Maria Li , Yang Wanling , Chiang Alan K. S.
Published: May 2024

Genetic variants in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have been strongly associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in South China. However, different results regarding the most significant viral variants, with polymorphisms in EBER2 and BALF2 loci, have been reported in separate studies. In this study, we newly sequenced 100 EBV genomes derived from 61 NPC cases and 39 population controls. Comprehensive genomic analyses of EBV sequences from both NPC patients and healthy carriers in South China were conducted, totaling 279 cases and 227 controls. Meta-analysis of genome-wide association study revealed a 4-bp deletion downstream of EBER2 (coordinates, 7188–7191; EBER-del) as the most significant variant associated with NPC. Furthermore, multiple viral variants were found to be genetically linked to EBER-del forming a risk haplotype, suggesting that multiple viral variants might be associated with NPC pathogenesis. Population structure and phylogenetic analyses further characterized a high risk EBV lineage for NPC revealing a panel of 38 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including those in the EBER2 and BALF2 loci. With linkage disequilibrium clumping and feature selection algorithm, the 38 SNPs could be narrowed down to 9 SNPs which can be used to accurately detect the high risk EBV lineage. In summary, our study provides novel insight into the role of EBV genetic variation in NPC pathogenesis by defining a risk haplotype of EBV for downstream functional studies and identifying a single high risk EBV lineage characterized by 9 SNPs for potential application in population screening of NPC.
Biography of Dr Terry Barrett: Teaching us how to look at art
Authors: Lerma Violeta
Published: May 2024

The purpose of this article is to summarize the life, career and educational philosophy of Dr Terry Barrett. This article starts with Barrett’s early life, education, some of the books he has written, some philosophers that inspired him and a summary of his guidelines concerning art interpretation.
Bauhaus 1919–1928, Herbert Bayer, Walter Gropius and Ise Gropius (1938)
Authors: Elizondo Goretti Hinojosa
Published: May 2024

Review of: Bauhaus 1919–1928, Herbert Bayer, Walter Gropius and Ise Gropius (1938)

New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 248 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-87070-240-2, h/bk, https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_2735_300190238.pdf
Preferential dreissenid mussel grazing on small plankton can favor cyanobacteria: Experimental evidence from western Lake Erie
Authors: Carrick H.J. , VanCuren C. , Slate A. , Denef V.J. , Dahal N. , Carter G. , Fanslow D. , Glyshaw P. , Vanderploeg H.A.
Published: May 2024

Herein we provide experimental evidence for the effects invasive mussels (Dreissena) grazing can exert on a natural assemblage of plankton that included both hetero- and photo-trophic components in western Lake Erie. Five mussel feeding experiments were performed seasonally in 2018 (May, June, July August, October). Pre- and post-grazing samples were collected from seven 20-L mesocosms (3 control, 4 mussel), and analyzed using microscope cell counts. Results from our experiments showed that Dreissena were active grazers of plankton on all dates, with significant correspondence between mussel clearance rates measured using microscopy versus size-specific chlorophyll and FluoroProbe based estimates (Spearman rank correlation, r = 0.45, and r = 0.48, respectively, p < 0.05). Clearance rates (ml mg-1 h-1) were variable among taxonomic groups and seemed to track the abundance of ambient plankton assemblage (range 1.70 to 25.00, mean ± SE 11.70 ± 1.33). Dreissena grazed consistently on nano-sized hetero- and phototrophic plankton that constituted key trophic linkages in the Lake Erie foodweb. The most actively grazed plankton were phototrophic cryptophytes (Rhodomonas minuta, Cryptomonas spp.), centric diatoms (Cyclotella sp. and Discotella spp.), and non-pigmented chrysomonads (Chromulina sp., Ochromonas sp.). Conversely, clearance rates were low for cyanobacteria (e.g. Microcystis), dinoflagellates (Gymnodinium varians), and some colonial chlorophytes (Desmodesmus, Pediastrum); these plankton groups occurred during specific temporal windows (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.05). Our results indicate the potential mussel grazing can suppress typical, non-harmful plankton species in the nanoplankton size range, thereby favoring the occurrence of less-edible, larger cyanobacteria and chlorophyte species in western Lake Erie.
Esther, Revised
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

Only a few yers after its premiere, Esther had begun to evolve from an uncomplicated instructional or religious work to a staged extravaganza. Not surprisingly, Bradbury strenuously protested the addition of acting, costumes and staging to his score. Nonetheless, staged Esther performances achieved unprecented vogue among theatre goers and lovers of popular music. Esther’s transformation into a theatre work was codified by an itinerant US musician, R.W. Seager, who published a revision of the piece in 1874. Although Seager retained all of Bradbury’s original music, his dramaturgical instructions launched a new era in the reception history of the work. In accordance with Seager’s recommendations, communities made their own costumes and stage accessories. Singers, audiences and critics reacted enthusiastically to the dance steps and pageantry that came to define Bradbury’s Esther.