bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Service Learning: A Proposal for the Maker Approach
Authors: Frazzarin Irene , Leonori Danila
Published: December 2021

Education plays a vital role in promoting the acquisition of 21st-century skills. This is why it is important to implement a social intervention project in which makers and technology are key to the learning process, and students can come together to deal with issues within their community.
Growing Deeper Learners. How to Assess Robotics, Coding, Making and Tinkering Activities for Significant Learning
Authors: Tegon Rita , Labbri Mirko
Published: December 2021

As more and more unstructured project-based activities fill the learning time of students, there is a growing need for assessment models for educational robotics, tinkering, making and coding activities. On one hand, there is a poor understanding or an underestimation of the need for evaluation, and its ability to improve systems and learning outcomes, while on the other, it is difficult to identify or devise suitable assessment frameworks. Examples from the international context are discussed more for their potential to raise awareness than as definitive answers.
Ten years of Educational Robotics in a Primary School
Authors: Valzano Mariantonietta , Vergine Cinzia , Cesaretti Lorenzo , Screpanti Laura , Scaradozzi David
Published: December 2021

Many researchers and teachers agree that the inclusion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in early education provides strong motivation and greatly improves the speed of learning. Most primary school curricula include a number of concepts that cover science and mathematics, but less effort is placed in teaching problem-solving, computer science, technology and robotics. The use of robotic systems and the introduction of robotics as a curriculum subject educates children in the basics of technology, and gives them additional human and organizational values. This paper presents a new program introduced in an Italian primary school, thanks to a collaboration with National Instruments and Università Politecnica delle Marche. Specifically, the project’s curricular aim was to improve logic, creativity, and the ability to focus, all of which are lacking in today’s generation of students. The subject of robotics will be part of the primary school’s curriculum for all five years. The program has delivered training to the teachers, and a complete program in which children have demonstrated great learning abilities, not only in technology, but also in collaboration and teamwork.
Arduino: From Physics to Robotics
Authors: Marzoli Irene , Rizza Nico , Saltarelli Alessandro , Sampaolesi Euro
Published: December 2021

This paper discusses how a microcontroller, like Arduino, can improve laboratory practice in Italian upper secondary school and change students’ attitudes towards STEM subjects. Since 2015, we started a close and fruitful collaboration with several high school teachers in the Marche region to introduce microcontroller programming to the physics lab. Notably, the project also involved teachers of other subjects, such as computer science, and with different backgrounds, for example electronic engineering, thus showing the inherently interdisciplinary character and versatility of Arduino. Students were engaged in hands-on activities, working in small groups of four to five people, supervised by learning assistants and teachers. Arduino was used to interface with sensors, to control the experimental setup, and for data acquisition. Finally, we could also make contact with robotics, by building a simple prototype of a rover.
If We Could Start from Scratch, What Would Schools Look like in the Twenty-First Century? Rethinking Schools as a Locus for Social Change
Authors: Blikstein Paulo
Published: December 2021

Today’s debate about education is prone to focusing on system optimization, test score improvement, and budgetary concerns. However, education is much more: it is primarily about a vision for our societies. As we think about a new vision, it has to speak to the ethos of our time. Today’s youth are heavily focused on social change, addressing global problems such as climate change, systemic racism, and economic inequality. This requires new content and pedagogies. Thus, schools should be rebuilt to support such endeavors, emphasizing ways of learning in which students have more agency and learning is more relevant. Currently, the schools where this work is possible are most typically located in affluent countries and regions. We should work to democratize the possibility of “learning how to change the world,” making public schools a viable locus for fostering social change.
Pedagogical Considerations for Technology-Enhanced Learning
Authors: Daniela Linda
Published: December 2021

Technology-enhanced learning is a term often used in discussions about the place and role of technology in education. Yet many gaps still need to be addressed from a pedagogical perspective to remove the veil of fascination from technology-enhanced learning and to ensure that its use is planned purposefully. Planning should take account of the intended uses of the technology, which may be multifold. This paper summarizes the pedagogical considerations for a technology-enhanced learning process. In fact it is often thought that introducing technology to the educational environment is sufficient, without specifically restructuring the pedagogical process. The paper analyzes the potential goals of using technology in the educational process. It also looks at the pedagogical factors that make technology-enhanced learning successful: learning motivation, cognitive development, cognitive load, and knowledge development in the discourse of technology-enhanced learning. The chapter is organized as follows: an introduction to the terms followed by two sections—“Technology-enhanced learning” and “Pedagogical considerations”—and a discussion.
One-loop matrix elements of effective superstring interactions: α′-expanding loop integrands
Authors: Edison Alex , Guillen Max , Johansson Henrik , Schlotterer Oliver , Teng Fei
Published: December 2021

Abstract

In the low-energy effective action of string theories, non-abelian gauge interactions and supergravity are augmented by infinite towers of higher-mass-dimension operators. We propose a new method to construct one-loop matrix elements with insertions of operators D2kFn and D2kRn in the tree-level effective action of type-I and type-II superstrings. Inspired by ambitwistor string theories, our method is based on forward limits of moduli-space integrals using string tree-level amplitudes with two extra points, expanded in powers of the inverse string tension α′. Similar to one-loop ambitwistor computations, intermediate steps feature non-standard linearized Feynman propagators which eventually recombine to conventional quadratic propagators. With linearized propagators the loop integrand of the matrix elements obey one-loop versions of the monodromy and KLT relations. We express a variety of four- and five-point examples in terms of quadratic propagators and formulate a criterion on the underlying genus-one correlation functions that should make this recombination possible at all orders in α′. The ultraviolet divergences of the one-loop matrix elements are crosschecked against the non-separating degeneration of genus-one integrals in string amplitudes. Conversely, our results can be used as a constructive method to determine degenerations of elliptic multiple zeta values and modular graph forms at arbitrary weight.
Factorization of log-corrections in AdS4/CFT3 from supergravity localization
Authors: Hristov Kiril , Reys Valentin
Published: December 2021

Abstract

We use the Atiyah-Singer index theorem to derive the general form of the one-loop corrections to observables in asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS4) supersymmetric backgrounds of abelian gauged supergravity. Using the method of supergravity localization combined with the factorization of the supergravity action on fixed points (NUTs) and fixed two-manifolds (Bolts) we show that an analogous factorization takes place for the one-loop determinants of supergravity fields. This allows us to propose a general fixed-point formula for the logarithmic corrections to a large class of supersymmetric partition functions in the large N expansion of a given 3d dual theory. The corrections are uniquely fixed by some simple topological data pertaining to a particular background in the form of its regularized Euler characteristic χ, together with a single dynamical coefficient that counts the underlying degrees of freedom of the theory.
Gravitational waves from the phase transition in the B-LSSM
Authors: Dong Xing-Xing , Feng Tai-Fu , Zhang Hai-Bin , Zhao Shu-Min , Yang Jin-Lei
Published: December 2021

Abstract

Based on the gauge symmetry group SU(3)C ⨂ SU(2)L ⨂ U(1)Y ⨂ U(1)B–L, the minimal supersymmetric extension of the SM with local B-L gauge symmetry(B-LSSM) has been introduced. In this model, we study the Higgs masses with the one-loop zero temperature effective potential corrections. Besides, the finite temperature effective potentials connected with two U(1)B-L Higgs singlets are deduced specifically. Then we can obtain the gravitational wave spectrums generated from the strong first-order phase transition. In the B-LSSM, with the fine-tuned parameter regions, we can obtain the strength parameter αθ ~ 0.14 and the ratio of speed to Hubble rate β/Hn ~ 5 at nucleation temperature, and then obtain observable gravitational wave signals. The gravitational wave signals can be as strong as h2ΩGW ~ 10–9, which may be detectable in the future experiments.
Charge asymmetry in electron/positron energy loss in nuclear Bremsstrahlung
Authors: Lee Roman N. , Pikelner Andrey F.
Published: December 2021

Abstract

We calculate the leading Coulomb correction to the Bremsstrahlung energy loss in the electron-nucleus collisions for arbitrary energy of the incoming particle. This correction determines the charge asymmetry, i.e., the difference of electron and positron energy loss. The result is presented in terms of the classical polylogarithms Li2 and Li3. We use modern multiloop methods based on the IBP reduction and on the differential equations for master integrals. We provide both the threshold and the high-energy asymptotics of the found asymmetry and compare them with the available results.
On the Energy Scaling Behaviour of a Singularly Perturbed Tartar Square
Authors: Rüland Angkana , Tribuzio Antonio
Published: December 2021

In this article we derive an (almost) optimal scaling law for a singular perturbation problem associated with the Tartar square. As in Winter (Eur J Appl Math 8(2):185–207, 1997), Chipot (Numer Math 83(3):325–352, 1999), our upper bound quantifies the well-known construction which is used in the literature to prove the flexibility of the Tartar square in the sense of the flexibility of approximate solutions to the differential inclusion. The main novelty of our article is the derivation of an (up to logarithmic powers matching) ansatz free lower bound which relies on a bootstrap argument in Fourier space and is related to a quantification of the interaction of a nonlinearity and a negative Sobolev space in the form of “a chain rule in a negative Sobolev space”. Both the lower and the upper bound arguments give evidence of the involved “infinite order of lamination”.
GLINT: GlucoCEST in neoplastic tumors at 3 T—clinical results of GlucoCEST in gliomas
Authors: Bender Benjamin , Herz Kai , Deshmane Anagha , Richter Vivien , Tabatabai Ghazaleh , Schittenhelm Jens , Skardelly Marco , Scheffler Klaus , Ernemann Ulrike , Kim Mina , Golay Xavier , Zaiss Moritz , Lindig Tobias
Published: December 2021

Objective

Clinical relevance of dynamic glucose enhanced (DGE) chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging has mostly been demonstrated at ultra-high field (UHF) due to low effect size. Results of a cohort study at clinical field strength are shown herein.

Materials and methods

Motion and field inhomogeneity corrected T1ρ‐based DGE (DGE⍴) images were acquired before, during and after a d-glucose injection with 6.3 s temporal resolution to detect accumulation in the brain. Six glioma patients with clear blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakage, two glioma patients with suspected BBB leakage, and three glioma patients without BBB leakage were scanned at 3 T.

Results

In high-grade gliomas with BBB leakage, d-glucose uptake could be detected in the gadolinium (Gd) enhancing region as well as in the tumor necrosis with a maximum increase of ∆DGE⍴ around 0.25%, whereas unaffected white matter did not show any significant DGE⍴ increase. Glioma patients without Gd enhancement showed no detectable DGE⍴ effect within the tumor.

Conclusion

First application of DGE⍴ in a patient cohort shows an association between BBB leakage and DGE signal irrespective of the tumor grade. This indicates that glucoCEST corresponds more to the disruptions of BBB with Gd uptake than to the molecular tumor profile or tumor grading.
Joint optimisation of drone routing and battery wear for sustainable supply chain development: a mixed-integer programming model based on blockchain-enabled fleet sharing
Authors: Xia Yang , Zeng Wenjia , Xing Xinjie , Zhan Yuanzhu , Tan Kim Hua , Kumar Ajay
Published: December 2021

Alongside the rise of ‘last-mile’ delivery in contemporary urban logistics, drones have demonstrate commercial potential, given their outstanding triple-bottom-line performance. However, as a lithium-ion battery-powered device, drones’ social and environmental merits can be overturned by battery recycling and disposal. To maintain economic performance, yet minimise environmental negatives, fleet sharing is widely applied in the transportation field, with the aim of creating synergies within industry and increasing overall fleet use. However, if a sharing platform’s transparency is doubted, the sharing ability of the platform will be discounted. Known for its transparent and secure merits, blockchain technology provides new opportunities to improve existing sharing solutions. In particular, the decentralised structure and data encryption algorithm offered by blockchain allow every participant equal access to shared resources without undermining security issues. Therefore, this study explores the implementation of a blockchain-enabled fleet sharing solution to optimise drone operations, with consideration of battery wear and disposal effects. Unlike classical vehicle routing with fleet sharing problems, this research is more challenging, with multiple objectives (i.e., shortest path and fewest charging times), and considers different levels of sharing abilities. In this study, we propose a mixed-integer programming model to formulate the intended problem and solve the problem with a tailored branch-and-price algorithm. Through extensive experiments, the computational performance of our proposed solution is first articulated, and then the effectiveness of using blockchain to improve overall optimisation is reflected, and a series of critical influential factors with managerial significance are demonstrated.
Partnership Context of First Births in Russia: The Enduring Significance of Marriage
Authors: Andreev Evgeny M. , Churilova Elena , Jasilioniene Aiva
Published: December 2021

While cohabitation and non-marital childbearing have been increasing in Russia since 1990, the share of marital first births that are conceived prior to marriage has changed very little since the Soviet era. The prior findings on the stability of trends in premarital conceptions in Russia have been contradictory and inconclusive. This study aims to extend the existing empirical evidence on premarital conceptions in Russia and to contribute to the discussion on the persistence of marriage as the preferred partnership context for parenthood. We focus on births that occurred within the first two years of marriage, and compare the childbearing patterns of Russian women who married in different historical periods. For our investigation of fertility among marital cohorts who married during the Soviet era (1960–1991), we use individual-level data from the 1994 microcensus. For our examination of fertility among more recent marital cohorts (2000, 2011, and 2016), we draw on data from birth records in civil registers. We also use relevant complementary data sources. Our findings show that there has been a marked shift in the relationship between conception and marriage in Russia. Increasingly, conceptions have been occurring before marriage, and in the most recent marital cohorts, the level of premarital first conceptions has even surpassed the level of marital first conceptions. The average interval between conception and entry into marriage has also been lengthening. We describe this unique pattern of childbearing and discuss some potential explanations for the ongoing association between marriage and childbearing in Russia.
Zum Umgang mit Tatsachen im Strafverfahren
Authors: Brettel Hauke
Published: December 2021

Die Aufklärung und Verwertung von Tatsachen hat im Strafverfahren mit Rücksicht auf höher bewertete Interessen Grenzen. Deshalb unterscheidet sich die Tatsachengrundlage von strafrechtlichen Entscheidungen z. T. von dem, was außerhalb eines Strafverfahrens als „Wahrheit“ gilt. Dies stellt bei der Begutachtung vor Herausforderungen, etwa wenn auf rechtskräftige Feststellungen Rücksicht zu nehmen ist, die zum Begutachtungszeitpunkt überholt erscheinen. Auch stehen Einschränkungen bei der prozessualen Tatsachenerforschung in einem Spannungsverhältnis dazu, dass strafrechtliche Entscheidungen mit den objektiven Gegebenheiten möglichst übereinstimmen sollen.
Comparison of Resected Malignant Tumors of the Right- and Left-Sided Colon—Is There a Difference?
Authors: Biró Adrienn , Ternyik László , Somodi Krisztián , Dawson Anna , Csulak Eszter , Tóth Dezső , Moizs Mariann , Káposztás Zsolt
Published: December 2021

Embryological, anatomical, and immunological differences between the right-sided and left-sided colons are well known, but the difference in oncological behavior of colon tumors has only recently become the main subject of studies. Published articles propose that there is a difference not only in symptoms, but also in survival. Our aim was to analyze the clinicopathological and oncological differences among our patients who had been operated for colon cancer in our department. We examined the historical data of our patients who underwent colon resection for malignancy between 1st of January 2016 and 31st of December 2018. Tumor markers, histological results, postoperative complications, and oncological therapies were investigated. The primary outcome was overall survival. We analyzed our patients’ survival data with Kaplan–Meier log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. In our study, 267 patients were enrolled. One hundred thirty-three (49.8%) patients had right-sided colon cancer; 134 (50.2%) patients had left-sided colon cancer. Patients with right-sided colon cancer were significantly more likely to have mucinous adenocarcinoma (p = 0.037). No significant differences were revealed in overall survival between right-sided colon cancer and left-sided colon cancer patients (p = 0.381). Additional subgroup analysis showed that there were no significant differences in overall survival for laterality neither in the metastatic group (p = 0.824) nor in the non-metastatic group (p = 0.345). Based on the conflicting previous study results, our findings repeatedly highlight that the relationship between tumor location in the colon and overall survival is not straightforward.
Room for Improvement: A 20-Year Single Center Experience with Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Authors: Duda Katarzyna , Wieczorkiewicz-Kabut Agata , Spałek Adrianna , Koclęga Anna , Kopińska Anna J. , Woźniczka Krzysztof , Helbig Grzegorz
Published: December 2021

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) remains the only curative therapeutic approach for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy/safety of allo-SCT as well as to identify factors influencing post-transplant survival. One hundred and two MDS patients (median age: 48 years; 57 males) who underwent allo-SCT were retrospectively evaluated. Twenty seven patients were transplanted from HLA-matched sibling and 75 patients received grafts from unrelated donors. Peripheral blood was a source of stem cell for 79 patients. Reduced intensity conditioning was used in 64 subjects. Acute and chronic graft versus host disease (GvHD) developed in 61 and 19 of patients, respectively. In total, 61 patients have died. The causes of deaths included infectious complications (n = 30), steroid-resistant GvHD (n = 17), MDS relapse (n = 9) and transformation to AML (n = 5). Non-relapse mortality and cumulative incidence of relapse at 2 years were 49.8% and 9%, respectively. 41 patients are alive at last contact and present full donor chimerism. 38 patients remain in complete hematological remission (CHR), 3 patients had CHR with incomplete platelet recovery. Median follow-up from diagnosis of MDS and transplantation are 27.1 months and 7 months respectively. Overall survival and relapse-free survival were 41% at 2 years. Increased serum ferritin level > 1000 ng/ml, presence of acute GvHD, grades III–IV acute GvHD and high hematopoietic cell transplantation-comorbidity index were found to negatively influenced survival. Allo-SCT for MDS is feasible procedure with a proportion of patients to be cured.
Identification of critical watershed at risk of soil erosion using morphometric and geographic information system analysis
Authors: Benzougagh Brahim , Meshram Sarita Gajbhiye , Dridri Abdallah , Boudad Larbi , Baamar Brahim , Sadkaoui Driss , Khedher Khaled Mohamed
Published: December 2021

Morphometric analysis is a pertinent scientific approach in any hydrological analysis, and it is necessary in the progress and management of drainage basin. Identification of areas at risk of erosion, and the prioritization of 48 sub-watersheds of Inaouene basin, was done by using linear, relief and areal aspects of watershed. The research carried out the use of geographic information system spatial data. The linear aspects include stream number, stream sequence, stream length, and bifurcation ratio, mean length of stream order, stream length ratio, mean stream length ratio, and form factor. The areal aspect includes frequency of stream, drainage density, texture ratio, channel length constant, and overland flow maintenance length. Ultimately, the relief dimensions included relief proportion, relief and ruggedness number. The array of compound (Cp) values computed allow us to set the priority ranks and classify the sub-watershed into three priority ranks groups: low, moderate, and high priority. Such morphometric analyses can be used therefore as a watershed erosion status estimator to prioritize land and water conservation initiatives and natural resources management.
The optimization and economic evaluation of oil production using low salinity polymer flood: a case study for EOR 26
Authors: Flatts Marvin , Alexander David , Maharaj Rean
Published: December 2021

Trinidad and Tobago (TT) have been producing crude oil commercially since 1908. For the past few decades, TT’s crude oil production has been in steady decline because most of the oil reservoirs are beyond the primary phase of their production. This situation coupled with lower energy prices have resulted in a shortfall in TT’s energy revenues and presents TT with major economic challenges. The objective of this study was to optimize a field simulation model of a combined Low Salinity Polymer Gel flood to highlight the possibility that Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) can boost crude oil production especially from heavy oil reserves and mature fields. A field simulation model of the EOR 26 Upper Forest Sands was built using the CMG Builder software. The EOR 26 Upper Forest Sand reservoirs of the Forest Reserve field are delineated by shale-outs, faults and water–oil contacts. The entire Forest Reserve is bordered by the Fyzabad anticline to its north-west and the Los Bajos fault to its south-west. A dynamic field simulation model of the combined Low Salinity Polymer Gel flooding of EOR 26 Upper Forest Sands was created using CMG STARS software and the optimum parameters of polymer gel concentration, salinity concentration and injection rates and pressure for the highest oil recovery were investigated. The highest oil recovery was obtained using a polymer gel concentration of 500 ppm with a salinity of 1000 ppm and an injection rate of 900 bbls/day during continuous polymer gel injection for a period of 545 days. The polymer gel injection was preceded by pre flush water injection for 180 days and followed by water injection for the duration of the ten (10) year period. The predicted oil recovery for the project is an additional 14.52% of OOIP and is considered economically feasible at a crude oil price of US$50 per barrel with a payback period of two years and an IRR of 63.53%.
Load dependent microstructural evolution in an as-cast 26% Cr high chromium cast iron during unlubricated sliding
Authors: Nayak U. Pranav , Suárez Sebastian , Pesnel Valentin , Mücklich Frank , Guitar María Agustina
Published: December 2021

In the current study, an as-cast 26% Cr high chromium cast iron (HCCI) alloy was subjected to dry-sliding linear wear tests, under different loads. The loads were selected based on analytically computing the critical load (PC) i.e., the load necessary to induce plastic deformation. The PC was calculated to be 15 N and accordingly, a sub-critical load (5 N) and an over-critical load (20 N) were chosen. The influence of increasing the load during the wear test was investigated in terms of the matrix microstructural behaviour and its ability to support the surrounding carbides. The morphological aspects of the wear tracks, and the deformed matrix microstructure adjacent and underneath the track was analysed by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. No evidence of plastic deformation of the matrix was observed below PC. On the contrary, at loads equal to and higher than PC, the austenitic matrix plastically deformed as evidenced by the presence of slip bands. Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements in terms of grain reference orientation deviation, and micro-Vickers hardness of the austenitic matrix indicated a deformation depth of about 40 µm at the maximum applied load of 20 N. The active wear mechanisms during sliding were a combination of both adhesive and abrasive wear, although increasing the load shifted the dominant mechanism towards abrasion. This was primarily attributable to the increased propensity for carbide cracking and fracturing, combined with the inability of the hardened austenitic matrix surface and sub-surface to adequately support the broken carbide fragments. Moreover, the shift in the dominant wear mechanism was also reflected in the wear volume and subsequently, the wear rate.
The US Defense Economy
Authors: Amara Jomana , Franck Raymond E.
Published: December 2021

The United States defence economy is remarkable for a number of reasons - including sheer size. It receives a significant (albeit decreasing) share of GDP and has a significant international footprint. Its purpose is to provide the resources for national defence - against a set of complex and capable adversaries. The main players in the defence economy are households, and the Federal Government. The associated interactions determine the resources provided for national defence and their allocation among various defence needs. This Element focuses primarily on interactions between government and industrial suppliers within the institutional peculiarities of the defence marketplace. This includes the developments that have determined the course of defence industry consolidation post-Cold War. The authors also highlight the persistent gap between resources available for defence and the means to execute the National Security Strategy. Finally, they offer some tentative thoughts regarding developments likely to shape the defence economy's future.
Human Rights and the Internet
Authors: Liddicoat Joy
Published: December 2021

The past decade has witnessed unprecedented use of the Internet for both advancing and suppressing human rights, giving rise to complex new issues that can both inspire and overwhelm. With ever-growing concerns about the (non-)regulation of our digital environment, it is surprising that both the theoretical and practical application of human rights to the Internet and our online lives remain unclear.

This book is a short and accessible introduction to the concepts of human rights, the Internet and the emergence of an era of human rights online as a new legal challenge. It will be of interest to a broad range of readers: policy makers and informed citizens, lawyers working with human rights defenders, and legal and human rights academics examining the emergence of this legal field.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Hotels as Shelters After a Landslide
Authors: Tada Shinya , Jitsuiki Kei , Ohsaka Hiromichi , Yanagawa Youichi
Published: December 2021

Objectives:

On July 3, 2021, a landslide occurred in part of Atami City, Shizuoka, Japan.

Methods:

The government of Shizuoka Prefecture requested the dispatch of Shizuoka Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (S-DMATs).

Results:

On day 2, the evacuees were evacuated into 2 hotels (A and B). Hotel A accommodated over 570 independent and dependent evacuees. Hotel B accommodated 44 dependent aged individuals, who lived in the same long-term health-care facility, together with their 11 caregivers. The evacuees in hotel B returned to the previous facility on day 10 without any specific medical problems. The evacuees in hotel A were managed in the guest rooms as family units. Individuals requiring care in guest rooms in hotel A became isolated because they could not call for help or walk. Furthermore, hotel guest rooms were not barrier-free. The S-DMATs supported the evacuees.

Conclusions:

Independent evacuees received the maximum benefits from the use of a hotel as a shelter. In contrast, it was difficult for dependent evacuees to benefit from the hotel as it is as a shelter when living alone in the hotel. Dependent evacuees required appropriate support to eat, walk, use the toilet, and keep themselves clean when using a hotel as a shelter.
Diverse labechiid stromatoporoids from the Upper Ordovician Xiazhen Formation of South China and their paleobiogeographic implications
Authors: Jeon Juwan , Liang Kun , Park Jino , Kershaw Stephen , Zhang Yuandong
Published: December 2021

A diverse labechiid stromatoporoid assemblage that includes 16 species in 8 genera was found in the Upper Ordovician Xiazhen Formation (mid–late Katian) at Zhuzhai, Jiangxi Province of South China. The assemblage is characterized by a combination of (1) North China provincial species succeeding from their origination in the Darriwilian, including Pseudostylodictyon poshanense Ozaki, 1938, Labechia shanhsiensis Yabe and Sugiyama, 1930, Labechia variabilis Yabe and Sugiyama, 1930, and Labechiella regularis (Yabe and Sugiyama, 1930) and (2) South China endemic species, including three new species (Labechia zhuzhainus Jeon n. sp., Labechiella beluatus Jeon n. sp., Sinabeatricea luteolus Jeon n. gen. n. sp.), and four species in open nomenclature (Rosenella sp., Cystostroma sp., Pseudostylodictyon sp., and Labechia sp.). The finding of Labechiella gondwanense Jeon n. sp., Stylostroma bubsense Webby, 1991, Stylostroma ugbrookense Webby, 1991, and Thamnobeatricea gouldi Webby, 1991 in the formation indicates that Tasmania was closely related to South China and had a closer paleobiogeographical relation with peri-Gondwanan terranes than with Laurentia. In addition, the occurrences of Labechia altunensis Dong and Wang, 1984 and Stylostroma species support a close biogeographic link between Tarim and South China through the Middle to Late Ordovician interval, corresponding with the results from other fossil groups such as brachiopods, conodonts and chitinozoans. The diverse labechiids from the Xiazhen Formation improve our understanding of the diversity of Ordovician stromatoporoids in peri-Gondwanan terranes and the biogeographic affinities among Australia (especially Tasmania), Tarim, and South China.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/4f46c91b-fa4c-4fe5-bea9-e409f1785677
Racial Disparities in Lifer Parole Outcomes: The Hidden Role of Professional Evaluations
Authors: Young Kathryne M. , Pearlman Jessica
Published: December 2021

One in seven people in prison in the US is serving a life sentence, and most of these people will eventually be eligible for discretionary parole release. Yet parole hearings are notoriously understudied. With only a handful of exceptions, few researchers have considered the ways in which race shapes decision-makers’ perception of parole candidates. We use a data set created from over seven hundred California lifer parole hearing transcripts to examine the factors that predict parole commissioners’ decisions. We find significant racial disparities in outcomes, with Black parole candidates less likely to receive parole grants than white parole candidates, and test two possible indirect mechanisms. First, we find that racial disparity is unassociated with differences in rehabilitative efforts of Black versus white parole candidates, suggesting that differential levels of self-rehabilitation are not responsible for the disparity. Second, we test the hypothesis that racial disparity owes to commissioners’ reliance on other professionals’ determinations: psychological assessments, behavioral judgments, and prosecutors’ recommendations. We find that reliance on these evaluations accounts for a significant portion of the observed racial disparity. These results suggest that inclusion of professional assessments is not race-neutral and may create a veneer of objectivity that masks racial inequality.
Political Divide, Weak Property Rights, and Infrastructure Provision: An Empirical Examination of Takings Decisions in Jerusalem
Authors: Levine-Schnur Ronit
Published: December 2021

In this article I use a unique hand-coded dataset of all expropriation exercises in Jerusalem over a twenty-five-year period to test the distribution of the expropriation burden across political communities. I identify the ethnoreligious group to which the impacted landowner belongs and the community that would benefit from the decision. I find that Palestinian property constitutes 38 percent of all land taken over the years, while only 10 percent of all land taken has been repurposed for their local community needs. Conversely, Jewish owners have contributed only 4 percent of all land taken while benefiting from 33 percent of the land taken for their community needs. I also find that land not owned by Jews has a higher propensity to be taken for citywide purposes by ten to twenty-three times than Jewish land, depending on the purpose and the type of property rights involved. This sharp gap can be attributed to the political power relations in the city. The case study enables me to test the relationship between weak property rights and infrastructure provision. As property rights are formally recorded and recognized selectively in some but not in all parts of the city, the article provides the first empirical evidence to the effect of weak property rights on the risk of expropriation. I find that the propensity for noncommunity purpose takings of nonformalized land for which Palestinians claim ownership but have no official records to is significantly higher when compared to formalized Palestinian land. This outcome contradicts the conventional wisdom in the literature that weak property rights help explain limited infrastructure development.
Choosing Imputation Models
Authors: Marbach Moritz
Published: December 2021

Imputing missing values is an important preprocessing step in data analysis, but the literature offers little guidance on how to choose between imputation models. This letter suggests adopting the imputation model that generates a density of imputed values most similar to those of the observed values for an incomplete variable after balancing all other covariates. We recommend stable balancing weights as a practical approach to balance covariates whose distribution is expected to differ if the values are not missing completely at random. After balancing, discrepancy statistics can be used to compare the density of imputed and observed values. We illustrate the application of the suggested approach using simulated and real-world survey data from the American National Election Study, comparing popular imputation approaches including random forests, hot-deck, predictive mean matching, and multivariate normal imputation. An R package implementing the suggested approach accompanies this letter.
Vectorial parameterizations of pose
Authors: Barfoot Timothy D. , Forbes James R. , D’Eleuterio Gabriele M. T.
Published: December 2021

Robotics and computer vision problems commonly require handling rigid-body motions comprising translation and rotation – together referred to aspose. In some situations, avectorialparameterization of pose can be useful, where elements of a vector space are surjectively mapped to a matrix Lie group. For example, these vectorial representations can be employed for optimization as well as uncertainty representation on groups. The most common mapping is the matrix exponential, which maps elements of a Lie algebra onto the associated Lie group. However, this choice is not unique. It has been previously shown how to characterize all such vectorial parameterizations forSO(3), the group of rotations. Some results are also known for the group of poses, where it is possible to build a family of vectorial mappings that includes the matrix exponential as well as the Cayley transformation. We extend what is known for these pose mappings to the$4 \times 4$representation common in robotics and also demonstrate three different examples of the proposed pose mappings: (i) pose interpolation, (ii) pose servoing control, and (iii) pose estimation in a pointcloud alignment problem. In the pointcloud alignment problem, our results lead to a new algorithm based on the Cayley transformation, which we callCayPer.
Exploring the Black Box of Managing Total Rewards for Older Professionals in the Canadian Financial Services Sector
Authors: St-Onge Sylvie , Beauchamp Legault Marie-Ève , Ballesteros-Leiva Félix , Haines Victor , Saba Tania
Published: December 2021

This study extends our knowledge about the management of older employees in the sector of financial services, which faces enormous transformational pressures (e.g., emergence of artificial intelligence, digital services). Based on the black box model of human resource management, we investigate how executives at 16 major financial institutions manage their total rewards to motivate their older professionals to stay at work longer. Top management’s views towards older professionals underlie a firm’s culture or climate, and more precisely, the extent of the perception that they are a strategic resource that needs focused management. Across firms, such adaptation (or lack thereof) is made through the following total rewards components: (1) flexibility in working time and place of work, (2) hiring of retirees, (3) hiring or promotion of older professionals, (4) role adjustment, (5) responsibilities and performance standards, (6) monetary rewards, benefits, and (7) recognition, succession planning, and support for retirement planning or preparation. The black box model should be used in future research to understand which reward components work best in which contextsto motivate older workers to stay at work longer.
Jacksonian Consular Reform and the Forging of America’s First Global Bureaucracy
Authors: SIMEONOV SIMEON ANDONOV
Published: December 2021

As revolutions swept across Central and South America in the 1820s and 1830s, Andrew Jackson’s administration undertook a landmark reform that transformed the US foreign policy apparatus into the nation’s first global bureaucracy. With the introduction of Edward Livingston’s 1833 consular reform bill to Congress, the nation embarked on a long path toward the modernization of its consular service in line with the powers of Europe and the new American republics. Despite the popularity of Livingston’s plan to turn a dated US consular service comprised of mercantile elites into a salaried professional bureaucracy, the Jacksonian consular reform dragged on for more than two decades before the passing of a consular bill in 1856. Contrary to Weberian models positing a straightforward path toward bureaucratization, the trajectory of Jacksonian consular reform demonstrates the power of mercantile elites to resist central government regulation just as much as it highlights how petty partisans—the protégé consuls appointed via the Jacksonian “spoils system”—powerfully shaped government policy to achieve personal advantages. In the constant tug-of-war between merchant-consuls and Jacksonian protégés, both groups mobilized competing visions of the “national character” in their correspondence with the Department of State and in the national press. Ultimately, the Jacksonian reform vision of an egalitarian and loyal consular officialdom prevailed over the old mercantile model of consulship as a promoter of national prestige and commercial expertise, but only after protégé consuls successfully exploited merchant-consuls’ perceived inability to compete with the salaried European officials across the sister-republics of the southwestern hemisphere.
Social Welfare History in the Age of Diversity
Authors: BERKOWITZ EDWARD D.
Published: December 2021

This policy perspective discusses three important social welfare programs—Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, and Temporary Aid to Needy Families—and offers an explanation of how they have expanded over time.
Associations between Visual Acuity and Cognitive Decline in Older Adulthood: A 9-Year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Runk Ashlyn , Jia Yichen , Liu Anran , Chang Chung-Chou H. , Ganguli Mary , Snitz Beth E.
Published: December 2021

Objective:

Emerging evidence suggests low vision may be a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. We examined effects of baseline visual acuity (VA) on level of, and change in, cognitive test performance over 9 years.

Method:

A population-based sample of 1,621 participants (average age 77 years) completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and VA testing at baseline and reassessed at nine subsequent annual visits. Linear regression modeled the association between baseline VA and concurrent cognitive test performance. Joint modeling of a longitudinal sub-model and a survival sub-model to adjust for attrition were used to examine associations between baseline VA and repeated cognitive test performance over time.

Results:

Better baseline VA was associated cross-sectionally with younger age, male sex, greater than high school education, and higher baseline neuropsychological test scores on both vision-dependent (B coefficient range −0.163 to −0.375, p = .006 to <.001) and vision-independent tests (−0.187 to −0.215, p = .003 to .002). In longitudinal modeling, better baseline VA was associated with slower decline in vision-dependent tests (B coefficient range −0.092 to 0.111, p = .005 to <.001) and vision-independent tests (−0.107 to 0.067, p = .007 to <.001).

Conclusions:

Higher VA is associated with higher concurrent cognitive abilities and slower rates of decline over 9 years in both vision-dependent and vision-independent tests of memory, language, and executive functioning. Findings are consistent with emerging literature supporting vision impairment in aging as a potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. Clinicians should encourage patient utilization of vision assessment and correction with the added aim of protecting cognition.
Neutrons on Rails: Transregional Monitoring of Soil Moisture and Snow Water Equivalent
Authors: Schrön M. , Oswald S. E. , Zacharias S. , Kasner M. , Dietrich P. , Attinger S.
Published: December 2021

Large‐scale measurements of the spatial distribution of water content in soils and snow are challenging for state‐of‐the‐art hydrogeophysical methods. Cosmic‐ray neutron sensing (CRNS) is a noninvasive technology that has the potential to bridge the scale gap between conventional in situ sensors and remote sensing products in both, horizontal and vertical domains. In this study, we explore the feasibility and potential of estimating water content in soils and snow with neutron detectors in moving trains. Theoretical considerations quantify the stochastic measurement uncertainty as a function of water content, altitude, resolution, and detector efficiency. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the sensitivity of measured water content is almost unperturbed by train materials. Finally, three distinct real‐world experiments provide a proof of concept on short and long‐range tracks. With our results a transregional observational soil moisture product becomes a realistic vision within the next years.
Opposite Sense of Strike‐Slip Faulting and Crustal Rotation Accommodating Left‐Lateral Shear Between the Tianshan Mountains and Kazakh Platform
Authors: Wu Chuanyong , Wang Weitao , Zheng Wenjun , Zhang Peizhen , Yu Zhongyuan
Published: December 2021

Tectonic deformation of blocks neighboring fault zones has been thought to aid in accommodating regional displacements. In general, these block‐bounding faults possess continuous geometry and similar kinematics. However, the northwestern boundary of the Tianshan Mountains (NWBTS) involves two groups of faults that strike NW and NE. GPS velocities show that contemporary deformation takes place in a zone of 300 km wide in the NWBTS and is roughly dominated by left‐lateral shear. Left‐lateral shear motion of ∼5–6 mm/yr along the NWBTS is accommodated by right‐lateral slip and counterclockwise rotation of fault wallrocks on the NW‐striking faults and left‐lateral faulting on the NE‐striking faults. Present‐day deformation associated with the ongoing India‐Eurasia collision in the NWBTS is best described as the opposite sense of strike‐slip faulting and crustal rotation. The difference in lithospheric strengthening between the Kazakh Platform and Tianshan deflects strain toward the northeast and drives the dynamic process in this region.
Simulation of Earth‐Ionosphere Cavity Resonances With Lightning Flashes Reported by OTD/LIS
Authors: Füllekrug Martin
Published: December 2021

Lightning flashes cause a globally resonant electromagnetic wave field known as Earth‐ionosphere cavity resonances. This global wave field is simulated here by use of lightning flashes reported by the lightning imagers on board the Optical Transient Detector (OTD)/Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) space missions. The stochastic occurrence of global lightning flashes in time and space is described with a likelihood function composed of a series of delta functions. This likelihood function is generated by random variates calculated from inverse transform sampling of the global lightning distributions measured by OTD/LIS. The simulation uses spherical harmonic expansion coefficients, calculated from frequency and distance dependent magnetic field measurements, to describe the wave field around the Earth. The incoherent superposition of the waves at each location results in simulated time series and spectra. The simulations agree very well with actual measurements of magnetic fields with a radiometer at Arrival Heights in the Antarctic as part of the Stanford ELF/VLF Radio Noise Survey. The simulated relative radiant energy distributions are attributed to corresponding “Earth‐ionosphere cavity brightness temperatures” TEIC. The spherical harmonic expansion of these brightness temperatures exhibits a spectrum where the amplitudes of the spatial expansion coefficients decrease with increasing angular degree. The calculated Earth‐ionosphere cavity brightness temperatures can be used for comparison with atmospheric temperatures in future studies.