bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Benchmark dose modelling in regulatory ecotoxicology, a potential tool in pest management
Authors: Jensen Signe M. , Kluxen Felix M. , Ritz Christian
Published: December 2021

For several authorities, benchmark dose (BMD) methodology has become the recommended approach by which to derive reference values for risk assessment. However, in practice, the BMD approach is not standard use in risk assessment for pesticides where the no observed adverse effect level, lowest observed adverse effect level and effective dose (ED50 or EDx) prevail. Regression‐based BMD and the benchmark dose lower confidence limit (BMDL) have several advantages, such as utilizing more information from the generated data and being less dependent on tested dose levels. However, the BMD approach requires some degree of expert knowledge for defining an appropriate risk level for estimating the BMD and using more sophisticated statistical methods to calculate BMD and BMDL. The BMD approach is one way to move away from p value‐based binary decision‐making towards putting the weight on effect sizes. We review the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on the BMD approach for risk assessment of pesticides. Further, we discuss potential applications in efficacy trials for pest management purposes. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Improving the assessment of the probability of success in late stage drug development
Authors: Hampson Lisa V. , Bornkamp Björn , Holzhauer Björn , Kahn Joseph , Lange Markus R. , Luo Wen‐Lin , Cioppa Giovanni Della , Stott Kelvin , Ballerstedt Steffen
Published: December 2021

There are several steps to confirming the safety and efficacy of a new medicine. A sequence of trials, each with its own objectives, is usually required. Quantitative risk metrics can be useful for informing decisions about whether a medicine should transition from one stage of development to the next. To obtain an estimate of the probability of regulatory approval, pharmaceutical companies may start with industry‐wide success rates and then apply to these subjective adjustments to reflect program‐specific information. However, this approach lacks transparency and fails to make full use of data from previous clinical trials. We describe a quantitative Bayesian approach for calculating the probability of success (PoS) at the end of phase II which incorporates internal clinical data from one or more phase IIb studies, industry‐wide success rates, and expert opinion or external data if needed. Using an example, we illustrate how PoS can be calculated accounting for differences between the phase II data and future phase III trials, and discuss how the methods can be extended to accommodate accelerated drug development pathways.
Prevalence, incidence, and survival of pulmonary arterial hypertension: A systematic review for the global burden of disease 2020 study
Authors: Emmons‐Bell Sophia , Johnson Catherine , Boon‐Dooley Alexandra , Corris Paul A. , Leary Peter J. , Rich Stuart , Yacoub Magdi , Roth Gregory A.
Published: December 2021

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by increased resistance in the pulmonary arterioles as a result of remodeled blood vessels. We sought all available epidemiologic data on population‐based prevalence, incidence, and 1‐year survival of PAH as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study. We performed a systematic review searching Global Index Medicus (GIM) for keywords related to PAH between 1980 and 2021 and identified population‐representative sources of prevalence, incidence, and mortality for clinically diagnosed PAH. Of 6772 articles identified we found 65 with population‐level data: 17 for prevalence, 17 for incidence, and 58 reporting case fatality. Reported prevalence ranged from 0.37 cases/100,000 persons in a referral center of French children to 15 cases/100,000 persons in an Australian study. Reported incidence ranged from 0.008 cases/100,000 person‐years in Finland, to 1.4 cases/100,000 person‐years in a retrospective chart review at a clinic in Utah, United States. Reported 1‐year survival ranged from 67% to 99%. All studies with sex‐specific estimates of prevalence or incidence reported higher levels in females than males. Studies varied in their size, study design, diagnostic criteria, and sampling procedures. Reported PAH prevalence, incidence, and mortality varied by location and study. Prevalence ranged from 0.4 to 1.4 per 100,000 persons. Harmonization of methods for PAH registries would improve efforts at disease surveillance. Results of this search contribute to ongoing efforts to quantify the global burden of PAH.
Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of AgI/BiO2‐x Heterojunction Photocatalyst
Authors: Zhang Xiaoli , Dou Jianyang , Yan Song , Yao Lizhu , Fu Yanfang , Shi Lei
Published: December 2021

In this paper, a new type of AgI/BiO2‐x was successfully obtained. The crystal structure, micro morphology, element distribution and light response ability of AgI, BiO2‐x and AgI/BiO2‐x were observed by XRD, SEM, EDS‐mapping and DRS. The results show that the heterojunction between AgI and BiO2‐x is conducive to electron transfer and improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. When AgI/BiO2‐x was used to degrade rhodamine B, the reaction rate of the best sample is 0.1405 min−1, which is 6 folds more than BiO2‐x and 2.9 times higher than AgI. After four times cycling experiments, the degradation rate was maintained excellent. Hence, this work provides an effective and steady photocatalyst.
Self‐Limiting Synthesis of Ultrathin Ge(110) Single Crystal via Liquid Metal
Authors: Lan Haihui , Li Yiling , Liu Jinglu , Hu Wenchao , Zhu Xiaohui , Ma Yuxin , Niu Lixin , Zhang Zehao , Jia Shuangfeng , Li Linyang , Chen Yunxu , Wang Jianbo , Zeng Mengqi , Fu Lei
Published: December 2021

Germanium, the prime applied semiconductor, is widely used in solid‐state electronics and photoelectronics. Unfortunately, since the 3D diamond‐like structure with strong covalent bonds impedes the 2D anisotropic growth, only the examples of ultrathin Ge along the (111) plane have been investigated, much less to the controllable synthesis along another crystal surface. Meanwhile, Ge(111) flakes are limited in semiconductor applications because of their gapless property. Here, ultrathin Ge(110) single crystal is synthesized with semiconductive property via gallium‐associated self‐limiting growth. The obtained ultrathin Ge(110) single crystal exhibits anisotropic honeycomb structure, uniformly incremental lattice, wide tunable direct‐bandgap, blue‐shifted photoluminescence emission, and unique phonon modes, which are consistent with the previous theoretical predictions. It also confirms excellent second harmonic generation and high hole mobility of 724 cm2 V−1 s−1. The realization of ultrathin Ge(110) single crystal will provide an excellent candidate for application in electronics and optoelectronics.
Practical Prelithiation of 4.5 V LiCoO2||Graphite Batteries by a Passivated Lithium‐Carbon Composite
Authors: Zhao Xuan , Yi Ruowei , Zheng Lei , Liu Ya , Li Zhiyun , Zeng Leiying , Shen Yanbin , Lu Wei , Chen Liwei
Published: December 2021

Prelithiation can replenish active Li into the battery to compensate the Li consumption due to the formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the electrode surface, therefore improving the energy density of Li‐ion batteries (LIBs), especially for batteries using electrode materials with low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE). However, practical prelithiation in LIBs is a challenge since most lithiated compounds with high specific capacity are unstable and industrially incompatible. Herein, an effective prelithiation strategy is demonstrated by using a lithium‐carbon (Li‐C) microsphere composite. These Li‐C microspheres are passivated by a self‐assembled monolayer of octadecylphosphonic acid, which suppresses the reaction between Li and commonly used slurry solvent 1‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone (NMP). After the addition of passivated Li‐C into the NMP‐based graphite slurry, the ICE of the graphite||Li half‐cell boosts from 88.5% to 100.5%. In a 4.5 V LiCoO2(LCO)||graphite full‐cell, the supplementary Li source avoids excessive delithiation of LCO, thus suppressing the destructive phase transformation at high delithiation potential. As a result, the prelithiated LCO||graphite full‐cell presents an initial discharge capacity of 201 mAh g−1 and the capacity retention after 100 cycles increases by 7.1 %. This work provides a practical approach for developing high energy density and long cycle life LIBs.
Composite outcomes in observational studies of ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Magro Fernando , Alves Catarina , Santiago Mafalda , Ministro Paula , Lago Paula , Correia Luís , Gonçalves Raquel , Carvalho Diana , Portela Francisco , Dias Cláudia Camila , Dignass Axel , Danese Silvio , Peyrin‐Biroulet Laurent , Estevinho Maria Manuela , Moreira Paula ,   on behalf GEDII (Portuguese IBD Group)
Published: December 2021

Background

Ulcerative colitis (UC) has been the focus of numerous observational studies over the years and a common strategy employed in their design is the use of composite and aggregate outcomes.

Objective

This systematic review and meta‐analysis aims to identify composite and aggregate outcomes of observational studies in UC and to evaluate how the number and type of variables included and the length of follow‐up affect the frequency of patients that achieve these outcomes.

Methods

A systematic literature search was carried out using MEDLINE [via PubMed], Scopus, and Web of Science online databases. Observational studies that included UC patients and reported composite or aggregate outcomes were identified. A set of variables considered to be representative of progressive or disabling UC was defined, the proportion of patients attaining the outcomes was determined and a random‐effects meta‐analysis was performed by dividing the identified studies into subgroups according to different criteria of interest.

Results

A total of 10,264 records were identified in the systematic search, of which 33 were retained for qualitative analysis and 20 were included in the meta‐analysis. The mean frequency for composite outcomes was 0.363 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.323‐0.403]. The frequency of composite outcome for the subgroup of studies that included the variable “Biologics” was significantly higher than for those in which this variable was not reported [0.410; 95% CI 0.364‐0.457 versus 0.298; 95% CI 0.232‐0.364; p = 0.006]. Composite outcomes were also more frequent as the follow‐up duration increased.

Conclusion

The frequency of composite outcomes in observational studies of UC is dependent on the specific identity of the variables being reported. Moreover, longer follow‐up periods are associated with higher frequencies of composite outcomes. The evidence provided here is useful for the design of future observational studies of UC that aim to maximize the frequency of patients that achieve composite outcomes.
Capacity Development Associated with the Implementation of Emissions Trading System in Mexico
Authors: Rodríguez María Concepción Martínez , Moreno Catherine Nieto , Aranda Mariana Marcelino
Published: December 2021

The creation of an emissions trading system in Mexico as response to international policy on climate change forces the government and corporations to create new activities and responsibilities to address this issue. It is also important to know who will be the decision-maker and who is in charge of the institutional work (representation and negotiation). The main objective of this chapter is to point out who the stakeholders involved in the design, implementation, evaluation and transparency of the system are, or should be, according to the national regulatory framework and international summons. We shall also analyze the mechanics and information provided by the system and how it helps to make environmental policy, which helps to reduce emissions. Finally, we will also analyze whether it also helps to establish strategic alliances and international agreements toward common objectives and priorities. The chapter approaches the topic based on capacity development theory, which focuses on improving governance among different levels and stakeholders: government, companies, civil organizations, and scientists. We emphasize the potential of training spaces as a place for transformation and developing a learning framework whose own relevance relies on the focus of emergent strategies, which ensure the environmental integrity and conditions for the country’s competence in the international context. This chapter contributes to existing literature about the understanding of executing such a system, the stakeholders involved at the national level, and their potential to create international networks.
The γπ → ππ anomaly from lattice QCD and dispersion relations
Authors: Niehus Malwin , Hoferichter Martin , Kubis Bastian
Published: December 2021

Abstract

We propose a formalism to extract the γπ → ππ chiral anomaly F3π from calculations in lattice QCD performed at larger-than-physical pion masses. To this end, we start from a dispersive representation of the γ(*)π → ππ amplitude, whose main quark-mass dependence arises from the ππ scattering phase shift and can be derived from chiral perturbation theory via the inverse-amplitude method. With parameters constrained by lattice calculations of the P-wave phase shift, we use this combination of dispersion relations and effective field theory to extrapolate two recent γ(*)π → ππ calculations in lattice QCD to the physical point. Our formalism allows us to extract the radiative coupling of the ρ(770) meson and, for the first time, the chiral anomaly F3π = 38(16)(11) GeV−3. The result is consistent with the chiral prediction albeit within large uncertainties, which will improve in accordance with progress in future lattice-QCD computations.
One-loop partition function, gauge accessibility and spectra in AdS3 gravity
Authors: Acosta Joel , Garbarz Alan , Goya Andrés , Leston Mauricio
Published: December 2021

Abstract

We continue the study of the one-loop partition function of AdS3 gravity with focus on the square-integrability condition on the fluctuating fields. In a previous work we found that the Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions follow directly from the L2 condition. Here we rederive the partition function as a ratio of Laplacian determinants by performing a suitable decomposition of the metric fluctuations. We pay special attention to the asymptotics of the fields appearing in the partition function. We also show that in the usual computation using ghost fields for the de Donder gauge, such gauge condition is accessible precisely for square-integrable ghost fields. Finally, we compute the spectrum of the relevant Laplacians in thermal AdS3, in particular noticing that there are no isolated eigenvalues, only essential spectrum. This last result supports the analytic continuation approach of David, Gaberdiel and Gopakumar. The purely essential spectra found are consistent with the independent results of Lee and Delay of the essential spectrum of the TT rank-2 tensor Lichnerowickz Laplacian on asymptotically hyperbolic spaces.
The impact of gender of the examiner on orofacial pain perception and pain reporting among healthy volunteers
Authors: Lövgren A. , Häggman-Henrikson B. , Fjellman-Wiklund A. , Begic A. , Landgren H. , Lundén V. , Svensson P. , Österlund C.
Published: December 2021

Objectives

Pain on palpation of jaw muscles is a commonly used diagnostic criterion when examining patients with orofacial pain. It is not known, however, if pain reports are affected by the gender of the examiner. Our aim was to investigate if pressure pain threshold (PPT), pressure pain tolerance (PTol), and pain intensity assessed over the masseter muscles in healthy individuals are affected by the gender of the examiner.

Materials and methods

Healthy, pain-free individuals were recruited on a voluntary basis. PPT and PTol were assessed using pressure algometry. At the PTol level, participants also rated pain intensity on a 0–10 numeric rating scale. Assessments of PPT and PTol were conducted with six repeated measurements performed twice, separately by one female and one male examiner, on each participant.

Results

In total, 84 participants (43 women; median age 24, IQR 6) were included. With a female examiner, women reported higher pain intensity than men (Mann Whitney U, p = 0.005). In the multivariable analysis, significantly higher PTol was predicted by male examiner. Also, a higher ratio between PTol and reported pain intensity was predicted by male examiner.

Conclusions

The gender of the examiner influences pain reporting and perception in an experimental setting. This effect on pain perception related to gender of the examiner is probably related to normative gender behaviors rather than to biological alterations within the examined individual.

Clinical relevance

In clinical and experimental settings, gender of the examiner may affect not only pain perception but also pain reporting, with potential implications for diagnostics in patients with pain.
Utilizing environmental DNA for wide-range distributions of reproductive area of an invasive terrestrial toad in Ishikari river basin in Japan
Authors: Mizumoto Hiroki , Kishida Osamu , Takai Kotaro , Matsuura Naru , Araki Hitoshi
Published: December 2021

Understanding the distribution of invasive species and their reproductive area is crucial for their managements after invasion. While catch and observation surveys are still embraced, environmental DNA (eDNA) has been increasingly utilized as an efficient tool for identifying these species in the wild. In this study, we developed a Bufo-specific eDNA assay for detecting an invasive, toxic, and terrestrial toad species Bufo japonicus formosus in Hokkaido, Japan, and applied it to their reproductive area at watershed scale. The eDNA assay was field-validated in ponds where B. japonicus were observed, as well as in rivers downstream of the reproductive ponds. Thus, the assay provided us an opportunity to screen watersheds that include their reproductive area by collecting downstream water samples. Applying it to the Ishikari river basin, the largest river basin in Hokkaido (c.a., 14,330 km2), we detected toad eDNA at 32 out of 73 sampling sites. They are composed of eleven sites with species observation records nearby (all the sites with observation records within a 500 m radius) and 21 sites without such records. And those eDNA detections were from twelve out of 31 river systems in the entire river basin. A Bayesian, multiscale occupancy model supported high eDNA detectability among those sites. These results suggest that the eDNA assay can efficiently estimate the presence of reproductive area of the terrestrial toad even from a distant downstream of the watershed, and that it provides a powerful means of detecting new reproductive area and monitoring further spread of invasive species.
Potential impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection on drought risk managements over major river basins in Africa
Authors: Abiodun Babatunde J. , Odoulami Romaric C. , Sawadogo Windmanagda , Oloniyo Olumuyiwa A. , Abatan Abayomi A. , New Mark , Lennard Christopher , Izidine Pinto , Egbebiyi Temitope S. , MacMartin Douglas G.
Published: December 2021

Most socio-economic activities in Africa depend on the continent’s river basins, but effectively managing drought risks over the basins in response to climate change remains a big challenge. While studies have shown that the stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) intervention could mitigate temperature-related climate change impacts over Africa, there is a dearth of information on how the SAI intervention could influence drought characteristics and drought risk managements over the river basins. The present study thus examines the potential impacts of climate change and the SAI intervention on droughts and drought management over the major river basins in Africa. Multi-ensemble climate simulation datasets from the Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering Large Ensemble (GLENS) Project were analysed for the study. The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) were used to characterize the upper and lower limits of future drought severity, respectively, over the basins. The SPEI is a function of rainfall and potential evapotranspiration, whereas the SPI is only a function of rainfall, so the difference between the two indices is influenced by atmospheric evaporative demand. The results of the study show that, while the SAI intervention, as simulated in GLENS, may offset the impacts of climate change on temperature and atmospheric evaporative demand, the level of SAI that compensates for temperature change would overcompensate for the impacts on precipitation and therefore impose a climate water balance deficit in the tropics. SAI would narrow the gaps between SPEI and SPI projections over the basins by reducing SPEI drought frequency through reduced temperature and atmospheric evaporative demand while increasing SPI drought frequency through reduced rainfall. The narrowing of this gap lowers the level of uncertainty regarding future changes in drought frequency, but nonetheless has implications for future drought management in the basins, because while SAI lowers the upper limit of the future drought stress, it also raises the lower limit of the drought stress.
Students’ multimodal knowledge sharing in school: Spatial repertoires and semiotic assemblages
Authors: Stenliden Linnea , Nissen Jörgen
Published: December 2021

In a world ‘flooded’ with data, students in school need adequate tools as Visual Analytics (VA), that easily process mass data, give support in drawing advanced conclusions and help to make informed predictions in relation to societal circumstances. Methods for how the students’ insights may be reformulated and presented in ‘appropriate’ modes are required as well. Therefore, the aim in this study is to analyse elementary school students’ practices of communicating visual discoveries, their insights, as the final stage in the knowledge-building process with an VA-application for interactive data visualization. A design-based intervention study is conducted in one social science classroom to explore modes for students presentation of insights, constructed from the interactive data visualizations. Video captures are used to document 30 students’ multifaceted presentations. The analyses are based on concepts from Pennycook (2018) and Deleuze and Guattari (1987). To account for how different modes interact, when students present their findings, one significant empirical sequence is described in detail. The emerging communicative dimensions (visual-, bodily- and verbal-) are embedded within broad spatial repertoires distributing flexible semiotic assemblages. These assemblages provide an incentive for the possibilities of teachers’ assessments of their students’ knowledge outcomes.
Networked Struggles: Placards at Pakistan’s Aurat March
Authors: Kamal Daanika R.
Published: December 2021

Aurat March [Women’s March] is an annual event organised in various cities across Pakistan to observe International Women’s Day. Since its inception in 2018, the March has been condemned by conservative religious and political segments of society for reasons relating to propriety. This commentary explores how placards predominantly form the object of censure in the movement’s backlash. By reflecting on discourses on mainstream and social media, I first assess the use of placards in constructing networks of feminist voices. I then assess the (re)production of anti-feminist discourses, sparked by commentary on (select) placards and doctored images to promote dis/misinformation campaigns through the convergence of networked misogyny. Placards at Aurat March have therefore constructed a space for resistance—both by the movement and in retaliation to it—shifting the placard to a site of networked struggles over feminist and women’s participation in public spaces.
‘No-One Can Tell a Story Better than the One Who Lived It’: Reworking Constructions of Childhood and Trauma Through the Arts in Rwanda
Authors: Pells Kirrily , Breed Ananda , Uwihoreye Chaste , Ndushabandi Eric , Elliott Matthew , Nzahabwanayo Sylvestre
Published: December 2021

The intergenerational legacies of conflict and violence for children and young people are typically approached within research and interventions through the lens of trauma. Understandings of childhood and trauma are based on bio-psychological frameworks emanating from the Global North, often at odds with the historical, political, economic, social and cultural contexts in which interventions are enacted, and neglect the diversity of knowledge, experiences and practices. Within this paper we explore these concerns in the context of Rwanda and the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. We reflect on two qualitative case studies: Connective Memories and Mobile Arts for Peace which both used arts-based approaches drawing on the richness of Rwandan cultural forms, such as proverbs and storytelling practices, to explore knowledge and processes of meaning-making about trauma, memory, and everyday forms of conflict from the perspectives of children and young people. We draw on these findings to argue that there is a need to refine and elaborate understandings of intergenerational transmission of trauma in Rwanda informed by: the historical and cultural context; intersections of structural and ‘everyday’ forms of conflict and social trauma embedded in intergenerational relations; and a reworking of notions of trauma ‘transmission’ to encompass the multiple connectivities between generations, temporalities and expressions of trauma.
Hamiltonian energy computation and complex behavior of a small heterogeneous network of three neurons: circuit implementation
Authors: Njitacke Zeric Tabekoueng , Awrejcewicz Jan , Ramakrishnan Balamurali , Rajagopal Karthikeyan , Kengne Jacques
Published: December 2021

Brain functions are sometimes emulated using some analog integrated circuits based on the organizational principle of natural neural networks. Neuromorphic engineering is the research branch devoted to the study and realization of such circuits with striking features. In this contribution, a novel small network of three neurons is introduced and investigated. The model is built from the coupling between two 2D Hindmarsh–Rose neurons through a 2D FitzHugh–Nagumo neuron. Thus, a heterogeneous coupled network is obtained. The biophysical energy released by the network during each electrical activity is evaluated. In addition, nonlinear analysis tools such as two-parameter Lyapunov exponent, bifurcation diagrams, the graph of the largest Lyapunov exponent, phase portraits, time series, as well as the basin of attractions are used to numerically investigate the network. It is found that the model can experience hysteresis justified by the simultaneous existence of three distinct electrical activities using the same set of parameters. Finally, the circuit implementation of the network is addressed in PSPICE to further support the obtained results.
Strategic Responses to Institutional Voids (Rationalization, Aggression, and Defensiveness): Institutional Complementarity and Why the Home Country Matters
Authors: Luiz John M. , Magada Takudzwa , Mukumbuzi Regis
Published: December 2021

We seek to understand how the strategic responses of firms to institutional voids are affected by their home countries’ institutional contexts. It adopts an exploratory, multiple case studies approach examining the responses of advanced and emerging multinational enterprises, and local firms in two African countries which are characterized by such voids, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe. Our research suggests that firms’ strategic responses to institutional voids in emerging or developing markets are affected by the home country’s institutional environment and firms’ experiences and advantages arising from that home context. Firms adopt strategic responses which reflect their respective advantages and this results in diverse approaches based on the interplay between capitalizing upon internal resources and institutional know-how. For some firms this may result in a defensive strategic response, whilst for others opportunistic and aggressive agility, or rationalization and reconciliation may manifest. We demonstrate differences between advanced and emerging multinational enterprises and domestic firms covering the spectrum between institutional outsiders and insiders. We emphasize the contextual nature of these strategic responses and argue that this requires integrating both a resource and institution-based analysis of firms’ underlying advantages and how they are able to leverage off these advantages in institutionally voided environments. Practical implications arise for doing business in emerging and developing markets.
Time-independent perturbation theory with Lagrange multipliers
Authors: Yu Chaehyun , Jung Dong-Won , Kim U-Rae , Lee Jungil
Published: December 2021

We derive the formulas for the energy and wavefunction of the time-independent Schrödinger equation with perturbation in a compact form. Unlike the conventional approaches based on Rayleigh–Schrödinger or Brillouin–Wigner perturbation theories, we employ a recently developed approach of matrix-valued Lagrange multipliers that regularizes an eigenproblem. The Lagrange-multiplier regularization makes the characteristic matrix for an eigenproblem invertible. After applying the constraint equation to recover the original equation, we find the solutions of the energy and wavefunction consistent with the conventional approaches. This formalism does not rely on an iterative way and the order-by-order corrections are easily obtained by taking the Taylor expansion. The Lagrange-multiplier regularization formalism for perturbation theory presented in this paper is completely new and can be extended to the degenerate perturbation theory in a straightforward manner. We expect that this new formalism is also pedagogically useful to give insights on the perturbation theory in quantum mechanics.
On the representations of the braid group constructed by C. M. Egea and E. Galina
Authors: Kahil Rana S. , Abdulrahim Mohammad N.
Published: December 2021

In this paper, we determine a sufficient condition for the irreducibility of the family of representations of the braid group constructed by C. M. Egea and E. Galina without requiring that the representations are self-adjoint. Then, we construct a new subfamily of multi-parameter representations $$(\psi _m,V_m), $$

(

ψ
m

,

V
m

)
,

$$1\le m< n$$

1
≤
m
<
n

, of dimension $$ V_m =\left( {\begin{array}{c}n\\ m\end{array}}\right) $$

V
m

=

n

m

. Finally, we study the irreducibility of $$(\psi _m,V_m) $$

(

ψ
m

,

V
m

)

.
A study on community expectation for cooperative behaviour among locals and migrants: a case study of an Okinawan village, Japan
Authors: Sugimoto Aoi , Sugino Hiroaki , van Putten Ingrid , Yagi Nobuyuki
Published: December 2021

Despite the increasing need for local and migrant populations to cooperate in natural resource governance, little attention has been paid to community contexts that influence individual cooperative behavioural choices among them. The present study demonstrates this influence through quantitative and qualitative data obtained in Shiraho village, Okinawa, Japan. Externalised cooperative behaviour was significantly different between locals and migrants, and the residents’ location in the social network was related to the level of cooperation, even though they had similar individual cooperative preferences. We find that people with dense social ties participate in community cooperation more than others, and that residents practise their cooperative behaviour in a way that fits community expectations: which was influenced by age and birth origin. Understanding the social context that guides individual behaviour for natural resource governance in a time when residential fluidity may keep increasing has relevance to other communities.
Evaluating the security of electronic and mobile banking
Authors: Wodo Wojciech , Blaskiewicz Przemyslaw , Stygar Damian , Kuzma Natalia
Published: December 2021

Electronic and mobile banking is ubiquitous today. Almost everybody uses it in some form or another – typically via mobile apps or web services. And there are many suggested and implemented security means, such as SMS codes, mobile tokens and so on. The general public is led to believe that electronic security ‘is taken care of’.
Dendrites and measures with discrete spectrum
Authors: FORYŚ-KRAWIEC MAGDALENA , HANTÁKOVÁ JANA , KUPKA JIŘÍ , OPROCHA PIOTR , ROTH SAMUEL
Published: December 2021

We are interested in dendrites for which all invariant measures of zero-entropy mappings have discrete spectrum, and we prove that this holds when the closure of the endpoint set of the dendrites is countable. This solves an open question which has been around for awhile, and almost completes the characterization of dendrites with this property.
Bolus formation from fission of nonlinear internal waves over a mild slope
Authors: Ghassemi Amin , Zahedi Saeid , Boegman Leon
Published: December 2021

Breaking nonlinear internal waves (NLIWs) of depression on boundary slopes drives mixing in the coastal ocean. Of the different breaker types, fission is most commonly observed on mild slopes of continental margins. However, fission on mild slopes has rarely been investigated in the laboratory owing to limitations on flume length. In the present work, a train of NLIWs of depression is generated in an 18.2 m wave flume and shoaled upon a mild uniform slope. During fission, each NLIW of depression scatters into one or two NLIWs of elevation, which transforms into a bolus at the bolus birth point, where shear instability occurs through the pycnocline. The bolus propagates upslope, decreasing in size until it degenerates by shear and lobe-cleft instability, while losing volume to a return flow along the bed. The location of the bolus birth point, bolus propagation length scale, initial size and the number of boluses from each incident wave are parameterized from the wave half-width and the wave Froude number associated with the incident NLIW. These are compared with the characteristics of boluses generated by other breaking mechanisms on steeper slopes. Some bolus characteristics (height to length ratio, change in size and velocity field) are similar for boluses generated by fission, collapsing sinusoidal waves and internal solitary waves of elevation; however, the number of boluses, their birth point and initial height differ. The boluses formed by fission have more initial energy and no reflection. Further research is required to better quantify bolus-driven mixing on continental margins.
A vortex–wave interaction theory describing the effect of boundary forcing on shear flows
Authors: Hall Philip
Published: December 2021

A strongly nonlinear theory describing the effect of small amplitude boundary forcing in the form of waves on high Reynolds number shear flows is given. The interaction leads to an

$O(1)$

change in the unperturbed flow and is relevant to a number of forcing mechanisms. The cases of the shear flow being bounded or unbounded are both considered and the results for the unbounded case apply to quite arbitrary flows. The instability criterion for unbounded flows is expressed in terms of the wall forcing and the friction Reynolds number. As particular examples we investigate wall transpiration or surface undulations as sources of the forcing and both propagating and stationary waves are considered. Results are given for propagating waves with crests perpendicular to the flow direction and for stationary waves with crests no longer perpendicular to the flow direction. In the first of those situations we find the instability induced by transpiration waves is independent of the propagation speed. For wavy walls downstream propagation completely stabilises the flow at a critical speed whereas upstream propagation greatly destabilises the flow. For stationary oblique waves we find that the instability is enhanced and a much wider range of unstable wavenumbers exists. For the bounded case with a wall of fixed wavelength we identify a critical wavelength where the most dangerous mode switches from the aligned to the oblique configuration. For the transpiration problem in the oblique configuration a strong resonance occurs when the vortex wavelength coincides with the spanwise wavelength of the forcing.
Driving turnout: the effect of car ownership on electoral participation
Authors: de Benedictis-Kessner Justin , Palmer Maxwell
Published: December 2021

Inequalities in voter participation between groups of the population pose a problem for democratic representation. We use administrative data on 6.7 million registered voters to show that a previously-ignored characteristic of voters—access to a personal automobile—creates large disparities in in-person voting rates. Lack of access to a car depresses election day voter turnout by substantively large amounts across a variety of fixed-effects models that account for other environmental and voter characteristics. Car access creates the largest hindrance to voting for those people who live farther from the polls. These effects do not appear for absentee voting, suggesting a simple policy solution to solve large disparities in political participation. This study contributes to the theoretic understanding of political participation as well as the impact of potential policy reforms to solve participatory gaps.
Economic interventions, economic perceptions and political support during the Eurozone crisis
Authors: Devine Daniel , Turnbull-Dugarte Stuart J.
Published: December 2021

What is the effect of external economic intervention on political support and economic evaluations? We argue that economic interventions systematically worsen support for governing institutions and much of this is mediated through updating economic perceptions, at least during the Eurozone crisis. We evidence this with two analyses. First, we provide the first quasi-experimental evidence to show that intervention worsened both political support and economic evaluations. Second, we conduct a mediation analysis using Eurobarometer data to quantify how much of the effect of intervention is mediated by economic evaluations. This has broader implications for understanding how citizens react to international integration, international cues, and the process of forming judgements of political support.
Decomposing the source of the gender gap in legislative committee service: evidence from US states
Authors: Payson Julia , Fouirnaies Alexander , Hall Andrew B.
Published: December 2021

Extensive research on gender and politics indicates that women legislators are more likely to serve on committees and sponsor bills related to so-called “women's issues.” However, it remains unclear whether this empirical regularity is driven by district preferences, differences in legislator backgrounds, or because gendered political processes shape and constrain the choices available to women once they are elected. We introduce expansive new data on over 25,000 US state legislators and an empirical strategy to causally isolate the different channels that might explain these gendered differences in legislator behavior. After accounting for district preferences with a difference-in-differences design and for candidate backgrounds via campaign fundraising data, we find that women are still more likely to serve on women's issues committees, although the gender gap in bill sponsorship decreases. These results shed new light on the mechanisms that lead men and women to focus on different policy areas as legislators.
The Anti-Aryan Moment: Decolonization, Diplomacy, and Race in Late Pahlavi Iran
Authors: Kashani-Sabet Firoozeh
Published: December 2021

In 1946, the entertainer and activist Paul Robeson pondered America's intentions in Iran. In what was to become one of the first major crises of the Cold War, Iran was fighting a Soviet aggressor that did not want to leave. Robeson posed the question, “Is our State Department concerned with protecting the rights of Iran and the welfare of the Iranian people, or is it concerned with protecting Anglo-American oil in that country and the Middle East in general?” This was a loaded question. The US was pressuring the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops after its occupation of the country during World War II. Robeson wondered why America cared so much about Soviet forces in Iranian territory, when it made no mention of Anglo-American troops “in countries far removed from the United States or Great Britain.” An editorial writer for a Black journal in St. Louis posed a different variant of the question: Why did the American secretary of state, James F. Byrnes, concern himself with elections in Iran, Arabia or Azerbaijan and yet not “interfere in his home state, South Carolina, which has not had a free election since Reconstruction?”
Comparison of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber size distribution fitting methods and evaluation of the relationship between soil properties and estimated distribution parameters
Authors: Mhango J. K. , Hartley W. , Harris W. E. , Monaghan J. M.
Published: December 2021

Accurate estimation of tuber size distribution (TSD) parameters in discretely categorized potato (Solanum tuberosum L) yield samples is desirable for estimating modal tuber sizes, which is fundamental to yield prediction. In the current work, systematic yield digs were conducted on five commercial fields (N= 119) to compare the Weibull, Gamma and Gaussian distribution functions for relative-likelihood-based goodness-of-fit to the observed discrete distributions. Parameters were estimated using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) for the three distributions but were also derived using the percentiles approach for the Weibull distribution to compare accuracy against the MLE approaches. The relationship between TSD and soil nutrient variability was examined using the best-fitting model's parameters. The percentiles approach had lower overall relative likelihood than the MLE approaches across five locations, but had consistently lower Root Mean Square Error in the marketable tuber size range. Negative relationships were observed between the percentile-based shape parameter and the concentrations of Phosphorus and Nitrogen, with significant (non-zero-overlapping 95% confidence interval) regression coefficients for P (−0.74 ± 0.33 for distribution of proportional tuber numbers and −1.3 ± 0.62 for tuber weights). Stem density was negatively associated with the scale and mode of tuber number (regression coefficients −0.98 ± 0.63 and −1.08 ± 0.78 respectively) and tuber weight (regression coefficients −0.99 ± 0.78 and −1.04 ± 0.69 respectively) distributions. Phosphorus is negatively related to the scale of the tuber-number-based distribution while positively associating with the tuber weight distribution. The results suggest that excess P application was associated with the increase in small tubers that did not contribute significant weight to the final yield.
Effect of ionization waves on dust chain formation in a DC discharge
Authors: Matthews L.S. , Vermillion K. , Hartmann P. , Rosenberg M. , Rostami S. , Kostadinova E.G. , Hyde T.W. , Pustylnik M.Y. , Lipaev A.M. , Usachev A.D. , Zobnin A.V. , Thoma M.H. , Petrov O.F. , Thomas H.M. , Novitskiy O.V.
Published: December 2021

An interesting aspect of complex plasma is its ability to self-organize into a variety of structural configurations and undergo transitions between these states. A striking phenomenon is the isotropic-to-string transition observed in electrorheological complex plasma under the influence of a symmetric ion wake field. Such transitions have been investigated using the Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4) microgravity laboratory on the International Space Station. Recent experiments and numerical simulations have shown that, under PK-4-relevant discharge conditions, the seemingly homogeneous direct current discharge column is highly inhomogeneous, with large axial electric field oscillations associated with ionization waves occurring on microsecond time scales. A multi-scale numerical model of the dust–plasma interactions is employed to investigate the role of the electric field in the charge of individual dust grains, the ion wake field and the order of string-like structures. Results are compared with those for dust strings formed in similar conditions in the PK-4 experiment.
Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of eating disorders in children: a national study
Authors: Sanzari Christina M. , Levin Rachel Y. , Liu Richard T.
Published: December 2021

Background

Although the prevalence rates of preadolescent eating disorders (EDs) are on the rise, considerably less is known about the correlates and treatment of EDs in this age group. Clarifying the epidemiology of EDs in preadolescent children is a necessary first step to understand the nature and scope of this problem in this age group.

Methods

Analysis of data collected in the ABCD Study release 2.0.1. The ABCD cohort was a population-based sample that consisted of 11 721 children ages 9–10 years. Measures included reports of a lifetime and current mental disorders determined using a diagnostic interview for DSM-5 disorders, sociodemographic factors, and psychiatric treatment utilization.

Results

The lifetime prevalence of EDs was 0.95%. Being Black, multiracial, having unmarried parents, and family economic insecurity were significant predictors for developing an ED. Among psychiatric conditions, the major depressive disorder was most robustly associated with EDs in both cross-sectional and temporal analyses. Only 47.40% of children who had a lifetime ED received some type of psychiatric treatment. EDs were not a significant predictor of psychiatric treatment utilization after accounting for sex, sexual orientation, parent marital status, economic insecurity, and all other psychiatric diagnoses.

Conclusions

Despite increasing prevalence rates of preadolescent EDs, the current findings suggest that the majority of children with these disorders remain untreated. Devoting increased attention and resources to reaching families of children with EDs with the least means for receiving care, and screening for EDs in children with depression, may be important steps for reducing this unmet need.
HANS ABRAHAMSEN AND A RECURRENT ‘CHILDLIKE’ RHYTHM
Authors: Kahrs Noah
Published: December 2021

Hans Abrahamsen has reused the same rhythm across four pieces spanning 33 years: in his Ten Studies, for solo piano, and Six Pieces, for horn trio (both from 1984), in Schnee (2008) and in Three Pieces for Orchestra (2017). Because self-borrowing is crucial to Abrahamsen's compositional practice, this rhythm provides a case study in his compositional priorities, particularly in the role canonic techniques play in his music. Although the rhythm's formal properties lend it a marked asymmetry at the foreground, it is presented in Schnee as part of a canon with highly symmetric pitch materials. But despite this apparent conflict between symmetries and asymmetries, Abrahamsen's music freely combines different approaches to the rhythm, as long as it is linked to a high-register shimmer, suggesting that Abrahamsen's noted uses of canons are largely for textural ends.
RIDING THE WILD OCEAN: HORATIU RADULESCU'S SUBCONSCIOUS WAVE IN THEORY, PERFORMANCE AND RECORDING
Authors: Cave Sam
Published: December 2021

This article focuses on Radulescu's 1984 Subconscious Wave, for guitar and pre-recorded digital sound, a work that features on my 2019 solo CD recording Refracted Resonance, for Métier Records, alongside music by Tristan Murail, Christopher Fox, George Holloway and myself. The article places the work in the context of Radulescu's output, demonstrates how it displays the key aesthetic concepts that drive his music and shares my insights into the technical and interpretive aspects of preparing the piece for performance and recording. The article has been adapted from a lecture-recital given at the 2021 edition of the 21st Century Guitar Conference, which was hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NOVA FCSH), Portugal in March 2021.