bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does genetic anticipation occur in familial Alexander disease?
Authors: Hunt Camille K. , Al Khleifat Ahmad , Burchill Ella , Ederle Joerg , Al-Chalabi Ammar , Sreedharan Jemeen
Published: May 2021

Alexander Disease (AxD) is a rare leukodystrophy caused by missense mutations of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Primarily seen in infants and juveniles, it can present in adulthood. We report a family with inherited AxD in which the mother presented with symptoms many years after her daughter. We reviewed the age of onset in all published cases of familial AxD and found that 32 of 34 instances of parent–offspring pairs demonstrated an earlier age of onset in offspring compared to the parent. We suggest that genetic anticipation occurs in familial AxD and speculate that genetic mosaicism could explain this phenomenon.
Prenatal and postnatal exposure to acetaminophen in relation to autism spectrum and attention-deficit and hyperactivity symptoms in childhood: Meta-analysis in six European population-based cohorts
Authors: Alemany Silvia , Avella-García Claudia , Liew Zeyan , García-Esteban Raquel , Inoue Kosuke , Cadman Tim , López-Vicente Mònica , González Llúcia , Riaño Galán Isolina , Andiarena Ainara , Casas Maribel , Margetaki Katerina , Strandberg-Larsen Katrine , Lawlor Deborah A. , El Marroun Hanan , Tiemeier Henning , Iñiguez Carmen , Tardón Adonina , Santa-Marina Loreto , Júlvez Jordi , Porta Daniela , Chatzi Leda , Sunyer Jordi
Published: May 2021

The potential etiological role of early acetaminophen exposure on Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is inconclusive. We aimed to study this association in a collaborative study of six European population-based birth/child cohorts. A total of 73,881 mother–child pairs were included in the study. Prenatal and postnatal (up to 18 months) acetaminophen exposure was assessed through maternal questionnaires or interviews. ASC and ADHD symptoms were assessed at 4–12 years of age using validated instruments. Children were classified as having borderline/clinical symptoms using recommended cutoffs for each instrument. Hospital diagnoses were also available in one cohort. Analyses were adjusted for child and maternal characteristics along with indications for acetaminophen use. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis. The proportion of children having borderline/clinical symptoms ranged between 0.9 and 12.9% for ASC and between 1.2 and 12.2% for ADHD. Results indicated that children prenatally exposed to acetaminophen were 19% and 21% more likely to subsequently have borderline or clinical ASC (OR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.07–1.33) and ADHD symptoms (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.07–1.36) compared to non-exposed children. Boys and girls showed higher odds for ASC and ADHD symptoms after prenatal exposure, though these associations were slightly stronger among boys. Postnatal exposure to acetaminophen was not associated with ASC or ADHD symptoms. These results replicate previous work and support providing clear information to pregnant women and their partners about potential long-term risks of acetaminophen use.
‘I’m Outta Here’: Theorizing the Role of Exit in the Ideal of Non-Domination
Authors: Drugge Daniel
Published: May 2021

Accounts of non-domination have tended to emphasise the role resources and other capacity and voice building mechanisms can play in giving people the power and the institutional means of living lives that are free of domination. Yet the role of exit - of institutionally protected means of withdrawing from relationships - has remained undertheorized in accounts of non-domination. Drawing on a range of public policy examples, this paper seeks to shed light on the ways in which, and under what conditions, institutionalised means of exit can contribute to realising the ideal of non-domination. It shows that while rights of exit and low exit-costs can play an essential role in protecting people from dependence on the arbitrary wills of others, it is only under certain conditions these can be said to contribute to the realisation of the ideal of non-domination in a broader sense. Understanding the relationship between exit and non-domination, it further argues, gives us a clearer (if more complicated) picture of the relationship between non-domination and sources of power such as monetary resources and voice.
Optimizing Mobility of Robotic Arms in Collision-free Motion Planning
Authors: Kaden Sascha , Thomas Ulrike
Published: May 2021

A major task in motion planning is to find paths that have a high ability to react to external influences while ensuring a collision-free operation at any time. This flexibility is even more important in human-robot collaboration since unforeseen events can occur anytime. Such ability can be described as mobility, which is composed of two characteristics. First, the ability to manipulate, and second, the distance to joint limits. This mobility needs to be optimized while generating collision-free motions so that there is always the flexibility of the robot to evade dynamic obstacles in the future execution of generated paths. For this purpose, we present a Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT), which applies additional costs and sampling methods to increase mobility. Additionally, we present two methods for the optimization of a generated path. Our first approach utilizes the built-in capabilities of the RRT*. The second method optimize the path with the stochastic trajectory optimization for motion planning (STOMP) approach with Gaussian Mixture Models. Moreover, we evaluate the algorithms in complex simulation and real environments and demonstrate an enhancement of mobility.
Building on student mathematical thinking in whole-class discourse: exploring teachers’ in-the-moment decision-making, interpretation, and underlying conceptions
Authors: Kooloos Chris , Oolbekkink-Marchand Helma , van Boven Saskia , Kaenders Rainer , Heckman Gert
Published: May 2021

Often, mathematics teachers do not incorporate whole-class discourse of students’ various ideas and solution methods into their teaching practice. Particularly complex is the in-the-moment decision-making that is necessary to build on students’ thinking and develop their collective construction of mathematics. This study explores the decision-making patterns of five experienced Dutch mathematics teachers during their novice attempts at orchestrating whole-class discourse concerning students’ various solution methods. Our goal has been to unpack the complexity of their in-the-moment decision-making during whole-class discourse through lesson observations and stimulated recall interviews. We investigated teacher decision-making adopting a model that combines two perspectives, namely (1) we explored student-teacher interaction with regard to building on student thinking and (2) we explored how the teachers based decisions during such interaction upon their own personal conceptions and interpretation of student thinking. During these novice attempts at orchestrating whole-class discourse, the teachers created many situations for students to articulate their thinking. We found that at certain instances, teachers’ in-the-moment decision-making resulted in opportunities to build on student thinking that were not completely seized. During such instances, the teachers’ decision-making was shaped by the teachers’ own conceptions of the relevant mathematics and by teacher conceptions that centered around student understanding and mathematical goals. Our findings suggest that teachers might be supported in their novice attempts at whole-class discourse by explicit discussion of the mathematics and of their conceptions with regard to student understanding and mathematical goals.
Career Adaptability, Hope, and Life Satisfaction: an Analysis of Adults with and Without Substance Use Disorder
Authors: Di Maggio Ilaria , Montenegro Esteban , Little Todd D. , Nota Laura , Ginevra Maria Cristina
Published: May 2021

Considering that adults with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) experience many barriers and challenges in designing and living a satisfactory life, based on Life Design paradigm, this study aimed at analyzing the direct and indirect effect of career adaptability, through hope, on life satisfaction in a sample of individuals with SUD compared to a sample of individuals without SUD. In this study, a sample of 185 adults with and 185 adults without SUD was involved and different measures to assess career adaptability (Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Italian Form; Soresi, Nota, & Ferrari; 2012), hope (The Adult Hope Scale) and life satisfaction (The Satisfaction with Life Scale) were used. Multigroup structural analyses were conducted to test the group differences in the direct and indirect effects model hypothesized. Results showed that career adaptability is indirectly, through hope, related to life satisfaction across two groups. These results have important implications for practice and emphasize the need to promoting career adaptability and hope in people with SUD to improve their life satisfaction that is an important diagnostic and outcome criteria in substance use disorder issues.
Renormalization in Combinatorially Non-Local Field Theories: The Hopf Algebra of 2-Graphs
Authors: Thürigen Johannes
Published: May 2021

Renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory is based on a Hopf algebra of Feynman diagrams. A precondition for this is locality. Therefore one might suspect that non-local field theories such as matrix or tensor field theories cannot benefit from a similar algebraic understanding. Here I show that, on the contrary, perturbative renormalization of a broad class of such field theories is based in the same way on a Hopf algebra. Their interaction vertices have the structure of graphs. This gives the necessary concept of locality and leads to Feynman diagrams defined as “2-graphs” which generate the Hopf algebra. These results set the stage for a systematic study of perturbative renormalization as well as non-perturbative aspects, e.g. Dyson-Schwinger equations, for a number of combinatorially non-local field theories with possible applications to random geometry and quantum gravity.
Incidence of thrombotic complications in COVID-19
Authors: Jenner William J. , Gorog Diana A.
Published: May 2021

A high incidence of thrombosis in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 was identified early during the pandemic. Accurately quantifying thrombotic risk may assist prognosis and guide appropriate thromboprophylaxis. Observational studies have estimated the rate of thrombosis in both hospitalised and non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19, and how this corresponds to the severity of illness. In this review, we provide an overview of the incidence and prevalence of arterial and venous thrombotic events in patients with COVID-19 and highlight the limitations in the studies to date. Asymptomatic individuals with COVID-19 and those with mild symptoms are at very low risk of thrombotic complications. However, rates of thrombosis are substantially increased in hospitalised patients, and are strikingly high in those patients who are critically-ill requiring treatment on the intensive care unit and especially those requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Clinicians managing such patients need to be aware of these risks and take appropriate steps with respect to thromboprophylaxis and heightened clinical vigilance. Large prospective observational studies will more accurately quantify thrombotic rate, and randomized controlled trials are currently investigating optimal thromboprophylactic strategies.
Amplified Impact of Climate Change on Fine-Sediment Delivery to a Subsiding Coast, Humboldt Bay, California
Authors: Curtis Jennifer A. , Flint Lorraine E. , Stern Michelle A. , Lewis Jack , Klein Randy D.
Published: May 2021

In Humboldt Bay, tectonic subsidence exacerbates sea-level rise (SLR). To build surface elevations and to keep pace with SLR, the sediment demand created by subsidence and SLR must be balanced by an adequate sediment supply. This study used an ensemble of plausible future scenarios to predict potential climate change impacts on suspended-sediment discharge (Qss) from fluvial sources. Streamflow was simulated using a deterministic water-balance model, and Qsswas computed using statistical sediment-transport models. Changes relative to a baseline period (1981–2010) were used to assess climate impacts. For local basins that discharge directly to the bay, the ensemble means projected increases in Qssof 27% for the mid-century (2040–2069) and 58% for the end-of-century (2070–2099). For the Eel River, a regional sediment source that discharges sediment-laden plumes to the coastal margin, the ensemble means projected increases in Qssof 53% for the mid-century and 99% for the end-of-century. Climate projections of increased precipitation and streamflow produced amplified increases in the regional sediment supply that may partially or wholly mitigate sediment demand caused by the combined effects of subsidence and SLR. This finding has important implications for coastal resiliency. Coastal regions with an increasing sediment supply may be more resilient to SLR. In a broader context, an increasing sediment supply from fluvial sources has global relevance for communities threatened by SLR that are increasingly building resiliency to SLR using sediment-based solutions that include regional sediment management, beneficial reuse strategies, and marsh restoration.
Upper Frasnian Tornoceratidae (Ammonoidea) from the Sand Formation (Bergisch Gladbach-Paffrath Syncline, Rhenish Massif)
Authors: Söte Till , Becker Ralph Thomas , Herd Karl Josef , Bockwinkel Jürgen
Published: May 2021

Excavations in the Sand district of Bergisch Gladbach (Rhenish Massif, Germany) yielded a rich ammonoid fauna of the upper Frasnian “Archoceras”varicosumZone (Upper Devonian I-K, interval between the two Kellwasser levels). The previously unknown assemblages include six tornoceratid genera with 20 species, including seven new species (Aulatornoceras steinhausenisp. nov.,Aul. frenkleraesp. nov.,Aul. ventrosulcatumsp. nov.,Crassotornoceras nudumsp. nov.,Cr. hetzeneggerisp. nov.,Retrotornoceras juxisp. nov.,Tornoceras aequilobumsp. nov.) and taxa described in open nomenclature. There are five associated gephuroceratid genera with nine species. The unexpectedly high genus- and species-level diversity at Sand, supported by statistical indices, is unprecedented compared to other contemporaneous ammonoid faunas. It highlights the currently fragmentary knowledge of top-Frasnian ammonoid faunas on a global scale.Phoenixites frechi, the dominant tornoceratid of hypoxic and organic-rich Kellwasser facies of Europe and North Africa, is completely missing at Sand. The local assemblage structure is analyzed statistically and interpreted in terms of palaeoecology. The occurrence of a new type of “Housean Pits”, probably caused by parasitism, is found in nine species of five genera, mostly in tornoceratids. The Sand fauna indicates that the species origination rate in tornoceratids remained high after the Lower Kellwasser Event.
Decision Support for Integrated Management of Local-Level Adaptation to Climate Changes: The Case of Serbia
Authors: Vranić Petar , Glišović Srđan , Velimirović Lazar
Published: May 2021

Projected climate changes will additionally increase the already significant risk of natural hazard-related disasters in Serbia and the west Balkan region as a whole. Serbia is about to introduce the strategy for climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, a national decision-support system for implementation of the climate change law and strategy is yet to be developed. This study contributes to the implementation of adaptation policies at subnational levels by development of a decision-support model for local-level management of the climate change adaptation process. The study explores the potential for synergetic application of multicriteria decision making analysis and probabilistic reasoning methods by focusing on Bayesian networks, analytical hierarchy processes, and geographic information systems for selection of priority adaptation measures. The study was based on the formation of causal chains, which enable linking management decisions and socioeconomic or biophysical consequences into articulated sequences of conditional relationships. A model was tested in the forestry sector, and it clearly pointed out development of an early warning system and planning of water intake basins as priority adaptation measures. Since the results are shown as a probability distribution for each alternative solutions, the model can assist decision makers with prompt evaluation of various scenarios.
Integrated use of chemical and geophysical monitoring to study the diesel oil biodegradation in microcosms with different operative conditions
Authors: Raffa Carla Maria , Vergnano Andrea , Chiampo Fulvia , Godio Alberto
Published: May 2021

This study aimed to monitor the aerobic bioremediation of diesel oil-contaminated soil by measuring: a) the CO2 production; 2) the fluorescein production; 3) the residual diesel oil concentration. Moreover, the complex dielectric permittivity was monitored through an open-ended coaxial cable. Several microcosms were prepared, changing the water content (u% = 8–15% by weight), the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N = 20–450), and the soil amount (200 and 800 g of dry soil). The cumulative CO2 and fluorescein production showed similar trends, but different values since these two parameters reflect different features of the biological process occurring within each microcosm. The diesel oil removal efficiency depended on the microcosm characteristics. After 84 days, in the microcosms with 200 g of dry soil, the highest removal efficiency was achieved with a water content of 8% by weight and C/N = 120, while in the microcosms with 800 g of dry soil the best result was achieved with the water content equal to 12% by weight and C/N = 100. In the tested soil, the bioremediation process is efficient if the water content is in the range 8–12% by weight, and C/N is in the range 100–180; under these operative conditions, the diesel oil removal efficiency was about 65–70% after 84 days. The dielectric permittivity was monitored in microcosms with 200 g of dry soil. The open-ended coaxial cable detected significant variations of both the real and the imaginary component of the dielectric permittivity during the bioremediation process, due to the physical and chemical changes that occurred within the microcosms.
Efficiency Parameterization with Neural Networks
Authors: Di Bello Francesco Armando , Shlomi Jonathan , Badiali Chiara , Frattari Guglielmo , Gross Eilam , Ippolito Valerio , Kado Marumi
Published: May 2021

Multidimensional efficiency maps are commonly used in high-energy physics experiments to mitigate the limitations in the generation of large samples of simulated events. Binned efficiency maps are however strongly limited by statistics. We propose a neural network approach to learn ratios of local densities to estimate in an optimal fashion efficiencies as a function of a set of parameters. Graph neural network techniques are used to account for the high dimensional correlations between different physics objects in the event. We show in a specific toy model how this method is applicable to produce accurate multidimensional efficiency maps for heavy-flavor tagging classifiers in HEP experiments, including for processes on which it was not trained.
Basisdimensionen für Unterrichtsqualität im Fachkontext konkretisieren: Die Rolle von Unterrichtsartefakten und Bestimmung von Standardsituationen
Authors: Seidel Tina , Renkl Alexander , Rieß Werner
Published: May 2021

Die aktuellen Diskussionen um die Fachspezifität von Unterrichtsqualität und die Erweiterung der Basisdimensionen für Unterrichtsqualität sind aus unserer Perspektive zeitgemäß, qualitätsvoll und lassen einen großen Mehrwert für die Unterrichtsforschung erwarten. Mit Bezug zu einem gemeinsamen Forschungsprojekt zur Optimierung von Videoartefakten für die Lehrer*innenbildung wird in unserem Beitrag herausgearbeitet, dass Unterrichtsqualität vor allem von den im Unterrichtsprozess umgesetzten Lehr- und Lernaktivitäten abhängt. Angehende Lehrpersonen sollten zwischen qualitätsvollen und weniger qualitätsvollen Lehr‑/Lernaktivitäten unterscheiden können. Wir plädieren für die verstärkte forschungsbezogene Entwicklung von Unterrichtsartefakten, anhand derer das optimale Zusammenwirken fachspezifischer und fächerübergreifender Unterrichtsmerkmale modelliert und empirisch geprüft werden kann. Über einen solchen Ansatz ließe sich die Frage nach fachspezifischen und fächerübergreifenden Qualitätsmerkmalen auf der Basis konkreter Unterrichtspraktiken weiter klären. Im Ausblick schlagen wir vor, für die Lehrer*innenbildung Standardsituationen für Qualitätsmerkmale von Fachunterricht zu definieren.
In the Best Interest of the Child: the Norwegian Approach to Child Protection
Authors: Melinder Annika , van der Hagen Malin Albrechtsen , Sandberg Kirsten
Published: May 2021

In the present paper, we discuss three challenges with the Norwegian Child Protective System (CPS) that might have contributed to the recent criticism from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). First, how to balance the rights of the child with those of the parents. Second, the psychological field’s influence on the interpretation of what constitutes the best interest of the child, and third we describe several missing links in the CPS work. Throughout the paper, we find indications of a well-developed Act, but a less optional CPS practice. Likewise, we find evidence for a narrow interpretation of the best interest of the child related to CPS and expert psychologists’ application of attachment theory, and several organizational and educational shortcomings in the area of CPS. We conclude that the child is not fully seen as a legal subject in the eyes of the ECtHR, and that more research into CPS measures and organization are needed to better deliver adequate assistance to vulnerable families.
Lithology classification of whole core CT scans using convolutional neural networks
Authors: Chawshin Kurdistan , Berg Carl Fredrik , Varagnolo Damiano , Lopez Olivier
Published: May 2021

X-ray computerized tomography (CT) images as digital representations of whole cores can provide valuable information on the composition and internal structure of cores extracted from wells. Incorporation of millimeter-scale core CT data into lithology classification workflows can result in high-resolution lithology description. In this study, we use 2D core CT scan image slices to train a convolutional neural network (CNN) whose purpose is to automatically predict the lithology of a well on the Norwegian continental shelf. The images are preprocessed prior to training, i.e., undesired artefacts are automatically flagged and removed from further analysis. The training data include expert-derived lithofacies classes obtained by manual core description. The trained classifier is used to predict lithofacies on a set of test images that are unseen by the classifier. The prediction results reveal that distinct classes are predicted with high recall (up to 92%). However, there are misclassification rates associated with similarities in gray-scale values and transport properties. To postprocess the acquired results, we identified and merged similar lithofacies classes through ad hoc analysis considering the degree of confusion from the prediction confusion matrix and aided by porosity–permeability cross-plot relationships. Based on this analysis, the lithofacies classes are merged into four rock classes. Another CNN classifier trained on the resulting rock classes generalize well, with higher pixel-wise precision when detecting thin layers and bed boundaries compared to the manual core description. Thus, the classifier provides additional and complementing information to the already existing rock type description.

Article Highlights

A workflow for automatic lithofacies classification using whole core 2D image slices and CNN is introduced.

The proposed classifier shows lithology-dependent accuracies.

The prediction confusion matrix is exploited as a tool to identify lithofacies classes with similar transport properties and to automatically generate lithofacies hierarchies.
DASSO: a data assimilation system for the Southern Ocean that utilizes both sea-ice concentration and thickness observations
Authors: Luo Hao , Yang Qinghua , Mu Longjiang , Tian-Kunze Xiangshan , Nerger Lars , Mazloff Matthew , Kaleschke Lars , Chen Dake
Published: May 2021

To improve Antarctic sea-ice simulations and estimations, an ensemble-based Data Assimilation System for the Southern Ocean (DASSO) was developed based on a regional sea ice–ocean coupled model, which assimilates sea-ice thickness (SIT) together with sea-ice concentration (SIC) derived from satellites. To validate the performance of DASSO, experiments were conducted from 15 April to 14 October 2016. Generally, assimilating SIC and SIT can suppress the overestimation of sea ice in the model-free run. Besides considering uncertainties in the operational atmospheric forcing data, a covariance inflation procedure in data assimilation further improves the simulation of Antarctic sea ice, especially SIT. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of assimilating sea-ice observations in reconstructing the state of Antarctic sea ice, but also highlight the necessity of more reasonable error estimation for the background as well as the observation.
Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen: The Bank Failures and Near Failures That Started America’s Greatest Financial Panics
Authors: Rockoff Hugh
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the failures or in some cases near-failures of financial institutions that started the 12 most severe peacetime financial panics in the United States, beginning with the Panic of 1819 and ending with the Panic of 2008. The following generalizations were true in most cases, although not in all. (1) Panics were triggered by a short series of failures or near-failures; (2) many of the failing institutions were what we would now call shadow banks; (3) typically, the source of trouble was an excessive investment in real estate; and (4) typically, they had outstanding reputations for trustworthiness, prudence, and financial acumen—before they failed. It appears that in these respects the Panic of 2008 was an old-school panic.

[a panic] occurs when a succession of unexpected failures has created in the mercantile, and sometimes also in the non-mercantile public a general distrust in each other’s solvency; disposing every one not only to refuse fresh credit, except on very onerous terms, but to call in, if possible all credit which he has already given.

—John Stuart Mill

All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.

—Peter Pan
Hume is the Enemy of Pyrrho
Authors: Dimech Dominic K.
Published: May 2021

I offer reasons against reading Hume as a Pyrrhonian sceptic. I argue that Hume's scepticism is motivated differently, that his sceptical strategies are not analogous to Pyrrhonism's, and that it is profitable to read Hume as a critic of Pyrrhonism. I hold that the most informative point of comparison between Hume and Sextus Empiricus is a point of difference, namely, their stands on the connection between suspension of judgement (epochê) and tranquillity (ataraxia). For Sextus, tranquillity flows naturally from suspending judgement on all opinions. Hume, by contrast, consistently treats radical suspension of judgement as resulting in despair and social detachment. I take a firmer stance than past commentators on this issue by affirming that Hume and Sextus do not merely disagree on this issue, but that Hume's view is more plausible. Reading Hume's sceptical crisis, I propose, reveals an insightful criticism of Pyrrhonism, one that sheds light on human nature's response to radical doubt.
Self-Knowledge and Hume's Phenomenology of the Passions
Authors: Watkins Margaret
Published: May 2021

Taxonomies of the passions have long claimed to serve a quest for self-knowledge, by specifying conditions under which certain passions arise, formal objects they possess, and qualities essential to their particular feelings. I argue that David Hume's theory of the passions provides resources for a different kind of self-knowledge – a sceptical self-knowledge depending on our ability to articulate how the passions feel rather than always identifying our passions as tokens of an identifiable passion-type. These resources are distinctions between four qualitative aspects that passions may possess – pleasantness or painfulness, calmness or violence, invigoration or softening, and directedness or lack thereof towards specific actions. Reflection on these aspects produces a more accurate understanding of the nature of our emotions and chastens our judgmental tendencies in ways that benefit both self and others.
‘Freak Show Excess’: Steve Vai and his self-presentation in the media
Authors: Sora Andrei
Published: May 2021

This article attempts to uncover the complex relationship between musical expression, artist discourse and personae, by focusing on the way virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai presents himself and his music in the media. I analyse video and print interviews that span the three decades of Vai's career to trace patterns and contradictions in his views on his music and artistry. This is not to assume intentionality, but rather to ask what sort of gap there is between how Vai sees himself and presents himself as a musician, and whether he sees music as self-expressive, or as involving a constructed persona.
Agoraphilic navigation algorithm in dynamic environment with obstacles motion tracking and prediction
Authors: Hewawasam H. S. , Ibrahim M. Yousef , Kahandawa Gayan , Choudhury T. A.
Published: May 2021

This paper presents a new algorithm to navigate robots in dynamically cluttered environments. The proposed algorithm uses basic concepts of space attraction (hence the term Agoraphilic) to navigate robots through dynamic obstacles. The new algorithm in this paper is an advanced development of the original Agoraphilic navigation algorithm that was only able to navigate robots in static environments. The Agoraphilic algorithm does not look for obstacles (problems) to avoid but rather for a free space (solutions) to follow. Therefore, it is also described as an optimistic navigation algorithm. This algorithm uses only one attractive force created by the available free space. The free-space concept allows the Agoraphilic algorithm to overcome inherited challenges of general navigation algorithms. However, the original Agoraphilic algorithm has the limitation in navigating robots only in static, not in dynamic environments. The presented algorithm was developed to address this limitation of the original Agoraphilic algorithm. The new algorithm uses a developed object tracking module to identify the time-varying free spaces by tracking moving obstacles. The capacity of the algorithm was further strengthened by the new prediction module. Future space prediction allowed the algorithm to make decisions considering future growing/diminishing free spaces. This paper also includes a bench-marking study of the new algorithm compared with a recently published APF-based algorithm under a similar operating environment. Furthermore, the algorithm was validated based on experimental tests and simulation tests.
Long-Term Care Facility Workers’ Perceptions of the Impact of Subcontracting on their Conditions of Work and the Quality of Care: A Qualitative Study in British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Banerjee Albert , McGregor Margaret , Ponder Sage , Longhurst Andrew
Published: May 2021

Subcontracting long-term care (LTC), whereby facilities contracted with third party agencies to provide care to residents, became widespread in British Columbia after 2002. This qualitative study aimed to understand the impact of subcontracting from the perspective of care workers. We interviewed 11 care workers employed in subcontracted facilities to explore their perceptions of caring and working under these conditions. Our overarching finding was one of loss. Care workers lost wages, benefits, security, and voice. Their working conditions worsened, with workload and turnover increasing, resulting in a loss of experienced staff and a loss of time to provide care. These findings call into question the promises of quality and flexibility that legitimated policies permitting subcontracting, while adding to the mounting evidence that subcontracting LTC harms both workers and residents.
The power of two choices for random walks
Authors: Georgakopoulos Agelos , Haslegrave John , Sauerwald Thomas , Sylvester John
Published: May 2021

We apply the power-of-two-choices paradigm to a random walk on a graph: rather than moving to a uniform random neighbour at each step, a controller is allowed to choose from two independent uniform random neighbours. We prove that this allows the controller to significantly accelerate the hitting and cover times in several natural graph classes. In particular, we show that the cover time becomes linear in the number n of vertices on discrete tori and bounded degree trees, of order $${\mathcal O}(n\log \log n)$$ on bounded degree expanders, and of order $${\mathcal O}(n{(\log \log n)^2})$$ on the Erdős–Rényi random graph in a certain sparsely connected regime. We also consider the algorithmic question of computing an optimal strategy and prove a dichotomy in efficiency between computing strategies for hitting and cover times.
A different choice, a different outcome: budgetary effects of a conservative legislator in liberal local regions of South Korea
Authors: Jung Hoyong
Published: May 2021

In Korean society, regionalism has deep historical roots and has had a great influence on elections. A historic event occurred in 2014 when a conservative party candidate, Lee Jung-hyun, was elected as a member of the National Assembly in Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, where liberal parties have been in the midst of powerful political influence. This was possible because voters responded to the candidate's appeal to vote based on benefits to the local economy, that is, securing greater funding from the central government. Exploiting the synthetic control method, this article identifies how this different choice has affected the budget of the local district. The results show that the community budget has increased dramatically, and a battery of robustness checks also supports these basic results. On the basis of the empirical evidence, the study suggests the possibility of overcoming a long-standing parochial regionalism in Korean politics through economic voting and its practical benefits.
How Feminist is the Belarusian Revolution? Female Agency and Participation in the 2020 Post-Election Protests
Authors: Paulovich Natallia
Published: May 2021

Belarusian women stand at the forefront of post-election protests. Their participation is seen as unprecedented and is often perceived as a “revolution with a female face.” It did not start as a feminist project, however, but rather as a reaction to mass-scale arrests of male participants during the first days of protests. At the same time, is it possible to characterize female involvement in women's chains of solidarity and then regular Saturday demonstrations as a “feminist project” when one takes into account the usage of traditional feminine images and feminine aesthetics during the protests? On the other hand, even the symbolic subversion of patriarchal stereotypes present on the posters seems to have its limits when violence is inflicted by the representatives of special military forces. This essay will examine the agentic nature of female protests and the ways of expressing dignity in times when a basic sense of security is lacking. I will look at situational individual acts of agency and how these acts characterize female participants of the protests as a group that is aware of its resources and power. The text will be based on the analysis of media discourse and visual materials.
“To a Dog, a Dog's Death!”: Naïve Monarchism and Regicide in Imperial Russia, 1878–1884
Authors: Beer Daniel
Published: May 2021

The article examines arrest protocols drawn up from the mid-1870s to the mid-1880s by local policemen investigating thousands of individuals denounced to the authorities for having voiced criticisms of the monarchy and approval of the campaign of terror in the reign of Alexander II. The discussion proceeds in two stages. It first argues that the arrest protocols constitute grounds for a revisionist challenge to the existing historiography which charts enduring, if gradually declining, popular support for the monarchy in the final decades of tsarism. It then argues for a reappraisal of the efforts by revolutionaries in the reign of Alexander II to destroy the sanctity of the autocracy through the use of “propaganda by the deed.” The campaign to assassinate the tsar emerges in the arrest protocols as an effective form of political messaging that gained real purchase in the popular imagination. It prompted lower-class Russians to articulate their own local grievances in terms of popular sovereignty, natural justice and political accountability.
Calendar Reform under Peter the Great: Absolutist Prerogatives, Plural Temporalities, and Christian Exceptionalism
Authors: Schönle Andreas
Published: May 2021

The calendar reforms of Peter the Great introduced on January 1, 1700 have produced a surprising amount of confusion and misunderstanding. This articles proposes firstly to clarify the aims and outcomes of these reforms, so far as the available sources allow. Secondly, through an examination of the New Year celebrations mandated by Peter's edicts, the article examines the legitimating arguments that have been deployed, including ideas about Russia's relation to western countries, about the position of the Orthodox Church in the polity, and about the prerogatives of the ruler in these matters. As a result of the changing arguments invoked by Peter and his entourage, the reforms introduced a regime of plural temporalities that has affected the course of Russia's development and the elaboration of its identities to this day. The reforms had little to do with heralding a secular, modern society. If initially they represented a failed pragmatic attempt to create a civil calendar aligned with Protestant countries, their justification, once it finally settled, harked back to long-standing theological ideas about the time of the Incarnation.
Danger, Sex, and Everything Else
Authors: Cores-Sarría Lucía , Hale Brent J. , Lang Annie
Published: May 2021

Abstract. This study tests the effects of camera distance and camera angle on emotional response across four categories of pictures covering a large emotional range (positive and negative miscellanea, erotica, and threat), using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) –a large database of emotionally evocative photographs. We content analyzed 722 images for the content category and camera framing (distance and angle), employing these as independent factors in analyses, and used the IAPS’ pre-existing normative average ratings of emotional valence, arousal, and dominance as dependent variables. As hypothesized, affective responses were generally increased by closer framing and high and low angles (compared to straight angles), but the content of the picture played an important role in determining effect strength and direction. In particular, closeness increased arousal for all picture groups but had the opposite effect on positive miscellaneous pictures, straight angles decreased the emotional response for the two miscellanea groups, and low angles increased the emotional response for threatening pictures. This study is the first to show that previously found camera framing effects apply to pictures of high emotional intensity (e.g., erotica and threat). We suggest that future work should consider formal manipulations alongside message content.
Exaggerated and Questioning Clickbait Headlines and Their Influence	on Media Learning
Authors: Carcioppolo Nick , Lun Di , McFarlane Soroya Julian
Published: May 2021

Abstract. Headlines that are incongruous with article content can negatively impact media learning outcomes. Clickbait headlines intentionally misrepresent news content, often in sensational ways to increase click-throughs and ad revenue. To evaluate the impact of clickbait headlines on media learning and article-related beliefs, we conducted two online experiments, each testing a 3 (headline-type: accurate, clickbait-question, clickbait-exaggerated) × 2 (exposure: headline-only, full article) factorial. In Study 1, an online sample of US adults ( N = 629) was randomly assigned to one of six news message conditions. Study 2 ( N = 1,674) was a replication study across three news contexts and testing a mediator to explain how exposure to a clickbait headline can influence learning. Key results suggest that reading the full article with an accurate headline resulted in the highest recognition and comprehension, and reading correcting information within an article is likely not enough to overcome the deleterious impact of a clickbait headline. Theoretical and practical recommendations are discussed.
Statistical Survey of Collisionless Dissipation in the Terrestrial Magnetosheath
Authors: Wang Yanwen , Bandyopadhyay Riddhi , Chhiber Rohit , Matthaeus William H. , Chasapis Alexandros , Yang Yan , Wilder Frederick D. , Gershman Daniel J. , Giles Barbara L. , Pollock Craig J. , Dorelli John , Russell Christopher T. , Strangeway Robert J. , Torbert Roy T. , Moore Thomas E. , Burch James L.
Published: May 2021

Kinetic dissipation of turbulence is an important physical process occurring in collisionless plasmas. Using in‐situ data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission, we investigate the statistical distribution of kinetic dissipation in the terrestrial magnetosheath. We make use of an analysis of the Vlasov–Maxwell equations that provides a general description of transfer of internal energy, fluid‐flow energy, and electromagnetic energy in collisionless plasma, including both spatial transport and conversion between forms. In particular, we focus on the channels that separately produce proton and electron internal energies. Applying those results to MMS burst‐mode data obtained in the weakly collisional, turbulent magnetosheath plasma, it is possible to quantify contributions to dissipation from the compressive pressure‐dilatation channel, and from the incompressive pressure‐strain channel, for both plasma species. We also employ a simple spatial filtering approach as a first step to quantifying plasma heating at large and small scales. The analysis is carried out for 50 selected turbulent data intervals, and statistical distributions of the results are presented.
The Effect of Grain Boundaries on Plastic Deformation of Olivine
Authors: Ferreira Filippe , Hansen Lars N. , Marquardt Katharina
Published: May 2021

The plastic deformation of olivine has been studied for decades. However, the precise role of grain boundaries during deformation in, for example, the dislocation‐accommodated grain‐boundary sliding regime, remains poorly understood. Specifically, we lack knowledge regarding the manner in which grain boundaries interact with other defects, such as dislocations, during deformation. To investigate the interaction of dislocations and grain boundaries, we analyzed the structure and distribution of grain boundaries in a polycrystalline aggregate of Fo50 deformed in torsion (Hansen, Zimmerman, Dillman, & Kohlstedt, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.04.016). We characterized the microstructure of the aggregate using electron‐backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy in three perpendicular directions. An increase in plastic strain is associated with the development of a strong crystallographic preferred orientation and a grain‐boundary plane distribution that evolves from a uniform distribution to one dominated by (010)‐type planes. We use the m' factor, to evaluate the potential for transmission of dislocations across grain boundaries based on the relative orientations of slip systems between neighboring grains. With progressive deformation, our analysis indicates an increase in abundance of apparently slip‐transparent boundaries until moderate strains (  = 4) are reached. Based on these observations, we propose that specific types of grain boundaries are created by dislocation activity and that the input of dislocations into grain boundaries facilitates grain‐boundary sliding. Our results provide insight into the microphysics of olivine deformation and highlight the importance of the coupled study of inter‐ and intragranular mechanisms during rock deformation.
Empirical Insights Into the Fate of Ammonia in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke Plumes
Authors: Lindaas Jakob , Pollack Ilana B. , Calahorrano Julieta Juncosa , O'Dell Katelyn , Garofalo Lauren A. , Pothier Matson A. , Farmer Delphine K. , Kreidenweis Sonia M. , Campos Teresa , Flocke Frank , Weinheimer Andrew J. , Montzka Denise D. , Tyndall Geoffrey S. , Apel Eric C. , Hills Alan J. , Hornbrook Rebecca S. , Palm Brett B. , Peng Qiaoyun , Thornton Joel A. , Permar Wade , Wielgasz Catherine , Hu Lu , Pierce Jeffrey R. , Collett Jeffrey L. , Sullivan Amy P. , Fischer Emily V.
Published: May 2021

Wildfires are a major source of gas‐phase ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere. Quantifying the evolution and fate of this NH3 is important to understanding the formation of secondary aerosol in smoke and its accompanying effects on radiative balance and nitrogen deposition. Here, we use data from the Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen (WE‐CAN) to add new empirical constraints on the e‐folding loss timescale of NH3 and its relationship with particulate ammonium (pNH4) within wildfire smoke plumes in the western U.S. during summer 2018. We show that the e‐folding loss timescale of NH3 with respect to particle‐phase partitioning ranges from ∼24 to ∼4000 min (median of 55 min). Within these same plumes, oxidation of nitrogen oxides is observed concurrent with increases in the fraction of pNH4 in each plume sampled, suggesting that formation of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is likely. We find wide variability in how close our in situ measurements of NH4NO3 are to those expected in a dry thermodynamic equilibrium, and find that NH4NO3 is most likely to form in fresh, dense smoke plumes injected at higher altitudes and colder temperatures. In chemically older smoke we observe correlations between both the fraction of pNH4 and the fraction of particulate nitrate (pNO3) in the aerosol with temperature, providing additional evidence of the presence of NH4NO3 and the influence of injection height on gas‐particle partitioning of NH3.