bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BAO+BBN revisited — growing the Hubble tension with a 0.7 km/s/Mpc constraint
Authors: Schöneberg Nils , Verde Licia , Gil-Marín Héctor , Brieden Samuel
Published: November 2022

The combination of Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data together with light element abundance measurements from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) has been shown to constrain the cosmological expansion history to an unprecedented degree. Using the newest LUNA data and DR16 data from SDSS, the BAO+BBN probe puts tight constraints on the Hubble constant (H0= 67.6 ± 1.0 km/s/Mpc), resulting in a 3.7σtension with the local distance ladder determination from SH0ES in a ΛCDM model. In the updated BAO data the high- and low-redshift subsets are mutually in excellent agreement, and there is no longer a mild internal tension to artificially enhance the constraints. Adding the recently-developed ShapeFit analysis yieldsH0= 68.3 ± 0.7 km/s/Mpc (3.8σtension). For combinations with additional data sets, there is a strong synergy with the sound horizon information of the cosmic microwave background, which leads to one of the tightest constraints to date,H0= 68.30 ± 0.45 km/s/Mpc, in 4.2σtension with SH0ES. The region preferred by this combination is perfectly in agreement with that preferred by ShapeFit. The addition of supernova data also yields a 4.2σtension with SH0ES for Pantheon, and a 3.5σtension for PantheonPLUS. Finally, we show that there is a degree of model-dependence of the BAO+BBN constraints with respect to early-time solutions of the Hubble tension, and the loss of constraining power in extended models depends on whether the model can be additionally constrained from BBN observations.
The dipole of the astrophysical gravitational-wave background
Authors: Valbusa Dall'Armi Lorenzo , Ricciardone Angelo , Bertacca Daniele
Published: November 2022

One of the main pillars of the ΛCDM model is the Cosmological Principle, which
states that our Universe is statistically isotropic and homogeneous on large scales. Here we test
this hypothesis using the Astrophysical Gravitational Wave Background (AGWB) expected to be
measured by the Einstein Telescope-Cosmic Explorer network; in particular we perform a numerical
computation of the AGWB dipole, evaluating the intrinsic contribution due to clustering and the
kinematic effect induced by the observer motion. We apply a component separation technique in the
GW context to disentangle the kinematic dipole, the intrinsic dipole and the shot noise (SN),
based on the observation of the AGWB at different frequencies. We show how this technique can also
be implemented in matched-filtering to minimize the covariance which accounts for both
instrumental noise and SN. Since GW detectors are essentially full-sky, we expect that this
powerful tool can help in testing the isotropy of our Universe in the next future.
S.M.A.S.H.E.D.: Standard Model Axion Seesaw Higgs inflation Extended for Dirac neutrinos
Authors: Berbig Maximilian
Published: November 2022

Inspired by the S.M.A.S.H. framework we construct a model that addresses the strong CP problem, axion dark matter, inflation and Dirac neutrino masses as well as leptogenesis. The model possesses only two dynamical scales, namely the SM breaking scalevHand the Peccei Quinn (PQ) breaking scalev. We introduce heavy vector-like quarks in the usual KSVZ fashion to implement the PQ mechanism for the strong CP problem. To generate neutrino masses via a dimension six operator scaling asmν∼v3H/v2σwe add heavy triplet and doublet leptons, which are vector-like under the SM but chiral under PQ symmetry. The model is free from the cosmological domain wall problem and predicts an axion to photon coupling which is about an order of magnitude larger than in conventional DFSZ and KSVZ models. Thus our scenario can be probed and potentially excluded by current and next generation axion experiments such as ORGAN or MADMAX. In addition we numerically demonstrate that our construction can generate the observed baryon asymmetry by realizing a version of the Dirac-Leptogenesis scenario. As a consequence of our neutrino mass mechanism we find that the asymmetry in triplet fermion decays can also be significantly enhanced by up to six orders of magnitude when compared to typical Seesaw scenarios without needing to invoke a resonant enhancement. In passing we note that a decaying Dirac fermion with multiple decay modes contains all the necessary ingredients required for the “quasi optimal efficiency”-scenario previously encountered in the context decaying scalar triplets. The impact of the right handed neutrinos and the axion on ΔNeffis estimated and lies within current bounds.
An efficient multiparty quantum secret sharing scheme using a single qudit
Authors: Hu Wenwen , Xiong Bangshu , Zhou Rigui
Published: November 2022

The aim of quantum secret sharing, as one of most promising components of quantum cryptograph, is one-to-multiparty secret communication based on the principles of quantum mechanics. In this paper, an efficient multiparty quantum secret sharing protocol in a high-dimensional quantum system using a single qudit is proposed. Each participant's shadow is encoded on a single qudit via a measuring basis encryption method, which avoids the waste of qudits caused by basis reconciliation. Security analysis indicates that the proposed protocol is immune to general attacks, such as the measure-resend attack, entangle-and-measure attack and Trojan horse attack. Compared to former protocols, the proposed protocol only needs to perform the single-qudit measurement operation, and can share the predetermined dits instead of random bits or dits.
Nonradial oscillation of strange stars in d dimensions
Authors: Arbañil J D V , Lenzi C H , Malheiro M
Published: November 2022

The influence of the dimensions on the f and p
1 pulsation modes from strange quark stars, in the Cowling approximation, are investigated. For that purpose, the d-dimensional nonradial pulsation equations (d > 4) are numerically integrated considering that the Schwarzschild-Tangherlini line element describes the spacetime outside the object. We found that the fluid pulsation modes could become larger than those obtained in four dimensions. In four dimensions, the f pulsation mode is nearly constant, and for high total masses, it increases monotonically and quickly with the total mass. In this mass interval, the f frequencies grow for the spacetime dimensions between 4 and 6 and decay for d larger than 7. Concerning the p
1 pulsation modes, we found that they increase with the spacetime dimension and decline with the increment of the total mass.
Self-avoiding walks and polygons crossing a domain on the square and hexagonal lattices
Authors: Guttmann Anthony J , Jensen Iwan
Published: November 2022

We have analysed the recently extended series for the number of self-avoiding walks (SAWs)

C
L

(
1
)

that cross an L × L square between diagonally opposed corners. The number of such walks is known to grow as

λ
S

L
2

.

We have made more precise the estimate of

λ
S

,

based on additional series coefficients provided by several authors, and refined analysis techniques. We estimate that

λ
S

=
1.744
5498
±
0.000
0012.

We have also studied the subdominant behaviour, and conjecture that

C
L

(
1
)
∼

λ
S

L
2

+
b
L
+
c

⋅

L
g

,

where

b
=
−
0.043
54
±
0.0001
,

c
=
0.5624
±
0.0005
,

and

g
=
0.000
±
0.005.

We implemented a very efficient algorithm for enumerating paths on the square and hexagonal lattices making use of a minimal perfect hash function and in-place memory updating of the arrays for the counts of the number of paths. Using this algorithm we extended and then analysed series for SAWs spanning the square lattice and self-avoiding polygons (SAPs) crossing the square lattice. These are known to also grow as

λ
S

L
2

.

The sub-dominant term λ

b
is found to be the same as for SAWs crossing the square, while the exponent

g
=
1.75
±
0.01

for spanning SAWs and

g
=
−
0.500
±
0.005

for SAPs. We have also studied the analogous problems on the hexagonal lattice, and generated series for a number of geometries. In particular, we study SAWs and SAPs crossing rhomboidal, triangular and square domains on the hexagonal lattice, as well as SAWs spanning a rhombus. We estimate that the analogous growth constant

λ
H

=
1.387
249
51
±
0.000
000
05
,

so an even more precise estimate than found for the square lattice. We also give estimates of the sub-dominant terms.
In the folds of the central limit theorem: Lévy walks, large deviations and higher-order anomalous diffusion
Authors: Giona Massimiliano , Cairoli Andrea , Klages Rainer
Published: November 2022

This article considers the statistical properties of Lévy walks possessing a regular long-term linear scaling of the mean square displacement with time, for which the conditions of the classical central limit theorem apply. Notwithstanding this property, their higher-order moments display anomalous scaling properties, whenever the statistics of the transition times possesses power-law tails. This phenomenon is perfectly consistent with the classical central limit theorem, as it involves the convergence properties towards the normal distribution. This phenomenon is closely related to the property that the higher order moments of normalized sums of N independent random variables possessing finite variance may deviate, for N tending to infinity, to those of the normal distribution. The thermodynamic implications of these results are thoroughly analyzed by motivating the concept of higher-order anomalous diffusion.
An ICT platform based on a multi-objective control systemic approach for reducing energy use in public buildings
Authors: Franco Alessandro
Published: November 2022

Towards a goal of efficiency through energy use reduction, the paper analyses the perspectives of promoting the concept of integrated energy management in public buildings through implementation of technical energy efficiency measures and solutions supported by the implementation of ICT technologies, useful both for optimisation based on a multi-objective control systemic approach and for contributing to changing users’ behaviours and to motivate their support taking advantage of ICT (e.g. personalised data driven applications, gaming and social networking). The use of the platform has been tested in two educational buildings. The perspective of reducing energy consumption up to 15% has been appreciated
Improving efficiency and renewables utilization by hybrid heating plants for industrial buildings
Authors: Noro M , Mancin S , Cerboni F
Published: November 2022

In this paper, a typical industrial building was modelled using a dynamic simulation software in three very different climatic zones in Italy. On the basis of the thermal loads, a hybrid condensing radiant tubes heating system was modelled. The radiant tubes system was coupled to an air heating system with terminals placed in the building fed by two heat sources: one deriving from the condensation of the exhausted of the radiant tubes, and the other by a heat pump with external air heat source. The energy performance of the hybrid heating system was evaluated by optimizing the nominal power of the heat pump, the bivalent temperature in alternative bivalent operation (the system gives priority to the heat pump, which switches off when the outside air temperature drops below the bivalent temperature and the radiant tubes turn on), and the peak power of the photovoltaic system on the roof of the building. This analysis was performed taking into account the variation in heat pump performance with the outside air temperature. The optimal configuration of the hybrid heating system (minimizing the annual amount of total non-renewable primary energy and maximizing the non-renewable primary energy ratio) was then compared to some more traditional heating systems for industrial buildings to evaluate the energy advantages of this innovative solution.
Gasification as possible technological solution for driftwood management in bodies of waters
Authors: Morselli Nicolò , Dalmonte Fabio , Tartarini Paolo
Published: November 2022

This work studies the possibility of the thermochemical conversion, through gasification, of wood waste that accumulates along river bodies. Thanks to the startup SEADS (Sea Defense Solutions), tree branches were collected from the Lamone river (province of Ravenna - IT) in various conservation states. The wood wastes were pre-treated through a chipping process to make them suitable for chemical/physical analyses and subsequent gasification process using the All Power Labs Power Pallet 30 (PP30) commercial micro-gasifier. The elemental analysis show how the wood material undergoes a certain chemical degradation due to weathering, which leads to an HHV of 18.76 MJ/kg, lower than virgin biomass. The gasification process was firstly simulated through a numerical method that gave positive outputs: syngas with a higher heating value of 4.61 MJ/kg and a gasification efficiency of 63.03%. A subsequent gasification test was used to validate the numerical model that was also used to estimate the electrical (18.91%) and thermal (25.21%) efficiency of a cogeneration power plant, powered by the PP30 gasification reactor.
Thermal and visual remote sensing of residential buildings by UAV
Authors: Ottaviani M , Giammichele L , Fioretti F , Ricci R
Published: November 2022

This paper is aimed to define an innovative method to evaluate building envelope thermal performance over the time by infrared thermography. The remote sensing is carried out by infrared camera and digital camera. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is used for the sake of image acquisition. Firstly, flight and measurement protocols are defined to guarantee a correct detection and a new dimensionless parameter (β) is introduced to compare images taken in different time instants and environmental conditions. Successively, thermal and visible 3D models of the investigated building are analyzed, and a first draft of a 3D β-map is realized.
Replacing batteries with water by an innovative evaporative cooling process for vehicle air conditioning
Authors: Morselli Nicolò , Cossu Michele , Muscio Alberto
Published: November 2022

In plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles, the air conditioning system can absorb a significant fraction of the energy stored onboard in the battery pack, thus causing a decrease of the range, or the need of additional battery capacity with its associated mass and cost. An alternative to standard air conditioning systems is provided by evaporative cooling. This was used at the dawn of the automotive industry in the form of direct evaporative cooling, however it did not take hold due to the high relative humidity induced in the vehicle cabin by the supply of almost saturated air, with the consequent risk of condensation and health issues. In recent times, Maisotsenko developed an innovative indirect evaporative cooling system, in which the air introduced in the conditioned compartment is not humidified and it can also be cooled down to dew point rather than to the wet bulb temperature thanks to the system architecture. Water consumption is relatively low, so the same cooling energy provided by a vapor compression system powered by a given mass fraction of the battery pack can be obtained by evaporating a comparable mass of water. The approach is investigated here by theoretical means, in order to explore its potential and identify possible critical issues.
2023 roadmap for materials for quantum technologies
Authors: Becher Christoph , Gao Weibo , Kar Swastik , Marciniak Christian D , Monz Thomas , Bartholomew John G , Goldner Philippe , Loh Huanqian , Marcellina Elizabeth , Goh Kuan Eng Johnson , Koh Teck Seng , Weber Bent , Mu Zhao , Tsai Jeng-Yuan , Yan Qimin , Huber-Loyola Tobias , Höfling Sven , Gyger Samuel , Steinhauer Stephan , Zwiller Val
Published: November 2022

Quantum technologies are poised to move the foundational principles of quantum physics to the forefront of applications. This roadmap identifies some of the key challenges and provides insights on material innovations underlying a range of exciting quantum technology frontiers. Over the past decades, hardware platforms enabling different quantum technologies have reached varying levels of maturity. This has allowed for first proof-of-principle demonstrations of quantum supremacy, for example quantum computers surpassing their classical counterparts, quantum communication with reliable security guaranteed by laws of quantum mechanics, and quantum sensors uniting the advantages of high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, and small footprints. In all cases, however, advancing these technologies to the next level of applications in relevant environments requires further development and innovations in the underlying materials. From a wealth of hardware platforms, we select representative and promising material systems in currently investigated quantum technologies. These include both the inherent quantum bit systems and materials playing supportive or enabling roles, and cover trapped ions, neutral atom arrays, rare earth ion systems, donors in silicon, color centers and defects in wide-band gap materials, two-dimensional materials and superconducting materials for single-photon detectors. Advancing these materials frontiers will require innovations from a diverse community of scientific expertise, and hence this roadmap will be of interest to a broad spectrum of disciplines.
VSTH: a user-friendly web server for structure-based virtual screening on Tianhe-2
Authors: Mo Qing , Xu Zexin , Yan Hui , Chen Pin , Lu Yutong
Published: November 2022

VSTH is a user-friendly web server with the complete workflow for virtual screening. By self-customized visualization software, users can interactively prepare protein files, set docking sites as well as view binding conformers in a target protein in a few clicks. We provide serval purchasable ligand libraries for selection. And, we integrate six open-source docking programs as computing engine, or as conformational sampling tools for DLIGAND2. Users can select various docking methods simultaneously and personalize computing parameters. After docking processing, user can filter docking conformations by ranked scores, or cluster-based molecular similarity to find highly populated clusters of low-energy conformations.

Availability and implementation

The VSTH web server is free and open to all users at https://matgen.nscc-gz.cn/VirtualScreening.html

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
htseq-clip: a toolset for the preprocessing of eCLIP/iCLIP datasets
Authors: Sahadevan Sudeep , Sekaran Thileepan , Ashaf Nadia , Fritz Marko , Hentze Matthias W , Huber Wolfgang , Schwarzl Thomas
Published: November 2022

Transcriptome-wide detection of binding sites of RNA-binding proteins is achieved using Individual-nucleotide crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (iCLIP) and its derivative enhanced CLIP (eCLIP) sequencing methods. Here, we introduce htseq-clip, a python package developed for preprocessing, extracting and summarizing crosslink site counts from i/eCLIP experimental data. The package delivers crosslink site count matrices along with other metrics, which can be directly used for filtering and downstream analyses such as the identification of differential binding sites.

Availability and implementation

The Python package htseq-clip is available via pypi (python package index), bioconda and the Galaxy Tool Shed under the open source MIT License. The code is hosted at https://github.com/EMBL-Hentze-group/htseq-clip and documentation is available under https://htseq-clip.readthedocs.io/en/latest.
Neutrophil extracellular traps contribute to myofibroblast differentiation and scar hyperplasia through the Toll-like receptor 9/nuclear factor Kappa-B/interleukin-6 pathway
Authors: Shao Yiming , Guo Zaiwen , Yang Yunxi , Liu Lu , Huang Jiamin , Chen Yi , Li Linbin , Sun Bingwei
Published: November 2022

Background

Inflammation is an important factor in pathological scarring. The role of neutrophils, one of the most important inflammatory cells, in scar hyperplasia remains unclear. The purpose of this article is to study the correlation between neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and scar hyperplasia and identify a new target for inhibiting scar hyperplasia.

Methods

Neutrophils were isolated from human peripheral blood by magnetic-bead sorting. NETs in plasma and scars were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess neutrophil (CD66B) infiltration in hypertrophic scars. To observe the entry of NETs into fibroblasts we used immunofluorescence and flow cytometry.

Results

We found that peripheral blood neutrophils in patients with hypertrophic scars were more likely to form NETs (p < 0.05). Hypertrophic scars showed greater infiltration with neutrophils and NETs (p < 0.05). NETs activate fibroblasts in vitro to promote their differentiation and migration. Inhibition of NETs with cytochalasin in wounds reduced the hyperplasia of scars in mice. We induced neutrophils to generate NETs with different stimuli in vitro and detected the proteins carried by NETs. We did not find an increase in the expression of common scarring factors [interleukin (IL)-17 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), p > 0.05]. However, inhibiting the production of NETs or degrading DNA reduced the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. In vitro, NETs were found to be mediated by Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR-9) in fibroblasts and further phosphorylated nuclear factor Kappa-B (NF-κB). We found that IL-6, which is downstream of NF-κB, was increased in fibroblasts. Additionally, IL-6 uses autocrine and paracrine signaling to promote differentiation and secretion.

Conclusions

Our experiments found that NETs activate fibroblasts through the TLR-9/NF-κB/IL-6 pathway, thereby providing a new target for regulating hypertrophic scars.
Hsa_circ_0094606 promotes malignant progression of prostate cancer by inducing M2 polarization of macrophages through PRMT1-mediated arginine methylation of ILF3
Authors: Zhang Yuwei , Wang Ke , Yang Delin , Liu Fengping , Xu Xinyu , Feng Yangkun , Wang Yang , Zhu Sha , Gu Chaoqun , Sheng Jiayi , Hu Lei , Xu Bin , Lu Yong-Jie , Feng Ninghan
Published: November 2022

Circular RNA (circRNA), a type of noncoding RNAs, has been demonstrated to act vital roles in tumorigenesis and cancer deterioration. Although tumor-associated macrophages are involved in tumor malignancy, the interactions between circRNAs and tumor-associated macrophages in prostate cancer (PCa) remain unclear. In the present study, we found that hsa_circ_0094606 (subsequently named circ_0094606) could promote proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as well as migration of PCa cells through cell viability and migration assays and the determination of EMT markers. Mass spectrometry analysis after RNA pull-down experiment identified that circ_0094606 bound to protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) in PCa cells, and further functional assays revealed that circ_0094606 promoted the malignant progression of PCa by binding to PRMT1. Moreover, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) pull-down and immunofluorescence showed that PRMT1 mediated arginine methylation of ILF3 to stabilize the protein. Bioinformatics analysis combined with data from RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down suggested that ILF3 could stabilize IL-8 mRNA, which promoted the M2 polarization in coculture study. Finally, in vivo experiments showed that circ_0094606 subserve PCa growth and promoted the M2 polarization of macrophages through the PRMT1/ILF3/IL-8 regulation pathway, supporting circ_0094606 as a potential novel effective target for PCa treatment.
“She is as feminine as my mother, as my sister, as my biologically female friends”: On the promise and limits of transgender visibility in fashion media
Authors: Zhang Erique
Published: November 2022

As transgender media representation continues to gain traction, trans scholars and activists have contended with the double-edged sword of visibility: while trans visibility has the potential to familiarize cisgender audience with trans experiences, it also risks reinforcing normative ideas about gender expression. Taking fashion media as a case study, I look at trans representation between 2013 and 2020 in the print editions of U.S.-based fashion publications Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Women’s Wear Daily. I argue that trans representation in fashion magazines produces competing discourses about trans identity as simultaneously conforming to gender norms and subverting the gender binary. Further, fashion magazines employ a neoliberal logic of visibility and self-empowerment, positioning trans individuals—particularly trans women of color—as exceptional figures and role models. Finally, I find a recent shift towards a social justice framework as trans activists of color are given greater voice in the pages of fashion magazines.
Governing digital platform power for industrial development: towards an entrepreneurial-regulatory state
Authors: Andreoni Antonio , Roberts Simon
Published: November 2022

Data and digital platforms have simultaneously upended entrenched positions in some industries, opening-up greater and disruptive competition, while driving overall higher levels of concentration through the growing power of multi-sided digital platforms. The coexistence of rivalry and collusion – a key feature of Cowling’s monopoly capitalism – persists and takes new forms in the digital economy. Taking into account the heterogenous nature of platforms, this paper analyses the relationships between large digital platforms and the development of industrial capabilities, especially in middle-income countries and the implications for industrial and competition policies. We advance an analytical-policy framework connecting the different dimensions and sources of platform power responsible for value capture and extraction, and the different platform capability-functions responsible for value creation. Building on this recasting of Hymer’s ‘efficiency contradiction’ and Cowling theory of monopoly capitalism, we advance an integrated industrial-competition policy approach to overcome it and propose a conception of an ‘entrepreneurial-regulatory state’. Complementary industrial and competition policies are required to foster optimal rivalry, being a rivalry which rewards the development of dynamic capabilities and enables contestation by different business models.
Impact of nutrients on the function of the chlamydial Rsb partner switching mechanism
Authors: Kuwabara Shiomi , Landers Evan R , Fisher Derek J
Published: November 2022

The obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis is a leading cause of sexually transmitted infections and infectious blindness. Chlamydia undergo a biphasic developmental cycle alternating between the infectious elementary body (EB) and the replicative reticulate body (RB). The molecular mechanisms governing RB growth and RB-EB differentiation are unclear. We hypothesize that the bacterium senses host cell and bacterial energy levels and metabolites to ensure that development and growth coincide with nutrient availability. We predict that a partner switching mechanism (PSM) plays a key role in the sensing and response process acting as a molecular throttle sensitive to metabolite levels. Using purified wild type and mutant PSM proteins, we discovered that metal type impacts enzyme activity and the substrate specificity of RsbU and that RsbW prefers ATP over GTP as a phosphate donor. Immunoblotting analysis of RsbV1/V2 demonstrated the presence of both proteins beyond 20 hours post infection and we observed that an RsbV1-null strain has a developmental delay and exhibits differential growth attenuation in response to glucose levels. Collectively, our data support that the PSM regulates growth in response to metabolites and further defines biochemical features governing PSM-component interactions which could help in the development of novel PSM-targeted therapeutics.
Inequalities in Retirement Life Span in the United States
Authors: Shi Jiaxin , Dudel Christian , Monden Christiaan , van Raalte Alyson
Published: November 2022

Objectives

The length of retirement life may be highly unequal due to persistent and significant discrepancies in old-age mortality. This study assesses gender and educational differences in the average retirement life span and the variation in retirement life span, taking into account individual labor force exit and reentry dynamics.

Methods

We used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study from 1996 to 2016, focusing on respondents aged 50 and older (N = 32,228). Multistate life tables were estimated using discrete-time event history models. The average retirement life span, as well as absolute and relative variation in retirement life span, were calculated analytically.

Results

Among women, we found a persistent educational gradient in average retirement life span over the whole period studied; among men, the relationship between education and retirement expectancy differed across periods. Women and the lower-educated had higher absolute variation in retirement life span than men and the higher-educated—yet these relationships were reversed when examined by relative variation.

Discussion

Our multistate approach provides an accurate and comprehensive picture of the retirement life span of older Americans over the past two decades. Such findings should be considered in high-level discussions on Social Security. Potential reforms such as raising the eligibility age or cutting benefits may have unexpected implications for different social groups due to their differential effects on retirement initiation and reentry dynamics.
The thin line between farce and tragedy: My Covid story between Italy and Guatemala
Authors: Gasbarri Lorenzo
Published: November 2022

In my “Covid story,” I would like to present some reflections on the effects of the pandemic on global structural inequalities. Based on my personal experiences in Italy and Guatemala, I chronologically present the differences between the two countries in tackling the pandemic. In particular, I focus on the right to health, including access to hospitals, testing, and vaccinations. I also discuss how the justice system reacted to the pandemic, including the management of prisons and the investigations on the actions of the two governments. Public demonstrations in the streets and violent protests in prisons are the background against which I present the legislative measures adopted to curb the pandemic. Farce and tragedy are intended to depict the distance between public institutions and the people they represent. Between the failures of temporary hospitals in Guatemala and Italy’s draconian regulations to enter the country, the very concept of law and public institutions assumed different connotations.
Optimal site selection for wind power plant using multi-criteria decision-making methods: A case study in eastern Iran
Authors: Seyed Alavi Seyed Mohammad , Maleki Akbar , Khaleghi Ali
Published: November 2022

Sustainable and renewable energy resources will play a significant role in the future of the 21st century. One of the most significant resources of sustainable energy is wind energy. Therefore, detection of the potential locations and selection of the optimal place to find a wind farm are a primary step toward using sustainable energy resources. In this research, the feasibility of establishing wind farms in three provinces in the east and north-east parts of Iran is studied using multiple criteria decision-making methods. Fifty proposed options to build a wind farm are ranked based on 13 effective criteria, including area, distance to power lines, distance to the substation, distance to a road, estimated capacity, distance to the city, altitude, population, population density, annual rainfall, average temperature, average wind speed and relative humidity by applying Shannon entropy weighting technique and using three methods of the simple additive weighting (SAW), technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and elimination and choice translating reality (ELECTRE). Shannon entropy weighting technique reveals that the criteria of distance to power transmission lines and relative humidity will have the most and least weights, respectively. The ranking results show that, based on the TOPSIS and ELECTRE methods, Gezi Bojnourd option is the best site and Neishabour Hesar Yazdan case is the worst site. Furthermore, Bashirabad Torbatjam case is the most desirable site in the SAW method. The sensitivity analysis results show that the minimum sensitivity to the criteria weights is recorded in the SAW method. On the contrary, ELECTRE method offers the most sensitivity and variation in ranking.
Triggers of Change in Sexual Behavior Among People With HIV: The Swiss U = U Statement and COVID-19 Compared
Authors: Hamusonde Kalongo , Nicca Dunja , Günthard Huldrych F , Stöckle Marcel , Darling Katharine E A , Calmy Alexandra , Bernasconi Enos , Haerry David , Schmid Patrick , Kouyos Roger D , Rauch Andri , Salazar-Vizcaya Luisa ,   the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, Abela I , Aebi-Popp K , Anagnostopoulos A , Battegay M , Bernasconi E , Braun D L , Bucher H C , Calmy A , Cavassini M , Ciuffi A , Dollenmaier G , Egger M , Elzi L , Fehr J , Fellay J , Furrer H , Fux C A , Günthard H F , Hachfeld A , Haerry D , Hasse B , Hirsch H H , Hoffmann M , Hösli I , Huber M , Jackson-Perry D , Kahlert C R , Kaiser L , Keiser O , Klimkait T , Kouyos R D , Kovari H , Kusejko K , Labhardt N , Leuzinger K , de Tejada B Martinez , Marzolini C , Metzner K J , Müller N , Nemeth J , Nicca D , Notter J , Paioni P , Pantaleo G , Perreau M , Rauch A , Salazar-Vizcaya L , Schmid P , Speck R , Stöckle M , Tarr P , Trkola A , Wandeler G , Weisser M , Yerly S
Published: November 2022

We assessed changes in sexual behavior among people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) over 20 years. Condom use with stable partners steadily declined from over 90% to 29% since the Swiss U = U statement, with similar trajectories between men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexuals. Occasional partnership remained higher among MSM compared to heterosexuals even during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) social distancing.
Synergy of outer membrane disruptor SLAP-S25 with hydrophobic antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens
Authors: Yang Zhiqiang , Song Meirong , Li Xiaoyu , Zhang Qi , Shen Jianzhong , Zhu Kui
Published: November 2022

Objectives

An effective strategy for combating MDR Gram-negative pathogens can greatly reduce the cost and shorten the antibiotic development progress. Here, we investigated the synergistic activity of outer membrane disruptor SLAP-S25 in combination with hydrophobic antibiotics (LogP > 2, including novobiocin, erythromycin, clindamycin and rifampicin) against MDR Gram-negative pathogens.

Methods

Five representative Gram-negative bacteria were selected as model strains to analyse the synergistic combination of SLAP-S25 and hydrophobic antibiotics. Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae CRHvKP4 was used to investigate the synergistic mechanism. The in vivo synergistically therapeutic activity of SLAP-S25 and hydrophobic antibiotics was measured in the mouse peritonitis/sepsis model infected with K. pneumoniae CRHvKP4.

Results

SLAP-S25 disrupted the outer membrane by removing LPS from Gram-negative bacteria, facilitating the entry of hydrophobic antibiotics to kill MDR Gram-negative pathogens. Moreover, the combination of SLAP-S25 and rifampicin exhibited promising therapeutic effects in the mouse infection model infected with K. pneumoniae CRHvKP4.

Conclusions

Our findings provide a potential therapeutic strategy to combine SLAP-S25 with hydrophobic antibiotics for combating MDR Gram-negative pathogens.
Epidemic Question Answering: question generation and entailment for Answer Nugget discovery
Authors: Weinzierl Maxwell A , Harabagiu Sanda M
Published: November 2022

Objective

The rapidly growing body of communications during the COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge to information seekers, who struggled to find answers to their specific and changing information needs. We designed a Question Answering (QA) system capable of answering ad-hoc questions about the COVID-19 disease, its causal virus SARS-CoV-2, and the recommended response to the pandemic.

Materials and Methods

The QA system incorporates, in addition to relevance models, automatic generation of questions from relevant sentences. We relied on entailment between questions for (1) pinpointing answers and (2) selecting novel answers early in the list of its results.

Results

The QA system produced state-of-the-art results when processing questions asked by experts (eg, researchers, scientists, or clinicians) and competitive results when processing questions asked by consumers of health information. Although state-of-the-art models for question generation and question entailment were used, more than half of the answers were missed, due to the limitations of the relevance models employed.

Discussion

Although question entailment enabled by automatic question generation is the cornerstone of our QA system’s architecture, question entailment did not prove to always be reliable or sufficient in ranking the answers. Question entailment should be enhanced with additional inferential capabilities.

Conclusion

The QA system presented in this article produced state-of-the-art results processing expert questions and competitive results processing consumer questions. Improvements should be considered by using better relevance models and enhanced inference methods. Moreover, experts and consumers have different answer expectations, which should be accounted for in future QA development.
Variable indexing method in rule documents for ship design using extraction of portable document format elements
Authors: Kong Min-Chul , Roh Myung-Il , Kim Ki-Su , Kim Jongoh , Kim Ju-Sung , Park Hogyun
Published: November 2022

Design rules for ships have become more extensive and detailed due to an increase in the sizes of ships. Several variables and equations used in the rules are complex, thereby impeding their review by reviewers due to their voluminosity. In addition, because these rules are constantly revised, professional investigators may miss these changes. To prevent such confusion, a shipping register, which approves ship drawings, constantly automates the search and review processes of the rules. Consequently, this study proposes a method for recognizing variables in documents to review the rules and build relationships between variables. Each component of a document must be accurately identified. The document containing these rules includes different components such as equations, figures, and strings. Because these rules are mainly converted to a portable document format (PDF) for compatibility, it is challenging to extract each component as raw data. This study used a public library to extract elements from the PDF and utilized the positional relationship between the elements to identify the variables. By applying the Levenshtein distance algorithm, which compares the differences between two strings, the document was partitioned following to the table of contents. Hence, the identified variables were indexed into sections of the table of content. Additionally, based on the indexed information, a data structure was proposed to show the equations, definition of variables, and relationships. This study applied it to common structural rules, which are widely used in the shipbuilding industry. The effectiveness of the proposed method was confirmed by achieving the F1 score = 0.93 in variable recognition and intuitively visualizing the relationship between the variables.
Ontogenetic Changes in Nutrients and Stoichiometry in the Invasive Mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)
Authors: Valentine James C , Yee Donald A
Published: November 2022

A variety of physiological, morphological, and behavioral changes occur throughout the life cycle of mosquitoes, which can be correlated with a shift from the aquatic to terrestrial environment. Aedes albopictus Skuse is an abundant invasive species from Asia that was introduced into the Americas in the 1980’s and is responsible for transmitting several important human disease-causing pathogens. How physiological and anatomical changes within each instar and throughout the developmental stages are related to changes in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) levels are an unexplored area of mosquito ecology. We hypothesized that these changes as well as stoichiometry (C:N) would vary with instar stage and larval diet. Cohorts of larvae were grown in three different diets: animal only (crickets), plant only (red maple leaves), and a mixture containing both types. Larval instars (1st–4th), pupae, and adults were raised in each diet and were separately analyzed for nutrient content (%C, %N) and stoichiometry (C:N). Significant changes in nutrient values occurred across the life cycle, with C:N values being lower in early instars versus adults or pupae, especially in animal only or mixed diets; few differences were detected in %C or %N across ontogeny. This knowledge may lead to a better understanding of mosquito ecology and pathogen transmission.
Applying AI to digital archives: trust, collaboration and shared professional ethics
Authors: Jaillant Lise , Rees Arran
Published: November 2022

Policy makers produce digital records on a daily basis. A selection of records is then preserved in archival repositories. However, getting access to these archival materials is extremely complicated for many reasons—including data protection, sensitivity, national security, and copyright. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be applied to archives to make them more accessible, but it is still at an experimental stage. While skills gaps contribute to keeping archives ‘dark’, it is also essential to examine issues of mistrust and miscommunication. This article argues that although civil servants, archivists, and academics have similar professional principles articulated through professional codes of ethics, these are not often communicated to each other. This lack of communication leads to feelings of mistrust between stakeholders. Mistrust of technology also contributes to the barriers to effective implementation of AI tools. Therefore, we propose that surfacing the shared professional ethics between stakeholders can contribute to deeper collaborations between humans. In turn, these collaborations can lead to the building of trust in AI systems and tools. The research is informed by semi-structured interviews with thirty government professionals, archivists, historians, digital humanists, and computer scientists. Previous research has largely focused on preservation of digital records, rather than access to these records, and on archivists rather than records creators such as government professionals. This article is the first to examine the application of AI to digital archives as an issue that requires trust and collaboration across the entire archival circle (from record creators to archivists, and from archivists to users).
Orange-Collar Labor
Authors: Gibson-Light Michael
Published: November 2022

In addition to holding nearly one-quarter of the world’s legal captives, the United States puts them to work. Close to two-thirds of those held in state prisons hold some sort of job within their institution. For them, prison is not only a place of punishment, but a workplace as well. Yet very little is known about work behind bars. To illuminate the “black box” of modern prison labor, Michael Gibson-Light conducted eighteen months of ethnographic observations and over eighty interviews with currently incarcerated men and staff members within one of America’s many medium-security prisons. This book pulls together these accounts to paint a picture of daily labors on the inside, showing that not all prison jobs are the same, nor are all imprisoned workers treated equally. While some find value and purpose in higher-paying, more desirable jobs, others struggle against monotony and hardship in lower-paying, deskilled worksites. The result is a stratified prison employment system in which race, ethnicity, nationality, and social class help determine one’s position, which shapes their experiences of incarceration and often their ability to prepare for release. Through insightful first-hand perspectives and rich ethnographic detail, Orange-Collar Labor takes the reader inside the prison workplace, illustrating the formal prison economy and labor system alongside the informal black market on which many rely to survive. Highlighting moments of struggle and suffering, as well as hard work, cooperation, resistance, and dignity in harsh environments, it documents the lives of America’s working prisoners and the inequalities they face.
Schelling's Late Philosophy in Confrontation with Hegel
Authors: Dews Peter
Published: November 2022

This book presents and evaluates the late philosophy (Spätphilosophie) of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854) across a wide range of issues, extending from the relation between pure thinking and being, to the philosophy of mythology and religion, to the theory of history, to questions concerning the philosophy of nature and freedom. Simultaneously, it discusses Hegel’s treatment of similar issues, and systematically compares the two thinkers. This is the first time, in an English-language publication, that these two major German Idealists have been compared in such detail along such a broad front. The book begins with three chapters exploring the development of Schelling’s thinking concerning transcendental philosophy, nature and teleology, human freedom, and the meaning of history, from his earliest publications up to his middle years. Against this background, the book then presents Schelling’s distinction between “positive” and “negative” philosophy, the defining mark of his late philosophy. It explores his theory of pure a priori thinking (negative philosophy) and his account of the transition from negative to positive philosophy. The major components of Schelling’s positive philosophy, including his conception of “un-pre-thinkable being,” and his theories of mythology and revelation, are then discussed. Throughout these later chapters, a comparative assessment of Hegel’s approach to a comparable range of issues is sustained. Schelling emerges as a philosopher who traced his own highly distinctive path through the thicket of problems bequeathed by Kant, and whose systematic responses to these problems still merit serious consideration as alternatives to those of Hegel.
Blind Existing-ness
Authors: Dews Peter
Published: November 2022

This chapter begins by exploring Schelling’s concept of “un-pre-thinkable being” (das unvordenkliche Seyn), which inaugurates his positive philosophy, through an extended comparison with Jean-Paul Sartre’s notion of “being-in-itself” (l’être-en-soi) in Being and Nothingness (1943). Both thinkers develop what they describe as a “hypothesis” concerning what Sartre calls the “decompression” of being-in-itself, or the original emergence of the “for-itself” (le pour-soi) from the in-itself. For Schelling, in a comparable process, “necessarily necessary existing-ness” (i.e., the necessary being of the ontological argument) arises through the transformation of “contingently necessary existing-ness”—or “blind existing-ness”—into primordial possibility or potentiality (Urmöglichkeit). This distinctive twist on the ontological argument is compared to Hegel’s reworking of the argument. The chapter then explores the two philosophers’ respective concepts of Creation. It concludes by comparing Schelling’s account of the emergence of freedom within the natural world with Helen Steward’s defense of “agency incompatibilism” in her A Metaphysics for Freedom.