bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reservoir sediment characterisation by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in a semiarid region to support sediment reuse for soil fertilization
Authors: Carvalho Thayslan , Brosinsky Arlena , Foerster Saskia , Teixeira Adunias , Medeiros Pedro
Published: August 2022

Purpose

Soil erosion by water yields sediment to surface reservoirs, reducing their storage capacities, changing their geometry, and degrading water quality. Sediment reuse, i.e., fertilization of agricultural soils with the nutrient-enriched sediment from reservoirs, has been proposed as a recovery strategy. However, the sediment needs to meet certain criteria. In this study, we characterize sediments from the densely dammed semiarid Northeast Brazil by VNIR-SWIR spectroscopy and assess the effect of spectral resolution and spatial scale on the accuracy of N, P, K, C, electrical conductivity, and clay prediction models.

Methods

Sediment was collected in 10 empty reservoirs, and physical and chemical laboratory analyses as well as spectral measurements were performed. The spectra, initially measured at 1 nm spectral resolution, were resampled to 5 and 10 nm, and samples were analysed for both high and low spectral resolution at three spatial scales, namely (1) reservoir, (2) catchment, and (3) regional scale.

Results

Partial least square regressions performed from good to very good in the prediction of clay and electrical conductivity from reservoir (< 40 km2) to regional (82,500 km2) scales. Models for C and N performed satisfactorily at the reservoir scale, but degraded to unsatisfactory at the other scales. Models for P and K were more unstable and performed from unsatisfactorily to satisfactorily at all scales. Coarsening spectral resolution by up to 10 nm only slightly degrades the models’ performance, indicating the potential of characterizing sediment from spectral data captured at lower resolutions, such as by hyperspectral satellite sensors.

Conclusion

By reducing the costly and time-consuming laboratory analyses, the method helps to promote the sediment reuse as a practice of soil and water conservation.
Dimensions of Morphological Integration
Authors: Bookstein Fred L.
Published: August 2022

Over several generations of evolutionary and developmental biologists, ever since Olson and Miller’s pioneering work of the 1950’s, the concept of “morphological integration” as applied to Gaussian representations $$N(\mu ,\Sigma )$$

N
(
μ
,
Σ
)

of morphometric data has been a focus equally of methodological innovation and methodological perplexity. Reanalysis of a century-old example from Sewall Wright shows how some fallacies of distance analysis by correlations can be avoided by careful matching of the distance rosters involved to a different multivariate approach, factor analysis. I reinterpret his example by restoring the information (means and variances) ignored by the correlation matrix, while confirming what Wright called “special size factors” by a different technique, inspection of the concentration matrix $$\Sigma ^{-1}.$$

Σ

-
1

.

In geometric morphometrics (GMM), data accrue instead as Cartesian coordinates of labelled points; nevertheless, just as in the Wright example, statistical manipulations do better when they reconsider the normalizations that went into the generation of those coordinates. Here information about both $$\mu $$
μ
and $$\Sigma ,$$

Σ
,

the means and the variances/covariances, can be preserved via the Boas coordinates (Procrustes shape coordinates without the size adjustment) that protect the role of size per se as an essential explanatory factor while permitting the analyst to acknowledge the realities of animal anatomy and its trajectories over time or size in the course of an analysis. A descriptive quantity for this purpose is suggested, the correlation of vectorized $$\mu $$
μ
against the first eigenvector of $$\Sigma $$
Σ
for the Boas coordinates. The paper reanalyzes two GMM data sets from this point of view. In one, the classic Vilmann rodent neurocranial growth data, a description of integration can be aligned with the purposes of evolutionary and developmental biology by a graphical exegesis based mainly in the loadings of the first Boas principal component. There results a multiplicity of morphometric patterns, some homogeneous and others characterized by gradients. In the other, a Vienna data set comprising human midsagittal skull sections mostly sampled along curves, a further integrated feature emerges, thickening of the calvaria, that requires a reparametrization and a modified thin plate spline graphic distinct from the digitized configurations per se. This new GMM protocol fulfills the original thrust of Olson & Miller’s (Evolution 5:325–338, 1951) “$$\rho $$
ρ
F-groups,” the alignment of statistical and biological explanatory guidance, while respecting the enormously greater range of morphological descriptors afforded by well-designed landmark/semilandmark configurations.
Robust and fault-tolerant spacecraft attitude control based on an extended-observer design
Authors: Giuseppi Alessandro , Delli Priscoli Francesco , Pietrabissa Antonio
Published: August 2022

The aim of this work is to develop a robust control strategy able to drive the attitude of a spacecraft to a reference value, despite the presence of unknown but bounded uncertainties in the system parameters and external disturbances. Thanks to the use of an extended observer design, the proposed control law is robust against all the uncertainties that affect the high-frequency gain matrix, which is shown to capture a broad spectrum of modelling issues, some of which are often neglected by traditional approaches. The proposed controller then provides robustness against parametric uncertainties, as moment of inertia estimation, payload deformations, actuator faults and external disturbances, while maintaining its asymptotic properties.
New seco-anthraquinone glucoside from the roots of Rumex crispus
Authors: Li Yong-Xiang , Li Na , Li Jing-Juan , Zhang Man , Zhu Hong-Tao , Wang Dong , Zhang Ying-Jun
Published: August 2022

A new seco-anthraquinone, crispuside A (1), and three new 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-ones, napthalenones A-C (2–4), were isolated from the roots of Rumex crispus L., along with 10 known anthraquinones (6–14) and naphthalenone (5). Their structures were fully determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including ECD, and X-ray crystallography in case of compound 5, whose absolute configuration was determined for the first time. The isolates 1, 6–14 were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal activity against three skin fungi, e.g., Epidermophyton floccosum, Trichophyton rubrum, and Microsporum gypseum. Most of the isolates showed weak anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory activity. Only compound 9 exhibited obvious anti-fungal activity against E. floccosum (MIC50 = 2.467 ± 0.03 μM) and M. gypseum (MIC50 = 4.673 ± 0.077 μM), while the MIC50 values of the positive control terbinafine were 1.287 ± 0.012 and 0.077 ± 0.00258 μM, respectively. The results indicated that simple emodin type anthraquinone is more potential against skin fungi than its oxyglucosyl, C-glucosyl and glycosylated seco analogues.

Graphical Abstract
A comprehensive review on coupling vibrations of train–bridge systems under external excitations
Authors: Li Yongle , Xiang Huoyue , Wang Zhen , Zhu Jin
Published: August 2022

In recent years, high-speed railways in China have developed very rapidly, and the number and span of the railway bridges are keeping increasing. Meanwhile, frequent extreme disasters, such as strong winds, earthquakes and floods, pose a significant threat to the safety of the train–bridge systems. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to evaluate the safety and comfort of trains when crossing a bridge under external excitations. In these aspects, there is abundant research but lacks a literature review. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of research works on train–bridge systems under external excitations, which includes crosswinds, waves, collision loads and seismic loads. The characteristics of external excitations, the models of the train–bridge systems under external excitations, and the representative research results are summarized and analyzed. Finally, some suggestions for further research of the coupling vibration of train–bridge system under external excitations are presented.
Enhancing academic integrity in a UAE safety, security defence emergency management academy – the Covid- 19 response and beyond
Authors: Davies Amanda , Al sharefeen Rami
Published: August 2022

Globally, academic integrity and misconduct is a continuing conundrum for education institutions. Whilst the online (internet based and remote) delivery of education is not new, the onset of Covid-19 with accompanying health and safety limitations and the consequential rapid transition to emergency online delivery of education has, for many, exacerbated the need to focus on emerging potential for new forms of student academic misconduct i.e., e-dishonesty. This paper presents the strategies developed by a higher education institution specializing in university courses for safety and security professionals in the United Arab Emirates to address academic integrity during Covid-19 and beyond. The fundamental approach draws on lessons learnt from across the education community and focuses on engaging a comprehensive whole of Academy (faculty and student) commitment to a high standard of academic integrity. The research investigated the outcomes of the academic integrity interventions in a total student population of 631. The early trending results of the strategies are encouraging, whilst monitoring of the ever-changing academic assessment landscape is pivotal to ensure these early trends are validated and sustained. The strategies developed and deployed by the Academy are replicable and offer a contribution to the demanding and complex challenge of establishing academic integrity within educational institutions across the world.
Fumigation Monitoring and Modeling of Hopper-Bottom Railcars Loaded with Corn Grits
Authors: Brabec Daniel , Kaloudis Efstathios , Athanassiou Christos G. , Campbell James , Agrafioti Paraskevi , Scheff Deanna S. , Bantas Sotiris , Sotiroudas Vasilis
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Bulk railcars are a common method of moving commodities in the USA. Allowances are given for the practice of treating railcars with fumigates during transit because the routes are limited access and not on public roads. Recent technology has become available for monitoring phosphine gas (PH3) fumigation on railcars which logs the phosphine concentration and temperature of the test point in the railcars.

Materials and Methods

Two hopper bottom railcar shipments of corn grit were monitored for phosphine during 8-day transit from mill to processor. Several phosphine-sensing units were used in each railcar and spaced across the top layer. Mathematical modeling of the railcar fumigation was carried out using computational fluid dynamic software. Because access to lower depths in the railcar was not available, supplement experiments were performed with small columns of corn grits (2.5 m height x 0.55 m diameter) to test for phosphine at greater depths. Also, in the grain columns, bioassays of both phosphine susceptible and resistant, adult Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), lesser grain borer, and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), red flour beetle, were included at the 0 cm, 25 cm, and 60 cm below the surface.

Results

The phosphine concentrations in the railcar headspace varied with time with phosphine spiking over 1600 ppm and gradually settling to over 300 ppm at the end of the 8 days. Total gas dosage was estimated as concentration*time (CT) over the 8 days as 115,000 and 125,000 ppm*h at the top of each railcar. The supplement grain column fumigation tests found significant phosphine penetration into the column at 2 m depth with ~380 ppm after 2 days which reduced to ~260 ppm after 8 days, and all insects, at all locations, were dead after 8 days. The CFD simulation models were shown to provide estimates of the phosphine concentration and distribution which matched well with the observed data, validating the CFD approach as a useful tool.

Discussion

The simulation models were shown to provide estimates of the phosphine concentration and distribution which matched well the observed data, validating the CFD approach as an efficient tool for future planning and analysis of similar fumigations.
Electrochemical Study of Methoxykaolinite Interactions with Cations and Application to Trace-Level Detection of Pb(II) in Various Aqueous Media
Authors: Nguelo Bruno Boniface , Nganji Urtrich Sandjon , Yami Yvana Rusca Kamgue , Dedzo Gustave Kenne , Ngameni Emmanuel
Published: August 2022

Methoxykaolinite is a very popular organo-modified kaolinite. Even though it has a number of interesting properties, this nanohybrid material is still underused in terms of practical applications. In the present study, methoxykaolinite was synthesized and used for the first time as an electrode modifier for Pb(II) determination in various aqueous media. X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used as characterization tools to confirm the presence of grafted methoxy groups in the interlayer space of kaolinite. The electrochemical characterization of methoxykaolinite using the cationic probe Ru(NH3)63+ showed that the modified clay presents favorable interactions with cationic compounds. A methoxykaolinite-modified electrode was applied successfully to the quantification of Pb(II) in aqueous solution. At optimized experimental conditions, the calibration curve in the concentration range 0.025–0.3 μM showed excellent linearity (R2 > 0.99), a sensitivity of 3.36 μA μM–1, and a detection limit of 5.6 nM. This detection limit was 10 times lower than the minimum concentration of Pb(II) authorized in drinking water. The sensor was used also for the determination of Pb(II) in tap, river, and well water samples with only minor loss of sensitivity and recoveries (90±5% to 110±4%). Thanks to the excellent biocompatibility of kaolinite, the sensor was applied for Pb(II) detection in human urine. Recovery in the range 98±8% to 103±6% was obtained when three freshly collected urine samples were spiked with known amounts of Pb(II). These results showed the interesting potential of methoxykaolinite as an electrode modifier for trace-level detection of cations, even in biological samples.
To Teach or Not to Teach: An International Study of Language Teachers’ Experiences of Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Kwee Ching Ting Tany
Published: August 2022

Schools have been switching to online learning to ensure students’ learning continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is a paucity of studies examining language teachers’ motivations and decisions for continuing online teaching in the future. This study aims at investigating the significant factors influencing language teachers’ motivations and decisions on online teaching. Based on the aim of this study, three research questions guided this study: (1) What was language teachers’ experience of online teaching? (2) What motivates language teachers to teach online after the COVID-19 pandemic? (3) What demotivates language teachers to teach online after the COVID-19 pandemic? Eight language teachers coming from six countries and regions, namely, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Russia, and Taiwan, were selected to have two one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The researcher used Social Cognitive Career Theory as a theoretical framework and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as the methodology to examine language teachers’ experiences in-depth. This study found that better time management and a positive learning environment are the reasons for continuing online language teaching, while personal beliefs on education and negative teaching outcome expectations are the reasons for stopping online language teaching. The findings can provide insights for the education institutions, school management and policy-makers to devise appropriate strategies to boost language teachers’ motivations to incorporate online teaching in the post-pandemic era.
Competition Law in Crisis
Authors: Wardhaugh Bruce
Published: August 2022

A common criticism of the competition rules posed by EU authorities is that they are too inflexible, thereby prohibiting adequate responses to economic and industrial shocks. Competition Law in Crisis challenges this suggestion through an examination of competition responses to crises past and present. With an analysis spanning the response of UK and EU competition authorities to the economic and commercial outfall of the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential responses to the climate crisis in the context of post-Brexit British industrial policy, the book argues that relaxing the competition regime is precisely the wrong response. The rigidity of competition rules in the UK and EU has both normative and positive implications for not just the methodology used in competition analysis, but also the role of competition law within the legal order of both jurisdictions. The book concludes with a discussion of the place of the competition in the UK's and EU's legal order.
Women carry for less: body size, pelvis width, loading position and energetics
Authors: Wall-Scheffler Cara M.
Published: August 2022

The energetic cost of walking varies with mass and speed; however, the metabolic cost of carrying loads has not consistently increased proportionally to the mass carried. The cost of carrying mass, and the speed at which human walkers carry this mass, has been shown to vary with load position and load description (e.g. child vs. groceries). Additionally, the preponderance of women carriers around the world, and the tendency for certain kinds of population-level sexual dimorphism has led to the hypothesis that women might be more effective carriers than men. Here, I investigate the energetic cost and speed changes of women (N =9) and men (N =6) walking through the woods carrying their own babies (mean baby mass = 10.6 kg) in three different positions – on their front, side and back using the same Ergo fabric baby sling. People carrying their babies on their backs are able to maintain their unloaded walking speed (1.4 m/s) and show the lowest increase in metabolic cost per distance (J/m, 17.4%). Women carry the babies for a lower energetic cost than men at all conditions (p< 0.01). Further energetic and kinematic evidence elucidates the preponderance of back-carrying cross-culturally, and illustrates the importance of relatively wider bi-trochanteric breadths for reducing the energetic costs of carrying.
How the laser beam size conditions the temporal contrast in pulse stretchers of chirped-pulse amplification lasers
Authors: Roeder Simon , Zobus Yannik , Brabetz Christian , Bagnoud Vincent
Published: August 2022

In this work, we propose and verify experimentally a model that describes the concomitant influence of the beam size and optical roughness on the temporal contrast of optical pulses passing through a pulse stretcher in chirped-pulse amplification laser systems. We develop an analytical model that is capable of predicting the rising edge caused by the reflection from an optical element in a pulse stretcher, based on the power spectral density of the surface and the spatial beam profile on the surface. In an experimental campaign, we characterize the temporal contrast of a laser pulse that passed through either a folded or an unfolded stretcher design and compare these results with the analytical model. By varying the beam size for both setups, we verify that optical elements in the near- and the far-field act opposed to each with respect to the temporal contrast and that the rising edge caused by a surface benefits from a larger spatial beam size on that surface.
Natural convection in vertical enclosures with conjugate boundary conditions
Authors: Solano Tomas , Ordonez Juan C. , Shoele Kourosh
Published: August 2022

A numerical investigation and reduced-order modelling of natural convection in a cavity with differentially heated sidewalls is discussed. The effect of conjugate boundary conditions on the cavity's heat transfer and natural flow circulation with varying aspect ratios and Rayleigh numbers is examined. Validation of the canonical differentially heated cavity reveals that a modification to the definition of the Rayleigh number (Ra) is required to reconcile the

$Nu\sim Ra^{1/4}$

scaling (where Nu is the Nusselt number) and validity of previously proposed correlations for the heat transfer in vertical enclosures. Dynamic mode decomposition is used to uncover the underlying time-dependent flow structures and the results are compared with stability bifurcation studies in the literature. A flow mode previously associated with smaller aspect ratio cavities is identified as the unstable mode for a larger aspect ratio of 4. The effect of conjugate boundary conditions is scaled based on the ratio of the internal and external boundary layers, wherein higher external Reynolds numbers aid in the heat transfer as the Nusselt number approaches the isothermal limit. A reduced-order theoretical model is proposed to predict the Nusselt number for the conjugate boundary conditions. The performance of conjugate boundary conditions is connected to the flow stability, with the parallel-flow configuration acting in a destabilizing manner while the counterflow configuration has a stabilizing effect and results in the highest heat transfer. We also found that relatively large heat transfer can be achieved with substantially lower external actuation with intermediate aspect ratios, translating to less power in practice.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorised store marketing environments in Louisiana encourage the selection of less nutritious foods and beverages
Authors: Houghtaling Bailey , Cater Melissa , Pradhananga Nila , Holston Denise
Published: August 2022

Marketing influences consumers’ dietary purchases. However, little is known about marketing environments in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorised stores. The present study explored SNAP-authorised store marketing environments in Louisiana by rurality, store ownership and store type (n 42). Sampling methods were designed to include randomly selected stores in each geographic area of the state. The GroPromo was used to measure placement, promotion, and child-focused aspects of marketing strategies used for healthier (fruits and vegetables) and less healthy products (chips, candy, sugar-sweetened beverages, child-focused cereal) in medium- and high-prominence marketing areas. In using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) (P < 0⋅05) for data analysis, variations in GroPromo scores were found among SNAP-authorised stores by rurality (P < 0⋅05) and store ownership (P < 0⋅001); no differences were found by store type (P > 0⋅05). Future research, practice and policy strategies are required to understand the influence of marketing environments on SNAP participants’ dietary quality and to design responsive public health interventions.
Nomenclatural notes on Posidonomya clarae Emmrich, 1844, the type species of Claraia Bittner, 1901
Authors: Hautmann Michael
Published: August 2022

Claraia Bittner, 1901 is a prominent extinct bivalve genus of the Permian-Triassic transition (Newell and Boyd, 1995). Although it first appeared in the Wuchiapingian (Late Permian; Fang Zong-Jie, 2010), its massive proliferation in the immediate wake of the end-Permian mass extinction makes it the archetype of a cosmopolitan and eurytopic disaster species and a hallmark of the base of the Triassic (e.g., Schubert and Bottjer, 1995). Diener (1923, p. 38) fixed “Posidonomya Clarai Emmrich (1844)” as the type species of Claraia by subsequent designation, but spelling and authorship of this species have been controversial. This short contribution aims to clarify these issues.
Scaling limits of branching random walks and branching-stable processes
Authors: Bertoin Jean , Yang Hairuo
Published: August 2022

Branching-stable processes have recently appeared as counterparts of stable subordinators, when addition of real variables is replaced by branching mechanisms for point processes. Here we are interested in their domains of attraction and describe explicit conditions for a branching random walk to converge after a proper magnification to a branching-stable process. This contrasts with deep results obtained during the past decade on the asymptotic behavior of branching random walks and which involve either shifting without rescaling, or demagnification.
Programming by maternal obesity: a pathway to poor cardiometabolic health in the offspring
Authors: Inzani Isabella , Ozanne Susan E.
Published: August 2022

There is an ever increasing prevalence of maternal obesity worldwide such that in many populations over half of women enter pregnancy either overweight or obese. This review aims to summarise the impact of maternal obesity on offspring cardiometabolic outcomes. Maternal obesity is associated with increased risk of adverse maternal and pregnancy outcomes. However, beyond this exposure to maternal obesity during development also increases the risk of her offspring developing long-term adverse cardiometabolic outcomes throughout their adult life. Both human studies and those in experimental animal models have shown that maternal obesity can programme increased risk of offspring developing obesity and adipose tissue dysfunction; type 2 diabetes with peripheral insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction; CVD with impaired cardiac structure and function and hypertension via impaired vascular and kidney function. As female offspring themselves are therefore likely to enter pregnancy with poor cardiometabolic health this can lead to an inter-generational cycle perpetuating the transmission of poor cardiometabolic health across generations. Maternal exercise interventions have the potential to mitigate some of the adverse effects of maternal obesity on offspring health, although further studies into long-term outcomes and how these translate to a clinical context are still required.
A Sensible Pragmatist Conception of Truth
Authors: Misak Cheryl
Published: August 2022

This essay traces the evolution of the pragmatist elements in Wiggins's distinctive view of truth and shows its connections to the founder of pragmatism, C.S. Peirce and one of Peirce's greatest successors, F.P. Ramsey. Wiggin's pragmatism, like that of Peirce and Ramsey, is a pragmatism that attempts to arrive at what Wiggins calls ‘a sensible subjectivism’ – an account of truth that respects both the human inventiveness and the objectivity that are each a part of our search for the truth
Virtual reality cue exposure therapy for tobacco relapse prevention: a comparative study with standard intervention
Authors: Malbos Eric , Borwell Baptiste , Einig-Iscain Mélodie , Korchia Théo , Cantalupi Robin , Boyer Laurent , Lancon Christophe
Published: August 2022

Background

Successful interventions have been developed for smoking cessation although the success of smoking relapse prevention protocols has been limited. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in particular has been hampered by a high relapse rate. Because relapse can be due to conditions associated with tobacco consumption (such as drinking in bars with friends), virtual reality cue exposure therapy (VRCE) can be a potential tool to generate 3D interactive environments that simulate risk situations for relapse prevention procedures.

Methods

To assess the effectiveness of VRCE with CBT, a comparative trial involving 100 smoking abstinent participants was designed with all required virtual environments (VE) created with an inexpensive graphic engine/game level editor.

Results

Outcome measures confirmed the immersive and craving eliciting effect of these VEs. Results demonstrated that more participants in the VRCE group did not experience smoking relapse and that VRCE is at least as efficacious as traditional CBT in terms of craving reduction and decrease in nicotine dependence. Dropout and relapse rate in the VRCE group was noticeably lower than the CBT group. Aside from mood scores, no significant differences were found regarding the other scales.

Conclusion

The present clinical trial provides evidence that VRCE was effective in preventing smoking relapse. Improvement in technology and methodology for future research and applications is delineated.
Central Tibetan famines 1280–1400: when premodern climate change and bad governance starved Tibet
Authors: Gamble Ruth , Powers John , Hackett Paul
Published: August 2022

From the late-1200s to the mid-1400s, the river valleys of Central Tibet experienced both droughts and political upheavals. This combination of inclement weather and administrative dysfunction led to a series of famines. Although the famines were noted at the time, they were later forgotten in Tibetan narratives, and this is the first time that they are the subject of historical study. In this article we analyse the historical narratives of famine – found in biographies, histories and poems – and compare them with the region's paleoclimatic records, focusing particularly on changes in temperature and precipitation. We begin by discussing the famines’ climatic and political causes and their relationship to broader South and East Asian climatic- and famine-related events. We then outline the Tibetan religious, societal and government responses to these events. These responses include the community's initial reactions, and the multiple magical and managerial strategies they eventually developed to stave off famines.
Interception of an aerial manoeuvring target using monocular vision
Authors: Jana Shuvrangshu , Tony Lima Agnel , Bhise Aashay Anil , VP Varun , Ghose Debasish
Published: August 2022

In this work, a vision-based guidance algorithm for interception of an aerial manoeuvring target is proposed. Vision-based aerial engagement in 3D space in an outdoor environment is challenging due to uncertainty in estimating the target location. The vision-based guidance algorithm proposed here generates the desired velocity commands for the interceptor drone based on the orientation of the target pixel in the image plane. The desired velocity at the centre of gravity of the interceptor is calculated such that the velocity at the camera centre is aligned towards the line joining the target pixel and the camera centre. It is shown that the proposed guidance strategy forces the target pixel towards the centre of the image plane and leads to low miss distance. The algorithm developed is first tested in the ROS-Gazebo platform and then implemented in field experiments.
Children’s engagement and caregivers’ use of language-boosting strategies during shared book reading: A mixed methods approach
Authors: LINGWOOD Jamie , LAMPROPOULOU Sofia , DE BEZENAC Christophe , BILLINGTON Josie , ROWLAND Caroline
Published: August 2022

For shared book reading to be effective for language development, the adult and child need to be highly engaged. The current paper adopted a mixed-methods approach to investigate caregiver’s language-boosting behaviours and children’s engagement during shared book reading. The results revealed there were more instances of joint attention and caregiver’s use of prompts during moments of higher engagement. However, instances of most language-boosting behaviours were similar across episodes of higher and lower engagement. Qualitative analysis assessing the link between children’s engagement and caregiver’s use of speech acts, revealed that speech acts do seem to contribute to high engagement, in combination with other aspects of the interaction.
Homosexual Stories, Family Stories: Neo-Confucian Homonormativity and Storytelling in the Chinese Gay Community
Authors: Luo Muyuan , Tseng Hsunhui , Ma Yin
Published: August 2022

This article investigates the recent proliferation of family-themed homosexual stories in China based on life-history interviews and participant observation conducted in Shenzhen. We develop the concept of “neo-Confucian homonormativity” – characterized by a harmonious relationship between gay men and their families of origin and their ability and aspiration to enter a monogamous relationship and become parents – to explain the production, circulation and consumption of these stories in the Chinese gay community. We argue that these stories are socially embedded actions enabled by the emerging neoliberal sexual politics in the Chinese gay community that influence the organization of the Chinese gay community and Chinese gay men's lived experiences. By analysing the emerging storytelling practices in the Chinese gay community, this article challenges the Western-centric way of theorizing homonormativity and opens up the possibility to conceptualize homonormativity from an Asian perspective.
Prix, consommation, balance et revenus
Authors: Baudhuin Fernand
Published: August 2022

1. — L'année 1950 a présenté en Belgique des particularités curieuses dans le domaine des prix.

Au cours du premier semestre, les prix de gros sont demeurés remarquablement stables, et les prix de détail ont fléchi légèrement, par suite surtout de la baisse cyclique du porc. Le démenti infligé à tous ceux qui annonçaient que la dévaluation monétaire de 12 ½ %, en septembre 1949, devait fatalement déterminer une hausse des prix, a été confirmé et amplifié. Les prix de gros, qui se trouvaient à 363 au mois d'août 1949, étaient encore à 365 en juin 1950. Quant aux prix de détail, ils étaient revenus d'une date à l'autre, de 378 à 368, par suite de la baisse des produits alimentaires.
L'évolution séculaire des taux de fret et d'assurance maritimes 1819-1940
Authors: Schöller Paul
Published: August 2022

De nombreuses études faites dans le cadre des travaux de l'Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales ont précisé l'évolution séculaire et les mouvements longs des prix. Notre but est d'y ajouter le résultat de recherches sur les mouvements des taux de fret et d'assurance maritimes. Ces deux facteurs revêtent, en effet, une importance considérable dans la formation des prix sur un marché international.

En Angleterre, en premier lieu, l'attention se porta sur les mouvements des frets maritimes. Le Board of Trade publia en 1904, un indice des frets de 1884 à 1903, que Hobson compléta plus tard, en couvrant la période de 1819 à 1912; cet indice est basé sur les frets de blé et de denrées alimentaires vers l'Angleterre et les frets de charbon et de fer au départ du Royaume-Uni, et porte sur 22 routes maritimes. En 1938, Isserlis établit un indice de 1869 à 1936, d'après les rapports annuels de la maison Angier, rapports donnant les frets les plus hauts et les plus bas pour 200 routes maritimes vers l'Angleterre et 100 vers l'extérieur. Enfin, pour la période postérieure à la première guerre mondiale, on dispose d'un indice de la Chamber of Shipping, publié dans le Statist, d'un indice de Macrosty, d'un nouvel indice pondéré d'Isserlis, etc.
La «question sociale» dans la sociologie de Durkheim
Authors: Hoefnagels Harry
Published: August 2022

La multiplication des études sur les relations industrielles et les rapports des classes rend de plus en plus souhaitable l'élaboration d'une théorie sociologique des « problèmes sociaux » . Tant qu'on n'aura pas établi une méthode objective pour présenter ce genre de problèmes, il n'y aura pas moyen d'éviter les déficiences bien connues de la sociologie industrielle américaine. Pour traiter de ces matières ou bien on se contente d'une description pure sans même parler de problèmes; ou bien on choisit arbitrairement un point de vue sous lequel les phénomènes se présentent comme des problèmes ; en ce dernier cas, on se trouve, par ce choix même, dans la perspective d'une idéologie déterminée. Pour assurer d'une part le caractère significatif des recherches et d'autre part l'objectivité dans la sélection et l'interprétation, une définition objective de ce qu'est un « problème social » est indispensable.
Violent behavior and the COVID-19 lockdowns: a nationwide register-based study
Authors: Pisl Vojtech , Vevera Jan , Holas Jakub , Volavka Jan
Published: August 2022

Objectives

The primary aim was to test the hypothesis that physical interpersonal violence is decreased during the lockdown period in comparison with comparable control periods. The secondary aims were to explore the effects of gender and alcohol consumption on the violence during the lockdown.

Methods

Nationwide records of hospitalizations secondary to an assault were analyzed using quasipoisson regression. Assault rates in two lockdown periods, defined as a national emergency state, were compared to baseline data between 2017 and 2020, controlling for seasonal fluctuations and pandemic-related effects other than lockdown. To validate the findings on independent data, differences between lockdown and baseline in Police records of violent criminality between 2017 and 2021 were examined using one-way ANOVA.

Results

The rates of hospitalizations secondary to an assault decreased substantially during lockdowns (IRR = .43; P < .001) and the duration of lockdown did not affect assault rates (P = .07). The decrease in assault rates was more pronounced in males than females (IRR = .77; P < .05) and was weakened in patients with history of alcohol abuse (IRR = 1.83; P < .001). Violent crime rate decreased by 19% during the lockdowns compared to prepandemic baseline (P < .001).

Conclusion

We found that physical interpersonal violence decreased during the COVID-19 lockdown periods. The reduction is significantly greater in males. Emerging evidence suggests an increased risk of alcohol use and intoxication during the lockdowns. Violent crime rate decreased during the lockdown.
The Generic BFRB Scale-8 (GBS-8): a transdiagnostic scale to measure the severity of body-focused repetitive behaviours
Authors: Moritz Steffen , Gallinat Christina , Weidinger Sarah , Bruhns Alina , Lion Despina , Snorrason Ivar , Keuthen Nancy , Schmotz Stella , Penney Danielle
Published: August 2022

Background:

Body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs) such as skin picking and hair pulling are frequent but under-diagnosed and under-treated psychological conditions. As of now, most studies use symptom-specific BFRB scales. However, a transdiagnostic scale is needed in view of the high co-morbidity of different BFRBs.

Aims:

We aimed to assess the reliability as well as concurrent and divergent validity of a newly developed transdiagnostic BFRB scale.

Method:

For the first time, we administered the 8-item Generic BFRB Scale (GBS-8) as well as the Repetitive Body Focused Behavior Scale (RBFBS), modified for adults, in 279 individuals with BFRBs. The GBS-8 builds upon the Skin Picking Scale-Revised (SPS-R), but has been adapted to capture different BFRBs concurrently. A total of 170 participants (61%) were re-assessed after 6 weeks to determine the test–retest reliability of the scale.

Results:

Similar to the SPS-R, factor analysis yielded two dimensions termed symptom severity and impairment. The test–retest reliability of the scale was satisfactory (r = .72, p<.001). Concurrent validity (r = .74) with the RBFBS was good (correlational indexes for concurrent validity were significantly higher than that for discriminant validity).

Discussion:

The GBS-8 appears to be a reliable and valid global measure of BFRBs. We recommend usage of the scale in combination with specific BFRB scales to facilitate comparability across studies on obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.
L'évolution de la consommation de boissons alcoolisées en Belgique 1900–1958
Authors: Reuss Conrad
Published: August 2022

La présente étude a pour but de retracer l'évolution de la consommation de boissons alcoolisées en Belgique et de montrer quelles ont été les influences d'ordre économique, politique ou social qui ont joué sur elle. Dans cet ordre d'idées, elle examine également le développement de l'industrie brassicole en Belgique. Enfin, elle tente de dégager le rapport qui existe entre l'évolution de la consommation de boissons alcoolisées d'une part et l'alcoolisme de l'autre.
Between Westminster and Brussels: Putting the “Parliament” in Parliamentary Ethnography
Authors: Miller Cherry M.
Published: August 2022

Gender and politics scholars are increasingly making appeals to ethnographic methodology to bring important contributions to understand the reproduction of gender, gender hierarchies, gendered relations, and their redress in parliamentary settings. This article draws upon fieldwork conducted in the U.K. House of Commons and the European Parliament and finds distinctive gendered cultures and norms in debating and working parliaments. Focusing on one dimension of this distinction—the parliamentary debating chamber—the article argues that parliamentary ethnography provides novel empirical insights into this conceptual distinction and into empirical understandings of gendered debating and working parliaments. While parliamentary ethnography is a fruitful innovation, the article discusses the drawbacks of this methodology and provides feminist reflection on ways to make it more accessible.
Rekordverdächtig sauer
Authors: Kuster Marc R. , Studhalter Michael , Kindler Rahel Maria
Published: August 2022

Zusammenfassung. Zur Aufrechterhaltung eines stabilen zellulären Metabolismus ist ein pH-Wert des Bluts innerhalb eines engen Normbereichs (pH 7,35–7,45) Voraussetzung. Selbst geringe Abweichungen können bereits einen schädlichen Effekt haben, und pH-Werte <6,8 oder >pH 7,8 sind – basierend auf den heutigen medizinischen und physiologischen Erkenntnissen und Fakten – in der Regel mit dem Leben nicht vereinbar.
Development of Land‐River Two‐Way Hydrologic Coupling for Floodplain Inundation in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model
Authors: Xu Donghui , Bisht Gautam , Zhou Tian , Leung L. Ruby , Pan Ming
Published: August 2022

Floodplain inundation links river and land systems through significant water, sediment, and nutrient exchanges. However, these two‐way interactions between land and river are currently missing in most Earth System Models. In this study, we introduced the two‐way hydrological coupling between the land component, E3SM Land Model, and the river component, Model for Scale Adaptive River Transport, in Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) to study the impacts of floodplain inundation on land and river processes. We calibrated the river channel geometry and developed a new data‐driven inundation scheme to improve the simulation of inundation dynamics in E3SM. The new inundation scheme captures 96% of the spatial variation of inundation area in a satellite inundation product at global scale, in contrast with 7% when the default inundation scheme of E3SM was used. Global simulations including the new inundation scheme performed at resolution with and without land‐river two‐way coupling was used to quantify the impact of coupling. Comparisons show that two‐way coupling modifies the water and energy cycle in 20% of the global land cells. Specifically, riverine inundation is reduced by two‐way coupling, but inland inundation is intensified. Wetter periods are more impacted by the two‐way coupling at the global scale, while regions with different climates exhibit different sensitivities. The two‐way exchange of water between the land and river components of E3SM provides the foundation for enabling two‐way coupling of land‐river sediment and biogeochemical fluxes. These capabilities will be used to improve understanding of the interactions between water and biogeochemical cycles and their response to human perturbations.
Martian Glaciers May Have Carved Its Valleys
Authors: Tillman Nola
Published: August 2022

Networks of valleys provide puzzling hints of running water on the surface of the Red Planet. New research suggests that some tributaries could have formed from icy sheets thousands of meters thick.
Phosphorus Variations in Volcanic Sequences Reveal the Linkage Between Regional Tectonics and Terrestrial Biota Evolution
Authors: Ma Chao , Tang Yanjie , Foley Stephen F. , Ye Chenyang , Ying Jifeng , Zhao Xinmiao , Xiao Yan , Zhang Hongfu
Published: August 2022

The Middle‒Late Mesozoic massive volcanism formed a considerable thickness of volcanic‐sedimentary strata in western Liaoning, northern China. Concomitantly, it elevated phosphorus (P) availability for the rapid bloom of the terrestrial Yanliao and Jehol biotas, which developed highly abundant biodiversity and biomass. Hence, systematic tectonic and geochemical analyses of these volcanic‐sedimentary sequences with a significant P fluctuation would advance our understanding of the coevolutionary relationship between terrestrial biotas and regional tectonics. Here, we show that the secular variation of P availability in the Mesozoic volcanic rocks were the immediate results of the changes in volcanic intensity and lithospheric thickness controlled by the geological background of the cratonic destruction resulting from the paleo‐Pacific plate subduction. This study reveals the constraint effect of regional tectonics on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems through the volcanism and P cycle.
Chemical Toxicants in Water: A GeoHealth Perspective in the Context of Climate Change
Authors: Joseph Naveen , Libunao Tate , Herrmann Elizabeth , Bartelt‐Hunt Shannon , Propper Catherine R. , Bell Jesse , Kolok Alan S.
Published: August 2022

The editorial focuses on four major themes contextualized in a virtual GeoHealth workshop that occurred from June 14 to 16, 2021. Topics in that workshop included drinking water and chronic chemical exposure, environmental injustice, public health and drinking water policy, and the fate, transport, and human impact of aqueous contaminants in the context of climate change. The intent of the workshop was to further define the field of GeoHealth. This workshop emphasized on chemical toxicants that drive human health. The major calls for action emerged from the workshop include enhancing community engagement, advocating for equity and justice, and training the next generation.
On the Relationship Between Oceanic Plate Speed, Tectonic Stress, and Seismic Anisotropy
Authors: Kendall E. , Faccenda M. , Ferreira A. M. G. , Chang S.‐J.
Published: August 2022

Seismic radial anisotropy (the squared ratio between the speeds of horizontally and vertically polarized shear waves, ) is a powerful tool to probe the direction of mantle flow and accumulated strain. While previous studies have confirmed the dependence of azimuthal anisotropy on plate speed, the first order control on radial anisotropy is unclear. In this study, we develop 2D ridge flow models combined with mantle fabric calculations to report that faster plates generate higher tectonics stresses and strain rates which lower the dislocation creep viscosity and lead to deeper anisotropy than beneath slower plates. We apply the SGLOBE‐rani tomographic filter, resulting in a flat depth‐age trend and stronger anisotropy beneath faster plates, which correlates well with 3D global anisotropic mantle models. Our predictions and observations suggest that as plate speed increases from 2 to 8 cm/yr, radial anisotropy increases by ∼0.01–0.025 in the upper 100–200 km of the mantle between 10 and 60 Ma.