bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Histories of habitability from the oikoumene to the Anthropocene
Authors: Fleetwood Lachlan
Published: May 2023

The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report warns in stark terms that many long inhabited parts of the world are now on course to become uninhabitable. As astronomers continue to search the universe for new habitable planets, it is equally essential to historicize the consequences of changing habitability on this one. This article reviews how scholars have engaged with the widely noted but rarely theorized categories of “habitability” and “uninhabitability.” While tracing longer imperial genealogies, the primary focus is on notions of habitability in relation to European global empires in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and their postcolonial legacies. The article traces three key themes in the literature: that habitability was inherently limited, and beyond those limits allegedly lay uninhabitability; that habitability was differential and that certain places were habitable for some groups but not others (but that this might be changed by technological interventions); and finally, that the limits of habitability were not static, but could change for both better and worse. Here the links between colonialism and ideas of acclimatization, terraforming, “improvement,” deliberate uninhabitability, and an “Anthropocene” have all been central to the literature. These have often been closely associated with insidious forms of environmental determinism, which are taking on new forms in an age of crisis (especially in narratives around climate and migration). By drawing together previously disparate literatures, this article ultimately calls on scholars to embrace habitability studies more widely, and to expand on their interdisciplinary potential for communicating the societal consequences of a changing climate.

This article is categorized under:

Climate, History, Society, Culture > Ideas and Knowledge
Stringency and timeliness of COVID‐19 policies in managing the pandemic in Queensland: Lessons from 2020
Authors: Vogler Jessica , Tudehope Lucy , Phung Hai , Bernard Natalie Reyes , Sofija Ernesta
Published: May 2023

Queensland experienced relatively low case numbers during the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. This may be due to timely, stringent policies, yet there is currently no research evaluating this link, despite the state government playing such a primary role in the pandemic response. This ecological study used a cross‐sectional design to examine the stringency and timeliness of Queensland's containment policies and their impact on COVID‐19 cases in 2020. To achieve this, the authors generated a stringency index for Queensland in 2020 in line with the Oxford COVID‐19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) method, since these data were not available at the time. The national context was also provided by examining the relationship between case numbers and policies in Australia. The findings demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between policy stringency and case numbers in both Australia and Queensland. While Australia experienced two waves of COVID‐19 in 2020, Queensland only experienced one. In terms of timeliness, there was a reactive approach to the first wave, with rapid escalation of policy stringency in both Queensland and Australia as a whole. Queensland's ability to prevent a second wave in 2020 may be due to a more systematic, gradual de‐escalation of policies and the maintenance of strategies such as interstate border controls. This study suggests that preventing the reintroduction of new cases after a period of elimination is important. Recommendations are made for the application and interpretation of the stringency index. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between de‐escalation strategies and outcomes.
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Changing Ocean Chemistry
Authors: Schulz Kai G. , Maher Damien T.
Published: May 2023

“They call it life, we call it pollution” is an infamous quote which ignores many facts about why carbon dioxide (CO2) poses a significant problem for the ocean. But before we get to this, let’s start at the beginning. All organisms on Earth require a particular set of elements for growth. In the case of plants, these elements are needed to synthesise organic matter in a process called primary production via photosynthesis, and in the case of animals, these elements are directly assimilated by either consuming plant material or by preying on other animals. In this respect, one of the key elements is carbon. Being the molecular backbone for a number of vital organic compounds such as sugars, proteins and nucleic acids (containing genetic information), carbon can be considered as the building block of life.
Marine Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Authors: Mortimer Munro , Batley Graeme
Published: May 2023

Identifying and listing substances or materials as contaminants of emerging concern(CECs) is not a simple task, and for the marine environment specifically is a challenge for environmental regulators, managers and researchers worldwide (Box 13.1) (Tornero V, and Hanke G (2017) Potential chemical contaminants in the marine environment: An overview of main contaminant lists. Office of the European Union Publications, Luxembourg. Available at: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC108964/potential_chemical_contaminants_in_the_marine.pdf [Accessed 19 August2019].). Some of these agencies have widely different definitions of what a CEC actually is (Halden J Hazard Mater 282:2–9, 2015).
Assessing Organism and Community Responses
Authors: Reichelt-Brushett Amanda , Howe Pelli L. , Chariton Anthony A. , Warne Michael St. J.
Published: May 2023

Many of the chemicals in the environment are naturally derived from compounds in plants, petroleum oils, or minerals in rocks. However, their chemical composition, concentration, and distribution through the environment have been altered by humans, usually as a result of an economic incentive (e.g., mining).
The Education System in Post-conflict Syria – Examining PIRLS as an International Assessment Measure to Ensure the Quality of Students Achievements
Authors: Ibrahim Yaser Abdulrahman
Published: May 2023

This paper provides a general contextualisation of assessment and learning criteria and processes within the framework of leadership and management perspective in post-conflict and war affected countries, with Syria as an example. Through this paper the researcher provided an overview of the related academic literature done on the subject as well as evaluating the importance of applying one of the International Assessment Measures (IAMs) as a solution for educational reformation. The paper evaluates the adoption of one assessment measure to support the special and emergency requirements of post-conflict countries such as Syria.
The Impact of Macroeconomic Factors on the Nifty Auto Index
Authors: Alexander Rhoda , Al-Malkawi Husam Aldin
Published: May 2023

The aim of the paper is to investigate the association between selected macroeconomic variables like crude price, exchange rate, index of industrial production, inflation, interest rate, repo rate, gold price and the auto index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India during a time when the automotive sector in India witnessed the sharpest dip in sales. The study adopts Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) co-integration approach and performs suitable diagnostic tests. Results indicate that, exchange rate has a significant negative relationship with Nifty auto index in the long run. Additionally, crude price, index of industrial production and repo rates are statistically significant determinants of Nifty auto index. On the contrary, first lag of crude price is found to be a possible predictor of the index in the short run. The study provides important implications for researchers, corporations, portfolio managers, investors, and government. Despite the availability of a large body of literature exploring the association between macro-economic factors and stock market in India, research exploring the association between the former and Indian auto indices has been sparse. Hence, this study is intended to fill this gap in the literature.
Critical Thinking Skills Profile of High School Students in AP Chemistry Learning
Authors: Raslan Gilan
Published: May 2023

From classrooms to workplaces, educators and policy makers have emphasized the necessity of graduating students who are strong critical thinkers for nearly 50 years and more (Forawi 2016). Critical thinking skills are a vital pillar skill to tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Critical thinking is defined as a set of fundamental skills that must be mastered before one may progress to more complicated thinking. Aiming to obtain more insight into the aspects of critical thinking, the present study particularly examines quantitively the critical thinking skills level of grade 12 students in a scientific learning context. Over a 35-min test, based on Danczak DOT criteria, data was collected and analyzed. The study’s findings revealed that the students’ critical thinking abilities are in medium range. However, other implications regarding curriculum modifications, educational teaching strategies and teachers’ readiness are needed to foster students’ critical thinking skills.
Moving from the Subject-Based Curriculum to the Skills-Based Curriculum in Abu Dhabi Schools: Does It Lead to Reform? A Theoretical Analysis & Case Study Paper in One of Abu Dhabi Private Schools
Authors: Ibrahim Yaser Abdulrahman
Published: May 2023

This paper is a theoretical research study examining the feasibility of implementation of skills-based curriculum model as it relates to the UAE in comparison to other countries. Through this Paper, the researcher made a conceptual analysis, revisited the relevant literature, and identified the theoretical framework of curriculum reform in the UAE educational system with a view on the intended development of curriculum from the conventional subject-based model into the more futuristic and aspiring skills-based in Abu Dhabi schooling environment. The results showed that educational authorities in the UAE should place their focus on an enhanced model of skills-based curriculum, generally known in the literature as the “attained curriculum” category, as an enhanced model of skills-based curriculum to achieve meaningful learning.
Examples Concerning the Main Result
Authors: Cornelissen Gunther , Peyerimhoff Norbert
Published: May 2023

We study whether it is possible to apply twisted Laplace spectra (and, if so, how many are necessary) to deduce isometry of some well-known examples of isospectral manifolds in the literature, due to Schüth (simply connected manifolds), Ikeda (lens spaces), Vignéras/Linowitz and Voight (arithmetic surfaces), Milnor (lattice examples), Doyle and Rossetti (Tetra and Didi), Sunada (based on group-theoretical examples from Gerst, Gaßmann and Komatsu), Brooks and Tse (surfaces of small genus, Riemann surfaces of small genus), Barden and Kang (surfaces of genus two), and Miatello and Rossetti (flat manifolds isospectral for all twists by linear characters).
Examples of Homologically Wide Actions
Authors: Cornelissen Gunther , Peyerimhoff Norbert
Published: May 2023

An action of a finite groupGon a manifoldMis homologically wide if the first homology of the manifold contains the regular representation of the group. In this chapter, we study this notion independently of the rest of this monograph. We first study the case whereMis a surface andGacts freely, using the Lefschetz fixed point formula. We then recall a result of Broughton on the homology representation that allows us to deal with the case of a general action on a Riemann surface. After this, we switch to higher dimensional manifolds. We first recall Curtis’s theory of the virtual Lefschetz characters, and use results of Cooper and Long to construct examples and counterexamples to homological wideness in all dimensions ≥ 3. Finally, we study locally symmetric spaces. Property (T) implies that only the case of rank 1 is interesting, where we make some remarks on the relation to automorphic representations and Mostow rigidity. Finally, we study an example of using torsion homology: Mednykh’s explicit computation of the homology representation of the Seifert-Weber dodecahedral space, which we identify with a known modular representation through Brauer characters.
Evidence-Based Research Integrity
Authors: Marušić Ana
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses the challenges to research integrity from the perspective of good research practices as defined by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity: 1) research environment, 2) training, supervision and mentoring, 3) research procedures, 4) safeguards, 5) data practices and management, 6) collaborative working, 7) publication and dissemination, and 8) reviewing, evaluating and editing.
Navigating the Future and Overcoming Challenges to Unlock Open Science
Authors: Méndez Eva , Sánchez-Núñez Pablo
Published: May 2023

Open Science (OS) has been rapidly evolving in recent years, but there is still work to be done to return Science to researchers and citizens who pay for it. Technological advancements have enabled Open Science to transform the way scientific research is conducted, facilitating collaboration and innovation among researchers. As a result, OS is expected to play an increasingly important role in scientific research and innovation in the years to come, driving discoveries and advancements in various fields. However, OS also poses challenges, including the potential for bias and discrimination in research. This chapter explores the challenges that need to be addressed to fully implement OS globally, outlining the barriers that need to be overcome and describing the complexity of the changes that come with this new research approach. Additionally, the chapter discusses the impact of Artificial Intelligence on addressing these challenges, while also creating new ones.
Ethics and Development of Advanced Technology Systems in Public Administration
Authors: da Costa Alexandre António , Pereira Luís Moniz
Published: May 2023

This article analyses aspects related to the implementation of advanced technology systems in Public Administration, taking into account the scope of action of its entities and services, as well as its main distinction with the private sector, which lies in the pursuit of the public interest, understood as justification for the execution of public policies, but also in the broader scope of the human development index. The difficulties and resistance to the adoption and use of technology in Public Administration will be examined, also in the light of practical situations whose implementation proved to be inadequate, resulting in the analysis of ideas for the future. We approach the evolution of public management models that are emerging through the action of technology. We prepare the ground for machine ethics in Public Administration by framing ethics in public services in general terms, with reference to AI systems designed in line with mainstream ethics. Of the various ethical issues that arise in this domain, we pay attention to the issue of privacy and the balance that needs to be achieved so that the use of data can contribute to ethical, beneficial and reliable technologies. We sound alerts in the field of discrimination and prejudice that the bias of technology can show. The explainability and transparency of technological systems provide confidence to decision-makers and citizens, helping to clarify responsibilities in the decisions of Public Administration agents, and the researchers working for them .
Relevance and Challenges of Ethics Committees
Authors: Lõuk Kristi
Published: May 2023

This article explores the role of ethics committees in ensuring ethical research and innovation, which is essential for maintaining trust in science and innovation. The paper argues that the ethics infrastructure must function at the levels of research and innovation institutions, as well as regional and national levels, and should follow agreed-upon rules and requirements. The changing role of ethics committees is discussed, emphasizing their involvement in investigating potential research misconduct and coordinating the activities of all ethics committees within an institution. The article concludes that for a research and innovation institution, it is of crucial importance to consider the entire ethics infrastructure, including the functions of different ethics committees and ways of implementation through transparency, involvement, policies, procedures, and communication to safeguard that both researchers and the public have trust in ethics infrastructure and ethics committees.
Charge transport, information scrambling and quantum operator-coherence in a many-body system with U(1) symmetry
Authors: Agarwal Lakshya , Sahu Subhayan , Xu Shenglong
Published: May 2023

Abstract

In this work, we derive an exact hydrodynamical description for the coupled, charge and operator dynamics, in a quantum many-body system with U(1) symmetry. Using an emergent symmetry in the complex Brownian SYK model with charge conservation, we map the operator dynamics in the model to the imaginary-time dynamics of an SU(4) spin-chain. We utilize the emergent SU(4) description to demonstrate that the U(1) symmetry causes quantum-coherence to persist even after disorder-averaging, in sharp contrast to models without symmetries. In line with this property, we write down a ‘restricted’ Fokker-Planck equation for the out-of-time ordered correlator (OTOC) in the large-N limit, which permits a classical probability description strictly in the incoherent sector of the global operator-space. We then exploit this feature to describe the OTOC in terms of a Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piskun (FKPP)-equation which couples the operator with the charge and is valid at all time-scales and for arbitrary charge-density profiles. The coupled equations obtained belong to a class of models also used to describe the population dynamics of bacteria embedded in a diffusive media. We simulate them to explore operator-dynamics in a background of non-uniform charge configuration, which reveals that the charge transport can strongly affect dynamics of operators, including those that have no overlap with the charge.
Complete one-loop renormalization-group equations in the seesaw effective field theories
Authors: Wang Yilin , Zhang Di , Zhou Shun
Published: May 2023

Abstract

In this paper, we derive the complete set of one-loop renormalization-group equations (RGEs) for the operators up to dimension-six (dim-6) in the seesaw effective field theories (SEFTs). Two kinds of contributions to those RGEs are identified, one from double insertions of the dimension-five (dim-5) Weinberg operator and the other from single insertions of the tree-level dim-6 operators in the SEFTs. A number of new results are presented. First, as the dim-5 Weinberg operator is unique in the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT), its contributions to the RGEs for the SEFTs are equally applicable to the SMEFT. We find the full contributions from the Weinberg operator to one-loop RGEs in the SMEFT, correcting the results existing in previous works, and confirm that those from dim-6 operators are consistent with the results in the literature. Second, in the type-I SEFT, we give the explicit expressions of the RGEs of all the physical parameters involved in the charged- and neutral-current interactions of leptons. Third, the RGEs are numerically solved to illustrate the running behaviors of the non-unitary parameters, mixing angles and CP-violating phases in the non-unitary leptonic flavor mixing matrix. Together with the one-loop matching results of the dim-5 and dim-6 operators and their Wilson coefficients, the present work has established a self-consistent framework up to dim-6 to investigate low-energy phenomena of three types of seesaw models at the one-loop level.
Multi-instanton calculus in c = 1 string theory
Authors: Balthazar Bruno , Rodriguez Victor A. , Yin Xi
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We formulate a strategy for computing the complete set of non-perturbative corrections to closed string scattering in c = 1 string theory from the worldsheet perspective. This requires taking into account the effect of multiple ZZ-instantons, including higher instantons constructed from ZZ boundary conditions of type (m, 1), with a careful treatment of the measure and contour in the integration over the instanton moduli space. The only a priori ambiguity in our prescription is a normalization constant $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
m that appears in the integration measure for the (m, 1)-type ZZ instanton, at each positive integer m. We investigate leading corrections to the closed string reflection amplitude at the n-instanton level, i.e. of order $$ {e}^{-n/{g}_s} $$

e

−
n
/

g
s

, and find striking agreement with our recent proposal on the non-perturbative completion of the dual matrix quantum mechanics, which in turn fixes $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
m for all m.
QCD at the amplitude level: Fock state interference in heavy quark electroproduction
Authors: Lyubovitskij Valery E. , Schmidt Ivan
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) rigorously predicts the existence of both nonperturbative intrinsic and perturbative extrinsic heavy quark contents of nucleons. In this article we discuss the heavy quark electroproduction on protons induced by the Fock states ∣uud + g〉 of three valence quarks in the proton and a nonperturbative gluon, and the $$ \mid uud+Q\overline{Q}\Big\rangle $$
∣
uud
+
Q

Q
¯

〉
non-perturbative state of three valence quarks and a heavy quark-antiquark pair. The first one gives the perturbative contribution when the gluon produces a heavy quark pair, while the second is the intrinsic part, and they produce amplitude interference. We use nonperturbative light-front wavefunctions for these Fock states, which are computed using the color-confining light-front holographic QCD theory. Due to interference of the amplitudes corresponding to the intrinsic and extrinsic heavy quark contribution to the proton a novel Q vs. $$ \overline{Q} $$

Q
¯

asymmetry emerges in the differential cross section of the electroproduction off a proton $$ {d}^2{\sigma}_{e^{-}p}/\left( dxd{Q}^2\right) $$

d
2

σ

e
−

p

/

dxd

Q
2

. Our analysis proposed a novel asymmetry in QCD between intrinsic and extrinsic heavy quark content in nucleon and provides new insights into the physics of heavy quark phenomena in QCD at the amplitude level. This asymmetry is similar to the Brodsky-Gillespie asymmetry discovered before in QED case and confirmed at DESY.
Gravitational wave memory in conformally flat spacetimes
Authors: Jokela Niko , Kajantie K. , Sarkkinen Miika
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We study the gravitational wave memory effect in spacetimes related to flat space by a conformal transformation. The discussion is general but the gravitational wave length scale is assumed to be small compared with the background curvature radius. The general formulas are applied to Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metrics of all spatial curvatures. The effect of new terms stemming from spatial curvature is potentially detectable in future gravitational wave measurements.
Nonassociative black holes in R-flux deformed phase spaces and relativistic models of Perelman thermodynamics
Authors: Bubuianu Laurenţiu , Singleton Douglas , Vacaru Sergiu I.
Published: May 2023

Abstract

This paper explores new classes of black hole (BH) solutions in nonassociative and noncommutative gravity, focusing on features that generalize to higher dimensions. The theories we study are modelled on (co) tangent Lorentz bundles with a star product structure determined by R-flux deformations in string theory. For the nonassociative vacuum Einstein equations we consider both real and complex effective sources. In order to analyze the nonassociative vacuum Einstein equations we develop the anholonomic frame and connection deformation methods, which allows one to decoupled and solve these equations. The metric coefficients can depend on both space-time coordinates and energy-momentum. By imposing conditions on the integration functions and effective sources we find physically important, exact solutions: (1) 6-d Tangherlini BHs, which are star product and R-flux distorted to 8-d black ellipsoids (BEs) and BHs; (2) nonassocitative space-time and co-fiber space double BH and/or BE configurations generalizing Schwarzschild-de Sitter metrics. We also investigate the concept of Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and find it applicable only for very special classes of nonassociative BHs with conventional horizons and (anti) de Sitter configurations. Finally, we show how analogs of the relativistic Perelman W-entropy and related geometric thermodynamic variables can be defined and computed for general classes of off-diagonal solutions with nonassociative R-flux deformations.
Two-loop evolution kernels for colour dependent double parton distributions
Authors: Diehl Markus , Fabry Florian , Vladimirov Alexey
Published: May 2023

Abstract

A key ingredient in the description of double parton distributions is their scale dependence. If the colour of each individual parton is summed over, the distributions evolve with the same DGLAP kernels as ordinary parton distributions. This is no longer true if the two partons are colour correlated. We compute the relevant kernels for this case at next-to-leading order in the strong coupling, for unpolarised or longitudinally polarised partons and for transversely polarised quarks.
The teleparallel complex
Authors: Cederwall Martin , Palmkvist Jakob
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We formalise the teleparallel version of extended geometry (including gravity) by the introduction of a complex, the differential of which provides the linearised dynamics. The main point is the natural replacement of the two-derivative equations of motion by a differential which only contains terms of order 0 and 1 in derivatives. Second derivatives arise from homotopy transfer (elimination of fields with algebraic equations of motion). The formalism has the advantage of providing a clear consistency relation for the algebraic part of the differential, the “dualisation”, which then defines the dynamics of physical fields. It remains unmodified in the interacting BV theory, and the full non-linear models arise from covariantisation. A consequence of the use of the complex is that symmetry under local rotations becomes as good as manifest, instead of arising for a specific combination of tensorial terms, for less obvious reasons. We illustrate with a derivation of teleparallel Ehlers geometry, where the extended coordinate module is the adjoint module of a finite-dimensional simple Lie group.
AdS scale separation and the distance conjecture
Authors: Shiu Gary , Tonioni Flavio , Van Hemelryck Vincent , Van Riet Thomas
Published: May 2023

Abstract

It has been argued that orientifold vacua with fluxes in type IIA string theory can achieve moduli stabilisation and arbitrary decoupling between the AdS and KK scales upon sending certain unconstrained RR-flux quanta to infinity. In this paper, we find a novel scalar field in the open-string sector that allows us to interpolate between such IIA vacua that differ in flux quanta and find that the limit of large fluxes is nicely consistent with the distance conjecture. This shows that the massive IIA vacua pass an important Swampland criterion and suggests that scale-separated AdS vacua might not be in the Swampland. Our analysis also naturally suggests a flux analogue of “Reid’s fantasy” where flux vacua that differ in quantised flux numbers can be connected through trajectories in open-string field space and not just via singular domain walls.
AdS correction to the Faddeev-Kulish state: migrating from the flat peninsula
Authors: Duary Sarthak
Published: May 2023

Abstract

The IR finiteness of $$ \mathcal{S} $$
S
-matrix in flat spacetime is tied to the Faddeev-Kulish dressed state, which suggests dressing the Fock space scattering state with the soft photon modes. We instigate a construction for the Faddeev-Kulish dressed state in the language of AdS/CFT. A salient feature of AdS spacetime is that it acquits itself as a quintessential IR regulator. The IR divergences will take shape after taking the zoomed in limit. We explore the Faddeev-Kulish dressed state to account for the AdS radius corrections. The Wilson line dressing stands as a guiding principle in the study of AdS radius-corrected Faddeev-Kulish dressing. We construct the modes of the Wilson line dressed massive scalar field implementing vanilla HKLL reconstruction since the field is simply free field. This simplification is owing to the use of soft photon modes in the Wilson line dressing. We map the AdS radius-corrected soft photon modes in terms of CFT current operators. We invert this mapping, use the mapping in the Wilson line dressing, and express the AdS radius-corrected Faddeev-Kulish dressed state.
The V-QCD baryon: numerical solution and baryon spectrum
Authors: Järvinen M. , Kiritsis E. , Nitti F. , Préau E.
Published: May 2023

Abstract

The single baryon solution of V-QCD is numerically computed. The spectrum of spin and isospin modes is also computed by quantizing the light fluctuations around the baryon. It is shown that there is a partial restoration of chiral symmetry at the baryon center.
Emergent area laws from entangled matrices
Authors: Frenkel Alexander , Hartnoll Sean A.
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We consider a wavefunction of large N matrices supported close to an emergent classical fuzzy sphere geometry. The SU(N) Gauss law of the theory enforces correlations between the matrix degrees of freedom associated to a geometric subregion and their complement. We call this ‘Gauss law entanglement’. We show that the subregion degrees of freedom transform under a single dominant, low rank representation of SU(N). The corresponding Gauss law entanglement entropy is given by the logarithm of the dimension of this dominant representation. It is found that, after coarse-graining in momentum space, the SU(N) Gauss law entanglement entropy is proportional to the geometric area bounding the subregion. The constant of proportionality goes like the inverse of an emergent Maxwell coupling constant, reminiscent of gravitational entropy.
Continuous dependence of the weak limit of iterates of some random-valued vector functions
Authors: Komorek Dawid
Published: May 2023

Given a probability space $$(\Omega ,\mathcal {A},\mathbb {P})$$

(
Ω
,
A
,
P
)

, a complete separable Banach space X with the $$\sigma $$
σ
-algebra $$\mathcal B(X)$$

B
(
X
)

of all its Borel subsets, an operator $$\Lambda :\Omega \rightarrow L(X,X)$$

Λ
:
Ω
→
L
(
X
,
X
)

and $$\xi :\Omega \rightarrow X$$

ξ
:
Ω
→
X

we consider the $$\mathcal {B}(X)\otimes \mathcal A$$

B
(
X
)
⊗
A

-measurable function $$f:X\times \Omega \rightarrow X$$

f
:
X
×
Ω
→
X

given by $$f(x,\omega )=\Lambda (\omega )x+\xi (\omega )$$

f
(
x
,
ω
)
=
Λ
(
ω
)
x
+
ξ
(
ω
)

and investigate the continuous dependence of a weak limit $$\pi ^f$$

π
f

of the sequence of iterates $$(f^n(x,\cdot ))_{n\in \mathbb {N}}$$

(

f
n

(
x
,
·
)

)

n
∈
N

of f, defined by $$f^0(x,\omega )=x, f^{n+1}(x,\omega )=f(f^n(x,\omega ),\omega _{n+1})$$

f
0

(
x
,
ω
)

=
x
,

f

n
+
1

(
x
,
ω
)

=
f

(

f
n

(
x
,
ω
)

,

ω

n
+
1

)

for $$x\in X$$

x
∈
X

and $$\omega =(\omega _1,\omega _2,\dots )$$

ω
=
(

ω
1

,

ω
2

,
⋯
)

. Moreover for X taken as a Hilbert space we characterize $$\pi ^f$$

π
f

via the functional equation $$\begin{aligned} \varphi ^f(u)=\int _{\Omega }\varphi ^f(\Lambda (\omega )u)\varphi ^{\xi }(u)\mathbb {P}(d\omega ) \end{aligned}$$

φ
f

(
u
)

=

∫
Ω

φ
f

(
Λ

(
ω
)

u
)

φ
ξ

(
u
)

P

(
d
ω
)

with the aid of its characteristic function $$\varphi ^f$$

φ
f

. We also indicate the continuous dependence of a solution of that equation.
Refined Enumeration of $${{\varvec{k}}}$$-plane Trees and $${\varvec{k}}$$-noncrossing Trees
Authors: Okoth Isaac Owino , Wagner Stephan
Published: May 2023

A k-plane tree is a plane tree whose vertices are assigned labels between 1 and k in such a way that the sum of the labels along any edge is no greater than $$k+1$$

k
+
1

. These trees are known to be related to $$(k+1)$$

(
k
+
1
)

-ary trees, and they are counted by a generalised version of the Catalan numbers. We prove a surprisingly simple refined counting formula, where we count trees with a prescribed number of labels of each kind. Several corollaries are derived from this formula, and an analogous theorem is proven for k-noncrossing trees, a similarly defined family of labelled noncrossing trees that are related to $$(2k+1)$$

(
2
k
+
1
)

-ary trees.
ON THE INTEGRAL FORM OF RANK 1 KAC–MOODY ALGEBRAS
Authors: DAMIANI ILARIA , PAOLINI MARGHERITA
Published: May 2023

In this paper we shall prove that the ℤ-subalgebra generated by the divided powers of the Drinfeld generators $$ {x}_r^{\pm } $$

x
r
±

(r ∈ ℤ) of the Kac–Moody algebra of type $$ {\textrm{A}}_2^{(2)} $$

A
2

2

is an integral form (strictly smaller than Mitzman’s; see [Mi]) of the enveloping algebra, we shall exhibit a basis generalizing the one provided in [G] for the untwisted affine Kac–Moody algebras and we shall determine explicitly the commutation relations. Moreover, we prove that both in the untwisted and in the twisted case the positive (respectively negative) imaginary part of the integral form is an algebra of polynomials over ℤ.
Randomisierte klinische Studie zur Kompressionstherapie der Unterschenkel bei Patienten mit Psoriasis
Authors: Krefting Frederik , Hölsken Stefanie , Moelleken Maurice , Dissemond Joachim , Sondermann Wiebke
Published: May 2023

Hintergrund

Psoriasisplaques an den Unterschenkeln zeigen sich oftmals besonders therapierefraktär. Eine Kompressionstherapie könnte an dieser Lokalisation möglicherweise eine sinnvolle ergänzende Therapiemaßnahme darstellen. Jedoch bestehen oft Bedenken, dass ein Köbner-Phänomen zu einer Verschlechterung des Hautbefundes führen könnte. Daher sollten in dieser Studie die Effekte einer Kompressionstherapie auf Psoriasisplaques bei gleichzeitig bestehenden Ödemen an den Unterschenkeln untersucht werden.

Patienten und Methoden

Es erfolgte ein Halbseitenversuch bei dem zusätzlich zum „standard of care“ eine 4‑wöchige Kompressionstherapie durchgeführt wurde. Der primäre Endpunkt war das klinische Ansprechen der Psoriasis-Plaques an den Unterschenkeln im Seitenvergleich gemessen mittels Lesion Severity Score (LSS) und der lokal betroffenen Körperoberfläche in Woche 4 im Vergleich zum Ausgangsbefund. Sekundäre Endpunkte bezogen sich auf „patient-reported outcomes“.

Ergebnisse

In die finale Analyse gingen die Daten von 30 Patienten ein. Die mittleren LSS-Befunde sowie die subjektiven Schmerzen der Patienten zeigten in der rein deskriptiven Auswertung eine geringgradig stärkere Verbesserung im Bereich des komprimierten im Vergleich zum nicht komprimierten Unterschenkel. Es ergaben sich keine Hinweise auf ein Köbner-Phänomen.

Diskussion

Es handelt sich um die erste klinische Studie, die systematisch den Einfluss einer Kompressionstherapie auf Psoriasisplaques untersuchte. Im Untersuchungszeitraum von 4 Wochen ergaben sich zwar keine signifikanten Besserungen der Psoriasisplaques, allerdings auch keine Hinweise für eine Verschlechterung des Hautbefundes. Folglich kann eine antiödematöse Kompressionstherapie bei Patienten mit Psoriasis unter Beachtung der grundlegenden Kontraindikationen ohne Komplikationen durchgeführt werden.
Myeloid-specific deletion of chitinase-3-like 1 protein ameliorates murine diet-induced steatohepatitis progression
Authors: Kim Andrea D. , Kui Lin , Kaufmann Benedikt , Kim Sung Eun , Leszczynska Aleksandra , Feldstein Ariel E.
Published: May 2023

Chitinase-3-like 1 protein (CHI3L1) is a secreted glycoprotein, strongly correlated with fibrosis severity in chronic liver diseases including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the mechanisms by which CHI3L1 contributes to fibrogenesis remain undefined. Here, we showed that infiltrating monocyte-derived liver macrophages represent the main source of CHI3L1 in murine NASH. We developed a floxed CHI3L1 knock-out (KO) mouse to further study the cell-specific role of CHI3L1 ablation. Wildtype (WT) and myeloid cell-specific CHI3L1 KO mice (CreLyz) were challenged with a highly inflammatory and fibrotic dietary model of NASH by administering choline-deficient high-fat diet for 10 weeks. Macrophage accumulation and inflammatory cell recruitment were significantly ameliorated in the CreLyz group compared to WT (F4/80 IHC p < 0.0001, CD11b IHC p < 0.0001). Additionally, hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and fibrosis were strongly decreased in this group (α-SMA IHC p < 0.0001, picrosirius red staining p < 0.0001). In vitro studies were performed stimulating bone marrow derived macrophages, THP-1 (human monocytes) and LX2 (human HSCs) cells with recombinant CHI3L1 to dissect its relationship with fibrosis development. Results showed an important role of CHI3L1 regulating fibrosis-promoting factors by macrophages (TGFB1 p < 0.05, CTGF p < 0.01) while directly activating HSCs (ACTA2 p < 0.01, COL1A1 p < 0.01), involving IL13Rα2 as the potential mediator. Our findings uncovered a novel role of CHI3L1 derived from liver macrophages in NASH progression and identifies this protein as a potential anti-fibrotic therapeutic target.

Key messages

We showed that CHI3L1 expression is increased in murine CDAA-HFAT diet NASH model, and that infiltrating macrophages are a key source of CHI3L1 production.

Myeloid cell-specific CreLyz CHI3L1 knock-out in mice fed with CDAA-HFAT diet improved the NASH phenotype, with significantly reduced accumulation of pro-inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils compared with WT group.

DEG and qPCR analysis of genes in CreLyz CHI3L1 knock-out mouse liver showed the mechanistic role of CHI3L1 in cellular chemotaxis.

HSC is directly activated by CHI3L1 via receptor IL13Rα2, leading to upregulation of collagen deposition and pro-fibrotic gene, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 release in whole liver.

Direct stimulation of macrophages with CHI3L1 leads to upregulated expression of HSC-activation factors, suggesting its role in modulating macrophage-HSC crosstalk.
Assessment of the corpus callosum size in male individuals with high intelligence quotient (members of Mensa International)
Authors: Urbanik Andrzej , Guz Wiesław , Gołębiowski Marek , Szurowska Edyta , Majos Agata , Sąsiadek Marek , Stajgis Marek , Ostrogórska Monika
Published: May 2023

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess the size of the corpus callosum in members of Mensa International, which is the world’s largest and oldest high-intelligence quotient (IQ) society.

Methods

We performed T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (Repetition Time, TR = 3200 ms, Time of Echo, TE = 409 ms) to examine the brain of members of Mensa International (Polish national group) in order to assess the size of the corpus callosum. Results from 113 male MENSA members and 96 controls in the age range of 21–40 years were analyzed.

Results

The comparative analysis showed that the mean length of the corpus callosum and the thickness of the isthmus were significantly greater in the Mensa members compared to the control groups. A statistically significant difference was also identified in the largest linear dimension of the brain from the frontal lobe to the occipital lobe. The mean corpus callosum cross-sectional area and its ratio to the brain area were significantly greater in the Mensa members.

Conclusions

The results show that the dimensions (linear measures and midsagittal cross-sectional surface area) of the corpus callosum were significantly greater in the group of Mensa members than in the controls.
Suicide rates in the Slovak Republic in 2011–2020
Authors: Sivcova Veronika , Moravansky Norbert , Novakova Dorota , Brazinova Alexandra
Published: May 2023

Purpose

Suicide is a serious public health problem leading to premature mortality. The aim of the present study is to describe and analyze the trends of suicide rates in the Slovak Republic in 2011–2020.

Methods

Trends of age-standardized suicide rates were described and incidence rate ratios of suicide were analyzed by negative binomial regression. The age-standardized rates of death by the undetermined intent and its ratio to suicide rate were calculated.

Results

The overall suicide rate for the Slovak population was 7.58 per 100,000. Age-standardized suicide rate had a declining trend in the reported period, from 10.24 in 2011 to 6.65 per 100,000 in 2020. The highest suicide rate was in the oldest age groups. The male to female ratio was 6.09. The most common method of suicide in the Slovak population was hanging. The age-standardized rate of deaths by undetermined intent increased from 15.72 in 2011 to 18.46 per 100,000 in 2020.

Conclusion

We observed the overall declining annual suicide mortality trends in the Slovak Republic in 2011–2020. Further investigation is necessary to understand the exceptionally high undetermined intent mortality.
Multimodal dance style transfer
Authors: Yin Wenjie , Yin Hang , Baraka Kim , Kragic Danica , Björkman Mårten
Published: May 2023

This paper first presents CycleDance, a novel dance style transfer system that transforms an existing motion clip in one dance style into a motion clip in another dance style while attempting to preserve the motion context of the dance. CycleDance extends existing CycleGAN architectures with multimodal transformer encoders to account for the music context. We adopt a sequence length-based curriculum learning strategy to stabilize training. Our approach captures rich and long-term intra-relations between motion frames, which is a common challenge in motion transfer and synthesis work. Building upon CycleDance, we further propose StarDance, which enables many-to-many mappings across different styles using a single generator network. Additionally, we introduce new metrics for gauging transfer strength and content preservation in the context of dance movements. To evaluate the performance of our approach, we perform an extensive ablation study and a human study with 30 participants, each with 5 or more years of dance experience. Our experimental results show that our approach can generate realistic movements with the target style, outperforming the baseline CycleGAN and its variants on naturalness, transfer strength, and content preservation. Our proposed approach has potential applications in choreography, gaming, animation, and tool development for artistic and scientific innovations in the field of dance.
Gender bias perpetuation and mitigation in AI technologies: challenges and opportunities
Authors: O’Connor Sinead , Liu Helen
Published: May 2023

Across the world, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being more widely employed in public sector decision-making and processes as a supposedly neutral and an efficient method for optimizing delivery of services. However, the deployment of these technologies has also prompted investigation into the potentially unanticipated consequences of their introduction, to both positive and negative ends. This paper chooses to focus specifically on the relationship between gender bias and AI, exploring claims of the neutrality of such technologies and how its understanding of bias could influence policy and outcomes. Building on a rich seam of literature from both technological and sociological fields, this article constructs an original framework through which to analyse both the perpetuation and mitigation of gender biases, choosing to categorize AI technologies based on whether their input is text or images. Through the close analysis and pairing of four case studies, the paper thus unites two often disparate approaches to the investigation of bias in technology, revealing the large and varied potential for AI to echo and even amplify existing human bias, while acknowledging the important role AI itself can play in reducing or reversing these effects. The conclusion calls for further collaboration between scholars from the worlds of technology, gender studies and public policy in fully exploring algorithmic accountability as well as in accurately and transparently exploring the potential consequences of the introduction of AI technologies.
Ethics of using artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine
Authors: Coghlan Simon , Quinn Thomas
Published: May 2023

This paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of ethical issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine for companion animals. Veterinary medicine is a socially valued service, which, like human medicine, will likely be significantly affected by AI. Veterinary AI raises some unique ethical issues because of the nature of the client–patient–practitioner relationship, society’s relatively minimal valuation and protection of nonhuman animals and differences in opinion about responsibilities to animal patients and human clients. The paper examines how these distinctive features influence the ethics of AI systems that might benefit clients, veterinarians and animal patients—but also harm them. It offers practical ethical guidance that should interest ethicists, veterinarians, clinic owners, veterinary bodies and regulators, clients, technology developers and AI researchers.
Flow dynamics in a model of a dilated thoracic aorta prior to and following prosthetic replacement
Authors: Ledda Pier Giuseppe , Badas Maria Grazia , Matta Gildo , Querzoli Giorgio
Published: May 2023

We numerically investigate the flow dynamics in a model of a dilated thoracic aorta, and compare the flow features with the case of a prosthetic replacement in its ascending part. The flow is characterized by an inlet jet which impacts the aortic walls and sweeps toward the aortic arch. Secondary flows generated by the transvalvular jet evolve downstream into a helical flow. The small curvature radius at the end of the aortic arch induces flow separation and vortex shedding in the initial part of the descending aorta, during the systole. The implantation of a prosthesis determines several modifications in the global and local flow patterns. An increase of the pulse wave velocity in the aorta leads to larger pressures inside the vessel, due to the geometrical and rigidity modifications. The sweeping jet is more aligned along the axial direction and propagates faster along the aortic arch. Consequently, a stronger separation of the flow downstream of the aortic arch is observed. By also exploiting manifold analysis, we identify regions characterized by near-wall disordered flows which may present intense accumulation and drop of concentration of biochemicals. These regions are localized downstream of the prosthetic replacement, in the aortic arch, and may be more prone to a new emergence of vessel dilation.

Graphical Abstract