Alternative Interpretation Research Articles

Candolle was wrong, but finally right: Polygala ovata belongs to Hebecarpa (Polygalaceae)

A comprehensive review of the name Polygala ovata Poiret (1804), basionym of the widely used Asemeia ovata, revealed strong evidence to an alternative interpretation of this name as used by Pastore and Abbott in their Asemeia treatment in 2012. Issues arise from discrepancies between Poiret’s identification in specimens kept in P herbarium as P. ovata, and the original specimen of Nectoux from the Dominican Republican. De Candolle promoted the first attempted to resolve the application of Polygala ovata, however he had different approaches, when included this name in Prodromus, and later in the specimen identification as P. ovata. The present study reevaluates P. ovata identity based on original herbarium specimens, protologue information and original morphological description. The evidence found supports reclassifying P. ovata as a member of genus Hebecarpa instead, and therefore a new combination is proposed here, along with a morphological plate and taxonomic and distribution notes.

Alternative statistical interpretation for the apparent plateaus in the duration distributions of gamma-ray bursts

The existence of a plateau in the short-duration tail of the observed distribution of cosmological long-soft gamma ray bursts (LGRBs) is posited to be the first direct evidence of collapsars. A similar plateau in the short-duration tail of the observed duration distribution of short-hard gamma ray bursts (SGRBs) has been suggested as evidence of compact binary mergers. We present an equally plausible alternative interpretation for this evidence, based on a purely statistical approach. Specifically, we show that the observed plateau in the short-duration tail of the duration distribution of LGRBs can naturally occur in the statistical distributions of strictly positive physical quantities, exacerbated by the effects of mixing with the duration distribution of SGRBs, observational selection effects, and data aggregation (e.g., binning) methodologies. The observed plateau in the short-duration tail of the observed distributions of SGRBs may likewise result from a combination of sample incompleteness and inhomogeneous binning of data. We further confirm the impact of these factors on the observation of a plateau in the duration distributions of GRBs through extensive numerical Monte Carlo simulations. This analysis corroborates and strengthens a purely statistical and sample-incompleteness interpretation of the observed plateau in the duration distribution of LGRBs and SGRBs, without invoking the physics of collapsars or jet-propagation through the stellar envelope.

A Re-Examination of Earthquakes in Mediterranean Archaeology in Light of Historical Sources

Interest in earthquakes in Mediterranean archaeology has distinct disciplinary origins. Since the inception of archaeoseismology—earthquake archaeology—in the 1980s, approaches to earthquake factors have been characterized by reliance on ancient historical sources. However, although texts have supported the identification of earthquake disasters in material destruction, documentary records extend far beyond particular events and experiences of disaster; diverse cultural perceptions of earthquakes as expressed in ancient textual sources also offer an alternative interpretation for Mediterranean archaeology. This study reviews the material-geological record of Helike in Greece—the victim of an infamous major earthquake in 373 BC—in order to assess the impact of seismic activity on the site from the third millennium BC to the fifth century AD. Evidence for such an impact includes archaeoseismic types of destruction, anti-seismic construction in architecture and stratigraphically associated soil micromorphological evidence of seismically triggered soft sediment deformation structures (SSDS). A reassessment of ancient accounts of the 373 BC event to explore Graeco-Roman cultural perceptions of earthquakes provides a new interpretive frame for the material-geological record of Helike. This alternative interpretation repositions earthquakes, traditionally perceived as ‘natural’ disasters implicated in ‘collapse’ and ‘catastrophe’, as social phenomena. The case of Helike demonstrates the value of documentary records for reframing the complex social and political dimensions of recurrent earthquakes and persistent geological hazards.

ON DISCLOSEDNESS AS THE PRIMORDIAL PHENOMENON OF TRUTH IN HEIDEGGER

This article aims to revive and evaluate a relatively recent epistemological debate focused on Heidegger’s primordial truth, specifically delving into the 44th section of Being and Time. Unfolding in five parts, the first establishes Heidegger’s conception of truth, paving the way for a nuanced exploration of the ensuing discourse. Part two outlines the foundations of Tugendhat’s criticisms, providing a critical lens for scrutinizing Heidegger’s framework. The third and fourth sections articulate substantial criticisms, centering on the legitimacy of defining disclosedness as the most primordial truth within Heidegger’s framework. Tugendhat’s contentions are met with Dahlstrom’s defense, countering claims by presenting alternative interpretations and highlighting the inherent errancy in human disclosedness. The final and fifth section advocates for Tugendhat’s perspective, comparing Heidegger’s position with pragmatist philosophers. The conclusion suggests that Tugendhat’s claims persist either disregarded or inadequately addressed, leaving the criticisms unanswered. Notably, a comprehensive resolution seems elusive without resorting to hermeneutic violence against Heidegger’s texts.

Probing the Stability of a β-Hairpin Scaffold after Desolvation.

Probing the structural characteristics of biomolecular ions in the gas phase following native mass spectrometry (nMS) is of great interest, because noncovalent interactions, and thus native fold features, are believed to be largely retained upon desolvation. However, the conformation usually depends heavily on the charge state of the species investigated. In this study, we combine transition metal ion Förster resonance energy transfer (tmFRET) and ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to interrogate the β-hairpin structure of GB1p in vacuo. Fluorescence lifetime values and collisional cross sections suggest an unfolding of the β-hairpin motif for higher charge states. MD simulations are consistent with experimental constraints, yet intriguingly provide an alternative structural interpretation: preservation of the β-hairpin is not only predicted for 2+ but also for 4+ charged species, which is unexpected given the substantial Coulomb repulsion for small secondary structure scaffolds.

Reinterpretation of the Thorpe Length Scale

Abstract In 1977, S. A. Thorpe proposed a method to estimate the dissipation rate ε of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) in an overturning turbulent layer in a lake, by sorting the observed (unstable) density profile to render it stable and thus deriving a length scale LT named after him, from the resulting vertical displacements of water parcels. By further proposing that this purely empirical scale (with no a priori physical basis, unlike many other turbulence length scales) is proportional to the Ozmidov scale LO, definable only for stably (not unstably or neutrally) stratified flows, he was able to extract ε. The simplicity of the approach that requires nothing but CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) casts in water bodies, including lakes and oceans, made it attractive, until microstructure profilers were developed and perfected in later decades to actually make in-situ measurements of ε. Since equivalent microstructure devices are not available for the atmosphere, Thorpe technique has been resurrected in recent years for application to the atmosphere, using potential temperature profiles obtained from high vertical resolution radiosondes. Its popularity and utility have increased lately, in spite of unresolved issues related to the validity of assuming LT is proportional to LO. In this study, we touch upon these issues and offer an alternative interpretation of the Thorpe length scale as indicative of the turbulence velocity scale σK, which allows Thorpe sorting technique to be applied to all turbulent flows, including those generated by convection.

Validity of Stokes' hypothesis for near-continuum hypersonic flows

The alternative interpretation of Stokes' hypothesis provided by Buresti [Acta Mech. 226, 3555–3559 (2015)] is investigated by an analysis of a near-continuum, hypersonic flow of oxygen over a double cone obtained from a large-scale direct simulation Monte Carlo computation. We show that for molecular oxygen, which has comparable bulk and shear viscosity coefficients, the difference between mechanical and thermodynamic pressure is negligible throughout most of the flow. This result justifies neglecting viscous stresses in the normal stress tensor associated with fluid particle dilatation, as is often done in continuum descriptions of compressible flows. The violation of the revisited Stokes' hypothesis was only observed in highly nonequilibrium regions of the flow (shocks and strong expansions) and wherever non-continuum effects become significant. For nonequilibrium flows of gases with large bulk viscosity relative to their shear viscosity, the revisited Stokes' assumption may still breakdown and requires further investigation.

Testing two-step models of negative quantification using a novel machine learning analysis of EEG

ABSTRACT The sentences “More than half of the students passed the exam” and “Fewer than half of the students failed the exam” describe the same set of situations, and yet the former results in shorter reaction times in verification tasks. The two-step model explains this result by postulating that negative quantifiers contain hidden negation, which involves an extra processing stage. To test this theory, we applied a novel EEG analysis technique focused on detecting cognitive stages (HsMM-MVPA) to data from a picture-sentence verification task. We estimated the number of processing stages during reading and verification of quantified sentences (e.g. “Fewer than half of the dots are blue”) that followed the presentation of pictures containing coloured geometric shapes. We did not find evidence for an extra step during the verification of sentences with fewer than half. We provide an alternative interpretation of our results in line with an expectation-based pragmatic account.

‘Angry fish’ and ‘dying fish’ matter in the Zhuangzi Too: Political analogies in the ‘happy fish’ dialogue

ABSTRACT The ‘happy fish’ dialogue is one of the best-known and heatedly debated passages of the Zhuangzi. Scholars have constructed different interpretations of the dialogue. Some argue that this dialogue expresses the idea of living at ease and enjoying life as it is; some refer to the idea of anti-anthropocentrism, while others reconstruct the dialogue as certain epistemological debates. This paper examines the connotations of ‘fish’, ‘water’, and ‘river’ in early Chinese political discourses and reads the political connotations in the dialogue between Zhuangzi and Huizi. This can lead to an alternative interpretation, which is that, at its core, this passage is a dialogue between these two men on politics and their political careers.

“Politics of racism” and BrexLit: Questioning the racially labelled entities in Ali Smith’s Autumn

ABSTRACT Racism sits at the centre of the UK’s debates about Brexit and BrexLit. Contemporary commentators have tended to reduce to racial issues the intricate economic and political aspirations of Brexit supporters in 2016. Ali Smith’s Autumn, for example, a prominent example of Brexit fiction, is generally believed to represent racist bias in dealing with Brexit, through two encounters – the fence scene and the passport episode – seen as embodying working class racism against immigrants in rural England. This article argues instead that such earlier interpretations of Autumn are limited by the so-called “politics of racism”, used to define working class worries about uncontrolled immigration unleashed by global capitalism. Referring to the aesthetic style of the collage created by Pauline Boty, an avant-garde painter of 1960s Britain, whose work is elevated in the novel as an illuminating discovery by the protagonist, Elisabeth, it proposes an alternative interpretation that highlights inclusiveness above all.

IFITIRĀḌĪ MAHMUD YUNUS’S INTERPRETATION OF THE PHENOMENON OF FASTING AT THE POLES IN SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 183—185

This study focused on the reinterpretation of Mahmud Yunus’ thoughts in contextualizing Surah Al-Baqarah [2]:183—185 for Muslim communities in the polar regions. The formulation of the problem arises, what was the form of Yunus’ ifitirāḍī interpretation of the phenomenon of fasting at the Pole in surah Al-Baqarah 183—185? What factors shape Mahmud Yunus’ ifitirāḍī interpretation of the phenomenon of fasting at the Pole in Surah Al-Baqarah 183—185? Based on qualitative data and Gadamer’s hermeneutical analysis theory, this article shows Mahmud Yunus’ interpretation of Surah Al-Baqarah [2]: 183—185 in five models. First, Yunus’ thoughts prioritize the rational and contextual side in understanding the fasting verse in Al-Baqarah [2]: 183—185 which is inspired by ‘Abduh’s thoughts. Second, Mahmud Yunus firmly stated that there is no obligation to fast in the Polar region because the sunrise and sunset cannot be seen. Third, Mahmud Yunus offers an interpretation of ifitirāḍī by continuing to fast through information about the new moon from countries around Mecca or nearby countries. Fourth, the option of not fasting at the Pole can be replaced by giving fiḍyah in another place that has a larger population than the population in the Polar region. This research was expected to provide important information regarding rethinking the contextual interpretation offered by Mahmud Yunus in understanding the fasting verses logically and through two alternative interpretations of ifitirāḍī fasting verses in the Polar region with Mahmud Yunus’s distinctive futuristic style, it is hoped that it will be able to provide solutions and answers regarding the suitability of the Qur’an in the present and future in a solution, rational, and contextual manner.

Resilience and agency in children living with domestic abuse: an alternative interpretation

Resilience and agency in children living with domestic abuse: an alternative interpretation

Some Alternative Interpretations of Strongly Star Semi-Rothberger and Related Spaces

Abstract In this article, some under-appreciated characteristics of strongly star-Rothberger subsets are explored. Additionally, with the aid of the SSI property and MSSI property, semi-Rothberger and star semi-Rothberger spaces are represented by families of closed sets. Finally, several selection principle like attributes are produced that can reflect the previously mentioned sequential covering features in an inverted form.

Using molecular and morphometric data as operational criteria for the analysis of a threatened rainforest species complex shows interspecific variation, with implications for cryptic-species delimitation and conservation

Resolution of systematic associations and species boundaries is vital for developing conservation priorities for threatened taxa. A complex of Fontainea (Euphorbiaceae) populations, endemic to rainforest communities in central-eastern Australia, comprises several taxonomically challenging species. Fontainea oraria is Critically Endangered, with only one natural population of 10 mature individuals, with the closely related species F. australis being listed as Vulnerable. A recently discovered Fontainea population (currently nominated as F. sp. Coffs Harbour) with taxonomic similarities to F. oraria has been provisionally listed as Critically Endangered, with fewer than 40 individuals. This study employed an integrative approach, combining genetic data and morphometrics to determine species boundaries for three threatened Fontainea population groups as a model system for an integrative approach to delimiting cryptic species. Although our results suggest the potential subdivision of the population groups into three taxa, caution is warranted because this hypothesis remains inconclusive. Taxonomic challenges demand a careful approach, acknowledging the possibility of alternative interpretations. Contrary to supporting distinct species, our morphological and genetic data may also be interpreted as indicative of a single species with geographic variation, a phenomenon observed in genetically linked populations experiencing isolation by distance. Overall, we highlight the need for further research to establish species limits to guide conservation actions.

Learners' causal intuitions explain behavior in control of variables tasks.

Self-directed learners are described as "intuitive scientists," yet they often struggle in assessments of their scientific reasoning skills. We investigate a novel explanation for this apparent gap between formal and informal scientific inquiry behavior. Specifically, we consider whether learners' documented failure to correctly apply the control of variables strategy might stem from a mismatch between task presentation and their intuitions as causal learners. In Experiment 1, children (7- and 9-year-olds) and adults were tested on a version of a traditional multivariate reasoning task (Tschirgi, 1980) that was modified to clarify ambiguous elements of the causal logic in the original design. In all age groups, a significant majority of participants selected informative experiments on this modified task, avoiding confounded actions with positive tangible outcomes. In Experiment 2, we replicate these results with real-world stimuli, and in Experiments 3 and 4, we provide direct evidence that self-directed learners apply specific causal intuitions to experimentation tasks. Together, these findings support a novel alternative interpretation of the apparently paradoxical gap between learners' success in informal exploration and their error-prone experimentation-both behaviors are consistent with an intuitively causal approach to scientific inquiry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive flexibility and depression: The moderator roles of humor styles

AbstractHumor style, which involves both adaptive and maladaptive forms, refers to the ways people use humor in daily life. Maladaptive humor styles (self-defeating and aggressive) can be risk factors for various mental disorders, including depression and anxiety. In contrast, adaptive humor styles (affiliative and self-enhancing) are perceived as resilience factors and buffer the negative impact of other risk factors. Cognitive flexibility reflects a capacity to come up with alternative interpretations and resolutions to demanding situations while perceiving them as controllable. Although the connection of high cognitive flexibility with low depression levels has been consistently documented, its interaction with trait-like factors received limited attention. The current study aims to explore the moderator role of humor styles in the association of cognitive flexibility with depression. Data were gathered from 436 (320 women) participants aged 18 and 70 (M = 35.4, SD = 9.18) through scales assessing humor styles, cognitive flexibility, and depression. The results revealed that the interaction of affiliative humor style with cognitive flexibility was significantly linked to the individual differences in depression levels, highlighting that affiliative humor is functional if individuals have difficulty approaching problematic situations from different angles. However, a similar pattern was not observed for other humor styles.

JADES. Possible Population III signatures at z=10.6 in the halo of GN-z11

Finding the first generation of stars formed out of pristine gas in the early Universe, known as Population III (PopIII) stars, is one of the most important goals of modern astrophysics. Recent models have suggested that PopIII stars may form in pockets of pristine gas in the halo of more evolved galaxies. We present NIRSpec integral field spectroscopy and micro-shutter array spectroscopic observations of the region around GN-z11, an exceptionally luminous galaxy at $z=10.6$, that reveal a greater than 5sigma detection of a feature consistent with being HeIIlambda 1640 emission at the redshift of GN-z11. The very high equivalent width of the putative HeII emission in this clump ($ (EW_ rest (HeII)/ AA) $) and a lack of metal lines can be explained in terms of photoionisation by PopIII stars, while photoionisation by PopII stars is inconsistent with the data. The high equivalent width would also indicate that the putative PopIII stars likely have an initial mass function with an upper cutoff reaching at least 500 M$_ The PopIII bolometric luminosity inferred from the HeII line would be $ L_ which would imply a total stellar mass formed in the burst of $ M_ We find that photoionisation by the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in GN-z11 cannot account for the HeII luminosity observed in the clump but can potentially be responsible for an additional HeII emission observed closer to GN-z11. We also consider the possibility of in situ photoionisation by an accreting direct collapse black hole hosted by the HeII clump. We find that this scenario is less favoured, but it remains a possible alternative interpretation. We also report the detection of a Lyalpha halo stemming out of GN-z11 and extending out to sim 2 kpc as well as resolved funnel-shaped CIII emission likely tracing the ionisation cone of the AGN.

When Monument Battles Go Digital: Russian–Ukrainian Conflicts over Material Heritage on Telegram

In the context of increasing conflicts over material heritage around the world, this article examines the role digital media play in battles over monuments. The rise of digital media brought significant changes to the cultural dynamics of heritage conflicts, which have not been adequately addressed in existing literature. Bringing together work on monuments, (digital) memory conflicts, and digital activism, we identify three key dimensions of monument battles in which the impact of digital media is most clearly visible: (a) participation, democratization, and deterritorialization; (b) reframing and contestation; and (c) mobilization and the online-offline movement of heritage battles. We illustrate these arguments drawing on a critical discourse analysis of monument battles on the messaging application Telegram in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, using a sample of 940 posts from both pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian channels. We demonstrate that despite potentially providing space for alternative memory interpretations, online memory contestations over heritage contributed to the construction of polarized and mutually exclusive worlds.

Ultradeep Cover: An Exotic and Jetted Tidal Disruption Event Candidate Disguised as a Gamma-Ray Burst

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are traditionally classified as either short GRBs with durations ≲2 s that are powered by compact object mergers or long GRBs with durations ≳2 s that are powered by the deaths of massive stars. Recent results, however, have challenged this dichotomy and suggest that there exists a population of merger-driven long bursts. One such example, GRB 191019A, has a t 90 ≈ 64 s, but many of its other properties—including its host galaxy, afterglow luminosity and lack of associated supernova—are more consistent with a short GRB. Here we propose an alternative interpretation: that GRB 191019A (which is located in the nucleus of its host) is an atypical jetted tidal disruption event (TDE). In particular, we suggest the short timescale and rapid decline, not expected for standard TDEs, are the result of an “ultradeep” encounter, in which the star came well within the tidal radius of the black hole and promptly self-intersected, circularized, accreted, and launched a relativistic outflow. This model reproduces the timescale and luminosity through a prompt super-Eddington accretion phase and accounts for the lack of late optical emission. This would make GRB 191019A only the fifth jetted TDE and the first discovered ultradeep TDE. The ultradeep TDE model can be distinguished from merger-driven long GRBs via the soft X-ray flash that results from prompt self-intersection of the debris stream; the detection of this flash will be possible with wide-field and soft-X-ray satellites such as Einstein Probe or SVOM.

Assuming Photon as Extended Point Particle in the HyperSoft Topological Space and other Hypotheses: Issues and Trend Analysis

Following our preceding article, where we discussed alternative interpretations of the advanced perihelion of Mercury, the present article revisits the 1919 solar eclipse expedition led by Arthur Eddington, which famously provided the first observational confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity. We focus on the deflection of starlight data obtained during the eclipse, a cornerstone of this validation. Here, we explore three alternative explanations for the observed light bending that challenge the sole attribution to general relativity. Firstly, the paper begins by arguing based on criticisms raised by Tullio Levi-Civita, a contemporary mathematician, regarding Einstein's use of pseudo-tensors in his calculations. Levi-Civita argued that this approach introduced unnecessary complexity and obscured alternative interpretations of the data. Secondly, we delve into astrophysical phenomena that could mimic the observed light deflection, based on the varying speed of light, by assuming a photon has mass. (cf. ‘t Hooft et al., Light is Heavy). Moreover, in the literature, Molodtsov initiated soft set theory as an extension of fuzzy set theory to deal with uncertainties occurring in the natural and social sciences. It attracted the attention of mathematicians as well as social scientists due to its potential to unify certain mathematical aspects and applications in decision making processes; therefore, we shall discuss a bit how to model the photon as an extended massive particle of light, possibly related to such a soft set point [15, 16]. For further exploration, it is possible to assume the crystalline lattice of subvacuum structure (cf. Gremaud) as part of hypersoft topological spaces [16, 16a]. We strongly believe that the true strength of science lies in its continuous search for evidence and refinement of existing models. Therefore, it can be expected that new data can be helpful to reevaluate these matters, for instance, in the upcoming eclipse in the next month of 2024.