External States Research Articles

How virtual agents can learn to synchronize: An adaptive joint decision-making model of psychotherapy

Joint decision-making can be seen as the synchronization of actions and emotions, usually via nonverbal interaction between people while they show empathy. The aim of the current paper was (1) to develop an adaptive computational model for the type of synchrony that can occur in joint decision-making for two persons modeled as agents, and (2) to visualize the two persons by avatars as virtual agents during their decision-making. How to model joint decision-making computationally while taking into account adaptivity is rarely addressed, although such models based on psychological literature have a lot of future applications like online coaching and therapeutics. We used an adaptive network-oriented modelling approach to build an adaptive joint decision-making model in an agent-based manner and simulated multiple scenarios of such joint decision-making processes using a dedicated software environment that was implemented in MATLAB. Programming in the Unity 3D engine was done to virtualize this process as nonverbal interaction between virtual agents, their internal and external states, and the scenario. Although our adaptive joint decision model has general application areas, we have selected a therapeutic session as example scenario to visualize and interpret the example simulations.

Gaze direction as a facial cue of memory retrieval state.

Gaze direction is a powerful social cue that indicates the direction of attention and can be used to decode others' mental states. When an individual looks at an external object, inferring where their attention is focused from their gaze direction is easy. But when people are immersed in memories, their attention is oriented towards their inner world. Is there any specific gaze direction in this situation, and if so, which one? While trying to remember, a common behavior is gaze aversion, which has mostly been reported as an upward-directed gaze. Our primary aim was to evaluate whether gaze direction plays a role in the inference of the orientation of attention-i.e., external vs. internal-in particular, whether an upward direction is considered as an indicator of attention towards the internal world. Our secondary objective was to explore whether different gaze directions are consistently attributed to different types of internal mental states and, more specifically, memory states (autobiographical or semantic memory retrieval, or working memory). Gaze aversion is assumed to play a role in perceptual decoupling, which is supposed to support internal attention. We therefore also tested whether internal attention was associated with high gaze eccentricity because the mismatch between head and eye direction alters visual acuity. We conducted two large-sample (160-163 participants) online experiments. Participants were asked to choose which mental state-among different internal and external attentional states-they would attribute to faces with gazes oriented in different directions. Participants significantly associated internal attention with an upward-averted gaze across experiments, while external attention was mostly associated with a gaze remaining on the horizontal axis. This shows that gaze direction is robustly used by observers to infer others' mental states. Unexpectedly, internal attentional states were not more associated with gaze eccentricity at high (30°) than low (10°) eccentricity and we found that autobiographical memory retrieval, but not the other memory states, was highly associated with 10° downward gaze. This reveals the possible existence of different types of gaze aversion for different types of memories and opens new perspectives.

Three-loop helicity amplitudes for quark-gluon scattering in QCD

We compute the three-loop helicity amplitudes for qoverline{q} → gg and its crossed partonic channels, in massless QCD. Our analytical results provide a non-trivial check of the color quadrupole contribution to the infrared poles for external states in different color representations. At high energies, the qg → qg amplitude shows the predicted factorized form from Regge theory and confirms previous results for the gluon Regge trajectory extracted from qq′ → qq′ and gg → gg scattering.

Why the Drug War Endures: Local and Transnational Linkages in the North and Central America Drug Trades

Honduras has been Central America’s focal point for drug trafficking towards the United States for years as the region’s main transit country. Recent court cases held in the United States have revealed the symbiotic relationship between state actors, business elites and drug trafficking organisations in contemporary Honduras, uncovering the blurred boundaries between the licit and illicit, the upper and underworld in the country. In this article, a drug-trafficking family – ‘Los Cachiros’ <em>transportista</em> (transport) group – is analysed as a case study with the aim of exploring state actors’ involvement in cocaine trafficking. Drawing on publicly available official judicial documents, this article explores the interpenetrations between formal and informal institutions in the country, arguing that state actors’ involvement in the drug trade in Honduras goes far beyond protection, and has evolved into a powerful network of public, private and criminal actors that has been able to capture the state’s basic sovereign functions with the aim of protecting and promoting their own private interests. In doing so, this article takes forward the state-crime nexus literature. Building on Hall’s (2018) networked approach in the study of illicit economies, this article proposes a conceptual framework to re-theorise the state-crime nexus as a transnationally networked set of relations, which considers the role of external states as actors of power within a country’s state-crime nexus. Looking at the unique relationship between Honduras and the United States, I argue that the concept is useful to understand the role of the United States as a transnational actor of power within the Honduran state-crime nexus.

Enablers of Cocaine Trafficking: Evidence of the State-Crime Nexus from Contemporary Honduras

Honduras has been Central America’s focal point for drug trafficking towards the United States for years as the region’s main transit country. Recent court cases held in the United States have revealed the symbiotic relationship between state actors, business elites and drug trafficking organisations in contemporary Honduras, uncovering the blurred boundaries between the licit and illicit, the upper and underworld in the country. In this article, a drug-trafficking family – ‘Los Cachiros’ <em>transportista</em> (transport) group – is analysed as a case study with the aim of exploring state actors’ involvement in cocaine trafficking. Drawing on publicly available official judicial documents, this article explores the interpenetrations between formal and informal institutions in the country, arguing that state actors’ involvement in the drug trade in Honduras goes far beyond protection, and has evolved into a powerful network of public, private and criminal actors that has been able to capture the state’s basic sovereign functions with the aim of protecting and promoting their own private interests. In doing so, this article takes forward the state-crime nexus literature. Building on Hall’s (2018) networked approach in the study of illicit economies, this article proposes a conceptual framework to re-theorise the state-crime nexus as a transnationally networked set of relations, which considers the role of external states as actors of power within a country’s state-crime nexus. Looking at the unique relationship between Honduras and the United States, I argue that the concept is useful to understand the role of the United States as a transnational actor of power within the Honduran state-crime nexus.

A simplified electro-chemical lithium-ion battery model applicable for in situ monitoring and online control

The penetration of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in transport, energy, and communication systems is increasing rapidly. A meticulous but simplified LIB model for non-uniform internal state monitoring and online control is sought in practice. Based on the pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) model, a simplified electro-chemical model for LIBs is proposed. Specifically, a rigorous model of the non-uniform reaction rates inside the battery is derived. Sub-models that capture the non-uniformity of current densities, potentials and concentrations are developed synchronously. Time-variant parameters and a lumped thermal model are incorporated as well. A full-cycle simulation framework, including the discretization, initialization, stabilization and closed-loop correction methods, is designed for ease of online control. Numerical experiments on the widely used NCM and LFP 18650 batteries under standard charge and discharge protocols and dynamic protocols during the peak-shaving or regulation service are conducted for validation. Generally, the speed of the proposed model increases hundreds of times compared to the P2D model. The estimation accuracy of internal and external states increases around 10% to 100% compared to state-of-art electro-chemical models. In addition, the correction speed and accuracy of the closed-loop framework increase around ten times and around 100% respectively compared to the widely used ensemble Kalman filter.

Establishment of a finite element model of supination-external rotation ankle joint injury and its mechanical analysis

By establishing a three-dimensional finite element model of ankle injury arising from supination and external rotation, the stress characteristics of the posterior malleolar surface can be obtained, and analysis of the corresponding stress on the lateral ankle can be conducted. Thin-layer computed tomography images of normal ankle joint in the supination and external rotation nonweight-bearing states was selected, to construct a three-dimensional data model of each ankle joint. A load was applied to examine different ankle joint stress values and pressure distributions on the surface of the posterior ankle joint. A 600 N vertical compressive and 10 Nm internal rotation load was applied in Stage III (removing the anterior tibiofibular ligament and the posterior tibiofibular ligament) of SER (supination-external rotation). When the lateral malleolar was intact, the maximum stress (132.7 MPa) was located at the point of attachment of the posterior tibiofibular ligament to the fibula, and the maximum pressure of the posterior malleolar surface was lower than 4.505 MPa. When a lateral malleolar fracture was present, the maximum stress (82.72 MPa) was located on the fibular fracture surface, and the maximum pressure of the posterior malleolar surface was 8.022 MPa. This study shows that reconstruction of the lateral malleolus in supination-external rotation ankle injuries significantly affects the stress distribution at the posterior malleolar joint surface. Through this reconstruction, the pressure distribution of the posterior malleolar joint surface can be significantly reduced.

Atomic Ramsey interferometry with S- and D-band in a triangular optical lattice.

Ramsey interferometers have wide applications in science and engineering. Compared with the traditional interferometer based on internal states, the interferometer with external quantum states has advantages in some applications for quantum simulation and precision measurement. Here, we develop a Ramsey interferometry with Bloch states in S- and D-band of a triangular optical lattice for the first time. The key to realizing this interferometer in two-dimensionally coupled lattice is that we use the shortcut method to construct π/2 pulse. We observe clear Ramsey fringes and analyze the decoherence mechanism of fringes. Further, we design an echo π pulse between S- and D-band, which significantly improves the coherence time. This Ramsey interferometer in the dimensionally coupled lattice has potential applications in the quantum simulations of topological physics, frustrated effects, and motional qubits manipulation.

Cellular reaction gene regulation network for swarm robots with pattern formation maneuvering control.

Self-organized pattern formation enables swarm robots to interact with local environments to self-organize into intricate structures generated by gene regulatory network (GRN) control methods without global knowledge. Previous studies have reported that it is challenging to maintain pattern formation stability during maneuvering in the environment due to local morphogenetic reaction rules. Motivated by the mechanism of the GRN in multi-cellular organisms, we propose a novel cellular reaction gene regulatory network (CR-GRN) for pattern formation maneuvering control. In CR-GRN, a cellular reaction network is creatively proposed to depict the robots, environment, virtual target pattern, and their interaction to generate emergent swarm behavior in multi-robot systems. A novel diffusion equation is proposed to simulate the process of morphogen diffusion among cells to ensure stable adaptive pattern generation. In addition, genes, proteins, and morphogens are used to define the internal and external states of cells and form a feedback regulation network. Simulation experiments are conducted to validate the proposed method. The results show that the CR-GRN can satisfy the requirements of turning curvature and maintain the robot's uniformity based on the proposed algorithm. This proves that robots using the CR-GRN can cooperate more effectively to cope in a complicated environment, and maintain a stable formation during maneuvering.

Perceptual Awareness and Its Relationship with Consciousness: Hints from Perceptual Multistability.

Many interesting theories of consciousness have been proposed, but so far, there is no "unified" theory capable of encompassing all aspects of this phenomenon. We are all aware of what it feels like to be conscious and what happens if there is an absence of consciousness. We are becoming more and more skilled in measuring consciousness states; nevertheless, we still "don't get it" in its deeper essence. How does all the processed information converge from different brain areas and structures to a common unity, giving us this very private "feeling of being conscious", despite the constantly changing flow of information between internal and external states? "Multistability" refers to a class of perceptual phenomena where subjective awareness spontaneously and continuously alternates between different percepts, although the objective stimuli do not change, supporting the idea that the brain "interprets" sensorial input in a "constructive" way. In this perspective paper, multistability and perceptual awareness are discussed as a methodological window for understanding the "local" states of consciousness, a privileged position from which it is possible to observe the brain dynamics and mechanisms producing the subjective phenomena of perceptual awareness in the very moment they are happening.

Market Efficiency and Cross-Correlations of Chinese New Energy Market with Other Assets: Evidence from Multifractality Analysis.

Despite the upgrading of the attention and investment of new energy in Chinese public, its market efficiency and associations with other assets are relatively rarely explored. This paper, firstly, explores the multifractal feature and market efficiency of Chinese new energy market (NEI) by the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. Secondly, the multifractal cross-correlation analysis is performed to discuss the multifractality of cross-correlations between NEI and crude oil, external new energy indices (Global (SPGCE), United States (ECO) and Europe (ERIX)) and safe-haven asset (GOLD) respectively. The results show that Chinese new energy market has obvious multifractality with low market efficiency, which is mainly sourced from long-range correlation. It has the strongest linkages with external new energy markets and most insignificant association with gold. The heterogeneous sources contribute to their multifractal cross-correlations. It provides useful enlightenment for decision-makers to implement energy policy and reform, and for investors to make investment decisions.

Acoustic Parameters Related to Behavioral Discrimination of Emotional Vocalizations in Java Sparrows

Animals emit vocalizations related to internal or external states, such as hormone levels or predation risks. The Java Sparrow Lonchura oryzivora, a songbird, produces similar trill-structured calls in both aggressive and affiliative situations. A previous study found that trills produced in aggressive situations (AG trills) are faster, louder, and have a wider range of frequencies than trills produced in affiliative situations (AF trills). To assess whether Java Sparrows perceive these trills as different calls, we conducted a playback experiment using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm. In this paradigm, we first played a stimulus set for ten minutes (habituation stimulus), and after that we played either a test stimulus set or a control stimulus set. We analyzed behavioral changes in the study bird that took place between the last minute of the habituation stimulus and the next stimulus set (test or control). As trill stimuli, we used natural AG and AF trills (Experiment 1) and trills in which the trill rates and syllables types were modified (Experiment 2). The results showed that Java Sparrows distinguish between AG and AF trills (Experiment 1). However, when the trill acoustic structure was modified, they distinguished between the different syllable types, but not between different trill rates. As we used a natural behavior as an index, we could not measure the perceptual limit of trill discrimination in these birds. Instead, here, we asked whether the difference between AG and AF trills is meaningful or not, and which acoustic features were important for discrimination. To fully understand how birds perceive vocalizations in the context of communication, more experiments are required, both controlled experiments utilizing operant conditioning and electrophysiology, and multimodal experiments that reflect natural social relationships.

Climatic–Environmental Effects of Aerosols and Their Sensitivity to Aerosol Mixing States in East Asia in Winter

To establish the direct climatic and environmental effect of anthropogenic aerosols in East Asia in winter under external, internal, and partial internal mixing (EM, IM and PIM) states, a well-developed regional climate–chemical model RegCCMS is used by carrying out sensitive numerical simulations. Different aerosol mixing states yield different aerosol optical and radiative properties. The regional averaged EM aerosol single scattering albedo is approximately 1.4 times that of IM. The average aerosol effective radiative forcing in the atmosphere ranges from −0.35 to +1.40 W/m2 with increasing internal mixed aerosols. Due to the absorption of black carbon aerosol, lower air temperatures are increased, which likely weakens the EAWM circulations and makes the atmospheric boundary more stable. Consequently, substantial accumulations of aerosols further appear in most regions of China. This type of interaction will be intensified when more aerosols are internally mixed. Overall, the aerosol mixing states may be important for regional air pollution and climate change assessments. The different aerosol mixing states in East Asia in winter will result in a variation from 0.04 to 0.11 K for the averaged lower air temperature anomaly and from approximately 0.45 to 2.98 μg/m3 for the aerosol loading anomaly, respectively, due to the different mixing aerosols.

Transmutation operators and expansions for one-loop Feynman integrands

In this paper, the connections among $1$-loop Feynman integrands of a large variety of theories with massless external states are further investigated. The work includes two parts. First, we construct a new class of differential operators which transmute the $1$-loop gravitational Feynman integrands to $1$-loop Yang-Mills Feynman integrands. The new operators are commutable with the integration of loop momentum, thus the corresponding transmutational relations hold at not only the integrands level, but also the $1$-loop amplitudes level. Secondly, by using $1$-loop level transmutational relations, together with some general requirements such as gauge and Lorentz invariance, we derive the expansions of the Feynman integrands of one theory to those of other theories. The unified web for expansions is established, including a wide range of theories which are gravitational theory, Einstein-Yang-Mills theory, Einstein-Maxwell theory, Born-Infeld theory, pure Yang-Mills theory, Yang-Mills-scalar theory, special Yang-Mills-scalar theory, Dirac-Born-Infeld theory, extended Dirac-Born-Infeld theory, special Galileon theory, non-linear sigma model. The systematic rules for evaluating coefficients in the expansions are provided, and the duality between transmutational relations and expansions is shown.

Phase change-induced internal-external strain of faults during supercritical CO2 leakage

For the long-term safe operation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, the leakage of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) along a fault is an important factor that needs to be monitored. To investigate the phase change and fault deformation associated with SC-CO2 leakage along a fault, this study carried out five groups of SC-CO2 leakage experiments at different initial CO2 temperatures. The volume of the CO2 storage container (100 mL), CO2 initial pressure (8.07 MPa) and fault confining pressure (10.5 MPa) were controlled at the same values. The CO2 phase change and fault internal-external strains response were monitored by high-precision fiber Bragg grating sensors throughout the experiment. The results show that (1) Temperature and strains response times were 1 and 2.5 times longer than pressure, respectively. (2) The viscosity greatly influenced the determination of the critical temperature T0 = 45 °C. (3) The fault internal strains were more than twice that of the external one; except for the entrance, the fault internal and external strains states were opposite at the beginning of leakage; all other positions on the fault surface showed compressive strains except for the tensile strains at the entrance. (4) The distribution of the inflection point of temperature–pressure curves may be used as a basis for distinguishing CO2 leakage from faults (near the triple point) or pipes (far from the triple point). This study provides technical and theoretical support for laboratory-scale studies on the mechanism of internal and external strains differences caused by phase transition of SC-CO2 leakage along faults.

Russia's power projection into Syria and its interactions with local states

Abstract By analysing Russia's engagements with Israel and Turkey in the Syrian theatre, this article sheds light on the kinds of interactions that may occur between an external great power and local states following the former's projection of power into the latter's region. The literature on power projection examines interactions between regional and extra-regional actors in the context of competition between great powers, thus overlooking interactions between great powers and non-great powers. Other literature, such as that on coercive diplomacy, does deal with this neglected issue, but it treats local states as the great power's target states. This, however, need not be the case, since great powers may engage local states while pursuing wholly different goals in a region. As this article illustrates, although Israel and Turkey have not been Russia's target states, Russia has frequently interacted with them to ensure that they refrain from acts harmful to its interests in Syria. Russia has succeeded in this endeavour, as local states have mostly complied with Russia's rules and restrictions while operating in Syria. When this was not the case, Russia introduced restrictive or punitive measures against Israel and Turkey, which enabled Moscow to keep the local environment conductive to its interests.

Understanding the Framework of Civil Conflicts and External Support for Insurgents in Africa South of the Sahara

Abstract Since independence in Africa south of the Sahara, deadly internal conflicts have wracked the region more than any other in the world. Some of these conflicts transcended national boundaries because external states became involved in supporting rebel movements. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an understanding of this international dimension of civil conflict. It develops a framework—unholy alignment, referring to the cooperative relationship between states and rebels—to examine how external support leads to the onset and intensification of civil conflict. I argue that external state support augments rebels’ capabilities to intensify violent demands that threaten the target government. I use data from secondary sources through historical process tracing and observation of congruence, and the case studies method, to explore three instances of Rwanda’s cooperative relations with rebels between 1994 and 1999, to show how they shaped civil wars in the DRC.

First records of the Eublemma deserta (Staudinger, 1900)-species group from Saudi-Arabia (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Boletobiinae) with description of a new species

The genus Eublemma Huebner, [1821] (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) is currently subdivided into nine species groups along diagnostic character states in the wing pattern and in the male and female genitalia. In this paper faunistic and taxonomic results on one of these species groups, the Eublemma deserta Staudinger, 1900 species group, are presented on the basis of specimens collected in Saudi-Arabia and in Oman. The specimens are attributed to two species. One of the two species is Eublemma skoui Fibiger, Hacker, 2004, which is reported as new to the entomo fauna of Saudi-Arabia. The diagnostic characters, the global distribution and the local distribution of this species on the Arabian Peninsula are commented on. Data on the phenology and macro-habitat choice of the newly discovered Saudi-Arabian populations are given. The other species is closest related to Eublemma skoui Fibiger, Hacker, 2004, however differs significantly in external and internal character states, namely in the scaling of the labial palpus, the shape of the valva, the shape of the clasper and the harpe, the shape of the saccus, the shape of the phallus apodeme and in the sclerotization of the vesica. These differential character states result in the description of the new species Eublemma constricta sp. nov. The adults and the male genitalia of the new species are described and figured. The female is unknown.

Disintegration in the Western Odjacks: Articles Breaking the Unity in the Treaties Signed by England and France with the Western Odjacks (17th – 19th C.)

17. yüzyılda yaşanan idari dönüşümün ardından Garp Ocaklarının (Cezayir, Tunus, Trablusgarp) Payitaht'tan bağımsız bir politika geliştirmeleri sıradan bir hâl almıştır. Osmanlı hükümetinin Avrupa devletleriyle yaptığı muahedeler, içerisinde kendilerine yönelik maddeler olsa da Garp Ocaklarında büyük ölçüde dikkate alınmamıştır. Bu sebeple Avrupa devletleri, Osmanlı Devleti’nden onlarla ayrıca anlaşma yapma müsaadesi almıştır. Bu izin dolayısıyla 17. yüzyılın ikinci yarısından Viyana Kongresi ve Avrupa Uyum Dönemi’ne (1815) kadar devam eden süreçte özellikle İngiltere ve Fransa; Cezayir, Tunus ve Trablusgarp Eyaletleriyle çok sayıda müstakil antlaşma yapmıştır. Bu antlaşmalarda onları, Osmanlı’dan neredeyse bağımsız ve ayrı ayrı dev-letler olarak konumlandıran “royaume, kingdom” gibi hususi ifadeler kullanılmasının yanı sıra Ocakların birbiriyle dayanışmasını ve ittihadını bozan birçok madde de yer almıştır. Bu çalışmada mezkur antlaşmalar ve maddeler üzerinden İngiltere ve Fransa’nın Osmanlı Garp Ocaklarına yönelik parçalayıcı diplomasisi ve politik tavrına dikkat çekilmek istenmiştir. Zira Ocakların devletten bağımsızlaşması ve birbirinden ayrı siyasi ünitelere dönüşmesinin kendi iç faktörleri bulunmakla beraber harici devletlerin bunu pekiştirici siyasi ve diplomatik yönelimlerini dikkate almamak, Garp Ocaklarını tanıma noktasında yanıltıcı olabilmektedir

Purely virtual particles versus Lee-Wick ghosts: Physical Pauli-Villars fields, finite QED, and quantum gravity

We reconsider the Lee-Wick (LW) models and compare their properties to the properties of the models that contain purely virtual particles. We argue against the LW premise that unstable particles can be removed from the sets of incoming and outgoing states in scattering processes. The removal leads to a non-Hermitian classical limit, besides clashing with the observation of the muon. If, on the other hand, all the states are included, the LW models have a Hamiltonian unbounded from below or negative norms. Purely virtual particles, on the contrary, lead to a Hermitian classical limit and are absent from the sets of incoming and outgoing states without implications on the observation of long-lived unstable particles. We give a vademecum to summarize the properties of most options to treat abnormal particles. We study a method to remove the LW ghosts only partially, by saving the physical particles they contain. Specifically, we replace a LW ghost with a certain superposition of a purely virtual particle and an ordinary particle, and drop only the former from the sets of the external states. The trick can be used to make the Pauli-Villars fields consistent and observable, without sending their masses to infinity, or to build a finite QED, by tweaking the original Lee-Wick construction. However, it has issues with general covariance, so it cannot be applied as is to quantum gravity, where a manifestly covariant decomposition requires the introduction of a massive spin-2 multiplet.