General Characterization Research Articles

More results on hulls of some primitive binary and ternary BCH codes

The (Euclidean) hull of a linear code is defined to be the intersection of the code and its Euclidean dual. It is clear that the hulls are self-orthogonal codes, which are an important type of linear codes due to their wide applications in communication and cryptography. Let C be an [n,k] cyclic code over Fq, where Fq is the finite field of order q. In this paper, we will employ the defining set of the code C to present a general characterization when its hull has dimension k−ℓ. Furthermore, we mainly focus on the primitive q-ary BCH codes C(q,n,δ,b) when b=0 and b=1 based on the general characterization. Especially for binary and ternary cases, we will present several sufficient and necessary conditions that the hulls of the codes C(q,n,δ,b) have dimensions k−2 and k−3 by giving lower and upper bounds on their designed distances, which extends the results of [17]. In addition, several classes of binary and ternary self-orthogonal codes are proposed via the hulls of BCH codes and their parameters are investigated in some special cases.

Searching for Life, Mindful of Lyfe's Possibilities.

We are embarking on a new age of astrobiology, one in which numerous interplanetary missions and telescopes will be designed, built, and launched with the explicit goal of finding evidence for life beyond Earth. Such a profound aim warrants caution and responsibility when interpreting and disseminating results. Scientists must take care not to overstate (or over-imply) confidence in life detection when evidence is lacking, or only incremental advances have been made. Recently, there has been a call for the community to create standards of evidence for the detection and reporting of biosignatures. In this perspective, we wish to highlight a critical but often understated element to the discussion of biosignatures: Life detection studies are deeply entwined with and rely upon our (often preconceived) notions of what life is, the origins of life, and habitability. Where biosignatures are concerned, these three highly related questions are frequently relegated to a low priority, assumed to be already solved or irrelevant to the question of life detection. Therefore, our aim is to bring to the fore how these other major astrobiological frontiers are central to searching for life elsewhere and encourage astrobiologists to embrace the reality that all of these science questions are interrelated and must be furthered together rather than separately. Finally, in an effort to be more inclusive of life as we do not know it, we propose tentative criteria for a more general and expansive characterization of habitability that we call genesity.

Optimal strategies and cost-benefit analysis of the {varvec{n}}-player weightlifting game

The study of cooperation has been extensively studied in game theory. Especially, two-player two-strategy games have been categorized according to their equilibrium strategies and fully analysed. Recently, a grand unified game covering all types of two-player two-strategy games, i.e., the weightlifting game, was proposed. In the present study, we extend this two-player weightlifting game into an n-player game. We investigate the conditions for pure strategy Nash equilibria and for Pareto optimal strategies, expressed in terms of the success probability and benefit-to-cost ratio of the weightlifting game. We also present a general characterization of n-player games in terms of the proposed game. In terms of a concrete example, we present diagrams showing how the game category varies depending on the benefit-to-cost ratio. As a general rule, cooperation becomes difficult to achieve as group size increases because the success probability of weightlifting saturates towards unity. The present study provides insights into achieving behavioural cooperation in a large group by means of a cost–benefit analysis.

Apex Liminality: Comprehending Lord Howe Island’s Cloud Forest and Related Island Ecosystems

Elevated isolated habitats that occur on mountain peaks and ridges are commonly referred to as sky islands. Sky islands are islands in a biogeographical sense but can also occur on islands. In these contexts, habitat islanding is effectively doubled, leading to highly distinct ecosystems. One subset of sky islands occurs in areas frequently covered by water vapour. These are commonly referred to as cloud forests but might be better characterised as elevated cloudy ecosystems in recognition of their nature as dynamic assemblages of vaporous, material and animate elements. The limited extent of these elevated areas and their reliance on cloaking vapour to maintain their habitats makes them particularly vulnerable to a range of Anthropocene pressures. Following a discussion of the limitations of analogous naming practices for such ecosystems, the article provides a general characterisation of elevated cloudy habitats and explores notions of atmospheres and of visibility with particular regard to Lord Howe Island and human perceptions of and experiences within its cloud forest zone. Moving to more comparative analyses, the article refers to various interventions that have either undermined or attempted to maintain similar island ecosystems and the prospects for these at a time of increasing global climate change. In considering such aspects, the article identifies the manner in which the elevated cloudy ecosystems of some islands are as integrated with and dependent on water vapour as they are on the islands' surrounding seas and merit recognition as a distinct phenomenon in this regard.

On controlled mode discernibility for nonlinear hybrid systems with unknown exogenous input

This paper considers the mode discernibility and controlled mode discernibility for nonlinear hybrid systems with unknown switchings and unknown exogenous input, motivated by its potential applications to fault detection and isolation, cyber-security, and robust control. We formally define the mode discernibility and controlled mode discernibility, and then characterize these properties from a geometric perspective. Specifically, we review and complement the concept of controlled invariance for nonlinear systems, based on which a new concept called strongly controlled invariance is proposed as a tool to characterize the controlled mode discernibility. Besides the general characterization of controlled mode discernibility, we discuss some commonly considered special nonlinearities, and demonstrate that the discerning control design problem can be formulated as a quadratic game for some cases.

Hybrid Rat Diversity Program (HRDP): A rat resource for mapping complex traits

Rats are a major model for studying complex disease mechanisms, behavioral phenotypes, environmental factors, and for drug development and discovery. Inbred rat strains control for genetic background and allow for repeated, reproducible molecular, cellular, and whole animal phenotyping. Genetic susceptibility to disease, sensitivity to environmental elements, and pharmacogenomics are critical components of the concepts of precision medicine. The Hybrid Rat Diversity Program (HRDP) is a resource that combines the power of genetic stability within strains, power for genomic mapping strategies, and strength in an animal model that mirrors many human disease traits. The HRDP was designed to include 96 inbred rat strains with genomic and physiological diversity to maximize power to detect specific genetic loci associated with complex traits while maximizing the genetic diversity among strains. The 96 strain panel consists of 33 genetically diverse inbred strains and two panels of recombinant inbred panels: FEXL/LEXF (33 strains, Japan) and HXB/BXH (30 strains, Czech Republic). Embryo resuscitation and breeding is well underway at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) with 55 strains available. Whole genome sequencing for 54 of the 96 strains is complete, having been generated on am Illumina NovaSeq S4 to achieve 30X coverage. An additional 14 related substrains have been sequenced. Liver and brain transcriptome analysis is underway through PhenoGen (http://phenogen.ucdenver.edu) at the University of Colorado. Genomic, phenotype, and strain information will be made available through the Hybrid Rat Diversity Panel portal at the Rat Genome Database (http://rgd.mcw.edu). The HRDP will provide a genetically stable population of rat strains with fully sequenced genomes, transcriptomes for brain and liver, and general phenotypic characterization to be used for systems genetic studies and fine mapping of complex traits.

Quaternary Linear Codes and Related Binary Subfield Codes

In this paper, we mainly study quaternary linear codes and their binary subfield codes. First we obtain a general explicit relationship between quaternary linear codes and their binary subfield codes in terms of generator matrices and defining sets. Second, we construct quaternary linear codes via simplicial complexes and determine the weight distributions of these codes. Third, the weight distributions of the binary subfield codes of these quaternary codes are also computed by employing the general characterization. Furthermore, we present two infinite families of optimal linear codes with respect to the Griesmer Bound, and a class of binary almost optimal codes with respect to the Sphere Packing Bound. We also need to emphasize that we obtain at least 9 new quaternary linear codes.

Finslerian Viewpoint to the Rectifying, Normal, and Osculating Curves

The theory of Finsler metric was introduced by Paul Finsler, in 1918. The author defines this metric using the Minkowski norm instead of the inner product. Therefore, this geometry is a more general metric and includes the Riemannian metric. In the present work, using the Finsler metric, we investigate the position vector of the rectifying, normal and osculating curves in Finslerian 3-space $\mathbb{F}^{3}$. We obtain the general characterizations of these curves in $\mathbb{F}^{3}$. Furthermore, we show that rectifying curves are extremal curves derived from the Finslerian spherical curve. We also plotted various examples by using the Randers metrics.

Mechanical characterization of soft microparticles prepared by droplet microfluidics

AbstractDroplet microfluidics is one of the most promising approaches that allows preparation of microparticles with tailored structure and composition. Various functional microparticles have been developed using microfluidics, where their controlled structure shows high potential for a wide range of applications. Among these, soft polymeric microparticles which exhibit low elastic modulus compared to ceramics and metals are extensively investigated in biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility, high surface‐to‐volume ratio, as well as soft and deformable nature. As the mechanical properties of soft microparticles play important role in determining how they function in each application, it is essential to adequately characterize them for the optimal design of functional microparticles. In this review, we mainly discuss the mechanical characterization methods of soft microparticles and their elastic property. A brief overview of the droplet microfluidics‐assisted fabrication of microparticles is also provided before discussing the mechanical characterization techniques. We then describe the general characterization methods and models employed to determine the elastic properties of microparticles. In addition, we discuss the relationship between the physical parameters (size, composition, and structure) and the elastic properties of the microparticles, followed by the role of elastic properties in various applications including microcarrier, bioink, and self‐healing to name a few.

Chiral Bicyclic Imidazole-Catalyzed Direct Enantioselective C -Acetylation of Indolones

Chiral Bicyclic Imidazole-Catalyzed Direct Enantioselective <i>C</i> -Acetylation of Indolones

Terminological studies as domain analysis

This paper aims to thoroughly analyze terminological studies as a particular modality of domain analysis (DA). To this end, we establish the following methodological sequence: i) a broad description of the field of terminology, with emphasis on a general characterization of the theoretical currents and the two traditional types of research: systematic research and punctual research; ii) review of the background information on the theoretical and methodological intersection between terminology and knowledge organization (KO); iii) the problematization of terminological studies seen as DA, based on the study of background information and a series of trigger questions. The answers to these questions will allow us to progress in their understanding. The results show the need to further define the profile of terminological studies to use them in KO better. They also suggest considering terminological studies as a separate DA category, specifically in relation to language for special purposes (LSP) and discourse analysis. Finally, the preliminary conclusions will guide future research in the field. In particular, we stress that terminological research methods seem not to be sufficiently recognized as suitable for application in KO.

Defining Conjunto Quantitatively: Classical and Modernist Styles in a Texas-Mexican Genre

Defining <i>Conjunto</i> Quantitatively: Classical and Modernist Styles in a Texas-Mexican Genre

Amphibious Magical Realism? The Shape of Water as Cinematic Trauma Narrative

Amphibious Magical Realism? <i>The Shape of Water</i> as Cinematic Trauma Narrative

Ticks of domestic animals in Lesotho: Morphological and molecular characterization.

A total of 3311 tick specimens were randomly collected from domestic animals including cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and dogs from Lesotho districts namely, Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing and Thaba Tseka. Tick species were identified morphologically and verified by amplification and sequencing of the CO1 and 18S rRNA genes. Nine species were identified under different genera namely, Haemaphysalis elliptica 0.1% (n=2), Hyalomma rufipes 2.6% (n=87), Hy. truncatum 1.2% (n=41), Otobius megnini 13.6% (n=451), Rhipicephalus appendiculatus 0.1% (n=3), Rhipicephalus decoloratus 9.3% (n=308), Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi 65.1% (n=2156), Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum 1.3% (n=43) and Rhipicephalus microplus 6.6% (n=220). There was a significant difference at p=6.2E-06 (ꭓ2=1.923, df=7) in the distribution of tick species and their abundance p=0.04 (ꭓ2=1.923, df=7) from each population. The CO1 and 18S rRNA sequences matched the morphological determinations on the NCBI database and clustered with relevant species on the phylogenetic tree. Genetic analysis of CO1 and 18S rRNA provided very strong support for monophyly of the Rhipicephalinae and Ornithodorinae complexes. Both CO1 and 18S rRNA are useful genetic markers for the specific and generic characterization of tick species in Lesotho and elsewhere. This is the first scientific publication of tick species occurring in Lesotho.

Behind every smile there's teeth: Cathepsin B's function in health and disease with a kidney view.

Cathepsin B (CatB) is a very abundant lysosomal protease with endo- and carboxydipeptidase activities and even ligase features. In this review, we will provide a general characterization of CatB and describe structure, structure-derived properties and location-dependent proteolytic actions. We depict CatB action within lysosome and its important roles in lysosomal biogenesis, lysosomal homeostasis and autophagy rendering this protease a key player in orchestrating lysosomal functions. Lysosomal leakage and subsequent escape of CatB into the cytosol lead to harmful actions, e.g. the role in activating the NLPR3 inflammasome, affecting immune responses and cell death. The second focus of this review addresses CatB functions in the kidney, i.e. the glomerulus, the proximal tubule and collecting duct with strong emphasis of its role in pathology of the respective segment. Finally, observations regarding CatB functions that need to be considered in cell culture will be discussed. In conclusion, CatB a physiologically important molecule may, upon aberrant expression in different cellular context, become a harmful player effectively showing its teeth behind its smile.

Luminescence characteristics of Scandinavian quartz, their connection to bedrock provenance and influence on dating results

The success of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating relies to a large extent on suitable characteristics of the analysed mineral, in this case quartz. Previous OSL dating of Quaternary sediments in Scandinavia has shown that quartz characteristics vary widely across the region, resulting in dating studies with varied success. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of quartz luminescence characteristics in Sweden and Norway, evaluate their effect on dating results and discuss the underlying causes of their variability. A qualitative assessment of luminescence signal characteristics of quartz from Late Quaternary sediment deposits, from a range of geological and geographical settings, has been made by re-analysing data from samples previously dated at the Lund Luminescence Laboratory, Sweden. This allowed a general characterisation of signals and a study of the relationship of these properties to dating result ‘quality’. To quantify the results, selected samples were further analysed with single-grain measurements and with small aliquots. The results show that the average luminescence signal from quartz is fairly dim but dominated by a fast signal component and changes little during measurement. Dose determination precision is ∼4% for 8-mm aliquots and ∼6% for 2-mm aliquots. However, the luminescence signal characteristics have a spatial variation across Sweden and Norway, which appears to correlate with large-scale bedrock units. In areas of sedimentary bedrock outside the Scandinavian mountains and within the Blekinge-Bornholm province, the quartz is brighter and has a stronger fast signal component, while in the Caledonian orogenic belt, the signal is very weak and lacks a fast component. These differences lead to a range in precision of doses, from ∼2% to >40% (for doses in the order of 5–400 Gy), and in the number of rejected aliquots (0–100%) depending on location, but also implies that quartz luminescence can be used as a provenance indicator in part of Sweden and Norway. • OSL signals of most quartz from Sweden and Norway are dim but have a fast component. • Brighter quartz occurs e.g. in sedimentary bedrock areas. • Quartz from the Caledonian belt has low OSL signals dominated by slow components. • Bright quartz yields precise (2%) dose estimates, dim quartz less precise (19%). • Spatially contrasting OSL characteristics show promise for provenance studies.

Geometrical Characterization of Sensor Placement for Cone-Invariant and Multi-Agent Systems against Undetectable Zero-Dynamics Attacks

Undetectable attacks are an important class of malicious attacks threatening the security of cyber-physical systems, which can modify a system's state but leave the system output measurements unaffected and hence cannot be detected from the output. This paper studies undetectable attacks on cone-invariant systems and multi-agent systems. We first provide a general characterization of zero-dynamics attacks, which characterizes fully undetectable attacks targeting the nonminimum phase zeros of a system. This geometrical characterization makes it possible to develop a defense strategy seeking to place a minimal number of sensors to detect and counter the zero-dynamics attacks on the system's actuators. The detect and defense scheme amounts to computing a set containing potentially vulnerable actuator locations and nodes and a defense union for feasible placement of sensors based on the geometrical properties of the cones under consideration.

Bibliometric Properties of Placebo Literature From the JIPS Database: A Descriptive Study.

ObjectivesFirst dedicated articles about placebo effects have been published in the 1940s, and more than 5,000 articles have been published in scientific organs since. However, the evolution of this research field has rarely been examined. By means of bibliometric analyses we aim to generate research metrics such as the number and types of publications as well as topics, authorship networks, impacts, and future directions.MethodsBibliometric methods were applied to the Journal of Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies (JIPS) database. It comprises around 5,000 scientific articles dedicated to researching placebo effects and mechanisms and is expanded continually through individual curation, making it a prime candidate for investigation. Web scraping was used to obtain complete article information from PubMed and Web of Science. The same information was obtained for addiction research as reference field. Analyses include a general characterization of the database as well as focus points concerning publication types (data vs. non-data articles), high-impact publications and more.ResultsAnalyses show that the JIPS database is a comprehensive collection of placebo publications. The development of the field is comparable to that of the comparator field and scientific publication in general. The most frequently used keywords describe populations or study design topics; the most frequent symptoms were pain, depression and anxiety. Data and non-data (e.g., review) papers are related in proportion of about 6:4 in recent decades, indicating a stable degree of productivity. A network of 26 interconnected researchers was identified who published 25 or more articles. Placebo research contributes comparable numbers of publications to high-impact journals as the comparator field. Several additional analyses are performed, with a focus on visualization of various database parameters.ConclusionsBibliometric analyses of the JIPS database can be used to answer questions to the field, for example, to get an impression of blind spots and future directions. However, keywords used in indexing and publications themselves are often general and suggest that placebo research may still be considered a subspecialty of superordinate fields, particularly since there are no journals dedicated to placebo research itself. We invite interested colleagues to use this database for further analyses.

Serum Proteomics Identifies Immune Pathways and Candidate Biomarkers of Coronavirus Infection in Wild Vampire Bats

The apparent ability of bats to harbor many virulent viruses without showing disease is likely driven by distinct immune responses that coevolved with mammalian flight and the exceptional longevity of this order. Yet our understanding of the immune mechanisms of viral tolerance is restricted to a small number of bat–virus relationships and remains poor for coronaviruses (CoVs), despite their relevance to human health. Proteomics holds particular promise for illuminating the immune factors involved in bat responses to infection, because it can accommodate especially low sample volumes (e.g., sera) and thus can be applied to both large and small bat species as well as in longitudinal studies where lethal sampling is necessarily limited. Further, as the serum proteome includes proteins secreted from not only blood cells but also proximal organs, it provides a more general characterization of immune proteins. Here, we expand our recent work on the serum proteome of wild vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) to better understand CoV pathogenesis. Across 19 bats sampled in 2019 in northern Belize with available sera, we detected CoVs in oral or rectal swabs from four individuals (21.1% positivity). Phylogenetic analyses identified all RdRp gene sequences in vampire bats as novel α-CoVs most closely related to known human CoVs. Across 586 identified serum proteins, we found no strong differences in protein composition nor abundance between uninfected and infected bats. However, receiver operating characteristic curve analyses identified seven to 32 candidate biomarkers of CoV infection, including AHSG, C4A, F12, GPI, DSG2, GSTO1, and RNH1. Enrichment analyses using these protein classifiers identified downregulation of complement, regulation of proteolysis, immune effector processes, and humoral immunity in CoV-infected bats alongside upregulation of neutrophil immunity, overall granulocyte activation, myeloid cell responses, and glutathione processes. Such results denote a mostly cellular immune response of vampire bats to CoV infection and identify putative biomarkers that could provide new insights into CoV pathogenesis in wild and experimental populations. More broadly, applying a similar proteomic approach across diverse bat species and to distinct life history stages in target species could improve our understanding of the immune mechanisms by which wild bats tolerate viruses.

Privacy and housing: research perspectives based on a systematic literature review.

Grounded in psychological and social constructs, the need for privacy is reflected in human socio-spatial behaviour and in our own home. To discuss housing privacy, this article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) that identified theoretical and methodological aspects relevant to the topic. The research was based on consolidated protocols to identify, select and evaluate articles published between 2000 and 2021 in three databases (Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scielo), with 71 eligible articles identified for synthesis. The results showed a concentration of studies in the American, European and Islamic context, and the increase in this production since 2018. This was guided by the inadequacy of architectural and urban planning projects, by new forms of social interaction and, recently, by the COVID-19 pandemic. From a theoretical point of view, the SLR demonstrated the importance of investigating privacy in housing from a comprehensive perspective, observing its different dimensions (physical, social and psychological) and characterizing the issues involved and the context under analysis. Methodologically, the main instruments identified were: (i) to behavioural analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observations; (ii) to built environment evaluation, in addition to the previous ones, space syntax analysis, architectural design and photographs analysis; (iii) for the general characterization of users, the data collection regarding the socio-demographic and cultural context and the meanings attributed to spatial organizations; (iv) to characterize the participants of the investigations, the analysis of personality traits, the ways to personalize the space, user satisfaction/preferences and the influence of social interactions on these perceptions.