Inaccessible Information Research Articles

Effects of ancestral information on social connectedness and life meaning

With the rise of biotechnological tools such as ancestral information tests, individuals today are able to discover previously inaccessible information about themselves. Here, we explore how obtaining ancestral information—information about family history and lineage—affects people's sense of social connectedness and perceived meaning in their lives. In addition, we investigate how ancestral information affects individuals' motivations to engage in self-care behaviors or behaviors that enhance their legacy. The primary goal of this research is to identify a novel antecedent of meaning in life—past rather than present social connections and to understand how receiving ancestral information affects future behavior and decisions. We randomly assigned individuals to receive information about (1) their ancestry, (2) others' ancestral information, or (3) their current social networks. From our data (N = 365), we did not find statistically significant differences among the three conditions on social connectedness and life meaning. Thus, the role of ancestral information in improving social connection and life meaning remains inconclusive. We discuss the implications of these results for future research on social connection and life meaning.

Chimpanzees make tactical use of high elevation in territorial contexts.

Tactical warfare is considered a driver of the evolution of human cognition. One such tactic, considered unique to humans, is collective use of high elevation in territorial conflicts. This enables early detection of rivals and low-risk maneuvers, based on information gathered. Whether other animals use such tactics is unknown. With a unique dataset of 3 years of simultaneous behavioral and ranging data on 2 neighboring groups of western chimpanzees, from the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, we tested whether chimpanzees make decisions consistent with tactical use of topography to gain an advantage over rivals. We show that chimpanzees are more likely to use high hills when traveling to, rather than away from, the border where conflict typically takes place. Once on border hills, chimpanzees favor activities that facilitate information gathering about rivals. Upon leaving hills, movement decisions conformed with lowest risk engagement, indicating that higher elevation facilitates the detection of rivals presence or absence. Our results support the idea that elevation use facilitated rival information gathering and appropriate tactical maneuvers. Landscape use during territorial maneuvers in natural contexts suggests chimpanzees seek otherwise inaccessible information to adjust their behavior and points to the use of sophisticated cognitive abilities, commensurate with selection for cognition in species where individuals gain benefits from coordinated territorial defense. We advocate territorial contexts as a key paradigm for unpicking complex animal cognition.

HIV Knowledge and Information Access among Women Cancer Survivors in Nigeria

Women in Nigeria have a high burden of diseases, such as cancer and HIV. Nigerian women also have inadequate access to health information, especially for disease prevention and health promotion. Researchers have indicated that living with HIV can be particularly harmful to the health and survival of cancer survivors. However, there is a dearth of research on Nigerian women cancer survivors’ knowledge of cancer and HIV linkage and their access to HIV health information. This knowledge gap may have negative health consequences. Therefore, there is a need to ensure HIV prevention among Nigerian women cancer survivors by improving access to health information. This study used a qualitative descriptive method to examine HIV knowledge and access to health information among women cancer survivors in Nigeria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 30 women cancer survivors from Abuja, Nigeria. We identified three themes from the data, illuminating women’s knowledge of the connection between HIV and cancer. The themes include: (a) perception of HIV versus cancer which described views of HIV and cancer as distinct health conditions, (b) perceived effect of HIV on cancer given that HIV can worsen cancer outcomes, and (c) sourcing for HIV health information which highlighted issues of inadequate or inaccessible HIV-cancer information. Our findings showed that targeted health education interventions are required to address the lack of HIV information among cancer survivors.

Sahand 1.0: A new model for extracting information from source code in object-oriented projects

Providing models that enable developers, architects, and executives to make intelligent decisions about software projects is imperative. Static analyzer tools can extract the information required by developers from the source code to achieve various goals. There are generally two types of tools for analyzing source codes in the software engineering community: commercial tools and open-source tools. Commercial tools provide a limited set of features, pre-built by the tool developers, for extracting information from source code. Open-source tools, while also having limited features, often have fewer features than commercial tools. Extending open-source tools to support new and unembedded features requires a complete knowledge of the programming language used in the tools as well as the architecture used in the modules of tools. Additionally, tool extension requires a complete knowledge of the Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) structure used in those tools. To overcome existing problems, this paper proposes a new model named Sahand, which utilizes a Relational Database Repository (RDP) to store the source code. To this end, utilizing RDP, we propose a new data model to store the source code of the object-oriented projects aiming to extract the required information from it. This new data model provides an infrastructure for developers to extract information from the source code using only the SQL language or its extensions. This model facilitates the extraction of previously inaccessible information, such as the maximum depth of the inheritance tree in the entire project or the maximum method call sequence in the project. The proposed model has been further investigated using two large-scale projects namely JavaParser and Tomcat, consisting of 1802 and 3566 classes, respectively. All source codes and database model used for Sahand are open-source and can be accessed at https://github.com/gClassAcademy/Sahand.

Structured modulation multi-height microscopy for high-resolution imaging.

Conventional multi-height microscopy techniques introduce different object-to-detector distances to obtain multiple measurements for phase retrieval. However, surpassing the diffraction limit imposed by the numerical aperture (NA) of the objective lens remains a challenging task. Here, we report a novel structured modulation multi-height microscopy technique for quantitative high-resolution imaging. In our platform, a thin diffuser is placed in between the sample and the objective lens. By translating the diffuser to different axial positions, a sequence of modulated intensity images is captured for reconstruction. The otherwise inaccessible high-resolution object information can thus be encoded into the optical system for detection. In the construction process, we report a ptychographic phase retrieval algorithm to recover the existing wavefront of the complex object. We validate our approach using a resolution target, a phase target, and various biological samples. We demonstrate a ∼4-fold resolution gain over the diffraction limit. We also demonstrate our approach to achieve a 6.5 mm by 4.3 mm field of view and a half-pitch resolution of 1.2 µm. The reported methodology provides a portable, turnkey solution for quantitative high-resolution imaging with potential applications in disease diagnosis, sample screening, and other fields.

A systematic review and knowledge mapping on ICT-based remote and automatic COVID-19 patient monitoring and care

Backgrounde-Health has played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic in primary health care. e-Health is the cost-effective and secure use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to support health and health-related fields. Various stakeholders worldwide use ICTs, including individuals, non-profit organizations, health practitioners, and governments. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICT has improved the quality of healthcare, the exchange of information, training of healthcare professionals and patients, and facilitated the relationship between patients and healthcare providers. This study systematically reviews the literature on ICT-based automatic and remote monitoring methods, as well as different ICT techniques used in the care of COVID-19-infected patients.ObjectiveThe purpose of this systematic literature review is to identify the e-Health methods, associated ICTs, method implementation strategies, information collection techniques, advantages, and disadvantages of remote and automatic patient monitoring and care in COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThe search included primary studies that were published between January 2020 and June 2022 in scientific and electronic databases, such as EBSCOhost, Scopus, ACM, Nature, SpringerLink, IEEE Xplore, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, JMIR, Web of Science, Science Direct, and PubMed. In this review, the findings from the included publications are presented and elaborated according to the identified research questions. Evidence-based systematic reviews and meta-analyses were conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Additionally, we improved the review process using the Rayyan tool and the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA). Among the eligibility criteria were methodological rigor, conceptual clarity, and useful implementation of ICTs in e-Health for remote and automatic monitoring of COVID-19 patients.ResultsOur initial search identified 664 potential studies; 102 were assessed for eligibility in the pre-final stage and 65 articles were used in the final review with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review identified the following eHealth methods—Telemedicine, Mobile Health (mHealth), and Telehealth. The associated ICTs are Wearable Body Sensors, Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, Internet-of-Things, or Internet-of-Medical-Things (IoT or IoMT), Biometric Monitoring Technologies (BioMeTs), and Bluetooth-enabled (BLE) home health monitoring devices. Spatial or positional data, personal and individual health, and wellness data, including vital signs, symptoms, biomedical images and signals, and lifestyle data are examples of information that is managed by ICTs. Different AI and IoT methods have opened new possibilities for automatic and remote patient monitoring with associated advantages and weaknesses. Our findings were represented in a structured manner using a semantic knowledge graph (e.g., ontology model).ConclusionsVarious e-Health methods, related remote monitoring technologies, different approaches, information categories, the adoption of ICT tools for an automatic remote patient monitoring (RPM), advantages and limitations of RMTs in the COVID-19 case are discussed in this review. The use of e-Health during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the constraints and possibilities of using ICTs. ICTs are not merely an external tool to achieve definite remote and automatic health monitoring goals; instead, they are embedded in contexts. Therefore, the importance of the mutual design process between ICT and society during the global health crisis has been observed from a social informatics perspective. A global health crisis can be observed as an information crisis (e.g., insufficient information, unreliable information, and inaccessible information); however, this review shows the influence of ICTs on COVID-19 patients' health monitoring and related information collection techniques.

Challenges of Avoiding Congenital Disorders: Experiences of Pregnant Women in Northeastern Thailand

Maternal knowledge and behaviors attempting to prevent or avoid congenital disorders have not reached optimal levels. This qualitative descriptive study describes the challenges of avoiding congenital disorders from the experiences of pregnant women in northeastern Thailand. Data were collected between November 2017 and August 2019 from 18 pregnant women through in-depth interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes reflecting challenges emerged. Firstly, ‘traditional beliefs’ were challenging regarding unclear and potential adverse outcomes. Secondly, the challenges of ‘contemporary beliefs’ included distinct views and inaccessible information, characterized as non-apprehension, non-comprehension, non-modernization, or non-precision to preventing congenital disorders. Finally, ‘daily life activities,’ in selectiveness in eating, attainment of mother-child healthiness, and harm avoidance were aimed at both congenital disorder prevention and fetal development promotion. Some significant challenging topics included: vulnerable periods; some taboos; nutrients for brain development; safety in food, working, and environment; concerns with dangers of physical activities, exercise, maternal stress, and medicines; and misperceived benefits of herbal drugs and fetal stimulation. Nursing and midwifery practice guidelines should integrate the concept of congenital disorders prevention into the promotion of fetal development using culturally-sensitive approaches. The found challenges should be overcome and further applied in refining the practice guidelines.

Children’s use of reasoning by exclusion to infer objects’ identities in working memory

Reasoning by exclusion allows us to form more complete representations of our environments, “filling in” inaccessible information by ruling out known alternatives. In two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 34 4- to 6-year-olds; Experiment 2: N = 85 4- to 8-year-olds), we examined children’s ability to use reasoning by exclusion to infer the identity of an unknown object and investigated the role of working memory in this ability. Children were asked to encode a set of objects that were then hidden, and after a brief retention interval children were asked to select the identity of the object hidden in one of the locations from two alternatives. On some trials, all the images were visible during encoding, so selecting the correct identity when probed required successful working memory storage and retrieval. On other trials, all but one of the images was visible during encoding, so selecting the correct identity when probed also required maintaining a representation of an unknown object in working memory and then using reasoning by exclusion to fill in the missing information retroactively to complete that representation by ruling out known alternatives. To investigate the working memory cost of exclusive reasoning, we manipulated the working memory demands of the task. Our results suggest that children can use reasoning by exclusion to retroactively assign an identity to an incomplete object representation at least by 4 years of age but that this ability incurs some cognitive cost, which eases with development. These results provide new insights into children’s representational capacities and on the foundational building blocks of fully developed exclusive reasoning.

Issues of Misinformation, Media Manipulation, Propaganda in Cyberspace

The internet creates a virtual space where individuals strive to capture their dreams, art, and culture. Within it, one can find the greatness and dignity of humanity, but also the baseness and wickedness that signify the decline of the spirit. The internet has drastically diminished the significance of space and distance in social interactions. It has enabled the crossing of temporal boundaries, provided anonymity in contacts, and facilitated access to previously inaccessible information, including open educational resources and sources of cultures different from one’s own. The language of digital media is a system of signs. Without understanding them, contemporary individuals become slaves, and their lives become meaningless and purposeless play. Illiteracy and low computer and media literacy can become sources of social and cultural manipulation on an unprecedented scale. Information networks connect not only universities, businesses, and people, but they have also become tools for playing out cultural, social, economic, political rivalries, as well as criminal and terrorist activities, and more recently, military actions. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have their dramatic images in the real world, but also in cyberspace. This article fills a gap in this area by addressing the issues of misinformation, media manipulation, propaganda, and infodemics. It presents a classification of security threats to children, youth, and adults and describes selected initiatives undertaken in this regard by the European Union. The author draws upon humanistic and social thought, pointing out avenues for analysis and ways to counteract negative consequences.

The importance of carbon to the formation and composition of silicates during mantle metasomatism

Mineral and fluid inclusions in mantle diamonds provide otherwise inaccessible information concerning the nature of mantle metasomatism and the role of fluids in the mass transfer of material through the Earth’s interior. We explore the role of carbon concentration during fluid-rock metasomatism in generating the range of garnet and clinopyroxene compositions observed in diamonds from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. We use the Deep Earth Water model to predict the results of metasomatism between silicic, carbonatitic and peridotitic fluids and common mantle rocks (peridotites, eclogites and pyroxenites) at 5 GPa, 1000 °C, across a range of redox conditions (logfO2 = −2 to −4 ΔFMQ), and a wide range of initial carbon concentrations in the metasomatic fluids. Our results show that the predicted compositions of metasomatic garnets and clinopyroxenes are controlled by the initial geochemistry of fluids and rocks, with subsequent mineral-specific geochemical evolution following definable reaction pathways. Model carbon-rich metasomatic fluids that can form diamond (initial C-content >5.00 molal) result in Mg-rich garnets and clinopyroxenes typical of peridotitic, eclogitic, and websteritic inclusions in diamonds. However, model carbon-poor metasomatic fluids that do not form diamond result in Mg-poor, Ca-rich garnets and clinopyroxenes. Such garnets and clinopyroxenes do nevertheless occur as inclusions in diamonds. In our models, the abundance of carbon in the fluids controls the behaviour of the bivalent ions through the formation of aqueous Mg-Ca-Fe-C complexes, which directly govern the composition of garnets and clinopyroxenes precipitated during the metasomatic processes. As the C-rich initial fluids can form the higher Mg-eclogitic, peridotitic, and websteritic inclusions in diamonds, these inclusions can be syngenetic (metasomatic) or possibly protogenetic. However, in our models, the relatively Mg-poor, Ca- and Fe-rich eclogitic garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions found in mantle diamonds formed from C-poor fluids that do not precipitate diamond. These inclusions most likely reflect a metasomatic event prior to being incorporated into their host diamonds, or they could represent protolith-based protogenetic geochemistry. Therefore, the paragenetic groups used to classify diamonds should not be considered a genetic classification, as the role of fluid geochemistry appears to be more important than the one played by host rock geochemistry.

Neuroanatomy of the crocodylian Tomistoma dowsoni from the Miocene of North Africa provides insights into the evolutionary history of gavialoids.

The interrelationships of the extant crocodylians Gavialis gangeticus and Tomistoma schlegelii have been historically disputed. Whereas molecular analyses indicate a sister taxon relationship between these two gavialoid species, morphological datasets typically place Gavialis as the outgroup to all other extant crocodylians. Recent morphological-based phylogenetic analyses have begun to resolve this discrepancy, recovering Gavialis as the closest living relative of Tomistoma; however, several stratigraphically early fossil taxa are recovered as closer to Gavialis than Tomistoma, resulting in anomalously early divergence timings. As such, additional morphological data might be required to resolve these remaining discrepancies. 'Tomistoma' dowsoni is an extinct species of gavialoid from the Miocene of North Africa. Utilising CT scans of a near-complete, referred skull, we reconstruct the neuroanatomy and neurosensory apparatus of 'Tomistoma' dowsoni. Based on qualitative and quantitative morphometric comparisons with other crocodyliforms, the neuroanatomy of 'Tomistoma' dowsoni is characterised by an intermediate morphology between the two extant gavialoids, more closely resembling Gavialis. This mirrors the results of recent studies based on the external anatomy of these three species and other fossil gavialoids. Several neuroanatomical features of these species appear to reflect ecological and/or phylogenetic signals. For example, the 'simple' morphology of their neurosensory apparatus is broadly similar to that of other long and narrow-snouted (longirostrine), aquatic crocodyliforms. A dorsoventrally short, anteroposteriorly long endosseous labyrinth is also associated with longirostry. These features indicate that snout and skull morphology, which are themselves partly constrained by ecology, exert an influence on neuroanatomical morphology, as has also been recognised in birds and turtles. Conversely, the presence of a pterygoid bulla in Gavialis and several extinct gavialoids, and its absence in Tomistoma schlegelii, could be interpreted as a phylogenetic signal of crocodylians more closely related to Gavialis than to Tomistoma. Evaluation of additional fossil gavialoids will be needed to further test whether these and other neuroanatomical features primarily reflect a phylogenetic or ecological signal. By incorporating such previously inaccessible information of extinct and extant gavialoids into phylogenetic and macroecological studies, we can potentially further constrain the clade's interrelationships, as well as evaluate the timing and ecological association of the evolution of these neuroanatomical features. Finally, our study supports recent phylogenetic analyses that place 'Tomistoma' dowsoni as being phylogenetically closer to Gavialis gangeticus than to Tomistoma schlegelii, indicating the necessity of a taxonomic revision of this fossil species.

Stratified Multivariate Multiscale Dispersion Entropy for Physiological Signal Analysis.

Multivariate entropy quantification algorithms are becoming a prominent tool for the extraction of information from multi-channel physiological time-series. However, in the analysis of physiological signals from heterogeneous organ systems, certain channels may overshadow the patterns of others, resulting in information loss. Here, we introduce the framework of Stratified Entropy to prioritize each channels' dynamics based on their allocation to respective strata, leading to a richer description of the multi-channel time-series. As an implementation of the framework, three algorithmic variations of the Stratified Multivariate Multiscale Dispersion Entropy are introduced. These variations and the original algorithm are applied to synthetic time-series, waveform physiological time-series, and derivative physiological data. Based on the synthetic time-series experiments, the variations successfully prioritize channels following their strata allocation while maintaining the low computation time of the original algorithm. In experiments on waveform physiological time-series and derivative physiological data, increased discrimination capacity was noted for multiple strata allocations in the variations when benchmarked to the original algorithm. This suggests improved physiological state monitoring by the variations. Furthermore, our variations can be modified to utilize a priori knowledge for the stratification of channels. Thus, our research provides a novel approach for the extraction of previously inaccessible information from multi-channel time series acquired from heterogeneous systems.

A Kinetic Stem Cell Counting Analysis of the Specific Effects of Cell Culture Medium Growth Factors on Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

A recently described kinetic stem cell (KSC) counting method was used to investigate the stem-cell-specific effects of commercial growth factor supplements used for expanding stem cells in adipose-tissue-derived mesenchymal cell preparations. The supplements were a proprietary growth factor product, a source of fetal bovine serum, two sources of pooled human sera, and two sources of human platelet lysate. KSC counting analyses were performed to monitor effects on the fraction and viability of stem cells in serial cultures with their respective supplements. Serial cultures supplemented with the proprietary growth factor product or fetal bovine serum showed a similar high degree of maintenance of stem cell fraction with passage. In contrast, cultures supplemented with human sera or human platelet lysate showed rapid declines in stem cell fraction. KSC counting was used to discover the cellular basis for the decreasing stem cell fractions. For human platelet lysate, it was attributable to lower rates of self-renewing symmetric stem cell divisions. For human sera, both low rates of symmetric division and high rates of stem cell death were responsible. These results demonstrate the power of the KSC counting method to provide previously inaccessible information for improving future tissue stem cell biomanufacturing.

What Changes in Topochemistry when Going from Small Molecule Dimerizations to Polymerizations in Single Crystals?

AbstractThis publication promotes the increased necessity for strain management in topochemical reactions with an enlarged structural extension of the molecular products formed,i. e., when going from small molecule dimerizations, through linear polymerizations to the formation of 2D polymers. Further, it promotes to combine the trap model for photon absorption with concrete molecular scale consequences of this absorption on topochemical transformations and briefly discusses the expected consequences topological dimensionality of the forming (macro)molecular products has on trap location. The time appears ripe for going in this direction because local information concerning structural changes within single crystals is now accessible by the 3D‐ΔPDF method. This method greatly facilitates the analysis of diffuse X‐ray scattering providing access to concrete values of pair distribution functions and, thus, factual information on which and how distances change near a reaction site. Although only based on a first case where distance changes could be quantified in a lateral polymerization, the thoughts put forward may ignite more research towards a full understanding of all the action that occurs when a photochemically triggered topochemical reaction takes place. The 3D‐ΔPDF method is so attractive for this purpose because it provides otherwise inaccessible local information in pair correlation functions rather than average structure information, which is used through the ubiquitousBraggscattering.

Development and characterization of a passive, bio-inspired flow-tracking sensor

The effective natural transport of seeds in turbulent atmospheric flows is found across a myriad of shapes and sizes. However, to develop a sensitive passive sensor required for large-scale (in situ) flow tracking measurements, systems suffer from inertial lag due to the increased size and mass needed for optical visibility, or by carrying a sensor payload, such as an inertial measurement unit (IMU). While IMU-based flow sensing is promising for beyond visual line-of-sight applications, the size and mass of the sensor platform results in reduced flow fidelity and, hence, measurement error. Thus, to extract otherwise inaccessible flow information, a flow-physics-based tracer correction is developed through the application of a low-order unsteady aerodynamic model, inspired by the added-mass concept. The technique is evaluated using a sensor equipped with an IMU and magnetometer. A spherical sensor platform, selected for its symmetric geometry, was subject to two canonical test cases including an axial gust as well as the vortex shedding generated behind a cylinder. Using the measured sensor velocity and acceleration as inputs, an energized-mass-based dynamic model is used to back-calculate the instantaneous flow velocity from the sensor measurements. The sensor is also tracked optically via a high-speed camera while collecting the inertial data onboard. For the 1D test case (axial gust), the true (local) wind speed was estimated from the energized-mass-based model and validated against particle image velocimetry measurements, exhibiting good agreement with a maximum error of 10%. For the cylinder wake (second test case), the model-based correction enabled the extraction of the velocity oscillation amplitude and vortex-shedding frequency, which would have otherwise been inaccessible. The results of this study suggest that inertial (i.e. large and heavy) IMU-based flow sensors are viable for the extraction of Lagrangian tracking at large atmospheric scales and within highly-transient (turbulent) environments when coupled with a robust dynamic model for inertial correction.

Morphological and Tissue Characterization with 3D Reconstruction of a 350-Year-Old Austrian Ardea purpurea Glacier Mummy.

Glaciers are dwindling archives, releasing animal mummies preserved in the ice for centuries due to climate changes. As preservation varies, residual soft tissues may differently expand the biological information content of such mummies. DNA studies have proven the possibility of extracting and analyzing DNA preserved in skeletal residuals and sediments for hundreds or thousands of years. Paleoradiology is the method of choice as a non-destructive tool for analyzing mummies, including micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Together with radiocarbon dating, histo-anatomical analyses, and DNA sequencing, these techniques were employed to identify a 350-year-old Austrian Ardea purpurea glacier mummy from the Ötztal Alps. Combining these techniques proved to be a robust methodological concept for collecting inaccessible information regarding the structural organization of the mummy. The variety of methodological approaches resulted in a distinct picture of the morphological patterns of the glacier animal mummy. The BLAST search in GenBank resulted in a 100% and 98.7% match in the cytb gene sequence with two entries of the species Purple heron (Ardea purpurea; Accession number KJ941160.1 and KJ190948.1) and a 98% match with the same species for the 16 s sequence (KJ190948.1), which was confirmed by the anatomic characteristics deduced from micro-CT and MRI.

Production of high-energy neutrinos in binary-neutron-star merger events

High-energy neutral astrophysical messengers, such as neutrinos and photons, can be produced by the interaction of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with radiation fields, either during extragalactic propagation or within source environments. Neutrinos and gamma-rays can play a crucial role in the study of acceleration mechanisms of cosmic rays. In particular, after being produced, neutrinos leave the source environment and propagate to the Earth without further interactions. They are only subject to energy redshift and flavour oscillation, which makes them bearers of otherwise inaccessible information about their sources. We study high-energy environments of the type that are likely to be the end states of a binary-neutron-star (BNS) merger, and we model their local photon field as a black body at a given temperature. Using a modified version of the Monte Carlo code SimProp v2r4 we simulate the propagation and interaction of UHECRs through these environments. We consider several combinations for the spectral index and high-energy cutoff of the UHECR protons, in order to obtain the escaped neutrino flux. We propagate these fluxes to the Earth and compare to the astrophysical IceCube neutrino flux to obtain constraints on the BNS merger spectra properties, emissivity and density rate.

An Assessment on the Information Needs and Seeking Behaviours of Rural Farmers in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

This study investigated assessment on the information needs and seeking behaviours of farmers in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. There were four primary goals for the study and four related research topics that helped direct the investigation. Descriptive survey methodology was utilized in this research, with a questionnaire serving as the primary data collector. There were 2,000 farmers in the population, and 190 of them were randomly selected to be in the sample. The information was gathered with the use of a well-structured questionnaire. Farmers in Jos North Local Government Area face challenges like a language barrier, insufficient extension services/workers, and an inaccessible agricultural information infrastructure, among others, according to the study’s findings. Farmers previously relied on word of mouth, cooperative societies, family, and friends for agricultural advice. It was determined that the agricultural information resources available to farmers in the Jos North LGA of Plateau State are uninspiring. There is a lack of language support, extension worker services, financial support, public awareness, and current information that prevents farmers in the Jos North LGA from making informed decisions. Many suggestions were made, including that politicians at all three levels of government keep their word, that rural areas establish adult education programs, that agricultural agents, such as extension workers, be made available in all rural areas, and that the government hire and send extension workers to the countryside to help them produce higher-quality crops.

The Crisis at the Polish-Belarusian Border: Sites and Things

The ongoing humanitarian crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border has not attracted mass public attention in Poland or in the world. Rare visuals of asylum seekers and migration conditions are rather provided by activist portals, and thus they circulate among those working to solve the crisis. Consequently, access to knowledge about the experience of undocumented migration across the Polish border and its conditions is limited. Observing the material background and the traces of the route, both in terms of its topography and instrumental equipment, allows us to get closer to the inaccessible information. The authors propose a preliminary typology of migration sites and objects used by people on the move. Such a research strategy not only examines migration processes through secondary symptoms, but it can also be understood as a supportive gesture towards asylum seekers. Material analysis makes it possible to reveal the experience of migration in a way that does not infringe on the precarious security of people on the move.

Challenges faced by beef cattle farmers in innovation adoption towards food security and sustainability: a narrative review

The agricultural industry in Malaysia remains a vital element in providing food and employment. Introducing innovation in beef cattle farming has brought new changes in the livestock sector. Hopefully, it can generate a high income among farmers and brighten the Malaysian economy. However, introducing innovations such as assisted reproduction technology, biosecurity and intensive rearing require more significant effort from all parties, including farmers, extension agents and the government. This paper aims to identify beef cattle farmers' challenges in adopting innovations to improve beef production. Process of identifying, screening and eligibility is essential in producing an extensive literature review paper. From these processes, nine articles were found as the most relevant for this review article. The financial problem, communication failure and inaccessible information were the main challenges faced by farmers and extension agents in implementing innovations. Nevertheless, cooperation from all parties can lead to an excellent distribution of knowledge and skills among farmers.