Larger Picture Research Articles

Mnemonically modulated perceptual processing to represent allocentric space in macaque inferotemporal cortex

To encode allocentric space information of a viewing object, it is important to relate perceptual information in the first-person perspective to the representation of an entire scene which would be constructed before. A substantial number of studies investigated the constructed scene information (e.g., cognitive map). However, only few studies have focused on its influence on perceptual processing. Therefore, we designed a visually guided saccade task requiring monkeys to gaze at objects in different locations on different backgrounds clipped from large self-designed mosaic pictures (parental pictures). In each trial, we presented moving backgrounds prior to object presentations, indicating a frame position of the background image on a parental picture. We recorded single-unit activities from 377 neurons in the posterior inferotemporal (PIT) cortex of two macaques. Equivalent numbers of neurons showed space-related (119 of 377) and object-related (125 of 377) information. The space-related neurons coded the gaze locations and background images jointly rather than separately. These results suggest that PIT neurons represent a particular location within a particular background image. Interestingly, frame positions of background images on parental pictures modulated the space-related responses dependently on parental pictures. As the frame positions could be acquired by only preceding visual experiences, the present results may provide neuronal evidence of a mnemonic effect on current perception, which might represent allocentric object location in a scene beyond the current view.

Personal identity and mental time travel

This paper examines the role of episodic memory, and the broader notion of “mental time travel” (MTT), in constituting personal identity. After arguing that the construal of memory’s role in personal identity found in traditional psychological continuity theories of personal identity is both unrealistic and unsatisfying, the paper endeavors to provide a better account. This begins with recent work in the science and philosophy of memory that sees episodic memory as part of a broader faculty for MTT (which also involves imagination and counterfactual thought). Some of the basic ideas expressed in this work are developed into an account of the connection between MTT with “strong identification” and personal identity. According to this alternative approach, we regularly “borrow affect” from our pasts and futures through forms of remembering, imagining, and counterfactual thinking that involve a particular form of identification with our past and future selves. This activity generates a strong diachronic experience of self, which contributes in important ways to diachronic personal identity. The sense of self generated through MTT is, however, only one piece of a more comprehensive account of personal identity. The paper concludes by describing its place in the larger picture.

Optimizing the heat capacities of sphalerite phases as single system, or how nuclear physics can help physical chemistry

The correct mathematical description of heat capacities Cp in a wide range of temperatures is still unsolved problem. A fragmental description of some phases is like a vision of one part of a large mosaic picture. A single description of Cp or other property of a phase of any isostructural series does not allow one to see the integrity of the entire ensemble. We propose a special mathematical model to describe Cp in a wide temperature range for a whole large class of isostructural sphalerite phases. In the proposed model, it is believed that an ideal crystal does not have any foreign inclusions, defects, or dislocations. The group IV elements (Si, Ge, α-Sn and diamond-like Pb) were taken as the basis, with flerovium (114Fl) closing this group. There should be no other elements in this group according to the fine structure constant (α) (or the Sommerfeld constant). As a consequence, the limiting value of the heat capacities of phases with a sphalerite structure falls on the element 114 (114Fl) and has a value of Cp = 30.5 ± 0.3 J · mol-at−1 · K−1. This value was obtained as a maximal virtual point Cp of the last element (114Fl) of group IV and corresponds to Ln (Cp/R) = 1.30 ± 0.01 for the isotherms ln (Cp/R) vs Ln(N), where N is an atomic number of an element of group IV or the sum of the atomic numbers of AIIIBV or AIIBVI compounds per mole-atom. The common point of heat capacity attributable to flerovium is obtained from the linear equations Ср/R vs Ln(N) at low temperatures from 25 to 35K. For only pure elements of group IV (Si, Ge, α-Sn and diamond-like Pb), flerovium closes this group, and there are no other elements behind it, according to α. The maximum heat capacity of flerovium can be taken as 30.5 J·mol-at−1·K−1 with an accuracy of 1%. As the temperature decreases, this value slowly decreases (within 1%), and then, when it approaches 0 K, it drops sharply to 0 J·mol-at−1·K−1. To describe the set of the isostructural experimental data Cp(T) for diamond-like phases in solid state as a whole system, here we used a special multi-parameter family of functions. For each substance, the parameters are found by minimizing the discrepancy between the theoretical dependence Cp(T) and corresponding experimental data. The dependence of the heat capacities for elements of group IV (Si, Ge, α-Sn, diamond-like Pb, Fl) at fixed temperatures on Ln(N), where N is the atomic number or the demi sum of the atomic numbers of phases AIIBVI or AIIIBV. In this case, either a break point or an inflection point attributable to germanium is observed for parameter dependencies on Ln(N).

Policy Modernization and Novel Economic Indicators Coxswaining Nation on Growth Path

India as a nation witnessing the continuous modernization of Monetary and Fiscal Policies. In the previous subsequent budgets, the allocation of funds on the national development which is gauged on the scales of infrastructure, production and manufacturing index, farming and allied farming index, supply chain and logistics, health, education, employment, rural and women empowerment and national governance has seen considerable progress. On looking at the larger picture, the total expenditure stated in the budget and its impact on the economic growth considering the factor Like GDP, GVA, NR, Per Capita Income, is evident. However, to create a profound understanding and awareness about the policy, changes and implementation of policy, and how its roads to the growth of the nation, we need to prove it with the less revealed, less used economic indicators like, to name a few, Government Debt to GDP, Government Revenue to Spending, Government spending to GDP, PMI to Private sector Credit, Youth Unemployment Rate to Jobless Claims, Labor Force Participation rate, NPA to Loans to Private Sector, Capital flow to Capacity utilization, Business Confidence index, Composite PMI to corporate profits, ZEW Economic Sentiment Index, etc. This research would provide all the hidden spots, blind spots to the leaders who can guide the nation to prosper.

Inequality In Banks

This research paper delves into the challenges people, regardless of their age, face when dealing with money, especially in the context of banks where financial security should be paramount. Money plays a critical role in today's economy as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, impacting financial planning and security. However, the shift towards online banking has resulted in various errors, financial losses, and data breaches due to user inexperience. The paper suggests that allowing traditional banking as a secondary option could prevent these issues. Traditional banking, with its physical branches and face-to-face interactions, offers benefits such as in-person services, enhanced financial security, and reliable access to loans, making it a preferable choice for many. The research paper aims to shed light on the persistent issues surrounding net banking, or alternatively, the idea of internet banking in general. This may manifest as the person making irrevocable errors or as dishonest behaviour on the part of other parties. Reversal mechanisms, which need to be in place from the beginning, are missing, particularly when it comes to financial matters. When all of the foregoing is fully understood, most consumers would naturally choose a traditional banking option. To save time and money on operating expenses, the banks do not offer this option. The price for this is higher customer service. The larger picture is realising the benefits of traditional banking and banks providing more accessible options to the public rather than restricting them to net banking alone, which leads to issues. Due of the possibility of further issues down the road, these issues are typically experienced by members of the lower middle class who lack access to online banking services and are not technologically aware.

On the definition of Merge

AbstractTwo fundamental tasks of syntactic inquiry are to identify the elementary structure‐building operations and to determine what properties they have and why. This article aims to bring us closer to those goals by investigating Merge. Two recent definitions of Merge are evaluated. It is argued that both have significant strengths but also some drawbacks, and that set‐theoretic definitions of Merge in general face conceptual problems. It is proposed that Merge is not set‐theoretic but graph‐theoretic in nature: the syntactic objects it operates on and creates are (bare‐phrase‐structure‐compliant) phrase‐structure trees. Two new formal definitions of Merge are proposed and evaluated. One obeys the No‐Tampering Condition but makes it unclear why Merge() satisfies only one selectional feature of , not all of them. The other accounts for that observation but narrowly violates the No‐Tampering Condition. The larger picture that emerges is one in which Merge is a graph‐theoretic, not a set‐theoretic, operation.

Sodium hypochlorite accident diagnosis and management: Analysis from the literature and the French pharmacovigilance database.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is considered as the reference irrigation solution in endodontics. However, NaOCl-related accidents may occur, and non-dentist health professionals might under-recognize this rare adverse effect although it is potentially severe, with possible medical and aesthetic sequelae. We performed a literature review to provide to non-dentist healthcare professionals a large picture of symptoms, management and potential consequences of NaOCl accidents. We queried PubMed and the French Pharmacovigilance database and retrieved 76 cases for analysis (70 from 57 published articles, and six from the database). The analysis showed that patients were mostly women (79%), aged around of 42 years, undergoing upper jawbone (74%) endodontic procedure. NaOCl concentration ranged from 1% to 10%, with 0.5 to 30 mL injected. Most cases (86%) corresponded to an accidental extrusion beyond the root apex to the periapical tissues, followed by tissular injection by error (8%) and extrusion into the maxillary sinus (3%). Local symptoms always occurred within 24 h, mostly pain (99%), edema (89%) and/or ecchymosis (61%). Complications were mainly neurological (29%), necrotic (22%) and cutaneous (9%). Most of patients (76%) fully recovered after medical management but 18 (24%) required surgical management. Any healthcare professional should be aware of the classical symptomatic triad of NaOCl accident with sudden pain, haemorrhage/ecchymosis and swelling, to start or recommend adequate management. Patients should be reassured, but a close follow-up is necessary to avoid delayed complication.

Covid Cinema in Sri Lanka. Connecting a personal narrative with the larger picture

Covid Cinema in Sri Lanka. Connecting a personal narrative with the larger picture

The effect of picture attributes of online ordering pages on visual attention and user experience

The popularity of online ordering services is increasing daily, with food pictures playing a critical role in influencing user attention and experience. In this study, 58 participants were enrolled in a 2 (saturation: higher vs. lower) × 3 (Area of interest: category vs. picture vs. text) within-subject experiment using large and small pictures to evaluate the impact of picture attributes on user responses. A combination of eye-tracking technology and a questionnaire survey was used for the measurement. The results suggest that for larger food pictures, the picture area received more attention than the category and text areas when pictures were highly saturated, whereas the category information was more appealing than other areas when pictures were low saturated, and the user experience of the overall page was higher than in other cases. For smaller food pictures, the picture area attracted initial attention, whereas the text area gained more fixation than the other areas. The findings of this study provide empirical suggestions for designing online interfaces for ordering services and webpages.

The democratic offset: Contestation, deliberation, and participation regarding military applications of AI

Authoritarian regimes’ unrestricted collection of citizens’ data might constitute an advantage regarding the development of some types of AI, and AI might facilitate authoritarian practices. This feedback loop challenges democracies. In a critical continuation of the Pentagon’s Third Offset Strategy, I investigate a possible Democratic Offset regarding military applications of AI focussed on contestation, deliberation, and participation. I apply Landemore’s Open Democracy, Hildebrandt’s Agonistic Machine Learning, and Sharp’s Civilian-Based Defence. Discussing value pluralism in AI ethics, I criticise parts of the literature for leaving the fundamental ethical incompatibility of democracies and authoritarian regimes unaddressed. I am focussing on the duty to disobey illegal orders derived from customary international humanitarian law (IHL) and the standard of ‘meaningful human control’, which is central to the partially outdated debate about lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS). I criticize the standard of ‘meaningful human control’ following two pathways: First, the ethical and legal principles of just war theory and IHL should be implemented in military applications of AI to submit human commands to more control, in the sense of technological disaffordances. Second, the debate should focus on the societal circumstances for personal responsibility and disobedience to be trained and exerted in deliberation and participation related to military applications of AI, in the sense of societal affordances. In a larger picture, this includes multi-level stakeholder involvement, robust documentation to facilitate auditing, civilian-based defence in decentralized smart cities, and open-source intelligence. This multi-layered approach fosters cognitive diversity, which might constitute a strategic advantage for democracies regarding AI.

Comparing the Multimodality of Chinese and US Corporate Homepages: The Importance of Understanding Local Cultures

Purpose: In this cross-cultural study, we investigated the similarities and differences in the multimodality of Chinese and U. S. corporate homepages. Method: We collected the homepages of 35 Chinese and 35 U. S. companies' local websites. We developed a framework for annotating different types of multimodal elements presented on corporate homepages. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we compared the verbal-visual composition and arrangement on Chinese and U. S. homepages in terms of textual, pictorial, diagrammatic, and video elements. Results: We found salient differences in the use of multimodal resources between Chinese and U. S. homepages. Chinese homepages overall made greater use of textual and video resources, with emphasis placed on directional textual elements and Flash animations and videos. They also tended to arrange multiple news titles in a list, employ parallelly placed pictures, and use more QR codes. In contrast, U. S. homepages preferred to present individual news headlines with news summaries attached, use one large background picture with subordinate elements embedded in them, and offer more social media icons for further connection. Conclusion: The differentiated approaches to deploying multimodal resources between Chinese and U. S. corporate homepages were closely associated with the distinctive cultural orientations and communication styles between these two countries.

Aid effectiveness in sustainable development: A multidimensional approach

What is the impact of international aid? We answer this question by linking disaggregated aid-flows data to a large set of indicators classified into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since such linkage is not perfect (due to the nature of the data), we deploy an artificial intelligence model of the causal process through which changes in aid flows contribute to the dynamics of individual indicators. The model accounts for salient features of real-world development such as multidimensionality, complex interconnections between indicators, heterogeneous aid-to-expenditure ratios, rationally-bounded bureaucracies, fungibility, and the temporal structure of contemporary aid flows across development dimensions. The model does not require cross-country pooled data, so we calibrate its parameters for each of the 146 aid-recipient countries in our sample, preserving important contextual information of each nation. By producing counterfactual simulations where aid is removed, we obtain nuanced estimates of the impact of international assistance during the first decade of the 21st century, at the level of each country, SDG, and indicator. We validate our results using a sector-specific study with similar–but more aggregate–findings. Such a large and detailed picture of the multidimensional impact of aid has not been documented before.

Global Trends of the Teacher Knowledge of Physical Education: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Physical Education is an important subject in the formal education curriculum in Malaysia also the development of teacher professionalism to face the 21st century education. The bibliometric methods can help researchers and educators understand the important of the research. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the bibliometric characteristics of motivation in the field of Physical Education from 1989 to 2021 that try to discover the related research context and topics. Methods: By using the keywords “physical education” and “teacher knowledge”, the bibliographic records and references have been retrieved from the Scopus databases (date of search: July 15, 2022). The data was analysed using Microsoft Excel for frequency analysis, VOSviewer for data visualisation, and Harzing's Publish or Perish for citation metrics and analysis. Bibliometrics' large picture is also provided. Finding: This study analysed the progression of teacher expertise in physical education research, based on source title, country, and institution, and the publication's citation pattern. This document recognises notable researchers. The data show that physical education teacher knowledge has been extensively distributed and has had a significant influence, since the number of publications outside of Europe, in North America and Asia, has grown. Practical implications: The paper will identify the leading trends in the journal in terms of papers, authors, institutions, countries, journals and keywords. This study is useful for obtaining a quick snapshot of what is happening in the journal. Conclusion/ Significant of Study: The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the global landscape of research on physical education teacher knowledge. Keywords: physical education, PE, teacher knowledge, bibliometric analysis

An Accidental Historian

An Accidental Historian

Lafayette affordable housing study

ABSTRACT The greater Lafayette metropolitan area located in north-central Indiana is home to over 100,000 residents. It is an hour north of Indianapolis, Indiana, and roughly two and a half hours south of Chicago, Illinois. The area is home to Purdue University, the Wabash River, and numerous parks and nature areas. According to city officials, one of the biggest challenges facing the area involves getting low-income residents to plant permanent roots in their neighborhoods: fostering improved quality of life as well as community and economic growth in the process. Arguably the biggest obstacle preventing this from happening is the lack of affordable housing within Lafayette and West Lafayette. Housing that is deemed affordable refers to any housing arrangement costing no more than 30% of a given household’s monthly income. In conjunction with the city of Lafayette, our research group examined the livability of six different Lafayette neighborhoods (Lincoln, Hanna, Vinton, Monon, St. Lawrence McAllister, and Historic Jefferson) through the context of housing affordability. Whether or not someone can afford a home, reasonably commute to work, or earn enough money to support their families are all important criteria that determine how “livable” someone’s environment is: thereby contributing to how likely a person is to remain in a given area. To study this, random samples were collected from roughly 80 properties throughout the six neighborhoods. This information regarding the home’s value and the demographics of the owner(s) was initially found using databases such as Zillow.com and the Polk Directory. From here, six separate “affordability maps” were created in order to compare home value and net income/assets to create a large picture overview of how affordable a given neighborhood is. This data was then passed to the city of Lafayette to detail which neighborhoods are unrealistic for its inhabitants to live in. This information will serve to help city leaders make more informed choices to make these houses more affordable, improve the overall quality of life, and spur economic stability and growth.

Feasibility of Use of Second Life Electrical Vehicle Batteries in Data Centres in Malaysia

It is estimated that the cumulative of Electric Vehicles (EVs) will reach 85 million by 2030. EV batteries that have degraded to 80% of their initial capacity no longer provide the required efficiency for EV, resulting in an increasing amount of batteries being discarded and stored in warehouses instead of being recycled. The cost of this storage after its End of Life (EOL) adds to the initial cost of the EV. There is amounting environmental pressure to re-purpose these discarded batteries in other applications, such as energy arbitrage and peak shaving, such that the initial cost of the EV be reduced. This work presents a feasibility study that allows discarded EV batteries to be repurposed batteries to provide peak shaving in a mid-tier data centre with an area size of 465 m2. A comparison of the cost during peak hours shows that the repurposed batteries can be used as a reliable power supply source to reduce the reliance of data centres on grid power during peak hours. Results showed that the use of these repurposed batteries also achieved a higher cost savings as compared to using brand new Lithium Ion battery over a period of 10 years. A reliability study also shows that the repurposed battery system and brand new battery system performs at par, when the data centre draws power from the grid during peak hours. The study concludes that power supply system in data centres that uses repurposed batteries to achieve peak shaving is a cost effective, green solution that should be implemented. In the larger picture, the reusability of the EV batteries is expected to reduce the initial price of the EV cars, allowing a larger market penetration and thus ensuring the sustainability of the EV car industry. Reusing the stored batteries also reduces environmental issues related to Lithium mining for brand new batteries, such as mining pollution and fresh water shortage.

The typology of external splits

The lexicon divides into parts of speech (or lexical categories), and there are cross-cutting regularities (features). These two dimensions of analysis take us a long way, but several phenomena elude us. For these the term 'split' is used extensively ('case split', 'split agreement', and more), but in confusingly different ways. Yet there is a unifying notion here. I show that a split is an additional partition, whether in the part-of-speech inventory or in the feature system. On this base an elegant typology can be constructed, using minimal machinery. The typology starts from four external relations (government, agreement, selection, and anti-government), and it specifies four types of split within each (sixteen possibilities in all). This typology (i) highlights less familiar splits, from diverse languages, and fits them into the larger picture; (ii) introduces a new relation, anti-government, and documents it; (iii) elucidates the complexities of multiple splits; and (iv) clarifies what exactly is split, which leads to a sharpening of our analyses and applies across different traditions.

Pig Gourd: the meaning of Tezuka’s playing around with form

ABSTRACT Taking an arguably minor character from Tezuka Osamu’s oeuvre, Natsume Fusanosuke argues how the Pig Gourd’s cameos even in the artist’s most serious works demonstrate a bifurcated sense of play and high-brow artistry in his manga. Natsume employs an early version of his ‘manga-expression theory’ (manga hyōgen-ron) manga-analysis approach, which he began to develop in this, his first manga-studies monograph and seminal study of the ‘god of manga’ Tezuka Osamu. This translation of a chapter essay from Where Is Tezuka Osamu? (1992) demonstrates Natsume’s versatility in isolating thematic patterns or formal experimentations in an artist’s style, including character design and page layouts. Natsume’s ‘manga-expression theory’ approach, which focuses on three basic elements of manga (words, pictures, and frames), can be seen in this essay on Tezuka’s trademark Pig Gourd character, who will pop up or even decimate panel borders to show not only Tezuka’s embarrassment at being unable to resist a sight gag but also his bold desire to play with panel possibilities. The larger picture that Natsume describes here is how this ubiquitous cameo character became a litmus test of readers’ tastes as the manga master’s target demographic became older and wise to his stylistic idiosyncrasies.

π-Bridge Extension and Additive-Influenced Panchromaticity: A Synergetic Ploy for Augmenting Photovoltaic Characteristics of π-Distorted Chromophores

Tetracyanobutadiene (TCBD)-derived π-chromic materials have gained momentum in electronic and photonic devices. Owing to their unique optoelectronic and structural characteristics, they further hold promise as active layer materials for granting access to futuristic organic solar cells (OSCs). In the present contribution, three TCBD-based electron donors (13–15) were synthesized by strategizing π-bridge extension along with the investigation of their opto-electrochemical and other functional properties. Exploiting the merger of these chromophores with near-IR absorbing 2,4-bis[4-(N,N-diphenylamino)-2,6-dihydroxyphenyl] squaraine (DPSQ) additive promotes an enhanced light harvesting property. Prototype OSCs fabricated with a ternary blend composed of 13–15, PC61BM, and DPSQ showed an improved efficiency of 9.8%. Apparently, a comparative evaluation of additive loading in influencing the photovoltaic parameters is remarked. On a larger picture, this work validates the synergy of π-spacing and external additives in augmenting the photovoltaic properties of TCBD-based electron donors.

Difficult situation in treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma in patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 B(MEN2B)

Abstract Introduction Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (also known as ‘MEN2B’,‘Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 3′ or ‘Wagenmann–Froboese syndrome’) is a genetic disease characterized by the presence of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid, pheochromocytoma, mucosal neuromas, marfanoid features and multiple skeletal abnormalities such as kyphoscoliosis and pes cavus. Clinical Case A 16 years male presented with neck swelling and dysmorphic feature in the form of marfanoid habitus, including multiple tongue and oral mucosal swelling with mucosal neuromas on the anterior third of the tongue, the lips and the inner eyelid. Lips are thickened and bumpy. Visible neck swelling, palpable solid neck mass, high arm span to height ratio at >1.05, elongated fingers, pes cavus and positive wrist sign which is defined as when the distal phalanges of the thumb and fifth finger overlap on encircling the opposite wrist, were present. Ultrasound of the neck revealed a left solid irregular mass (57mmx33mm), that is hypoechoic, has coarse calcification, hypervascularity, that is mostly central, Multiple cervical lymph node(abnormal nodes include shape (round), absent hilum, intranodal necrosis, reticulation, calcification, peripheral vascularity),Investigation at beginning, Normal thyroid function test and biochemical and electrolyte were observed, Chest x ray was normal, FNAC done for thyroid nodule that showed multiple clumps of large hyperchromatic oval cells picture suggesting high suspicion of thyroid malignancy, thyroid biopsy advised, The patient was referred the FDEMC center for further evaluation and investigation prior to the surgery. During investigation at FDEMC center, thyroid function test normal, biochemistry normal, including PTH and electrolytes, Calcitonin was very high 465 pg/mL (0.2–27.7 pg/mL),GH under GTT was normal, IGF 1 182µg/L (150–350),Plasma metanephrine 40 pg/ml(<90pg/ml),and Plasma normetanephrine 27pg/ml(<196pg/ml) were normal. The patient referred to surgery, total thyroidectomy with radical neck dissection with multiple lymph node resection was performed. The biopsy revealed medullary thyroid carcinoma with cervical lymph node secondaries (bilateral multiple foci in both lobes). The patient kept on levothyroxine tab 100mcg.The follow up of the patient after one month by ultrasound and calcitonin level revealed residual thyroid tissue and two large cervical LN in the the ultrasound and a calcitonin level of 322 pg/mL Another surgical neck dissection to the metastatic LN <multiple LN 7×5cm, multiple suprasternal mass dissection 3×2.5cm,remnant of thyroid tissue 0.8cm,Follow up the patient after one month by ultrasound and calcitonin level still showed that there is residual pathological cervical LN, while the calcitonin level still high 412 pg/mL. PET scan done for him showed there is uptake in the head, neck and chest. The calcitonin was repeatedly was high.