Striking Fact Research Articles

The very singular solution for the Anisotropic Fast Diffusion Equation and its consequences

We construct the Very Singular Solution (VSS) for the Anisotropic Fast Diffusion Equation (AFDE) in the suitably good exponent range. VSS is a solution that, starting from an infinite mass located at one point as initial datum, evolves as an admissible solution of the corresponding equation everywhere away from the point singularity. It is expected to represent important properties of the fundamental solutions when the initial mass is very big. Here we work in the whole Euclidean space.In this setting we show how the diffusion process distributes mass from the initial infinite singularity with different rates along the different space directions. Indeed, and up to constant factors, there is a simple partition formula for the anisotropic mass expansion, given approximately as the minimum of separate 1-D VSS solutions. This striking fact is a consequence of the improved scaling properties of the special solution, and it has strong consequences.If we consider the family of fundamental solutions for different masses, we prove that they all share the same universal tail behaviour (i.e., for large |x|) as the VSS. Namely, their tail is asymptotically convergent to the unique VSS tail. This means that the VSS partition formula holds also for the fundamental solutions at spatial infinity. With the help of this analysis we study the behaviour of the class of nonnegative finite-mass solutions of the Anisotropic FDE, and prove the Global Harnack Principle (GHP) and the Asymptotic Convergence in Relative Error (ACRE) under a natural assumption on the decay of the initial tail.

A New Soft Set Operation: Complementary Soft Binary Piecewise Difference (\) Operation

Soft set theory is a theory of dealing with uncertainty. Since its inception, many kinds of soft set operations are defined and used in various types. In this paper, a new kind of soft set operation called, complementary soft binary piecewise difference operation is defined and its basic properties are investigated. We obtain many striking analogous fact between difference operation in classical theory and complementary soft binary piecewise difference operation in soft set theory. Also, by obtaining the relationships between this new soft set operation and all other types of soft set operations, we aim to contribute to the soft set literature with the help of examing the distribution rules.

Contrasted life trajectories: reconstituting the main population exposomes in French Guiana.

In French Guiana, life expectancy is between 2 and 3 years below that of France, reflecting differences in mortality rates that are largely sensitive to primary healthcare and thus preventable. However, because poverty affects half of the population in French Guiana, global measurements of life expectancy presumably conflate at least two distinct situations: persons who have similar life expectancies as in mainland France and persons living in precariousness who have far greater mortality rates than their wealthier counterparts. We thus aimed to synthesize what is known about statistical regularities regarding exposures and sketch typical French Guiana exposomes in relation to health outcomes. We conducted a narrative review on common exposures in French Guiana and made comparisons between French Guiana and mainland France, between rich and poor in French Guiana, and between urban and rural areas within French Guiana. The most striking fact this panorama shows is that being a fetus or a young child in French Guiana is fraught with multiple threats. In French Guiana, poverty and poor pregnancy follow-up; renouncing healthcare; wide variety of infectious diseases; very high prevalence of food insecurity; psychosocial stress; micronutrient deficiencies; obesity and metabolic problems; and frequent exposure to lead and mercury in rural areas constitute a stunningly challenging exposome for a new human being to develop into. A substantial part of the population's health is hence affected by poverty and its sources of nutrition.

Machine Learning as a Tool for Hypothesis Generation

Abstract While hypothesis testing is a highly formalized activity, hypothesis generation remains largely informal. We propose a systematic procedure to generate novel hypotheses about human behavior, which uses the capacity of machine learning algorithms to notice patterns people might not. We illustrate the procedure with a concrete application: judge decisions about whom to jail. We begin with a striking fact: the defendant’s face alone matters greatly for the judge’s jailing decision. In fact, an algorithm given only the pixels in the defendant’s mug shot accounts for up to half of the predictable variation. We develop a procedure that allows human subjects to interact with this black-box algorithm to produce hypotheses about what in the face influences judge decisions. The procedure generates hypotheses that are both interpretable and novel: they are not explained by demographics (e.g., race) or existing psychology research, nor are they already known (even if tacitly) to people or experts. Though these results are specific, our procedure is general. It provides a way to produce novel, interpretable hypotheses from any high-dimensional data set (e.g., cell phones, satellites, online behavior, news headlines, corporate filings, and high-frequency time series). A central tenet of our article is that hypothesis generation is a valuable activity, and we hope this encourages future work in this largely “prescientific” stage of science.

Empirical investigation of the relationship between consanguineous marriage and prevalence of β-thalassemia in Punjab, Pakistan

It is a striking fact that β-thalassemia has become a common single gene disorder among the children. Among the contributing factors, overwhelmed practice of consanguineous marriage is one of the most prominent reason of the high rate prevalence of β-thalassemia in Pakistan. Therefore, the present research was conducted to investigate the relationship between consanguineous marriage and prevalence of β-thalassemia in Punjab, Pakistan. The nature of study was cross-sectional and quantitative. The study was conducted in the Children’s Hospital, Lahore and Multan. Purposive sampling technique was used and sample of 300 parents was drawn. A well-structured research questionnaire was used to collect the data from the parents. The results indicate that rate of β –Thalassemia is significantly higher (76.7%) in first cousin marriage as compared to the second cousin marriage (23.3%). The trend of thalassemia major among male patients is higher (76.31%) in first cousin marriage as compared to the second cousin marriage (23.69%). Similarly, the prevalence of thalassemia Intermedia is significantly prevalent higher (67.5%) among male patients in first cousin marriage as compared to the second cousin marriage. The above findings can be concluded that there was a strong relationship between consanguineous marriage and prevalence of β-thalassemia in Punjab, Pakistan.

COHERENCE ASSEMBLY IN STRUCTURES WITH HEAVY METAL CLUSTERS

A crystallographic analysis of two structures, monoclinic Nа8[{Re4(PO)4}(CN)12]⋅18H2O⋅CH3OH (I) and orthorhombic [(C6H5)4P]4 [Ta6I12(CN6)] (II), in which clusters of heavy atoms are significantly rarefied in space, so that their mutual arrangement cannot be explained only in terms of chemical interaction, has been performed. In structure I the crystallographic planes with a high atomic density (“skeletal” planes) are located in the regions with dhkl = 10–5.5 Å and dhkl 3 Å. The planes in which atomic groups [Re4(PO)4] (playing the role of unified bulk objects) are concentrated are in fact selected in the first region. In the second region, ordering is implemented at the level of individual atoms. A crystallographic analysis showed that the structure basis is determined by the sites of heavy Re cations. A striking fact is that there are 1152 subcells and only 32 Re atoms per unit cell in this structure; i.e., only the fraction of 1/144 provides the basis of structure stability. In structure II “skeletal” planes are also absent in the range of dhkl from ∼7 to ∼4 Å. The planes in the range of large dhkl characterize cluster ordering, whereas the planes in the range of small dhkl characterize ordering of separate atoms. The geometry and local symmetry of the cluster group (Та6 octahedron) dictates the basis of translational symmetry—unified sublattice of sites, most of which are free of these atoms. The considered structures demonstrate the key role of heavy atoms in the formation of translational symmetry—the fundamental difference of the crystalline state from other condensed states. The newly formed structure retains partially local symmetry of cores (templates) of atomic groups, bound by strong chemical interactions, including the interactions between heavy and light atoms. The process of formation of a crystal structure from randomly oriented and randomly located templates—coherence assembly—is implemented according to the laws of dynamics of elastic media, where masses of atoms rather than their chemical characteristics are important.

Universal Weil module

The classical construction of the Weil representation, with complex coefficients, has long been expected to work for more general coefficient rings. This paper exhibits the minimal ring $\mathcal{A}$ for which this is possible, the integral closure of $\mathbb{Z}[\frac{1}{p}]$ in a cyclotomic field, and carries out the construction of the Weil representation over $\mathcal{A}$-algebras. As a leitmotif all along the work, most of the problems can actually be solved over the base ring $\mathcal{A}$ and transferred to any $\mathcal{A}$-algebra by scalar extension. The most striking fact is that all these Weil representations arise as the scalar extension of a single one with coefficients in $\mathcal{A}$. In this sense, the Weil module obtained is universal. Building upon this construction, we speculate and make predictions about an integral theta correspondence.

The problem of nomological harmony

AbstractOur universe features a harmonious match between laws and states: applying its laws to its states generates other states. This is a striking fact. Matters might have been otherwise. The universe might have been stillborn in a state unengaged by its laws. The problem of nomological harmony is that of explaining the noted striking fact. After introducing and developing this problem, we canvass candidate solutions and identify some of their virtues and vices. Candidate solutions invoke the likes of a designer, axiarchic meta‐laws, multiverses, essential causal powers, and Humean laws.

Opinions Related to the Potential Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the Responsible in Charge of the Administrative Management Related to the Logistics and Supply Chain of Medical Stock in Health Centers in North of Chile

The research evaluated the opinion of those in charge of the administrative management of the logistics and supply chain of medical and pharmaceutical stocks of health care centers in the north of Chile and a potential improvement of their operations through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The identification of the problem arose from the empirical analysis, where serious deficiencies in the manual handling and management of the stock of medicines and hospital supplies were evidenced. This deficiency does not allow a timely response to the demand of the logistics and supply chain, causing stock ruptures in health centers. Based on this finding, we asked ourselves how AI was observed as the most efficient tool to solve this difficulty. The results were obtained through surveys of personnel in charge of hospital and pharmacy supplies. The questions focused on the level of training, seniority in positions related to the problem, knowledge of regulations, degree of innovation in the procedures used in logistics and supply chain and procurement. However, a very striking fact was related to the importance of the use of AI, where, very surprisingly, 64.7% considered that it would not help to reduce human errors generated in the areas analyzed.

Afterword: Reassessing Arabic in South Asia

In his learned and stimulating article that helps frame the contributions to this roundtable while also outlining directions for future work in this area, Nile Green notes the striking fact that it has been nearly a hundred years since the last substantial English survey of the field was attempted. That was M. G. Zubaid Ahmad's “Contribution of India to Arabic Literature,” completed as a PhD dissertation under the supervision of the noted Orientalist Sir Thomas Arnold (d. 1930) at the School of Oriental Studies (as it was then known), University of London, in 1929. It was subsequently published with a preface by another distinguished Orientalist, Sir Hamilton Gibb (d. 1971), and retains some scholarly interest to this day.1 That interest lies not only in the descriptions of the many Arabic-language works it lists—going well beyond Carl Brockelmann's classic Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur in this respect—but also, in hindsight, in the assumptions that guide Ahmad's work. Ahmad believed there was little in the Arabic literature surveyed that showed any originality, partly because there was not much remaining to be said in fields like Qur'anic exegesis, the reported teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (hadith), or law by the time Indian scholars began engaging seriously with these subjects. It was also partly to do with an intellectual decline well underway by the time relevant areas of inquiry had reached India. The intellectual landscape remained unrelieved whether one looked at religious or secular literature, or even at writings in Persian for that matter: “… in spite of the abundance of Persian literature produced in India, nothing original is found in these contributions.”2

Decay for strain gradient porous elastic waves

We study the one-dimensional problem for the linear strain gradient porous elasticity. Our aim is to analyze the behavior of the solutions with respect to the time variable when a dissipative structural mechanism is introduced in the system. We consider five different scenarios: hyperviscosity and viscosity for the displacement component and hyperviscoporosity, viscoporosity and weak viscoporosity for the porous component. We only apply one of these mechanisms at a time. We obtain the exponential decay of the solutions in the case of viscosity and a similar result for the viscoporosity. Nevertheless, in the hyperviscosity case (respectively hyperviscoporosity) the decay is slow and it can be controlled at least by t^{-1/2}. Slow decay is also expected for the weak viscoporosity in the generic case, although a particular combination of the constitutive parameters leads to the exponential decay. We want to emphasize the fact that the hyperviscosity (respectively hyperviscoporosity) is a stronger dissipative mechanism than the viscosity (respectively viscoporosity); however, in this situation, the second mechanism seems to be more “efficient” than the first one in order to pull along the solutions rapidly to zero. This is a striking fact that we have not seen previously at any other linear coupling system. Finally, we also present some numerical simulations by using the finite element method and the Newmark-beta scheme to show the behavior of the energy decay of the solutions to the above problems, including a comparison between the hyperviscosity and the viscosity cases.

Moral principle explanations of supervenience

Non-naturalists realists about morality face the challenge of explaining the supervenience of the moral facts on the natural facts. An influential recent suggestion, developed by Scanlon (2014) and Fogal and Risberg (2020), is that the non-naturalist can easily explain supervenience by appealing to explanatory moral principles, or metaphysical laws. The idea is that the general moral principles are necessary and so trivially supervene on the natural facts, while the particular moral facts are explained by the general, necessary, moral principles and the natural facts so they supervene on the natural facts too. I argue that such a strategy is unsuccessful. Either it (i) fails to explain supervenience because it doesn’t correctly identify the difference-makers for supervenience, or it (ii) does explain supervenience, but only by postulating another striking fact—and it cannot give a satisfactory explanation of this fact that properly identifies the difference-makers. Making sense of supervenience is one of the key challenges for a non-naturalist metaphysics of modality. Views based on moral principles look like they fail this challenge. Consequently, the non-naturalist should look to other metaphysical machinery to develop their view.

Taxation of wealth and the rich as a social imperative

The subject of the article is the problem of taxing the rich and wealth, which is among the topical topics of public interest. The study aimed to highlight the latest initiative of a group of American multimillionaires to increase the level of tax rates on this ultra-rich category of taxpayers. This initiative can be considered a solidarity tax. The task was to characterize the quantitative indicators of this initiative. The article is motivated by the striking fact that 400 American ultra-billionaires have a total wealth worth 4 thousand billion dollars! The role of the research method of the problem was carried out by analyzing the quantitative parameters and fiscal and administrative features of taxation of the rich. Results of work. First of all, the results of the study consist in the interpretation of the multicomponent concept of wealth as an object of taxation. The impossibility of a general income and property tax is revealed, such a tax exists only as an unrealized project. The fiscal and administrative reasons for the abandonment of the inheritance tax in 21 countries, including Austria, Canada, Sweden and Israel, are clarified. Conclusions. The arguments are presented that property taxes harm the processes of wealth creation and capital. For this reason, the share of property taxes in tax revenues has fallen from 42% to 14% since the beginning of the XX century. The most significant fiscal potential for strengthening the taxation of the rich are taxes on income and profits. A quantitative and institutional analysis of existing wealth taxes in Norway and Switzerland was carried out. A serious fiscal and administrative problem of wealth taxes is the valuation of taxable assets. The wealth taxes have very great, virtually inexhaustible scientific and practical potential.

Understanding the exceptional pre-vaccination Era East Asian COVID-19 outcomes.

During the first year of the pandemic, East Asian countries have reported fewer infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 disease than most countries in Europe and the Americas. Our goal in this paper is to generate and evaluate hypothesis that may explain this striking fact. We consider five possible explanations: (1) population age structure (younger people tend to have less severe COVID-19 disease upon infection than older people); (2) the early adoption of lockdown strategies to control disease spread; (3) genetic differences between East Asian population and European and American populations that confer protection against COVID-19 disease; (4) seasonal and climactic contributors to COVID-19 spread; and (5) immunological differences between East Asian countries and the rest of the world. The evidence suggests that the first four hypotheses are unlikely to be important in explaining East Asian COVID-19 exceptionalism. Lockdowns, in particular, fail as an explanation because East Asian countries experienced similarly good infection outcomes despite vast differences in lockdown policies adopted by different countries to control the COVID-19 epidemic. The evidence to date is consistent with our fifth hypothesis – pre-existing immunity unique to East Asia – but there are still essential parts of this story left for scientists to check.

Optimization of a variable-temperature heat pump drying process of shiitake mushrooms using response surface methodology

Quality, energy consumption, and production efficiency are paramount factors for optimizing a shiitake mushroom drying process, which are often mutually restrained. This paper adopts the response surface methodology to optimize a variable-temperature drying process of shiitake mushrooms based on a comprehensive score considering the above three aspects. A mode-switchable heat pump drying system is specially built to implement a variable-temperature drying process including four stages in which drying temperatures are 35 °C, 45 °C, 55 °C, and 65 °C, respectively. It is demonstrated that the drying time at 55 °C is the most important factor affecting the rehydration ratio of dried shiitake mushrooms, and the drying time at 35 °C is the key factor affecting the coefficient of performance of the heat pump. Moreover, according to the comprehensive score, the optimal drying time at 35 °C, 45 °C, 55 °C, and 65 °C are 2.4 h, 3.3 h, 5.6 h, and 2.6 h, respectively. The comprehensive score of the optimal drying process is 0.837 which is 49% higher than that of constant-temperature drying at 65 °C. One striking fact is that a valuable theoretical and experimental guideline is provided for future research on heat pump drying of shiitake mushrooms.

THE PARALLEL MARCH OF THE GINIS How does taxation relate to inequality, and what can be done about it?

THE PARALLEL MARCH OF THE GINIS How does taxation relate to inequality, and what can be done about it?

Performance analysis on open thermochemical sorption heat storage from a real mass transfer perspective

Internal mass transfer coefficient is considered as a key parameter for open thermochemical sorption heat storage which usually has a large margin between theoretical and actual value. This paper aims to analyze the role of mass transfer on system performance prediction. Al2O3 and LiCl composite sorbents are prepared and adsorption behavior is tested through a thermal gravimetric analyzer and a small-scale air duct experiment. An equation of kinetic coefficient is fitted to describe adsorption process more accurate than empirical equation. For simulation, a one-dimensional model is established based on dimensionless number of heat and mass transfer, and similarity theory is built to predict output parameters. Results indicate that the sorbent with 16.44 % salt content reaches 0.39 g·g−1 maximum water uptake on the condition of 20 °C, 80 % relative humidity. It is indicated that the system using composite sorbents has a heat storage density of 345.58 kWh·m−3. Parameters that influence system output power and duration are also investigated. By adjusting air flow rate and sorption length of sorption reactor, the system can achieve temperature rise of 30 °C at the exit and a steady output of 6 h. One striking fact is that mass transfer coefficient can be used to well predict the performance of real open adsorption thermal energy storage system which is also conducive to system design and optimization.

Soft charisma as an impediment to fundamentalist discourse

The Anthroposophical Society in Sweden is, in the view of many of its members, going through tough times. Times of crisis and the search for a collective identity often inspire the formation of ideological rifts within a larger religious community. One way of responding to challenges is by turning to doctrines and texts stemming from a purportedly pristine past for guidance – in other words, by developing a fundamentalist discourse. A striking fact about the Anthroposophical Society, in Sweden as well as internationally, is that such returns to a set of canonical texts by the founder of the movement appear to be self-defeating. There are deeply rooted structural features within the Anthroposophical Society as an institution that impede any one voice from gaining significant traction and imposing a collective identity upon the movement. This article uses the example of the Anthroposophical Society in Sweden and the conundrum it repeatedly faces when addressing a perceived crisis in order to formulate a model of charismatic leadership that more generally accounts for the lack of success of fundamentalist discourses in religious movements with certain types of organisational culture.

Trends and Determinants of Cigarette Tax Increases in Japan: The Role of Revenue Targeting.

Cigarette prices in Japan are lower than those in most other high-income countries. A more striking fact is that cigarette tax revenues have been kept almost flat at just over two trillion JPY (Japanese yen; 18.2 billion US dollars) over more than three decades, despite steadily declining cigarette sales and seemingly weakening pressure from stakeholders with a vested interest in the tobacco industry. We attempted to examine trends and determinants of cigarette tax increases in Japan. In particular, we hypothesized that the Japanese finance ministry adjusts cigarette taxes to meet a revenue target. Under this hypothesis, we searched for the most plausible amount of the minimum target of tax revenue that corresponds to cigarette tax increases over the past 37 years (1985–2021) using public data on cigarette sales and taxes. The results revealed that two trillion JPY was the minimal revenue target that could plausibly explain the increase in cigarette tax. In addition, the timing and magnitude of cigarette tax increases have been successfully set to maintain stable tax revenues. A key determinant of cigarette tax increases in Japan has been hard revenue targets, rather than public health concerns.

Adaptive Coordinated Path Tracking Control Strategy for Autonomous Vehicles with Direct Yaw Moment Control

It is a striking fact that the path tracking accuracy of autonomous vehicles based on active front wheel steering is poor under high-speed and large-curvature conditions. In this study, an adaptive path tracking control strategy that coordinates active front wheel steering and direct yaw moment is proposed based on model predictive control algorithm. The recursive least square method with a forgetting factor is used to identify the rear tire cornering stiffness and update the path tracking system prediction model. To adaptively adjust the priorities of path tracking accuracy and vehicle stability, an adaptive strategy based on fuzzy rules is applied to change the weight coefficients in the cost function. An adaptive control strategy for coordinating active front steering and direct yaw moment is proposed to improve the path tracking accuracy under high-speed and large-curvature conditions. To ensure vehicle stability, the sideslip angle, yaw rate and zero moment methods are used to construct optimization constraints based on the model predictive control frame. It is verified through simulation experiments that the proposed adaptive coordinated control strategy can improve the path tracking accuracy and ensure vehicle stability under high-speed and large-curvature conditions.