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We investigated the effect of kinship on mate selection by males of the neotropical primitively eusocial paper wasp Polistes versicolor. By conducting short-time, paired, consecutive, dyadic encounters, in which a male was randomly introduced separately to a related and an unrelated female in a small glass arena, we were able to observe and measure the male sexual display. We found that male sexual interest toward a female was not affected by kinship, even after controlling the differences in female behavior. Despite our finding that males were as eager to harass females, regardless of kinship, previous evidence suggested that incestuous copulation (inbreeding) in natural populations of P. versicolor appeared to be avoided. We suggest that in the natural mating habitat of the native population that we studied, in which many colonies were able to produce males and reproductive females in a short time window, the probability of finding related sexual partners was low, hence, intersexual kin discrimination did not evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show that interpersonal relations impact behavior change. Yet, a comprehensive review of their efficacy remains unclear. This systematic review examines the efficacy of dyadic and group-based studies that intervened on primary endpoints: diet, PA, and weight loss in adults and their networks. We searched five databases for eligible articles published from 1980 to present. Final inclusion and risk of bias were independently determined and agreed upon by two of the paper's co-authors. Nine dyads and twelve group-based studies were eligible. Of the studies, 36% (4/11) of PA studies, 60% (3/5) of diet studies and 57% (8/14) of studies with weight loss as primary outcomes, reported significant findings. Compared to dyadic interventions, a greater proportion of group-based interventions demonstrated efficacy in PA gain and weight loss as outcomes. Approximately 43% of studies demonstrated low to moderate methodological quality. This systematic review synthesized the evidence of dyadic and group studies that intervened on PA, diet, and weight in adults from the same network. Moderately-high risk of bias and lack of diverse representation restricts inferences around efficacy. High-quality rigorous research is needed to understand the efficacy of dyadic and group-based interventions in addressing these co-occurring endpoints of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people that offend evidence higher rates of trauma and post-traumatic distress than non-offending peers. Effects of post-traumatic distress also parallel research on some young people that participate in restorative justice (RJ) meetings who struggle with communication, emotionally withdraw, become agitated or defiant, evidence poor understanding of harms they have caused, or fail to demonstrate empathy or remorse. In this paper I suggest post-traumatic distress may explain some variation in RJ process and outcomes hitherto ignored in existing research. I also suggest research on trauma in young people raises four areas of concern for thinking about RJ as a "trauma-informed" practice, including impacts of trauma and post-traumatic distress on (1) oral language proficiency and non-verbal communication; (2) the experience and expression of emotions; (3) offender perceptions of fairness and respect; and (4) difficulties in behavioural changes following participation in RJ meetings. I conclude with discussion of challenges to and suggestions for using RJ as a trauma-informed practice in youth justice settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines both theoretically and empirically the link between pro-social behaviours, individual attitudes regarding waste prevention and disposal, and individual recycling behaviour in Italy at the end of the 1990s, in a period in which policy makers started to make the population aware of the importance of waste prevention, disposal and recycling. In the theoretical framework, following Czajkowski et al. (Environ Resour Econ 66:647–670, 2017), we develop a utility function that represents the individual level of satisfaction, which is influenced by certain aspects related to environmental quality. In the empirical analysis, using the 1998 wave of the multipurpose household survey (MHS) conducted by the Italian Central Statistical Office and probit models, we show a positive relationship between pro-social behaviours, waste concern and recycling behaviour that is robust to the inclusion of social capital variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of the indoor classroom environment on students' learning efficiency. The research is based on a classroom smart monitoring and a questionnaire about the students' assessment of the comfort conditions and learning efficiency. Multisensor devices are used to measure the indoor temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 concentration at the students' desks. Data analysis concerned an investigation of the spatial and temporal variation of the comfort parameters and their correlation with students' assessment of comfort conditions and learning efficiency. The results show a significant spatial variation in the indoor comfort conditions, particularly for temperature and CO2 concentration. The indoor temperature could exceed by up to 5 °C, the temperature threshold limits value in France's public buildings. At the beginning of the class, the learning efficiency correlates well with the students' assessment of comfort conditions. At the end of the class, the results show a weak correlation with both recorded comfort parameters and the students' assessment of the indoor conditions. The results indicate a decrease in learning efficiency during the class. However, students do not mainly attribute this decrease to the degradation in indoor conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to discuss the regularity of the weak solution to a class of non-linear equations corresponding to Hardy-Sobolev type inequality on the H-type group. Combining the Serrin's idea and the Moser's iteration, L p estimates of the weak solution are obtained, which generalize the results of Garofalo and Vassilev in [6, 14]. As an application, asymptotic behavior of the weak solution has been discussed. Finally, doubling property and unique continuation of the weak solution are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of in situ observational tools has significantly contributed to the study of deep-sea cephalopods and exploration of their habitat in the last decades. In this paper, we report in situ observations of rarely observed deep-sea Mediterranean cephalopods (Chiroteuthis veranyi, Chtenopteryx sicula, and Octopoteuthis sicula). These cephalopods were encountered during a scientific expedition, aimed at characterizing the biodiversity of a deep-sea area in the northern Ionian Sea. Images and video were collected by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) between 537 and 1248 m. Chromatic, postural, locomotor, and bioluminescent behavioral components were reported for each species. This was the first time that O. sicula was filmed in its habitat and all individuals showed hovering and an arm spread posture with the arm tips exposed, producing an intermittent bioluminescence. Furthermore, our observations on six living specimens of C. sicula represent exceptional events, since this species was only observed once in the eastern Mediterranean in 2012. Overall, five females and a mature male of C. sicula were observed; the male had a large dorsal light organ. Finally, an individual of C. veranyi was observed consuming a large lanternfish (Myctophidae). In the near future, in situ explorations in the Mediterranean should be implemented to shed light on deep-sea cephalopods inhabiting this basin and fill information gaps on the biology, ecology, and behavior of elusive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this note we correct an error in the paper (Ariza-Ruiz et al. in J Optim Theory Appl 167:409–429, 2015). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this note, we make two revisions of the paper [2]. The first one is the asymptotic behavior of the energy functional as t → T (see [2, Theorem 1.6]), where T is the blow-up time. The second one is the equivalent conditions for the solutions blowing up in finite time or existing globally (see [2, Theorem 1.8]). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a complementation work of the paper referred in Jorge Silva, Muñoz Rivera and Racke (Appl Math Optim 73:165–194, 2016) where the authors proposed a semi-linear viscoelastic Kirchhoff plate model. While in [28] it is presented a study on well-posedness and energy decay rates in a historyless memory context, here our main goal is to consider the problem in a past history framework and then analyze its long-time behavior through the corresponding autonomous dynamical system. More specifically, our results are concerned with the existence of finite dimensional attractors as well as their intrinsic properties from the dynamical systems viewpoint. In addition, we also present a physical justification of the model under consideration. Hence, our new achievements complement those established in [28] to the case of memory in a history space setting and extend the results in Jorge Silva and Ma (IMA J Appl Math 78:1130–1146, 2013, J Math Phys 54:021505, 2013) to the case of dissipation only given by the memory term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although widely believed by pediatricians and parents to be safe for use in infants and children when used as directed, increasing evidence indicates that early life exposure to paracetamol (acetaminophen) may cause long-term neurodevelopmental problems. Furthermore, recent studies in animal models demonstrate that cognitive development is exquisitely sensitive to paracetamol exposure during early development. In this study, evidence for the claim that paracetamol is safe was evaluated using a systematic literature search. Publications on PubMed between 1974 and 2017 that contained the keywords "infant" and either "paracetamol" or "acetaminophen" were considered. Of those initial 3096 papers, 218 were identified that made claims that paracetamol was safe for use with infants or children. From these 218, a total of 103 papers were identified as sources of authority for the safety claim. Conclusion: A total of 52 papers contained actual experiments designed to test safety, and had a median follow-up time of 48 h. None monitored neurodevelopment. Furthermore, no trial considered total exposure to drug since birth, eliminating the possibility that the effects of drug exposure on long-term neurodevelopment could be accurately assessed. On the other hand, abundant and sufficient evidence was found to conclude that paracetamol does not induce acute liver damage in babies or children when used as directed. What is Known: • Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is widely thought by pediatricians and parents to be safe when used as directed in the pediatric population, and is the most widely used drug in that population, with more than 90% of children exposed to the drug in some reports. • Paracetamol is known to cause liver damage in adults under conditions of oxidative stress or when used in excess, but increasing evidence from studies in humans and in laboratory animals indicates that the target organ for paracetamol toxicity during early development is the brain, not the liver. What is New: • This study finds hundreds of published reports in the medical literature asserting that paracetamol is safe when used as directed, providing a foundation for the widespread belief that the drug is safe. • This study shows that paracetamol was proven to be safe by approximately 50 short-term studies demonstrating the drug's safety for the pediatric liver, but the drug was never shown to be safe for neurodevelopment. Paracetamol is widely believed to be safe for infants and children when used as directed, despite mounting evidence in humans and in laboratory animals indicating that the drug is not safe for neurodevelopment. An exhaustive search of published work cited for safe use of paracetamol in the pediatric population revealed 52 experimental studies pointing toward safety, but the median follow-up time was only 48 h, and neurodevelopment was never assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experimental investigation and numerical modeling of the mechanical behavior and damage of the near-surface layer of mechanical parts, pre-machined by the EDM process. The intended purpose is therefore to understand and then predict the impact of this process on the service life of machined parts. In situ mini-tensile tests under XRD were performed to characterize the mechanical behavior of the near-surface layer preloaded by the residual stress and strain-hardening gradients previously induced by the EDM process. These tests were also used to identify the parameters associated with the numerical model. The results of this study revealed that the interface between the base material and the near-surface layer is the seat of a significant incompatibility of plastic deformations, which accelerates the rate of damage in this zone and supports the development of microcracks. This cracking tendency is enhanced by the omnipresence of residual stress and strain-hardening gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an analysis of unique video materials recorded over four seasons in 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2019 on one of the main hauling grounds of the Baikal seal Pusa sibirica on Tonkii Ushkan Islet (Lake Baikal), original information is reported on its utilization patterns in summer and fall. The seal is shown to use the shore intensively for 5–6 months annually from May to October, sometimes staying until early November. This paper describes the daily and seasonal dynamics of utilization of the hauling grounds and estimates their ecological carrying capacity (approximately 300 individuals). Staying ashore is a vital necessity to a large part of the population, as each season thousands individuals of both sexes and different ages appear to pass through the hauling ground areas. The main purpose of the hauling grounds along with relaxation is the need to complete molting, since molting individuals account for 40–60% of the animals on the hauling grounds. This is due to climate change in the region; in particular, the altered ice regime, which prevents the animals from completing molting on floating ice. Numerous animals in haul-outs display pathological conditions (scars, sores, and recent injuries), mostly on the skin and hair cover. The main factor of animal fright is human disturbance, due to which the Baikal seal leaves the shore daily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we take inspiration from original institutional economics (OIE) as an approach to study value change within the highly complex assembly of sociotechnical transformations that make up the energy transition. OIE is examined here as a suitable perspective, as it combines Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy and a methodological interactionist perspective on value change, behavior and institutions, with technology figuring as a transformational factor. This combination overcomes conceptual and methodological shortcomings of alternative accounts of values. We will present the contours of an OIE based conceptual framework connecting nature, humans, technology, the economic process, society, culture and institutions and habits, valuation and behavior. We illustrate how to use this framework to examine and understand how environmental, ecologic, safety, economic, and social concerns about the energy transition are (re)framed as (new) values in the belief systems and habits of individuals and groups. Moreover, we will explore how that may give rise to collective action, via the institutionalization of such revised values in the procedures, arrangements, norms and incentives guiding transactions. As such, this approach allows us in a fine-grained manner to conceptually and theoretically understand the way in which values change in the energy-transition, as a complex interaction of technology development and social relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to best deliver goods to consumers has been a logistics question since time immemorial. However, almost all traditional delivery models involved a form of company employees, whether employees of the company manufacturing the goods or whether employees of the company transporting the goods. With the growth of the gig economy, however, a new model not involving company employees has emerged: relying on crowdsourced delivery. Crowdsourced delivery involves enlisting individuals to deliver goods and interacting with these individuals using the internet. In crowdsourced delivery, the interaction with the individuals typically occurs through a platform. Importantly, the crowdsourced couriers are not employed by the platform and this has fundamentally changed the planning and execution of the delivery of goods: the delivery capacity is no longer under (full) control of the company managing the delivery. We present the challenges this introduces, review how the research community has proposed to handle some of these challenges, and elaborate on the challenges that have not yet been addressed. In this update, we expand the literature review and discuss new challenges that have emerged in the past years. (This is an updated version of the paper “Challenges and Opportunities in Crowdsourced Delivery Planning and Operations” that appeared in 4OR, 20(1), 1-21 (2022)). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As internet information technology continues to advance, individuals are increasingly encountering and managing a vast volume of data and information. A large and complex amount of information hinders the effective transmission of valuable information, making it difficult to find multimedia content of interest in the vastness of the internet. As the volume of multimedia content rapidly grows, personalized recommendation algorithms play a crucial role in matching relevant content to users. Knowledge graphs, due to their powerful organizational and relationship processing capabilities, are commonly applied in intelligent search engines and recommendation systems. This article focuses on the effective utilization of semantic association information in knowledge graphs for multimedia content recommendation. Two main areas of research are conducted. In this article, two novel approaches are presented. To begin with, the primary objective is to improve the learning of knowledge feature representation. This is achieved by introducing a model based on self-attention, which effectively captures the diverse significance of triplets in determining the semantics of entities. This leads to improved quality of knowledge feature representation, thereby serving as valuable auxiliary information for multimedia content recommendation systems. Secondly, the article addresses the integration of knowledge graphs in multimedia content recommendation applications. This paper proposes a content recommendation algorithm that integrates a combined embedding of behavior and knowledge features. By leveraging past preferences and utilizing the semantic structure of knowledge graphs, this algorithm provides a comprehensive exploration of user interests and hobbies. Ultimately, this conducts extensive experiments to assess the effectiveness and performance of the proposed algorithms. The results validate the feasibility and efficacy of these algorithms in enhancing multimedia content recommendation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the contributions of research that include gender perspective in analysing the sexual experiences of women diagnosed with serious mental illness and to identify any barriers and systems that impede sexual fulfilment. We have developed a qualitative literature review using the PRISMA statement. The databases SCOPUS, WOS and PsychINFO were used in this review. Studies were included if they were published up to March 15, 2022, and only studies in English were included. An initial database search was preformed; upon screening for eligibility, there remained 16 studies that explored the sexual experiences of women with diagnoses of serious mental illness. The studies were analysed by a thematic synthesis. Data was coded line-by-line which generated descriptive themes, resulting in four synthesised findings. The four synthesised findings that derived from the reviewed studies were stigma and subjectivity, the experience of interpersonal relationships, the socialisation of women and the effects of psychiatric hegemony. A feminist perspective highlights the interrelationship between gender and stigma as it relates to serious mental illness and sexuality. A feminist perspective and an intersectional approach should be adopted at the intersubjective and structural level to account for the complexity of human experience and to subvert the heteropatriarchal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terms 'coexistence', 'tolerance,' and 'acceptance' appear frequently in conservation literature, but lack consistent characterization, making them difficult to apply across intervention frameworks. This review aims to describe the common characterizations of these three terms using Africa-based research as a case study. Through systematic lexical searches, we identified 392 papers containing one or more of the three terms. We assessed their usage, definition, and measurement (or lack thereof) in wildlife conservation. Coexistence was used in 46% of papers, but was defined in only 2% and measured in 4%. Tolerance and acceptance were used in 63% and 61% of the papers in which they appeared, respectively, defined in 4% and 2%, and measured in 19% and 5%. These results confirm the lack of clear understanding of these concepts and evidence the need for a precise lexicon. This would allow conservationists to cohesively describe their work and increase replicability of research across contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments throughout the globe usually implement early warning systems to prevent health-related costs from exposure to extreme heat. In a warming world, this type of information-provision approach is believed to be an effective way to deal with this natural hazard, even when there is little evidence of its influence on individuals' behavior. Using detailed information from 1 million trips recorded by a bike-sharing system in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this paper investigates the direct behavioral impact of heat warnings on cycling trips. The results show substantial avoidance behavior for female cyclists and older users: the number of trips for those groups decreases following a heat warning. Alternative specifications for temperature and falsification tests suggest that the findings are robust. As in other studies, this paper also shows that the impact is diluted as time under alert increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been long recognised that some of the fundamental and engineering properties of soils exhibit a certain degree of anisotropy that eventually dictates their directional geoengineering behaviours. Consideration of the importance of the volume change behaviour of soils during shrinkage and a critical review of the literature suggests scopes for further research for the development of a better understanding of the anisotropy in volume change encountered during soil shrinkage. In this paper, anisotropy in volumetric shrinkage behaviour of soil is depicted with the theory of geometry factor and shrinkage strains. A systematic investigation and analysis on the evolution of geometry factors and shrinkage strains of several geomaterial samples during evaporative dewatering is reported herein. A theoretical framework for evaluating shrinkage geometry factors of a cylindrical soil specimen undergoing volume change during progressive moisture loss is described in this paper. Furthermore, based on experimental and literature data, shrinkage geometry factors of several specimens differing in terms of gradational properties, specimen size, evaporative boundary condition and pore fluid salinity are evaluated and discussed in detail in accordance with the theoretical framework. Linkages between shrinkage process, shrinkages strains and geometry factor are also analysed to underpin the usage of geometry factor and shrinkage strains to characterise anisotropy during soil shrinkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elasticity in cloud is essential to the effective management of computational resources as it enables readjustment at runtime to meet application demands. Over the years, researchers and practitioners have proposed many auto-scaling solutions using versatile techniques ranging from simple if-then-else based rules to sophisticated optimisation, control theory and machine learning based methods. However, despite an extensive range of existing elasticity research, the aim of implementing an efficient scaling technique that satisfies the actual demands is still a challenge to achieve. The existing methods suffer from issues like: (1) the lack of adaptability and static scaling behaviour whilst considering completely fixed approaches; (2) the burden of additional computational overhead, the inability to cope with the sudden changes in the workload behaviour and the preference of adaptability over reliability at runtime whilst considering the fully dynamic approaches; and (3) the lack of considering uncertainty aspects while designing auto-scaling solutions. In this paper, we aim to address these issues using a holistic biologically-inspired feedback switch controller. This method utilises multiple controllers and a switching mechanism, implemented using fuzzy system, that realises the selection of suitable controller at runtime. The fuzzy system also facilitates the design of qualitative elasticity rules. Furthermore, to improve the possibility of avoiding the oscillatory behaviour (a problem commonly associated with switch methodologies), this paper integrates a biologically-inspired computational model of action selection. Lastly, we identify seven different kinds of real workload patterns and utilise them to evaluate the performance of the proposed method against the state-of-the-art approaches. The obtained computational results demonstrate that the proposed method results in achieving better performance without incurring any additional cost in comparison to the state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we finish the proof of the Main Theorem on the L-surface, i.e., Theorem 2.1.4 in part (I) of this paper [1], to which the reader is also referred for basic notation. In Sections 3–5 we develop the basic form of the shortline method. In the subsequent papers this basic form will be be extended and modified in many different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a deterministic and stochastic SIQS epidemic model with vertical transmission and Beddington–DeAngelis incidence. Firstly, for the corresponding deterministic system, the global asymptotic stability of disease-free equilibrium and the endemic equilibrium is proved through the stability theory. Secondly, for the stochastic system, the threshold conditions which decide the extinction or permanence of the disease are derived. By constructing suitable Lyapunov functions, we investigate the oscillation behavior of the stochastic system solution near the endemic equilibrium. The results of this paper show that there exists a great difference between the deterministic and stochastic systems, which implies that the large stochastic noise contributes to inhibiting the spread of disease. Finally, in order to validate the theoretical results, a series of numerical simulations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the concept of behavior is central to modern psychology, there is no consensus regarding what the term behavior means. The current paper focuses on disentangling two separate conceptions of the term that have added to the confusion. One meaning of the term behavior pertains to natural scientific epistemology, specifically the requirements of empirical methodology and its reliance on data that are measurable and available to public observation. The second meaning pertains to ontology and relates to the fact that at a descriptive level there are different kinds of behavioral patterns in the universe. Put simply, inanimate material objects behave differently from living organisms, which behave differently from animals, which behave differently from people. This paper introduces a "Periodic Table of Behavior" derived from Henriques', Review of General Psychology, 7, 150–182, (2003, 2011) Tree of Knowledge System to map the different kinds of behaviors that are described and examined by different sciences. It concludes by using the formulation to clarify the relationship between the methodological and ontological description of behavior and argues how the basic science of psychology can be effectively defined as the science of mental behavior going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to detect the behavior of egg breeders in self-breeding cages rapidly, a method of target location and behavior recognition based on visual images was proposed. In this study, Hy-Line Gray chickens were bred as objects. Through manual marking, the training set, validation set and test set were established, and YOLO v3 model was adopted to detect the collected images. The value of subdivision and batch size were determined by experiment. The learning rate was dynamically adjusted according to the change of loss value in the training model. Finally, the mean average precision of the trained model on the validation set was 92.09%. In this paper, the recognition rates of six kinds of behaviors in the morning and in the afternoon and under different densities were analyzed. Furthermore, a kind of welfare indicator was tested and abnormal behavior was evaluated. The results showed that: The mean precision rate of the six behaviors was followed by mating (94.72%), stand (94.57%), feed (93.10%), spread (92.02%), fight (88.67%) and drink (86.88%). The mean false rate ranged from low to high was spread (0.11%), mating (0.14%), fight (0.20%), drink (0.25%), feed (1.17%) and stand (8.62%). The mean missing rate ranged from low to high was mating (4.65%), stand (5.01%), feed (5.15%), spread (6.25%), fight (14.69%) and drink (15.79%). The method presented in this paper has a good effect on identifying the behavior of egg breeders, which can provide technical support for the promotion of the self-breeding mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the anomalous dispersion behavior of polyaniline–carbon nanotube (PANI–CNT) composites for various microwave bands is presented. The anomalous dispersion behavior is experimentally verified by observing group delay characteristics using vector network analyzer. In an anomalous dispersive medium, the transmission coefficient is characterized by an advancement in phase, while for a normal medium, the transmission phase shows a gradual decrease. By closely observing this property, we can correlate different material property deviations associated with the anomalous dispersion region of the sample in various microwave bands. The samples of PANI–CNT, in their powder forms, are used for the study. PANI–CNT is normally exhibiting diverse material properties compared with the normal EMI shielding materials which are inevitable for shielding applications. In this paper, the effect of anomalous behavior on various material parameters like permittivity and shielding efficiency (SE) is studied. The advantage of anomalous dispersion is that the region is characterized by a significant enhancement of SE as compared to the existing EMI shielding materials used for microwave applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, it is proved that a time fractional reaction diffusion system with reaction terms of the Brusselator type admits a global solution by using the feedback method of F. Rothe [20]. Furthermore, some results on the large time behavior of the solutions are obtained. We give a positive answer to Problem 6 of the valuable paper of Gal and Warma [6]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a literature review of research undertaken on the out-of-plane behaviour of masonry infilled frames. This paper also discusses the effects of bidirectional loads, openings, slenderness, boundary conditions etc. As numerous researchers have reported, these effects play a crucial role in achieving arching action cause, as they can bypass or limit its effectiveness. Namely, arching action leads to additional compressive forces which resist traversal ones. This is confirmed by inertial force methods of testing, while the same cannot be claimed for inter-storey drift or dynamical methods. It is to be acknowledged that most experimental tests were carried out using inertial force methods, mostly with the use of airbags. In contrast, only a few were undertaken with dynamical methods and just two with inter-storey drift methods. It was found that inertial force and inter-storey drift methods differ widely. In particular, inertial force methods damage the infill, leaving the frame more or less intact. Conversely, drift heavily damages the frame, while infill only slightly. Openings were investigated, albeit with contrasting results. Namely, in all cases, it was found that openings do lower the deformational but not all load-bearing capacities. Furthermore, analytical models have shown contrasting results between themselves and with experimental data. Models' stabilities were checked with single- and multi-variable parametric analysis from which governing factors, influences of frame and other parameters were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malicious behavior detection is a key topic that has been a focus in the field of intrusion detection. Current intrusion detection systems are primarily based on single-point monitoring and detection and cannot detect attack modes with a hidden attack frequency. The idea presented in this paper is the incorporation of API call sequence software into the analysis and the construction of behavior chains to express the behavior patterns in software. This paper introduces related definitions of behavioral points and behaviors and proposes a depth-detection method for malware based on behavior chains (MALDC). The method monitors behavior points based on API calls and then uses the calling sequence of those behavior points at runtime to construct a behavior chain. Finally, we use depth detection method based on long short-term memory(LSTM) to detect malicious behavior from the behavior chains. To verify the performance of the proposed model, we conducted a large experiment on 54,324 malware and 53,361 benign samples collected from Windows systems and used those samples to train and test the model. Comparative verification by using various classifiers showed that the behavior points extracted based on the above method and the constructed behavior chains can be used to recognize malicious behavior at a high recognition rate. The method achieved an accuracy of 98.64% with a false positive rate of less than 2% in the best case, which is a satisfactory recognition rate for detecting malicious software behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loess is susceptible to large and sudden volume reduction induced by loading or wetting. The work in this paper focused on compression and collapse behaviour of the intact loess under isotropic stress condition. To this purpose, an improved technique was introduced for the unsaturated triaxial apparatus that was capable of precise injecting know the amounts of water into the specimen, while continuously monitoring the suction. Tests were performed under two separate hydro-mechanical paths: isotropic compression at various suctions and wetting in steps at various net isotropic stresses. Experimental measurements indicated that the compression behaviour of the intact loess was highly affected by the extent of the level of the suction. The wetting-induced collapse behaviour depended on both the extent of applied net isotropic stress and the hydro-mechanical path. The collapse potential reached a maximum when the specimen was wetted at the initial yield stress. No unique of yield curve was identified from loading and wetting paths in a suction–net mean stress plane. For the same plastic volumetric strain, the suction decrease yield curve identified from wetting path appeared under the loading–collapse yield curve identified from loading path. Interestingly, the uniqueness of the yield curve was identified from loading and wetting paths in a suction–mean effective stress plane. An elastoplastic model of the intact loess under isotropic stress condition incorporating soil water retention behaviour was proposed, using the mean effective stress as constitutive stress. This model is able to reproduce the volumetric behaviour of the intact loess along constant suction paths and wetting paths quite well, using a single-valued compressibility index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides choice theoretic foundations for impulsive behavior and changing taste. Similar to other studies in the literature, revelation is possible owing to self-limitation. However, in contrast to the usual unrealistic assumption that self-limitation opportunities are exogenous and observable, we follow Laibson's classical paper by allowing for self-limitation through investing only in illiquid assets. This approach allows us to identify impulsive behavior and changing taste using only standard demand data. In addition, we provide a refinement for an individual's welfare that is based on libertarian considerations. The refinement uniquely identifies the revealed impulsiveness in our model, and ultimately leads to a notion of comparative impulsiveness. Finally, we relate the comparative impulsiveness in our model to existing measures of (ir)rationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faultless disagreement and faultless retraction have been taken to motivate relativism for predicates of personal taste, like 'tasty'. Less attention has been devoted to the question of what aspect of their meaning underlies this relativist behavior. This paper illustrates these same phenomena with a new category of expressions: appearance predicates, like 'tastes vegan' and 'looks blue'. Appearance predicates and predicates of personal taste both fall into the broader category of experiential predicates. Approaching predicates of personal taste from this angle suggests that their relativist behavior is due to their experience-sensitivity, rather than their evaluative meaning. Furthermore, appearance predicates hold interest beyond what they can teach us about predicates of personal taste. Examination of a variety of uses of appearance predicates reveals that they give rise to relativist behavior for a variety of reasons—including some that apply also to other types of expressions, such as epistemic modals and comparative terms. This paper thus serves both to probe the source of relativist behavior in discourse about personal taste, as well as to map out this kind of behavior in the rich and under-explored discourse about appearances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that wave equations have physically very important properties which should be respected by numerical schemes in order to predict correctly the solution over a long time period. In this paper, the long-time behaviour of momentum and actions for energy-preserving methods is analysed for semi-linear wave equations. A full discretisation of wave equations is derived and analysed by firstly using a spectral semi-discretisation in space and then by applying the adopted average vector field (AAVF) method in time. This numerical scheme can exactly preserve the energy of the semi-discrete system. The main theme of this paper is to analyse another important physical property of the scheme. It is shown that this scheme yields near conservation of a modified momentum and modified actions over long times. The results are rigorously proved based on the technique of modulated Fourier expansions in two stages. First, a multi-frequency modulated Fourier expansion of the AAVF method is constructed, and then two almost-invariants of the modulation system are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to model the size-dependent thermo-mechanical behaviors of a shape memory polymer (SMP) microbeam. Size-dependent constitutive equations, which can capture the size effect of the SMP, are proposed based on the modified couple stress theory (MCST). The deformation energy expression of the SMP microbeam is obtained by employing the proposed size-dependent constitutive equation and Bernoulli-Euler beam theory. An SMP microbeam model, which includes the formulations of deflection, strain, curvature, stress and couple stress, is developed by using the principle of minimum potential energy and the separation of variables together. The size-dependent thermo-mechanical and shape memory behaviors of the SMP microbeam and the influence of the Poisson ratio are numerically investigated according to the developed SMP microbeam model. Results show that the size effects of the SMP microbeam are significant when the dimensionless height is small enough. However, they are too slight to be necessarily considered when the dimensionless height is large enough. The bending flexibility and stress level of the SMP microbeam rise with the increasing dimensionless height, while the couple stress level declines with the increasing dimensionless height. The larger the dimensionless height is, the more obvious the viscous property and shape memory effect of the SMP microbeam are. The Poisson ratio has obvious influence on the size-dependent behaviors of the SMP microbeam. The paper provides a theoretical basis and a quantitatively analyzing tool for the design and analysis of SMP micro-structures in the field of biological medicine, microelectronic devices and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) self-assembling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely admitted that the repeated passage of heavy goods vehicles as well as environmental conditions are the main causes of damage to road structures. This sometimes requires the use of rehabilitation techniques to maintain the road in operational and safe condition and extend its life. The current trend in the world is to find new low cost materials that are able to guarantee the best performance of pavements; the Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) is a good example. This work is mainly concerned with the use of more rigid local materials in the construction of roads and their placement by compaction instead of flexible asphalt concrete wearing courses which have been shown several drawbacks. Indeed, flexible asphalt concrete wearing courses become softer under heavy traffic and require a very expensive bituminous material supply. It is therefore urgent today to find cost-efficient road construction techniques that can combine durability and hardness. The strategy used in this research consists, on the one hand, in making a roller compacted concrete made of recycled aggregates using materials from local deposits with a low dosage of cement, and on the other hand, to validate this study numerically by evaluating the maximum compressive strength and then to model the cracked sections of roller compacted concrete containing recycled aggregates in order to develop a new method that allow minimizing the degradation of pavements. This would certainly make the present research paper more original. The results obtained allowed to find that it is quite possible to manufacture roller compacted concrete with partial incorporation of recycled aggregates with compressive strength acceptable and approximately equal to 34 MPa at 28 days. This type of RCC is more resistant and less dangerous because recycled aggregates improve the behavior of pavements, especially in the presence of cracks where we found that the stress intensity factor for RCC with natural aggregates (− 1.1631 MPa√m) is greater than in RCC with recycled aggregates (− 0.4989 Mpa√m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores and rehabilitates the value of decisional privacy as a conceptual tool, complementary to informational privacy, for critiquing personalized choice architectures employed by self-tracking technologies. Self-tracking technologies are promoted and used as a means to self-improvement. Based on large aggregates of personal data and the data of other users, self-tracking technologies offer personalized feedback that nudges the user into behavioral change. The real-time personalization of choice architectures requires continuous surveillance and is a very powerful technology, recently coined as "hypernudging." While users celebrate the increased personalization of their coaching devices, "hypernudging" technologies raise concerns about manipulation. This paper addresses that intuition by claiming that decisional privacy is at stake. It thus counters the trend to solely focus on informational privacy when evaluating information and communication technologies. It proposes that decisional privacy and informational privacy are often part of a mutually reinforcing dynamic. Hypernudging is used as a key example to illustrate that the two dimensions should not be treated separately. Hypernudging self-tracking technologies compromise autonomy because they violate informational and decisional privacy. In order to effectively judge whether technologies that use hypernudges empower users, we need both privacy dimensions as conceptual tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) respond to emotionally salient events and project densely to subcortical regions known to mediate adaptive behavioral responses. The areas of the forebrain most densely innervated by the PVT include striatal-like subcortical regions that consist of the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAcSh), the dorsolateral region of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTDL) and the lateral-capsular division of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeL). A recent tracing experiment demonstrated that the PVT is composed of two intermixed populations of neurons that primarily project to either the dorsomedial (dmNAcSh) or ventromedial region of the NAcSh (vmNAcSh) with many of the vmNAcSh projecting neurons providing collateral innervation of the BSTDL and CeL. The present study used triple injections of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin B to provide a detailed map of the location of PVT neurons that provide collaterals to the vmNAcSh, BSTDL and CeL. These neurons were intermixed throughout the PVT and did not form uniquely localized subpopulations. An intersectional viral anterograde tracing approach was used to demonstrate that regardless of its presumed target of innervation (dmNAcSh, vmNAcSh, BSTDL, or CeL), most neurons in the PVT provide collateral innervation to a common set of forebrain regions. The paper shows that PVT-dmNAcSh projecting neurons provide the most divergent projection system and that these neurons express the immediate early gene product cFos following an aversive incident. We propose that the PVT may regulate a broad range of responses to physiological and psychological challenges by simultaneously influencing functionally diverse regions of the forebrain that include the cortex, striatal-like regions in the basal forebrain and a number of hypothalamic nuclei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the past decades, behavioral medicine has attained global recognition. Due to its global reach, a critical need has emerged to consider whether the original definition of behavioral medicine is still valid, comprehensive, and inclusive, and to reconsider the main tasks and goals of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine (ISBM), as the umbrella organization in the field. The purpose of the present study was to (i) update the definition and scope of behavioral medicine and its defining characteristics; and (ii) develop a proposal on ISBM's main tasks and goals. Method: Our study used the Delphi method. A core group prepared a discussion paper. An international Delphi panel rated questions and provided comments. The panel intended to reach an a priori defined level of consensus (i.e., 70%). Results: The international panel reached consensus on an updated definition and scope of behavioral medicine as a field of research and practice that builds on collaboration among multiple disciplines. These disciplines are concerned with development and application of behavioral and biomedical evidence across the disease continuum in clinical and public health domains. Consensus was reached on a proposal for ISBM's main tasks and goals focused on supporting communication and collaboration across disciplines and participating organizations; stimulating research, education, and practice; and supporting individuals and organizations in the field. Conclusion: The consensus on definition and scope of behavioral medicine and ISBM's tasks and goals provides a foundational step toward achieving these goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how Gáspár Jékely and colleagues were able to establish a link between light perception and movement in the larvae of Platynereis dumerilii, a marine worm. Phototaxis, which is the process by which deep sea organisms use light-sensing eyespots to navigate toward light-drenched surface water, is discussed. Topics an analysis of the brain of the larvae of P. dumerilli and how cilia bodies help mediate navigation.

Behavior is a form of communication. For many young children, they may engage in certain behaviors to consciously or subconsciously communicate a need to access something, such as a desired adult or peer, sensory stimulation, or a tangible item. Other times, children may engage in a behavior to escape or avoid something, such as a particular environment. Sometimes the behaviors in which young children engage can be interpreted as challenging, based on the perceptions of those who work with the child, including the child’s early childhood teacher. These interpretations of challenging behavior derive from one’s own cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and biases. Such interpretations can lead to discriminatory discipline practices, particularly against children from marginalized and minoritized backgrounds. Instead, teachers can consider the behavioral messages expressed by the children they work with from an unbiased perspective, identify if the behavior in which the child is engaging is truly challenging, and implement appropriate intervention if necessary. The purpose of this paper is to present a plan for hearing behavioral messages of marginalized and minoritized children in a way that systematically addresses their needs while also considering the potential mismatch between teacher and child identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing data from epidemiological studies highlight the association between excess body fat and cancer incidence, but good indicative evidence demonstrates that intentional weight loss, as well as increasing physical activity, offers much promise as a cost-effective approach for reducing the cancer burden. However, clear gaps remain in our understanding of how changes in body fat or levels of physical activity are mechanistically linked to cancer, and the magnitude of their impact on cancer risk. It is important to investigate the causal link between programmes that successfully achieve short-term modest weight loss followed by weight-loss maintenance and cancer incidence. The longer-term impact of weight loss and duration of overweight and obesity on risk reduction also need to be fully considered in trial design. These gaps in knowledge need to be urgently addressed to expedite the development and implementation of future cancer-control strategies. Comprehensive approaches to trial design, Mendelian randomisation studies and data-linkage opportunities offer real possibilities to tackle current research gaps. In this paper, we set out the case for why non-pharmacological weight-management trials are urgently needed to support cancer-risk reduction and help control the growing global burden of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential to understand the hydraulic behavior of rock apertures as the fluid flow path in the rock mass. The geometric parameters of fracture such as roughness of walls and fracture aperture have a significant effect on its hydromechanical behavior. In this paper, the laboratory tests are performed on the samples and then, the laboratory conditions are numerically simulated. The three-dimensional (3D) scanning of the walls of natural rock fractures is used to prepare the geometric model, and the ICEM CFD software is employed to prepare the geometry of fractures. Also, using the Ansys Fluent software and considering the Navier-Stokes equations in the model, the fluid flow in the rock fractures is simulated. Due to the fact that the two joint surfaces are in contact with each other, the model geometry is constructed in the case when the joints are mated and the contact is established in a certain percentage. In this way, the geometries are prepared for 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90% contact between the upper and lower surfaces. The numerical modeling is also validated by the analytical Darcy formula, which indicates the accuracy of the modeling technique. The modeling results show that the macroscopic Forchheimer relation well describes the nonlinear fluid flow in the rock fracture. The values of linear and nonlinear coefficients of Forchheimer equation are estimated for each of the geometric models. The results show that the Forchheimer coefficients are directly related to the joint contact surface in an exponential manner, and the hydraulic aperture increases proportional to the reduced joint contact surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the paradoxical finding that physical pain in certain social situations makes people smile. A number of models have been proposed to explain emotional behaviour, and we tested some important predictions they make regarding the mental antecedents and cognitive properties that could characterize such distress smiles, specifically ones that occur in informal and non-serious social situations. We assessed impulsivity and controllability of the smile, its accompanying emotions, dependence on effortful appraisal, communicative functions, and whether it is goal dependent or stimulus driven. To do this we made students receive and induce physical pain to each other on the upper arm, and varied the following conditions in which the pain was administered: social distance between participants, hierarchical relation between the participants, attentional load, and instructions to make no movements. We also assessed the presence of happiness and amusement (or mirth), and whether they were correlated with the distress smiles. We concluded that the distress induced smile, at least for males in informal social situations, is a goal dependent impulsive behaviour that communicates appeasement and non-hostility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driver distraction is an important contributing factor to increase crash risks. The effect of secondary task engagement may vary by interaction types and driver age. Thus, it is essential to understand the impacts of distraction type and age on driving performance for improving the safety of in-vehicle secondary task design. This paper aims to assess potential risks induced by visual and auditory secondary tasks while driving. Thirty drivers, consisted of fifteen younger drivers aged 25 ∼ 35 and fifteen older aged 60 ∼ 69, were recruited and asked to drive in a simulator. They conducted two driving sessions, one for visually distracted driving and the other for cognitive distraction. The order in which secondary tasks were presented was counter-balanced. Driving performance and behaviour data were collected continuously using multiple measurement devices for vehicle speed, lane position, electrocardiogram, and gaze pattern. Differences in younger and older drivers' performance while conducting the secondary tasks were compared. The result indicated that the effect of interaction types, i.e., visual and auditory, on older drivers' performance was significant. More difficult secondary task creates greater age difference in driving performance. However, eye movement and physiological response were not significantly different between younger and older drivers. This result could suggest older drivers' lower risk awareness of cognitive distraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cracking behavior of flawed samples has been extensively studied in rocks and rock-like materials using experimental and numerical approaches. However, the existing research mainly focuses on the effects of flaw length l and inclination angle α on rock mechanical behavior, a limited attention has been given to understand the role of flaw width b on crack initiation and propagation in relation to mechanical parameters of rocks. In this paper, a two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC2D)-based synthetic rock model, which is calibrated by the laboratory sandstone properties, is used to investigate the effects of flaw width on cracking behavior of single-flawed rock samples under uniaxial compression tests. Numerical simulation results show that the flaw width b has significant effects on the crack geometrical parameters (crack initiation location d and crack initiation angle θ). The values of θ and d significantly decrease with the increase of flaw width when b < 1.0 mm and their values tend to be stable with the further increase of flaw widths. It is also found that the mechanical properties (uniaxial compressive strength UCS and deformation modulus Es) of flawed rock samples are related to the crack geometrical parameters (θ and d) and the effects of flaw width on the values of UCS and Es of single-flawed rock specimens is significant when b < 1.0 mm for lower crack inclination angle (α < 60°). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral traits play a major role in successful adaptation of wildlife to urban conditions. However, there are few studies showing how urban conditions affect the social behavior of urban animals during their direct encounters. It is generally believed that the higher density of urban populations translates into increased aggression between individuals. In this paper, using a camera-trap method, we compared the character of direct encounters in urban and non-urban populations of the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771), a species known as an urban adapter. We confirmed the thesis that urbanization affects the social behavior and urban and rural populations differ from each other. Urban animals are less likely to avoid close contact with each other and are more likely to show tolerant behavior. They also have a lower tendency towards monopolization of food resources. The behavior of urban animals varies depending on the time of day: in the daytime, animals are more vigilant and less tolerant than at night. Our results indicate that, in the case of the species studied, behavioral adaptation to urban life is based on increasing tolerance rather than aggression in social relations. However, the studied urban adapter retains the high plasticity of social behavior revealed even in the circadian cycle. The observation that tolerance rather than aggression may predominate in urban populations is a new finding, while most studies suggest an increase in aggression in urban animals. This opens an avenue for formulating new hypotheses regarding the social behavior of urban adapters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An athlete’s pacing strategy is widely recognised as an essential determinant for performance during individual events. Previous research focussed on the importance of internal bodily state feedback, revealed optimal pacing strategies in time-trial exercise, and explored concepts such as teleoanticipation and template formation. Recently, human-environment interactions have additionally been emphasized as a crucial determinant for pacing, yet how they affect pacing is not well understood. Therefore, this literature review focussed on exploring one of the most important human-environment interactions in sport competitions: the interaction among competitors. The existing literature regarding the regulation of exercise intensity and the effect of competition on pacing and performance is critically reviewed in this paper. The PubMed, CINAHL and Web of Science electronic databases were searched for studies about pacing in sports and (interpersonal) competition between January 2000 to October 2017, using the following combination of terms: (1) Sports AND (2) Pacing, resulting in 75 included papers. The behaviour of opponents was shown to be an essential determinant in the regulation of exercise intensity, based on both observational (N = 59) and experimental (N = 16) studies. However, adjustment in the pacing response related to other competitors appears to depend on the competitive situation and the current internal state of the athlete. The findings of this review emphasize the importance of what is happening around the athlete for the outcome of the decision-making process involved in pacing, and highlight the necessity to incorporate human-environment interactions into models that attempt to explain the regulation of exercise intensity in sports and exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to combat it led to severe constraints for various areas of life, including mobility. To study the effects of this disruptive situation on the mobility behaviour of entire subgroups, and how they shape their mobility in reaction to the special circumstances, can help to better understand, how people react to external changes. Methodology: Aim of the study presented in this article was to investigate to what extent, how and in what areas mobility behaviour has changed during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany. In addition, a focus was put on the comparison of federal states with and without lockdown in order to investigate a possible contribution of this measure to changes in mobility. We asked respondents via an online survey about their trip purposes and trip frequency, their choice of transport mode and the reasons for choosing it in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. For the analyses presented in this paper, we used the data of 4157survey participants (2512 without lockdown, 1645 with lockdown). Results: The data confirmed a profound impact on the mobility behaviour with a shift away from public transport and increases in car usage, walking and cycling. Comparisons of federal states with and without lockdown revealed only isolated differences. It seems that, even if the lockdown had some minor effects, its role in the observed behavioural changes was minimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a nonautonomous predator–prey model with Holling type II schemes and a prey refuge. By applying the comparison theorem of differential equations and constructing a suitable Lyapunov function, sufficient conditions that guarantee the permanence and global stability of the system are obtained. By applying the oscillation theory and the comparison theorem of differential equations, a set of sufficient conditions that guarantee the extinction of the predator of the system is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the initial-boundary value problem of the following fractional p-Kirchhoff equation: u t + M ([ u ] s , p p) (− Δ) p s u + f (x , u) = g (x) in Ω × (0 , ∞) , where Ω ⊂ R N is a bounded domain with Lipschitz boundary, N > p s , 0 < s < 1 < p , M : [ 0 , ∞) → [ 0 , ∞) is a nondecreasing continuous function, [ u ] s , p is the Gagliardo seminorm of u, f : Ω × R → R and g ∈ L 2 (Ω) . With general assumptions on f and g, we prove the existence of global attractors in proper spaces. Then, we show that the fractal dimensional of global attractors is infinite provided some conditions are satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]