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According to UK consumer group Which?, some eco-friendly toilet paper brands that claim to be made from bamboo actually contain very little bamboo. Which? assessed the grass fiber composition of loo rolls from five popular UK brands and found that samples from Bumboo contained just 2.7% grass fibers, Naked Sprout paper had 4% grass fibers, and Bazoo had 26.1%. Instead of bamboo, the toilet paper was mainly made from virgin hardwoods. Only two of the brands tested, Who Gives a Crap and The Cheeky Panda, contained 100% grass fibers. Bumboo, Naked Sprout, and Bazoo claim to use bamboo certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), but Bumboo and Bazoo acknowledged issues in their supply chain and are implementing stricter controls. Naked Sprout emphasized that its entire supply chain is FSC certified. [Extracted from the article]

The article present conversations of library professionals & authors Nancy Shore, Kristina Clement and Katherine Rose Adams. Topics include the "paper ceiling" in academic libraries; the motivations behind pursuing doctorates; and the potential benefits and challenges of advanced degrees for academic library professionals. The conversation reflects their experiences with educational advancement and its impact on their career paths within higher education and academic libraries.

The article presents the position paper issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding malaria vaccines that was reviewed by the WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG). Also cited are the method used by WHO in assessing the vaccines' efficacy, how malaria is transmitted as a vector-borne disease, and the number of deaths caused by malaria around the world.

The article focuses on the second licensed dengue vaccine, TAK-003, along with the position of the World Health Organization (WHO) for its use, and provides an update on the first licensed dengue vaccine, CYD-TDV. Topics discussed include epidemiology and transmission of dengue, classifications made by the WHO on dengue illness, and diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

BAAB Architecture and Buildings has completed the Inside-Out Bath in Kerhonkson, New York, which aims to provide a seamless and accessible space for aging residents. The bathroom features a central "totem" that consolidates the sink, medicine cabinet, shower, and toilet, freeing up space and creating a barrier-free environment. The design also incorporates lifestyle details from the old bathroom, such as a magazine rack and night-light, while iridescent tile and a clerestory window bring natural light into the previously dark space. The project was completed in December 2023 by BAAB Architecture and Buildings, with Feinberg Construction as the general contractor. [Extracted from the article]

This article argues against the use of euphemisms when referring to menstrual products, such as "sanitary towels" or "feminine hygiene products." The author asserts that these terms perpetuate the false belief that menstruation is dirty or polluting, which has historically been used to oppress women. The author also highlights that the use of feminine descriptors excludes trans men and non-binary individuals who menstruate. The article suggests using the term "menstrual products" instead, as it accurately reflects their purpose and avoids reinforcing shame or stigma. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents an addendum to the position paper on the use of meningococcal conjugate vaccines (MMCV) in the African meningitis belt issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization at its meeting in September 2023. Topics include the WHO off-label recommendations for meningococcal vaccines and vaccination that apply to countries in the African meningitis belt and research priorities on the impact of Men5CV vaccine.

A recent article in New Scientist discusses a robot called PaperBot that can design and test objects made from folded paper, such as planes, more effectively than a human. The robot, developed by researchers at Columbia University, uses a machine learning algorithm to adjust the design of the paper plane based on how far it flies. After 100 trials, PaperBot's best design flew further than the best design created by a human. This research demonstrates the potential for robots to excel in tasks that are difficult and computationally expensive to simulate. [Extracted from the article]

The article titled "Berceuse" describes the author's experiences in a hotel in Tangier and reflects on themes of decay, displacement, and cultural differences. The author recounts a night where someone tried to enter their room, and they barricaded themselves inside. They also mention the crumbling state of the hotel and the surrounding area, as well as the presence of meth heads and the aftermath of hurricanes. The article also touches on the beauty of nature, with descriptions of birds and the beach. Additionally, the author mentions a culinary garden in a Scottish cemetery and reflects on the names on the gravestones and the language barrier. Overall, the article provides a glimpse into the author's observations and reflections on their surroundings. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces that the Institute of Management Accountant (IMA) Committee on Ethics and Strategic Finance is inviting submissions for the 2025 Curt Verschoor Ethics Feature of the Year.

According to an article in New Scientist, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found that writing by hand may improve memory retention compared to typing. The study involved 36 students who were asked to write down half of a list of 30 words by hand, while typing the other half. The researchers found that writing by hand increased connectivity between central parts of the brain and the parietal lobe, which is important for memory. The lead researcher, Audrey van der Meer, suggests that handwriting engages more senses and activates more areas of the brain. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides a brief overview of various current events happening around the world. In California, fast-food workers will now be paid a minimum wage of $20 per hour, aimed at providing greater financial security for workers supporting families. In South Africa, a building collapse resulted in the death of nine construction workers and left many others injured and trapped. Hong Kong residents are now banned from singing a protest anthem due to national security laws. Indigenous Australians expressed outrage after ancestral remains were returned in brown paper bags, calling for an inquiry into the handling of First Nations ancestral remains. The United States and Saudi Arabia are finalizing a mega-deal that includes a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, with potential geopolitical implications. Diplomatic tensions between India and Canada rose due to the arrest of three Indian nationals suspected of involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist. The Rwandan rebel group M23 was blamed for twin bomb blasts at displacement camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in the death of at least 12 people. [Extracted from the article]

Zhang Xiaodong, a Chinese artist, has revived the ancient technique of dragon-scale bookbinding, which was popular during the Tang Dynasty. This technique involves creating books that resemble Chinese dragons, with each page appearing like a scale. Zhang has dedicated himself to mastering this art form and has completed eight dragon-scale bookbinding works. He has also integrated this technique with accordion binding and created a version of the classic Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions. Zhang's innovative approach has gained recognition, and he has also explored other paper-based art forms, such as qianye. He believes that ancient bookbinding techniques provide new possibilities for the future of print publishing. [Extracted from the article]

This article from Mother Earth News provides information on how to start seeds at home to cultivate strong plants for your garden. It suggests using alternative seed-starting methods such as coconut coir pellets or homemade compost and soil blockers. The article also explains how to make paper pots from newspapers or paper bags, which are free and biodegradable. Additionally, it offers a recipe for a homemade seed-starting mix using potting soil and perlite. The article discusses the importance of providing the right conditions for germination and growth, including temperature, humidity, water, and sunlight. It also provides tips on transplanting seedlings into larger pots and eventually into the garden. The article concludes with advice on storing leftover seeds for future use. [Extracted from the article]

This article from Mother Earth News provides several seed-starting suggestions. One suggestion is to fold newspaper into small pockets to give away excess seedlings. Another suggestion is to plant seeds inside eggshells and then break the eggshell and spread it around the plant when it's ready to be planted outdoors. Additionally, the article suggests using a shallow tray and a folded brown paper towel to start tomato seedlings, and then transferring the sprouted seedlings to small pots containing soil. These methods are useful for starting seeds and can be especially helpful with old seeds. [Extracted from the article]

This article from Woman's Day provides a step-by-step guide on how to create a lily pad wreath for your door. The wreath is made using green craft paper and features green flowers and lotus flowers in various shades of pink. The article also includes a joke about frogs and suggests visiting their website for more DIY wreath ideas. [Extracted from the article]

The ranking of decision makers (DMs)' preferences for feasible states in the graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR) is crucial for accurately determining stability results. This paper addresses the issue of subjective ranking methods lacking theoretical foundation and causing ambiguity when the number of feasible states is high by proposing the implementation of the multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) method in the GMCR. The paper utilizes the average level to choose evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) method for determining the DM's preference ranking, which can effectively reduce the impact of anomalous evaluations. Further, the PUL-EDAS method based on probabilistic uncertainty linguistics (PUL) is developed, which overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional EDAS method, which only applies to the simple evaluation of information. The PUL aligns with DMs' daily evaluation practice by providing an interval for the quality of qualitative linguistic evaluations. Furthermore, it utilizes an objective aggregation method to calculate comprehensive evaluation information from all DMs. In addition, the four fundamental stability definitions, applicable solely under crisp preferences, are extended to the PUL context, providing related extended definitions. Finally, to ensure the scientific validity and practicality of the proposed theory, this paper selects digital rural governance as the research context for conflict calculus analysis, comparing it with other MADM methods in the preference ranking section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the Web site State Papers Online Colonial: Asia (Far East, Hong Kong, and Wei-Hai-Wei), Part I, located at Gale. gale.com/c/state-papers-online-colonial-asia-part-i, from publisher Gale.

Calista Flockhart, a 59-year-old actress, discusses various aspects of her life in an interview. She mentions injuring her finger while cutting an avocado and seeking medical care during the Christmas season. Flockhart also talks about her obsession with finding the perfect pour-over coffee and her nightly routine of snuggling and kissing her three dogs. She reveals that she was starstruck when meeting Martin Short and reminisces about building and decorating a gingerbread house. [Extracted from the article]

The Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Library Board are hosting an exhibition called "To Draw an Idea" at the URA Centre. The exhibition explores the designs of Singapore architectural firms, William Lim Associates and W Architects, and their impact on local buildings over the past four decades. The exhibition features projects such as the renovation of the Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall in 2010 and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. A book accompanying the exhibition has also been published, showcasing the firms' work through sketches, drawings, and historical artifacts. Additionally, a satellite exhibition called "Dare to Design: Singapore Architecture 1960s-2000s" will be held at the National Library Building, and a roving exhibition will travel to various public libraries. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the growing demand for statisticians and data scientists in the biopharmaceutical field, with projected growth rates of 35% and 30% respectively over the next 10 years. The author highlights the increasing number of graduate degrees and programs in statistics and data science, indicating a growing interest in these fields among students. The article also emphasizes the importance of networking and making connections in order to secure employment in the biopharmaceutical field, suggesting that participating in student paper and poster competitions can provide valuable exposure to professional statisticians. The author concludes that while these competitions may not have the expected immediate rewards, they offer long-term benefits such as introducing oneself to professionals and showcasing one's work. [Extracted from the article]

An Algebraic Circuit for a multivariate polynomial P is a computational model for constructing the polynomial P using only additions and multiplications. It is a syntactic model of computation, as opposed to the Boolean Circuit model, and hence lower bounds for this model are widely expected to be easier to prove than lower bounds for Boolean circuits. Despite this, we do not have superpolynomial lower bounds against general algebraic circuits of depth 3 (except over constant-sized finite fields) and depth 4 (over any field other than F2), while constant-depth Boolean circuit lower bounds have been known since the early 1980s. In this paper, we prove the first superpolynomial lower bounds against algebraic circuits of all constant depths over all fields of characteristic 0. We also observe that our super-polynomial lower bound for constant-depth circuits implies the first deterministic sub-exponential time algorithm for solving the Polynomial Identity Testing (PIT) problem for all small-depth circuits using the known connection between algebraic hardness and randomness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses algorithmic priority inversion in mission-critical machine inference pipelines used in modern neural-network-based perception subsystems and describes a solution to mitigate its effect. In general, priority inversion occurs in computing systems when computations that are "less important" are performed together with or ahead of those that are "more important." Significant priority inversion occurs in existing machine inference pipelines when they do not differentiate between critical and less critical data. We describe a framework to resolve this problem and demonstrate that it improves a perception system's ability to react to critical inputs, while at the same time reducing platform cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in the global supply chain, which had become heavily reliant on just-in-time shipping and manufacturing in China to cut costs. It traces the roots of these issues back to decades earlier when Western businesses increasingly turned to China for manufacturing and market opportunities, illustrating the precarious nature of global trade systems.

A study has found that over a quarter of digitally published research papers are at risk of being lost forever because they are not properly archived. Out of more than seven million publications, 28% (over two million articles) do not appear in a major digital archive, despite having a unique identifier. This lack of archiving poses a threat to the integrity of scientific research and the ability to verify information. The costs of preserving digital content are believed to be a barrier for smaller organizations. It is important to consider the long-term sustainability of the research ecosystem and ensure access to valuable work even after the author's lifetime. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents the discussion on papers of Mary Oliver, one of America's most acclaimed poets, are now part of the Library through the generosity of Bill and Amalie Reichblum.

The article presents the discussion on major portion of the papers of Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, recently opened for research use in the Library's Manuscript Division.

The article offers suggestions for writing a rebuttal when one has submitted a paper to an academic conference and has received a response indicating that revisions are required for the possible acceptance of the paper.

Hackers and digital activists have fully entered the wars waged with digital propaganda, electronic sabotage, cyber espionage and software hacking tools. DDoS attacks, malware, ransomware, but also algorithms, deepfakes, trolls and bots are their weapons. This is how they participate in the hybrid war fought among States. In this scenario, it is alleged that the techniques for manipulating perceptions that exploit digital tools are fully included among the weapons of hybrid warfare, as they are capable of influencing the reactivity of the adversary. In this regard we speak of Cognitive War. This also means that information campaigns are no longer based only on traditional media, but also on digital media, social platforms and direct messaging channels. Among the tools of these campaigns, those of computational propaganda, used to change the mindset of the target, to generate fear, uncertainty, and doubt, are increasingly arousing the concerns of States. The reason is easy to understand: where public opinion is able to influence the choices of the warring parties, manipulation can change the phases of the conflict. In this paper we will try to describe the techniques of computational propaganda and how hacker activists and State hackers can use them. Indeed, in the global election year ahead of us, 2024, computational propaganda could represent a risk for the democratic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a smooth finite element method (S-FEM) for efficient and accurate analysis of motor magnetic fields. The edge-based smooth finite element (ES-FEM) formulations are derived for two-dimensional triangular element meshes suitable for multi-material motor structures, and then a magnetic flux density calculation method appropriate for S-FEM to calculate nonlinear electromagnetic fields is introduced. In the calculation of motor magnetic field, ES-FEM has a proper softening effect on the stiffness matrix of the finite elements, which makes the calculation more accurate and more efficient than FEM. The magnetic flux intensity calculation method introduced in this paper is not only appropriate for ES-FEM to calculate the nonlinear electromagnetic field of motor, but also can improve the calculation accuracy of magnetic flux density. In the calculation of nonlinear magnetic field of motor, ES-FEM can also improve the calculation accuracy of magnetic field analysis compared with FEM. Several numerical examples demonstrate the improving effect of the ES-FEM discussed above on the motor's magnetic field calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an inverse design method for auxetic metamaterials is proposed. The conjugate gradient method is employed to minimize the errors of the required parameters of the designed shape. The interior point penalty method is used to convert constrained inverse problems into unconstrained ones. Using the Taylor expansion, the optimizing step size is derived as well. The boundary element method and the representative volume element are used to compute the effective stiffness matrix. Due to the advantages of the boundary element method, we only need the boundary elements and can easily re-mesh the optimized geometry during the inverse search. The validation test demonstrates that using the computed effective stiffness matrix yields nearly identical results to those obtained from direct finite element analysis. Then, using the proposed method, the authors successfully achieved all three design targets, which proved the effectiveness. Furthermore, the choice of penalty factor has been discussed in this paper as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poems and stories that capture a queer Chicano writer's reckonings with illness, family, and desire in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on Sigmund Freud returned again and again to the problem of memory as he formulated his theories of psychoanalysis during the 1890s.

The article presents the discussion on Washington National Monument Society chose architect Robert Mills to design the memorial to the first president, George Washington.

"Bookie and Cookie" is a children's book written by Blanca Gómez. The story follows the friendship between Bookie, a brown-skinned bibliophile, and Cookie, a pale-skinned baker. The two characters live on opposite sides of the book's pages and have never ventured to the other side. However, with the help of a clever plan involving cookies, they are able to explore the world outside their pages together. The book teaches young readers about the importance of adjusting and compromising in friendships. Suitable for ages 3-7. [Extracted from the article]