"Comforting, Reassuring, and…Hot": A Qualitative Exploration of Engaging in Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism and (Sado)masochism and Kink from the Perspective of Autistic Adults.

There is a lack of research on autistic intimacy; however, a small body of research suggests that bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism and (sado)masochism (BDSM)/kink may be appealing to autistic people. We aimed at exploring how engagement in BDSM/kink related to autistic identity, using a phenomenological approach. We recruited six autistic adults through purposive sampling on social media. All participants took part in a one-to-one spoken interview about their engagement in BDSM/kink and how it related to their sense of identity. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyze the data and found three key themes. Theme 1, "Practicing safe 'sex'" highlighted how the clear communication and explicit focus on consent present in BDSM/kink facilitated a feeling of safety. Theme 2, "So many ways to touch and be touched" was focused on the sensory draw of BDSM/kink, and how it provided exciting ways to explore sensory joy (and sometimes revulsion). Theme 3, "Subverting (neuro)normativity" showed how autistic people can find pleasure in intimate practices that transgress normative expectations. Our findings highlighted the importance of exploring the perceptions of autistic adults in relation to their own intimate practices. Autistic intimacy is an emerging area of research, with very little focus on lived experience. Although engagement in BDSM/kink may appear niche, our findings suggest that there are aspects which are inherently appealing to autistic people. These findings can be used to destigmatize both autistic intimacy and engagement in alternative intimate practices more broadly. [Abstract copyright: Copyright 2024, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Stokesian Dynamics in Python

This is a Python 3 implementation of the Stokesian Dynamics method for polydisperse spheres suspended in a 3D Newtonian background fluid. The fluid-filled domain may be unbounded or a periodic cube. Physical setups and custom forces on the particles are easily implemented using Python; meanwhile, the computational speed is handled by Numba.This software is aimed at researchers in low Reynolds number fluid dynamics who are looking for an easy-to-use yet flexible implementation of this popular method. The startup cost of writing a Stokesian Dynamics code is high, given the need for pre-computed resistance scalars.Several minus sign errors in the literature also need resolving first. These have been resolved and validated before being implemented in this code. The hope is that many months of future researchers’ time (often PhD students’ time) will be saved by no longer reinventing the wheel

A bias-free test of human temporal bisection: Evidence against bisection at the arithmetic mean

The temporal bisection procedure has been used to assess theories of time perception. A problem with the procedure for measuring the perceived midpoint of two durations is that the spacing of probe durations affects the length of the bisection point. Linear spacing results in longer bisection points closer to the arithmetic mean of the durations than logarithmic spacing. In three experiments, the influence of probe duration distribution was avoided by presenting a single probe duration of either the arithmetic or geometric mean of the trained durations. It was found that the number of participants that categorised the arithmetic mean as long was significantly larger than those that categorised it as short. The number of participants that categorised the geometric mean as either short or long did not significantly differ. This was true for trained durations of 0.4s vs. 1.6s (Experiments 1-3), 0.2s vs. 3.2s (Experiment 2) and 0.4s vs. 6.4s (Experiment 3). In Experiment 4, the probe trial distribution effect was replicated with logarithmic and linearly distributed probe durations, demonstrating that bisection occurs close to the arithmetic mean with linearly spaced probe durations. The results provide evidence against bisection at the arithmetic mean when probe spacing bias is avoided and, instead, the results are consistent with logarithmic encoding of time, or a comparison rule based on relative rather than absolute differences. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Cognitive Economy and Product Categorization

In mediated markets, the categorization of products by mediators is critical to efficient interaction between producers and consumers. As organizational research tends to focus on the consequences of categorization rather than its antecedents, however, we know relatively little about why mediators assign one category label or another to a product. In this study, we argue that two informational properties of labels, specificity and distinctiveness, determine the outcomes of mediators’ categorization decisions. Our analysis of product categorization decisions made by members of an online music community, 2000–2020, supports this argument. We find that a label’s odds of being assigned to a product increase (a) if this label encodes information that is neither too similar nor too different from that which is encoded by a superordinate label, that is, it has moderate specificity; and (b) if it encodes information that differs as much as possible from that which is encoded by horizontally related labels, that is, it has maximal distinctiveness. These findings persist after controlling for other possible determinants of mediators’ categorization decisions, including producers’ claims to labels, products’ typicality, and mediators’ expertise

A Design Methodology for Sensing-Ready Concentric Rings-Based Chipless RFID Tags With Effective Spectrum Use and High Coding Capacity

This paper introduces an innovative strategy for the development of sensing-ready concentric rings-based chipless radio frequency identification (CRFID) tags. Our approach is marked by the novel use of exponentially increasing spacing, a significant departure from the conventional uniform spacing method. This innovative design results in an impressive 88.2% improvement in tag data encoding capacity compared to traditional designs. Importantly, our design framework not only advances the current state of CRFID tag technology but also methodically lays the foundation for future integration of high-resolution sensing capabilities. This is achieved by strategically utilizing the innermost ring as a prospective sensing site, complemented by the implementation of nulls for data encoding achieved through the addition of an extra ring at the tag’s outermost edge. Notably, all these features represent advancements that have not been demonstrated in previously published concentric rings-based CRFID tags. To empirically validate our methodology, we have developed and tested 18-bit example tags optimized for operation within the ultrawideband (UWB) spectrum, covering a range from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. The radar cross-section (RCS) response of these tags exhibits well-distributed resonances, culminating in a high encoding capacity of 17.65 bits/λ2/GHz. Preliminary results using capacitors connected to the innermost ring underscore the future sensing potential of our tags, setting the stage for more advanced sensing implementations in subsequent research

A conceptual model of individuals’ decision to engage in global mobility: integrating self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior

PurposeCompanies target globally mobile workers and face the war for talent, while individuals are more reluctant to engage in global mobility. This scenario led us to propose a model to understand the individuals' decision process to engage in global mobility.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the self-determination theory, the theory of planned behavior and the literature on decisions for global mobility, the authors propose mechanisms through which psychological variables and assignments' factual and perceived contextual aspects (directly or indirectly) explain the decision to engage or not in global mobility.FindingsThis study offers a conceptual model with the authors' novel propositions to explain individuals' decision to engage in global mobility.Originality/valueThe model provides a more comprehensive explanation of the individuals' decision-making process to engage in global mobility than previous models and potentially yields more effective organizational practices to attract both well-established and emerging phenomena of globally mobile workers

The Oncogenic Lipid Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Impedes the Phagocytosis of Tumor Cells by M1 Macrophages in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma

Simple Summary: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is clinically aggressive and associated with poor patient outcomes. Antagonists of the small oncogenic lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) are already in the clinic and have been suggested to have therapeutic potential in DLBCL. We have studied the impact of S1P signaling on the recruitment of macrophages and their phagocytic functions following the treatment of DLBCL cells with CD20-targeting antibodies. We have shown that tumor-derived S1P is a major chemoattractant for monocytes and macrophages, both in vitro and in animal models of DLBCL, an effect mediated by the S1P receptor S1PR1. However, S1P also robustly inhibited the phagocytosis of antibody-treated tumor cells by M1 macrophages. Future experiments could be directed toward investigating the therapeutic effects of blocking S1P–S1PR1 signaling in combination with chemotherapy and CD20-targeting antibodies. Abstract: Background: A total of 30–40% of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients will either not respond to the standard therapy or their disease will recur. The first-line treatment for DLBCL is rituximab and combination chemotherapy. This treatment involves the chemotherapy-induced recruitment of tumor-associated macrophages that recognize and kill rituximab-opsonized DLBCL cells. However, we lack insights into the factors responsible for the recruitment and functionality of macrophages in DLBCL tumors. Methods: We have studied the effects of the immunomodulatory lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) on macrophage activity in DLBCL, both in vitro and in animal models. Results: We show that tumor-derived S1P mediates the chemoattraction of both monocytes and macrophages in vitro and in animal models, an effect that is dependent upon the S1P receptor S1PR1. However, S1P inhibited M1 macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of DLBCL tumor cells opsonized with the CD20 monoclonal antibodies rituximab and ofatumumab, an effect that could be reversed by an S1PR1 inhibitor. Conclusions: Our data show that S1P signaling can modulate macrophage recruitment and tumor cell killing by anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies in DLBCL. The administration of S1PR1 inhibitors could enhance the phagocytosis of tumor cells and improve outcomes for patients

Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Assessing Democratic Backsliding

During the past decade, analyses drawing on several democracy measures have shown a global trend of democratic retrenchment. While these democracy measures use radically different methodologies, most partially or fully rely on subjective judgments to produce estimates of the level of democracy within states. Such projects continuously grapple with balancing conceptual coverage with the potential for bias (Munck and Verkuilen 2002; Przeworski et al. 2000). Little and Meng (L&M) (2023) reintroduce this debate, arguing that “objective” measures of democracy show little evidence of recent global democratic backsliding.1 By extension, they posit that time-varying expert bias drives the appearance of democratic retrenchment in measures that incorporate expert judgments. In this article, we engage with (1) broader debates on democracy measurement and democratic backsliding, and (2) L&M’s specific data and conclusions

Modelling dynamical 3D electron diffraction intensities. I. A scattering cluster algorithm

Three‐dimensional electron diffraction (3D‐ED) is a powerful technique for crystallographic characterization of nanometre‐sized crystals that are too small for X‐ray diffraction. For accurate crystal structure refinement, however, it is important that the Bragg diffracted intensities are treated dynamically. Bloch wave simulations are often used in 3D‐ED, but can be computationally expensive for large unit cell crystals due to the large number of diffracted beams. Proposed here is an alternative method, the `scattering cluster algorithm' (SCA), that replaces the eigen‐decomposition operation in Bloch waves with a simpler matrix multiplication. The underlying principle of SCA is that the intensity of a given Bragg reflection is largely determined by intensity transfer (i.e. `scattering') from a cluster of neighbouring diffracted beams. However, the penalty for using matrix multiplication is that the sample must be divided into a series of thin slices and the diffracted beams calculated iteratively, similar to the multislice approach. Therefore, SCA is more suitable for thin specimens. The accuracy and speed of SCA are demonstrated on tri‐isopropyl silane (TIPS) pentacene and rubrene, two exemplar organic materials with large unit cells

How, when and where current mass flows in Martian gullies are driven by CO2 sublimation

Martian gullies resemble water-carved gullies on Earth, yet their present-day activity cannot be explained by water-driven processes. The sublimation of CO2 has been proposed as an alternative driver for sediment transport, but how this mechanism works remains unknown. Here we combine laboratory experiments of CO2-driven granular flows under Martian atmospheric pressure with 1D climate simulation modelling to unravel how, where, and when CO2 can drive present-day gully activity. Our work shows that sublimation of CO2 ice, under Martian atmospheric conditions can fluidize sediment and creates morphologies similar to those observed on Mars. Furthermore, the modelled climatic and topographic boundary conditions for this process, align with present-day gully activity. These results have implications for the influence of water versus CO2-driven processes in gully formation and for the interpretation of gully landforms on other planets, as their existence is no longer definitive proof for flowing liquids