Delegating diplomacy: rhetoric across agents in the United Nations General Assembly

When political principals send agents to international organizations (IOs), those agents are often assumed to speak in a single voice. Yet various types of country representatives appear on the international stage including permanent representatives as well as more overtly “political” government officials. We argue that permanent delegates at the United Nations face career incentives that align them with the bureaucracy, setting them apart from political delegates. To that end, they tend to speak more homogeneously than do other types of speakers, while also using relatively more technical, diplomatic rhetoric; and career incentives will make them more reluctant to criticize the UN. In other words, permanent representatives speak more like bureaucratic agents than like political principals. We apply text analytics to study differences across agents’ rhetoric at the UN General Assembly. We demonstrate marked distinctions between the speech of different types of agents, contradictory to conventional assumptions, with implications for our understandings of the interplay between public administration and agency at IOs

In silico design of a thermal atomic layer etch process of cobalt

Thermal atomic layer etch (ALE), facilitating the removal of up to one monolayer of material per cycle, is growing in importance for thin-film processing. The number of available ALE processes is much smaller than for atomic layer deposition, its complementary growth process. Quantum chemical simulations are a key approach in the development of new thermal ALE processes, however, methodologies and workflows need to be developed. In this regard, the present paper reports a simulation-based approach toward the development of new thermal ALE processes using metallic cobalt as a test case. We demonstrate a predictive process discovery approach for ALE in which target volatile etch products and the corresponding gas phase reactants are chosen from the literature, an overall ALE cycle for each combination of reactant is investigated for thermochemical favorability, and the detailed mechanisms of the individual reaction steps in the proposed ALE processes are studied using density functional theory. From these results, we derive a temperature-pressure process window for each combination of reactants at typical reactant and product pressures allowing the selection of an ALE process window. For Co ALE, we investigated propene, butyne, silane, and trimethyl silane as a first pulse reactant and CO as the second pulse reactant. We propose propene and CO as the best combination of reactants for Co ALE. Propene adsorbs with sufficient strength to the target Co atom at temperatures below the CO decomposition temperature of 440 K, which results in the lowest energy etch species. This approach is equally relevant for the ALE process design of elemental, binary, and ternary materials

Psychometric assessment of EQ-5D-5L and ReQoL measures in patients with anxiety and depression: construct validity and responsiveness

Purpose: Generic health measures have been questioned for quantifying mental-health-related outcomes. In patients with anxiety and/or depression, our aim is to assess the psychometric properties of the preference-based EQ-5D-5L (generic health) and ReQoL-UI (recovery-focussed quality of life) for economic evaluation against the PHQ-9 (depression) and GAD-7 (anxiety). EQ-5D-5L anxiety/depression item and ReQoL-10 are also assessed. Methods: A 2:1 (intervention: control) randomised controlled trial collected measures at baseline and 8 weeks post baseline; in the intervention arm, data were also collected 3, 6, 9, and 12-months post baseline. EQ-5D-5L preference-based scores were obtained from the value set for England (VSE) and \u27cross-walked\u27 EQ-5D-3L United Kingdom (UK) value set scores. ReQoL-UI preference-based scores were obtained from its UK value set as applied to seven ReQoL-10 items. EQ-5D-5L and ReQoL measures\u27 construct validity and responsiveness were assessed compared against PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores and group cut-offs. Results: 361 people were randomised to intervention (241) or control (120). ReQoL-UI/-10 had better construct validity with depression severity than the EQ-5D-5L (VSE/cross-walk scores), which had relatively better construct validity with anxiety severity than the ReQoL-UI/-10. Across all intervention-arm time-points relative to baseline, responsiveness was generally better for EQ-5D-5L (VSE in particular) than ReQoL-UI, but worse than ReQoL-10. Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to recommend the ReQoL-UI over EQ-5D-5L for economic evaluations to capture anxiety severity. However, there may be rationale for recommending the ReQoL-UI over the EQ-5D-5L to capture depression severity given its better construct validity, albeit poorer responsiveness, and if recovery-focussed quality of life relative to condition-specific symptomology is the construct of interest

Smart parking systems: reviewing the literature, architecture and ways forward

The Internet of Things (IoT) has come of age, and complex solutions can now be implemented seamlessly within urban governance and management frameworks and processes. For cities, growing rates of car ownership are rendering parking availability a challenge and lowering the quality of life through increased carbon emissions. The development of smart parking solutions is thus necessary to reduce the time spent looking for parking and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The principal role of this research paper is to analyze smart parking solutions from a technical perspective, underlining the systems and sensors that are available, as documented in the literature. The review seeks to provide comprehensive insights into the building of smart parking solutions. A holistic survey of the current state of smart parking systems should incorporate the classification of such systems as big vehicular detection technologies. Finally, communication modules are presented with clarity

“… as the young girl told them so”: Women and Old Calendarism in Interwar Romania

This article explores the role of women and young girls in Old Calendarist communities in Romania and presents new sources relating to neglected history of the practice of incarceration in Orthodox monasteries in the region. The community developed into a spiritual mass movement that soon became the target of the secret police. Women played an important role within these communities in terms of membership but also in relation to the preservation of Old Calendarist ideas. Explored through the prism of the former secret police archival documents, these women were deemed dangerous and were accused of luring people into the Old Calendarist groups. In contrast to the extremely negative representation of these women that we find in contemporary Orthodox Church publications, police reports and popular press articles, the letters and postcards that they wrote from detention offer us an insight into the private life, personality and motivation of these women

Preclinical evaluation of Millipede 088 intracranial aspiration catheter in cadaver and in vitro thrombectomy models

Background Larger bore aspiration catheters are expected to significantly improve the speed and completeness of acute stroke revascularization. Objective To evaluate the navigability and clot retrieval performance of a novel 8Fr aspiration catheter, Millipede 088 (Perfuze Ltd), using fresh-frozen cadavers and an in vitro thrombectomy model, respectively. Methods Cadaveric study: Transfemoral catheterization of the intracranial arteries was performed in six cadavers, allowing evaluation of navigation to 12 middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) and six basilar arteries. Commercially available 6Fr aspiration catheters (SOFIA Plus, Microvention) were used as controls. In vitro study: Three human blood clot phenotypes were created; red blood cell-rich, mixed, and fibrin/platelets-rich. Two clot sizes, resulting in occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and MCA-M1 were investigated. Endpoints were first-pass effect (FPE), first-pass complete ingestion, and second-pass recanalization. Results Cadaveric study: Both the Millipede 088 and SOFIA Plus devices reached the distal MCA-M1 and the basilar artery in 10/12 and 2/2 of the navigation attempts, respectively. In the two instances of unsuccessful navigation, neither device was able to cross the ophthalmic artery. In vitro study: In 10 mm long M1 occlusions, Millipede 088 achieved 100% FPE versus 40% for 6Fr devices (p>0.001). In 20 mm long ICA occlusions, Millipede 088 achieved 100% removal success within two passes in each clot phenotype compared with an average of 27% for 6Fr devices (p>0.001). Conclusions Navigation of the Millipede 088 catheter to the MCA-M1 and basilar artery is feasible in a cadaver model. Millipede 088 demonstrates superiority over 6Fr aspiration catheters for three representative clot phenotypes at the most common sites of occlusion in an in vitro vasculature model.This work was supported by the European Regional Development Enterprise Ireland grant number IP-2019–0865

Patterns of psychological responses among the public during the early phase of covid-19: A cross-regional analysis

This study aimed to compare the mediation of psychological flexibility, prosociality and coping in the impacts of illness perceptions toward COVID-19 on mental health among seven regions. Convenience sampled online survey was conducted between April and June 2020 from 9130 citizens in 21 countries. Illness perceptions toward COVID-19, psychological flexibility, prosociality, coping and mental health, socio-demographics, lockdown-related variables and COVID-19 status were assessed. Results showed that psychological flexibility was the only significant mediator in the relationship between illness perceptions toward COVID-19 and mental health across all regions (all ps = 0.001–0.021). Seeking social support was the significant mediator across subgroups (all ps range = <0.001–0.005) except from the Hong Kong sample (p = 0.06) and the North and South American sample (p = 0.53). No mediation was found for problem-solving (except from the Northern European sample, p = 0.009). Prosociality was the significant mediator in the Hong Kong sample (p = 0.016) and the Eastern European sample (p = 0.008). These findings indicate that fostering psychological flexibility may help to mitigate the adverse mental impacts of COVID-19 across regions. Roles of seeking social support, problem-solving and prosociality vary across regions

Accuracy of instantaneous frequencies predicted by the Hilbert-Huang transform for a bridge subjected to a moving vehicle

The Tenth International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS 2020), Sapporo, Japan 28 June -2 July 2020This paper investigates the accuracy of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) in capturing the time-varying frequencies of a short-span bridge traversed by a vehicle travelling at a constant speed. The bridge and vehicle are modelled as a simply supported beam and a quarter-car, respectively. The HHT uses empirical mode decomposition to divide the original signal into mono-component signals, called intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), where the Hilbert transform can extract instantaneous frequencies (IFs). Each IMF is associated with a dominant frequency band, although mode mixing is possible. In order to improve the predicted frequencies, several filters are applied before and after performing the HHT with a threefold purpose: (i) to remove the static component, (ii) to isolate the first mode of vibration, and (iii) to obtain meaningful and denoised IFs. The influences of a localized stiffness loss in the bridge, different vehicle speeds, and three signal-to-noise ratios on the results are discussed.Science Foundation Irelan

The Evolution and Fossil Record of Parasitism: Identification and Macroevolution of Parasites. Topics in Geobiology, vol 49.

Fungal parasites are important drivers in ecosystem dynamics today that can have far-reaching effects on the performance and community structure of other organisms. Knowledge of the fossil record and evolution of fungal parasitism is therefore a key component of our understanding of the complexity and functioning of ancient ecosystems. However, the fossil record of fungi as parasites remains exceedingly incomplete for several reasons. This chapter provides selected fossil examples of (putative) fungal parasites in association with land plants, algae, other fungi, and animals, and elucidates the inherent problems that often render interpretation of even the most exquisite fungal fossils difficult. Of all the potential levels of fungal interaction, parasitism is perhaps the most difficult to demonstrate in the fossil record. Different lines of evidence obtained from both the host and fungus are required to safely discriminate parasitic fungi from saprotrophs and even mutualists when examined in fossils

The effect of liquid co-flow on gas fractions, bubble velocities and chord lengths in bubbly flows. Part II: asymmetric flow configurations

This paper describes the effects of uniform and non-uniform liquid co-flow on the bubbly flow in a rectangular column (with two inlets) deliberately aerated unevenly. The two vertical bubbly streams, comprising uniform bubbles, started interacting downstream of the trailing edge of a splitter plate. This study quantifies the emergence of buoyancy driven flow patterns as a function of the degree of a-symmetric gas sparging and (non-)uniform liquid co-flow by using Bubble Image Velocimetry (BIV) and dual-tip optical fibre probes. Without liquid co-flow, small differences in the gas fraction of the left and right inlet had a large effect on the mixing pattern, whereas a liquid co-flow stabilized a homogeneous flow regime and the flow pattern was less sensitive to gas fraction differences. Void fractions, bubble velocities and hord lengths were measured at two fixed position in the flow channel, whereas BIV provided a global overview of the flow structures. A correlation was developed to predict (a-symmetric) operating conditions for which the gas fraction of the left and right inlet are balanced, such that the bubble motion is governed by advection and no buoyancy driven flow structures arise. The data obtained is highly valuable for CFD validation and development purposes