Restricting digital sites of dissent: commercial social media and free expression

The widespread use of commercial social media platforms by protesters and activists has enhanced protest mobilisation and reporting but it has placed social media providers in the intermediary role as facilitators of dissent and has thereby created new challenges. Companies like Google and Facebook are increasingly restricting content that is published on or distributed through their platforms; they have been subject to obstruction by governments; and their services have been at the core of large-scale data collection and surveillance. This article analyses and categorises forms of infrastructure-based restrictions on free expression and dissent. It shows how private intermediaries have been incorporated into state-led content policies; how they set their own standards for legitimate online communication and intervene accordingly; and how state-based actions and commercial self-regulation intersect in the specific area of online surveillance. Based on a broad review of cases, it situates the role of social media in the wider trend of the privatisation of communications policy and the complex interplay between state-based regulation and commercial rule-making

Reversible and Irreversible Interactions of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) with Oxygen Studied by Spin-Sensitive Methods

Understanding of degradation mechanisms in polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunctions on the microscopic level aimed at improving their intrinsic stability is crucial for the breakthrough of organic photovoltaics. These materials are vulnerable to exposure to light and/or oxygen, hence they involve electronic excitations. To unambiguously probe the excited states of various multiplicities and their reactions with oxygen, we applied combined magneto-optical methods based on multifrequency (9 and 275 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), photoluminescence (PL), and PL-detected magnetic resonance (PLDMR) to the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunctions (P3HT:PCBM; PCBM = [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester). We identified two distinct photochemical reaction routes, one being fully reversible and related to the formation of polymer:oxygen charge transfer complexes, the other one, irreversible, being related to the formation of singlet oxygen under participation of bound triplet excitons on the polymer chain. With respect to the blends, we discuss the protective effect of the methanofullerenes on the conjugated polymer bypassing the triplet exciton generation

On the role of the effective interaction in quasi-elastic electron scattering calculations

The role played by the effective residual interaction in the transverse nuclear response for quasi-free electron scattering is discussed. The analysis is done by comparing different calculations performed in the Random--Phase Approximation and Ring Approximation frameworks. The importance of the exchange terms in this energy region is investigated and the changes on the nuclear responses due to the modification of the interaction are evaluated. The calculated quasi-elastic responses show clear indication of their sensibility to the details of the interaction and this imposes the necessity of a more careful study of the role of the different channels of the interaction in this excitation region.Comment: 16 pages, 4 Postscript figure

IDLaS-NL – A platform for running customized studies on individual differences in Dutch language skills via the internet

We introduce the Individual Differences in Language Skills (IDLaS-NL) web platform, which enables users to run studies on individual differences in Dutch language skills via the internet. IDLaS-NL consists of 35 behavioral tests, previously validated in participants aged between 18 and 30 years. The platform provides an intuitive graphical interface for users to select the tests they wish to include in their research, to divide these tests into different sessions and to determine their order. Moreover, for standardized administration the platform provides an application (an emulated browser) wherein the tests are run. Results can be retrieved by mouse click in the graphical interface and are provided as CSV-file output via email. Similarly, the graphical interface enables researchers to modify and delete their study configurations. IDLaS-NL is intended for researchers, clinicians, educators and in general anyone conducting fundamental research into language and general cognitive skills; it is not intended for diagnostic purposes. All platform services are free of charge. Here, we provide a description of its workings as well as instructions for using the platform. The IDLaS-NL platform can be accessed at www.mpi.nl/idlas-nl

Shared lexical access processes in speaking and listening? An individual differences study

- * indicates joint first authorship - Lexical access is a core component of word processing. In order to produce or comprehend a word, language users must access word forms in their mental lexicon. However, despite its involvement in both tasks, previous research has often studied lexical access in either production or comprehension alone. Therefore, it is unknown to which extent lexical access processes are shared across both tasks. Picture naming and auditory lexical decision are considered good tools for studying lexical access. Both of them are speeded tasks. Given these commonalities, another open question concerns the involvement of general cognitive abilities (e.g., processing speed) in both linguistic tasks. In the present study, we addressed these questions. We tested a large group of young adults enrolled in academic and vocational courses. Participants completed picture naming and auditory lexical decision tasks as well as a battery of tests assessing non-verbal processing speed, vocabulary, and non-verbal intelligence. Our results suggest that the lexical access processes involved in picture naming and lexical decision are related but less closely than one might have thought. Moreover, reaction times in picture naming and lexical decision depended as least as much on general processing speed as on domain-specific linguistic processes (i.e., lexical access processes)

Short-range correlations in low-lying nuclear excited states

The electromagnetic transitions to various low-lying excited states of 16O, 48Ca and 208Pb are calculated within a model which considers the short-range correlations. In general the effects of the correlations are small and do not explain the required quenching to describe the data.Comment: 6 pages, 2 postscript figures, 1 tabl

Tools for BIM-GIS integration (IFC georeferencing and conversions): Results from the GeoBIM benchmark 2019

The integration of 3D city models with Building Information Models (BIM), coined as GeoBIM, facilitates improved data support to several applications, e.g., 3D map updates, building permits issuing, detailed city analysis, infrastructure design, context-based building design, to name a few. To solve the integration, several issues need to be tackled and solved, i.e., harmonization of features, interoperability, format conversions, integration of procedures. The GeoBIM benchmark 2019, funded by ISPRS and EuroSDR, evaluated the state of implementation of tools addressing some of those issues. In particular, in the part of the benchmark described in this paper, the application of georeferencing to Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) models and making consistent conversions between 3D city models and BIM are investigated, considering the OGC CityGML and buildingSMART IFC as reference standards. In the benchmark, sample datasets in the two reference standards were provided. External volunteers were asked to describe and test georeferencing procedures for IFC models and conversion tools between CityGML and IFC. From the analysis of the delivered answers and processed datasets, it was possible to notice that while there are tools and procedures available to support georeferencing and data conversion, comprehensive definition of the requirements, clear rules to perform such two tasks, as well as solid technological solutions implementing them, are still lacking in functionalities. Those specific issues can be a sensible starting point for planning the next GeoBIM integration agendas

El proyecto genómico del hongo Ophiostoma

The Canadian Ophiostoma Genome Project, which was initiated in 2001, is a collaborative effort between research teams in four different universities. Its general objective is to conduct a large-scale identification and analysis of genes controlling important aspects of the life cycle of Ophiostomatoid fungi. To this end, several expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries were obtained for the Dutch elm disease pathogen Ophiostoma novo-ulmi and the sapstainer O. piceae, following partial, single-pass automated sequencing of complementary DNA clones. The largest EST library, prepared from yeast like cells of O. novo-ulmi grown at 24 °C, contains over 3,400 readable sequences and serves as a general reference library for Ophiostomatoid fungi. Smaller, specific EST libraries were constructed from mycelia of O. novo-ulmi grown at suboptimal temperatures, from perithecia formed in laboratory crosses, as well as from O. piceae grown on different carbon sources. Ongoing bioinformatic searches in public databases have so far identified over 750 Ophiostoma unique ESTs which show significant homology with other fungal genes of known function, although a high proportion of Ophiostoma ESTs are either orphans (no match to any known gene) or show homology to genes of unknown function. In addition to EST analysis, differential expression of selected genes and structural genomics are also being studied.El programa canadiense sobre el genoma de Ophiostoma, iniciado en 2001, es una colaboración entre equipos de investigación de cuatro universidades diferentes. Su objetivo general es el desarrollo de la identificación y análisis a gran escala de los genes que controlan algunos aspectos importantes del ciclo vital de los hongos de Ophiostoma. Con este fin, se ha obtenido diversas bibliotecas de marcadores de secuencias expresadas (bibliotecas EST) para la el patógeno de la grafiosis Ophiostoma novo-ulmi y para el hongo de tinción vascular O. piceae, seguido de una secuenciación automática parcial de un único paso de clones complementarios de ADN. La mayor biblioteca EST, preparada a partir de conidios de O. novo-ulmi cultivadas a 24 ºC, contiene más de 3.400 secuencias legíbles, y sirve como biblioteca de referencia para los hongos de Ophiostoma. Se han desarrollado bibliotecas específicas menores a partir de micelios de O. novo-ulmi cultivados a temperaturas sub-óptimas, a partir de los peritecios formados en cruces realizados en laboratorio, así como a partir de O. piceae cultivado en distintas fuentes de carbón. Las búsquedas bioinformáticas en bases de datos públicas han permitido identificar hasta ahora más de 750 EST exclusivos de Ophiostoma, lo que muestra una significativa homología con otros genes fúngicos de función conocida, aunque una alta proporción de los EST de Ophiostoma son o bien huérfanos (no relacionados con ningún gen conocido), o bien muestran homología con genes cuya función es desconocida. Además del análisis EST, la expresión diferencial de genes seleccionados y la estructura genómica están siendo también estudiadas

The field high-amplitude SX Phe variable BL Cam: results from a multisite photometric campaign. II. Evidence of a binary - possibly triple - system

Short-period high-amplitude pulsating stars of Population I ($\delta$ Sct stars) and II (SX Phe variables) exist in the lower part of the classical (Cepheid) instability strip. Most of them have very simple pulsational behaviours, only one or two radial modes being excited. Nevertheless, BL Cam is a unique object among them, being an extreme metal-deficient field high-amplitude SX Phe variable with a large number of frequencies. Based on a frequency analysis, a pulsational interpretation was previously given. aims heading (mandatory) We attempt to interpret the long-term behaviour of the residuals that were not taken into account in the previous Observed-Calculated (O-C) short-term analyses. methods heading (mandatory) An investigation of the O-C times has been carried out, using a data set based on the previous published times of light maxima, largely enriched by those obtained during an intensive multisite photometric campaign of BL Cam lasting several months. results heading (mandatory) In addition to a positive (161 $\pm$ 3) x 10$^{-9}$ yr$^{-1}$ secular relative increase in the main pulsation period of BL Cam, we detected in the O-C data short- (144.2 d) and long-term ($\sim$ 3400 d) variations, both incompatible with a scenario of stellar evolution. conclusions heading (mandatory) Interpreted as a light travel-time effect, the short-term O-C variation is indicative of a massive stellar component (0.46 to 1 M_{\sun}) with a short period orbit (144.2 d), within a distance of 0.7 AU from the primary. More observations are needed to confirm the long-term O-C variations: if they were also to be caused by a light travel-time effect, they could be interpreted in terms of a third component, in this case probably a brown dwarf star ($\geq$ 0.03 \ M_{\sun}), orbiting in $\sim$ 3400 d at a distance of 4.5 AU from the primary.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&