Waiting for Q: An Exploration of QAnon Users' Online Migration to Poal in the Wake of Voat's Demise

Controversial and hateful online communities often face bans on mainstream social networks as part of moderation efforts. Reddit has implemented such measures by banning various communities and users in recent years. Although banning these communities eliminates the problem on one platform, the dispersal of users to other social networks, often with more lenient policies and moderation, remains a challenge. Voat, a Reddit-like platform, provided a haven for sharing controversial and hateful discourse that experienced significant growth and popularity with every Reddit ban until its eventual shutdown in December 2020. This study examines the migration patterns of QAnon adherents across Reddit, Voat, and Poal following the sudden Reddit bans and the announced Voat shutdown. We perform a large-scale measurement of the migrations, including Poal's influx following the Voat shutdown, which has not been studied before under this lens. We observe, among other things, that Reddit users suspected the imminent bans, so they suggested Voat as an alternative. However, after their most used subreddit, r/CBTS_Stream, was banned, users moved to r/greatawakening instead. It was only after the banning of both subreddits that users migrated to Voat. Similarly, Voat users proposed Poal as an alternative after Voat announced its shutdown, but their migration primarily occurred on the last day of Voat, resulting in approximately half of Voat's QAnon user base moving to Poal. This represents a significantly higher percentage compared to the migration from Reddit to Voat (9.7%), indicating that a warning with little time left, can aid towards an effective coordination among the community users. Lastly, our research uncovers evidence suggesting that discussions and planning related to the January 6th attack on the US Capitol emerged predominantly among Poal users, many of whom were Voat migrants

Comparison between HFC-134a and Alternative Refrigerants in Mobile Air Conditioners using the GREEN-MAC-LCCP© Model

The transition from CFC-12 (GWP=10,900) to HFC-134a (GWP=1,430) in the 1990’s in new vehicle air conditioners eliminated the potential contribution to ozone depletion from new vehicles and reduced the direct Global Warming Potential (GWP) by over 80%. One proposed alternative is HFC-1234yf (GWP=4). Despite the phase-in success of HFC-134a as a zero ODP automotive refrigerant it is still a potent greenhouse gas and the European Union (EU) issued Directive 2006/40/EC that prohibits the use of automotive refrigerants with GWP greater than 150, starting from January 1st, 2011. Due to such regulations, the automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), chemical manufacturers and Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) industry have evaluated several alternative refrigerants considering a range of selection criteria that include: refrigerant engineering performance, system design impact, MAC system changes to optimize the use of new refrigerants, cost, flamability, and environmental impacts including global warming, and human toxicity risks. There has been remarkable success in eliminating refrigerant fluids that deplete the ozone layer, but many of their replacements have high GWP. There is now a major international effort for a third generation refrigerant fluids that are safe both for ozone depletion and climate protection. During 2013, the United States and China proposed phasing out high GWP HFCs that have been introduced to replace ODP substances through the provisions of the Montreal Protocol. Europe is currently debating between two alternative fluids for vehicle air conditioners, and the outcome is being watched closely. This paper will compare the alternatives. New MAC systems that meet the low GWP requirements of the EU Directive refrigerants should also be equally or more efficient than HFC-134a designs. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) adds a step in the understanding of the dynamics of the industrial activities as a system and not as individual components, with implications for better policy decisions at the technological and environmental levels. This was recognized by the MAC industry and government and Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) was accepted as one of the methods for selecting among alternative refrigerants. We consider and implement LCA for developing the Global Refrigerants Energy & Environmental-Mobile Air Conditioning-Life Cycle Climate Performance (GREEN-MAC-LCCP)© model which is the tool that evaluates the full cycle of Greenhouse Gas emissions of alternative refrigerant systems. The goal of this tool is to provide a superior basis for engineers and policy makers to make wise decisions of alternative competing technologies. In this presentation, we summarize the evolution of refrigerant fluids and how the world has arrived at the present point. The interplay between the evolution of technology and the regulatory system that governs it, the economic drivers and the environmental health and safety implications will be elucidated. We will also provide a short overview of the model and the results obtained by evaluating various alternative refrigerant MAC systems and compare them with the HFC-134a production baseline. Using GREEN-MAC-LCCP© we estimate the energy consumption and GHG of current vehicle MACs that operate with HFC-134a and compare these results with new systems that operate with alternative refrigerants

"Is it a {Qoincidence}?": {A} First Step Towards Understanding and Characterizing the {QAnon} Movement on {Voat.co}

Online fringe communities offer fertile grounds for users to seek and share paranoid ideas fueling suspicion of mainstream news, and outright conspiracy theories. Among these, the QAnon conspiracy theory has emerged in 2017 on 4chan, broadly supporting the idea that powerful politicians, aristocrats, and celebrities are closely engaged in a global pedophile ring. At the same time, governments are thought to be controlled by "puppet masters," as democratically elected officials serve as a fake showroom of democracy. In this paper, we provide an empirical exploratory analysis of the QAnon community on Voat.co, a Reddit-esque news aggregator, which has recently captured the interest of the press for its toxicity and for providing a platform to QAnon followers. More precisely, we analyze a large dataset from /v/GreatAwakening, the most popular QAnon-related subverse (the Voat equivalent of a subreddit) to characterize activity and user engagement. To further understand the discourse around QAnon, we study the most popular named entities mentioned in the posts, along with the most prominent topics of discussion, which focus on US politics, Donald Trump, and world events. We also use word2vec models to identify narratives around QAnon-specific keywords, and our graph visualization shows that some of QAnon-related ones are closely related to those from the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and "drops" by "Q." Finally, we analyze content toxicity, finding that discussions on /v/GreatAwakening are less toxic than in the broad Voat community

Μελέτη συσχέτισης πολυμορφισμών στα γονίδια HCRTR2, GNB3 και ADH4 με την προδιάθεση για εμφάνιση Αθροιστικής Κεφαλαλγίας

Η αθροιστική κεφαλαλγία (CH) ανήκει στης πρωτοπαθείς κεφαλαλγικές διαταραχές, εμφανίζει επιπολασμό 0,1% και χαρακτηρίζεται από επώδυνες, μονόπλευρες, επαναλαμβανόμενες και βραχείας διάρκειας κρίσεις κεφαλαλγίας, οι οποίες συνοδεύονται με συμπτώματα από το Αυτόνομο Νευρικό Σύστημα, πάντα ομόπλευρα με τον πόνο. Η παθοφυσιολογία της αθροιστικής κεφαλαλγίας δεν έχει γίνει ακόμη πλήρως κατανοητή, παρά τη σαφή κλινική εικόνα της. Στην παρούσα ερευνητική εργασία, μελετήθηκε ο τρόπος με τον οποίο κατανέμονται σε δείγμα ασθενών και μαρτύρων Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρωπαϊκής Καυκάσιας προέλευσης, 3 σημειακοί νουκλεοτιδικοί πολυμορφισμοί (SNPs) των γονιδίων HCRTR2 (rs2653349) και ADH4 (rs1800759) που συσχετίζονται με την αθροιστική κεφαλαλγία βάσει βιβλιογραφίας και του GNB3 (rs5443) που συσχετίσθηκε με την ανταπόκριση σε θεραπευτική αγωγή με τριπτάνες. DNA από επιθηλιακά κύτταρα της στοματικής κοιλότητας 619 εθελοντών μαρτύρων και 30 ασθενών με διαγεγνωσμένη αθροιστική κεφαλαλγία απομονώθηκε και αναλύθηκε με τη χρήση real time PCR. Για τον rs2653349, 490 μάρτυρες (79,2%) και 25 ασθενείς (86,2%) έφεραν τον γονότυπο G:G, 119 μάρτυρες (19,2%) και 3 ασθενείς (10,3%) έφεραν τον G:A και 10 μάρτυρες (1,6%) και 1 ασθενής (3,4%) έφεραν τον γονότυπο A:A. Το φυσικό G αλληλόμορφο εμφανίστηκε σε ποσοστό 88,8% στους μάρτυρες και σε ποσοστό 91,4% στους ασθενείς. Αναφορικά με τον rs5443, 273 μάρτυρες (44,1%) και 12 ασθενείς (44,4%) έφεραν τον γονότυπο C:C, 264 μάρτυρες (42,6%) και 14 ασθενείς (51,9%) έφεραν τον C:T και 82 μάρτυρες (13,2%) και 1 ασθενής (3,7%) έφεραν τον γονότυπο T:T. Το φυσικό C αλληλόμορφο εμφανίστηκε σε ποσοστό 65,4% στους μάρτυρες και σε ποσοστό 70,4% στους ασθενείς. Για τον rs1800759, 208 μάρτυρες (33,6%) και 14 ασθενείς (56,0%) έφεραν τον γονότυπο C:C, 312 μάρτυρες (50,4%) και 5 ασθενείς (20,0%) έφεραν τον C:A και 99 μάρτυρες (16,0%) και 6 ασθενείς (24,0%) έφεραν τον γονότυπο Α:Α. Το φυσικό C αλληλόμορφο εμφανίστηκε σε ποσοστό 58,8% στους μάρτυρες και σε ποσοστό 66,0% στους ασθενείς. Το μεταλλαγμένο αλληλόμορφο Α του πολυμορφισμού rs2653349 στο γονίδιο του υποδοχέα υποκρετίνης τύπου 2 (HCRTR2) και Τ του πολυμορφισμού rs5443 στο γονίδιο της β3 υπομονάδας της G πρωτεΐνης (GNB3) εμφανίζονται συχνότερα στους Νοτιοανατολικούς Ευρωπαίους Καυκάσιους μάρτυρες σε σχέση με τους ασθενείς με αθροιστική κεφαλαλγία, χωρίς ωστόσο τα αποτελέσματα αυτά να είναι στατιστικά σημαντικά. Αντίθετα, ομοζυγωτία για το φυσικό C αλληλόμορφο του πολυμορφισμού rs1800759 στο γονίδιο της αλκοολικής αφυδρογονάσης 4 (ADH4) φαίνεται να συμβάλλει στην προδιάθεση για εμφάνιση αθροιστικής κεφαλαλγίας. Οι μελετούμενοι πολυμορφισμοί θα μπορούσαν να χρησιμοποιηθούν ως βιοδείκτες για την προδιάθεση ενός ατόμου να εμφανίσει την ασθένεια. Επιπλέον, μπορούν να χρησιμεύσουν ως εργαλείο στη βασική έρευνα, ούτως ώστε να εντοπιστούν μοριακές δομές οι οποίες συντελούν στην παθοφυσιολογία της αθροιστικής κεφαλαλγίας.Cluster headache (CH) is a primary neurovascular headache with an increased hereditary risk and is characterized by unilateral pain associated with ipsilateral cranial autonomic features. CH prevalence is approximately 0.1% of the population. The pathophysiology of CH has not yet been fully understood despite its clear clinical picture. A comparison of the frequency distribution of two cluster headache associated polymorphisms, the rs2653349 polymorphism in the HCRTR2 gene and the rs1800759 in the ADH4 gene, and a triptan-treatment response associated polymorphism, the rs5443 in the GNB3 gene, was perfomed in a Southeastern European Caucasian case-control population. DNA from buccal swabs of 619 non related controls and 30 patients with diagnosed CH was collected and analysed using real-time PCR. For rs2653349, 490 controls (79.2%) and 25 patients (86.2%) were homozygous for the wild type G allele, 119 controls (19.2%) and 3 patients (10.3%) were heterozygous and 10 controls (1.6%) and 1 patient (3.4%) were homozygous for the rare A allele. The frequency of wild-type G allele was 88.8% in controls and 91.4% in patients. For rs5443, 273 controls (44.1%) and 12 patients (44.4%) were homozygous for the wild type C allele, 264 controls (42.6%) and 14 patients (51.9%) were heterozygous and 82 controls (13.2%) and 1 patient (3.7%) were homozygous for the rare T allele. The frequency of wild-type C allele was 65.4% in controls and 70.4% in patients. For rs1800759, 208 controls (33.6%) and 14 patients (56.0%) were homozygous for the wild type C allele, 312 controls (50.4%) and 5 patients (20.0%) were heterozygous and 99 controls (16.0%) and 6 patients (24.0%) were homozygous for the rare A allele. The frequency of wild-type C allele was 58.8% in controls and 66.0% in patients. The mutant A allele of the rs2653349 polymorphism in HCRTR2 gene and T allele of the rs5443 polymorphism in the GNB3 gene appear more often in Southeastern European Caucasian controls than in patients with CH, although not statistically significant. In contrast, homozygous for the wild type C allele of the rs1800759 polymorphism in the ADH4 gene appears to statistically significant (p=0.021) contribute to the predisposition for CH. CH associated polymorphisms can be used as biomarkers to predict the predisposition of a person to develop CH. In addition, they can be useful tools for basic research to identify molecular structures that contribute to the pathophysiology of the disease

Raiders of the Lost Kek: 3.5 Years of Augmented 4chan Posts from the Politically Incorrect Board

This paper presents a dataset with over 3.3M threads and 134.5M posts from the Politically Incorrect board (/pol/) of the imageboard forum 4chan, posted over a period of almost 3.5 years (June 2016-November 2019). To the best of our knowledge, this represents the largest publicly available 4chan dataset, providing the community with an archive of posts that have been permanently deleted from 4chan and are otherwise inaccessible. We augment the data with a set of additional labels, including toxicity scores and the named entities mentioned in each post. We also present a statistical analysis of the dataset, providing an overview of what researchers interested in using it can expect, as well as a simple content analysis, shedding light on the most prominent discussion topics, the most popular entities mentioned, and the toxicity level of each post. Overall, we are confident that our work will motivate and assist researchers in studying and understanding 4chan, as well as its role on the greater Web. For instance, we hope this dataset may be used for cross-platform studies of social media, as well as being useful for other types of research like natural language processing. Finally, our dataset can assist qualitative work focusing on in-depth case studies of specific narratives, events, or social theories

Life cycle analysis, Carbon footprint, Sustainability

The aim of Life Cycle Analysis is to try and evaluate the environmental impact of a device (or process), taking into account all the important contributing factors over its life. This can include the construction impacts and end of life issues, as well as any impact during the actual “use-phase” of the device. In the context of retail refrigeration, by far the dominant environmental impact results from the use of energy to run the refrigeration plant. This also applies to almost anything that uses a large amount of energy during its operation. It is distinct from, e.g. the environmental impact of a building material (bricks, concrete, etc.) where the major lifetime impact issues from the production processes before use. However, although the “use-phase” of refrigeration plant dominates the lifetime environmental impact, the remaining impacts are still very significant. A detailed breakdown of the impacts is given later in this chapter. An important point to note when talking of environmental impacts is that often these are in fact potential environmental impacts. For example, certain processes generate gases which can be harmful to human health, or perhaps potentially affect the global temperature. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty in many of the mechanisms that are affected by pollution, and whether a pollutant would have the opportunity to cause harm, and it is therefore essential to be aware that what we calculate in LCA are potential environmental impacts. This does not undermine the value of LCA, but recognizes and clarifies the basis on which LCAs are conducted. LCA attempts to include all significant, potential environmental impacts. These impacts can be of a disparate nature, e.g. the effect on the ecological well-being of a forest (for wood production), and the direct impact on human health (e.g. sulphur dioxide’s effect on lung cancer). This leads to the question of how to compare different types of impact and whether a single index of environmental impact can be calculated. It is only by weighting different impact types that we can produce such a single indicator of overall impact. The idea is straightforward, but the weightings are entirely subjective, albeit that they may be decided on by an expert panel. It is important to remember this subjective nature of the single environmental impact index and to be aware of what weightings were used in arriving at it

Infrared absorption spectra, radiative efficiencies, and global warming potentials of perfluorocarbons: Comparison between experiment and theory

Experimentally and theoretically determined infrared spectra are reported for a series of straight-chain perfluorocarbons: C2F6, C3F8, C4F10, C5F12, C6F14, and C8F18. Theoretical spectra were determined using both density functional (DFT) and ab initio methods. Radiative efficiencies (REs) were determined using the method of Pinnock et al. (1995) and combined with atmospheric lifetimes from the literature to determine global warming potentials (GWPs). Theoretically determined absorption cross sections were within 10% of experimentally determined values. Despite being much less computationally expensive, DFT calculations were generally found to perform better than ab initio methods. There is a strong wavenumber dependence of radiative forcing in the region of the fundamental C-F vibration, and small differences in wavelength between band positions determined by theory and experiment have a significant impact on the REs. We apply an empirical correction to the theoretical spectra and then test this correction on a number of branched chain and cyclic perfluoroalkanes. We then compute absorption cross sections, REs, and GWPs for an additional set of perfluoroalkenes

“Is it a qoincidence?”: An exploratory study of QAnon on Voat

Online fringe communities offer fertile grounds to users seeking and sharing ideas fueling suspicion of mainstream news and conspiracy theories. Among these, the QAnon conspiracy theory emerged in 2017 on 4chan, broadly supporting the idea that powerful politicians, aristocrats, and celebrities are closely engaged in a global pedophile ring. Simultaneously, governments are thought to be controlled by “puppet masters,” as democratically elected officials serve as a fake showroom of democracy. This paper provides an empirical exploratory analysis of the QAnon community on Voat.co, a Reddit-esque news aggregator, which has captured the interest of the press for its toxicity and for providing a platform to QAnon followers. More precisely, we analyze a large dataset from /v/GreatAwakening, the most popular QAnon-related subverse (the Voat equivalent of a subreddit), to characterize activity and user engagement. To further understand the discourse around QAnon, we study the most popular named entities mentioned in the posts, along with the most prominent topics of discussion, which focus on US politics, Donald Trump, and world events. We also use word embeddings to identify narratives around QAnon-specific keywords. Our graph visualization shows that some of the QAnon-related ones are closely related to those from the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and so-called drops by “Q.” Finally, we analyze content toxicity, finding that discussions on /v/GreatAwakening are less toxic than in the broad Voat community.Accepted manuscrip