Algorithms for Skein Manipulation in a Genus-2 Handlebody

We present a series of algorithms for skein manipulation in a genus-2 handlebody, implementing a novel strand sorting method to reduce any skein to a skein in a 2-punctured disk. This reduction guarantees resolution as a linear combination of basis elements of the Kauffman Bracket Skein Module. Manually, these skein manipulations prove to be computationally intensive due to the inherent exponential nature of skein relations (i.e., a skein diagram with $n$ crossings yields $2^n$ new skein diagrams, each in $\mathbb{C}[t,t^{-1}]$, the Laurent polynomials with complex coefficients). Thus, as the number of crossings in a skein diagram increases, manual computations become intractable and automation desirable. We enable the automation of all skein computations in the genus-2 handlebody by first converting the skein diagram into an equivalent array, reducing the task of performing skein computations to that of implementing array operators, and then proving that we can always recover the resulting complex Laurent polynomial.Comment: Presented at the American Mathematical Society (AMS) Spring Southeastern Sectional Meeting, April 2023, Atlanta G

Student perspectives on using Google Glass recordings to assess their communicative and clinical skills with standardized patients

Introduction This exploratory study evaluated student perceptions of their ability to self- and peer assess (i) interpersonal communication skills and (ii) clinical procedures (a head and neck examination) during standardised patient (SP) interactions recorded by Google Glass compared to a static camera. Methods Students compared the Google Glass and static camera recordings using an instrument consisting of 20 Likert-type items and four open- and closed-text items. The Likert-type items asked students to rate how effectively they could assess specific aspects of interpersonal communication and a head and neck examination in these two different types of recordings. The interpersonal communication items included verbal, paraverbal and non-verbal subscales. The open- and closed-text items asked students to report on more globally the differences between the two types of recordings. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted for all survey items. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted to determine qualitative emergent themes from the open-text questions. Results Students found the Glass videos more effective for assessing verbal (t22 = 2.091, P = 0.048) and paraverbal communication skills (t22 = 3.304, P = 0.003), whilst they reported that the static camera video was more effective for assessing non-verbal communication skills (t22 = −2.132, P = 0.044). Four principle themes emerged from the students' open-text responses comparing Glass to static camera recordings for self- and peer assessment: (1) first-person perspective, (2) assessment of non-verbal communication, (3) audiovisual experience and (4) student operation of Glass. Discussion and conclusion Our findings suggest that students perceive that Google Glass is a valuable tool for facilitating self- and peer assessment of SP examinations because of students’ perceived ability to emphasise and illustrate communicative and clinical activities from a first-person perspective

Configuration Interaction calculations of positron binding to Be(3Po)

The Configuration Interaction method is applied to investigate the possibility of positron binding to the metastable beryllium (1s^22s2p 3Po) state. The largest calculation obtained an estimated energy that was unstable by 0.00014 Hartree with respect to the Ps + Be^+(2s) lowest dissociation channel. It is likely that positron binding to parent states with non-zero angular momentum is inhibited by centrifugal barriers.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, Elsevier tex format, In press Nucl.Instrum.Meth.Phys.Res.B positron issu

Organisations-IDs in Deutschland – Ergebnisse einer Bestandsaufnahme im Jahr 2020

Ein Persistent Identifier (PID) für wissenschaftliche Organisationen, wie Forschungseinrichtungen oder Forschungsförderorganisationen ist ein weiteres entscheidendes Puzzlestück zur Förderung der Standardisierung im wissenschaftlichen Publikationsprozess – insbesondere mit Hinblick auf den bereits etablierten Digital Object Identifier (DOI) für wissenschaftliche Werke und der ORCID iD für wissenschaftliche Autor*innen. Die Anwendung dieser PIDs ermöglicht automatisierte Datenflüsse und garantiert die dauerhafte Verknüpfung von Informationsobjekten. Darüber hinaus sind PIDs elementare Bestandteile zur Umsetzung von Open Science. So kommt z. B. der Anwendung eines PID für wissenschaftliche Organisationen bei der Analyse von Publikationen und Kosten der Open-Access-Transformation an einer Einrichtung eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Um mehr über den Status quo der Nutzung und Verbreitung von Organisations-IDs in Deutschland zu erfahren, wurde im Rahmen des DFG-geförderten Projekts ORCID DE im Zeitraum vom 13.07.2020 bis zum 04.12.2020 eine „Umfrage zum Bedarf und Nutzung von Organisations-IDs an Hochschulen und außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen in Deutschland“ unter 548 wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen in Deutschland durchgeführt. An der bislang größten Befragung zu Organisations-IDs in Deutschland beteiligten sich 183 Einrichtungen. Bestandteil der Studie waren unter anderem Fragen zur Kenntnis, Verbreitung und Nutzung von Organisations-IDs an wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen. Darüber hinaus wurden Anforderungen an Organisations-IDs bzw. ihre Metadaten (z. B. Relationen und Granularität) erfragt. Der vorliegende Beitrag bietet einen umfassenden Überblick über die Ergebnisse der im Rahmen des Projekts durchgeführten Umfrage und stellt einen Beitrag zur Förderung und zu einer gesteigerten Bekanntheit von Organisations-IDs dar.A persistent identifier (PID) for research organizations represents another important piece of the puzzle to promote standardization in the scholarly publication process – especially considering the already established digital object identifier (DOI) for research outputs and the ORCID iD for researchers. The use of these PIDs enables automated data flows and guarantees the permanent linking of information objects. Furthermore, PIDs are fundamental components for the implementation of Open Science. For example, when analyzing publications and costs of the Open Access transformation at an institution, the application of a PID for research organizations is crucial. In order to learn more about the status quo of the use and dissemination of organizational identifiers in Germany, a "Survey on the Need for and Use of Organizational Identifiers at Universities and Non-University Research Institutions in Germany" was conducted among 548 research institutions in Germany in the period from July 13, 2020 to December 4, 2020 as part of the DFG-funded ORCID DE project. This survey constitutes the largest survey on organizational identifiers in Germany to date; it counts 183 participating institutions. Among other things, the survey included questions on the knowledge, distribution, and use of organizational identifiers at research institutions. In addition, requirements for organizational identifiers and their metadata (e.g., relations and granularity) were queried. The present paper provides a comprehensive overview of the results of the survey conducted as part of the aforementioned project and contributes to the advancement and an increased awareness of organizational identifiers.Peer Reviewe

Measuring soil sustainability via soil resilience.

Soils are the nexus of water, energy and food, which illustrates the need for a holistic approach in sustainable soil management. The present study therefore aimed at identifying a bioindicator for the evaluation of soil management sustainability in a cross-disciplinary approach between soil science and multi-omics research. For this purpose we first discuss the remaining problems and challenges of evaluating sustainability and consequently suggest one measurable bioindicator for soil management sustainability. In this concept, we define soil sustainability as the maintenance of soil functional integrity. The potential to recover functional and structural integrity after a disturbance is generally defined as resilience. This potential is a product of the past and the present soil management, and at the same time prospect of possible soil responses to future disturbances. Additionally, it is correlated with the multiple soil functions and hence reflecting the multifunctionality of the soil system. Consequently, resilience can serve as a bioindicator for soil sustainability. The measurable part of soil resilience is the response diversity, calculated from the systematic contrasting of multi-omic markers for genetic potential and functional activity, and referred to as potential Maximum Ecological Performance (MEPpot) in this study. Calculating MEPpot will allow to determine the thresholds of resistance and resilience and potential tipping points for a regime shift towards irreversible or permanent unfavorable soil states for each individual soil considered. The calculation of such ecosystem thresholds is to our opinion the current global cross-disciplinary challenge

Bis(N-methyl-N-phenyl­carbamo­yl)disulfane

The title compound, C16H16N2O2S2, has been synthesized by several different high-yield routes, and has been encountered as a co-product in a number of reaction pathways, ever since it became of inter­est to our research program over 30 years ago. We now confirm the proposed mol­ecular structure in which the mol­ecule exhibits a twofold axis of symmetry through the mid-point of the S—S bond and the two planes defined by the (carbamo­yl)sulfenyl moieties are essentially perpendicular to each other [dihedral angle = 81.55 (14)°]