Looking for Cosmological Alfven Waves in WMAP Data

A primordial cosmological magnetic field induces and supports vorticity or Alfven waves, which in turn generate cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. A homogeneous primordial magnetic field with fixed direction induces correlations between the $a_{l-1,m}$ and $a_{l+1,m}$ multipole coefficients of the CMB temperature anisotropy field. We discuss the constraints that can be placed on the strength of such a primordial magnetic field using CMB anisotropy data from the WMAP experiment. We place 3 $\sigma$ upper limits on the strength of the magnetic field of $B < 15$ nG for vector perturbation spectral index $n=-5$ and $B<1.7$ nG for $n=-7$.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, minor changes, references added, ApJ, in pres

Synergistic Anti-Candida Activity of Bengazole A in the Presence of Bengamide A †.

Bengazoles A⁻G from the marine sponge Jaspis sp. exhibit potent in vitro antifungal activity against Candida spp. and other pathogenic fungi. The mechanism of action (MOA) of bengazole A was explored in Candida albicans under both liquid culture and surface culture on Mueller-Hinton agar. Pronounced dose-dependent synergistic antifungal activity was observed with bengazole A in the presence of bengamide A, which is also a natural product from Jaspis sp. The MOA of bengazole A was further explored by monitoring the sterol composition of C. albicans in the presence of sub-lethal concentrations of bengazole A. The GCMS of solvent extracts prepared from liquid cultures of C. albicans in the presence of clotrimazole-a clinically approved azole antifungal drug that suppresses ergosterol biosynthesis by the inhibition of 14α-demethylase-showed reduced cellular ergosterol content and increased concentrations of lanosterol and 24-methylenedihydrolanosterol (a shunt metabolite of ergosterol biosynthesis). No change in relative sterol composition was observed when C. albicans was cultured with bengazole A. These results eliminate an azole-like MOA for the bengazoles, and suggest that another as-yet unidentified mechanism is operative

Swaying Individuals’ Privacy Concerns Through Amplifying vs. Diminishing Counter Arguments: An Awareness-Motivation-Capability Perspective

Individuals\u27 privacy concern has been found to be swayed by counter arguments. This study investigated the swaying influence of amplifying vs. diminishing arguments (i.e., counter arguments that seek to increase or decrease privacy concerns) on individuals’ privacy concerns and the moderating impact of level of sensitivity and privacy-related knowledge. Data was collected using online survey and respondents were college students enrolled in a Midwest university. Results suggest that the swaying influence depends on the level of sensitivity—the greatest swaying influence happens when individuals are presented with amplifying arguments for a highly sensitive issue. In addition, the swaying influences are smaller for individuals with high privacy knowledge; for those with low privacy knowledge, however, the swaying influence is stronger when the arguments are consistent (as compared to inconsistent) with their initial assessments. In a word, individuals with low privacy knowledge show greater cognitive bias when processing privacy related arguments

Task-Technology Fit and Culture: Perceptions of and Media Feature Preferences for The Task of Delivering Bad Nwes

Task-technology fit (TTF) suggests that what drives technology utilizations is individuals’ subjective evaluations of fit. The technology aspect that gives rise to task-technology fit has received extensive attention, and researchers recently called for more attention to the task aspect. In this paper, we examine how culture may affect the task aspect of TTF, consequently leading to differences in subjective evaluations of fit and ultimately technology utilizations. Moreover, we distinguish the two mechanisms via which culture may affect the task aspect of task-technology fit, i.e., task perception and task response. Focusing on the task of delivering bad news, we examine cultural differences (China vs. Non-China) in the perception of and responses to (in terms of media feature preferences) the task of delivering bad news. Data was collected using surveys from clients of a multinational public relations company. Results show that there was no difference in task perception for delivering bad news between Chinese and Non-Chinese participants, marginally supported difference in the preferences for rehearsability, and no difference in the preference for symbol sets

Face Challenging Perception and Media Feature Preference for The Task of Delivering Bad News: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Delivering bad news is a frequently occurring, unpleasant and challenging communication task. Literature on bad news communication attributes the challenge of delivering bad news to individuals’ concern about hurting other’s face, a concept originated and dominant in China but applicable to other cultures. As the interactions at the workplace become increasingly computer-mediated, communication media may be leveraged to deliver bad news. The existing literature offered some insights on technology (including communication media) preference as well as cultural differences in it. However, existing research focused on the technology aspect. This study examines cultural differences in technology preference due to the task aspect. Specifically, focusing on the task of delivering bad news, this study distinguishes between the two mechanisms via which cultural differences may emerge, i.e., task perception (i.e., face challenging perception) and task response (in terms of media feature preference). Data is collected using surveys from clients of a multinational public relations company. Results show that there is no cultural difference (China versus non-China) in face challenging perception, that individuals’ face challenging perception increases their preference for high rehearsability and for less natural symbol sets, and that, holding face challenging perception constant, there is marginally supported cultural difference in the preferences for rehearsability but no difference in the preference for symbol sets. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol10/iss2/2

L2P: An Algorithm for Estimating Heavy-tailed Outcomes

Many real-world prediction tasks have outcome variables that have characteristic heavy-tail distributions. Examples include copies of books sold, auction prices of art pieces, demand for commodities in warehouses, etc. By learning heavy-tailed distributions, "big and rare" instances (e.g., the best-sellers) will have accurate predictions. Most existing approaches are not dedicated to learning heavy-tailed distribution; thus, they heavily under-predict such instances. To tackle this problem, we introduce Learning to Place (L2P), which exploits the pairwise relationships between instances for learning. In its training phase, L2P learns a pairwise preference classifier: is instance A > instance B? In its placing phase, L2P obtains a prediction by placing the new instance among the known instances. Based on its placement, the new instance is then assigned a value for its outcome variable. Experiments on real data show that L2P outperforms competing approaches in terms of accuracy and ability to reproduce heavy-tailed outcome distribution. In addition, L2P provides an interpretable model by placing each predicted instance in relation to its comparable neighbors. Interpretable models are highly desirable when lives and treasure are at stake.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables Nature of changes from previous version: 1. Added complexity analysis in Section 2.2 2. Datasets change 3. Added LambdaMART in the baseline methods, also a brief discussion on why LambdaMart failed in our problem. 4. Figure update

Institutional Investors and Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Policies: Evidence from Toxics Release Data

This paper studies the role of institutional investors in influencing corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies by analyzing the relation between institutional ownership and toxic release from facilities to which institutions are geographically proximate. We develop a local preference hypothesis based on the delegated philanthropy and transaction-costs theories. Consistent with the hypothesis, local institutional ownership is negatively related to facility toxic release. The negative relation is stronger for local socially responsible investing (SRI) funds, local public pension funds, and local dedicated institutions. We also find that the relation is more negative in communities that prefer more stringent environmental policies and in communities of greater collective cohesiveness. Local institutional ownership, particularly local ownerships by SRI funds and public pension funds, is positively related to the probability that an ESG proposal is either introduced or withdrawn. The paper sheds light on the drivers behind institutions’ ESG engagement and their effectiveness in influencing ESG