Manipulation of online discourse through organized disinformation and propaganda campaigns is a threat to information integrity and democratic dialogue. Taking cues from on-ground reports and recent literature on online trend manipulation in the Indian political landscape, we argue that organizing and consequently detecting influence operations is a multi-modal problem, where coordination is organized around different modalities like tweet , retweet , image , and temporal . In this article, we examine three case studies of prominent hashtag campaigns on Indian X (formerly known as Twitter). Building on prior coordination detection methods, we identify communities of coordinated users across each of the four modalities. An in-depth analysis of the coordinated communities offers unique insights into the playbook of coordination strategies employed in the Indian context. We find that tweet coordination is used for hashtag trending, while retweet coordination aids in amplifying messaging from influential right-wing accounts. Moreover, we find distinct roles of users across modalities, where users that disseminate content through tweet and image coordination ( disseminators ) are independent of users that amplify content through retweet coordination ( amplifiers ), suggesting the existence of distinct coordination campaigns and objectives within influence operations. We conclude by highlighting the multi-modal approach to coordination for comprehensively characterizing influence operations, the drawbacks of temporal filtering in coordination, and the transferability and implications of our findings.
In this paper, a novel full-wave method for the modal characterization of closed metallic periodic structures based on arbitrarily shaped waveguides is presented. This method relies on an integral equation formulation solved via the method of moments, which finally leads to the solution of a standard eigenvalue problem. The required modal spectrum of waveguides with arbitrary cross section is determined through the boundary integral-resonant mode expansion technique. For validation purposes, the proposed analysis method is first successfully applied to standard waveguide periodic geometries already considered in the technical literature. Our new algorithm is then used to identify the higher order Floquet modes, as well as to compute the related Brillouin diagrams, of complex closed metallic periodic structures loaded with arbitrarily shaped waveguides. ; This work was supported by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spanish Government, under coordinated Research Project TEC 2007/67630-C03-01.
In this paper, a novel full-wave method for the modal characterization of periodic structures loaded with elliptical waveguides is presented. This method relies on an integral equation formulation solved via the method of moments, which finally leads to the solution of a standard eigenvalue problem. The required modal spectrum of elliptical waveguides is determined through the boundary integral-resonant mode expansion technique. For validation purposes, the proposed analysis method is first successfully applied to periodic waveguide structures already considered in the technical literature. Then, our new algorithm is used to compute the related Brillouin diagrams and the interaction impedance of new periodic structures loaded with elliptical waveguides. Not only the main interacting mode (such as the TM 01 mode) is studied, but higher-order Floquet modes are also considered. These results have potential applications as slow-wave structures for high-power microwave devices and possibly filtering structures at millimeter-wave frequencies. ; This work was supported by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spanish Government, under the coordinated Research Project TEC 2007/67630-C03-01.
[EN] In this paper, the unsteady behaviour of a compression-ignited (CI) engine combustion chamber is studied by analysing the results of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model through the application of different flow decomposition techniques, aiming to resolve the underlying modal structure of the process. Experimental validation for the combustion simulation is provided, and a methodology for extracting coherent pressure information is proposed in order to provide a suitable input for different analysis methods. These range from straightforward Fourier transform techniques to more sophisticated modal decomposition approaches. In particular Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is shown to provide valuable insight into the time-spatial structure of the combustion flow field, allowing the establishment of correlations between pressure modes and physical parameters of the combustion, such as the injection timing or the chamber geometry. Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) on the other hand is proven to successfully highlight the link between the frequency of the unsteady energy components and their spatial distribution within the chamber. Advantage is then taken of the modal characterization of the unsteady behaviour in the chamber to showcase how physical parameters such as the spray angle can be modified to optimize the acoustic signature of the combustion process, helping CI internal combustion engines reduce their acoustic environmental impact (C) 2017 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ; The equipment used in this work has been partially supported by FEDER project funds "Dotacidn de infraestructuras cientifico tecnicas para el Centro Integral de Mejora Energetica y Medioambiental de Sistemas de Transporte (CiMeT)" [grant number FEDER-ICTS-2012-06], framed in the operational program of unique scientific and technical infrastructure of the Spanish Government. ; Torregrosa, AJ.; Broatch, A.; Garcia Tiscar, J.; Gómez-Soriano, J. (2018). Modal decomposition of the unsteady ...
Indudablemente, el discurso literario, particularmente la poesía, es algo bello y placentero para los ojos y los oídos; es también una herramienta poderosa para expresar ideas de carácter social, cultural y político. Este trabajo en particular se centra en la obra poética de Alice Walker y está dirigido a identificar aspectos de la ideología de la mujer afro-estadounidense como grupo en la poesía de esta autora. Como miembros del Grupo de Estudios Semánticos, Ideográficos y del Discurso de la Facultad de Lenguas Extranjeras de la Universidad de La Habana (FLEX), las autoras del trabajo decidieron acudir al análisis de discurso dimensional para llevar a cabo su investigación, y para ello se basaron en la teoría del doctor Leandro Caballero Díaz sobre las dimensiones del significado y las macrocategorías semánticas modales redefinidas por la doctora Ana María Galbán Pozo en su tesis doctoral. Este fue el primer acercamiento del grupo al discurso poético, centrando el análisis en los enunciados valorativos implícitos con contenido ideológico. ; No doubt, literary discourse— particularly poetry— is a beautiful thing, pleasant for eyes and ears. We shouldn´t doubt either that it is a powerful means used to convey social, cultural and political ideas. This work is focused on Alice Walker's poetry. It is aimed to find aspects of the ideology of the African-American women as a group in the poetry of this author. As members of the Group of Semantic, Ideographic and Discourse Studies of the School of Foreign Languages of the University of Havana (FLEX), the authors of this paper decided to make use of the dimensional discourse analysis to carry out their research. Thus, the work has followed the theory on the meaning dimensions and the modal semantic macrocategories introduced by Leandro Caballero Díaz, later on redefined by Ana María Galbán Pozo. Ours was the first approach to poetic discourse in our group, centering our analyses on the implicit valuating utterances with ideological content.
In recent years, small businesses have created interest and research, because they represent the majority of the business fabric and account for over seventy per cent of jobs in developed countries. Governments of these countries share a general interest in knowing about Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME). Based on this premise, the approach of this study is to characterize micro-SMEs in the province of Cuenca, Spain, by analysis of financial statements, specifically analyzing their structure in financial terms by use of univariate and multivariate statistical techniques allowing this kind of business in the province of Cuenca to be identified. The information used comes from the databases of SABI (Iberian Financial Statement Analysis Systems), DIRCE (Central Business Directory and CamerData, the database of the Chambers of Commerce. The statistical analysis is centered on a classic modal of exploratory factor analysis, and finally the main results arising from the study are presented.
This chapter expands analysis of Oakeshott's philosophical thought to apply his dual perspectives on political & social theory to African politics through a focus on the basic postulates of human relationships rather than institutions. His perception of the nature of a politics informed by tradition of behavior is a precondition, & his modal understanding of associations is an alternative view to European technical understanding of government. Oakeshott argues that political behavior reflects traditional knowledge as an exploration & pursuit of what is intimated, or hinted at, in traditions of behavior. Regarding African politics, a cultural lag exists between the political development of the state & imposed European technical understanding of politics such as the constitution & state authority. A coherent politics for Africa must rest on understanding Africa's tribal precolonial political traditions, since these traditions continue to influence politics indirectly. The African worldview of ubuntu does not fit with the modern idea of individuals & civil association (societas), but can accept governance in the form of an enterprise association (universitas) based on the principle of individual adjustment in the communal society, even at the cost of some self denial. 20 References. J. Harwell
We present a multi-modal approach to speaker characterization using acoustic, visual and linguistic features. Full realism is provided by evaluation on a database of real-life web videos and automatic feature extraction including face and eye detection, and automatic speech recognition. Different segmentations are evaluated for the audio and video streams, and the statistical relevance of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) features is confirmed. In the result, late multimodal fusion delivers 73, 92 and 73% average recall in binary age, gender and race classification on unseen test subjects, outperforming the best single modalities for age and race.
Objective: The topographic conditions and high technical specifications of the recent road infrastructure projects executed by the Colombian government have prompted the construction of numerous segmental bridges. The Colombian Standard for Bridge Design - LRFD - CCP 14 does not establish specific criteria for the evaluation of new bridges that allow structural evaluation. In order to promote the implementation of dynamic tests in segmental bridges, a study to identify influential parameters in dynamic characterization using forced vibration is presented. Methodology: Based on the identified parameters, a set of numerical simulations was executed using computational tools specifically in Time History analysis for the analysis of accelerations resulting from the circulation of heavy vehicles at different speeds. Results: An analytical approach was developed for selection of circulations speeds for different types of test vehicles. Conclusions: which allows obtaining a set of optimal variables such as speed, weight, impact position and braking for the execution of forced vibration tests that allow complementing the results obtained from ambient vibration tests. ; Objetivo: Las condiciones topográficas y altas especificaciones técnicas de los recientes proyectos de infraestructura vial ejecutados por el gobierno colombiano ha impulsado la construcción de numerosos puentes segmentales. La Norma Colombiana de Diseño de Puentes – LRFD – CCP 14 no establece criterios específicos para la evaluación de puentes nuevos que permitan la evaluación estructural. Con el objetivo de fomentar la implementación de pruebas dinámicas en puentes segmentales se presenta un estudio de identificación de parámetros influyentes en la caracterización dinámica usando vibración forzada. Metodología: Con base en los parámetros identificados, se ejecutó un conjunto de simulaciones numéricas usando herramientas computacionales específicamente en análisis de historia tiempo para análisis de aceleraciones producto de circulación de vehículos pesados a distintas velocidades. Resultados: Se desarrolló un enfoque analítico para selección de velocidades de circulación para distintos tipos de vehículos de prueba. Conclusiones: lo que permite obtener un conjunto de variables óptimas como velocidad, peso, posición de impacto y frenado para la ejecución de pruebas de vibración forzada que permitan complementar los resultados que se obtienen de pruebas de vibración ambiental.
No doubt, literary discourse— particularly poetry— is a beautiful thing, pleasant for eyes and ears. We shouldn´t doubt either that it is a powerful means used to convey social, cultural and political ideas. This work is focused on Alice Walker's poetry. It is aimed to find aspects of the ideology of the African-American women as a group in the poetry of this author. As members of the Group of Semantic, Ideographic and Discourse Studies of the School of Foreign Languages of the University of Havana (FLEX), the authors of this paper decided to make use of the dimensional discourse analysis to carry out their research. Thus, the work has followed the theory on the meaning dimensions and the modal semantic macrocategories introduced by Leandro Caballero Díaz, later on redefined by Ana María Galbán Pozo. Ours was the first approach to poetic discourse in our group, centering our analyses on the implicit valuating utterances with ideological content. ; Indudablemente, el discurso literario, particularmente la poesía, es algo bello y placentero para los ojos y los oídos; es también una herramienta poderosa para expresar ideas de carácter social, cultural y político. Este trabajo en particular se centra en la obra poética de Alice Walker y está dirigido a identificar aspectos de la ideología de la mujer afro-estadounidense como grupo en la poesía de esta autora. Como miembros del Grupo de Estudios Semánticos, Ideográficos y del Discurso de la Facultad de Lenguas Extranjeras de la Universidad de La Habana (FLEX), las autoras del trabajo decidieron acudir al análisis de discurso dimensional para llevar a cabo su investigación, y para ello se basaron en la teoría del doctor Leandro Caballero Díaz sobre las dimensiones del significado y las macrocategorías semánticas modales redefinidas por la doctora Ana María Galbán Pozo en su tesis doctoral. Este fue el primer acercamiento del grupo al discurso poético, centrando el análisis en los enunciados valorativos implícitos con contenido ideológico.
We acknowledge COST Action AC15209 (EURELAX) for scientific support. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 668119 (project "IDentIFY"). The Italian Ministry for Education and Research (MIUR) is gratefully aknowledged for yearly FOE funding to the Euro-BioImaging Multi-Modal Molecular Imaging Italian Node (MMMI). E.D.G. and G.F. gratefully acknowledge FIRC-AIRC (Fondazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro AIRC) for their fellowships. We gratefully acknowledge Lionel Broche for the interesting discussion about mathematical models and procedures for the fitting of NMRD data. ; Peer reviewed ; Publisher PDF
Background The integrity of microtubule filament networks is essential for the roles in diverse cellular functions, and disruption of its structure or dynamics has been explored as a therapeutic approach to tackle diseases such as cancer. Microtubule-interacting drugs, sometimes referred to as antimitotics, are used in cancer therapy to target and disrupt microtubules. However, due to associated side effects on healthy cells, there is a need to develop safer drug regimens that still retain clinical efficacy. Currently, many questions remain open regarding the extent of effects on cellular physiology of microtubule-interacting drugs at clinically relevant and low doses. Here, we use super-resolution microscopies (single-molecule localization and optical fluctuation based) to reveal the initial microtubule dysfunctions caused by nanomolar concentrations of colcemid. Results We identify previously undetected microtubule (MT) damage caused by clinically relevant doses of colcemid. Short exposure to 30-80 nM colcemid results in aberrant microtubule curvature, with a trend of increased curvature associated to increased doses, and curvatures greater than 2 rad/mu m, a value associated with MT breakage. Microtubule fragmentation was detected upon treatment with >= 100 nM colcemid. Remarkably, lower doses (< 20 nM after 5 h) led to subtle but significant microtubule architecture remodelling characterized by increased curvature and suppression of microtubule dynamics. Conclusions Our results support the emerging hypothesis that microtubule-interacting drugs induce non-mitotic effects in cells, and establish a multi-modal imaging assay for detecting and measuring nanoscale microtubule dysfunction. The sub-diffraction visualization of these less severe precursor perturbations compared to the established antimitotic effects of microtubule-interacting drugs offers potential for improved understanding and design of anticancer agents. ; Support from the Australian Research Council through its Discovery program (DP170104477) is gratefully acknowledged. Dr. Whelan is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Australian Discovery Early Career Research Award (DE200100584) funded by the Australian Government. Dr. Bell, Dr. Whelan and Dr. Dedecker acknowledge the support from Monash University via a Network of Excellence. Dr. Whelan acknowledges the Bendigo Tertiary Education Anniversary Foundation for auspicing the Holsworth Biomedical Research Initiative
Xin Huang,1,* Chengqi Fan,2,* Huanhuan Zhu,1 Wenjun Le,1 Shaobin Cui,1 Xin Chen,3 Wei Li,4 Fulei Zhang,4 Yong Huang,4 Donglu Shi,1,5 Zheng Cui,1,6 Chengwei Shao,2 Bingdi Chen1 1The Institute for Translational Nanomedicine, Shanghai East Hospital, The Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; 2Radiology Department of Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China; 3Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Bethune Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin, China; 4International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China; 5The Materials Science & Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA; 6Department of Pathology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Introduction: Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a poor prognosis with high mortality, due to the lack of effective early diagnostic and prognostic tools. Materials and methods: In order to target and diagnose PC, we developed a dual-modal imaging probe using Glypican-1 (GPC-1) antibody conjugated with Gd–Au nanoclusters (NCs; Gd-Au-NC-GPC-1). GPC-1 is a type of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan, which is often highly expressed in PC. The probe was successfully prepared with a hydrodynamic diameter ranging from 13.5 to 24.4 nm. Results: Spectral characteristics showed absorption at 280 nm and prominent emission at 650 nm. Confocal microscopic imaging showed effective detection of GPC-1 highly expressed PC cells by Gd-Au-NC-GPC-1, which was consistent with flow cytometry results. In vitro relaxivity characterization demonstrated that the r1 value of the probe was 17.722 s−1 mM−1 Gd, which was almost 4 times higher compared with that of Gd-diethylenetriaminepentacetate (DTPA; r1 value =4.6 s−1 mM−1 Gd). Gd-Au-NC-GPC-1 exhibited similar magnetic resonance (MR) signals when compared to Gd-DTPA even at lower Gd concentrations. Much higher MR signals were registered in PC cells (COLO-357) compared with normal cells (293T). Furthermore, Gd-Au-NC-GPC-1 could effectively detect PC cells in vivo by dual-modal fluorescence imaging/magnetic resonance imaging (FI/MRI) at 30 minutes postinjection. In addition, Gd-Au-NC-GPC-1 did not show significant biotoxicity to normal cells at tested concentrations both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: Gd-Au-NC-GPC-1 has demonstrated to be a promising dual-modal FI/MRI contrast agent for targeted diagnosis of PC. Keywords: pancreatic cancer, Glypican-1, fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, Gd–Au NCs
Acid or neutral rock drainage (ARD or NRD) with its attendant elevated concentrations of harmful elements presents one of the main challenges related to the management of waste rocks. Low-quality drainage is a particular issue with respect to mineral deposits containing sulfide minerals, of which pyrite and pyrrhotite are especially prone to produce acidic drainage when exposed to oxygen and water. The generation of low-quality drainage depends primarily on the composition of mine waste, in particular the proportions of acid-producing and neutralizing minerals, as well as the abundance of harmful elements bound to leachable mineral phases. To mitigate adverse environmental impacts, it is important to characterize waste rocks at an early phase of any given mining project. Early-phase characterization is needed in designing appropriate waste facilities, water treatment and closure techniques, and to investigate the potential possibilities for utilization of waste material. Several methods have been developed for characterizing waste rocks and for predicting their potential for generating low-quality drainage. These methods include static and kinetic testing, geochemical extractions, geochemical modelling, and the use of analogs from similar, older, mine waste sites. Geochemical extractions and static tests, such as acid-base accounting (ABA) and net acid-generation (NAG) tests, are commonly used for preliminary screening, and in selecting suitable samples for further testing. The assortment of these preliminary characterization methods should be expanded and their performance in ARD and element mobility prediction investigated further, to improve the accuracy of drainage quality prediction. The objective of this study has been to enhance waste rock management by developing tools for preliminary waste rock characterization and drainage quality prediction. An additional objective has been to improve the capacity for using geochemical and mineralogical data that have already been obtained during early phases of a mining project, and to provide general information about Finnish waste rock characteristics, so as to highlight the need for regional scale waste rock management and investigations. Accordingly, this study is based on waste rock and drainage samples collected from 19 Finnish active and closed mine sites, with the aim of assessing and comparing the performance of different methods for the preliminary prediction of drainage quality. The investigated acid potential (AP) methods included the ABA test in accordance with the established standard EN 15875, the single-addition NAG test as presented in the AMIRA guidebook, and an additional calculation based on SEM mineralogy. Furthermore, the suitability of seven different sulfur analytical methods for AP assessment was evaluated. The assessed methods for element mobility prediction included single-addition NAG test leachate analysis, as well as aqua regia (AR) and hydrogen peroxide ammonium citrate (HA) extractions, which are commonly used in mineral exploration to determine the concentrations of valuable elements bound to sulfide minerals. Based on the results, pyrrhotite was found to be the main sulfide mineral contributing to AP in the waste rocks at the investigated sites, with pyrite being the next in importance. The abundance of sulfide species other than pyrite in the waste rocks led to the realization suggested that the appropriate factor for defining the AP, based on multiplying the S content, should instead take into consideration the dominant sulfide species, rather than assume that all S is pyritic. Silicate minerals, especially biotite, were found to be important contributors to the neutralization potential (NP). The results suggested that the AP and NP calculations based on the SEM mineralogy serve as a useful tool in the ARD prediction, as they also reveal the source minerals for AP and NP. However, it is recommended to make use of EDS spectral data to verify that the S concentration calculated by modal mineralogy is in accord with total S based on the EDS sum spectra. The AR-extractable S concentration appeared to be a useful discriminant for determining the S concentration for the AP calculation, as it does not leach baryte, thus more accurately representing the S-content in sulfide. The most abundant harmful elements in the investigated waste rocks were Co, Ni, Cu, and Cr, whereas in the waste rock pile drainages the most prominent elements were Ni, Co, Zn and Cu. Results indicated that the use of the Finnish PIMA values (the threshold values defined in the Government Decree 214/2007 on the Assessment of Soil Contamination and Remediation Needs) in the waste rock characterization should be reassessed, especially for Cr, for which concentrations often exceeded the PIMA threshold values, even though they were not elevated in the corresponding drainage waters. Based on the measured drainage water concentrations, the AR and HA extraction methods appeared to be effective in the prediction of preliminary ARD quality. The AR extraction realistically reflected the abundances of elements that are likely to occur in elevated concentrations in the waste rock drainage water. However, this method overestimates contaminant mobilities in some circumneutral drainage cases, and the mobility of Cr in general. The HA extraction also performed well in the prediction of harmful element mobilities, with the exception of Al mobility in acidic drainage systems. The HA extraction appeared to be a more sulfide specific method compared with AR, which is evident for example, in better prediction of Cr mobility. The single-addition NAG test leachate analysis performed well in assessing the mobility of harmful elements, but only when the test leachate was acidic, as the elements appeared to co-precipitate when the NAG test leachate pH rises above 3-6.
