This paper examines Smalley’s preliminary taxonomy of the sound shape and the subsequent application of graphical notation in electroacoustic music. It will demonstrate ways in which spatial categorisations of the morphological sound shape have remained relatively untouched in academia, despite a codependency of frequency, space and time. Theoretical examples and existing visualisations of the sound shape will be considered as a starting point, to determine why the holistic visualisation of space is warranted. A notational system addressing the codependency between spatial and spectral sound shapes will be presented, with reference to its context in Cartesian-coordinate sound environments. This method of electroacoustic notation will incorporate the visualisation of Smalley’s categorisation of spatial sound shapes and ideas of spatial gesture, texture and distribution within Smalley’s composed and listening spaces. This visualisation and notation of composed and listening spaces will demonstrate that audio technologies are imperative drivers in the future analysis and understanding of the sound shape. It will measure the modulation of spatial sound shape properties for Cartesian (height, width, depth) and spherical (azimuth and altitude) across linear temporality, to better represent the complete form of Smalley’s sound shape. This spatial notation will aid the rounded visualisation of Smalley’s morphology, motion, texture, gesture, structure and form. Use of this notational framework will illustrate ways in which a new tool to score electroacoustic sound shapes can inform new practices in computer music composition.

Engaging with higher education institutions from the People’s Republic of China (China or the PRC) raises difficult tensions for universities in liberal democratic contexts. Universities in China are overseen by a political party that routinely silences dissent and does not respect principles of academic freedom in the social sciences and humanities. For decades in the post–Mao era, this tension remained relatively muted outside of the PRC, but it has gained newfound significance as China’s power and assertiveness have grown globally.

In this article, we explore whether hierarchy and linearity conspire to affect agreement. The data come from an experimental study of honorific agreement between verbal si and coordinate subjects in Korean. We focus on computing the mismatch driven by honorifically mixed conjuncts. Unlike South Slavic gender agreement, Korean has neither Resolved Agreement nor First Conjunct Agreement. Only Last Conjunct Agreement is attested in Korean honorification. We show that honorific agreement within coordinate subjects is triggered only when the honorific verbal si appears, which is substantially different from the case with the honorific nominal nim. We also show that acceptability significantly decreases when the last conjunct of coordinate subjects is incongruous with an honorific verb. We thus argue that verbal honorific agreement with Korean coordinate subjects is sensitive to linear order, mimicking South Slavic gender agreement.

Disasters or mass-casualty incidents are uncommon events. The use of simulation is an ideal training modality in full-scale exercises as it immerses the participants in a replication of the actual environment where they can respond to simulated casualties in accordance with existing protocols.

The objective of this scoping review is to answer the research question: “How effective is simulation, as assessed in full-scale exercises, for response to disasters and mass-casualty incidents world-wide?” Studies on full-scale exercises, as defined in World Health Organization (WHO) simulation exercise toolbox, that were published in peer-reviewed journals using the English language from 2001 through 2021 were included. Twenty studies were included from searching PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Simulated casualties were the most common simulation modality. Using Kirkpatrick’s levels of evaluation to synthesize the data, simulation was reported to be generally effective and mostly demonstrated at the levels of learning of individuals and/or systems, as well as reaction of individuals. Evaluations at levels of behavior and results were limited due to the uncommon nature of disasters and mass-casualty incidents. However, evaluation outcomes across the full-scale exercises were varied, leading to the inability to consolidate effectiveness of simulation into a single measure. It is recommended for best evidence-based practices for simulation to be adhered to in full-scale exercises so that the trainings could translate into better outcomes for casualties during an actual disaster or mass-casualty incident. In addition, the reporting of simulation use in full-scale exercises should be standardized using a framework, and the evaluation process should be rigorous so that effectiveness could be determined and compared across full-scale exercises.

Establishing a precise electromagnetic scattering model of surfaces is of great significance for comprehending the underlying mechanics of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. To describe surface electromagnetic scattering more comprehensively, this paper established a nonlinear integral equation model with the Creamer model and bispectrum (IEM-C). Based on the IEM-C model, the effect of parameters, such as radar wave incidence angle, wind speed and direction of sea surfaces, and different polarization modes on the backscattering coefficients of C-band radar waves, was systematically evaluated. The results show that the IEM-C model can characterize both the vertical nonlinear features due to wave interactions and the horizontal nonlinear features due to the wind direction. The sensitivity of the sea surface backscattering coefficient in the IEM-C model to nonlinear effects varies with different incident angles. At the incident angle of 30°, the IEM-C model exhibits the most significant nonlinear effects. The nonlinear effects of the IEM-C model vary under different wind speeds. By comparing with the measured data, it is proved that the IEM-C model is closer to the real sea surface scattering situation than the IEM model.

Was there an early consumer revolution in Hispanic America? This article presents varied evidence supporting an affirmative answer to this question, especially regarding the case of New Spain. The inauguration of the Manilla Galleon trade route across the Pacific Ocean in 1565 was decisive in this respect. It made it possible that Asian goods (more or less finished silk and cotton textiles, porcelain, lacquerware, ivory religious images, furniture and spices, mainly) experienced an early diffusion throughout New Spain after arriving in Acapulco. This innovation in consumption patterns was adopted first by the elites, not much later, by the intermediate classes and, rather soon than not, by the commoners. Primary (i.e. Avalúos of the galleons' cargo) and secondary sources permit quantitatively exploring the possibilities of consumption of Asian goods by unprivileged segments of New Spain's population. We find that a non-negligible number of those goods were accessible to Mexico City labourers. Thus, it may be inferred that upper segments of society accessed it earlier and more easily. Therefore, New Spain should be included in any global narrative of the changes in consumption during the Early Modern Era.

The independence polynomial originates in statistical physics as the partition function of the hard-core model. The location of the complex zeros of the polynomial is related to phase transitions, and plays an important role in the design of efficient algorithms to approximately compute evaluations of the polynomial.

In this paper we directly relate the location of the complex zeros of the independence polynomial to computational hardness of approximating evaluations of the independence polynomial. We do this by moreover relating the location of zeros to chaotic behaviour of a naturally associated family of rational functions; the occupation ratios.

The retreat of the Dead Sea and the lowering of the base level in recent decades have led to the exposure of the littoral clay sediments on the shore, the occurrence of exposed mudflats and the development of ground subsidence along strips (‘subsidence strips’) and clustered sinkholes. Based on field observations and laboratory analyses, the present study characterizes the clayey sediments in the environment of the exposed mudflats on the western Dead Sea shore. The clayey sediments of the exposed mudflats (‘mudflat sediments’) consist of fine-grained laminated calcareous clays. The mineral composition of the bulk mudflat sediments consists of clay and carbonate minerals (calcite, aragonite and dolomite) with some quartz and feldspar, and frequently gypsum and halite. The clay mineral composition of these samples is smectitic illite–smectite and kaolinite with some discrete illite and palygorskite. The smectitic illite–smectite is randomly interstratified (1.7 nm illite–smectite type R = 0). Although the detrital smectitic illite–smectite in the mudflat sediments is situated in the saline environment of the Dead Sea shore, no significant illitization is observed in the depositional detrital clay. Subsidence strips with clustered sinkholes were formed in the exposed mudflats as part of the adjustment of the Dead Sea periphery to the lowering of the base level as a result of the retreat. The field observations in the studied area reveal that the subsiding of mudflat sediments in the formation of the subsidence strips usually involves mud sagging of wet clayey sediments in the subsurface and sediment collapse of dry clayey sediments near the surface.

This study examines the acquisition of kind-referring expressions such as The dodo is extinct. The objective is to investigate whether second language (L2) learners’ acquisition of nominal number marking and articles expressing kind-reference in English is affected by their first language (L1), their L2 proficiency in English, or the syntactic position of the kind-referring noun phrase (NP). L2 learners of English with Arabic, Chinese, and Turkish L1 backgrounds and a control group of native English speakers (NSs) participated in the study. The results from a Fill in the Gaps Task (FGT) and an Acceptability Judgment Task (AJT) demonstrated that L2 learners were more successful in their production and acceptability judgments when the expression of kind-reference in the target language was similar to that in their L1. The results also showed non-facilitative L1 transfer in the domain of bare singulars, as well as a positive effect of higher L2 proficiency on kind-referring NPs. Finally, the study revealed a subject/object asymmetry in the acquisition of kind-referring NPs in L2 English.

Connections between northern Iberia and western France around the Bay of Biscay during the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age are addressed in this article through a multivariate cluster analysis of a dataset of 1273 metal finds, comprising 4554 metal artefacts grouped into five multiregional clusters with distinctive distributions, chronologies, content, and contexts. Changes in distribution and chronology show that metalwork from faraway regions was deposited in similar ways, reflecting changing patterns of interregional connectivity. Changes in context and content suggest social transformations. The clustering method known as Latent Class Analysis is presented here in the hope that it will be applicable to other datasets elsewhere in the world.

The Squire Index measuring the professionalization levels of American state legislatures was created three decades ago. In this note, I explain how the 2021 update was compiled. I then document the index’s stability over the years for which it has been measured, present alternative measures to explore a problematic aspect of the index, and finally examine how each of the index’s three components has moved relative to Congress between 1979 and 2021.

The silkworm Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is a lepidopteran model insect of great economic importance. The parasitoid Exorista sorbillans (Diptera, Tachinidae) is the major pest of B. mori and also a promising candidate for biological control. However, the molecular interactions between hosts and dipteran parasitoids have only partially been studied. Gene expression analysis by reverse-transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is indispensable to characterise their interactions. Accurate normalisation of RT-qPCR-based gene expression requires the use of reference genes that are constantly expressed irrespective of experimental conditions. In this study, the expression stability of 13 traditionally used reference genes was estimated by five statistical algorithms (ΔCt, geNorm, Normfinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder) to determine the best reference genes for gene expression studies in different tissues of B. mori under E. sorbillans parasitism. Specifically, TATA-box-binding protein was the best reference gene in epidermis and testis, while elongation factor 1α was the most stable gene in prothoracic gland and midgut. Elongation factor 1γ, ribosomal protein L3, actin A1, ribosomal protein L40, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A were the most suitable genes in head, silk gland, fat body, haemolymph, Malpighian tubule and ovary, respectively. Our study offers a set of suitable reference genes for gene expression normalisation in B. mori under the parasitic stress of E. sorbillans, which will benefit the in-depth exploration of host-dipteran parasitoid interactions, and also provide insights for further improvements of B. mori resistance against parasitoids and biocontrol efficacy of dipteran parasitoids.

While Republicans enjoyed unified control of the national government during the 1920s, scandals involving executive patronage and GOP state bosses in the South dogged the national party throughout the decade. The Republican Party in the South had been a set of “rotten boroughs” for decades, used by national politicians—especially presidents—for the sole purpose of controlling delegates at the Republican National Convention. This patronage-for-delegates arrangement was generally understood among political elites, but the murder-suicide involving a U.S. postmaster in Georgia in April 1928 brought the Southern GOP’s patronage practices to national light. This forced Republican leaders in an election year to call for a Senate investigation. Chaired by Sen. Smith W. Brookhart (R-IA), the committee investigation lasted for eighteen months, covered portions of two Republican presidential administrations, and showed how state GOP leaders in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas engaged in office selling. The fallout would be a thorn in the side of President Herbert Hoover, who tried to clean up the corrupt GOP organizations in the South—and build an electorally-viable Republican Party in the ex-Confederate states—but largely failed.