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Global labor flow network reveals the hierarchical organization and dynamics of geo-industrial clusters
No full textGroups of firms often achieve a competitive advantage through the formation of geo-industrial clusters. Although many exemplary clusters are the subjects of case studies, systematic approaches to identify and analyze the hierarchical structure of geo-industrial clusters at the global scale are scarce. In this work, we use LinkedIn’s employment history data from more than 500 million users over 25 years to construct a labor flow network of over 4 million firms across the world, from which we reveal hierarchical structure by applying network community detection. We show that the resulting geo-industrial clusters exhibit a stronger association between the influx of educated workers and financial performance, compared to traditional aggregation units. Furthermore, our analysis of the skills of educated workers reveals richer insights into the relationship between the labor flow of educated workers and productivity growth. We argue that geo-industrial clusters defined by labor flow provide useful insights into the growth of the economy
Optimal modularity and memory capacity of neural reservoirs
No full textThe neural network is a powerful computing framework that has been exploited by biological evolution and by humans for solving diverse problems. Although the computational capabilities of neural networks are determined by their structure, the current understanding of the relationships between a neural network’s architecture and function is still primitive. Here we reveal that a neural network’s modular architecture plays a vital role in determining the neural dynamics and memory performance of the network of threshold neurons. In particular, we demonstrate that there exists an optimal modularity for memory performance, where a balance between local cohesion and global connectivity is established, allowing optimally modular networks to remember longer. Our results suggest that insights from dynamical analysis of neural networks and information-spreading processes can be leveraged to better design neural networks and may shed light on the brain’s modular organization
Measuring Trademark Dilution by Tarnishment
No full textThe law of trademark tarnishment—a type of trademark dilution—is in disarray. The basic definition is deceptively simple. Trademark tarnishment occurs when a junior mark harms the reputation of a substantially similar existing senior trademark by associating itself with something perverse or deviant. However, it turns out that Congress and the courts disagree over the prima facie evidence necessary to prove its existence. The problem is that federal law and related legal principles are simply ill-equipped to adequately analyze this unique market-driven doctrine. To make matters worse, legal scholars cannot even agree on whether trademark tarnishment can empirically exist in the marketplace. Part of the issue is that there has never been any real attempt to define the phrase “harm to reputation” in the trademark context. Drawing on marketing scholarship and social science methods, this Article provides the first workable framework that courts can use to hear and accurately analyze these cases. It relies on experimental survey methodology to empirically show that tarnishment can exist under certain conditions; the key is increasing the number of exposures to the harmful mark. The Article also introduces extant branding theory as a way to define harm to reputation in the marketplace. This interdisciplinary approach ultimately gives courts a mechanism by which to measure harm to reputation and the tangible impact of tarnishment. In the process, this theory provides litigants with an empirical-based strategy to prove their dilution claims and contributes to the doctrinal justification for trademark dilution laws
Hnaring Lutuv Swadesh list
No full textThis paper presents a preliminary 100-item Swadesh word list for Hnaring Lutuv. Lutuv or Lautu (ISO 639-3 CLT) belongs to the Maraic branch of Kuki-Chin within the Tibeto-Burman language family (Eberhard et. al, 2019). Hnaring is a Lutuv village in the southern part of the Lutuv-speaking area in Thantlang Township, Chin State, Myanmar. The word list comes from the intuitions of our co-author Sui Hnem Par, a 21-year-old native speaker born Near Mandalay of Lutuv parents (both from Hnaring), who lived for some of her childhood in Hnaring before moving to the US. She currently lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. She also speaks Hakha Chin and English (having learned both after leaving Chin state), as well as Burmese (the language of education in Myanmar)
A vowel space comparison of Tlawngrang Zophei and Lawngtlang Zophei
No full textZophei is an undescribed Tibeto-Burman language within the Kuki-Chin family. Originally spoken in the Chin Hills of Western Myanmar, approximately 4,000 Zophei-speaking refugees now live in Central Indiana. No previous research on Zophei exists. The speakers located in Indiana who identify as ethnically Zophei hail from 14 distinct villages, and it is not yet known how many dialects or languages are represented. As part of a larger effort to kick-start a research program on Zophei, the current study presents vowel spaces for two speakers, one from Tlawngrang and one from Lawngtlang. Differences with regard to the number and distribution of high vowels and diphthongs indicate that these two areas speak different varieties with markedly different phonologies. For example, where one speaker has an /ui/ diphthong the other speaker consistently has the front rounded monophthong /y/. This research contributes to our ultimate goal, which is to determinethe dialectal make-up of Zophei and to develop a description of the language or languages spoken by the ethnic Zophei population in Indiana
Increase in weighting of vision vs. proprioception associated with force field adaptation
No full textHand position can be estimated by vision and proprioception (position sense). The brain is thought to weight and integrate these percepts to form a multisensory estimate of hand position with which to guide movement. Force field adaptation, a type of cerebellum-dependent motor learning, is associated with both motor and proprioceptive changes. The cerebellum has connections with multisensory parietal regions; however, it is unknown if force adaptation is associated with changes in multisensory perception. If force adaptation affects all relevant sensory modalities similarly, the brain’s weighting of vision vs. proprioception should be maintained. Alternatively, if force perturbation is interpreted as somatosensory unreliability, vision may be up-weighted relative to proprioception. We assessed visuo-proprioceptive weighting with a perceptual estimation task before and after subjects performed straight-ahead reaches grasping a robotic manipulandum. Each subject performed one session with a clockwise or counter-clockwise velocity-dependent force field, and one session in a null field. Subjects increased their weight of vision vs. proprioception in the force field session relative to the null session, regardless of force field direction, in the straight-ahead dimension (F = 5.13, p = 0.029). This suggests that force field adaptation is associated with an increase in the brain’s weighting of vision vs. proprioception
Open Access journals need to become first choice, in invasion ecology and beyond
No full textOpen Science is a pivotal global movement to advance science and scholarship. It includes key elements such as Open Access to scientific publications, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Methodology (Kraker et al. 2011; McKiernan et al. 2016; Stodden et al. 2016), and therefore fosters reproducibility and verification of findings (Wilkinson et al. 2016). Scientific knowledge, the product of research, is a public good and should thus be made publicly available. The vast majority of researchers agree with the idea of Open Science (Dallmeier-Tiessen et al. 2011), yet many face challenges in implementing Open Science in practice
Dissecting the Components of Sindbis Virus from Arthropod and Vertebrate Hosts: Implications for Infectivity Differences
No full textSindbis virus (SINV) is an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus, which is transmitted via mosquitos to a wide range of vertebrate hosts. SINV produced by vertebrate, baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells is more than an order of magnitude less infectious than SINV produced from mosquito (C6/36) cells. The cause of this difference is poorly understood. In this study, charge detection mass spectrometry was used to determine the masses of intact SINV particles isolated from BHK and C6/36 cells. The measured masses are substantially different: 52.88 MDa for BHK derived SINV and 50.69 MDa for C6/36 derived. Further analysis using several mass spectrometry-based methods and biophysical approaches indicates that BHK derived SINV has a substantially higher mass than C6/36 derived because in the lipid bilayer, there is a higher portion of lipids containing long chain fatty acids. The difference in lipid composition could influence the organization of the lipid bilayer. As a result, multiple stages of the viral lifecycle may be affected including assembly and budding, particle stability during transmission, and fusion events, all of which could contribute to the differences in infectivity
Comparative approaches to metacognition: Prospects, problems, and the future.
No full textThis article describes the author’s perspective on research in comparative approaches to metacognition. A brief review highlights the research that has informed this perspective. The prospects for making progress in comparative metacognition are outlined. Next, the article describes problems that any research program on comparative metacognition needs to address. Some recommendations for future research are offered
Introduction to the Special Section on Bisexual Health: Can You See Us Now?
No full textDespite comprising the largest proportion of the “lesbian, gay, and bisexual” population, research focusing on the unique health concerns and needs of bisexual individuals is relatively scarce. While health disparities are increasingly well documented among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals relative to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, gaps remain in our basic understanding of how health status, behaviors, and outcomes vary within these groups, especially bisexual individuals. The lack of specified research on bisexual health is even more curious given that, when separated from both heterosexual and gay/lesbian individuals, bisexual individuals consistently report higher rates of a wide range of negative health outcomes, including mood and anxiety disorders, substance use, suicidality, as well as disparities related to healthcare access and utilization. Indeed, in scientific research, mass media, and in public health interventions, bisexual individuals remain relatively invisible. This Special Section represents an effort to shed light on a new generation of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research studies that examine health-related concerns, outcomes, and intervention opportunities specifically among diverse samples of bisexual individuals from a variety of social and cultural contexts. The research herein focuses on intersections of multiple identities, the development of new measures, the use of large national data sets, and diverse groups of self-identified bisexual men (who tend to be least visible in health research). Findings from these studies will significantly advance our knowledge of factors associated with health disparities, as well as health and well-being more generally, among bisexual individuals and will help to inform directions for future health promotion research and intervention efforts