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On adjoint Bloch–Kato Selmer groups for GSp2g
We study the adjoint Bloch–Kato Selmer groups attached to a classical point in the cuspidal eigenvariety associated with GSp2g. Our strategy is based on the study of families of Galois representations on the eigenvariety, which is inspired by the book of J. Bellaiche and G. Chenevier
Weighting ratings : are people adjusting for bias in extreme reviews?
The increasing importance of consumer ratings raises the question of whether people adjust for potentially fake or biased extreme opinions when judging products. Two studies tested treatments that trimmed the extremes of rating distributions. Neither removing extreme ratings while preserving the mean, nor flagging suspicious extreme ratings, nor priming individuals about review manipulation significantly affect judged product quality on average. However, judgments for specific distributions may be made less extreme by flagging or trimming. On average, it is difficult to override usage of the mean rating as the strongest proxy for product quality. When a weighted-mean model is fitted, the estimated weighting profile is hump-shaped and asymmetric. Consumers appear to discount 5-star ratings but are particularly susceptible to being misled by disingenuous 1-star ratings. The weights suggest that there is a binary bias with an inflection point at 2-stars for product ratings, meaning that any rating above this broadly sends an equally strong positive signal of quality. Further theoretical work is required to understand how people form weights for ratings, and applied work should continue to search for decision aids that could help consumers to better adjust for review bias. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved
Morality, modality, and humans with deep cognitive impairments
Philosophers struggle to explain why human beings with deep cognitive impairments have a higher moral status than certain non-human animals. Modal personism promises to solve this problem. It claims that humans who lack the capacities of “personhood” and the potential to develop them nonetheless could have been persons. I argue that modal personism has poor prospects because it's hard to see how we could offer a plausible account of modal personhood. I search for an adequate understanding of modal personhood by considering existing accounts and sketching new ones. But each account fails, either because it objectionably excludes some deeply cognitively impaired humans from the class of modal persons or because it makes modal personhood doubtfully relevant to moral status. And the modal personist cannot solve this problem by appealing to the misfortune suffered by modal persons
Thermal creep and stress relaxation of London clay
This paper investigates the effect of temperature variations on the creep and stress relaxation behavior of clay samples from London Bank Station. The independent and coupled effects of strain rate and temperature on one-dimensional (1D) stress–strain and stress relaxation responses were investigated based on a series of temperature-controlled constant rate of strain (CRS) compression–relaxation tests carried out at fast, intermediate, and slow displacement rates and over 20°C–55°C. The temperature effect on the creep index
Engineered co-culture for consolidated production of phenylpropanoids directly from aromatic-rich biomass
Consolidated bioprocesses for the in situ hydrolysis and conversion of biomass feedstocks into value-added products offers great potential for both process and cost reduction. However, to date few consolidated bioprocesses have been developed that target aromatic rich feedstock fractions. Reported here is the development of synthetic co-cultivation for the consolidated hydrolysis and valorisation of corncob hydroxycinnamic acids. Biomass hydrolysis was achieved via a secretion module developed in B. subtilis using a genetically encoded biosensor-actuator to secrete hydrolytic enzymes. Conversion was achieved via a biotransformation module developed in E. coli using a suite of plug-and-play encoded enzymes to convert the released hydroxycinnamic acids into high-value phenylpropanoid target compounds. Finally, employing cellulolytic pre-treatment, extractive fermentation and in situ product recovery multiple aromatic products, coniferol and chavicol, were isolated from the same process in high purity
"Filling the ranks" : moral risk and the ethics of military recruitment
If states are permitted to create and maintain a military force, by what means are they permitted to do so? This article argues that a theory of just recruitment should incorporate a concern for moral risk. Since the military is a morally risky profession for its members, recruitment policies should be evaluated in terms of how they distribute moral risk within a community. We show how common military recruitment practices exacerbate and concentrate moral risk exposure, using the UK as a case study. We argue that the British state wrongs its citizens by subjecting them to excessively morally risky recruitment practices. Since, we argue, this risk exposure cannot be justified by appealing to the benefits of a military career for recruits, our argument calls for reform of existing practices. Our method of evaluation is generalizable and therefore can be used to assess other states’ practices
Influence of AZ61 filler composition on grain refinement of Mg-Al-Zn alloy GTA welds
The enhancement of mechanical properties in welds is heavily reliant on grain refinement. This study aims to investigate the impact of the addition of AZ61 filler and the impact of the absence of filler on the macrostructure and microstructure, as well as the mechanical properties, of Mg-Al-Zn alloy (AZ31) gas tungsten arc (GTA) welds. The AZ61 filler was employed to introduce a higher concentration of aluminum into the molten pool of AZ31 using the alternating-current GTA welding technique. It has been shown that the welds prepared with AZ61 filler had high strength and low ductility [yield strength (YS): 121 MPa, ultimate tensile strength (UTS): 226 MPa, and percent elongation (%El): 5] when compared with other welds made without filler (YS: 105 MPa, UTS: 164 MPa, and %El: 8), and the presence of the refined equiaxed grains and a significant volume fraction of second-phase Mg17Al12- β particles in the fusion zone (FZ) may explain this phenomenon. The results revealed that the average grain size of the weld decreased from 104 to 56 μm as the Al content in the weld metal increased from 2.7 wt% (without filler) to 4.5 wt% (with AZ61 filler). This grain refinement that was observed with the AZ61 filler may be attributed to the high growth restriction factor value caused by increased constitutional supercooling ahead of the solid-liquid interface