tag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:/ideasJournal of Brief Ideas: Ideas from the last week2024-02-09T19:37:08Ztag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11822024-02-09T19:37:08Z2024-02-26T06:00:39ZOn the number of person and number categories in Mordvinichttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10703050In the finite-state description of Erzya and Moksha, four different types of person and number are attested. Personal and emphatic pronouns are tagged (Sg1, Sg2, Sg3, Pl1, Pl2, Pl3). Possessor indexing is indicated with ‹Px›: PxSg1, PxSg2,... Subject/Agent indexing on the predicate is tagged ‹Sc›: ScSg1, ScSg2,..., and object indexing is tagged with ‹Oc› on finite verbs: OcSg1, OcSg2,...
Three sets of categories co-occur in portmanteau subject-object indexing, nominative-case pronoun and subject indexing, and possessor index and subject index.
Both languages have copula subject indexing on nominals, adverbs and non-finite verbal forms. In Moksha, even personal pronouns can take subject indexing: «Ton-at?» ‹Sg2-ScSg2› `Is that you?` <sg1 and sg2 have arranged to meet. Sg1 hears sound>.
Subject indexing variation occurs in non-introductory equative clauses. The minimal pair (a) «mon doktor-ś-an» ‹Sg1 doctor-Nominative.Def.Sg-ScSg1› `I'm the doctor` <you wanted to meet the doctor>, and (b) «mon doktor-ś» ‹Sg1 doctor-Nominative.Def.Sg› `I am the doctor` <telling you about myself> illustrate a morphological distinction between ScSg1 and ScSg3 marking according to discourse topic, with Sg1 subject in (a) but predicate in (b), hence zero or (ScSg3) marking.
Subject and possessor indexing also occur: «Jalga-z-an» ‹friend-PxSg3-ScSg1› `I am his/her friend`.
Finally, universal quantifiers with possessor index-like indexing are considered pronouns: «kolmone-st-eĺ-t́» ‹3.Coll-Pl3-Pst-ScPl3› `they were three`.Rueter, Jacktag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11812024-02-07T01:08:33Z2024-02-07T06:00:33ZGeorge Spratt's Obstetric Tables on Medical Pedagogy and Professionalizationhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10627745The Obstetric Tables created by George Spratt (ca. 1784-1840), also known as "Spratt's Flaps," reintroduced the use of layered paper as a tool in obstetrics after it had fallen out of service since the publication of Vesalius' book in the 16th century. Medical institutions in the UK resisted legitimizing midwifery, reflecting gender norms in professional roles. This raises questions about the motivation behind publishing such an extensive book on the topic.
His focus on obstetrics sheds light on the gender norms on midwifery and the use of graphic prints for men to gain medical authority.
Spratt's use of graphic prints in his Obstetric Tables, aimed at teaching medical students, likely projected to establish his authority and expertise in obstetrics, impacted the development of medical rhetoric. Arguably, the early nineteenth century was the most beneficial time to generate credibility as a medical source, especially women's health, as it faced stigma from others.
This narrative reveals how pedagogy was an avenue to use control for sociocultural leverage. Spratt's efforts were not the sole reason for integrating midwifery into the medical profession. However, obstetrics' history and gendered politics demonstrate a complex interplay where Spratt's actions had a causal, rather than merely coincidental, effect.
Ho, Celinetag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11802024-02-07T00:29:08Z2024-02-07T06:00:33ZProtective function of allergies against cancer proliferation within coastal communities.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10627743Allergies have surged in coastal communities, prompting inquiry into adult-onset allergies like IgE
hypersensitivity to common foods rich in tropomyosins. Communities in Nagoya, Japan experience some of the highest shellfish allergy prevalence, yet also consume some of the highest rates (Woo and Bahna 2011). This phenomenon challenges the notion of childhood microbial exposure to the maintenance of shellfish allergies – why adults develop these allergies despite ongoing exposure to shellfish proteins like tropomyosin. Reimagining IgE
hypersensitivity as a byproduct from secondary processes rather than direct selective pressure, should be
considered. Allergy expression and cancer suppression contains a positive regulatory overlap in mechanisms, cross-reactivity; but to the exact degree could be further looked at by correlating incremental IgE levels with cancer biomarkers (CAPs and CEA). IgE's protective function against cancer may also explain if IgE hypersensitivity has been shaped by selection, through indirect protective or adaptive roles, specifically in environments where fish is regularly consumed.
Ho, Celinetag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11782024-01-02T05:07:53Z2024-01-30T22:29:32ZA win-win strategy: wake plantations uphttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10450041Natural forest plays a crucial role in global forest restoration and is even proved to be 40 times better than plantation at carbon storage (see S. L. Lewis et al. Nature 568, 25–28; 2019), but long-term natural regeneration will decrease small farmers’ income. Waking plantations up could be a better alternative to support natural restoration and socioeconomic development.
Boosting plantation biodiversity to underpin global deforestation recovery. For example, building up mixed buffer zones which contain native species at the boundary of plantations may increase forest biodiversity and encourage the incorporation of plantations in the local landscape (P. Pozo et al. Forests. 9 (10). 614; 2018).
Increasing forest production to raise farmers’ income. With the green purchase methods, farmers in semiarid China escape the poverty trap, for example (S. Cao et al. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 37 (7); 2017).
Combining top-down global ambitions and bottom-up local needs, I think waking plantations up could better contribute to SDG1 ‘No poverty’ and SDG13 ‘Climate action’ (see go.nature.com/2kwtxsy).
Guo, xinleitag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11772023-12-29T11:39:40Z2024-01-30T22:29:33ZBuilding Climate Resilience in Southeast Asia with Digital Technologieshttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10449711Southeast Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its extensive coastlines and dense population. Building and strengthening climate resilience is crucial in this region. However, despite the recognition of the need for climate-resilient cities, challenges persist.
Governments and policymakers play a vital role in driving climate-resilient development. Political will is essential in creating an enabling environment, as depoliticized approaches have limited success. We recommend that policymakers focus on leveraging digital technologies to aid in climate-resilient development.
Digital technologies can expedite infrastructure resilience assessments and aid decision-making throughout climate hazards. They generate reliable data that policymakers can use to create policies incentivizing climate-resilient development. Digital methods can quantify resilience benefits, enabling public finance to promote climate-resilient investment.
Despite efforts, capacity for investment and development in digital technologies for climate resilience remains limited in Southeast Asian countries. Collaboration between higher-capacity states and international partners is crucial. Financial assistance and knowledge sharing are needed to support climate-resilient development in the region.
In summary, prioritizing climate resilience, leveraging digital technologies, and fostering collaboration are key for Southeast Asia to tackle the challenges posed by climate change.Guo, xinleitag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11762023-12-22T08:45:45Z2024-01-03T02:26:47ZEmotive signaling as a possible adaptive advantage of light-coloured eyeshttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10426535Blue eyes, and light-coloured eyes in general, are a comparatively unusual feature found in around 8% of the population, but are widely distributed globally and have risen in prevalence over time. The tenets of evolutionary biology posit that in order for an emergent trait to survive and become widespread it must presumably hold at least some adaptive advantage. Blue eyes have some known adaptive disadvantages such as increased sensitivity to bright light and so there has been widespread speculation about what adaptive advantages they may offer that would compensate for this drawback. Several postulates have been put forward, including enhanced facial attractiveness and less sensitivity to seasonal depression in low-light climates. Another possibility that has not yet been explored is that light-coloured eyes may have advantages for inter-personal communication; a greater colour contrast between the pupil and the iris may make changes in pupil status more apparent, possibly allowing an individual to better convey their emotional state, and may also make eye movements in general more apparent, thus enhancing communication by facial expression.Stacey, Neil Thomastag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11752023-12-22T08:42:55Z2023-12-23T06:00:16ZParticle size: the missing link in food regulation and nutritional labeling to combat obesity and metabolic disorders.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10426533Consumption of highly processed foods is strongly correlated with a multitude of negative health outcomes and has been identified as a driver in obesity epidemics worldwide. The precise mechanisms for this phenomenon are not well understood, but one possibility suggests itself; in other fields it is well understood that particle size is a key parameter governing rate of reaction between solids and fluids and so, particle size, particularly of non-soluble high-glycemic nutrients such as starch, will dictate their rate of absorption and therefore the stability of blood sugar control after consuming them. Animal studies have found negative health effects associated with fine particles in feed and there is no reason not to assume the same to be present in humans. Regulations, however, have hitherto focused on macro-nutrient profiles of foods, but particle size may have independent health implications. Moreover, the presence of fine particles may not be readily apparent to consumers, particularly because many processed foods agglomerate small particles with binding agents, releasing them during digestion. Progress in the battle against metabolic disorders will require better understanding of the role of particle size, and perhaps regulations and labeling requirements.Stacey, Neil Thomastag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11742023-12-15T20:42:06Z2023-12-23T06:00:16ZThiel's Traphttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10426529Few economic concepts demonstrate scarcity as clearly as the Malthusian Trap. An economic condition where population growth outpaces food production (Malthus,1798). The fight for subsistence is in the rearview mirror of the developed world, but Malthusian logic is now applied to environmentalism(Hardaway,1997). This concept also applies to business.
In Zero to One (2014), PayPal founder Peter Thiel describes the dangers of intense market competition. Firms vying for razor-thin margins bring us to Thiel’s Trap (Thiel & Masters, 2014). The oversupply of producers greatly diminishes market share and consumer demand, generating a commons (Hardin, 1968). The participating firms do not exercise market dominance, all fighting over a narrowing market share.
The only way to escape the chasm of Thiel’s Trap is innovation. Similar to how agricultural advances helped the world climb out of the Malthusian Trap, the Schumpeterian winds of Creative Destruction (Schumpeter,1943) will lift your company out of Thiel’s Trap. Inventing a new product category is the escape hatch from subsistence in business.Clark, Petertag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11732023-11-29T07:42:51Z2023-12-23T06:00:16ZAlternative to Turing’s test on AIhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10426525As Turing wrote in his Can digital computers think?, we could know if a subject not of our own kind is an intelligent source through their output signals. However, the signal he selected is perhaps not as clear cut as he presupposed: “… it will be possible to programme a machine to answer questions in such a way that it will be extremely difficult to guess whether the answers are being given by a man or by the machine.” This future is here with ever-advancing AI tools already able to build convincing answers. Von Neuman suggested a stricter test: “the sudden pounce on an idea.
I suggest intonation—reading aloud—as a test of an intelligent subject. Ask any text-to-speech software to recite Lorca’s Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias or Elliot’s The Waste Land. Intonation is contingent on meaning, which is a manifestation of understanding.
A real test to detect a human signal producing-being could be the congruent emotional reading of a new poem or a paragraph for which meaning, context and understanding is essential. It is not a test of emotional response á la Blade Runner’s Voight-Kampff test, but one that relies on evaluating emotional intonation output for a diagnosis..
Valdecasas, Antonio Gtag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/11722023-11-27T05:43:04Z2023-12-23T06:00:16ZProposal of Arbitrary THz Pulse Train Generation with Tunable Duration and Periodhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10426523In theory, any waveform can be expanded into a Fourier series. Conversely, the inverse process can be utilized to synthesize arbitrary waveform signals. In Figure 1, an electro-optic frequency comb is initially employed to generate discrete and equidistant frequency lines. Subsequently, the optical frequency comb (OFC, or optical pulse) is filtered through a wavelength-selective switch (WSS), filting continuous-wave (CW) signals for each frequency. Amplitude and phase modulation for each frequency are then individually adjusted by optical modulators. The modulation signals are calculated inversely through the Fourier series of the desired pulse signal in Figure 2. This can be achieved through optimization algorithms or neural networks to obtain optimal solutions. The CW optical signals at different frequencies are coupled into a THz photomixer (such as a UTC-PD) to achieve the conversion from optical pulses to THz pulses. Due to optical heterodyne down-conversion of the UTC-PD, the spectral width and repetition frequency of the OFC can be effectively translated to the duration and period of the THz pulses. An OFC is that an optical carrier modulated by an electro-optic modulator, where changing the frequency of the injected modulating signal adjusts the period of the generated THz pulses, and the spectral width of the OFC selected by the WSS determines the duration.Ming, Che