tag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:/all?page=8Journal of Brief Ideas: Ideas from the last week2022-06-30T05:58:04Ztag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9852022-06-30T05:58:04Z2022-08-07T06:00:34ZHeavy metal concentrations in tree rings to prove prolonged existence and hypothesized health impacts - CKDu https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6970154Tree rings that occurred due to seasonality or drought are used to estimate the age of tropical and temperate trees [1]. The heavy metal concentrations in tree rings are used to study the accumulation history by means of tree age [2]. CKDu or Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown etiology/Uncertain cause affects agricultural communities in countries like Sri Lanka, Central America. Heavy metal accumulation in drinking water due to agrochemical use is hypothesized as a cause for this disease. Therefore, heavy metal concentrations in body parts of patients and drinking water samples are examined to conclude the hypothesized causality. But these measurements have limitations to identify the history of heavy metal concentrations, history of availability in the environment/water to label it as the culprit. As practices, histories of agrochemical use, water use, and size of accumulation as a proxy of history are used to find the causality [3]. But, heavy metal concentrations in tree rings of large old tress in the agricultural areas/near water sources can be examined to identify the historical accumulation levels and to separate the accumulations due to agrochemical use, assuming both people and trees share water, soils, environment commonly.
References
1. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.1999.00361.x
2. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.20.00075
3. https://doi.org/10.1159/000513014
Premarathne, Kapilatag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9842022-06-27T14:12:29Z2022-08-29T13:52:44ZPyTag: An extensible computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS)https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6970166There have been a few open-source projects that are aimed at qualitative data analysis (e.g. Taguette).
But, I haven't seen one with especially the extensibility concept in mind. It would be very nice if there
could be a data analysis software that can have plugins, custom output format, custom input parser,
and many other "extensible" features.Jazadi, Faiztag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9812022-06-13T00:55:54Z2022-06-15T06:00:38ZAverage difference entropyhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6644371Calculating Shannon entropy on octet streams can be confusing, especially with those who lack a background in mathematics. It's also not necessary in many cases. A more intuitive calculation, which is also easier to implement, involves calculating the average difference.
An informal description of the algorithm:
- Find the absolute difference of each octet, as a numeric value, against its successor. Pad with 0 values where the calculation is impossible.
- Exclude the left-most and right-most values.
- Take the average of those differences.
An example implementation in Python:
def entropy(data, encoding=None):
if not isinstance(data, bytes):
data = bytes(data, encoding=encoding)
data = list(data)
A = [0] + data
B = data + [0]
diff = [abs(B[i] - A[i]) for i in range(len(data))][1:-1]
return sum(diff) / len(diff)
McNamara, Timtag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9802022-06-11T17:29:20Z2022-06-19T11:30:49ZTemporally-displaced heat pump systems.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6644367Conventional heat pumps use mechanical work to exchange heat, against a temperature gradient, between two reservoirs that are spatially displaced; ie heat is removed at one location and discharged at another. An alternative approach which has not previously been explored is a heat pump configuration with temporal rather than spatial displacement; ie heat is removed from a reservoir at one time, and heat is discharged to the same reservoir at another time. This approach may be superior for instances where the heat requirements change in regular intervals, such as a greenhouse requiring cooling during the day and heating at night. The simplest mechanical cycle for achieving this would be to compress a gas when heat is required and discharge the heat produced by compression. Subsequently that same gas could be decompressed at a later time when cooling is required. This is the same as a standard refrigeration cycle, except that instead of the compression and decompression taking place simultaneously at different points in a circuit, they instead take place at different times according to demands.
Stacey, Neil Thomastag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9442022-05-29T03:00:52Z2022-06-17T02:45:18ZCommercialization of Buddhist sacred trees to correct disconnections from naturehttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6644359Enlightenment is the understanding of the universal facts while improving mental condition in to a supreme level. Last twenty eight Buddhas who attained this status have undergone the deep meditation, reflecting on his experience of life, determining to penetrate its truth while seated beneath a tree in different times (Conze,2003;Gowans,2004;Sikarwar,2016;Wright, 2016).Assuming this special tree was not selected only due to plant characteristics such as nature of fruiting, thorny, shady or the wide availability in India at the time of each Buddha, but to receive the support from special chemical properties via plant structures for energy exchanges, purification of mind and body systems, relaxation or stress reduction etc., based on wisdom and understanding. Analyzing the properties of these tree species will lead, to separate special chemical substances or identify structures for development of products and services e.g. in tree therapy and plant therapy while providing clues on nature’s support for enlightenment.
Reference
Conze, E.,2003. Buddhist meditation. Courier Corporation.
Gowans, C.,2004. Philosophy of the Buddha: An Introduction. Routledge.
Sikarwar, R.L.S.,2016. Saga of Indian sacred plants. Indian Ethnobotany: Emerging Trends. Joghpur: Sci. Publ, pp.162-180
Wright, D.S., 2016. What is Buddhist enlightenment?, Oxford University Press
Premarathne, Kapilatag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9412022-05-11T21:00:10Z2022-07-14T21:59:36ZEnvironmental Impact Assessment and wildlife: from a descriptive to an experimental approachhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6644355Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) aim to identify, quantify and mitigate or compensate for the impacts and cumulative effects of projects, such as transport infrastructures and power plants, on ecosystems. Therefore, consultants should provide evidence on wildlife for decision-making (i.e. to approve, modify or reject the project). Moreover, consultants should monitor wildlife populations to adapt the mitigation measures over time because of long response times (e.g. extinction debt) and because the impacts may change (i.e. adaptive management). However, consultants often only inventory the local biodiversity but do not predict the impacts of projects on wildlife. Any project is a disturbance, and any disturbance opens up an experimental scenario. Therefore, consultants should apply experimental approaches for assessing the impacts of projects on wildlife populations at the landscape scale. For instance, [Noguera et al. (2010)](https://www.ardeola.org/en/volumes/571/articles/41-53/) created an index to estimate the raptor collision risk in wind farms, and [Torres at al. (2011)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320711002242) applied a Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) study design to assess the impact of a motorway on a *Otis tarda* population. In conclusion, project developers should provide funding and time for consultants to work as researchers: environmental impact reports should be treated as research articles. If not, the competent authority should apply the precautionary principle.Salgado, Ivántag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9382022-05-02T09:59:53Z2023-09-03T18:11:57ZProblems in Erzya subject-object-conjugation ambiguityhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6643877The Mordvin languages, Erzya and Moksha, are known for their subject and subject-object marking. The cellular structure and usage in the sibling languages diverge. Here, I discribe phenomena in Erzya.
The subject-object marking in Erzya involves ambiguity and non-ambiguity for 28 non-reflexive relations.
In the non-past indicatitve, these relations are represented by 15 formatives that can be divided into groups of ten non-ambiguous, 3 two-way ambiguous, and two six-way ambiguous formatives.
Non-ambiguity comprises pairs of specific singular arguments and singular subjects with third person plural objects.
Plural subjects with third-person objects are two-way ambiguous.
The remainder comprises two sets of six-way-ambiguous formatives.
Actually, the last set represents seven-way ambiguity, as the third-person-plural form represents an indefinite actor singular or plural.
Thus an example:
«Molʲan lučše vastomot karman, štobu kijak avolʲidʲizʲ nʲejtʲ.» 'Better yet, I'll go and meet you[sg], so that nobody[sg] will see you[sg].'
Problem: the indefinite pronoun (kijak[sg] 'anybody') has a plural counterpart (kitʲkak), and yet the non-specific, indefinite singular is referenced in the subject marking as third person plural. There is an overlap of formatives in four cells.
Questions: Should multiambiguity be seen as default object conjugation marking, and how is the plural indefinite prounoun used?Rueter, Jacktag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9352022-04-25T20:43:16Z2022-06-15T06:00:38ZMenu-Board Theory of Votinghttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6643873The dictum of Public Choice Theory is that politics functions as a form of exchange. This assertion is very much true of the process of voting, where participants either select policies or representatives to make policy decisions. Public policy is nothing about purchasing decisions. Any commodity or service provided by the state is a public good. The government provides services that the private sector cannot otherwise supply due to practicality or legal sanctions.
The suggestion that voting is a form of purchasing public commodities and services (e.g. roadways and defense) validates the Menu-Board Theory of Voting. This theory suggests that anytime political decisions are made through a democratic process it is analogous to ordering food from a fast-food restaurant. The clearest example of this is the Marijuana legalization referendums in the United States. Through voting to legalize the sale and consumption, voters are not just purchasing the right to ingest cannabis, but they also acquire other complementary public goods (the proverbial fries and a drink). Voters also gain regulations from the state government to reduce the spillover effects of consumers ingesting unsafe products. Also, additional tax revenue from the excise taxes will serve as funding for other services.Clark, Petertag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9342022-04-24T18:37:07Z2022-06-15T06:00:38ZApplication of design of experiment methods from the industrial environment to crop science and medicinehttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6643867In all scientific and engineering disciplines, the design of experiment is used to create experimental plans. Particularly in industrial experimentation, methods are available that are hardly or not at all used in agriculture. For example, the surface response method in agricultural sciences is only used in mechanical engineering and the adjustment of agricultural machinery.
The work project therefore tries to combine ideas from both fields in order to improve experiments in crop science so that more accurate results can be obtained with fewer plots.
For example, methods such as fractional factorial designs and Plackett-Burman types are a possible extension when it comes to crop production systems. If there are already literature values for questions, optimal designs (D, I, A, G, T, E optimal) are also a possibility to achieve more precise results with fewer plots.
The challenge is to transfer the experimental designs from the industry into a plot form, as it is used in agricultural sciences and medicine. Especially the apsect of spatial influence has to be taken into account, as this phenomenon does not appear in this form in industrial trials, but is omnipresent in crop science due to natural inhomogeneous soil conditions.Harbers, Jenstag:beta.briefideas.org,2005:Idea/9332022-04-18T23:39:27Z2022-06-15T06:00:38ZTri-allelic SNPs outperform functional candidates for biochemical profile in Cannabishttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6643865Genomic technologies have revolutionized the fields of evolutionary biology and genetics, bringing with it the promise of our understanding of the functional basis and inheritance of key traits of interest. On the other hand, the stupendous amount of data generated by such means have not been matched by computer power and as such, many genomic studies use quality control measures to reduce the number of marker retained in analyses, resulting in most studies retaining bi-allelic *Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms* (SNPs) [Henry 2018](/ideas/199d82d72bf64234b8ace849cc20896c).
We set out to compare the utility of a select tri-allelic SNPs panel against three functionally validated bi-allelic SNPs underlying monoterpene, sesquiterpene and cannabinoid expression [Watts et al 2021](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-01003-y#MOESM3). We leveraged data from [Jin et al 2021](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253387) containing genotypes from [23 cannabis accessions with associated chemotypic profiles](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.699530/full), which clustered into THC, CBD and intermediate (THC/CBD) categories. Low sesquiterpene content was noted in the CBD and intermediate groups. An independent compilation of data from the public domain available from the [International Cannabis Research Consortium](https://www.icgrc.info/) was used to demonstrate the power of the tri-allelic panel.
We show near perfect assignment to the predefined chemotype groups, and demonstrate that the three tri-allelic markers can be used in combination as predictors of biochemical makeup in *Cannabis*, providing a simple means to categorize cannabis into groups based on their monoterpene, sesquiterpene and cannabinoid content.
Henry, Philippe