The bacterium that got infected by a cow!

This article is a commentary on horizontal gene transfer and how it is modifying our understanding of evolution.     

Distributed delay input shaper design by optimizing smooth kernel functions

The aim of this paper is the development of a general class of input shapers with distributed time delay which leads to retarded spectral properties. The design of the shaper is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem, where response time and robustness, expressed in terms of residual vibrations, are the main objectives. As a part of the optimization formulation, common requirements for input shapers such as non-decreasing step response and unity steady state gain are considered in the design. Moreover, additional optional requirements, such as smoothness of a step response, jerk and even jounce limits can be added to optimization procedure. The resulting problem can be solved using convex optimization techniques. Several illustrative examples are presented in comparison with classical input shaping techniques. Finally, implementation aspects are discussed. The paper is accompanied by an implementation in MATLAB, including a user-friendly interface for the interactive shaper design.     

Judgment criteria for the authenticity of internet book reviews

In-depth interviews and genre analysis were conducted to derive the genre characteristics of commercial and noncommercial Internet book reviews in order to explore the judgment criteria for commercial (i.e., fake) and noncommercial (i.e., authentic) Internet book reviews. An empirical investigation was then performed to confirm which genre characteristics could serve as judgment criteria. Results indicated that structure and format, attributes of content, information orientation, number of words, lexical richness, personal pronouns, and paralinguistic features can provide useful clues to judgments. Moreover, commercial Internet book reviews with certain genre characteristics may hide their commercial intentions. These findings can provide reference for judgment criteria for online readers or librarians who want to select books based on objective book reviews, or on Internet bookstore marketing strategies that focus on electronic word-of-mouth comments.     

Coat of arms: Dovetailing the needs of outdoor sculpture and military assets to develop more durable and adaptable paint systems

The requirements for paints used on outdoor sculpture and military vehicles are similar: overall protection for the underlying substrate, and the ability to withstand prolonged outdoor exposure and recurring physical contact. Aesthetic requirements are different but stringent for both categories of coatings and include maintaining appearance over time. Building on prior work undertaken by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) to modify military coating systems into a matte black paint suitable for outdoor sculpture, a long-term interdisciplinary collaboration is under way between the ARL, the Getty Conservation Institute, Mack Art Conservation, and NCP Coatings, that aims to develop and evaluate a wider range of robust paint systems with novel attributes for both the DoD and outdoor painted sculptures. For the latter, this includes coatings with a broader range of gloss, formulated with a much more varied palette. New low-gloss coatings used on military assets were used to paint sculptures by Alexander Calder, Tony Smith, and Louise Nevelson, designed to an aesthetic standard based on approved colour and gloss levels by the relevant artists’ foundations and estates, and formulated to enhance durability. These new coatings offer the ability to match or meet a range of artists’ aesthetic preferences, and to use a variety of polymeric flattening agents to control gloss levels, reduce marring, and eliminate volatile and hazardous pollutants. The use of low molecular weight (LMW) resins provides 4–8 hour pot life to assist in the application process. Compared to current resins, the LMW systems reduce organic solvent levels, are low viscosity, and permit far easier application. In addition, the replacement of typical pigments with low solar absorbing (LSA) pigmentation provides higher reflection which ‘shields’ the resin/binder system and reduces degradation. A particular advantage to conservators from this collaboration is that the coatings on DoD assets provide a convenient indicator of the paint's performance and durability. The outcome will be a unique coating system to provide enhanced durability and maintain the original coating properties for a period of 6–10 years.     

Political conversations on Twitter in a disruptive scenario: The role of “party evangelists” during the 2015 Spanish general elections

During election campaigns, candidates, parties, and media share their relevance on Twitter with a group of especially active users, aligned with a particular party. This paper introduces the profile of “party evangelists,” and explores the activity and effects these users had on the general political conversation during the 2015 Spanish general election. On that occasion, the electoral expectations were uncertain for the two major parties (PP and PSOE) because of the rise of two emerging parties that were disrupting the political status quo (Podemos and Ciudadanos). This was an ideal situation to assess the differences between the evangelists of established and emerging parties. The paper evaluates two aspects of the political conversation based on a corpus of 8.9 million tweets: the retweeting effectiveness, and the sentiment analysis of the overall conversation. We found that one of the emerging party’s evangelists dominated message dissemination to a much greater extent.     

Ice hockey skating sprints: run to glide mechanics of high calibre male and female athletes

ABSTRACT

The skating acceleration to maximal speed transition (sprint) is an essential skill that involves substantial lower body strength and effective propulsion technique. Coaches and athletes strive to understand this optimal combination to improve performance and reduce injury risk. Hence, the purpose of this study was to compare body centre of mass and lower body kinematic profiles from static start to maximal speed of high calibre male and female ice hockey players on the ice surface. Overall, male and female skaters showed similar centre of mass trajectories, though magnitudes differed. The key performance difference was the male’s greater peak forward skating speed (8.96 ± 0.44 m/s vs the females’ 8.02 ± 0.36 m/s, p < 0.001), which was strongly correlated to peak leg strength (R ² = 0.81). Males generated greater forward acceleration during the initial accelerative steps, but thereafter, both sexes had similar stride-by-stride accelerations up to maximal speed. In terms of technique, males demonstrated greater hip abduction (p = 0.006) and knee flexion (p = 0.026) from ice contact to push off throughout the trials. For coaches and athletes, these findings underscore the importance of leg strength and widely planted running steps during the initial skating technique to achieve maximal skating speed over a 30 m distance.