Leveraging Publicly Available Information to Analyze Information Operations

Traditionally, a significant part of assessing information operations (IO) relies on subject matter experts’ time- intensive study of publicly available information (PAI). Now, with massive amounts PAI made available via the Internet, analysts are faced with the challenge of effectively leveraging massive quantities of PAI to draw meaningful conclusions. This paper presents an automated method for collecting and analyzing large amounts of PAI from China that could better inform assessments of IO campaigns. We implement a multi-model system that involves data acquisition via web scraping and analysis using natural language processing (NLP) techniques with a focus on topic modeling and sentiment analysis. After conducting a case study on China’s current relationship with Taiwan and comparing the results to validated research by a subject matter expert, it is clear that our methodology is valuable for drawing general conclusions and pinpointing important dialogue over a massive amount of PAI.

The duration of daily activities has no impact on measures of overall wellbeing

It is widely assumed that the longer we spend in happier activities the happier we will be. In an intensive study of momentary happiness, we show that, in fact, longer time spent in happier activities does not lead to higher levels of reported happiness overall. This finding is replicated with different samples (student and diverse, multi-national panel), measures and methods of analysis. We explore different explanations for this seemingly paradoxical finding, providing fresh insight into the factors that do and do not affect the relationship between how happy we report feeling as a function of how long it lasts. This work calls into question the assumption that spending more time doing what we like will show up in making us happier, presenting a fundamental challenge to the validity of current tools used to measure happiness.

Mathematical Framework for Breathing Chimera States

About two decades ago it was discovered that systems of nonlocally coupled oscillators can exhibit unusual symmetry-breaking patterns composed of coherent and incoherent regions. Since then such patterns, called chimera states, have been the subject of intensive study but mostly in the stationary case when the coarse-grained system dynamics remains unchanged over time. Nonstationary coherence–incoherence patterns, in particular periodically breathing chimera states, were also reported, however not investigated systematically because of their complexity. In this paper we suggest a semi-analytic solution to the above problem providing a mathematical framework for the analysis of breathing chimera states in a ring of nonlocally coupled phase oscillators. Our approach relies on the consideration of an integro-differential equation describing the long-term coarse-grained dynamics of the oscillator system. For this equation we specify a class of solutions relevant to breathing chimera states. We derive a self-consistency equation for these solutions and carry out their stability analysis. We show that our approach correctly predicts macroscopic features of breathing chimera states. Moreover, we point out its potential application to other models which can be studied using the Ott–Antonsen reduction technique.

“Faces” and “Disguises” of V. Rozanov’s SolitaryThoughts and Fallen Leaves

An intensive study of V. Rozanovs work naturally actualizes the question of the reasons for the contradictory assessments that have accompanied it for more than a century. The author explains their polarity by the prevalence of subjective or stereotypical ideas about the fundamental novelty of V. Rozanovs approach to the psychology of literary creativity and to the aesthetics of secluded nudity, which the creative subject of his books invariably followed. The article examines the space of solitude as a sphere of creative realization of Rozanov, where the main attention is paid to the intuition of intimacy, interpreted by the writer as a genuine spiritual act underlying the true creativity of life and literature. In solitude the authors intuition of intimacy penetrates into the phenomena and objects of life, endows them with related intimate meanings, is reflected in them and contributes to the creation of a mythopoetic picture of the world, filled with a variety of subjective and personal ideas of V. Rozanov about God, the world, cultural and literary values, about to yourself. In the above examples, V. Rozanovs faces appear in the process of intimate rapprochement with the Absolute and revealed in ontological insights. Disguises are figurative dialectical projections of the intimate faces of the author, opposed to the traditional views on the writers personality. These are polar, familiarly traversed projections of his intimate faces designed to enhance their ontological and aesthetic significance. The philosophical concept of detachment in myth and literature, developed by A.F. Losev in Dialectics of Myth , served as a methodological basis for the study of the phenomenon of solitude and unity in V. Rozanov of the myth-maker and writer.

HiC-TE: a computational pipeline for Hi-C data analysis shows a possible role of repeat family interactions in the genome 3D organization

The role of repetitive DNA in the 3D organization of the interphase nucleus in plant cells is a subject of intensive study. High-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) is a sequencing-based method detecting the proximity of DNA segments in nuclei. We combined Hi-C data, plant reference genome data and tools for the characterization of genomic repeats to build a Nextflow pipeline identifying and quantifying the contacts of specific repeats revealing the preferential homotypic interactions of ribosomal DNA, DNA transposons and some LTR retrotransposon families. We provide a novel way to analyze the organization of repetitive elements in the 3D nucleus.

Pancreatic Cancer and Platelets Crosstalk: A Potential Biomarker and Target

Platelets have been recognized as key players in hemostasis, thrombosis, and cancer. Preclinical and clinical researches evidenced that tumorigenesis and metastasis can be promoted by platelets through a wide variety of crosstalk between cancer cells and platelets. Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although the relationship between pancreatic cancer and platelets in clinical diagnosis is described, the interplay between pancreatic cancer and platelets, the underlying pathological mechanism and pathways remain a matter of intensive study. This review summaries recent researches in connections between platelets and pancreatic cancer. The existing data showed different underlying mechanisms were involved in their complex crosstalk. Typically, pancreatic tumor accelerates platelet aggregation which forms thrombosis. Furthermore, extracellular vesicles released by platelets promote communication in a neoplastic microenvironment and illustrate how these interactions drive disease progression. We also discuss the advantages of novel model organoids in pancreatic cancer research. A more in-depth understanding of tumor and platelets crosstalk which is based on organoids and translational therapies may provide potential diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer progression.

Intensive Study of Ceria Microsphere Stabilized with Zirconia by The External Gelatin Method

One of the keys to success in the process of fuel synthesis for pebble type high temperature nuclear reactors is mastery in kernel synthesis technology which is the core of the fuel itself. In this paper, the results of a comprehensive study of the preparation of a kernel microsphere from ceria stabilized zirconia (CSZ) using the external gelatin method in BATAN will be discussed. Important parameters obtained from this experiment will be the basis for the actual manufacturing of nuclear fuel kernels. Analysis based on measurement data using the Small Angle Neutron Spectrometer (SANS) provides a deep understanding of the mechanism of CSZ microsphere formation, so that at the end it can provide an understanding of how to avoid possible cracks during heat treatment.