New results from testing relativistic gravity with radio pulsars

We experience a golden era in testing and exploring relativistic gravity. Whether it is results from gravitational-wave detectors, satellite or lab experiments, radio astronomy plays an important complementary role. Here, one can mention the cosmic microwave background, black hole imaging and, obviously, binary pulsars. This talk will concentrate on the latter and new results from studies of strongly self-gravitating bodies with unrivalled precision. This presentation compares the results to other methods, discusses implications for other areas of relativistic astrophysics and will give an outlook of what we can expect from new instruments in the near future.

“So What If I Am Laz?” Irony, Mockery and Humor in Ethnic Integration and Insubordination

This study argues that the ethnic Laz in Turkey resort to irony, humor and mockery to cope with and negotiate the stereotypes, ethnic humor and mockery they encounter in their interactions with outsiders. The trope of irony, humor and mockery have enabled the Laz to navigate the national and regional hierarchies and reproduce their symbolic boundaries regardless of the common and ardent appropriation of Turkishness. In so doing, the Laz can more subtly challenge the official ideology of uniformity. While the public use of Lazuri is still considered a threat to the negotiated boundaries of Lazness, new instruments present creative displays of their ethnic capital which do not contradict present day principles of Turkish nationalism, and offer a legitimate sharing of intimacy without embarrassment. The Laz, like other non-Turkish Muslim peoples of the Black Sea region, abandoned their politically threatening ethnic distinctions, appropriated the capital of Turkishness through their performances, and coped with mockery and stigma by ironizing differences and negotiating, trivializing or selectively appropriating the stereotypes imposed upon them. Ironically, they have “out-performed” ethnic Turks in certain ways, in their search for acceptance as Turks, achieving upward mobility and avoiding forms of stigmatization.

The Eastern Mediterranean in UAE Foreign Policy: Goals and Principles

The Eastern Mediterranean in recent years has become an arena of growing activity of regional states causing tensions among them. The importance of this region from political and military point of view combined with its strategic value in the world energy markets underpins the growing involvement of the UAE, a non-regional actor that lately has become deeply engaged in the regional agenda. Due to the fact that the UAE has taken up a quite active foreign policy course outside of its traditional Gulf circle only recently - with the Eastern Mediterranean becoming a new area of Emirati activities - the volume and scope of Russian and foreign research on this topic is rather limited. The existing works that in some way cover issues of the UAE foreign policy do not reflect the increasing influence of this small Gulf state in the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. For this reason, there is a need for complex research on the matter. This paper is based on analysis of existing works on topics related to some aspects of Emirati foreign policy and tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as analytical articles and statistics. The dramatically increased interest of the UAE in the Eastern Mediterranean is part of significant transformations in the monarchys foreign policy that have been taking place since early 2010s. These transformations manifest themselves in new goals and purposes of Emirati foreign policy, its expanding scale and new instruments for its implementation. Not only is the UAE policy in the Eastern Mediterranean consistent with its general goal of containing Turkey and fighting the threat of Islamism, but it is also a part of realizing Emirati global ambitions of becoming a leader in energy and logistics and ensuring its international status as an influential actor.

New Instruments for Popular Understandings of Democracy

This chapter reviews pertinent research on varying understandings of democracy to assess the empirical challenges in studying this elusive concept and to propose some new survey instruments (i.e., the PUD instruments) with theoretical justification. In particular, it emphasizes the embedded tensions and critical trade-offs as people view and assess democracy and brings such tensions and trade-offs to the center of instrument selection. The chapter further examines the validity and reliability of the PUD instruments using both survey experiments and different psychometric models to establish a solid methodological foundation for subsequent empirical analysis.

Classification of Music Instruments: An overview

Varieties of music instruments are available today to produce the audible sounds which are used to make a piece of music. The music instruments have been classified into various groups depending upon the size, materials, usages, structure, and others. But, today many new practices, experiments, devices, and new instruments have been emerged with the flow of time in musical field. For all the concerned with music, a neo-classification of instruments is ever raised a question. So, from the educational point of view, some of the new music instruments, which are played today, further should be re-classified for convenience. The present article is based on an overview upon the study about the music instruments by following the secondary data and analytical method. After interpretation and analysis, some music instruments, which are still unclassified are categorized under neo-classification.

New Approaches and Technologies to Improve Accuracy of Acute Otitis Media Diagnosis

Several studies have shown that in recent years incidence of acute otitis media (AOM) has declined worldwide. However, related medical, social, and economic problems for patients, their families, and society remain very high. Better knowledge of potential risk factors for AOM development and more effective preventive interventions, particularly in AOM-prone children, can further reduce disease incidence. However, a more accurate AOM diagnosis seems essential to achieve this goal. Diagnostic uncertainty is common, and to avoid risks related to a disease caused mainly by bacteria, several children without AOM are treated with antibiotics and followed as true AOM cases. The main objective of this manuscript is to discuss the most common difficulties that presently limit accurate AOM diagnosis and the new approaches and technologies that have been proposed to improve disease detection. We showed that misdiagnosis can be dangerous or lead to relevant therapeutic mistakes. The need to improve AOM diagnosis has allowed the identification of a long list of technologies to visualize and evaluate the tympanic membrane and to assess middle-ear effusion. Most of the new instruments, including light field otoscopy, optical coherence tomography, low-coherence interferometry, and Raman spectroscopy, are far from being introduced in clinical practice. Video-otoscopy can be effective, especially when it is used in association with telemedicine, parents’ cooperation, and artificial intelligence. Introduction of otologic telemedicine and use of artificial intelligence among pediatricians and ENT specialists must be strongly promoted in order to reduce mistakes in AOM diagnosis.

Identification of shapes and uses of past landscapes through EMI survey

Over the last ten years, the use of Electro-Magnetic Induction (EMI) instruments for archaeological purposes has increased considerably. This development has come both from the availability of new instruments' with multi-coils spacing allowing a multi-depth analysis and because of the wide availability of high quality GPS positing which can be easily integrated with EMI. These new pos- sibilities promote the use of EMI instruments for the study of archaeological landscapes and sites. Indeed, the capability to simultane- ously map both the electrical conductivity and the magnetic susceptibility presents a great advantage for archaeological purposes com- pared to other geophysical instruments. The combination of these two measurements means that it is possible to geomorphologicaly characterize past landscapes while simultaneously mapping anthropogenic activities. 7b maximize the potential ofE MI measurements, this technique requires specialized processing and calibration to limit confusing and unclear results. In order to obtain quantitative conductivity and magnetic susceptibility data, it is necessary to correct instrumental drift and calibrate for local soil conditions. In this paper we introduce the theoretical basis of the EMI technique, discuss common instruments and explain the calibration procedure before presenting three case studies that illustrate applications of EMI to archaeological sites on a range of scales.

Moving beyond the Slit-Lamp Gonioscopy: Challenges and Future Opportunities

After almost a century from its introduction in clinical practice, slit-lamp gonioscopy is still considered the reference standard for evaluating the anterior chamber angle (ACA). Gonioscopy is essential for diagnosing angle closure disease, and ACA features are included in glaucoma’s diagnostics and treatments algorithms. However, shortcomings of slit-lamp gonioscopy include a steep learning curve, lack of agreement between examiners and poor documentation. Thanks to advances in miniaturization and computing, new instruments for digital gonioscopy have been developed and marketed. This narrative review focuses on the Gonioscope GS-1, which permits semi-automated circumferential documentation of the ACA in real-colour photographs. Advantages and disadvantages of GS-1 compared with slit-lamp gonioscopy and other ACA imaging technologies such as optical coherence tomography are discussed. Finally, potential opportunities offered by this device for telemedicine, virtual clinics, and automatic classification with deep learning are presented.

Atomic Structure Calculations of Landé g Factors of Astrophysical Interest with Direct Applications for Solar Coronal Magnetometry

We perform a detailed theoretical study of the atomic structure of ions with ns 2 np m ground configurations and focus on departures from LS coupling, which directly affect the Landé g factors of magnetic dipole lines between levels of the ground terms. Particular emphasis is given to astrophysically abundant ions formed in the solar corona (those with n = 2,3) with M1 transitions spanning a broad range of wavelengths. Accurate Landé g factors are needed to diagnose coronal magnetic fields using measurements from new instruments operating at visible and infrared wavelengths, such as the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. We emphasize an explanation of the dynamics of atomic structure effects for nonspecialists.

Empathy: Assessment Instruments and Psychometric Quality – A Systematic Literature Review With a Meta-Analysis of the Past Ten Years

Objective: To verify the psychometric qualities and adequacy of the instruments available in the literature from 2009 to 2019 to assess empathy in the general population.Methods: The following databases were searched: PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scielo, and LILACS using the keywords “empathy” AND “valid∗” OR “reliability” OR “psychometr∗.” A qualitative synthesis was performed with the findings, and meta-analytic measures were used for reliability and convergent validity.Results: Fifty studies were assessed, which comprised 23 assessment instruments. Of these, 13 proposed new instruments, 18 investigated the psychometric properties of instruments previously developed, and 19 reported cross-cultural adaptations. The Empathy Quotient, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy were the instruments most frequently addressed. They presented good meta-analytic indicators of internal consistency [reliability, generalization meta-analyses (Cronbach’s alpha): 0.61 to 0.86], but weak evidence of validity [weak structural validity; low to moderate convergent validity (0.27 to 0.45)]. Few studies analyzed standardization, prediction, or responsiveness for the new and old instruments. The new instruments proposed few innovations, and their psychometric properties did not improve. In general, cross-cultural studies reported adequate adaptation processes and equivalent psychometric indicators, though there was a lack of studies addressing cultural invariance.Conclusion: Despite the diversity of instruments assessing empathy and the many associated psychometric studies, there remain limitations, especially in terms of validity. Thus far, we cannot yet nominate a gold-standard instrument.