bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Offenders of Environmental Crimes
Authors: Faria Rita
Published: February 2024

Criminology was born from the political and scientific project of producing evidence-based knowledge about a particular kind of subject: the criminal. This evasive topic of inquiry has driven orthodox and positivistic criminology to look for risk factors, situational clues, criminal scripts, opportunities for crime, and so on. But critiques of such approach have noted how the framework of criminal action and motivation—that is: crime—ought to be analyzed from a social constructionist perspective rather than by mere reified, legal notions. In green criminology scholarship, environmental harms and crimes have been critically debated, and it is fairly accepted that, while necessary, legalistic approaches to environmental offenses would not suffice due to their ethnocentric perspective of life, social order, and justice. However, in green criminology, evidence-based and critical debates about the environmental offender are somehow lagging. There has been a growth of research devoted to understanding environmental offending and ways to react to it, and more data about offenders is being collected, with authors now in a better position to inform about the features of those who commit environmental offenses and harms. However, a closer look at the bulk of literature reveals that green criminology has been looking at a hard-to-grasp reality, composed of a multitude of actors (and respective actions) that include individual offenders, as well as criminal networks, and legitimate organizations such as corporations and states—all of which should be envisioned as complex systems that interact with particular surroundings and contexts, moved by specific values and (sub)cultural norms.

Trying to convey this multitude into one article is not an easy job and, overall, the complexity of environmental offenses reveals the multifaceted nature of offenders and the multilayered causes and motives of behaviors that harm the environment or break those laws and regulations dedicated to protecting nonhuman species, habitats, or the environment as a whole.
Green Cultural Criminology: Foundations, Variations and New Frames
Authors: Lam Anita , South Nigel , Brisman Avi
Published: February 2024

Green cultural criminology (GCC) is a hybridized, interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon general propositions associated with green criminology and cultural criminology. Whereas green criminology is concerned with crimes and harms affecting the natural environment and the planet, including their associated impacts on human and nonhuman life, cultural criminology is focused on the ways and means by which crime and crime control are socially constructed, enforced, represented, and resisted. The directions of GCC are wide-ranging and can be expressed as forms of inquiry about (a) media and popular cultural representations of environmental harms, crimes, and disasters, including how difference, deviance, and resistance are constructed in regard to environments and spaces; (b) the dynamics and constructions of consumption, especially with respect to the commodification of nature; and (c) the contestation of space, transgression, and resistance in relation to environmental harms. Over time, variations in GCC have emerged to explore how the cultural production of meanings—namely meanings associated with environment, human, and nonhuman species along with the connections and linkages between them—structures and informs the various ways that we conceive and make sense of, think and feel about, as well as act toward, interact with, and make decisions regarding the environment. To enhance existing ways of thinking about GCC in a post-pandemic world, four additional “cultural frames” are suggested for investigation and analysis: ekphrasis, elite consumption, commodification of nature, and Black Sky Thinking.
Asset Pricing: Cross-Section Predictability
Authors: Zaffaroni Paolo , Zhou Guofu
Published: February 2024

A fundamental question in finance is the study of why different assets have different expected returns, which is intricately linked to the issue of cross-section prediction in the sense of addressing the question “What explains the cross section of expected returns?” There is vast literature on this topic. There are state-of-the-art methods used to forecast the cross section of stock returns with firm characteristics predictors, and the same methods can be applied to other asset classes, such as corporate bonds and foreign exchange rates, and to managed portfolios such mutual and hedge funds.

First, there are the traditional ordinary least squares and weighted least squares methods, as well as the recently developed various machine learning approaches such as neutral networks and genetic programming. These are the main methods used today in applications. There are three measures that assess how the various methods perform. The first is the Sharpe ratio of a long–short portfolio that longs the assets with the highest predicted return and shorts those with the lowest. This measure provides the economic value for one method versus another. The second measure is an out-of-sample

R
2

that evaluates how the forecasts perform relative to a natural benchmark that is the cross-section mean. This is important as any method that fails to outperform the benchmark is questionable. The third measure is how well the predicted returns explain the realized ones. This provides an overall error assessment cross all the stocks.

Factor models are another tool used to understand cross-section predictability. This sheds light on whether the predictability is due to mispricing or risk exposure. There are three ways to consider these models: First, we can consider how to test traditional factor models and estimate the associated risk premia, where the factors are specified ex ante. Second, we can analyze similar problems for latent factor models. Finally, going beyond the traditional setup, we can consider recent studies on asset-specific risks. This analysis provides the framework to understand the economic driving forces of predictability.
Evaluating Condominial Sewerage Programs: Technology and Community Engagement
Authors: Campos Borja Patrícia , Nance Earthea , Santos Moraes Luiz Roberto
Published: February 2024

Condominial sewerage is a socio-technical system used in many parts of the world. It has the potential to expand service coverage due to its low cost and adaptability. However, the results and effectiveness of projects that have been implemented and their evaluation methods have been little studied. The aim of this article is to discuss experiences of evaluation of this technology, which have focused on use, functioning, social participation, and health impacts. Other aims are to propose an evaluation scope and to present a comprehensive framework to support future evaluations.
Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics
Authors: Wallace David
Published: February 2024

If the philosophy of physics has a central problem, it is the quantum measurement problem: the problem of how to interpret, make sense of, and perhaps even fix quantum mechanics. Other theories in physics challenge people’s intuitions and everyday assumptions, but only quantum theory forces people to take seriously the idea that there is no objective world at all beyond their observations—or, perhaps, that there are many. Other theories in physics leave people puzzled about aspects of how they are to be understood, but only quantum theory raises paradoxes so severe that leading physicists and leading philosophers of physics seriously consider tearing it down and rebuilding it anew. Quantum theory is both the conceptual and mathematical core of 21st-century physics and the gaping void in the attempt to understand the worldview given by 21st-century physics.

Unsurprisingly, then, the philosophy of quantum mechanics is dominated by the quantum measurement problem, and to a lesser extent by the related problem of quantum non-locality, and in this article, an introduction to each is given. In Section 1, I review the formalism of quantum mechanics and the quantum measurement problem. In Sections 2–4 I discuss the three main classes of solution to the measurement problem: treat the formalism as representing the objective state of the system; treat it as representing only probabilities of something else; modify it or replace it entirely. In Section 5 I review Bell’s inequality and the issue of non-locality in quantum mechanics, and relate it to the interpretations discussed in Sections 2–4. I make some brief concluding remarks in Section 6.

A note on terminology: I use “quantum theory” and “quantum mechanics” interchangeably to refer to the overall framework of quantum physics (containing quantum theories as simple as the qubit or harmonic oscillator and as complicated as the Standard Model of particle physics). I do not adopt the older convention (still somewhat common in philosophy of physics) that “quantum mechanics” means only the quantum theory of particles, or perhaps even non-relativistic particles: when I want to refer to non-relativistic quantum particle mechanics I will do so explicitly.
The Ethics of Veganism and Plant-Based Diets
Authors: Alvaro Carlo
Published: February 2024

Humans have been consuming meat and other animal products for millennia. Although people have been following vegetarian diets for just as long, for the past fifty years or so, many academic philosophers, as well as laypeople, have been arguing against the consumption of animal products and arguing for vegetarian or vegan diets. There are distinct differences between veganism, vegetarianism, and plant-based diets. There are also various ethical views in twenty-first century discussions concerning diets, as well as the ethical, environmental, and social implications of veganism and plant-based diets. As of the 2020s, lab-grown meat and the meaning and future of veganism has gained attention in the cultural consciousness.
South Asian Migration to the United States, 1700s–2010s
Authors: Quraishi Uzma
Published: February 2024

Empire looms large in the history of migrations from South Asia to the United States. Although the South Asia region generally denotes the broader Indian subcontinent, historically, most of its US-bound migrations originated in the early 21st-century nation-states of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, that is, formerly British India. Beginning in the 1700s, migrant streams from South Asia included such varied categories as coerced and free labor, farmers, students, high-tech workers, and temporary, cyclical, and permanent residents—warranting the use of the term migrants rather than immigrants. In the 18th century, people from the Indian subcontinent were ensnared in British and American imperial circuits of slavery and indenture. A century later, they forged new migration pathways for trade and labor. Employers desired South Asian labor, even as ordinary Americans both spurned South Asians and fetishized their “exotic” goods and exoticized spirituality. In the early 20th century, South Asian migrants on the Pacific Coast mounted a US-based resistance effort to overthrow the British Raj, prompting close state regulation of South Asian migration into North America. Groups such as the Asiatic Exclusion League successfully pressured legislators to pass exclusionary federal immigration policies and legally mandated racial segregation at the municipal and state levels in western states. In the early 1920s, the US court system denied South Asians the right to naturalized citizenship, although ultimately, all Asians per the 1870 naturalization statutes and various Supreme Court rulings. Resident South Asians resisted these strictures for decades, finally meeting with success during World War II. The mid- to late 20th century provided fresh opportunities and challenges for skilled workers from South Asia, though these migrations derived from US global dominance and consolidation of its empire in the postwar era. Throughout, the rights of South Asian migrants, imperial subjects, and citizens were subject to the inconsistent whims of the state.
Diversity in Audiences
Authors: Metag Julia , Klinger Kira
Published: February 2024

Examining risk communication is important in determining how audiences perceive, understand, and ultimately respond to natural hazards and their causes as well as the (political) measures that are implemented to prevent them. The audience, however, should not be conceptualized as a uniform and homogeneous mass but, rather, as comprising distinct groups that differ in their perceptions of natural hazards, their attitudes toward risk, their knowledge and information behavior, as well as their behavior with regard to preparing for and acting during and after a natural hazard. Conceptualizing audiences in this way accounts for pluralization and fragmentation tendencies on a societal level.

The diversity of audiences has led to segmentation analyses becoming a prominent approach in understanding audiences in social and behavioral sciences. An audience segment is identified by the shared characteristics of a specific group within a broader audience. From a risk communication perspective, acknowledging audience diversity and studying different audience segments allows for tailored risk communication regarding natural hazards. These segments can differ depending on which issue is concerned, and this can also change over time.

When conducting audience segmentation analyses, researchers must choose between different types of segmentation analyses (e.g., a priori vs. post hoc analyses or psychographic vs. behavioral analyses), which kind of variables they select to base their segmentation on, which audience or population is under study, and which methodological (e.g., quantitative vs. qualitative methods) and analytical approach they apply. There are some audience segmentation studies directly dedicated to natural hazards which show that there are diverse audience groups differing in their awareness of the risks of natural hazards and their information behavior and needs. These studies reveal that examining diverse audiences based on segmentation can be beneficial in tailoring communication activities, engaging specific—particularly vulnerable—groups, and improving community participation. Regarding challenges, it remains questionable to what extent skeptical groups can be reached, even if they are identified through segmentation analysis, and whether separate segment-specific communication could come at the expense of building a social consensus. Nonetheless, target group–specific communication allows campaigners to foster dialogue regarding risks and natural hazards by enabling them to persuade many members of society to join the dialogue and use the segments’ preferred communication strategies in terms of channels, tone, and content.
‘Hazardous on My Soul’: (Dis)compassion and Emotive Dissonance in Prison Work
Authors: Higgins Ethan M , Smith Justin M , Swartz Kristin
Published: February 2024

A history of social research has aimed to illuminate consequences for the psyche of workers that carry out occupations in dehumanizing contexts. In criminology, scholarship has detailed concern over how carceral contexts produce detriment via emotional labour for workers. Although prison work has been shown to necessitate emotional suppression, studies also find workers can bear intimacy for the incarcerated. We contribute to the prison scholarship by illustrating these emotive paradoxes that represent dissonance for staff. We draw from 18 focus groups of staff, to examine how emotive dissonance manifests from contradictory feeling rules in prison work. We explore emotive disharmony among the workgroup that comes from opposing feeling rules, and, we explore how workers experience with emotive dissonance manifests as emotional estrangement. Our findings help contemplate the implications of navigating emotion within dehumanizing contexts and illustrate that how staff treat the incarcerated has implications for their own sense of humanity.
Growth and Morphophysiological Responses of Protium heptaphyllum Seedlings to Root Deformation and Light Availability
Authors: Lopes Emile Caroline Silva , dos Santos Martielly Santana , Dalmolin Ândrea Carla , Gomes Fábio Pinto , Cerqueira Amanda Freitas , Mielke Marcelo Schramm
Published: February 2024

J-root deformation caused at the time of pricking out is highlighted in several forest nursery manuals, but there are few reports in the literature on the consequences of this type of root deformation on the physiology and growth of tree seedlings. Protium heptaphyllum is a tropical tree with potential for use in forest enrichment projects and agroforestry systems. This study aimed to evaluate the biomass allocation, root hydraulic conductivity and growth of P. heptaphyllum seedlings subjected to root deformation and three contrasting light levels (44%, 28%, and 2% of full sunlight) over a period of 155 days. Root deformation negatively affected the shoot to root dry mass ratio (S/R), the diameter to root volume ratio (D/RV), the height to root volume ratio (H/RV) and relative growth rate (RGR). Seedlings at 44% and 28% of full sunlight had lower S/R and higher hydraulic conductivity per unit of root volume (Kr/RV), net assimilation rate (NAR), and RGR when compared with seedlings at 2% of full sunlight. No significant interactions were observed between root deformation and light. Root deformation caused at the time of pricking out affects the quality of seedlings, decreasing growth rates and changing morphophysiological characteristics independently of light availability.

Study Implications: Poor quality tree seedlings with J-root deformation is a problem frequently pointed out in forest nursery manuals. Despite this, there is scarce information in the literature on how errors in the pricking out process affect the morphology and physiology of tree seedlings. We demonstrated that this type of root deformation decreases the growth rate and changes important characteristics of Protium heptaphyllum seedlings regardless of light environment. We highlight important morphological and physiological effects of errors in the management of tree seedlings, which are frequently pointed out in forest nursery manuals but have not been demonstrated by experimental studies.
A fluorescent assay for cryptic transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals novel insights into factors that stabilize chromatin structure on newly replicated DNA
Authors: Gao Ellia , Brown Joshua A R , Jung Stephanie , Howe LeAnn J
Published: February 2024

The disruption of chromatin structure can result in transcription initiation from cryptic promoters within gene bodies. While the passage of RNA polymerase II is a well-characterized chromatin-disrupting force, numerous factors, including histone chaperones, normally stabilize chromatin on transcribed genes, thereby repressing cryptic transcription. DNA replication, which employs a partially overlapping set of histone chaperones, is also inherently disruptive to chromatin, but a role for DNA replication in cryptic transcription has never been examined. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that, in the absence of chromatin-stabilizing factors, DNA replication can promote cryptic transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using a novel fluorescent reporter assay, we show that multiple factors, including Asf1, CAF-1, Rtt106, Spt6, and FACT, block transcription from a cryptic promoter, but are entirely or partially dispensable in G1-arrested cells, suggesting a requirement for DNA replication in chromatin disruption. Collectively, these results demonstrate that transcription fidelity is dependent on numerous factors that function to assemble chromatin on nascent DNA.
Characterization of train kinematics and source wavelets from near-field seismic data
Authors: Rebert Théo , Bardainne Thomas , Allemand Thibaut , Cai Caifang , Chauris Hervé
Published: February 2024

Train traffic is a powerful source of seismic waves, with many applications for passive seismic imaging. Seismic signals were recorded a few metres away from the railway track. These records display harmonious waveforms below 15 Hz for trains driving at speeds of around 100 km hr−1. The sensors record an apparent wavelet emitted by the interaction of the axle on a few of the closest sleepers. From this, we build a simple modelling tool using shifted wavelets to simulate a train signal. The relationship involves the varying train speed, the distances between each axle, and the wavelet emitted by each axle. We propose a nonlinear deconvolution method to invert this relationship. We use a local minimization algorithm with gradients derived by the adjoint state method, and use a frequency continuation technique. A linearized picking-based inversion initializes the nonlinear inversion. On real data, we apply this automatic workflow to 300 train passages, with an excellent match between the best simulation and the data. We identify the trains decelerating as they enter a train station. We also identify the train type based on inverted wheel spacing with centimetric accuracy. The inverted wavelets are consistent with the assumption that trains emit seismic waves by bending the rail above sleepers, although the theory does not explain why the inverted wavelet is not zero phase. This automated kinematic inversion algorithm may allow for contactless railway monitoring, and be used for source characterization for subsurface monitoring below railway tracks.
Reflecting on 50 years of theory inHuman Communication Research: where do we go from here
Authors: Oliver Mary Beth , Gil de Zúñiga Homero , Afifi Tamara D
Published: February 2024

This essay is an introduction to the special issue on “Rethinking and Expanding Communication Theories on HCR’s 50th Anniversary.” We begin by arguing that communication research has expanded substantially since Human Communication Research’s inaugural issue. However, in light of changes in communication technologies, political discourse, means of engaging in interpersonal communication, and awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion, this special issue takes note of our current theorizing and ways to build as we look toward the future. The essays in this special issue, reviewed in this article, will undoubtedly prompt us to re-think, re-envision, and renew our commitment to the importance of communication theory, both in terms of where we have been and in terms of where we can progress.
Inhibition of Cellular Factor TM6SF2 Suppresses Secretion Pathways of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis D Viruses
Authors: Tu Thomas , Ajoyan Harout , Nur Umami Rifqiyah , Veeraraghavan Vaishnavi , Boldbaatar Delgerbat , Najim Mustafa Ahmed M , Khan Anis , Bayoumi Ali , Ho Vikki , Eslam Mohammed , Berg Thomas , Chan Henry L Y , George Jacob , Douglas Mark W
Published: February 2024

Chronic viral hepatitis is caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), or hepatitis D virus (HDV). Despite different replication strategies, all of these viruses rely on secretion through the host endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi pathway, providing potential host targets for antiviral therapy. Knockdown of transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) in virus cell culture models reduced secretion of infectious HCV virions, HDV virions, and HBV subviral particles. Moreover, in a cohort of people with hepatitis B, a TM6SF2 polymorphism (rs58542926 CT/TT, which causes protein misfolding and reduced TM6SF2 in the liver) correlated with lower concentrations of subviral particles in blood, complementing our previous work showing decreased HCV viral load in people with this polymorphism. In conclusion, the host protein TM6SF2 plays a key role in secretion of HBV, HCV, and HDV, providing the potential for novel pan-viral agents to treat people with chronic viral hepatitis.
Experiencing Atmospheres in Paintings
Authors: Jagnow René
Published: February 2024

Paintings can exert a strong effect on their viewers by creating atmospheres. But how is it possible for a painting to create an atmosphere? My goal in this paper is to provide a partial answer to this question by focusing on the depiction of light. I argue that paintings can elicit experiences of atmospheres in part because they can depict pictorial space as filled with ambient light that has a distinctive phenomenal character. It is in virtue of this distinctive phenomenal character that the depicted ambient light can make a significant contribution to the overall phenomenal character of the experienced atmosphere.
Analytical Method for Quantifying Monoterpenoids (p-Cymene and Myrcene) in Nanoemulsions Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
Authors: Lobato Duarte Jonatas , Delello Di Filippo Leonardo , Tavares Alberto Gomes , Chorilli Marlus
Published: February 2024

Background

Myrcene and cymene, aromatic monoterpenes found in plants and essential oils, possess distinctive aromatic qualities. However, their volatility and limited solubility pose challenges in precise handling and formulation. Meanwhile, nanoemulsions emerge as promising drug delivery systems, improving the bioavailability and stability of these active ingredients.

Objective

This article aimed to develop an HPLC method for the quantification of two monoterpenoids, p-cymene and myrcene, in nanoemulsions.

Method

The method used a Phenomenex® Synergi™ Fusion-RP column (150 mm × 4.6 mm id, 4 μm particle size) on an HPLC system with isocratic elution. The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile and water (60:40, v/v) and was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, and selectivity.

Results

The method provided accurate and precise results with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 and RSD values of less than 2%. The method can be used for quality control of nanoemulsions containing these monoterpenoids and as a reference for future studies on their efficacy and stability.

Conclusions

The study demonstrates the feasibility of using HPLC for the quantification of monoterpenoids in nanoemulsions and its potential as a quality control tool for nanoemulsion-based drug delivery systems.

Highlights

The method’s accuracy, precision, and reliability, as evidenced by high correlation coefficients and low RSD values, underscore its suitability for ensuring the consistent formulation of these monoterpenoid-containing nanoemulsions, while also serving as a reference point for future research endeavors in this field.
Control effect and field application of four predatory Orius species on Megalurothrips usitatus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)
Authors: Dai Xiaoyan , Wang Ruijuan , Liu Yan , Su Long , Yin Zhenjuan , Wu Mingfei , Chen Hao , Zheng Li , Zhai Yifan
Published: February 2024

Megalurothrips usitatus (Bagrall) is one of the most important pests of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Linn.) Walp in South China. Four Orius species, including Orius minutus (L.), Orius nagaii (Yasunaga), Orius sauteri (Poppius), and Orius strigicollis (Poppius), have been commercially produced and widely used as natural enemies of pests in China. In this study, we evaluated the control efficiency of these Orius species on M. usitatus in tropical Hainan Province, China, by recording the survival rates, developmental times, and predation effects in laboratory and semi-field conditions. Laboratory experiments showed that all these 4 Orius species preyed on M. usitatus under the experimental temperatures (25, 30, and 35 °C), and O. strigicollis exhibited the highest survival rate and predation effect. Semi-field cage experiments showed that the control effect of 4 Orius species on M. usitatus was significantly higher than that under normal chemical control, with O. strigicollis having the highest effect. Greenhouse experiments in Hainan Province, China, confirmed that O. strigicollis had a significant control effect on M. usitatus. Our study indicated that O. strigicollis has a significant potential for the control of M. usitatus in cowpea fields in southern China.
Noninvasive detection of Zika virus in mosquito excreta sampled from wild mosquito populations in French Guiana
Authors: Guidez Amandine , Fontaine Albin , Yousfi Léna , Moutailler Sara , Carinci Romuald , Issaly Jean , Gaborit Pascal , Cannet Arnaud , de Laval Franck , Matheus Séverine , Rousset Dominique , Dusfour Isabelle , Girod Romain , Briolant Sébastien
Published: February 2024

Arboviruses can be difficult to detect in the field due to relatively low prevalence in mosquito populations. The discovery that infected mosquitoes can release viruses in both their saliva and excreta gave rise to low-cost methods for the detection of arboviruses during entomological surveillance. We implemented both saliva and excreta-based entomological surveillance during the emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in French Guiana in 2016 by trapping mosquitoes around households of symptomatic cases with confirmed ZIKV infection. ZIKV was detected in mosquito excreta and not in mosquito saliva in 1 trap collection out of 85 (1.2%). One female Ae. aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) was found with a ZIKV systemic infection in the corresponding trap. The lag time between symptom onset in a ZIKV-infected individual living near the trap site and ZIKV detection in this mosquito was 1 wk. These results highlight the potential of detection in excreta from trapped mosquitoes as a sensitive and cost-effective method to non invasively detect arbovirus circulation.
Rickettsia species identified in adult, host-seeking Dermacentor occidentalis (Acari: Ixodidae) from Baja California, Mexico, and Oregon and Washington, United States
Authors: Paddock Christopher D , Zambrano Maria L , Clover James R , Ladd-Wilson Stephen , Dykstra Elizabeth A , Salamone Amy , Kangiser David , Ayres Bryan N , Shooter Savannah L , Karpathy Sandor E , Kjemtrup Anne M , Beati Lorenza , Levin Michael L , Lane Robert S , Zazueta Oscar E
Published: February 2024

The Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis Marx, 1892) is a frequently encountered and commonly reported human-biting tick species that has been recorded from most of California and parts of southwestern Oregon, southcentral Washington, and northwestern Mexico. Although previous investigators have surveyed populations of D. occidentalis for the presence of Rickettsia species across several regions of California, populations of this tick have not been surveyed heretofore for rickettsiae from Baja California, Oregon, or Washington. We evaluated 1,367 host-seeking, D. occidentalis adults collected from 2015 to 2022 by flagging vegetation at multiple sites in Baja California, Mexico, and Oregon and Washington, United States, using genus- and species-specific assays for spotted fever group rickettsiae. DNA of Rickettsia 364D, R. bellii, and R. tillamookensis was not detected in specimens from these regions. DNA of R. rhipicephali was detected in D. occidentalis specimens obtained from Ensenada Municipality in Baja California and southwestern Oregon, but not from Washington. All ompA sequences of R. rhipichephali that were amplified from individual ticks in southwestern Oregon were represented by a single genotype. DNA of the Ixodes pacificus rickettsial endosymbiont was amplified from specimens collected in southwestern Oregon and Klickitat County, Washington; to the best of our knowledge, this Rickettsia species has never been identified in D. occidentalis. Collectively, these data are consistent with a relatively recent introduction of Pacific Coast ticks in the northernmost extension of its recognized range.
COVID-19 vaccination, infection, and symptoms among cancer survivors in the United States
Authors: Yang Nuo Nova , Zhao Jingxuan , Zheng Zhiyuan , Yabroff K Robin , Han Xuesong
Published: February 2024

The experiences of cancer survivors with the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States during 2021 and 2022, when vaccinations became widely available, are largely undocumented. Using nationally representative survey data in 2021 and 2022, we found that compared with adults without a cancer history, cancer survivors were more likely to have at least 2 COVID-19 vaccines (2021: 66.6% vs 62.3%, P = .003; 2022: 77.0% vs 72.4%, P < .001) and as likely to have a COVID-19 infection history (2021: 14.1% vs 14.2%, P = .93; 2022: 39.9% vs 39.3%, P = .55) but, once infected, were more likely to develop moderate to severe symptoms (2021: 62.5% vs 54.2%, P = .02; 54.5% vs 61.3%; P = .13). Among cancer survivors, younger age, lower educational attainment, lack of health insurance, and more comorbidities were statistically significantly associated with lower vaccination rates (P < .001). Among infected cancer survivors, being female and younger were associated with higher likelihood of developing moderate to severe symptoms (P < .001). Our findings suggest tailored efforts to prevent and control COVID-19 infections for cancer survivors.
A customized technique for confluent aortic annular and selective sinus of Valsalva endocarditis
Authors: Barua Anupama , Nanjaiah Prakash , Warwick Richard , Jeeji Ravish , Balacumaraswami Lognathen
Published: February 2024

We describe a novel technical modification for reoperative aortic valve replacement in destructive recurrent prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis. We encountered complex anatomy in a previously operated aortic root wherein the aortic annulus and the right coronary sinus of Valsalva were destroyed. This precluded secure suture placement. We modified a composite mechanical Valsalva conduit to create a separate sinus of Valsalva left in continuity with the mechanical valve. This approach allowed us to exclude the infected right sinus of Valsalva and the corresponding aortic annulus.
Transmembrane formins as active cargoes of membrane trafficking
Authors: Cvrčková Fatima , Ghosh Rajdeep , Kočová Helena
Published: February 2024

Formins are a large, evolutionarily old family of cytoskeletal regulators whose roles include actin capping and nucleation, as well as modulation of microtubule dynamics. The plant class I formin clade is characterized by a unique domain organization, as most of its members are transmembrane proteins with possible cell wall-binding motifs exposed to the extracytoplasmic space—a structure that appears to be a synapomorphy of the plant kingdom. While such transmembrane formins are traditionally considered mainly as plasmalemma-localized proteins contributing to the organization of the cell cortex, we review, from a cell biology perspective, the growing evidence that they can also, at least temporarily, reside (and in some cases also function) in endomembranes including secretory and endocytotic pathway compartments, the endoplasmic reticulum, the nuclear envelope, and the tonoplast. Based on this evidence, we propose that class I formins may thus serve as ‘active cargoes’ of membrane trafficking—membrane-embedded proteins that modulate the fate of endo- or exocytotic compartments while being transported by them.
Spatial structure of resonance cavities in sunspots
Authors: Sych Robert , Zhu Xiaoshuai , Chen Yao , Yan Fabao
Published: February 2024

We present a study of wave processes in sunspots from active regions NOAA 11131 on 2010 December 10 and NOAA 12565 on 2016 July 14 observed by SDO/AIA in the 1600, 304, and 171 Å temperature channels. To study the spatial structure of the resonance cavities previously found by Jess et al., we applied spectral data processing techniques such as pixelized wavelet filtering and mode decomposition. For the first time, we found stable regions as waveguides of the oscillations in the sunspot umbra, occupying specific frequency ranges without spatial overlap. The sizes of these regions depend on the frequency oscillations, and the maximum frequency coincides with the values of the harmonics of the main oscillation mode. Frequency drifts were observed in the band occupied by these regions, with different spectral slopes depending on the location of the sources in the sunspot umbra. We suggest that the observed distribution of wave sources in the umbra is a set of resonant cavities where successive amplification of oscillations at selected multiple harmonics is observed. The distribution of sources at low frequencies indicates the influence of the atmospheric cut-off due to the inclinations of the magnetic field lines.
Symmetry-breaking malachite green as a near-infrared light-activated fluorogenic photosensitizer for RNA proximity labeling
Authors: Li Lan , Han Jinghua , Lo Hei-Yong G , Tam Winnie Wai Ling , Jia Han , Tse Edmund Chun Ming , Taliaferro J Matthew , Li Ying
Published: February 2024

Cellular RNA is asymmetrically distributed in cells and the regulation of RNA localization is crucial for proper cellular functions. However, limited chemical tools are available to capture dynamic RNA localization in complex biological systems with high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we developed a new method for RNA proximity labeling activated by near-infrared (NIR) light, which holds the potential for deep penetration. Our method, termed FAP-seq, utilizes a genetically encoded fluorogen activating protein (FAP) that selectively binds to a set of substrates known as malachite green (MG). FAP binding restricts the rotation of MG and rapidly activates its fluorescence in a wash-free manner. By introducing a monoiodo modification to MG, we created a photosensitizer (MG-HI) with the highest singlet oxygen generation ability among various MG derivatives, enabling both protein and RNA proximity labeling in live cells. New insights are provided in the transcriptome analysis with FAP-seq, while a deeper understanding of the symmetry-breaking structural arrangement of FAP–MG-HI was obtained through molecular dynamics simulations. Overall, our wash-free and NIR light-inducible RNA proximity labeling method (FAP-seq) offers a powerful and versatile approach for investigating complex mechanisms underlying RNA-related biological processes.
Mechanistic insights into the alternative ribosome recycling by HflXr
Authors: Seely Savannah M , Basu Ritwika S , Gagnon Matthieu G
Published: February 2024

During stress conditions such as heat shock and antibiotic exposure, ribosomes stall on messenger RNAs, leading to inhibition of protein synthesis. To remobilize ribosomes, bacteria use rescue factors such as HflXr, a homolog of the conserved housekeeping GTPase HflX that catalyzes the dissociation of translationally inactive ribosomes into individual subunits. Here we use time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy to elucidate the mechanism of ribosome recycling by Listeria monocytogenes HflXr. Within the 70S ribosome, HflXr displaces helix H69 of the 50S subunit and induces long-range movements of the platform domain of the 30S subunit, disrupting inter-subunit bridges B2b, B2c, B4, B7a and B7b. Our findings unveil a unique ribosome recycling strategy by HflXr which is distinct from that mediated by RRF and EF-G. The resemblance between HflXr and housekeeping HflX suggests that the alternative ribosome recycling mechanism reported here is universal in the prokaryotic kingdom.
Association of Race-Ethnicity Intersection With Disparities in Cigarette Smoking in U.S. Adults
Authors: Dai Hongying Daisy , Subica Andrew , Mattingly Delvon T , Harlow Alyssa , Leventhal Adam M
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Detailed estimates of disparities in cigarette smoking across single- and multi-race groups and their intersections with ethnicity are lacking. This study estimates the prevalence of self-reported current smoking among intersecting adult race-ethnicity groups in the United States.

Aims and Methods

The analysis uses 2018–2019 data from the Tobacco Use Supplement—Current Population Supplement (TUS-CPS; n = 137 471). Self-reported Hispanic origin and race were recoded into 19 mutually exclusive race-by-ethnicity intersecting groups. Weighted race-ethnicity group smoking prevalence were compared to the overall population prevalence and one another.

Results

Compared to the U.S. population current smoking prevalence (11.4% [95% CI = 11.2% to 11.6%]), smoking was particularly higher in non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) groups (20.7% [95% CI = 17.8% to 24.0%]) and non-Hispanic multiracial AI/AN/White (24.4% [95% CI = 20.3% to 29.1%]) and AI/AN/Black (22.4% [95% CI = 14.4% to 33.2%]) groups. Non-Hispanic single-race Asian (5.0% [95% CI = 4.4% to 5.6%]) and Hispanic single-race White (7.2% [95% CI = 6.7% to 7.7%]) smoking prevalence undercut the overall U.S. population prevalence. In pairwise comparisons, smoking prevalence was higher in various non-Hispanic single- and multi-race AI/AN groups than non-AI/AN groups and was lower in various Hispanic groups than non-Hispanic groups.

Conclusions

Smoking prevalence disparities are not monolithic across complex diversity of race and ethnicity in the United States. Accurate identification of priority populations in need of targeted tobacco control efforts may benefit by acknowledging multinomial heterogeneity across intersecting racial and ethnic identities.

Implications

Understanding racial and ethnic disparities in cigarette smoking can inform national strategies for reducing health inequities. This study examines cigarette smoking disparities among 19 adult intersecting race-ethnicity groups in the United States using the 2018–2019 TUS-CPS data. Results show higher smoking rates in some non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and Black groups, while lower rates are seen in Asian and Hispanic individuals. These findings emphasize the need for disaggregated data to tackle smoking disparities and guide targeted prevention efforts.
Chemical Composition of Electronic Vaping Products From School Grounds in California
Authors: Wang Ping , Williams Rebecca J , Chen Wenhao , Wang Flavia , Shamout Mays , Tanz Lauren J , Herzig Carolyn T A , Oakley Lisa P , Peak Corey M , Heinzerling Amy , Al-Shawaf Maeh , Melstrom Paul , Marynak Kristy , Tynan Michael A , Agaku Israel T , Kumagai Kazukiyo
Published: February 2024

Introduction

The use of electronic vaping products (EVPs) containing nicotine, marijuana, and/or other substances remains prominent among youth; with EVPs containing nicotine being the most commonly used tobacco product among youth since 2014. However, a detailed understanding of the chemical composition of these products is limited.

Aims and Methods

From February 25th to March 15th, 2019, a total of 576 EVPs, including 233 e-cigarette devices (with 43 disposable vape pens) and 343 e-liquid cartridges/pods/bottled e-liquids, were found or confiscated from a convenience sample of 16 public high schools in California. Liquids inside 251 vape pens and cartridges/pods/bottled e-liquids were analyzed using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). For comparison, new JUUL pods, the most commonly used e-cigarette among youth during 2018–2019, with different flavorings and nicotine content were purchased and analyzed.

Results

For e-cigarette cartridges/pods/bottled e-liquids, nicotine was detected in 204 of 208 (98.1%) samples. Propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin were dominant solvents in nicotine-containing EVPs. Among 43 disposable vape pen devices, cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD) were identified in 39 of 43 (90.1%) samples, of which three contained both nicotine and THC. Differences in chemical compositions were observed between confiscated or collected JUULs and purchased JUULs. Measured nicotine was inconsistent with labels on some confiscated or collected bottled e-liquids.

Conclusions

EVPs from 16 participating schools were found to widely contain substances with known adverse health effects among youth, including nicotine and cannabinoids. There was inconsistency between labeled and measured nicotine on the products from schools.

Implications

This study measured the main chemical compositions of EVPs found at 16 California public high schools. Continued efforts are warranted, including at the school-level, to educate, prevent, and reduce youth use of EVPs.
High inter-population connectivity and occasional gene flow between subspecies improves recovery potential for the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo
Authors: Vandergast Amy G , Kus Barbara E , Wood Dustin A , Mitelberg Anna , Smith Julia G , Milano Elizabeth R
Published: February 2024

Increasingly, genomic data are being used to supplement field-based ecological studies to help evaluate recovery status and trends in endangered species. We collected genomic data to address 2 related questions regarding the Least Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii), an endangered migratory songbird restricted to southern California riparian habitat for breeding. First, we sought to delineate the range limits and potential overlap between Least Bell’s Vireo and its sister subspecies, the Arizona Bell’s Vireo, by analyzing samples from the deserts of eastern California, southwestern Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Second, we evaluated genetic structure among Least Bell’s Vireo populations in coastal California and estimated effective population size. Clustering analyses based on 10,571 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 317 samples supported 2 major groups that aligned closely to the previously defined subspecies ranges. The first cluster included birds in the Central Valley, all coastal drainages, and westernmost deserts of California, with no further sub-structuring among coastal drainages. Almost all birds from the Amargosa River in eastern California and eastward assigned to the second cluster; however, low levels of gene flow were detected across the subspecies groups, with greater rates of gene flow from Arizona Bell’s Vireo to Least Bell’s Vireo than the reverse. Admixed individuals occurred in the California deserts; and although smaller than coastal populations, desert populations may be important for maintaining and replenishing genetic diversity and facilitating the movement of potentially adaptive genes between subspecies. Within Least Bell’s Vireo, local populations in coastal drainages comprised a single genetic population, with some evidence of close relatives distributed across drainages, suggesting that these could function as a well-connected metapopulation. These results are consistent with previous Least Bell’s Vireo banding studies that reported high rates of dispersal among drainages. Effective population size for both subspecies was high, suggesting that adaptive potential has been maintained despite previous declines.
The Logic and Mathematics of Charles Sanders Peirce
Authors: Kauffman Louis H.
Published: February 2024

This chapter explores the logic and mathematics of Charles Sanders Peirce. The chapter begins with Peirce’s sign of illation, a sign for implication that is a structural combination of the operations of or and negation. This sign is a direct notational relative of the mark of George Spencer-Brown. The work of Gottlob Frege and Spencer-Brown is compared with that of Peirce, and it is shown how to translate Peirce’s theory of existential graphs with Frege’s tree-like logical notations and how these can be superimposed on the calculus of Spencer-Brown to give a uniform method for logical quantifiers in each of these domains. Spencer-Brown’s formalisms for self-reference and re-entry are discussed in relation to Peirce’s concept of a sign for itself, and these ideas of Peirce are discussed in relation to the mathematics of infinity and infinitesimals. Peirce’s notions about infinitesimals are compared with intuitionistic logic and with the Heyting algebra of open sets in a topological space. The chapter shows the remarkable connections of Peirce’s ideas with mathematical foundations.
Pragmatisms?
Authors: Kitcher Philip
Published: February 2024

Though Charles Peirce is oft regarded as the founder of pragmatism, it is not entirely clear whether there really is a sufficiently unified movement that can be called pragmatism. Though William James cites Peirce’s pragmatic maxim when introducing his own pragmatism, and John Dewey refers to the maxim as well, this chapter shows that the three “pragmatisms” diverge at the root, going in very different directions. Alternative attempts at seeking unity—their views on truth and the doubt–belief model of inquiry—also fail to bring the three thinkers close enough together. Consequently, though they all take a revisionist approach to philosophy and embrace pragmatism on that ground, they differ considerably in how to bring philosophy back to its proper task.