bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Materials’ Properties of Lightweight Spiral Hybrid CNT/Epoxy Composites Enhanced Reflection Loss
Authors: Fadzidah Mohd Idris  , Idza Riati Ibrahim  , Farah Nabilah Shafiee  , Hatika Kaco  , Mohd Shamsul Ezzad Shafie
Published: January 2024

Recently, various electronic devices have been developed to meet the requirements of higher frequency technology applications. This widely used application without realizing has created more electromagnetic interference pollution that is harmful to human health and other equipment. Therefore, more research interest focuses on fabricating the electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbing materials that can absorb the EM wave interference. In this regard, this research highlights the use of Iron Oxide and Cobalt Oxide as catalyst to synthesize hybrid CNT by using Thermal Vapor Deposition Tube (TVDT) method. The spiral hybrid CNT/epoxy composites were prepared at thickness of 1mm, 2mm and 3mm. The phase formation, microstructural, particle size and structural analysis of the hybrid CNT were analyzed by using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and RAMAN spectrometer respectively. The microwave characterization of the hybrid CNT/epoxy composite samples was analyzed by using Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) at GHz frequency range. The phase analysis confirmed the existence of Carbon and iron carbide in the sample. The microstructural of CNT formation are mostly in spiral and straight like structure. On the other hand, the structural analysis shows the sample are more towards defective structure with higher and broader D-band peak. This could enhance the EM wave absorption performance. The minimum reflection loss (RL) peak was ̴-23dB (t=3mm) obtained for all hybrid CNT composite samples. The differences of minimum reflection loss peak at different weight percentages are most likely shown by the shift of frequency range. Thus, this lightweight spiral hybrid CNT/epoxy composites results in better EM wave performance at different thin thickness used for different applications.
Management and internal communication in the management of the GADM of Salinas, pre - post pandemic Covid 19
Authors: Cevallos Palma Viviana Lourdes , Parra Pino Imelda
Published: January 2024

The research focuses on internal communication in public organizations, with the Autonomous Decentralized Municipal Government of Canton Salinas as the object of study. Internal communication management was examined with a comparative analysis before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. This study is framed within a descriptive and correlational approach, using tools such as surveys to the institution's collaborators, interviews to the highest authority, to the director of the communication area and to professionals with experience in the subject. The analyses carried out evaluated different aspects, such as the impact on functions performed, measures adopted, difficulties during the pandemic, and actions implemented both before and after the pandemic. Consequently, the research proposes the MGCSPR 2023 model, an acronym that corresponds to the Sustainable Communication Management Model by Results, developed in 2023. This model seeks to strengthen the public management of the entity through strategies focused on key areas such as human talent management, organizational management, citizen participation, and supervision and control.
Evaluation of environmental quality in the city of Quevedo: the significant role of the San Camilo parish in sustainable development
Authors: Bravo Coello Karla Paulina , Coello León Clemencia , Bravo Coello Giancarlo
Published: January 2024

This study conducts a comprehensive assessment of environmental quality in the city of Quevedo, focusing specifically on the San Camilo Parish and exploring its crucial role in sustainable development. Various indicators and methodologies are employed to measure environmental quality, addressing aspects such as pollution, waste management, urban planning and biodiversity. The results highlight the importance of San Camilo Parish as a key actor in promoting sustainable practices and highlight the need for specific strategies to improve environmental quality in this urban area. This study contributes significantly to the understanding of the challenges and opportunities for sustainable development in Quevedo, offering valuable recommendations for the formulation of future policies and actions.
Inhibition of Autophagy on Melatonin‑Induced Apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Cell Lines
Authors: ÖNDER Gözde Özge , BAYRAM Adnan , YILDIZ Oğuz Galip , YAY Arzu
Published: January 2024

Aim: We looked at the connection between autophagy and apoptosis after our prior research indicated that melatonin could cause MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in the present study.

Material and Method: In order to investigate the autophagy inhibition’s effect on the melatonin-induced BC cells’ apoptosis, melatonin and/or 3-methyladenine (3-MA, autophagy inhibitor) have been utilized. Melatonin was applied to the cells following a 5-mM 3-MA pre-cultivation. Then, apoptosis was detected by the TUNEL method. The technique for double immunofluorescence labeling was used to identify the molecular alterations in Bax/Bcl-2 expression. To evaluate the cell viability, the MTT test was used.

Results: When an autophagy inhibitor, 3-MA, and melatonin treatment were co-administered in MCF-7 cells, apoptosis was decreased, compared to melatonin treatment alone, but it was not significant. In addition, 3-MA application downregulated Bax expression compared with melatonin alone treatment. Combined therapy markedly elevated apoptosis and significantly up-regulated Bax protein in MDA-MB-231 cells.

Conclusion: Taken together, in MCF-7 cells, autophagy’s inhibition contributes to the downregulation of apoptosis, whereas increased apoptosis is seen in MDA-MB-231 cells. Inhibiting autophagy in these cells treated with melatonin could serve as a self-defense mechanism, and This might be a good strategy for breast cancer adjuvant treatment.
Quality Assessment of YouTube Videos on Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head: An Analysis of Content, Reliability, and Educational Value
Authors: KILIÇ Ali İhsan , SAYER Gokhan , AKDEMİR Mehmet
Published: January 2024

Aim: Videos related to avascular necrosis of the femoral head are no exception, and so the aim of this study is to evaluate the educational quality of YouTube videos on this topic.

Material and Method: A standardized video search was performed on YouTube using the terms “avascular necrosis of the hip”, “osteonecrosis of the hip” and “avascular necrosis of the femoral head”. The top 50 videos were then analyzed, and the characteristics and content of the videos were recorded. The Journal of American Medical Association criteria, The DISCERN score, The Global Quality Score and the new YouTube ‘Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head Score” were all used to assess the reliability and accuracy of the videos.

Results: The median video duration of the 50 videos was 10.85±19.17 minutes. The median number of views was 10,866 (range 221 to 278,174). According to the video content, 60% of the videos contained information about the disease, 10% were about patient experience, and the remaining 30% related to surgical technique or approach. Physicians were the primary uploader on YouTube for this topic. The rate of low-quality videos was determined as following according to the different evaluative systems: 68% according to the newly defined YouTube Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head Score, 60% according to the DISCERN score, and 56% according to The Global Quality Score. The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Global Quality Score, and DISCERN score were significantly correlated with video duration, while the New YouTube Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head Score was significantly correlated with video duration, time since upload, number of views, and like rate.

Conclusion: Most of the popular YouTube videos about avascular necrosis are of a low quality.
A Professor as Diplomat: Johann Heinrich Bisterfeld and the Foreign Policy of the Principality of Transylvania, 1638–1643
Authors: Kármán Gábor
Published: January 2024

The paper addresses a unique phenomenon, the prominent role played by Johann Heinrich Bistefeld, a German professor at the academy of Gyulafehérvár Alba Iulia/Weissenburg in the foreign policy of György Rákóczi I, prince of Transylvania during the 1630s and 1640s. Having accepted a mission to Western European courts in 1638–1639, where Bisterfeld’s academic activities served as an excellent camouflage for the professor’s secret diplomatic negotiations, the professor maintained a leading role in keeping contact with the representatives of the Swedish and French Crowns also in the period after his return to the principality. As an “alternative correspondent” to the prince, he proved very useful in creating the treaties of Gyulafehérvár (1643) and Munkács (1645), and he played an outstanding role also in keeping the spirits of the prince high not to give up his plans to join the anti-Habsburg side of the Thirty Years’ War. Building upon the ideas Bisterfeld inherited from his tutor and father-in-law, Johann Heinrich Alsted, the German professor treated his pansophistic ideas and faith in the continuing Reformation as well as his political activities as different parts of the same endeavor as long as Calvinist believers were facing political repression in the Holy Roman Empire.
The Instrumentalization of Courtly Privacy in the Context of the Wedding Celebrations of Emperor Leopold I in 1676
Authors: Curcuruto Claudia
Published: January 2024

According to the wishes of Pope Innocent XI Odescalchi and his representative at the imperial court, Francesco Buonvisi (1675–1689), Leopold I married the candidate they favored: Eleonora Magdalena of Palatinate-Neuburg. The emperor’s third wedding and the subsequent wedding festivities were held in Passau on December 14, 1676 in an absolutely private manner and without the intervention of the secular diplomats or the apostolic nuncio. The private staging of the sposalizio contrasts not only with the norms of the traditions of the imperial court with regards to ceremony, but also with the public staging of the emperor’s two previous weddings. Against this background, this article considers the possible functions that can be attributed to the private in this context and how the preferential treatment of the house of “Pfalz-Neuburg” can be interpreted in relation to the ceremonial norms of the imperial court. In this regard, the nunciature’s correspondence and their manifold interconnections thus represent essential sources which shed light on the mechanisms of “privacy” in diplomacy, as well as the shifting importance and meanings of the ceremonial norms of the imperial court.
Changes in the Diplomatic Measures of the Russian Empire in the Balkans after the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji (1774)
Authors: Schrek Katalin
Published: January 2024

In the last third of the eighteenth century, the foreign policy of the Russian Empire was oriented towards the Ottoman Empire and, as part of it, towards the Balkans and the Black Sea region. The aspirations of Russian foreign policy under Catherine II were shaped not only by the weakening of the government in Constantinople and the acquisition of new territories, but also by the creation of Russian economic, cultural, and political presence in southeastern Europe. The creation of official diplomatic representations was one of the main tools used by Russia to establish its presence in the Balkans. The establishment of permanent embassies and the creation of the necessary political and infrastructural background became a decisive segment in the development of European diplomacy from the Peace of Westphalia to the Napoleonic Wars. The steps taken by the government in St. Petersburg with the creation of permanent embassies in the leading European courts were in line with the abovementioned trend, but while this kind of “catching up” process gradually moved towards Central and Western Europe, Russia applied a completely different set of conditions to maintain diplomatic relations in the case of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman diplomacy operated as a “one-sided diplomatic relation”: there were permanent Russian envoys at the Constantinople court, but no representatives were delegated by the Porte to St. Petersburg. Russia had to adapt to this special situation in the eighteenth century. This closed system was broken by the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji, which closed the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 and included a clause according to which Russia had the right to establish consulates in the Ottoman Empire and thus in the Balkans, a key area. The other key element of the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji was the right of the reigning Russian tsar to be the protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire, which was also fixed in this agreement. The “authority” acquired at this time was not unprecedented, as the Porte had acceded to such requests in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through capitulations with other states (such as France, Austria, or the Venetian Republic), thus establishing the “protégé” system. At the same time, the Russian government took the protection of Christians under the jurisdiction of the Porte to a new level and made it an integral part of its foreign policy. In my study, I examine how the Russian Empire applied the results of the Peace of Kuchuk Kainardji to diplomatic advocacy in the Balkans.
The Role of Teacher Trade Unions in Preventing Staff Victimisation: Voices from the South African Teachers
Authors: Mahome Michael Moreti , Mphahlele Lydia Kgomotso , Malatji Khashane Stephen
Published: January 2024

Teacher Trade Unions remain an integral part of stakeholders within the basic education sector and the school organogram. However, research pertaining to the role that can be played by Teacher Unions in preventing staff victimisation remains restricted globally, and with no enquiry arising within the South African milieu. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of teachers regarding the role of Teacher Trade Unions in preventing staff victimisation, in the District 10 schools of the Province of Gauteng. The researchers used a qualitative approach, grounded in phenomenology as the research design. The sample consisted of five teachers who belong to various unions and data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis. The study revealed that teacher unions were found to be the main perpetrators of staff victimisation particularly when it comes to promotional positions. The study concluded that for teacher unions to protect teachers’ rights, they should not be aligned with political parties. The study recommended that teacher unions should instead conduct training and workshops on pro-social behaviour, peaceful conflict resolution and how teachers are supposed to protect themselves from retribution and threats. The study aims to advance scholarship on the role of teacher unions in creating safer working conditions for teachers. Keywords: Teacher Unions, Socio-Ecological, Violence, Victimisation.
An Analysis of the Petrine View of Believers’ Holy Life and Brotherhood: Implications for Christian Education in Tangerang, Indonesia
Authors: Nome Nehemia , Suparti Hana , Bilo Dyulius Tomas , Ming David , Widiyaningtyas Esther
Published: January 2024

The prominent theme in 1 Peter is holy life and brotherhood as characteristics of being a Christian. Peter instructs Christians on how to respond to the inevitable reality of suffering facing the first-century church. The author of this letter addresses his message to immigrants, immigrants, who are scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia (I Pet. 1:1). Those who receive the letter of I Peter are called people chosen by God, sanctified by the Spirit of God. Thus, the author of the letter I Peter has the appropriate context at the time of writing this letter. The context is noteworthy so that it contributes to understanding Peter 1:13-25. In this text, the author uses a term that can help modern readers understand the context of I Peter. The word used in I Peter 1:13-25 is the word suffering or temptation as stated in I Peter 1:6. The purpose of the suffering is for the quality or purity of the recipient’s faith. The study used the historical-critical method to explore the teaching of 1 Peter 1:13–25. Hence, this exegesis sought to assist in attaining a clearer understanding of what the biblical passage seeks to convey to Christian religious education teachers in Tangerang Indonesia. A quantitative method was also used to seek the views of Christian elementary and junior high school teachers in Tangerang. It concluded that in light of the impending judgment on all humanity, believers are to trust God and continue to live holy lives and foster the spirit of brotherhood amidst their suffering. This study has implications for Christian Education as Christians face attacks from within and without and to remain victorious.

Keywords: Holy life, Brotherhood of Believers, Brotherly Love, 1 Peter 1:13-25
Introduction
Authors: Kéchichian Joseph A.
Published: January 2024

Evaluates the Sultanate’s continuity, identifying various trends, appraises Qaboos’s contributions and, under Haitham bin Tariq, offers a preliminary review of the new ruler’s first two years in power. The introduction frames the vision that Qaboos developed and held for the Sultanate, provides background on the Sultan’s training at Sandhurst Military Academy in the UK, underscores his focus on establishing institutions, assesses the necessity to adopt a Basic Law, and measures the impact of the Dhuffar Civil War on Omani domestic as well as foreign policy directions. The introduction highlights the late ruler’s legacy, and how the torch of power—as well as the burden of authority—was passed to a carefully prepared successor.
A “Vision for Oman”
Authors: Kéchichian Joseph A.
Published: January 2024

While framing a vision was an easy proposition on paper, it was extremely difficult in reality, which is why Chapter 2 is devoted to the subject. To better understand Qaboos’ vision in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it was necessary to first examine those key developments that shaped Omani history from the period 720–1719 AD, when the Imamate was literally defined, through the rise of an imperial power (1719–1868 AD), and ending with various crises that characterized the Imamate (1869–1954 AD). This chapter closes with a quick evaluation of the fourteenth Al Sa‘id Sultan, Qaboos bin Sa‘id, and his epochal rule (1970–2020).
Alignment v. Allegiance: How We See
Authors: Kord Susanne
Published: January 2024

This chapter asks why horror films so often portray the victims of violence as deliberately inept and contemptuous, thus depriving them of audience sympathies, and analyses both ‘Cabin’’s response to this tradition and audience responses to the film’s handling of this trope. Using the works of film theorist Murray Smith and the graphic artist Scott McCloud as a framework, it offers a fresh take on audience identification, specifically on audience alignment with characters, on the possibilities of audience allegiance to characters, and on the conundrum created for the audience by ‘Cabin’’s double role as horror film and a work of meta-horror.
Introduction
Authors: Collins Jane-Marie
Published: January 2024

The introduction lays out the aims and argument of the book, and the rationale, approach, and framework for the study of enslaved motherhood in nineteenth-century Brazil. It identifies the historiographical debates within which the key ideas of the book operate theoretically with regards to reproductive slavery and enslaved motherhood (Camp, Cowling, Fuentes, Weinbaum), the historians with whom the book engages directly about manumission (Bieber-Freitas, Chalhoub, Grinberg) and Afro-Bahian social history (Reis, Parés, Earl Castillo), and the scholars who have informed the formulation of the interpretative framework of emancipatory narratives (Davis and Gates, Lovejoy, Mitchell, Wong). The introduction also explains the historical site of the study, that of the state of Bahia and its capital and Atlantic port city of Salvador, and the periodisation as historical context: between the illegal phase of transatlantic slave trade to Brazil between 1830-1851, the Free Womb Law of 1871 and the abolition of slavery in 1888. Finally, the introduction provides an overview of the book’s four-part structure around relations of enslavement and freedom through the lens of enslaved mother and child, and a more detailed chapter outline of the content in which motherhood in slavery and freedom is examined.
‘Navigation as It Affects the Empire'
Authors: Kirkby Diane , Monk Lee-Ann , Ostapenko Dmytro
Published: January 2024

This chapter explores the significance of shipping law. It starts with the British imperial conference of 1906 where Australia and New Zealand representatives were called to discuss the legislation they had enacted to establish protective labour standards for their maritime workforces. The chapter tracks the history of that legislation, the Navigation Act, and the difficulties of getting it passed. It tracks the rise and dominance of British shipping that drove down wage rates for Asian and South Asian seafarers, and allowed unacceptable standards in accommodation. Critical evidence to this effect was given to the Australian Royal Commission of 1906 as the new national government tried to create jobs and new legislative protections that would attract Australian boys to seafaring and maintain an Australian merchant marine.
‘Giving Us a Voice in World Affairs'
Authors: Kirkby Diane , Monk Lee-Ann , Ostapenko Dmytro
Published: January 2024

This chapter pursues the theme of internationalism as dockworkers unions responded in the 1960s to even greater technological changes with the introduction of containerisation. With the breakdown of the trans-Pacific organisation it had relied on, the Australian union under new leader Charlie Fitzgibbon, finally moved to affiliate with the ITF, signalling that both organisations had shifted from an ideological to a practical internationalism. Dockworkers became important in the ITF’s campaign against seafarer exploitation under open-registry (Flag of Convenience) shipping. This brought conflict between the ITF and the Indian seafarer union whose leader Leo Barnes, took issue with the Eurocentrism of the ITF. The racialised language of the early twentieth century had been replaced but the problem of cheaper labour, racism and xenophobia, and tensions between western European and Asian unionists remained challenging.
Origins
Authors: Jennings William
Published: January 2024

This chapter investigates the origins of the enslaved people Goupy described in his manuscript. He stated the ethnic group, home region and in some cases even home village of almost every person on the plantation. Most were from the Bight of Benin with others from as far apart as Senegal and Angola. With this information, backed up by shipping records, the Africans’ age at time of arrival can be calculated. The origins of several enslaved Native Americans on the plantation is also discussed. It is therefore possible to determine the linguistic and cultural mix on the plantation and in the colony over its first thirty years in detail unprecedented for seventeenth-century sugar colonies. Qualitative information is also provided; a previously unpublished account of a slaving voyage is matched to several people on Rémire who survived it. Discussion of arrival in the colony shows that each person experienced enslavement differently.
Skills and Work
Authors: Jennings William
Published: January 2024

Analysis of Goupy’s manuscript finds that enslaved workers had many different skills and carried out multiple tasks on the Rémire plantation, which during sugar production days functioned like a factory and required alternating shifts of 24 and 12 hours. The skills required are discussed in detail and linked to status; senior men like the sugar refiners and slave driver had a higher ranking than field slaves and new arrivals. Such men were more likely to be given a wife from the next slave ship as a reward for their work. Domestic slaves enjoyed less onerous work and travelled outside the plantation. Goupy is largely silent on women’s tasks but evidence from other plantations suggests they had onerous work in the cane fields as well as cooking, childcare and nursing.
Culture
Authors: Jennings William
Published: January 2024

This chapter begins with the cultural consequences of the Middle Passage, based on Mintz and Price’s argument that transportation to the Americas did not extinguish enslaved peoples’ cultures. It then investigates what cultural knowledge was retained on the plantation, especially with regard to language and spirituality, and what was transmitted to the Creole generations that followed. Since Goupy said relatively little about the cultural practices of the enslaved population, there is greater reliance here on other sources from the early Caribbean. Topics covered include shipmate bonding, creolization of language and culture, science and spirituality.
Health, Punishment and Death
Authors: Jennings William
Published: January 2024

Goupy’s manuscript gives many clues to the poor physical and mental state of Rémire’s enslaved people and this chapter investigates their health and medical support, the punishments they endured and how they died. It finds that about one in three adult slaves on the Rémire estate had some physical disability, especially concerning legs and feet. At least one appeared to be suffering from severe psychological trauma. The planter could call upon at least three medical practices to treat slaves—French, African and Native American—with variation within those practices. Goupy wrote little of punishments, except to criticize others for excessive punishment. Evidence cited from other sources provides more information about plantation discipline at the time. Analysis of deaths recorded on Rémire shows that accidents, beatings, disease and suicide were the principal causes.
Conclusion
Authors: Jennings William
Published: January 2024

The previous chapters show that the enslaved people of the Rémire plantation endured harsh lives in a multicultural environment. Their situation is rapidly summarised and the most important findings are highlighted. These include ethnic origin, family relationships, daily routines and health. Comparisons are then made to the situation of slaves in other colonies and during other centuries. The earliness of the enslaved community contrasts with the later communities that are usually the focus of studies of enslaved societies. Rémire was more African, tasks were more varied and the community did not yet have a Creole core.
Introduction
Authors: Dawson Clive
Published: January 2024

An introduction for readers unfamiliar with the work of Val Lewton and his wartime low-budget production unit at RKO Radio Pictures, and for those similarly unfamiliar with this particular film and Lewton’s overall body of work. This chapter explains how Lewton’s first film, Cat People, broke the hegemony that Universal Pictures had effectively held over screen horror since the early 1930s whilst simultaneously contributing to a turnaround in fortunes for RKO, which had previously hovered on the verge of bankruptcy. It also details how Lewton’s second film, I Walked with a Zombie, used the template of Bronte’s Jane Eyre and du Maurier’s Rebecca to frame a subtle but daring condemnation of slavery and colonialism.
The Snake Pit
Authors: Dawson Clive
Published: January 2024

This chapter begins with a brief overview of Lewton’s background and character before examining the creation of his B-movie unit just months after Pearl Harbor, essential to understanding the concerns of the filmmaker in the context of wartime Hollywood. Despite being described as the ‘best story man in Hollywood’ by Production Code Administration head Joe Breen, Lewton faced numerous hurdles from the RKO front office as he attempted to shape his new brand of screen horror. The genesis of his first film, Cat People, is described, but Lewton’s tight schedule dictated that I Walked with a Zombie was pushed into production even before the former had been tested before a paying audience, forcing him to gamble his position in his determination to inject an element of social conscience into his second film.
Mann with a Movie Camera
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Chapter 2 presents an analysis of the pilot episode of Luck as means to both summarise Mann’s filmography and lay down the template for each chapter to come, one which intentionally avoids the shoehorning of meaning and themes that is so often the pitfall of most auteur studies. The second half of this chapter acknowledges the import of Chicago in Mann’s work and offers a biographical summary of his upbringing and intro into filmmaking as a young man.
The Keep and Stylisation
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Chapter 5 explores what remains a major deviation for Mann and his auteurist world-building, the highly stylised movie-dream The Keep. Here the book breaks down the film’s solipsistic narrative, mining commonalities where it can but, more often, highlighting the disjointed structure and stylistic departures that make up The Keep’s story, such as its embrace of German Expressionism, the work of Escher and genre elements like memento mori.
The Last of the Mohicans and Professionalism
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Chapter 7 details how the regional and unconscious professionalism of Thief and Manhunter was universalised and made manifest by Mann in Mohicans. It examines the character of Hawkeye and the way in which his professionalism is presented as an apt response to England’s murderous imperialist project in the New World while also offering an analysis of the film as a corrective to the racism of its source material. The chapter also details, amongst other things, the roots of Mohicans’ professionalism including the training regimen Lewis underwent and Mann’s interdisciplinary approach to his craft.
The Insider and Cinematic Space
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Chapter 9 presents The Insider, a key film in Mann’s canon that saw him say goodbye to the tropes and style he had established through the exclusive use of celluloid. The chapter approaches this important step in Mann’s artistic evolution via The Insider’s love affair with cinematic space, particularly negative space, something that is at its most extreme here. It also details the film’s embrace and modification of the paranoid conspiracy thriller genre and its debt to the work of painters like Edward Hopper.
Ali and Recreating History
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Chapter 10 assesses Ali’s impressionistic view of the 1950s and 1960s, its avoidance of the more predictable elements of the biopic genre and Mann’s approach to restaging key historical events and locations, such as the 5th St Gym and the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. The chapter also discusses Mann’s embrace of digital cameras for the first time and the coinciding effect this technology had on his visual grammar and narrative structure, from this film to 2015’s Blackhat and, perhaps, beyond.
Collateral and Hi-Def Night
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Chapter 11 examines Mann’s return to Los Angeles 9 years after Heat’s revolutionary reinterpretation of it, this time armed with a raft of digital cameras and a tightly focused screenplay. The liberating effects of this digital technology are discussed in depth, as is the way Mann renders a 21st Century Los Angeles, now fraught with post-modern emptiness, facile nihilism and geographical disorientation. In its title the chapter places Collateral’s nocturnal wanderings against Mann’s next film, Miami Vice, and the opiated excess of its digital daytime milieu in a bid to separate out the subtle differences in how the director would begin using his new tools.
Public Enemies and the Driven Detective
Authors: Swan Deryck
Published: January 2024

Three years after Miami Vice, Mann returned to the crime genre with a digitised retelling of public enemy John Dillinger’s crime spree across America in the early 1930s. A film that restages history with the same subjectivity as Ali, Public Enemies is mostly notable for its revisions to the character archetype of the driven detective that so obsesses Mann. Presented here in the form of Christian Bale’s Melvin Purvis, this chapter explores this driven detective and his failure to apprehend and kill Dillinger, a major deviation from Mann’s 20th Century norm when we consider the likes of Manhunter’s Will Graham and Heat’s Vincent Hanna.
Canto 71
Authors: Preda Roxana
Published: January 2024

Canto 71 concludes the most concentrated section of cantos dealing with American history. It is the last canto of the Adams section, the last of Cantos LII-LXXI, and the last of the “middle cantos” written in 1930-39 (31-71). Structurally, its mission is to round off, not only John Adams’s life narrative as presented in cantos 62-71, but also a whole period of Pound’s life in which he had been absorbed by American presidents and revolutionary history. As we know, Pound did not return to the subject, 71 was his farewell to this theme of interest. By using the same poetic method for Adams in 71 as he had used for Jefferson in 31, Pound framed his cantos of the 1930s, and showed his conviction that personality was discernible in a person’s style of speaking and writing. Canto 71 presents Adams through a collage of quotes from his own letters after he had retired from political career, a prose written by someone who was submerged into the public sphere and whose ethics flowed into his own image of the public good. Adams’s memories and letters are a review and evaluation of his career, and a valediction to revolutionary America.
Canto 74
Authors: Pryor Sean
Published: January 2024

This chapter examines the canto as a unit of poetic composition in Ezra Pound’s The Cantos. It asks what constitutes each canto as a whole, and what differentiates one canto from another. The chapter first considers narrative and ideogram as two influential concepts for understanding the identity of each canto. Then, through a detailed close reading of Canto 74, the chapter argues that syntax, so often opposed to the ideogram in particular, is also essential to the coherence and effect of Pound’s cantos.
Canto 75
Authors: Byron Mark , Parker Richard
Published: January 2024

This chapter looks at Pound visual / musical Canto 75, exploring the provenance of the image included in The Cantos and Pound’s connection with the musicians that the piece deals with. In particular Gerhart Münch and Clément Janequin are dealt with here.
Canto 79
Authors: Grogan Kristin
Published: January 2024

A close reading of Canto 79, sometimes known as the Lynx Canto. This chapter provides extensive information about Pound’s sources in this Canto and a reading of parataxis and its opposite in The Cantos.
Rapid Generation of Kilonova Light Curves Using Conditional Variational Autoencoder
Authors: Saha Surojit , Williams Michael J. , Datrier Laurence , Hayes Fergus , Nicholl Matt , Kong Albert K. H. , Hendry Martin , Heng IK Siong , Lamb Gavin P. , Lin En-Tzu , Williams Daniel
Published: January 2024

The discovery of the optical counterpart, along with the gravitational waves (GWs) from GW170817, of the first binary neutron star merger has opened up a new era for multimessenger astrophysics. Combining the GW data with the optical counterpart, also known as AT 2017gfo and classified as a kilonova, has revealed the nature of compact binary merging systems by extracting enriched information about the total binary mass, the mass ratio, the system geometry, and the equation of state. Even though the detection of kilonovae has brought about a revolution in the domain of multimessenger astronomy, there has been only one kilonova from a GW-detected binary neutron star merger event confirmed so far, and this limits the exact understanding of the origin and propagation of the kilonova. Here, we use a conditional variational autoencoder (CVAE) trained on light-curve data from two kilonova models having different temporal lengths, and consequently, generate kilonova light curves rapidly based on physical parameters of our choice with good accuracy. Once the CVAE is trained, the timescale for light-curve generation is of the order of a few milliseconds, which is a speedup of the generation of light curves by 1000 times as compared to the simulation. The mean squared error between the generated and original light curves is typically 0.015 with a maximum of 0.08 for each set of considered physical parameters, while having a maximum of ≈0.6 error across the whole parameter space. Hence, implementing this technique provides fast and reliably accurate results.
Galaxy Quenching at the High Redshift Frontier: A Fundamental Test of Cosmological Models in the Early Universe with JWST-CEERS
Authors: Bluck Asa F. L. , Conselice Christopher J. , Ormerod Katherine , Piotrowska Joanna M. , Adams Nathan , Austin Duncan , Caruana Joseph , Duncan K. J. , Ferreira Leonardo , Goubert Paul , Harvey Thomas , Trussler James , Maiolino Roberto
Published: January 2024

We present an analysis of the quenching of star formation in massive galaxies (M
* > 109.5
M
⊙) within the first 0.5–3 Gyr of the Universe’s history utilizing JWST-CEERS data. We utilize a combination of advanced statistical methods to accurately constrain the intrinsic dependence of quenching in a multidimensional and intercorrelated parameter space. Specifically, we apply random forest classification, area statistics, and a partial correlation analysis to the JWST-CEERS data. First, we identify the key testable predictions from two state-of-the-art cosmological simulations (IllustrisTNG and EAGLE). Both simulations predict that quenching should be regulated by supermassive black hole mass in the early Universe. Furthermore, both simulations identify the stellar potential (ϕ
*) as the optimal proxy for black hole mass in photometric data. In photometric observations, where we have no direct constraints on black hole masses, we find that the stellar potential is the most predictive parameter of massive galaxy quenching at all epochs from z = 0–8, exactly as predicted by simulations for this sample. The stellar potential outperforms stellar mass, galaxy size, galaxy density, and Sérsic index as a predictor of quiescence at all epochs probed in JWST-CEERS. Collectively, these results strongly imply a stable quenching mechanism operating throughout cosmic history, which is closely connected to the central gravitational potential in galaxies. This connection is explained in cosmological models via massive black holes forming and growing in deep potential wells, and subsequently quenching galaxies through a mix of ejective and preventative active galactic nucleus feedback.
First Observational Evidence for an Interconnected Evolution between Time Lag and QPO Frequency among AGNs
Authors: Xia Ruisong , Liu Hao , Xue Yongquan
Published: January 2024

Quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) have been widely observed in black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs), which often exhibit significant X-ray variations. Extensive research has explored the long-term evolution of the properties of QPOs in BHBs. In contrast, such evolution in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has remained largely unexplored due to limited observational data. By using the 10 new XMM-Newton observations for the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy RE J1034+396 from publicly available data, we analyze the characteristics of its X-ray QPOs and examine their long-term evolution. The hard-band (1–4 keV) QPOs are found in all 10 observations and the frequency of these QPOs evolves ranging at (2.47–2.83) × 10−4 Hz. Furthermore, QPO signals in the soft (0.3–1 keV) and hard bands exhibit strong coherence, although, at times, the variations in the soft band lead those in the hard band (the hard-lag mode), while at other times, it is the reverse (the soft-lag mode). The observations presented here serendipitously captured two ongoing lag reversals between these two modes within about two weeks, which are first seen in RE J1034+396 and also among all AGNs. A transition in QPO frequency also takes place within a two-week timeframe, two weeks prior to its corresponding lag reversal, indicating a possible coherence between the transitions of QPO frequency and lag mode with delay. The diagram of time lag versus QPO frequency clearly evidences this interconnected evolution with hysteresis, which is, for the first time, observed among AGNs.
Revision of the Chironius bicarinatus complex (Serpentes: Colubridae): Redefined species boundaries and description of a new species
Authors: Sudré Vinícius , Andrade-Junior Albedi , Folly Manuella , Azevedo Josué A. R. , Ávila Robson Waldemar , Curcio Felipe Franco , Nunes Pedro M. Sales , Passos Paulo
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Currently, the proposed diagnoses for theChironius bicarinatuscomplex reflect a wide variation in color pattern and pholidosis. Herein, we review theChironius bicarinatuscomplex based on morphological and molecular data from a sample of 485 specimens covering the species distribution. Our results corroborate the recognition ofC. bicarinatusandC. gouveai, and diagnose a distinct lineage without an available name. Thus, here we describe this new species restricted to the Baturité Massif, a relictual rainforest isolated in the Caatinga xerophytic domain, in the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by its unique combination of qualitative and quantitative morphological characters (scale counts, morphometric, color pattern), and is also supported by molecular and ecological evidence. Additionally, we rectify data on the distribution and morphological variability ofC. gouveaito accurately infer the boundaries between this taxon andC. bicarinatus, which was not properly addressed. Finally, we discuss our results in the light of previous studies that suggest diversification hypotheses in the Atlantic Forest already detected for other taxa, highlighting the importance of conserving the areas of “Brejos de Altitude”, in northeastern Brazil, and the southern limit of Serra do Mar up to Serra do Tabuleiro, in southern Brazil.
A prime number theorem in short intervals for dihedral Maass newforms
Authors: Guan Bin
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we prove a prime number theorem in short intervals for the Rankin-Selberg $ L $-function $ L(s, \phi\times\phi) $, where $ \phi $ is a fixed dihedral Maass newform. As an application, we give a lower bound for the proportion of primes in a short interval at which the Hecke eigenvalues of the dihedral form are greater than a given constant.
Nonnegative moment coordinates on finite element geometries
Authors: Dieci L. , Difonzo Fabio V. , Sukumar N.
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we introduce new generalized barycentric coordinates (coined as moment coordinates) on convex and nonconvex quadrilaterals and convex hexahedra with planar faces. This work draws on recent advances in constructing interpolants to describe the motion of the Filippov sliding vector field in nonsmooth dynamical systems, in which nonnegative solutions of signed matrices based on (partial) distances are studied. For a finite element with $ n $ vertices (nodes) in $ \mathbb{R}^2 $, the constant and linear reproducing conditions are supplemented with additional linear moment equations to set up a linear system of equations of full rank $ n $, whose solution results in the nonnegative shape functions. On a simple (convex or nonconvex) quadrilateral, moment coordinates using signed distances are identical to mean value coordinates. For signed weights that are based on the product of distances to edges that are incident to a vertex and their edge lengths, we recover Wachspress coordinates on a convex quadrilateral. Moment coordinates are also constructed on a convex hexahedra with planar faces. We present proofs in support of the construction and plots of the shape functions that affirm its properties.
Asymmetric all‐pay auctions with spillovers
Authors: Betto Maria , Thomas Matthew W.
Published: January 2024

When opposing parties compete for a prize, the sunk effort players exert during the conflict can affect the value of the winner's reward. These spillovers can have substantial influence on the equilibrium behavior of participants in applications such as lobbying, warfare, labor tournaments, marketing, and R&D races. To understand this influence, we study a general class of asymmetric, two‐player all‐pay auctions where we allow for spillovers in each player's reward. The link between participants' efforts and rewards yields novel effects; in particular, players with higher costs and lower values than their opponents sometimes extract larger payoffs.
Sophisticated banking contracts and fragility when withdrawal information is public
Authors: Huang Xuesong
Published: January 2024

I study whether self‐fulfilling bank runs can occur when banks use sophisticated contracts and withdrawal decisions are public information. In a finite‐agent version of Diamond and Dybvig (1983) with correlated types, I first present an example in which a bank run perfect Bayesian equilibrium exists. However, its existence relies on off‐path beliefs that are unreasonable in terms of forward induction. To discipline beliefs, I use forward induction equilibrium (Cho (1987)) as the solution concept. I show that, whenever the allocation rule is strictly incentive compatible, the truth‐telling strategy is the unique forward induction equilibrium in the withdrawal game, and no bank run occurs. Therefore, with forward induction, sophisticated contracts can prevent bank runs when there is public information about withdrawal decisions.
The Flip Side
Authors: Wang Val
Published: January 2024

THE FLIP SIDE presents the globalized circus world, where disparate people and acrobatic cultures come together, clash, and ultimately transform each other. The documentary showcases the coming-of-age of a Chinese circus artist who leaves home at age nine and goes on to perform with Cirque du Soleil and the 7 Fingers.
« THE FLIP SIDE »(« LE REVERS DE LA MÉDAILLE ») est une plongée dans le milieu du cirque mondialisé où des personnes et des cultures acrobatiques très différentes se rejoignent, s’opposent pour finalement se transformer les unes les autres. Le documentaire retrace l’entrée dans l’âge adulte d’un circassien chinois quittant sa famille à neuf ans pour rejoindre le Cirque du Soleil et le collectif Les 7 Doigts.
Repenser l’opposition entre game et play à partir des pratiques de « non-jeu »
Authors: Cayatte Rémi
Published: January 2024

Cet article se penche sur une pratique de jeu paradoxale : le refus ou l’évitement de l’interaction avec une structure ludique préétablie. Ce type de performance s’observe chez des utilisateurs qui, en plus de ne pas jouer le jeu, ne jouent tout simplement pas au jeu, et qui remettent ainsi en question la possibilité même de médiation entre utilisateurs et systèmes de jeu. À travers l’étude de certains de ces exemples d’attitudes ludiques particulières, cet article propose également une réflexion sur la dualité entre play et game, sur l’utilisation habituelle de play pour qualifier le « jouer » au sens d’Henriot (1969), et sur l’idée que seule l’utilisation active d’un dispositif de communication permettrait d’accéder à un statut d’auteur.