bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis on crossing frequency in transmission microwave frequency spectrum of the cutoff probe
Authors: Kim Si-jun , Lee Youngseok , Cho Chulhee , Seong Inho , Jeong Wonnyoung , Lee Jangjae , You Shinjae
Published: February 2023

Recently, we developed a crossing frequency method using the cutoff probe, which is believed as applicable for measuring electron density regardless of chamber pressures. Although computational and experimental studies demonstrated its operation, the analytic formula for the crossing frequency (fcross) has yet to be investigated. In this paper, we derive the analytic formula based on a circuit model for the cutoff probe. As a result, the analytic formula explains the behavior of the fcross. Based on this formula, the meaning of the fcross is analyzed and it is proved that the fcross is independent of the chamber pressure.
Conserved reduction of m
6
A RNA modifications during aging and neurodegeneration is linked to changes in synaptic transcripts
Authors: Castro-Hernández Ricardo , Berulava Tea , Metelova Maria , Epple Robert , Peña Centeno Tonatiuh , Richter Julia , Kaurani Lalit , Pradhan Ranjit , Sakib M. Sadman , Burkhardt Susanne , Ninov Momchil , Bohnsack Katherine E. , Bohnsack Markus T. , Delalle Ivana , Fischer Andre
Published: February 2023

N
6
-methyladenosine (m
6
A) regulates mRNA metabolism. While it has been implicated in the development of the mammalian brain and in cognition, the role of m
6
A in synaptic plasticity, especially during cognitive decline, is not fully understood. In this study, we employed methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing to obtain the m
6
A epitranscriptome of the hippocampal subregions CA1, CA3, and the dentate gyrus and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in young and aged mice. We observed a decrease in m
6
A levels in aged animals. Comparative analysis of cingulate cortex (CC) brain tissue from cognitively intact human subjects and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients showed decreased m
6
A RNA methylation in AD patients. m
6
A changes common to brains of aged mice and AD patients were found in transcripts linked to synaptic function including calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 2 (

CAMKII

) and AMPA-selective glutamate receptor 1 (
Glua1
). We used proximity ligation assays to show that reduced m
6
A levels result in decreased synaptic protein synthesis as exemplified by
CAMKII
and GLUA1. Moreover, reduced m
6
A levels impaired synaptic function. Our results suggest that m
6
A RNA methylation controls synaptic protein synthesis and may play a role in cognitive decline associated with aging and AD.
Cerebellar control of a unitary head direction sense
Authors: Fallahnezhad Mehdi , Le Mero Julia , Zenelaj Xhensjana , Vincent Jean , Rochefort Christelle , Rondi-Reig Laure
Published: February 2023

The head-direction (HD) system, a key neural circuit for navigation, consists of several anatomical structures containing neurons selective to the animal’s head direction. HD cells exhibit ubiquitous temporal coordination across brain regions, independently of the animal’s behavioral state or sensory inputs. Such temporal coordination mediates a single, stable, and persistent HD signal, which is essential for intact orientation. However, the mechanistic processes behind the temporal organization of HD cells are unknown. By manipulating the cerebellum, we identify pairs of HD cells recorded from two brain structures (anterodorsal thalamus and retrosplenial cortex) that lose their temporal coordination, specifically during the removal of the external sensory inputs. Further, we identify distinct cerebellar mechanisms that participate in the spatial stability of the HD signal depending on sensory signals. We show that while cerebellar protein phosphatase 2B-dependent mechanisms facilitate the anchoring of the HD signal on the external cues, the cerebellar protein kinase C-dependent mechanisms are required for the stability of the HD signal by self-motion cues. These results indicate that the cerebellum contributes to the preservation of a single and stable sense of direction.
Transcriptome age of individual cell types in
Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Ma Fuqiang , Zheng Chaogu
Published: February 2023

The phylotranscriptomic analysis of development in several species revealed the expression of older and more conserved genes in midembryonic stages and younger and more divergent genes in early and late embryonic stages, which supported the hourglass mode of development. However, previous work only studied the transcriptome age of whole embryos or embryonic sublineages, leaving the cellular basis of the hourglass pattern and the variation of transcriptome ages among cell types unexplored. By analyzing both bulk and single-cell transcriptomic data, we studied the transcriptome age of the nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans
throughout development. Using the bulk RNA-seq data, we identified the morphogenesis phase in midembryonic development as the phylotypic stage with the oldest transcriptome and confirmed the results using whole-embryo transcriptome assembled from single-cell RNA-seq data. The variation in transcriptome ages among individual cell types remained small in early and midembryonic development and grew bigger in late embryonic and larval stages as cells and tissues differentiate. Lineages that give rise to certain tissues (e.g., hypodermis and some neurons) but not all recapitulated the hourglass pattern across development at the single-cell transcriptome level. Further analysis of the variation in transcriptome ages among the 128 neuron types in
C. elegans
nervous system found that a group of chemosensory neurons and their downstream interneurons expressed very young transcriptomes and may contribute to adaptation in recent evolution. Finally, the variation in transcriptome age among the neuron types, as well as the age of their cell fate regulators, led us to hypothesize the evolutionary history of some neuron types.
Experience-dependent functional plasticity and visual response selectivity of surviving subplate neurons in the mouse visual cortex
Authors: Yoneda Taisuke , Hayashi Kenji , Yoshimura Yumiko
Published: February 2023

Subplate neurons are early-born cortical neurons that transiently form neural circuits during perinatal development and guide cortical maturation. Thereafter, most subplate neurons undergo cell death, while some survive and renew their target areas for synaptic connections. However, the functional properties of the surviving subplate neurons remain largely unknown. This study aimed to characterize the visual responses and experience-dependent functional plasticity of layer 6b (L6b) neurons, the remnants of subplate neurons, in the primary visual cortex (V1). Two-photon Ca
2+
imaging was performed in V1 of awake juvenile mice. L6b neurons showed broader tunings for orientation, direction, and spatial frequency than did layer 2/3 (L2/3) and L6a neurons. In addition, L6b neurons showed lower matching of preferred orientation between the left and right eyes compared with other layers. Post hoc 3D immunohistochemistry confirmed that the majority of recorded L6b neurons expressed connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a subplate neuron marker. Moreover, chronic two-photon imaging showed that L6b neurons exhibited ocular dominance (OD) plasticity by monocular deprivation during critical periods. The OD shift to the open eye depended on the response strength to the stimulation of the eye to be deprived before starting monocular deprivation. There were no significant differences in visual response selectivity prior to monocular deprivation between the OD changed and unchanged neuron groups, suggesting that OD plasticity can occur in L6b neurons showing any response features. In conclusion, our results provide strong evidence that surviving subplate neurons exhibit sensory responses and experience-dependent plasticity at a relatively late stage of cortical development.
Insertion of CO
2
in metal ion-doped two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks
Authors: Kang Chengjun , Zhang Zhaoqiang , Xi Shibo , Li He , Usadi Adam K. , Calabro David C. , Baugh Lisa Saunders , Wang Yuxiang , Zhao Dan
Published: February 2023

Carbon capture is one of the essential low-carbon technologies required to achieve societal climate goals at the lowest cost. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising adsorbents for CO
2
capture because of their well-defined porosity, large surface area, and high stability. Current COF-based CO
2
capture is mainly based on a physisorption mechanism, exhibiting smooth and reversible sorption isotherms. In the present study, we report unusual CO
2
sorption isotherms featuring one or more tunable hysteresis steps with metal ion (Fe
3+
, Cr
3+
, or In
3+
)-doped Schiff-base two-dimensional (2D) COFs (Py-1P, Py-TT, and Py-Py) as adsorbents. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic and computational studies indicate that the sharp adsorption steps in the isotherm originate from the insertion of CO
2
between the metal ion and the N atom of the imine bond on the inner pore surface of the COFs as the CO
2
pressure reaches threshold values. As a result, the CO
2
adsorption capacity of the ion-doped Py-1P COF is increased by 89.5% compared with that of the undoped Py-1P COF. This CO
2
sorption mechanism provides an efficient and straightforward approach to enhancing the CO
2
capture capacity of COF–based adsorbents, yielding insights into developing chemistry for CO
2
capture and conversion.
Titin activates myosin filaments in skeletal muscle by switching from an extensible spring to a mechanical rectifier
Authors: Squarci Caterina , Bianco Pasquale , Reconditi Massimo , Pertici Irene , Caremani Marco , Narayanan Theyencheri , Horváth Ádám I. , Málnási-Csizmadia András , Linari Marco , Lombardi Vincenzo , Piazzesi Gabriella
Published: February 2023

Titin is a molecular spring in parallel with myosin motors in each muscle half-sarcomere, responsible for passive force development at sarcomere length (SL) above the physiological range (>2.7 μm). The role of titin at physiological SL is unclear and is investigated here in single intact muscle cells of the frog (
Rana esculenta
), by combining half-sarcomere mechanics and synchrotron X-ray diffraction in the presence of 20 μM para-nitro-blebbistatin, which abolishes the activity of myosin motors and maintains them in the resting state even during activation of the cell by electrical stimulation. We show that, during cell activation at physiological SL, titin in the I-band switches from an SL-dependent extensible spring (OFF-state) to an SL-independent rectifier (ON-state) that allows free shortening while resisting stretch with an effective stiffness of ~3 pN nm
−1
per half-thick filament. In this way, I-band titin efficiently transmits any load increase to the myosin filament in the A-band. Small-angle X-ray diffraction signals reveal that, with I-band titin ON, the periodic interactions of A-band titin with myosin motors alter their resting disposition in a load-dependent manner, biasing the azimuthal orientation of the motors toward actin. This work sets the stage for future investigations on scaffold and mechanosensing-based signaling functions of titin in health and disease.
Highly sensitive salinity and temperature measurement based on tapered-SHF MZI fiber laser structure
Authors: Zhao Fang , Lin Weihao , Hu Jie , Liu Shuaiqi , Yu Feihong , Chen Xingwei , Wang Guoqing , Shum Perry Ping , Shao Liyang
Published: February 2023

A novel Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on tapered-side-hole-fiber (SHF) fiber laser structure, which has obvious advantages in salinity and temperature measurement sensitivity, is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. The tapered-SHF structure is used as a sensing element and an optical filter, which is connected to the erbium-doped fiber to form a fiber ring laser (FRL). Based on the linear correspondence between the output spectra of the FRL and the salinities, the salinity around the sensing area is measured by the MZI. The FRL has the unique advantages of high resolution, narrow line width, high optical signal-to-noise ratio, and high stability. Compared with the transmission spectrum of conical SHF in the broadband light source, these advantages are more suitable for sensing applications. The experimental results show that the finer the taper diameter, the higher the sensitivity of salinity and temperature. When the taper diameter is 8.23 μm, the salinity sensitivity of the sensor can reach 0.3347 nm/‰, and the temperature sensitivity can reach −0.4270 nm °C−1.
A simple KPFM-based approach for electrostatic- free topographic measurements: the case of MoS2 on SiO2
Authors: Arrighi Aloïs , Ullberg Nathan , Derycke Vincent , Grévin Benjamin
Published: February 2023

A simple implementation of Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is reported that enables recording topographic images in the absence of any component of the electrostatic force (including the static term). Our approach is based on a close loop z-spectroscopy operated in data cube mode. Curves of the tip-sample distance as a function of time are recorded onto a 2D grid. A dedicated circuit holds the KPFM compensation bias and subsequently cut off the modulation voltage during well-defined time-windows within the spectroscopic acquisition. Topographic images are recalculated from the matrix of spectroscopic curves. This approach is applied to the case of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) monolayers grown by chemical vapour deposition on silicon oxide substrates. In addition, we check to what extent a proper stacking height estimation can also be performed by recording series of images for decreasing values of the bias modulation amplitude. The outputs of both approaches are shown to be fully consistent. The results exemplify how in the operating conditions of non-contact AFM under ultra-high vacuum (nc-AFM), the stacking height values can dramatically be overestimated due to variations in the tip-surface capacitive gradient, even though the KPFM controller nullifies the potential difference. We show that the number of atomic layers of a TMD can be safely assessed, only if the KPFM measurement is performed with a modulated bias amplitude reduced at its strict minimum or, even better, without any modulated bias. Last, the spectroscopic data reveal that certain kind of defects can have a counterintuitive impact on the electrostatic landscape, resulting in an apparent decrease of the measured stacking height by conventional nc-AFM/KPFM compared to other sample areas. Hence, electrostatic free z-imaging proves to be a promising tool to assess the existence of defects in atomically thin TMD layers grown on oxides.
The effect of AlB2 addition on MgB2 superconducting bulks
Authors: Da Silva L B S , Serquis A , Hellstrom E E , Rodrigues Jr D
Published: February 2023

Optimization of intrinsic and extrinsic properties of MgB2 superconducting material is extremely important for practical application in cables, wires, and tapes. The main mechanisms used to obtain this optimization are through the synthesis process, improvement in the grain connectivity, densification, pinning, doping, and limiting MgO formation. Many groups around the world use elements such as Ti, Zr, Hf, Al, Mn, Si and others, as dopants. Defects or any other inhomogeneity in the superconducting matrix can improve the flux pinning behavior and, hence, the transport properties. In this work MgB2 superconducting bulks with additions of AlB2 powder were prepared and analyzed in an attempt to enhance the critical current density of MgB2 and to understand the effect of this addition on the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the material. Crystallographic, microstructural, optical, and superconducting characterization were performed and analyzed. AlB2 additions modified the superconducting properties of MgB2 increasing its critical current density and irreversibility field compared to pure MgB2 prepared using the same procedures.
Time-dependent SOLPS-ITER simulations of the tokamak plasma boundary for model predictive control using SINDy
*
Authors: Lore J.D. , De Pascuale S. , Laiu P. , Russo B. , Park J.-S. , Park J.M. , Brunton S.L. , Kutz J.N. , Kaptanoglu A.A.
Published: February 2023

Time-dependent SOLPS-ITER simulations have been used to identify reduced models with the sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics (SINDy) method and develop model-predictive control of the boundary plasma state using main ion gas puff actuation. A series of gas actuation sequences are input into SOLPS-ITER to produce a dynamic response in upstream and divertor plasma quantities. The SINDy method is applied to identify reduced linear and nonlinear models for the electron density at the outboard midplane

n

e
,
s
e
p

O
M
P

and the electron temperature at the outer divertor

T

e
,
s
e
p

d
i
v

. Note that

T

e
,
s
e
p

d
i
v

is not necessarily the peak value of T

e
along the divertor. The identified reduced models are interpretable by construction (i.e. not black box), and have the form of coupled ordinary differential equations. Despite significant noise in

T

e
,
s
e
p

d
i
v

, the reduced models can be used to predict the response over a range of actuation levels to a maximum deviation of 0.5% in

n

e
,
s
e
p

O
M
P

and 5%–10% in

T

e
,
s
e
p

d
i
v

for the cases considered. Model retraining using time history data triggered by a preset error threshold is also demonstrated. A model predictive control strategy for nonlinear models is developed and used to perform feedback control of a SOLPS-ITER simulation to produce a setpoint trajectory in

n

e
,
s
e
p

O
M
P

using the integrated plasma simulator framework. The developed techniques are general and can be applied to time-dependent data from other boundary simulations or experimental data. Ongoing work is extending the approach to model identification and control for divertor detachment, which will present transient nonlinear behavior from impurity seeding, including realistic latency and synthetic diagnostic signals derived from the full SOLPS-ITER output.
Electrospinning and antimicrobial properties of PAN-Cu2O/ZnO nanofibers from green peel extracts
Authors: Okpara Enyioma C , Akinola Stephen A , Fayemi Omolola E
Published: February 2023

This study described the antimicrobial activities of waste biomass-mediated Cu2O/ZnO bi-oxide (BiO) nanocomposites; The Orange peels extract (OPE), and lemon peels extract (LPE), were used to synthesize the bioxide nanoparticles (NPs) designated as OPE/BiONPs, and LPE/BiONPs respectively, and characterized with x-ray diffraction (XRD), and zeta potential (ZP); The average crystalline sizes computed were 11.57 nm and 13.36 nm for OPE/BiONPs and LPE/BiONPs respectively; The zeta potentials values were −36.8 mV, and −35.5 mV for OPE/BiONPs, and LPE/BiONPs respectively; Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer and the BiONPs blends were electrospun into nanofibers to get unblended PAN nanofiber (NF), OPE/BiO NF, and LPE/BiO NF; Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis was used to determine the morphology of the electrospun nanocomposites; The NF, the OPE/BiO NF, and LPE/BiO NF possessed average diameters of 833 ± 125, 282.86 ± 29, and 558.76 ± 81 nm respectively; The nanofibers were examined for their antimicrobial activities against five (5) pathogens of public health significance comprising Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus faecalis) and Gram-negative (Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli, and Vibrio cholerae) bacteria, using the standard dilution microplate-method; The synthesized nanomaterials showed various levels of inhibitory activities against the target pathogens. The LPE/BiO NPs exhibited 98% inhibition to the growth of Enterococcus faecalis at a concentration of 810 μg ml−1, while OPE/BiO NPs showed 71% inhibition to the Escherichia coli at a concentration of 243 μg ml−1. The LPE/BiONF had 72% inhibition of S. enteritidis at MIC of 2.7 mg ml−1. The antimicrobial activities of CPE/BiONPs, LPE/BiONF and their NFCs could have a comparative advantage against commercial antibiotics and hence could be used in the control of waterborne pathogens.
Comparison of methods to determine electrocatalysts’ surface area in gas diffusion electrode setups: a case study on Pt/C and PtRu/C
Authors: Röttcher Nico C , Ku Yu-Ping , Minichova Maria , Ehelebe Konrad , Cherevko Serhiy
Published: February 2023

In recent years, gas diffusion electrode (GDE) half-cell setups have attracted increasing attention, bridging the gap between fundamental and applied fuel cell research. They allow quick and reliable evaluation of fuel cell catalyst layers and provide a unique possibility to screen different electrocatalysts at close to real experimental conditions. However, benchmarking electrocatalysts’ intrinsic activity and stability is impossible without knowing their electrochemical active surface area (ECSA). In this work, we compare and contrast three methods for the determination of the ECSA: (a) underpotential deposition of hydrogen (Hupd); (b) CO-stripping; and (c) underpotential deposition of copper (Cuupd) in acidic and alkaline electrolytes, using representative electrocatalysts for fuel cell applications (Pt and PtRu-alloys supported on carbon). We demonstrate that, while all methods can be used in GDE setups, CO-stripping is the most convenient and reliable. Additionally, the application of Cuupd offers the possibility to derive the atomic surface ratio in PtRu-alloy catalysts. By discussing the advantages of each method, we hope to guide future research in accurately determining surface area and, hence, the intrinsic performance of realistic catalyst layers.
Elliptic zastava
Authors: Finkelberg Michael , Matviichuk Mykola , Polishchuk Alexander
Published: February 2023

We study the elliptic zastava spaces, their versions (twisted, Coulomb, Mirković local spaces, reduced) and relations with monowalls moduli spaces and Feigin-Odesskiĭ moduli spaces of

G
G

-bundles with parabolic structure on an elliptic curve.
On the solution of Waring problem with a multiplicative error term: Dimension-free estimates
Authors: Mirek Jarosław , Słomian Wojciech , Wróbel Błażej
Published: February 2023

We give a relation between the radius and the dimension in which the asymptotic formula in the Waring problem holds in a multiplicative and dimension-free fashion.
On proving 𝐶^{1,𝛼}_{𝑙𝑜𝑐}-estimates for convex functions
Authors: Maldonado Diego
Published: February 2023

A short, self-contained method to produce quantitative

C

l
o
c

1
,
α

C^{1,\alpha }_{loc}

-estimates for convex functions in terms of the quasi-symmetric property of their associated Bregman divergences is presented.
Cancer, Covid–19 and How Data Saves Lives
Authors: Jones Monica
Published: February 2023

Monica Jones FBCS CITP, Chief Data Officer at the University of Leeds, shares her experience of improving cancer outcomes through timely data analysis – following the COVID–19-influenced decline in early stage cancer detection and diagnosis.
Futurology
Authors: Lucas Matt
Published: February 2023

Matt Lucas FBCS explores the forces driving advancements in digital health.
Business Analysis
Authors: Lovelock Christina
Published: February 2023

Not every job in tech is technical, writes Christina Lovelock MBCS
A rare case of double ectopic thyroid in the superior mediastinum: a case report
Authors: Nagireddy Tejus V , Vaidya Advait A , Gupta Samir , Kshirsagar Pankaj , Kamble Tushar
Published: February 2023

Primary ectopic mediastinal thyroid is rare, seen in <1% of patients with ectopic thyroid. A patient with two ectopic foci in mediastinum is even rare. Our patient presented with chronic cough and discomfort. CT scan revealed a huge 7 cm × 7 cm (right) and 5 cm × 5 cm (left) mass in mediastinum. IR-guided biopsy of the right side mass showed an ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT). Due to close proximity with major vessels, sternotomy is done and the two masses are excised. The masses were not connected in any way with each other as well as with the orthotopic thyroid in the neck. Pathology revealed colloid goiter. Surgical excision of a mediastinal mass is warranted. This helps in both the diagnosis and potentially be the primary treatment as well. Patients with ectopic thyroid disease are rare, and a presentation of two ETTs on both sides of mediastinum is very rare.
Jiamusi pulsar observations – IV. The core-weak pattern of PSR B0329+54
Authors: Wang Tao , Han J L , Wang C , Wang P F , Zhou D J
Published: February 2023

The bright pulsar PSR B0329+54 has been known for many years to have two emission modes. Sensitive observations of individual pulses revealed that the central component of the pulse profile, which is called the core component, is occasionally weakened considerably for a few periods and then recovered. This is the newly identified core-weak mode. Based on our long observations of PSR B0329+54 with the Jiamusi 66-m telescope at 2250 MHz, we report here that the profile components of individual pulses, including those for the core and the leading and trailing peaks, relatedly vary over some periods even before and after the core-weak mode, forming a regular pattern in the phase–time plot for a train of period-folded pulses. The pattern has a similar structure to the core-weak mode with a time-scale of 3 to 14 periods. It starts with an intensity brightening at the trailing phase of the core component, and then the core intensity decreases to a very low level, as if the core component is drifting out from the normal radiation window within 1 or 2 periods. Next the intensity in the trailing components is enhanced, and then the leading component appears at an advanced phase. Such a core-weak mode lasts for several periods. Finally, the core-weak mode ends up with an enhanced intensity at the leading phase for the core component, as if the core gradually comes back and finally stays at the phase of the profile centre, as it used to.
Confirmation of two magnetic cataclysmic variables as polars: 1RXS J174320.1−042953 and YY Sex
Authors: Rawat Nikita , Pandey J C , Joshi Arti , Potter Stephen B , Hojaev Alisher S , De Becker Michaël , Rao Srinivas M , Yadava Umesh
Published: February 2023

We present our analysis of new and archived observations of two candidate magnetic cataclysmic variables, namely 1RXS J174320.1−042953 and YY Sex. 1RXS J174320.1−042953 was observed in two distinctive high and low states where a phase shift was seen, which could be due to changes in the shape, size, and (or) location of the accretion region. We find that its orbital X-ray modulations only persist in the soft (0.3–2.0 keV) energy band, which could be attributed to photoelectric absorption in the accretion flow. The X-ray spectra exhibit a multi-temperature post-shock region where the hard X-rays are absorbed through a thick absorber with an equivalent hydrogen column of ∼7.5 × 1023 cm−2, which partially covers ∼56 per cent of the emission. No soft X-ray excess was found to be present; however, a soft X-ray emission with a blackbody temperature of ∼97 eV describes the spectra. Extensive Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations of YY Sex allow us to refine its orbital period to 1.5746 ± 0.0011 h. We did not find any signature of previously reported spin or beat periods in this system. Furthermore, our new polarimetric observations show clear circular polarization modulated on the orbital period only. Finally, both systems show strong Balmer and He ii 4686 Å emission lines in the optical spectra, further indicative of their magnetic nature.
HIBLUP: an integration of statistical models on the BLUP framework for efficient genetic evaluation using big genomic data
Authors: Yin Lilin , Zhang Haohao , Tang Zhenshuang , Yin Dong , Fu Yuhua , Yuan Xiaohui , Li Xinyun , Liu Xiaolei , Zhao Shuhong
Published: February 2023

Human diseases and agricultural traits can be predicted by modeling a genetic random polygenic effect in linear mixed models. To estimate variance components and predict random effects of the model efficiently with limited computational resources has always been of primary concern, especially when it involves increasing the genotype data scale in the current genomic era. Here, we thoroughly reviewed the development history of statistical algorithms used in genetic evaluation and theoretically compared their computational complexity and applicability for different data scenarios. Most importantly, we presented a computationally efficient, functionally enriched, multi-platform and user-friendly software package named ‘HIBLUP’ to address the challenges that are faced currently using big genomic data. Powered by advanced algorithms, elaborate design and efficient programming, HIBLUP computed fastest while using the lowest memory in analyses, and the greater the number of individuals that are genotyped, the greater the computational benefits from HIBLUP. We also demonstrated that HIBLUP is the only tool which can accomplish the analyses for a UK Biobank-scale dataset within 1 h using the proposed efficient ‘HE + PCG’ strategy. It is foreseeable that HIBLUP will facilitate genetic research for human, plants and animals. The HIBLUP software and user manual can be accessed freely at https://www.hiblup.com.
Mpox Infection in Children—Infection Control Implications for Household Contacts
Authors: Desai Angel N , Thompson George R , Dodson Daniel , Neumeister Sonja M , Arutyunova Anna M , Trigg Kate , Blumberg Dean , Cohen Stuart H
Published: February 2023

Mpox has recently re-emerged as a global entity of concern. We report one of the first pediatric cases in the United States and provide updated recommendations relevant to infection control and prevention measures of those in close contact with mpox.
Euteleological Metaphysics
Authors: Bishop John , Perszyk Ken
Published: February 2023

The metaphysics of euteleology is set out and its coherence defended in this chapter. While a euteleological metaphysics might perhaps fit a spiritually and ethically interesting form of atheism, the intention is to deploy it in understanding what theists may be positively committed to at the level of fundamental ontology. Euteleology starts with the idea that reality is purposive. It affirms ultimate teleology—a unifying overall end or telos for the sake of whose realization the Universe and everything in it exists. This telos is reality’s supreme good, whose nature the Abrahamic religious traditions hold to be specially revealed to humanity. Euteleology further claims that the Universe’s ultimate unifying purpose is actually achieved in concrete realizations of the supreme good. What makes euteleology a non-personalist metaphysics is that it takes reality’s purposiveness to be inherent in the nature of the real, not derived from the purposes of a personal creator. It is argued that euteleology can provide an ultimate explanation for the Universe’s existence: the Universe exists because ‘it does what it’s for’. This euteleological explanation is compared and contrasted with John Leslie’s extreme axiarchic explanation for existence. What looks like an illegitimate appeal to the idea that a cosmos could lift itself into existence by its own bootstraps is defended in terms of a transmundane causal order, whose operations are in principle incomprehensible to us—and a defence is provided for the legitimacy of accepting mystery at the limits of human comprehension.
Constructing Macedon and the World Through an Achaean Perspective
Authors: Nicholson Emma
Published: February 2023

Chapter 1 establishes the political and literary context in which Philip V enters Polybius’ narrative and explores how Polybius’ Achaean perspective not only affects the Histories as a whole but also impacts the portrayal of Philip, Antigonus Doson, Macedon, and key Achaean figures attached to the kings. It offers a close reading of Polybius’ portrait of Aratus of Sicyon, particularly his alliance with Antigonus Doson, and treatment of Aristomachus of Argos and Lydiadas of Megalopolis, and uses Plutarch’s Aratus as a comparison to highlight Polybius’ construction of a narrative that presents Aratus as a noble and rational leader, always in control and working for the benefit of the Greeks and the Achaean League. It then discusses the dynamics of the Achaean–Macedonian relationship and how Polybius obscures some of its negative features (by presenting Antigonus Doson in an almost entirely good light and skirting over the imbalances of power) in order to defend and justify Aratus’ decision to invite the Macedonians back into Achaean affairs in 224 bc. When Philip comes to the throne, therefore, the relationship between the Achaean League and Macedon is depicted in highly positive and mutually-beneficial terms.
Woven History, Woven Lives
Authors: Nicholson Emma
Published: February 2023

Chapter 6 concludes the analysis by addressing the discrepancies revealed between the image of Philip V in Polybius’ narrative and the image of the king in his digressional passages during Chapters 3 and 5. It argues that these conflicting portraits are the result of Polybius’ use of a biographical means of presenting key individuals in the context of a historical account (implemented for the political education of his readers), and the different levels of unity in character and comprehensiveness of information that these two genres require. The second section observes how Polybius integrates these biographical presentations into the larger, interweaving framework of the Histories and how each leader and their actions are prevented from standing too large in the progress of history. The analysis of Philip V is repositioned in this wider context and his uniqueness questioned. The last section offers a comparative study of Polybius’ portrait of the Macedonian king with that of other key rulers in his work (his predecessors: Philip II and Alexander, Antigonus Doson; contemporaries: Ptolemy IV, Antiochus, and Hannibal; and successors: Perseus and Eumenes), exploring how, for Polybius, Philip is both similar to other monarchs, contributing equally to the declining picture of kingship in the Histories, yet also exceptional for his political, structural and didactic importance.
The Consequences of Halfway Constitutional Reform
Authors: Sherlock Stephen
Published: February 2023

This chapter critically analyses debate about problems in the quality of law-making in the Indonesian parliament (DPR). In reforms to the Indonesian Constitution in 1999–2002, the power to make laws was shifted from the president to the parliament. At the time this was widely hailed as a major democratizing step that balanced the previously excessive powers of the president. In subsequent years, the change has even been criticized as being too big a shift that has created a ‘legislative-heavy’ political system. This chapter argues that, in reality, the reform only went halfway towards vesting legislative power in the parliament. The reformed Constitution states that legislation must have ‘joint agreement’ between the DPR and the President, thus providing executive government with an effective veto over all stages of the legislative process. Legislative deliberations can only proceed if the president’s representatives (ministers and/or senior officials) agree to participate. The chapter examines the practical effects on this constitutional provision on parliamentary procedure and its implication for the legislative process. It argues that the president and the parliament bear equal responsibility for recurrent blockages to the passage of legislation, concluding that chaos in law-making is likely to be a fixture of Indonesian politics for the foreseeable future.
Building Walls Rather than Bridges
Authors: Rositawati Dian
Published: February 2023

One way to mitigate the effect of bureaucratization and strengthen independence and accountability of the judiciary is by establishing a Judicial Council or Judicial Commission. However, the creation of a council is no guarantee that problems of accountability will be resolved. In Indonesia, the establishment of the Judicial Commission through the amendment of the 1945 Constitution was a response to balance the increased power of the Supreme Court. However, conflicts between the Judicial Commission and the Supreme Court emerged and remain ongoing. These tensions have been passed down from one generation of commissioners to the next. Prolonged conflict between these institutions has contributed to the failure of the Commission to supervise judges and act as an accountability mechanism to the judiciary. This chapter aims to investigate the causes of the conflict that hinder the success of the Judicial Commission by looking at the debates that took place in various conflicts and their impact on the Judicial Commission. It also traces the historical background of the Commission’s establishment and the legal framework that determines the Commission’s design.
The Constitutionalization of ‘Religious Values’ in Indonesia
Authors: Rofii Ahmad , Hosen Nadirsyah
Published: February 2023

The amendment to the 1945 Constitution introduced a new phrase: ‘religious values’ (nilai-nilai agama). The new phrase has been designed to accommodate a highly religious society. It is mentioned twice in the Constitution, first, in Article 28J(2) on the limitations of constitutional rights, and second, in Article 31(5) on the duty of the government to uphold these values in education. This chapter critically evaluates the ambiguity of the phrase ‘religious values’, as reflected by a number of related constitutional cases. Specifically, it examines the meaning and the application of the phrase by discussing how far the Constitutional Court has endorsed the limitation on religious freedom based on ‘religious values’ as a constitutional requirement.
Practice—It’s All about Quality
Authors: Svard Lois
Published: February 2023

Storage and retrieval are two important parts of the memory process. Storage strength refers to how well a piece of music is encoded as we practice—how many details have been learned. Retrieval strength refers to how accessible that information is when we perform. Practice strategies that require work, that present desirable difficulties, are valuable because the difficulties test how well we know the material. Forgetting is an important part of the learning process because it creates an opportunity to add more facts and details to the memory. The two best strategies for learning and memory, both presenting desirable difficulties, are practice testing and distributed practice. Other good practice strategies are interleaved practice, practice that incorporates information from all the senses, extremely slow practice, and varying the context in which one practices. Surprisingly, sleep may be the most important part of the learning and memory process.
Neuroplasticity—Awe-Inspiring to Debilitating and Back Again
Authors: Svard Lois
Published: February 2023

Passion drives neuroplasticity. The more motivated one is to learn, the more readily neuroplasticity occurs. Neuroplasticity makes it possible, in some cases, for a brain-damaged musician to return to performing by creating new neural pathways. A blind individual, such as Nobuyuki Tsujii, or a hearing-impaired individual, such as Evelyn Glennie, can become superb musicians due to cross-modal neuroplasticity, in which one sensory area substitutes for another. The visual cortex may respond to signals from touch or hearing, for example, and the auditory cortex may respond to touch signals. Sometimes neuroplasticity can become maladaptive, as in focal dystonia, a movement disorder that can involve abnormalities in any one of several brain areas. Although musicians suffering from focal dystonia are often told by doctors that they will not be able to play again, musicians such as Leon Fleisher, James Litzelman, Jake Heggie, David Vining, and Alex Klein have used a mix of creativity, perseverance, and an openness to all possibilities to devise their own therapies or mix of therapies, using neuroplasticity to regain playing ability and a successful return to performance.
To Walk the Earth Again
Authors: Trigg Christopher
Published: February 2023

This book explores the political dimension of Anglo-American Protestant writing about the future resurrection of the dead between the seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. Reading histories, epic poetry, funeral sermons, and scientific tracts alongside works of eschatological exegesis, the book challenges the conventional scholarly assumption that Protestantism’s rejection of purgatory prepared the way for the individualization and secularization of Western attitudes toward mortality. A deeper engagement with the complex history of resurrection theology reveals the importance of collective solidarity with the dead for Protestant social and political thought. Puritans, Anglicans, Quakers, and radicals looked to resurrection to understand their communities’ prospects in the uncertain terrain of colonial America. They also expressed their conviction that political identities and religious duties did not expire with the mortal body but were carried over into the next life. This belief shaped their positions on a wide variety of issues, including the limits of ecclesiastical and civil power, the relationship of humanity to the natural world, and the emerging rhetoric of racial difference. In the early national and antebellum periods, secular and Christian reformers drew on the idea of resurrection to imagine how American republicanism might transform society and politics and ameliorate the human form itself. Early-modern Protestants really believed that they would live again in the flesh. By taking this belief seriously, this book opens up new perspectives on their mutually constitutive visions of earthly and resurrected existence.
Introduction
Authors: Trigg Christopher
Published: February 2023

The introduction sets out the book’s two key claims and situates them in relation to existing scholarship. As Erik Seeman, Peter Marshall, and Thomas Laqueur have shown, Protestants rejected some aspects of Roman Catholic religious fellowship with the dead but did not abandon this ethos altogether. Building on their work, the book shows how the doctrine of resurrection led American Protestants to emphasize continuities between mortal and immortal life and cultivate a spiritual closeness with the departed. Charles Taylor has linked Puritanism’s renunciation of the magical, salvific power of sacraments to the secular-modern propensity to find meaning in the inner space of selfhood, rather than in relationships with external rituals, forces, and agents. The book argues instead that colonial Puritans saw the figure of the resurrected body as a source of enchantment that granted a special holiness to particular polities, identities, and times.
Group Ignorance
Authors: Peels Rik
Published: February 2023

This chapter provides an account of group ignorance. First, it zooms in on propositional ignorance and sketches two cases of such ignorance, namely, fundamentalist ignorance and white ignorance. It then formulates six desiderata for an account of group ignorance. Subsequently, it argues that we cannot simply transpose earlier work on group knowledge, group belief, and group justification to group ignorance: ignorance is constituted differently, and we need a new kind of account to do justice to group ignorance. Next, it provides such an account, namely, the Dynamic Account. This account can make sense of propositional group ignorance, but also of objectual and practical group ignorance. It is argued that, due to the irreducibly multifaceted nature of ignorance, there cannot be a unifying account of group ignorance that takes all varieties of ignorance on board.
Ignorance in Education
Authors: Peels Rik
Published: February 2023

This chapter argues that intentionally inducing ignorance in one’s student is an epistemically valuable practice—at least, when it is done temporarily and only for the sake of reaching specific epistemic goods. This can be done in at least four ways, namely, by presenting defeaters, scaffolding, promoting understanding, and showing that the student does not know. Flesh is put on the bones of this claim about the epistemic value of such practices by using the epistemology of ignorance developed in part 1 of the book. The chapter pays attention to the variety of ignorance involved (disbelieving, suspending, unconsidered ignorance, and so on), to first- and second-order ignorance, and to degrees of ignorance. It also explores whether education can try to bring about objectual and practical ignorance, and whether it can aim at group ignorance.
DNA Ancestry Testing
Authors: Kampourakis Kostas
Published: February 2023

This chapter begins with defining and clarifying key concepts, such as ancestry, race, ethnicity, and nationality. Then it provides an overview of the enterprise of DNA ancestry testing: who the test-takers are, what their aspirations are, and how they interpret the results that they receive. Once this is done, some issues with tests are considered and explained, namely, the fact that different companies provide different results to the same person, as well as that even monozygotic twins have received different results from the same company. Whereas the former is relatively easy to explain, given that the various companies use different algorithms and reference groups, the latter is more puzzling. The chapter concludes with a presentation of empirical research of how people think about the tests, as well as of how actual test-takers interpret their results.
Finding Meaning in Our Ancestry Testing
Authors: Kampourakis Kostas
Published: February 2023

This chapter explains how the paradoxes about ancestry presented in Chapters 6–9 impact our understanding of DNA ancestry testing. The author also explains the resulting limitations of the ethnicity estimates that DNA ancestry companies provide. Based on these, the chapter concludes that what the tests offer is information about DNA similarity rather than ancestry. This, in turn, is very useful for finding relatives, but not necessarily informative about ancestry. It is therefore argued that the whole enterprise should be rebranded as DNA family testing, not ancestry testing. Suggestions are provided about how to interpret and how to refrain from interpreting the results of DNA ancestry testing.
Public Finances of Internal Security in India
Authors: Singh Nirvikar
Published: February 2023

This chapter provides an overview and analysis of India’s public spending on internal security, especially in the category of police services. It describes and evaluates the central government’s spending on internal security, its levels, patterns, and, where possible, its outcomes. It then performs a similar analysis for the states, focusing especially on variation across the states, and trying to understand possible sources of inter-state differences in spending on internal security. It goes on to offer some broader discussion and analysis of the public finances of internal security in India, also relating it to spending on external security and to private sector provision of internal security.
Riots and Rapid Action
Authors: Jassal Nirvikar , Qureshi Hanif
Published: February 2023

This descriptive chapter highlights the organization and functioning of the Rapid Action Force, or RAF. After briefly underscoring the hierarchy within which the Force operates, and its position as a subsidiary of the CRPF, the chapter uses data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Times of India archive to understand personnel deployments. Then, it presents a brief case study as well as information gleaned through qualitative interviews about the Force’s role during the 2016 Haryana reservation agitation. It points to certain challenges that may moderate the Rapid Action Force’s agility, including resource deficits, a lack of coordination between the Center and states about deployment, the Force’s inability to retain organizational command during riot-like situations, and political considerations that make policymakers hesitant about seeking assistance about addressing law and order from the federal government.