bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Revealing the nature of the transient source MAXI J0637-430 through spectro-temporal analysis
Authors: Baby Blessy E , Bhuvana G R , Radhika D , Katoch Tilak , Mandal Samir , Nandi Anuj
Published: September 2021

We study the spectral and temporal properties of MAXI J0637-430 during its 2019–2020 outburst using Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), AstroSat , and Swift–XRT data. The source was in a disc dominant state within a day of its detection and traces out a ‘c’ shaped profile in the HID, similar to the ‘mini’-outbursts of the recurrent BHB 4U 1630-472. Energy spectrum is obtained in the 0.5−10 keV band with NICER and Swift–XRT, and 0.5−25 keV with AstroSat. The spectra can be modelled using a multicolour disc emission (DISKBB) convolved with a thermal Comptonization component (thcomp). The disc temperature decreases from 0.6 to 0.1 keV during the decay with a corresponding decrease in photon index (Γ) from 4.6 to 1.8. The fraction of Compton-scattered photons (fcov) remains <0.3 during the decay upto 2020 mid-January and gradually increases to 1 as the source reaches hard state. Power density spectra generated in the 0.01−100 Hz range display no quasi-periodic oscillations, although band-limited noise is seen towards the end of 2020 January. During AstroSat observations, Γ lies in the range 2.3−2.6 and rms increases from 11 to 20 per cent, suggesting that the source was in an intermediate state till 2019 November 21. Spectral fitting with the relativistic disc model (kerrbb), in conjunction with the soft-hard transition luminosity, favour a black hole with mass $3\!-\!19\, \mathrm{ M}_{\odot }$ with retrograde spin at a distance <15 kpc. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of our findings.
Shocks in the stacked Sunyaev–Zel’dovich profiles of clusters – I. Analysis with the Three Hundred simulations
Authors: Baxter Eric J , Adhikari Susmita , Vega-Ferrero Jesús , Cui Weiguang , Chang Chihway , Jain Bhuvnesh , Knebe Alexander
Published: September 2021

Gas infalling into the gravitational potential wells of massive galaxy clusters is expected to experience one or more shocks on its journey to becoming part of the intracluster medium (ICM). These shocks are important for setting the thermodynamic properties of the ICM and can therefore impact cluster observables such as X-ray emission and the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effect. We investigate the possibility of detecting signals from cluster shocks in the averaged thermal SZ profiles of galaxy clusters. Using zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations of massive clusters from the Three Hundred Project, we show that if cluster SZ profiles are stacked as a function of R/R200m, shock-induced features appear in the averaged SZ profile. These features are not accounted for in standard fitting formulae for the SZ profiles of galaxy clusters. We show that the shock features should be detectable with samples of clusters from ongoing and future SZ surveys. We also demonstrate that the location of these features is correlated with the cluster accretion rate, as well as the location of the cluster splashback radius. Analyses of ongoing and future surveys, such as SPT-3g, AdvACT, Simons Observatory, and CMB-S4, which include gas shocks will gain a new handle on the properties and dynamics of the outskirts of massive haloes, both in gas and in mass.
An extreme case of galaxy and cluster co-evolution at z = 0.7
Authors: Ebeling H , Richard J , Smail I , Edge A C , Koekemoer A M , Zalesky L
Published: September 2021

We report the discovery of eMACS J0252.4−2100 (eMACS J0252), a massive and highly evolved galaxy cluster at z = 0.703. Our analysis of Hubble Space Telescope imaging and VLT/MUSE and Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of the system finds a high-velocity dispersion of 1020$^{+180}_{-190}$ km s−1 and a high (if tentative) X-ray luminosity of (1.2 ± 0.4) × 1045 erg s−1 (0.1–2.4 keV). As extreme is the system’s brightest cluster galaxy, a giant cD galaxy that forms stars at a rate of between 85 and 300 M⊙ yr−1 and features an extended halo of diffuse [O ii] emission, as well as evidence of dust. Its most remarkable properties, however, are an exceptionally high ellipticity and a radially symmetric flow of gas in the surrounding intracluster medium, potential direct kinematic evidence of a cooling flow. A strong-lensing analysis, anchored by two multiple-image systems with spectroscopic redshifts, finds the best lens model to consist of a single cluster-scale halo with a total mass of (1.9 ± 0.1) × 1014 M⊙ within 250 kpc of the cluster core and, again, an extraordinarily high ellipticity of e = 0.8. Although further, in-depth studies across the electromagnetic spectrum (especially in the X-ray regime) are needed to conclusively determine the dynamical state of the system, the properties established so far suggest that eMACS J0252 must have already been highly evolved well before z ∼ 1, making it a prime target to constrain the physical mechanisms and history of the co-evolution or dark-matter haloes and baryons in the era of cluster formation.
NGC 5746: Formation history of a massive disc-dominated galaxy
Authors: Martig Marie , Pinna Francesca , Falcón-Barroso Jesús , Gadotti Dimitri A , Husemann Bernd , Minchev Ivan , Neumann Justus , Ruiz-Lara Tomás , van de Ven Glenn
Published: September 2021

The existence of massive galaxies lacking a classical bulge has often been proposed as a challenge to ΛCDM. However, recent simulations propose that a fraction of massive disc galaxies might have had very quiescent merger histories, and also that mergers do not necessarily build classical bulges. We test these ideas with deep MUSE observations of NGC 5746, a massive (∼1011 M⊙) edge-on disc galaxy with no classical bulge. We analyse its stellar kinematics and stellar populations, and infer that a massive and extended disc formed very early: 80 per cent of the galaxy’s stellar mass formed more than 10 Gyr ago. Most of the thick disc and the bar formed during that early phase. The bar drove gas towards the centre and triggered the formation of the nuclear disc followed by the growth of a boxy/peanut-shaped bulge. Around ∼8 Gyr ago, a ∼1:10 merger happened, possibly on a low-inclination orbit. The satellite did not cause significant vertical heating, did not contribute to the growth of a classical bulge, and did not destroy the bar and the nuclear disc. It was however an important event for the galaxy: by depositing its stars throughout the whole galaxy it contributed ∼30 per cent of accreted stars to the thick disc. NGC 5746 thus did not completely escape mergers, but the only relatively recent significant merger did not damage the galaxy and did not create a classical bulge. Future observations will reveal if this is representative of the formation histories of massive disc galaxies.
On the road to per cent accuracy – V. The non-linear power spectrum beyond ΛCDM with massive neutrinos and baryonic feedback
Authors: Bose Benjamin , Wright Bill S , Cataneo Matteo , Pourtsidou Alkistis , Giocoli Carlo , Lombriser Lucas , McCarthy Ian G , Baldi Marco , Pfeifer Simon , Xia. Qianli
Published: September 2021

In the context of forthcoming galaxy surveys, to ensure unbiased constraints on cosmology and gravity when using non-linear structure information, per cent-level accuracy is required when modelling the power spectrum. This calls for frameworks that can accurately capture the relevant physical effects, while allowing for deviations from Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM). Massive neutrino and baryonic physics are two of the most relevant such effects. We present an integration of the halo model reaction frameworks for massive neutrinos and beyond ΛCDM cosmologies. The integrated halo model reaction, combined with a pseudo-power spectrum modelled by HMCode2020 is then compared against N-body simulations that include both massive neutrinos and an f(R) modification to gravity. We find that the framework is 4 per cent accurate down to at least $k\approx 3 \, h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ for a modification to gravity of |fR0| ≤ 10−5 and for the total neutrino mass Mν ≡ ∑mν ≤ 0.15 eV. We also find that the framework is 4 per cent consistent with EuclidEmulator2 as well as the Bacco emulator for most of the considered νwCDM cosmologies down to at least $k \approx 3 \, h$ Mpc−1. Finally, we compare against hydrodynamical simulations employing HMCode2020’s baryonic feedback modelling on top of the halo model reaction. For νΛCDM cosmologies, we find 2 per cent accuracy for Mν ≤ 0.48 eV down to at least k ≈ 5h Mpc−1. Similar accuracy is found when comparing to νwCDM hydrodynamical simulations with Mν = 0.06 eV. This offers the first non-linear, theoretically general means of accurately including massive neutrinos for beyond-ΛCDM cosmologies, and further suggests that baryonic, massive neutrino, and dark energy physics can be reliably modelled independently.
Revealing the unusual structure of the KAT-7-discovered giant radio galaxy J0133−1302
Authors: Mhlahlo N , Jamrozy M
Published: September 2021

We present a new study of the 1.7 Mpc KAT-7-discovered Giant Radio Galaxy, J0133−1302, which was carried out using GMRT data at 323 and 608 MHz. This source is located at RA 01h33m13s and Dec. −13○03′00″ and has a photometric redshift of ∼0.3. We discovered unusual morphological properties of the source which include lobes that are exceptionally asymmetric, where the upper lobe is much further from the core when compared to the lower lobe, and a complex structure of the upper lobe. The complex structure of the upper lobe hints at the presence of another source, in close proximity to the edge of the lobe, which resembles a bent-double, or distorted bent tail Radio Galaxy. Both the upper lobe and the lower lobe have a steep spectrum, and the synchrotron age of the lower lobe should be less than about 44 Myr. The core has an inverted spectrum, and our results suggest that the parent Galaxy in J0133−1302 is starting a new jet activity. Our spectral analysis indicates that this source could be a GigaHertz Peaked Spectrum radio Galaxy.
MLG: multilayer graph clustering for multi-condition scRNA-seq data
Authors: Lu Shan , Conn Daniel J , Chen Shuyang , Johnson Kirby D , Bresnick Emery H , Keleş Sündüz
Published: September 2021

Single-cell transcriptome sequencing (scRNA-seq) enabled investigations of cellular heterogeneity at exceedingly higher resolutions. Identification of novel cell types or transient developmental stages across multiple experimental conditions is one of its key applications. Linear and non-linear dimensionality reduction for data integration became a foundational tool in inference from scRNA-seq data. We present multilayer graph clustering (MLG) as an integrative approach for combining multiple dimensionality reduction of multi-condition scRNA-seq data. MLG generates a multilayer shared nearest neighbor cell graph with higher signal-to-noise ratio and outperforms current best practices in terms of clustering accuracy across large-scale benchmarking experiments. Application of MLG to a wide variety of datasets from multiple conditions highlights how MLG boosts signal-to-noise ratio for fine-grained sub-population identification. MLG is widely applicable to settings with single cell data integration via dimension reduction.
CLRM-09. INCORPORATING EXTERNAL CONTROL ARM IN MDNA55 RECURRENT GLIOBLASTOMA REGISTRATION TRIAL
Authors: Davi Ruthanna , Majumdar Antara , Bexon Martin , Butowski Nicholas , Chandhasin Chandtip , Coello Melissa , Das Sunit , Merchant Fahar , Merchant Nina , Reardon David , Roessner Martin , Sampson John
Published: September 2021

BACKGROUND

Drug development in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM) is challenging. For randomized controlled trials (RCTs) short survival horizons and limited life-prolonging treatment options may delay accrual and introduce bias through differential dropout of control patients. Comparing results of a single-arm Phase 2b trial of intratumoral delivery of MDNA55 (an interleukin-4 receptor targeted fusion protein) to an external control arm, we sought early efficacy insights and consideration by the FDA of incorporating an ECA in a Phase 3 registrational trial.

METHODS

Using propensity score weighting, we compared rGBM patients from the Phase 2b trial (NCT02858895) (2017-2019) to patients from rGBM registries who had received standard of care therapies (2011-2019) and met eligibility requirements. Propensity scores were estimated using a logistic regression model with 11 covariates. We compared the propensity score weighted groups according to demographic and disease attributes before and after weighting and compared overall survival between the two groups.

RESULTS

Through propensity score weighting, 43 (98%, 43/44) MDNA55 patients and 40.80 weighted ECA patients (from 62 unweighted registry patients) were identified for comparison. MDNA55 and ECA patients were balanced on all baseline characteristics (i.e., standardized mean difference ≤ 0.15). Compared to ECA patients, MDNA55 patients had a 37% lower hazard of death (hazard ratio 0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.39,1.02).

CONCLUSION

In advance of a Phase 3 trial, comparison of Phase 2b trial results to an ECA suggests that MDNA55 may be efficacious in rGBM. In view of the known challenges associated with drug development for rGBM, these results provided a proof-of-concept for the design of a novel hybrid Phase 3 trial. This planned Phase 3 trial incorporates propensity score weighting to create a composite hybrid randomized and external control arm, an approach preferred by the FDA over full replacement of a randomized control with an external control.
CLRM-10. THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MULTI-MODAL LONGITUDINAL BIOMARKERS OF NEURAL DAMAGE, INFLAMMATION, AND COGNITION AFTER CAR T CELLULAR THERAPY: A SINGLE-CENTER PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL TRIAL (NCT04614987)
Authors: Butt Omar , Zhou Alice , Lee Ken , Wu Gregory , Song Sheng-Kwei , Campian Jian , DiPersio John , Ances Beau , Ghobadi Armin
Published: September 2021

BACKGROUND

Immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) remains a devastating, frequent complication of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for advanced-stage hematologic malignancies. Symptoms range from encephalopathy and headaches to aphasia, strokes, and diffuse cerebral edema. Persistent mild cognitive symptoms have also been reported. Unfortunately, the underlying pathophysiology driving ICANS is poorly understood. Current proposed models center on systemic inflammatory changes leading to endothelial dysfunction, blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, and systemic cytokine and/or monocytes infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS). However, these models do not integrate predisposing risk factors for the development of ICANS. We previously demonstrated that pre-infusion plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of neurodegeneration, may predict development of ICANS. Early elevations in NfL suggest development of ICANS is also related to pre-existing neuroaxonal injury. The longitudinal relationship between latent neuroaxonal injury, blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity, neuroinflammation, and cognition remains unknown.

METHODS

This prospective, observational trial examines the relationship between multi-modal (blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), neuroimaging) biomarkers and cognition in a cohort of twenty patients undergoing standard-of-care CAR T cellular therapy. Biomarkers for neural injury include blood and CSF NfL and volumetric measures derived from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Biomarkers for neuroinflammation include blood and CSF glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and qualification of white matter hyper-intensity burden on MRI. BBB integrity will be quantified using the serum/CSF albumin ratio. Finally, neuropsychological performance testing will assay cognitive performance across multiple cortical domains including attention, memory, and executive function. Participants will undergo a baseline (pre-infusion) examination, followed by evaluation (blood draw, voluntary lumbar puncture, MRI scan, and cognitive testing) on post-infusion day 3 (D3), D30, D90, and D180. The primary outcome is percent change in a given biomarker level.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS

This ongoing trial has 2 of 20 planned participants enrolled.
CLRM-11. BENCH TO BEDSIDE NEURO-ONCOLOGY: ADVOCATING FOR A CLINICALLY RELEVANT STRATEGY AS UNDERSCORED BY THE PANDEMIC
Authors: Brown Timothy , Mansouri Alireza , Zammar Samer , Glantz Michael
Published: September 2021

INTRODUCTION

The basic science research endeavor has been abundantly and astonishingly successful in the last three decades in elucidating the mechanisms of neuro-oncologic disease and in suggesting therapeutic strategies. Clinical successes have lagged behind, and translation of promising laboratory findings into clinical practice is rare. We hypothesize that one important reason for this discordance is the use of different paradigms for designing laboratory and clinical trials, and that utilizing clinically relevant procedures could improve laboratory study impact.

METHODS

We identified all pre-clinical neuro-oncology therapeutic trials published in four high-impact journals between 11/2018 and 4/2019 and assigned a level of evidence (LOE) to each study using the American Academy of Neurology evidence classification system. We then identified all phase III trials of therapeutics for COVID and performed the same analysis on all preclinical studies preceding the trials.

RESULTS

Of the 26 neuro-oncology articles identified, 85% had a LOE of IV and 15% were class III. An analysis of successful human trials showed significantly more high quality laboratory studies supporting “successful” compared to “unsuccessful” trials (p=0.048). This same pattern was identified in phase III trials of COVID. Twenty antiviral studies failed to meet the primary endpoint; all were preceded by class III or IV LOE preclinical studies. Eight evaluable phase three studies of COVID vaccines were identified, all of which met their primary endpoints. These were supported with a mix of Class I/II (n=4) and III/IV (n=4) preclinical studies. Higher LOE by AAN criteria is associated with successful COVID therapeutic trials (p=0.0034).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite rigorous, elegant, and enlightening laboratory experiments, successful translation to human therapeutics remains rare. Envisioning basic science research through the lens of clinical therapeutics represents a challenging but surmountable paradigm shift that may reverse this pattern and create a more successful research enterprise in neuro-oncology and beyond.
NEIM-04. PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF SCREENING MRI OF THE BRAIN IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC OR INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER
Authors: Aizer Ayal , Catalano Paul , Chen Yu-Hui , Wickersham Lacey , Gavrilovic Alexandra , Lin Nancy
Published: September 2021

BACKGROUND

The management of brain metastases is often dictated by the size and number of lesions present, with more invasive/aggressive therapies such as resection and whole brain radiation utilized for more extensive intracranial disease. Consensus guidelines for patients with advanced lung cancer or melanoma recommend magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain to screen for brain metastases. Due to a lack of prospective studies demonstrating benefit, screening brain imaging is currently not recommended by consensus guidelines in breast cancer.

APPROACH

Eligible patients are those with breast cancer initiating first-fourth line chemotherapy for extracranial metastatic disease or unresectable local recurrence devoid of prior intracranial involvement. A study-specific MRI (3D T1 pre-contrast + 3D T1 post-contrast acquisition) was developed to limit scan time to approximately 10-12 minutes. Patients with HR+/HER2- and HER2+ positive disease are randomized to screening brain MRIs vs not (primary outcome: neurologic quality of life, target N=156) while all patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) receive brain MRIs (primary outcome: rate of symptomatic brain metastases relative to historical controls, target N=33). Screened patients undergo one MRI at enrollment and, if negative, a second MRI at first systemic progression. In addition, an exploratory cohort of patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) managed with curative intent is included, in which patients undergo brain MRIs at baseline and, if negative, every six months for two years (primary endpoint: cumulative incidence of brain metastases, target N=25). In all cohorts, a multidisciplinary discussion is convened to determine optimal management in cases where brain metastases are identified.

STUDY PROGRESS

The study activated in 2019. As of 7/9/21, 28 patients have been enrolled. Enrollment has been more robust in single arm cohorts (TNBC: 13/33 enrolled; IBC 8/25 enrolled) than in the randomized subset (7/156 enrolled). Updated accrual will be presented at the meeting.
Media as a Source of Sexual Socialization for Emerging Adults
Authors: Aubrey Jennifer Stevens , Dajches Leah , Terán Larissa
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the role of three medium types—television and films, music and music videos, and pornography—in the sexual socialization of emerging adults. For television/films and music/music videos, researchers have found that increased exposure to both is associated with more gendered sexual beliefs and more sexually permissive attitudes and expectations. There is also evidence that exposure to mainstream television and movies is related to a variety of sexual behaviors, including age at sexual debut, sexual experience, and risky sexual behaviors. The literatures on music/music videos and pornography share a common interest in sexism, reporting that both types of media exposure are related to sexist beliefs and lax perceptions of sexual aggression. Pornography consumption is also correlated with more negative body image and higher relational dissatisfaction, which have consequences for the quality of emerging adults’ sexual experiences.
Parenting Post-9/11
Authors: Vermeulen Karla
Published: September 2021

The “Parenting Post-9/11” chapter examines the environment that Generation Disaster’s caregivers created within the family microsystem throughout their childhood and adolescence, as parents are generally the most important developmental influence during those formative years. It then considers how this cohort’s parents were impacted by 9/11 and all of the subsequent societal changes, as well as their fears about children’s safety amid the rise in school shootings, and it demonstrates how children’s responses to stressful and traumatic events are closely correlated with their caregivers’ reactions. The chapter considers whether accusations of “helicopter parenting” by these caregivers are valid, and it examines the impact of smartphones and other technologies on the first group of parents and children that had to incorporate these tools into their family dynamics.
Lockdown Drills in Kindergarten
Authors: Vermeulen Karla
Published: September 2021

This chapter, “Lockdown Drills in Kindergarten,” examines the primary childhood experience that sets Generation Disaster apart from previous cohorts: their early awareness of the threat of school shootings and other types of mass gun violence. It explores the impact of participating in school lockdown drills throughout primary and secondary school and how these security activities can increase distress and anxiety for some children. It describes how extremely rare school-based rampage attacks are relative to much more common forms of gun violence that receive less media attention. The chapter also discusses the role of social media in mass shootings, including as a motivator for copycat attacks and a source of vicarious trauma through exposing viewers to unfiltered images of violence.
Climate Change and Expectations for the Future of the Planet
Authors: Vermeulen Karla
Published: September 2021

The chapter “Climate Change and Expectations for the Future of the Planet” discusses one of the more amorphous stressors for Generation Disaster as it’s difficult to measure the psychological impact of a chronic problem like climate change. Many emerging adults recognize the problem and experience varying levels of stress about it, sometimes referred to as “eco-anxiety,” and many are actively engaged in combating its effects. Others consider it a lower priority than the many acute stressors they’re trying to manage, but in general younger generations express far more concern about the problem than their elders. The chapter explores these reactions and the efforts of some emerging adults to cope with a stressor many feel they unfairly inherited.
Pornography and Public Health
Authors: Rothman Emily F.
Published: September 2021

Pornography and Public Health explores the scientific evidence that helps answer the question: “Is sexually explicit media causing epidemic harm to human health?” It situates this question in the context of historical concerns that sex and sexuality have the power to radicalize people and legal cases that have defined obscenity in the United States. It reveals how pornography came to be considered a public health crisis in multiple US states despite a lack of support and involvement of any governmental public health agency. It also reviews peer-reviewed scientific findings that address whether pornography contributes to epidemics of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, the dissolution of intimate relationships, eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, and compulsive use. Further, it discusses working conditions for pornography performers and outlines possible methods for improving them. It suggests that public health frameworks and tools can be applied meaningfully to analyses of pornography’s impact on health. This title is written for emerging public health advocates.
Problematic Pornography Use
Authors: Rothman Emily F.
Published: September 2021

The idea that pornography can be addictive or that people may compulsively use pornography was not a focal point of the so-called sex wars of the 1970s and 1980s. Now the contention that there is an epidemic of problematic pornography use is a pillar of the argument that pornography is a public health crisis. Scholars disagree about whether problematic use is an addiction or is better characterized as a compulsive use disorder. This chapter describes the research evidence about the prevalence, correlates, and consequences of problematic pornography use, discusses treatment options, and encourages collaboration with the networks of people who describe themselves as porn addicted or in recovery from porn addiction.
Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
Authors: Rothman Emily F.
Published: September 2021

Child pornography, also called “child sexual abuse imagery” and “child exploitation material,” is a serious public health problem. This chapter reviews what qualifies as child pornography in the United States, its prevalence, how it is made and disseminated, who views it, and whether seeing it is associated with child sexual abuse perpetration. The topic of self-produced child pornography is also addressed. The chapter explains the historical link between anti-child pornography activism and anti-gay rights activism, and cautions public health professionals that, historically, outrage about child pornography has been used to galvanize people and further repressive agendas. The chapter argues that child pornography prevention strategies need to be carefully devised, in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, and should be studied for effectiveness and unintended consequences.
Pornography and Human Trafficking
Authors: Rothman Emily F.
Published: September 2021

Human trafficking is an insidious public health problem that may be worsened by the constant demand for new pornography, but sex workers’ rights—including the rights of pornography performers—are not always served by anti-trafficking efforts. This chapter provides a definition of human trafficking, reviews three main arguments about how pornography may influence human trafficking, and encourages public health professionals to value anecdotal information from both sex workers’ rights advocates and human trafficking survivors to move toward better science and evidence-informed decision-making.
The Benefits of Pornography
Authors: Rothman Emily F.
Published: September 2021

This chapter reviews the evidence that pornography can have a positive influence on individual’s sexual wellness, mental health, relationships, body acceptance, self-esteem, sexual knowledge, increase safer sex behavior, and self-acceptance in gay, lesbian, bisexual and other sexual minority individuals. For some people there are undoubtedly benefits of having access to erotic material, viewing pornography, and using pornography in the context of their relationship or for masturbation. And yet: this should not be misconstrued as conclusive evidence that “porn is good” or that we have no reason for continuing to investigate its potential harms. The research that finds that there are selected benefits of some pornography use by some people highlights the need for public health, public policy and other professionals to resist the tendency to oversimplify.
Imaging God
Authors: Wilson Brittany E.
Published: September 2021

This chapter begins with the biblical prohibition against visual representations of God and Jewish idol polemic. The chapter problematizes the assumed link between divine images and divine invisibility by looking at how idol polemic actually functions in ancient texts and at how Luke couches his own critique of idolatry. Luke’s critique mainly stems from his wider disparagement of Greco-Roman “polytheism,” not from an adherence to the abstract idea of God’s invisibility. Moreover, Luke also describes Israel’s God in anthropomorphic terms. Luke, like many Jews and Christians at this time, is thus wary of visual representations of the divine in the form of material images, but he verbally “images” the God of Israel as an embodied God.
Seeing the Light
Authors: Wilson Brittany E.
Published: September 2021

This chapter begins to develop the idea that one of the ways in which God can become manifest is in material flesh, specifically Jesus’s material flesh. The chapter approaches this issue from the angle of early Christian depictions of Jesus’s divinity and specifically Jesus’s epiphanic appearances in Luke’s Gospel. In his Gospel, Luke identifies Jesus as a light (a common subject of epiphanies) and depicts Jesus appearing in an epiphanic manner during his ministry and beyond, especially in the scenes involving his transfiguration and resurrection appearances. In these instances, Jesus’s form takes on an elusive quality that is typical of epiphanies, especially with respect to how his body is seen. Here Jesus’s body is visible yet also veiled, and these paradoxical encounters, the chapter argues, are a key way in which Luke aligns Jesus with God and the divine realm more broadly.
Understanding, Managing, and Communicating Credit Fundamentals
Authors: Martell Christine R. , Moldogaziev Tima T. , Espinosa Salvador
Published: September 2021

This chapter probes the informational content of city credit ratings: what the credit ratings are, why city policymakers should care about credit ratings, and how city policymakers may evaluate credit ratings and make use of their informational content. By explicitly showcasing 12 cities from different contexts, this chapter conducts a comparative evaluation of core credit quality fundamentals for these cases. This analysis looks at the economic, fiscal, debt and financial management, and governance factors that policymakers may leverage to proactively manage the city’s underlying credit quality. It asks: How can policymakers manage city credit fundamentals to leverage access to capital market options? What are the elements of credit quality information that city policymakers may signal? What can city policymakers do to improve their agency? The results give tools to city policymakers to announce their market readiness, regardless of, and perhaps even undeterred by, the context of governance institutions in which the city is nested.
Subnational Government Capital Financing
Authors: Martell Christine R. , Moldogaziev Tima T. , Espinosa Salvador
Published: September 2021

This book argues that capital markets can be an important source of financing for subnational governments across the globe as they face decentralization of governance systems and increased demand for infrastructure at the local level. The central argument is that information resolution at both the national-level and the city-level is critical for the success of subnational capital markets. Furthermore, the chapter argues that subnational governments can and must become competent actors with regards to both top-down (national to local governments) and outside-in (financial sector firms to local governments) transactions and pressures. This chapter presents city policymakers with options for capital market access when both system credit contractibility and underlying credit quality vary by offering a typology of alternatives for capital financing. The chapter recommends policies that establish contractibility and credit quality assessment mechanisms and concludes with recommendations for future research.
Larvae and Direct Development
Authors: Strathmann Richard R.
Published: September 2021

Modes of development of marine crustaceans and other marine invertebrates include presence or absence of a larval stage, of larval feeding, and of maternal protection of offspring. These different developmental modes impose different compromises (trade-offs) between the number of offspring and their size or the extent of maternal protection. Crustaceans differ from many marine animals in not shedding eggs prior to fertilization, which eliminates the complication of selection on size of eggs as a target for sperm. Features shared with marine invertebrates of several phyla include rare and ancient origins of feeding larvae, irreversible losses of a feeding larval stage, a constraint on brooding imposed by embryos’ need for oxygen, and possible benefits from slower development of protected embryos. Crustaceans differ, however, in having a diverse exoskeletal tool kit that has provided unusual capabilities. Nauplii and zoeae are diverse in form, behavior, and habitat, despite each being nominally one type of larva. Nauplii, as feeding larvae, have adapted to both the benthos and plankton. Settling stages (cyprids and decapodids) with enhanced speed have evolved twice. Some very large adults can supply their large broods with oxygen. Capacity for defense of offspring and home has led a few times to eusociality. The need to molt to grow and change form imposes episodic risk and growth and, in some cases, links evolution of egg size and size at metamorphosis. Crustaceans’ diverse life histories enable comparisons with broad implications for marine invertebrates: opportunity for dispersal is similar for larvae and adults of some crustaceans, demonstrating that marine larvae need not be adaptations for dispersal; development from very small eggs is enabled by less equipment needed for first larval feeding and also by postlarval stages being parasites; eggs shed into the water suffer greater mortality than planktonic larvae or brooded eggs, yet some planktonic crustaceans depend on benthic resting eggs for persistence of populations; larvae escape predation in diverse ways, and bigger larvae are not consistently safer; predation near the seafloor makes settlement a risky stage. Parallels with other taxa are numerous, but the crustacean exoskeletal tool kit has conferred unusual evolutionary opportunities and constraints. Even among marine crustaceans, however, evolutionary options for life histories differ among clades because of rare evolutionary origins of traits of larvae and mothers and biased evolutionary transitions in those traits.
Fulvia
Authors: Schultz Celia E.
Published: September 2021

Fulvia: Playing for Power at the End of the Roman Republic is the first full-length biography focused solely on Fulvia, daughter of Sempronia and Bambalio, who is best known as the wife of Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony). Born into a less prestigious branch of an aristocratic Roman clan in the last decades of the Roman Republic, Fulvia first rose to prominence as the wife of P. Clodius Pulcher, scion of one of the city’s most powerful families and one of its most infamous and scandalous politicians. In the aftermath of his murder, Fulvia refused to shrink from the glare of public scrutiny and helped to prosecute the man responsible. Later, as the wife of Antonius, she was the most powerful woman in Rome, at one point even taking an active role in the military conflict between Antonius’s allies and Octavian, the future emperor Augustus. Her husbands’ enemies painted her as domineering, vicious, greedy, and petty—a caricature of woman who pushed against the boundary of female propriety, a woman about whom there was “nothing feminine except her form.” This biography peels away the invective to reveal a strong-willed, independent woman who was, by many traditional measures, a successful Roman matrona: she was never single for long, her husbands flourished, her children were many, and there was barely a whiff of sexual impropriety about her. On top of all that, Fulvia proved herself, over and over again, to be a valuable asset, a shrewd political ally, and a fearless defender of her family’s interests.
Life with Curio and Antonius
Authors: Schultz Celia E.
Published: September 2021

Fulvia’s second, brief marriage was to C. Scribonius Curio, who moved in the same social circle as Clodius and who had been an ardent supporter of his in the aftermath of the Bona Dea scandal. As the alliance between Pompey and Caesar broke down in the late 50s, Curio worked ardently to remain neutral, but he finally threw in his lot with Caesar after Pompey’s allies blocked his efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Curio died in north Africa, fighting for Caesar in the Civil War, leaving Fulvia to raise their son. Her third marriage, this time to M. Antonius, produced another two sons. She once again brought respectability and stability to her husband, whose career had suffered from a series of missteps. He seems to have been smitten with Fulvia, even giving up his mistress Volumnia (the actress known as Cytheris) to please her.
Fulvia’s Final Act
Authors: Schultz Celia E.
Published: September 2021

The assassination of Caesar left Antonius as the most powerful man in Rome. Fulvia and her children shared in his fortunes. Fulvia herself became a target of the political invective of Antonius’s enemy, Cicero, and she profited from the proscriptions that the triumvirs unleashed on Rome. While Antonius was in the East, Fulvia helped lead a group of Antonius’s allies in the capital. As relations between Antonius’s brother, Lucius, and Octavian devolved into the Perusine War, Fulvia worked to persuade Antonian generals to come Lucius’s aid and even raised troops to help lift the siege of Perusia. This lies at the base of stories that she strapped on a sword and waged war herself. Even though the Antonians lost the war, Octavian dared not harm Fulvia. Her importance to Antonius is underscored by the massive escort his generals provided for her as she left Italy. She died in Greece shortly thereafter.
Military Sociology
Authors: Barany Zoltan
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses issues germane to military sociology and focuses on explaining how sociocultural factors sap the effectiveness of Gulf armies. The first portion of the chapter is devoted to the social and regional backgrounds of enlisted members of the armed forces and explores the reasons for the introduction of mandatory military service in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. The following section is dedicated to a comprehensive appraisal of the officer corps from cadets to generals, examining their career trajectories and education at home and abroad. The chapter then explores the age-old practice of Gulf rulers to utilize the services of contract soldiers (aka mercenaries) and foreign advisers. The chapter’s last part focuses on sociocultural issues from education to decision-making and the pervasive influence of tribalism.
Beginnings
Authors: Mordden Ethan
Published: September 2021

This chapter provides an overview of British musical theatre. The first known British musical was dramatist John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728), which centers on an anti-hero, Macheath, who was surrounded by enemies and allies grouped in twos. The music is not original because Gay pasted his lyrics onto pre-existing folk and popular tunes known as “ballads,” therefore making Gay's work a ballad opera. It was the flash success of The Beggar's Opera that led the manager of Lincoln’s Inn, John Rich, to build Covent Garden. The chapter looks at a more famous ballad opera, Allan Ramsay's The Gentle Shepherd (1725). The chapter then looks at genres such as the comic opera, the burletta, the extravaganza, the pantomime, and the burlesque.
Gilbert and Sullivan
Authors: Mordden Ethan
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses Richard D'Oyly Carte's “Gilbert and Sullivan” (G & S) program, which was named after W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Carte's G & S program combined the appeal of superb craftsmanship with that of fresh material, replacing the previous derivative nature of extravaganza and burlesque. First of all, Carte commissioned Trial By Jury, G & S's only one-act production. It was a miniature comic opera. This led to the famous series of shows, now all with spoken dialogue, that changed the course of the Anglophone musical. However, by his involvement with Gilbert and Sullivan Carte had tasked himself weightily, as he now faced years of delicate diplomacy, keeping the act together when Gilbert got too prickly or Sullivan felt unappreciated. Next, Carte recruited G & S performers into the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. The aim was to tour internationally in the G & S canon and this tradition lasted for over one hundred years. The business became a family business. After Carte retired the business was managed by his son Rupert, and then by Rupert's daughter Bridget, before disbanding in 1982, albeit with sporadic initiatives thereafter. The chapter finally looks into more detail at the G & S canon, including titles such as The Pirates Of Penzance (1879) and Patience (1881).
Imagine the Duchess’ Feelings
Authors: Mordden Ethan
Published: September 2021

This chapter looks at the work of Noël Coward, and presents a list of his musicals. Perusing the list, we can note that Bitter Sweet (1929) is the only classic. This is so more for its superb score than its functional book, which was full of snobby folk fussing over etiquette. The elements that are most memorable about Coward's musicals, are the songs, especially the witty lyrics. This chapter argues that no one in the world of the West End theatre besides W. S. Gilbert rivals Coward for his lyrics. Ironically, there is little wit in the scripts of Coward's musicals, the wit is to be found only in the lyrics and some of the revue sketches. Coward's revue songs emphasize his musical-comedy side, while his story shows tilt toward operetta in whole or part. This irony could be a result of Coward's musical illiteracy: he composed but could not write anything down. For most of his career, he used hired secretaries to help organize the music.
Behind the Times
Authors: Mordden Ethan
Published: September 2021

This chapter focuses on Sandy Wilson and Julian Slade, who had a number of things in common. They both first appeared in the early 1950s, wrote shows originating outside the West End, seemed unaffected by the American influence, and had one outstanding hit (respectively, The Boy Friend and Salad Days). However, the two are unalike each other in important ways. Wilson was the sole author of his shows, while Slade had collaborators, especially actress Dorothy Reynolds, who co-wrote most of Slade’s best-known titles. Wilson enjoyed basing songs on earlier models, while Slade rarely used pastiche. Slade's musicals are innocent and sweet-hearted while Wilson's are worldly, satiric, and cynical. Thus, Slade's Salad Days (1954) is the perfection of lovable twaddle while Wilson's The Boy Friend (1953) is an analysis of lovable twaddle, a resuscitation of the twenties musical to ask what it was made of.
Getting Beyond the Apemen
Authors: Newson Lesley , Richerson Peter J.
Published: September 2021

This introductory chapter explains why a new story of human evolution is needed, and also lays the foundations of the story told in this book. One of the reasons we need a new story is that previous stories have concentrated on what our male ancestors were doing. Since survival is most at risk in the first years of life, it makes much more sense to concentrate on children and their mothers than on adult males. A brief account of the history of ideas in evolution by natural selection and human evolution provides readers with a background in evolutionary processes. Humans are a product of evolution, but we are not like other animals, because we are connected and readily share complex information. We are unique and our evolution was the result of a unique evolutionary process. To understand ourselves in evolutionary terms, it’s necessary to consider two intertwined evolutionary processes—genes and culture.
Early Humans (About 1.5 Million Years Ago)
Authors: Newson Lesley , Richerson Peter J.
Published: September 2021

By a million and a half years ago, there were humans with skeletons that were very similar to our human skeleton. They moved around as we do, and their diet was more like our diet. Some of them had skulls that held a brain quite a bit bigger than the brains of our earlier ancestors, but even the largest was considerably smaller than our brain. Humans from this time traveled from Africa into Eurasia. Children with larger brains needed to be fed more food, probably more food than mothers could get on their own, even if they helped one another. It seems likely, therefore, that males lived in the family groups with the mothers and youngsters, helping to find food and fight off predators. The authors argue that the kind of cooperation and culture we see in these humans suggests that they already had language, but it could have been much simpler than the language we use.
Building Today’s World
Authors: Newson Lesley , Richerson Peter J.
Published: September 2021

Once they were equipped with the social tools that allowed them to maintain greater connectedness, there was no looking back for our ancestors. They evolved much more complex cultures. Once the planet started to warm up and ice started to melt, humans could start to inhabit more of the land surface. As climate variability diminished and stable vegetation zones and habitats began to form, humans started to settle and become expert at exploiting a certain territory. If a group of families developed the knowledge and skills that allowed them to exploit a territory, there was no benefit in sharing that information with people outside the group. So instead of maintaining connections and sharing, people became tribal and, in many cases, territorial. Over thousands of years, families and tribes interacted and formed alliances, and their alliances broke down. But the general trend was for greater connectedness, increasingly complex cultures, and greater success. The human population grew.