bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study of the characteristics of the mountainous cultural landscape in Yemen: mountain cities, mountain villages, and cultivated terraces
Authors: Al-Attar Amal , Wu Yao , Fetzer Ellen , Alwah AbdulFattah
Published: February 2025

Cultural landscapes enhance the spiritual relationship between people and their environment. They represent civilized evidence of peoples’ interaction with nature and exploiting its resources to build civilization. Yemeni urban and rural environments are rich in many cultural landscape elements that reflect the ingenuity of Yemeni people interacting with nature. Unfortunately, there is a severe shortage of research studies that discuss the cultural landscapes in Yemen and the mechanisms for their preservation. Therefore, this study aimed to shed light on the types of mountain cultural landscapes in Yemen and discuss the means of their preservation. The study achieved its objectives through a theoretical review of available studies and field visits to some sites in Ibb, Jableh, and Taiz cities. The authors visited three mountainous cities in May and June 2021: the historic city of Jableh, the historic city of Taiz, and the old city of Ibb. The authors also visited some mountain villages and cultivated terraces in Sana’a, Ibb, and Taiz in July and August 2021. The study highlighted the human contribution to these sites and elements and showed the Yemenis’ skills in adapting to nature and benefiting from it ideally. The results indicate the environmental, social, and economic aspects that Yemenis have reaped through their fruitful use of nature and landscapes. This study can guide the competent authorities in assessing, developing, and protecting cultural landscape sites in Yemen.
Automatic recognition for cracks in aging rubber materials
Authors: Xu Yunhui , Wang Shifeng , Tu Hui , Xin Zhenghua , Xu Haifeng
Published: February 2025

Rubber materials are extensively used in the industrial sector, where aging is a critical factor affecting the performance of various rubber materials in industrial applications. After aging, rubber surfaces exhibit crazing, a type of crack that currently relies on subjective visual observation. This method suffers from issues such as subjective judgment bias, difficulty in dynamic tracking, and quantification challenges. This study proposes an objective and effective method for identifying and analyzing the degree of erosion of rubber surfaces due to aging. The results of this research provide an automated recognition scheme for a deeper understanding of the rubber material aging process, making it possible to record the dynamic process of crack propagation and establish a relationship between morphology and performance. Furthermore, it provides process data for developing strategies to improve the aging resistance of rubber materials.
Preparation and microstructure of BaTiO3 thin films by RF magnetron sputtering
Authors: Zhang Zhengjie , Zhang Ruoxi , Zhang Feng , Ma Xinguo , Cheng Zhengwang , Wang Han
Published: February 2025

The preparation of high-quality films is a key challenge in building high-performance electro-optic modulators and achieving ultra-high-speed optical communication. In this research, we used magnetron sputtering to precisely prepare BaTiO3 thin films on SrTiO3 substrates, and systematically studied the effects of process parameters on their crystallinity and microstructure. Under optimized process conditions—a sputtering power of 60 W, chamber pressure of 1.0 Pa, argon-oxygen ratio of 6:1, substrate temperature of 350 °C, and a sputtering duration of 60 minutes—the thin film exhibited a <200> preferred orientation, a grain size of 38.7 nm, X-ray diffraction <200> half-peak full width is 0.288°, and demonstrated high crystalline quality and microstructural order. This research provides scientific evidence for the preparation of high-performance electro-optic modulator materials and has important academic and practical value for the development of Si-based photonic integration technology.
Study on crack extension behavior of epoxy resin composites under typhoon conditions
Authors: Huang Ruodong , Zhou Fusheng , Gao Chao , Yang Hao
Published: February 2025

For the problem of accelerated expansion of epoxy resin cracks in tub insulators under typhoon conditions, this paper establishes an accelerated evolution model of epoxy resin crack defects based on the maximum circumferential stress criterion, simulates the crack expansion process of epoxy resin materials under different typhoon levels, grasps the characteristic parameters of the crack expansion behaviors under the influence of the three major typhoon levels, and achieves the prediction of the crack expansion path and fatigue life of the epoxy resin materials under extreme environments. The results show that the type I stress intensity factor at the crack tip of the epoxy resin material increases linearly with the crack extension length, the type II stress intensity factor reaches the peak at the early stage of crack extension and then decreases to 0, the type III stress intensity factor tends to float up and down to 0, and the fatigue life decreases linearly with the increase in typhoon level; the results of the paper have an important theoretical application value for the prediction of crack extension of tub insulators under the action of typhoon loads. The results of this paper have important theoretical application value for carrying out crack prediction of basin insulators under typhoon loading.
Analysis of fire test methods and airworthiness requirements for materials in the cabin of civil aircraft
Authors: Huang Weixing , Yang Tonghui , Lv Zhengye
Published: February 2025

The safety of aircraft cabin materials is related to the safety of passengers and aircraft. With the development of science and technology, the types of materials are becoming more and more abundant, with frequent applications in the aircraft cabin, cargo compartment, and other locations. A large number of these materials improve the economic comfort of the aircraft. When a fire occurs, the performance of the materials involved can significantly influence the fire’s progression, which in turn affects the safety of passengers and the aircraft. Additionally, it can impact emergency evacuation procedures. To enhance safety in aircraft research, development, and manufacturing, it is essential to understand the flame-retardant properties of materials used in aircraft. Scientific methods must be employed to verify the fireproofing capabilities of these materials, and data-driven evaluations should assess their flame-retardant properties. This is crucial to ensure the safety of passengers and the aircraft itself. In the event of a fire, effective materials can slow the spread of flames, allowing passengers to evacuate promptly and increasing their chances of survival. By analyzing the cabin material fire test verification method and airworthiness requirements, the aircraft cabin material fire requirements are outlined to provide guidelines for the commercial aircraft cabin material fire verification work, to guide the aircraft design process of cabin material selection, and to accelerate the pace of airworthiness certification.
Investigation of thermodynamic properties of sheet molding compound based on molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Duan Wei , Li Shaobin , Cao Hangwei , Zhao Xuefeng , Pu Lu , Sun Haofei , Duan Xiongying , Ju Zeli
Published: February 2025

Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) composed of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) reinforced with sheets of glass fiber, has been widely used in fireproof support projects for tube corridors and tunnels. The crosslinking degree is a key factor affecting the internal structure of UPR. In this study, based on the molecular dynamic simulations, UPR models were constructed at varying degrees of cross-linking. Important intrinsic parameters, including the glass transition temperature and elastic modulus of the material, were obtained. It was found that both the thermodynamic and mechanical properties of the material improved with the increase of the crosslinking degree. Besides, a UPR/glass fiber interface model was developed at an 80% cross-linking degree to study the interfacial bonding at different temperatures. The microscopic compactness of the interface across various temperatures was further analyzed.
Effects of the chain extenders on the properties of waterborne polyurethanes
Authors: Ren Xiue , Huang Yiqiang , Yu Jiacheng , Zheng Zenan , Fan Tingbin , Wang Sihong
Published: February 2025

This study investigated the effect of different chain extenders on the properties and degradability of waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs). Three types of waterborne polyurethanes were prepared by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) with the addition of isosorbide (IS), 1,4-butanediol (BDO), and imidazolidinyl urea (IU) as chain extender, respectively. The experimental results showed that the waterborne polyurethanes with imidazolidinylurea (IU) as the chain extender performed better in terms of mechanical properties and degradability, and displayed good hydrophilicity and solubility. These findings are of great significance for the design and application of polyurethane materials with environmental friendliness.
Thermal stability of Pd-Au core-shell nanostructures in an in-situ liquid TEM
Authors: Meng Dehuan , Liu Shuai , Wang Weiping , Wang Zixin , Hu Xiaoyan , Zhang Xue
Published: February 2025

The investigation of the thermal stability and evolution of Pd-Au core-shell nanostructures across various temperatures proceeded with in situ heating transmission electron microscopy (TEM) along with spectral analysis techniques. In situ heating transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was utilized to examine the morphology and elemental distribution of core-shell nanostructures composed of Pd0.5-Au0.5 and Pd0.9-Au0.1, which were synthesized via the seed growth technique. Compared with the Pd0.5-Au0.5 core-shell nanostructures, the Pd0.9-Au0.1 core-shell nanostructures have better thermal stability.
Using deep reinforcement learning to investigate stretch feedback during swimming of the lamprey
Authors: Hausdörfer Oliver , Gupta Astha , Ijspeert Auke , Renjewski Daniel
Published: February 2025

Animals have to navigate complex environments and perform intricate swimming maneuvers in the real world. To conquer these challenges, animals evolved a variety of motion control strategies. While it is known that many factors contribute to motion control, we specifically focus on the role of stretch sensory feedback. We investigate how stretch feedback potentially serves as a way to coordinate locomotion, and how different stretch feedback topologies, such as networks spanning varying ranges along the spinal cord, impact the locomotion. We conduct our studies on a simulated robot model of the lamprey consisting of an articulated spine with eleven segments connected by actuated joints. The stretch feedback is modeled with neural networks trained with deep reinforcement learning. We find that the topology of the feedback influences the energy efficiency and smoothness of the swimming, along with various other metrics characterizing the locomotion, such as frequency, amplitude and stride length. By analyzing the learned feedback networks, we highlight the importances of very local, caudally-directed, as well as stretch derivative information. Our results deliver valuable insights into the potential mechanisms and benefits of stretch feedback control and inspire novel decentralized control strategies for complex robots.
One-particle irreducibility of Vilkovisky-DeWitt Effective Action
Authors: Panda Sukanta , Tinwala Abbas , Jadav Ketan
Published: February 2025

The effective action formalism introduced by Vilkovisky and later modified by DeWitt is completely covariant and suitable for obtaining an effective action that is independent of the parametrization of the quantum fields. Among a few basic properties of an effective action, one property is that it can be written as a sum of one-particle irreducible diagrams. In this work, we verify this property up to three-loop order for Vilkovisky-Dewitt effective action (VDEA) by solving the equations satisfied by VDEA written down in the original parametrization for non-gauge theories.
Sustainable Environmental Practices and Cultural Adaptation in Kampung Adat Naga: An Ethnomethodological Approach to Landscape Dynamics
Authors: As'ari Ruli , Fadjarajani Siti , Badriah Liah , Nurjamilah Ai Siti , Shaari Mohammad Zohir
Published: February 2025

This research aims to examine how cultural adaptation and sustainable environmental practices influence landscape dynamics in Kampung Adat Naga (a traditional Sundanese village in Indonesia), using an ethnomethodological approach. The study seeks to answer the central question of how the Kampung Adat Naga community integrates their cultural values into sustainable environmental practices and how this interaction affects local landscape dynamics. The methodology includes participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis to explore the long-established cultural and environmental practices of the Kampung Naga community. The findings reveal that cultural adaptation in Kampung Naga, such as the implementation of agroforestry systems and traditional ceremonies, plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and environmental sustainability. Cultural values and sustainability principles meticulously manage the village landscape, not only preserving soil fertility and biodiversity but also reinforcing the community's cultural identity. The study also revealed that the Kampung Naga community bases their understanding of the environment on a holistic perspective, viewing nature as an entity worthy of respect and preservation. The study's conclusion indicates that cultural practices and environmental sustainability in Kampung Naga are inseparable and mutually supportive, making a significant contribution to understanding the relationship between culture and the environment in the context of traditional communities. This research underscores the significance of upholding and honoring local cultural customs in worldwide sustainability initiatives, and offers fresh perspectives for crafting sustainable policies in other traditional communities.
An estimation of the health and climatic impacts of household biomass consumption across Nigeria in 2018
Authors: Slater Jessica , Palmer Eve , Yetano-Roche Maria , Eleri Ewah , Malley Christopher S
Published: February 2025

In 2021, Nigeria became the first country in the world to state, quantitatively, how implementing their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to mitigate climate change could improve health. Nigeria’s NDC stated that an estimated 30,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually by 2030 due to reduction in household air pollution caused by burning wood and charcoal for cooking. As Nigeria moves to implement its climate change commitments, there are two key questions that this paper aims to address. Firstly, across Nigeria, where are the greatest health burdens from household air pollution that could be targeted to achieve these health benefits, and secondly, to what extent does wood fuel consumption drive greenhouse gas emissions from the Forestry and Land Use (FOLU) sector? To explore these questions this paper utilises available statistical data on households primary cooking fuel choice at the state level in Nigeria to estimate the health impact from household air pollution due to households cooking using wood and charcoal. It also provides an estimate of the total wood fuel demand in the country and from this provides an estimate of the carbon dioxide emissions from the FOLU sector associated with these households’ biomass use. In 2018, it was estimated that of the almost 116 thousand premature deaths attributable to household air pollution in 23% occurred in 3 states in Northern Nigeria. The biomass consumption for household energy consumption across Nigeria was estimated to contribute 78 % of the 151 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions estimated within this analysis to be due to the Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) sector in Nigeria. Hence action targeted at transitioning households to modern cooking fuels and technologies can have a large impact on achieving the dual climate and health goals Nigeria has set itself within its climate change commitment.
Dual perspectives: a remote sensing- and survey-based exploration of the determinants of irrigation use in Northern Ethiopia
Authors: Raji Tunmise , Wamalwa Fhazhil , Williams Nathan
Published: February 2025

This study addresses the need to improve agricultural productivity and enhance the resilience of small-holder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa through irrigation. Using Amhara and Tigray regions in Ethiopia as a case study, we investigate the factors that impact farmers' use of irrigation through two distinct analytical approaches: a survey-based approach that leverages Ethiopia's 2018/2019 Socioeconomic Survey, and a remote sensing-based approach that integrates multiple remote sensing products. While previous research has relied primarily on surveys to understand technology adoption in agriculture, we demonstrate how nighttime light imagery for electrification detection and multispectral imagery for irrigation mapping can complement survey data. We examine infrastructure factors (electricity access, road accessibility), environmental variables that influence irrigation costs and efficiency (soil salinity, slope, groundwater depth, topographic wetness index, proximity to surface water), and farming practices (crop type, fertilizer use). Despite the common assumption that infrastructure development will drive agricultural technology adoption, we found that access to electricity and all-weather roads are not strongly associated with farmers' irrigation decisions in these regions. We identified a cropland area of about 97,760 ha in Amhara and 28,830 ha in Tigray that is electrified but does not use the electricity for irrigation purposes. Instead, environmental variables emerged as significant determinants, with favorable physical conditions (proximity to surface water, gentle slopes, shallow groundwater) showing positive associations with irrigation use. Additionally, the cultivation of permanent crops and the application of fertilizers are found to be positively associated with irrigation use. By validating remote sensing results against survey data, we demonstrate the potential of remote sensing as a cost-effective technique for understanding agricultural technology adoption in data-scarce regions. We conclude by presenting strategies to facilitate the use of irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Grains of Wheat
Authors: Stump Eleonore
Published: February 2025

There is a kind of knowledge that is non-propositional; one variety of it can be acquired in second-person experience of another person, but it can also be transmitted through narratives. This narratively mediated kind of knowledge can be significant for philosophical and theological reflection. Biblical narratives are specially fruitful in this regard, because they offer profound insights into the nature of the human condition and human flourishing. This book brings together detailed examinations of narratives in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament to yield one large, emergent story which has something to teach that can be missed when the stories are taken in isolation from one another. These are the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham, Mary of Bethany, the temptations of Christ, the passion of Christ, and the story in the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. Taken together, these stories depict a possible world in which there is a good for suffering human beings that outweighs their suffering and that could not be gotten without the suffering, not even in a world without a Fall. On this emergent larger story, human suffering is defeated; and peace and joy in human life are possible.
The Story of Abraham
Authors: Stump Eleonore
Published: February 2025

Abraham is an exemplar of a person who suffers because of what he has set his heart on. This chapter focuses on the problem of suffering in connection with the loss or deprivation of the desires of the heart. The chapter concentrates on the biblical story of Abraham and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story, but especially the part of the story involving the binding of Isaac. It argues against Kierkegaard’s well-known interpretation of the story in Fear and Trembling and suggests an alternative that emerges when the episode of the binding of Isaac is set in the whole context of Abraham’s relations with the children he fathers and their mothers. So understood, the story illuminates the nature of faith as a response to the problem of suffering, and it sets a very high standard for acceptable solutions to the problem.
The Temptations of Christ
Authors: Stump Eleonore
Published: February 2025

This chapter examines biblical narratives about the temptations of Christ. These stories show forcefully the way in which Christ’s suffering and death are connected to the processes of justification and sanctification. A person’s ceasing to resist the grace of God and surrendering to God’s love is the pinnacle on which her salvation has to stand. If we focus on this crucial and difficult necessary condition for salvation, then we can begin to see the reason for Christ’s suffering. What can be gained by weakness that could not be gotten through power is the melting of a heart accustomed to willed loneliness and hardened against the hope of joy.
Basic concepts and theories
Authors: Coulmas Florian
Published: February 2025

If languages were not both means of and obstacles to communication, they would not be an object of political concern. Basic concepts and theories applied to the analysis of language as an object of policy making are introduced in this chapter, among them politics, diversity, abstand and ausbau, status planning, corpus planning, acquisition planning, domain, proficiency, language shift, language rights, legitimate language, and language ideology. As for theory, the chapter expounds differences and commonalities of language policy (closer to political science) and language planning (closer to linguistics). It argues that because of the contingency of social science concepts and language ideologies no generally accepted theory for analysing policy decisions concerning language as a rule-governed system, on one hand, and society as a rule-governed system, on the other, is available, and that the highest priority of such a theory is to explain the causes of language conflicts.
Agents of language policy
Authors: Coulmas Florian
Published: February 2025

If languages are artefacts, as argued in Chapter 4, there must be agents executing the necessary work to make and maintain them. First and foremost, these are the users of the languages, who, however, in modern states are guided by agents with a policy agenda designed to form the languages in question in specific ways. This chapter introduces language regulating institutions and their policies, how they were established and what place they occupy with regard to other institutions. It explains what they are and what they do. An overview is given of the many institutions—academies, research institutes, and government commissions—charged with designing and implementing language policies that exist in the world today. It discusses similarities and differences between these institutions with respect to structure, function, size, membership, and prestige, as well as the ideological motivations that brought them into being, which are the subject of the following chapter. Three main tasks that occupy agents of language policy discussed in this chapter are spelling reform and script choice, lexicography and terminology, and language dissemination. How they are actually implemented is politically motivated and therefore sometimes contentious.
International language regimes
Authors: Coulmas Florian
Published: February 2025

Language follows power. In order to give this general principle some substance, this chapter examines international language regimes. It extends from the failed attempt by the first intergovernmental organization, the League of Nations, to establish a neutral language regime, to the sophisticated and lavish multilingual regime of the European Union of our days. In between, other international organizations are examined and compared with each other regarding their language regimes. How do nations, or rather their representatives, communicate? Whose interests are served by the language regimes of international organizations? How do pragmatism and symbolism (ideology) relate in this regard? Returning to some of the issues touched upon in the first chapter, this one offers some answers to these questions. It shows that the question whether international language regimes reflect and perpetuate structures of domination is still relevant today and discusses the importance of nation state and national language in this regard.
Invading the Stock Exchange
Authors: Taylor James
Published: February 2025

Chapter 7 examines women’s increasingly assertive attempts to join stock exchanges after 1945, and the strategies deployed by men to exclude them. Rather than treat applications from women the same as applications from men, stock exchanges used them to trigger debates and votes on the principle of women’s membership, which served to entrench opposition. But in the 1960s, with federation and regionalization on the agenda, smaller stock exchanges thought that maintaining the masculine purity of their trading floors was less important than recruiting new members to prove their continuing viability as distinct entities within larger regional units. Consequently, they began admitting women. Larger stock exchanges, especially London, remained hostile, however, even with the growing prospect of legal and political intervention. The chapter explores reasons for this opposition, including the threats of competition and professionalization, and—above all—the threat to the idea of stockbroking as man’s work. The chapter concludes by exploring how women finally gained admission to the London Stock Exchange in 1973, not through a positive vote, but as a side-effect of the amalgamation of the nation’s stock exchanges, which forced a new admission policy on London.
Epilogue
Authors: Taylor James
Published: February 2025

The Epilogue shows how women’s admission to the London Stock Exchange in 1973 did little to challenge deep-seated traditions of imagining the stock market as a hypermasculine environment, which endured even after the switch from the physical trading floor to electronic dealing after 1986’s ‘Big Bang’. Gender difference continued to structure financial work in profound ways, and while the City woman became a recognizable figure in popular culture from the 1990s, representations served to underline her incongruity and ‘otherness’ in the world of finance. Opportunities continued to expand, with women appointed to the most senior roles at the London Stock Exchange, and firms increasingly accepting the ‘business case for diversity’. But cultural change was slower, a point which has attracted growing political attention in recent years. Though the London Stock Exchange celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of women in 2023, months later a scathing parliamentary investigation into ‘Sexism in the City’ painted a bleak picture of limited progress. The challenge facing the sector is not simply to break with half a century of inadequate action on diversity but to confront the fact that for 300 years, institutional structures and professional identities in finance have been based on the denigration and marginalization of women.
The Rise of Talmud
Authors: Vidas Moulie
Published: February 2025

The rabbinic sages of late antiquity are known for their sophisticated and creative reading of Scripture, but rabbinic literature also includes elaborate commentary on another kind of text: the sages’ own teachings. This book argues that the development of this commentary, later called Talmud, transformed the sages’ self-perception and intellectual world. By studying the first collection of commentary on rabbinic teachings, the often neglected and difficult Talmud Yerushalmi, and comparing it with earlier rabbinic texts, this study shows how ancient Talmudic scholars presented a new understanding of these teachings: they saw them as the products of individual sages and as resulting from problem-fraught processes of composition and transmission. To examine these aspects, these ancient scholars introduced new types of arguments and reading strategies, such as attribution analysis and textual criticism, into the study of Torah. The result was not only a new understanding of rabbinic teachings, but also a body of scholarship that was decidedly different from rabbinic scholarship on Scripture, since it engaged precisely the type of critical inquiries that rabbinic readings of Scripture avoided. This new perspective on the first Talmud allows us not only to paint a richer picture of rabbinic hermeneutics and interpretive practices, but also to situate ancient Talmudic scholarship among other scholarly traditions of the Greco-Roman world and examine the ways that different ideas, aims, and contexts shape textual scholarship—including our own.
Conclusion
Authors: Vidas Moulie
Published: February 2025

The development of textual scholarship on rabbinic teachings in the Amoraic period had a transformative effect on rabbinic culture. First, it presented a new understanding of the nature of rabbinic teachings, emphasizing aspects of them that were ignored or denied in the Tannaitic period, and therefore resulted in a new concept of Torah and of the rabbinic project. Second, it introduced new types of commentary, arguments, and reading strategies into rabbinic study culture. Tracing these developments allows us to appreciate the contribution represented by the first Talmud, too often seen as the undeveloped or uninteresting sibling of the Bavli; to recognize the rise of commentary on rabbinic teachings as a significant development in Jewish intellectual history; to place Amoraic scholars among other philologically minded elites in the Greco-Roman world; and to examine what this body of scholarship can tell us about different approaches to textual study, including our own.
A Unified Account of Manipulation
Authors: Noggle Robert
Published: February 2025

It appears that some forms of manipulation involve trickery, while others involve pressure. It is tempting to define manipulation as either trickery or pressure. But this does not explain what both forms of manipulation have in common. This chapter seeks a unified account of manipulation. It begins by observing that manipulative pressure is weaker than coercive pressure: It does not make the action solicited by the manipulator the target’s best option. Consequently, manipulative pressure only works when the target mistakenly chooses the option solicited by the manipulator, even though it is not the target’s best option. Thus, manipulative pressure works when the target makes a mistake philosophers call akrasia or weakness of will. This fact points to a common feature of all forms of manipulation: They all work by getting the target to make a mistake. This idea is the core of a new account of manipulation—the Mistake Account.
The Mistake Account
Authors: Noggle Robert
Published: February 2025

This chapter draws on the findings of the previous two chapters to develop formal definitions of ‘M acted manipulatively toward T’, and ‘M manipulated T’, as well as ‘manipulation’, and several senses of ‘manipulative’. It also assembles the cumulative case in favor of the Mistake Account, and in so doing, shows (1) how the Mistake Account properly identifies all the paradigm examples of manipulation from Chapter 2, (2) how it accommodates the Dual Use Phenomenon, and (3) how the parallel it draws between manipulation and deception allows it to avoid making the presence of manipulation depend on how we choose to describe an influence that can be described equally well as involving or not involving a false belief. It concludes by showing how the Mistake Account incorporates important insights from competing accounts of manipulation.
British Muslims in the Neoliberal Empire
Authors: Barylo William
Published: February 2025

Muslims in Europe and North America have been under scrutiny since 9/11 and have faced numerous barriers to attain financial stability, media visibility, and political representation. From the occupation of lands, the world has entered the era of the occupation of minds. State strategies have evolved to offer a dangerous gamble to people from post-colonial diasporas: remain at the margins or silently blend in for the sake of an illusory liberation. Power-hungry Muslim politicians in elite private clubs, politically apathetic social media influencers, multi-million-pound neo-colonial ‘humanitarian’ charities, Muslim far-right sympathizers, and Muslim white supremacists are examples of metacolonialism, turning the oppressed into the new oppressors. Under the promise of financial stability and representation, it has effectively put God for sale at the cost of people’s culture, ethics, identity, and faith. However, in the wake of social justice movements, Muslim activists, artists, and community organizers in Britain have crafted creative responses inspired by their faith in order to resist, heal, and flourish despite minimal resources and support. Informal and independent from institutions, they have established pioneering alternatives in the fields of mental health, community organizing, the protection of the environment, heritage, the arts, and more. Since leadership divides, they have undertaken a duty of stewardship: considering the world and humanity as a one ecosystem that one needs to care for future generation. This work is both a diagnosis and a toolkit looking at the initiatives that reshape public debates and offering working ideas for building a fair and just society.
Introduction
Authors: Barylo William
Published: February 2025

The stripping of citizenship of Shamima Begum led academics and community organizers to realise that British citizenship is a privilege and not a right since the case shows that British minoritized people of immigrant background are foreigners by descent. After an overview of the political, economic, and social situation of Muslims in the UK, Europe, and North America since 9/11, and the impact of social movements such as Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and decolonial efforts across the globe, this introduction explores the genesis and evolution of Muslim activism, grassroots organizations, and community hubs before detailing the method and the author’s background and a summary of the subsequent chapters.
Green Deen and Stewardship
Authors: Barylo William
Published: February 2025

Muslims make increasingly strong connections between Islamic texts and events such as the month of Ramadan and their responsibility towards the planet as a mode of contestation of consumerism and neoliberalism. From fasting from fast food, fast fashion to newsfeeds, more than a form of resistance to colonialism, they abandon the quest for ‘leadership’ and replace it with the Islamic concept of khilafa (stewardship) or service to the world. From building Eco-mosques, advocating for vegan diets, joining global campaigns and movements, or organizing retreats, walks, hikes, and workshops immersed in the English countryside or the mountainous national parks, this spiritual approach to the natural environment is also used as a therapy for reconnecting with God, others and the purpose of existence.
Oceania
Authors: Scott Karen N
Published: February 2025

This chapter focuses first on the role of Oceania as a group and as individual states—primarily Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand—and Fiji during the negotiations for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which emerged at the time the cultural impact of Pacific regionalism had an impact on multilateral processes and made substantive contributions to global State practice. Specific examples include the fundamental role played by Oceania in the formation of the exclusive economic zone, fisheries management practices, the development of the continental shelf, and the provisions governing the prevention of marine pollution. These issues were folded into the text of UNCLOS. This chapter also highlights the dispositive role in the negotiation of UNCLOS of Fijian diplomat Satya N Nandan, who served as rapporteur of the Second Committee of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea and exercised an influential and fundamental role over the drafting of the Convention. The chapter also explores how the highly collaborative regional culture of the Pacific Island states in the wake of decolonization has shaped fisheries management and, more recently, helped obtain consensus on fixing maritime boundaries considering sea level rise. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the likely future impacts of Oceania on the development of the law of the sea as it faces the challenges of climate change: the law of the sea in the Anthropocene.
Association between alcohol sales and facial fracture rates: an ecological analysis
Authors: Arpalahti Annamari , Snäll Johanna , Kanervo Jussi , Haapanen Aleksi , Suominen Anna Liisa , Uittamo Johanna
Published: February 2025

Aims

This study aimed to evaluate national alcohol sales and their association with the number of maxillofacial fractures in Southern Finland.

Methods

Patient data of all facial fracture patients admitted to tertiary trauma centers (Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland) from January 2014 to October 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. Information on alcohol sales in Finland was obtained from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

Results

The annual number of facial fractures increased, as did the number of facial fractures caused by interpersonal violence. Unexpectedly, we found a mostly inverse association between alcohol sales and facial fractures, although three months were associated positively: April, June, and November.

Conclusion

We conclude that although the significance of alcohol use in the etymology of facial fractures has been unmistakably proven neither population-level alcohol use nor interpersonal violence as an injury mechanism explains the increase in facial fractures. However, there are some associations between the seasonality of alcohol consumption and facial fractures, suggesting the same predisposing factors in both. Further, certain groups of users, exceeding a threshold of alcohol use, appear to be responsible for the traumatic presentations in emergency units. Elucidating the associations between alcohol use and facial fractures requires an assessment of patient-specific factors, rather than population-level alcohol use, for a detailed understanding and justification of alcohol policy.
Secondary traumatization of child protection officers in Bedouin society in Israel
Authors: Allassad Alhuzail Nuzha , Mahajne Ibrahim
Published: February 2025

In the Bedouin society in Israel, Child Protection Officers (CPOs) are exposed to the risk of secondary traumatization due to their work’s challenging character. They navigate through a complicated, complex field of cultural traditions and institutional structures. Protecting children at risk becomes a daunting task and often puts CPOs at high risk because of the families’ resistance. Treating difficult cases such as murder and sexual abuse leaves them with mental scars that are not awarded treatment. Many leave the role and some drop out of social work entirely and retrain for another profession. This qualitative study investigated nineteen CPOs’ experiences. Data analysis identified three themes: (1) ‘Hidden shadows of trauma’—the consequences of secondary traumatization, represented by CPOs who left the social work profession. (2) ‘Being torn between two worlds’: the price of double loyalty, a feeling of social rejection, experienced by CPOs who felt more loyal to Israeli law and less to their society’s values. They left the field of child protection but continued to work as social workers. (3) ‘Justice in the heavens’: between despair and hope, this theme was represented by CPOs able to deal with the consequences of their challenging work, who independently turned for help.
Inbreeding depression in male reproductive traits
Authors: Vasudeva R , Sales K , Gage M J G , Hosken D J
Published: February 2025

Inbreeding frequently leads to inbreeding depression, a general reduction in trait values and loss of fitness, and it appears that some sexually selected traits are especially sensitive to inbreeding, but sperm may be an exception. Additionally, because inbreeding depression is always in the direction of low fitness, it can reveal the direction of past selection acting on trait values. Here, we experimentally manipulate levels of inbreeding in a beetle (Tribolium castaneum) by full-sib mating for six generations. This breeding design allowed us to track the effects of increasing homozygosity on male reproductive traits (sperm and testes size), male size and lifespan, and reproductive output within inbred families, and on the heritability of these traits. All traits measured showed significant inbreeding depression and heritabilities tended to increase with inbreeding. Since inbreeding resulted in shorter sperm and smaller testes, it suggests that longer sperm and larger testes confer higher fitness in this beetle.
Histones HIST1 genes and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in a child with gamma delta T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia by single-cell sequencing
Authors: Luo Xiao-Hua , Zhu Yan , Duan Xiao-Qin , Peng Wen , Pei Cai-Xia , Yang Li , Li Qing , Zhao Min , Wang Lan
Published: February 2025

Gamma delta T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (γδ T-ALL) represents a rare subset of T-ALL and is correlated with high rates of induction failure, relapse and increased mortality. γδ T-ALL lacks a biologically-informed framework for guiding its classification and treatment strategies. In this report, we detail a case of child with γδ T-ALL who underwent induction chemotherapy and intensification treatment, followed by haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The patient achieved a clinical complete remission and remains minimal residual disease negative with chidamide maintenance post-transplantation. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed a connection between histones HIST1 genes and gamma delta T-ALL, and identified potential effector functions of γδ T cells in combating this leukemia. This case carries significant implications for managing γδ T-ALL, highlighting the relationship between histone modification patterns and gamma delta tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in γδ T-ALL cells for developing novel therapeutic approaches.
Disassembly of unstable RNA structures by an E. coli DEAD-box chaperone accelerates ribosome assembly
Authors: Sun Yunsheng , Woodson Sarah A
Published: February 2025

Ribosome synthesis in bacteria is coupled with transcription of the pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA), which must fold and assemble with 20 or more ribosomal proteins. In vitro, the Escherichia coli pre-16S rRNA misfolds during transcription, delaying stable binding of ribosomal protein uS4 that nucleates assembly of the 16S 5′ domain. Using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, we show that the DEAD-box protein CsdA (DeaD) strongly accelerates uS4 binding by facilitating proper folding of the nascent rRNA. Unstable RNA structures are unfolded by CsdA, whereas stable RNA structures resist unwinding. We show that CsdA unfolding becomes less frequent as more ribosomal proteins add to the complex. The results demonstrate that disassembly of unstable, nascent RNA–protein complexes by chaperones fuels the search for native structure. We propose that general chaperones create a gradient of disassembly that steepens the hierarchy of proper protein addition until late assembly intermediates escape unwinding and commit to 30S maturation.
Re-Remembering Chicago House Music’s Queer of Color History Through the Legacy of Frankie Knuckles
Authors: Salkind Micah
Published: February 2025

The first half of this chapter explores the “Godfather” status of Chicago DJ and producer Frankie Knuckles. Using close readings of Thing magazine, a local, self-published arts and culture zine, it argues that Knuckles’ role as an in-demand DJ and remixer at times clashed with the aesthetic priorities of the original queer of color fanbase that gave him his honorific, but never to a degree that jeopardized his status as an authenticating figure. The second half of the chapter examines how contemporary audiences have re-remembered Knuckles’ role in the genesis and global diffusion of Chicago house music and culture using a diverse array of commemorative practices. It argues that earlier modes of cultural affiliation with Knuckles complicate, and are complicated by, recent consumer-oriented civic initiatives meant to memorialize his legacy in a global heritage-making landscape.
Straight Edge Punk
Authors: Haenfler Ross
Published: February 2025

This chapter explores the intersections of music-based subcultures and social change, proposing that lifestyle movements offer one possibility for theorizing the connections between the two. It suggests that scholars have often defined subculture, social movement, and protest too narrowly; by contrast, this chapter conceptualizes “protest” beyond collective action; music beyond its sonic qualities as an element of popular culture; and music subcultures beyond youthful style, leisure, and purely symbolic resistance. The chapter uses straight edge—a clean-living, global youth movement associated with the hardcore punk scene—to illustrate the core features of lifestyle movements, ultimately showing how music subcultures engage in a different form of social change. Music, as both leisure and politics interwoven into the fabric of daily life, forms for some fans the basis of a music identity that guides lifestyle choices and connects those choices to social change.
Adorno on Nature and Animals
Authors: Flodin Camilla
Published: February 2025

This chapter addresses Adorno’s dialectical understanding of nature and how he rethinks the concept of nature by relating it to concepts that at first glance may appear as mere opposites of nature: history, freedom, reason, and art. By comparing Adorno’s views with those of his main interlocutors (Kant, Hegel, and Marx), the chapter demonstrates his unique contribution to understanding nature. Adorno’s crucial conception of domination of nature and its consequences is illuminated, not neglecting the most obvious instantiation of this domination: the oppression of other animals. The possibility of an end to domination is, for Adorno, kept alive by art in its mimesis of natural beauty. The chapter concludes by arguing for Adorno’s continuing relevance to come to grips with our detrimental relationship to the natural world.