bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Micro- and Nanoscale Surface Analysis of Late Iron Age Glass from Broborg, a Vitrified Swedish Hillfort
Authors: Matthews Bethany E , Neeway James J , Farias Lorena Nava , Marcial José , Arey Bruce W , Soltis Jennifer , Kovarik Libor , Zhu Zihua , Schweiger Michael J , Canfield Nathan , Varga Tamas , Bowden Mark E , Weaver Jamie L , McCloy John S , Sjöblom Rolf , Hjärthner-Holdar Eva , Englund Mia , Ogenhall Erik , Vicenzi Edward P , Corkhill Claire L , Thorpe Clare , Hand Russell J , Peeler David K , Pearce Carolyn I , Kruger Albert A
Published: January 2023

Archaeological glasses with prolonged exposure to biogeochemical processes in the environment can be used to understand glass alteration, which is important for the safe disposal of vitrified nuclear waste. Samples of mafic and felsic glasses with different chemistries, formed from melting amphibolitic and granitoid rocks, were obtained from Broborg, a Swedish Iron Age hillfort. Glasses were excavated from the top of the hillfort wall and from the wall interior. A detailed microscopic, spectroscopic, and diffraction study of surficial textures and chemistries were conducted on these glasses. Felsic glass chemistry was uniform, with a smooth surface showing limited chemical alteration (<150 nm), irrespective of the position in the wall. Mafic glass was heterogeneous, with pyroxene, spinel, feldspar, and quartz crystals in the glassy matrix. Mafic glass surfaces in contact with topsoil were rougher than those within the wall and had carbon-rich material consistent with microbial colonization. Limited evidence for chemical or physical alteration of mafic glass was found; the thin melt film that coated all exposed surfaces remained intact, despite exposure to hydraulically unsaturated conditions, topsoil, and associated microbiome for over 1,500 years. This supports the assumption that aluminosilicate nuclear waste glasses will have a high chemical durability in near-surface disposal facilities.
Impact of instrument and data characteristics in the interferometric reconstruction of the 21 cm power spectrum
Authors: Gorce Adélie , Ganjam Samskruthi , Liu Adrian , Murray Steven G , Abdurashidova Zara , Adams Tyrone , Aguirre James E , Alexander Paul , Ali Zaki S , Baartman Rushelle , Balfour Yanga , Beardsley Adam P , Bernardi Gianni , Billings Tashalee S , Bowman Judd D , Bradley Richard F , Bull Philip , Burba Jacob , Carey Steven , Carilli Chris L , Cheng Carina , DeBoer David R , Acedo Eloy de Lera , Dexter Matt , Dillon Joshua S , Eksteen Nico , Ely John , Ewall-Wice Aaron , Fagnoni Nicolas , Fritz Randall , Furlanetto Steven R , Gale-Sides Kingsley , Glendenning Brian , Gorthi Deepthi , Greig Bradley , Grobbelaar Jasper , Halday Ziyaad , Hazelton Bryna J , Hewitt Jacqueline N , Hickish Jack , Jacobs Daniel C , Julius Austin , Kariseb MacCalvin , Kern Nicholas S , Kerrigan Joshua , Kittiwisit Piyanat , Kohn Saul A , Kolopanis Matthew , Lanman Adam , Plante Paul La , Loots Anita , MacMahon David Harold Edward , Malan Lourence , Malgas Cresshim , Malgas Keith , Marero Bradley , Martinot Zachary E , Mesinger Andrei , Molewa Mathakane , Morales Miguel F , Mosiane Tshegofalang , Neben Abraham R , Nikolic Bojan , Nuwegeld Hans , Parsons Aaron R , Patra Nipanjana , Pieterse Samantha , Pober Jonathan C , Razavi-Ghods Nima , Robnett James , Rosie Kathryn , Sims Peter , Swarts Hilton , Thyagarajan Nithyanandan , van Wyngaarden Pieter , Williams Peter K G , Zheng Haoxuan
Published: January 2023

Combining the visibilities measured by an interferometer to form a cosmological power spectrum is a complicated process. In a delay-based analysis, the mapping between instrumental and cosmological space is not a one-to-one relation. Instead, neighbouring modes contribute to the power measured at one point, with their respective contributions encoded in the window functions. To better understand the power measured by an interferometer, we assess the impact of instrument characteristics and analysis choices on these window functions. Focusing on the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) as a case study, we find that long-baseline observations correspond to enhanced low-k tails of the window functions, which facilitate foreground leakage, whilst an informed choice of bandwidth and frequency taper can reduce said tails. With simple test cases and realistic simulations, we show that, apart from tracing mode mixing, the window functions help accurately reconstruct the power spectrum estimator of simulated visibilities. The window functions depend strongly on the beam chromaticity and less on its spatial structure – a Gaussian approximation, ignoring side lobes, is sufficient. Finally, we investigate the potential of asymmetric window functions, down-weighting the contribution of low-k power to avoid foreground leakage. The window functions presented here correspond to the latest HERA upper limits for the full Phase I data. They allow an accurate reconstruction of the power spectrum measured by the instrument and will be used in future analyses to confront theoretical models and data directly in cylindrical space.
ATR inhibition overcomes platinum tolerance associated with ERCC1- and p53-deficiency by inducing replication catastrophe
Authors: Heyza Joshua R , Ekinci Elmira , Lindquist Jacob , Lei Wen , Yunker Christopher , Vinothkumar Vilvanathan , Rowbotham Rachelle , Polin Lisa , Snider Natalie G , Van Buren Eric , Watza Donovan , Back Jessica B , Chen Wei , Mamdani Hirva , Schwartz Ann G , Turchi John J , Bepler Gerold , Patrick Steve M
Published: January 2023

ERCC1/XPF is a heterodimeric DNA endonuclease critical for repair of certain chemotherapeutic agents. We recently identified that ERCC1- and p53-deficient lung cancer cells are tolerant to platinum-based chemotherapy. ATR inhibition synergistically re-stored platinum sensitivity to platinum tolerant ERCC1-deficient cells. Mechanistically we show this effect is reliant upon several functions of ATR including replication fork protection and altered cell cycle checkpoints. Utilizing an inhibitor of replication protein A (RPA), we further demonstrate that replication fork protection and RPA availability are critical for platinum-based drug tolerance. Dual treatment led to increased formation of DNA double strand breaks and was associated with chromosome pulverization. Combination treatment was also associated with increased micronuclei formation which were capable of being bound by the innate immunomodulatory factor, cGAS, suggesting that combination platinum and ATR inhibition may also enhance response to immunotherapy in ERCC1-deficient tumors. In vivo studies demonstrate a significant effect on tumor growth delay with combination therapy compared with single agent treatment. Results of this study have led to the identification of a feasible therapeutic strategy combining ATR inhibition with platinum and potentially immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors to overcome platinum tolerance in ERCC1-deficient, p53-mutant lung cancers.
Targeted zinc-finger repressors to the oncogenic HBZ gene inhibit adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) proliferation
Authors: Scott Tristan A , Soemardy Citradewi , Ray Roslyn M , Morris Kevin V
Published: January 2023

Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infects CD4+ T-cells resulting in a latent, life-long infection in patients. Crosstalk between oncogenic viral factors results in the transformation of the host cell into an aggressive cancer, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). ATL has a poor prognosis with no currently available effective treatments, urging the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Recent evidence exploring those mechanisms contributing to ATL highlights the viral anti-sense gene HTLV-I bZIP factor (HBZ) as a tumor driver and a potential therapeutic target. In this work, a series of zinc-finger protein (ZFP) repressors were designed to target within the HTLV-I promoter that drives HBZ expression at highly conserved sites covering a wide range of HTLV-I genotypes. ZFPs were identified that potently suppressed HBZ expression and resulted in a significant reduction in the proliferation and viability of a patient-derived ATL cell line with the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. These data encourage the development of this novel ZFP strategy as a targeted modality to inhibit the molecular driver of ATL, a possible next-generation therapeutic for aggressive HTLV-I associated malignancies.
Death and Burial in the Bronze Age Aegean
Authors: Murphy Joanne M. A.
Published: January 2023

Death and burials have featured prominently in discussions of Bronze Age Greek society since the inception of the field. The reason behind this is twofold: (1) Early archaeologists prioritized the excavation of tombs and palaces over other types of sites; and (2) Tombs frequently contain a thesaurus of well-preserved array of artifacts such as pottery, but also luxury items, such as gold, semi-precious stones, and bronzes, which contribute to our reconstruction of many aspects of ancient life. Early publications of the tombs tended to focus on a catalog of artifacts and assumed that there was a direct correlation between the tombs and the community. In the last forty years the way in which the tombs and their contents have been studied has shifted to a more dynamic relationship between the tombs, their contents, and the related society. There are several different common tomb types used throughout the Bronze Age (BA) in Greece. Burials in pits (simple sub-rectangular hole) and cists (simple dug holes but some have walls) are found sporadically throughout the BA; intramural burials (burials inside houses) tend to be limited to Early (EBA) and Middle Bronze Age (MBA) on the mainland; tumuli (a somewhat semi-spherical shaped mound of earth that was built over burials or that burials were placed in) also date to late Early Helladic (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) on the mainland; with the exception of the MH II example on Aegina, shaft graves (large rectangular pits with the sides of the pit lined with built walls) have only been found on the mainland and date predominantly to MH III/Late Helladic (LH) I—II; house tombs (built rectangular tombs) have only been found on Crete in the EBA and MBA; tholos tombs (built tombs with circular plan and sometime with added rectangular rooms; larger in the Late Bronze Age) date to EBA and MBA on Crete and the Late Bronze Age (LBA) on Crete, the mainland, and the islands; chamber tombs (cave like tombs dug into the side of hills) date to EH II on Euboea and LBA I–III on Crete, the mainland, and the islands. Most of our data from tombs comes from Crete and the Peloponnese although recent studies have focused on tombs in the Dodecanese and central and northern Greece. Skeletal remains from the tombs have been understudied, but recent endeavors are rectifying this pattern and are adding to our understanding of the gender division in the tombs and differential access to food resources.
Euripides' Orestes
Authors: Moore Timothy , Karageorgiou Efimia
Published: January 2023

Orestes (408 bce) is the last extant play Euripides produced in Athens before he left for Macedon, and it is widely believed to reflect the poet’s bitterness at the city’s political and moral turmoil during the last years of the Peloponnesian War. It includes a number of unique features, including conspicuous intertextuality and anachronism, touching scenes of friendship, a remarkable portrayal of madness or apparent madness onstage, exciting stage action, Greek tragedy’s longest agon, characters who would seem to draw both sympathy and disgust from the audience, and striking musical effects. It was the most popular tragedy in Antiquity, and it speaks especially well to the concerns and troubles of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The plot begins a few days after Orestes, following the command of Apollo, has killed his mother Clytemnestra. He lies on stage asleep, deathly ill, tormented by the Furies, and the Argive assembly will soon vote on whether to stone him. Electra, who is watching over him, delivers the prologue. After a brief scene with Helen, who has stopped in Argos on her way back from Troy with Menelaus, Electra is joined by a chorus of Argive women, who are sympathetic to Electra and Orestes. Orestes awakes and sees the Furies, but recovers and is consoled by Electra. Orestes’ one hope for salvation is disappointed when Menelaus refuses to help him after a heated debate between Orestes and Tyndareus, the father of Clytemnestra and Helen. Pylades arrives, exiled from his own home by his father because of his role in the matricide, and Orestes decides to go with him to the assembly to plead in his own defense. He is unsuccessful: the assembly orders that both Orestes and Electra must kill themselves. After agreeing to die along with his friends, Pylades proposes that before dying they kill Helen in order to gain vengeance on Menelaus. Electra adds an additional suggestion: that they hold Menelaus’s daughter Hermione hostage so that Menelaus will protect them from the Argives. The gods rescue Helen, but when Menelaus arrives, Orestes threatens to kill Hermione and to burn down the palace, at which point Apollo appears, takes the blame for the matricide, orders Orestes to marry Hermione, and explains that Helen has become a goddess.
Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
Authors: Pettus Carrie , Tripodi Stephen , Paseda Oluwayomi
Published: January 2023

America began the dramatic growth of its criminal justice system in the 1970s that led to the United States becoming the world’s largest jailer by the 21st century—a time period commonly referred to as mass incarceration. On any given day, approximately two million people are locked behind prisons and jail bars across the country, and over eleven million people cycle in and out of jails and prisons each year. As of the 2020s, there is widespread recognition that racial and social inequities fuel the constant churn of people in and out of the criminal justice and legal systems, leading to the burgeoning of advocacy groups and researchers calling to not only reform but transform the American way of conducting legal and correctional processing of crime. Promote Smart Decarceration was adopted by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (now powered by the Grand Challenges for Social Work) in 2015 as an organizing framework for data-driven and evaluative reforms. Smart decarceration is a framework with four guiding concepts: 1) Changing the narrative on incarceration and the incarcerated, 2) Generating criminal justice system-wide innovations, 3) implementing transdisciplinary policy and practice interventions, and 4) employing evidence-driven strategies. Smart decarceration adheres to the principle that in order for transformation to be achieved, both new evidence and existing evidence will guide decision-making and the diffusion of innovations. The achievement of smart decarceration will be evidenced when these three outcomes are simultaneously met: (1) the incarcerated population in US jails and prisons is substantially decreased, (2) racial and economic disparities in the criminal justice system are redressed, and (3) community safety and public well-being are maximized. Efforts to transform the criminal justice system are wide-ranging and include strategies such as legislative policy reform, prevention programming, public-messaging campaigns, empirical documentation of problems and solutions, employer hiring initiatives, diversion and deflection efforts, specialty courts, correctional programs, and behavioral interventions. The evidence base is growing for a reimagined criminal justice system, and the state of data-driven approaches to criminal behavior, legal processes, and punishment will likely look very different in 2030 than approaches do in the first two decades of the 2000s. This entry provides a state-of-the-evidence review of scholarship responsive to and informing the tenetsof smart decarceration.
Buddhism and Orientalism
Authors: Harris Elizabeth
Published: January 2023

Orientalists (Westerners who studied Asian cultures) arose in the period of European expansionism. Their passion was to produce knowledge of the languages, literatures, religions, and philosophies of the “East.” The Palestinian American Edward Said (b. 1935–d. 2003) was the first to theorize this activity, placing it within cultural and political studies with the argument that orientalism was a tool of Western global domination and manipulation. It was complicit with Western colonialism and distorted and restructured the “East” in order to exert power over it. Said focused on the Middle East and Islam. He gave little credit to the agency of those who were the objects of orientalism and was dismissive of the motivation of orientalists. His argument was then extended by others to cover religions such as Buddhism. Saidian scholars of Buddhist history argued that orientalism mined Buddhism to serve Western interests, textualized and reified it, and even introduced to Buddhists the idea that their religious practice formed a separate “religion.” Said’s argument forms the bottom line of the contemporary study of Buddhism and orientalism but has been contested, particularly by those who argue that the production of knowledge about Buddhism during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was neither the product of the dominant West nor Asia alone but rather of their interaction within the context of modernism. What is beyond doubt is that the activity of Western orientalists in these centuries gave birth to new formulations of Buddhism both in Asia and the West that have been given different labels: Protestant Buddhism, Buddhist Revivalism, Buddhist Modernism, Westernized Buddhism. This bibliography includes primary sources, namely the writings of orientalists up to the early twentieth century, and contemporary scholarship within the field of Buddhism and orientalism. It recognizes that not only Buddhist studies in the West but also some Western Buddhist communities were children of orientalism and are still influenced by it. However, it also recognizes that orientalist representations of Buddhism were diverse, influenced variously by Western rationalism and scientific method, Christian missionary activity, and Western interest in spiritualism, the esoteric, and the occult. It should be remembered that the items listed in each section are illustrative and not comprehensive.
Giovanni da Verrazzano, Explorer
Authors: Codignola Luca
Published: January 2023

Giovanni da Verrazzano was a navigator of Tuscan origin, said to be born either in 1491 (or less likely in 1485), who, between 7 March 1524 (sighting of Cape Fear, North Carolina) and early July 1524 (arrival in Dieppe), led his ship Dauphine in the earliest known European exploration of the Eastern coasts of what are now the United States and Canada, from the Carolinas in the south to Nova Scotia and possibly Newfoundland in the North. In his short, dry, and apparently reliable report to the king of France Francis I (dated from Dieppe on 8 July 1524), he described the local flora and fauna, together with the Indigenous peoples he met. The main purpose of his 1524 crossing and of the expeditions that preceded and followed it was the finding of a Northwest Passage to Cathay (East Indies). The French Crown granted its patronage to the 1524 expedition, which was financially backed by investors in Florence and France (Rouen, Lyons), most of them of Tuscan origin. However, since the continental passage was not found and the surveyed coastline did not reveal any economic potential that could be compared to the Spanish riches in the south, Verrazzano’s 1524 expedition did not yield any follow-up and the eastern coastline north of Florida did not attract any new attempt at discovery until the early 17th century. Most of Verrazzano’s life is still shrouded in mystery. The date and place of his birth are unknown, nothing is known of his early years, and his possible participation in a 1508 voyage to the Gulf of St. Lawrence is not documented. He was probably active in Mediterranean trade, but the time of his joining the Florentine circles of relatives and friends in France before 1521 is again mostly conjectural. Lastly, there exists no other documentation of his 1524 crossing except his own report. After the 1524 expedition he was involved in an expedition to Brazil (1526–1527) and in another to Florida and the Lesser Antilles (1528), where he is said to have met with violent death.
Gender and Diplomacy
Authors: Niklasson Birgitta
Published: January 2023

The scholarship on gender and diplomacy is a young research field; most of the works referenced here have been written since the mid-2000s, although the first studies appeared in the late 1960s. Still, this is not very long ago considering how far back in history diplomacy as a phenomenon reaches (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article “History of Diplomacy”), but also in relation to mainstream research on diplomacy (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article “Diplomacy”). Perhaps this is not very surprising though, given that other adjacent fields focusing on gender are also young (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies articles “Gender and International Relations,” under the subject Political Science; “Women and Peacemaking/Peacekeeping”; “Feminist Security Studies”; “Women and Conflict Studies,” also found under Political Science; and “Gender and International Security,” located under International Law). What distinguishes the research on gender and diplomacy from those related fields is its focus on the role of gender in bilateral interactions via representatives that concern the relationship between the two states involved. Negotiation is one form that these interactions may take, which is why references to negotiation studies are sometimes included here when they involve diplomats. These studies primarily belong to a separate research field, however (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article “International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution”). The early studies on gender and diplomacy primarily concentrate on women’s informal roles in diplomacy. In fact, the great majority of these studies are of women in diplomacy, for example, as diplomatic wives or members of powerful families, since the number of women admitted formally into the foreign services as professionals was very low before the 1970s. After this, women started pursuing diplomatic careers in growing numbers and the research field shifted somewhat to follow their struggles. Similar research questions guide both studies on diplomatic wives and female professionals, however. They concern to what positions, posts, and tasks women are assigned; the structures and norms of the institutions to which they are associated; and the impact that gender diversity and gender awareness might have on how diplomacy it is done, organized, and perceived. The methods applied in answering these questions are primarily qualitative case studies of individual diplomats, or Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the Western world, particularly of the United States and Great Britain. There are some examples of ethnographic work and systematic comparative and statistical studies, but they are few. The research is also largely empirical and descriptive, which leaves much room for stringent theoretical analyses, causal investigations, and theory development.
Public Opinion toward the Environment and Climate Change in the United States
Authors: Coleman Eric A. , Stewart James
Published: January 2023

In the United States, public opinion on environmental issues is characterized by high levels of political polarization. This was not always the case. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970, and most environmental legislation like the Clean Water Act (1972) and the Clean Air Act (1963) was established during the “environmental decade” in the Nixon administration. Since that time, however, environmental issues have become increasingly polarized. Both the science of and policy solutions to global climate change have been especially polarized. A huge interdisciplinary body of work in public opinion, political communication, political psychology, environmental and social psychology, science communication, sociology, anthropology, and behavioral economics has all sought to understand people’s attitudes toward environmental issues, how they prioritize different issues, support toward public and private initiatives to address environmental problems, how to change such attitudes, and the impact of environmental attitudes on public and private behavior. This article reviews some of the main trends in this literature, theoretical foundations of these phenomena, and empirical evidence. It then briefly reviewing the evidence of the impact of such attitudes on public and private behavior, and concludes with a list of resources and journals.
Language for Specific Purposes/Specialized Communication
Authors: Engberg Jan
Published: January 2023

All work in the field of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) has, as its basic assumption, that language use and the production of meaning is influenced by the relation between sender and receiver, and especially between the social factor of the degree of expertise of senders and receivers. Hence, a basic theoretical concept in such research is the assessment of degrees of knowledge asymmetries between the parties in a communicative interaction with a focus upon the fact that the involved expert belongs to a specialized domain of knowledge and discourse. To say that discursive domains are specialized means that it is possible to become a socially acknowledged specialist of the domain, through education, training, or experience. This covers primarily professional areas, but also in principle nonprofessional areas like hobbies. LSP research traditionally grew out of studies of linguistic variation especially from a sociolinguistic perspective and thus started out with a clear system linguistic and, to a large extent, lexical perspective, as reflected in the considerable influence of terminological standardization and its philosophical background in logical positivism. With the rise of the concepts of texts and genres in applied linguistics since the 1980s, a clear push toward widening the scope toward the communicative situation and its linguistic repercussions has been visible. Additionally, since the early 2000s, the general interest in linguistics for the role of cognition and knowledge in connection with language and communication means that especially aspects of knowledge structures of different participants in a communicative situation have been included in the realm of studies. Consequently, processes behind formulating and understanding experts’ communication are now in the focus of the discipline. The widening of the scope over time has had the consequence that the discipline is nowadays also called Specialized Communication in order to indicate that, although the concept of linguistic variety and terminological standardization has not disappeared from eyesight, it is only one among more applied-linguistic perspectives. Instead, the discipline looks at (in principle all) aspects of actual communication in specialized discursive domains.
Psychoneuroimmunology
Authors: Chen Michelle A. , Fagundes Christopher P.
Published: January 2023

The field of psychoneuroimmunology is concerned with how psychological factors “get under the skin” to impact the nervous system and immune system. Using observational longitudinal and experimental methods, researchers in the field of psychoneuroimmunology have found that psychological factors can dysregulate the immune system, the central and peripheral nervous system, and the endocrine system in ways that influence wound healing, latent herpesvirus reactivation, vaccine responses, susceptibility to viruses, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production (i.e., production of proteins that signal immune cells that promote inflammation). Specifically, neurotransmitters and hormones regulate immune cells, which in turn have vast clinical implications on health and immunity. Theories and methods within psychoneuroimmunology have been utilized to investigate a wide array of physical health problems from asthma to cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Interpersonal stressors appear to have a particularly significant impact on these systems in comparison to non-interpersonal stressors. Furthermore, stressors that occur early in life may have a lasting effect on the immune system, the endocrine system, and the nervous system into adulthood and old age. The field has become increasingly focused on how the immune system can impact mood and behavior. Indeed, certain types of depression and fatigue appear to be affected by dysregulated immunity. Emerging areas of investigation include a focus on interactions between the brain, gut, mitochondria, and diet. Finally, there is great interest in understanding how epigenetic processes (i.e., how genes are expressed) emerge from life experiences, impacting immunity and disease.
Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: Han Xiao , Liu Weidong
Published: January 2023

The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) has been an eye-catching term among social scientists, including human geographers, across the world. Pointing to the Chinese call for new modes of regional and international cooperation, the BRI originates from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal to develop a “Silk Road Economic Belt” (“One Belt”) and a “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (“One Road”) during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013. In 2015, the Chinese central government released an Action Plan of the BRI, publicizing its designated principles, framework, as well as cooperation priorities and mechanisms of promoting the BRI. This White Paper has also specified five focuses of future BRI development, including policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure and facilities, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties. At the end of the BRI’s first five-year development in 2018, the Chinese government announced that it had signed BRI-oriented cooperative agreements with more than one hundred countries and international organizations. Since then, the Chinese government proposed to promote the “high quality” development of the BRI and gradually added new keywords to this grand scheme, including but not limited to “green,” “digital,” and “health.” Existing literature on BRI has incorporated insights of geography, economics, international relations, development studies, and environmental studies. This article contours existing knowledge on the BRI in geography and related disciplines in social sciences, with an integrated sensitivity to spatial embeddedness of specific BRI practices and its consequences. A considerable thread of BRI literature has examined the political economic nature of BRI. The BRI is understood as a Chinese preferred “spatial fix” to its domestic overaccumulation problems as well as a tool to serve China’s geopolitical interests through the making of discourses, imaginaries, and on-ground practices. BRI boosts investment and trade flows through infrastructure and connectivity projects. Although scholarly attention is often paid to the Chinese state as a whole in the discursive and strategic making of BRI, subnational state actors and non-state actors also actively engage with host country actors for specific BRI projects, the implementation of which can be affected by the combined path dependency and temporal-spatial conditions. BRI, in turn, is also examined to inform the nature of contemporary Chinese politics, the ways in which it benefits or affects the economic development and well-being of other populations and the wider environment, the uncertainties and changing spatiality concerning social, cultural, urban and intellectual issues, as well as for methodological reflections.
BVRI polarization of stars in the direction of Stock 19
Authors: Topasna Gregory A , Mateja Frank M , Kaltcheva Nadejda T
Published: January 2023

We present BVRI polarimetric measurements of nine bright stars in a 15′-square region centered on Stock 19. Seven of them satisfy the Serkowski equation for star light polarization due to interstellar dust. This allowed us to estimate the degree of maximum polarization (pmax) and the wavelength of maximum polarization (λmax). Along this line of sight, pmax ranges from 0.332% to 0.948%, and the average λmax of 0.542 ± 0.018 μm yields a total-to-selective extinction ratio RV = 3.04 ± 0.11. Four of the observed stars were previously listed as high-probability members of Stock 19. However, based on their Gaia distances, they are spread out along the line of sight and show a correlation between polarization and distance that is typical for the diffuse interstellar medium. The extinction, as obtained from dust maps, and the Planck 353 GHz polarization are low for this line of sight, additionally suggesting that these stars might not represent an actual cluster. The polarization parameters of three of the observed stars indicate the possible presence of an intrinsic polarization component, likely due to circumstellar material.
Fear in the mind’s eye: the neural correlates of differential fear acquisition to imagined conditioned stimuli
Authors: Burleigh Lauryn , Greening Steven G
Published: January 2023

Mental imagery is involved in both the expression and treatment of fear-related disorders such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the neural correlates associated with the acquisition and generalization of differential fear conditioning to imagined conditioned stimuli are relatively unknown. In this study, healthy human participants (n = 27) acquired differential fear conditioning to imagined conditioned stimuli paired with a physical unconditioned stimulus (i.e. mild shock), as measured via self-reported fear, the skin conductance response and significant right anterior insula (aIn) activation. Multivoxel pattern analysis cross-classification also demonstrated that the pattern of activity in the right aIn during imagery acquisition was quantifiably similar to the pattern produced by standard visual acquisition. Additionally, mental imagery was associated with significant differential fear generalization. Fear conditioning acquired to imagined stimuli generalized to viewing those same stimuli as measured with self-reported fear and right aIn activity, and likewise fear conditioning to visual stimuli was associated with significant generalized differential self-reported fear and right aIn activity when imagining those stimuli. Together, the study provides a novel understanding of the neural mechanisms associated with the acquisition of differential fear conditioning to imagined stimuli and that of the relationship between imagery and emotion more generally.
Swiss estates and (offshore) trusts: information gathering—recent Swiss case law
Authors: Wüstemann Tina
Published: January 2023

Trustees, foundations, banks, asset managers or tax advisors are often confronted with information requests from heirs of a Swiss estate. In this article, the author provides an overview of the heirs’ rights to information under Swiss contract law and Swiss succession law. She then focuses on a recent decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (case 5A_30/2020), which addresses a claim for information by an executor against a financial institution in possession of trust information. The Swiss Supreme Court clarified in this decision on which basis an heir or an executor of a Swiss estate may lodge an information claim against a Swiss bank with regard to trust accounts or similar financial institutions holding financial information, of which the deceased was not the legal owner but only the beneficial owner.
Ordinary People and the 1979 Royal Commission on the NHS
Authors: Arnold-Forster Agnes
Published: January 2023

In June 1979, the Royal Commission on the National Health Service published its report. Chaired by Sir Alec Merrison, the Commission covered England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 1976, the Royal Commission published and broadcast calls, asking the public to put forward their views on the NHS. In response, they received around 2,460 written evidence submissions, held fifty-eight oral evidence sessions, and met with about 2,800 individuals. In soliciting evidence, the Commission called on people to comment on their experience of the health service, submit that experience as evidence, and contribute suggestions for the NHS’s improvement. These submissions of evidence, mostly in the form of letters written to Merrison, are rich and revealing sources. While NHS staff, trade unionists, and professional organizations were invited to contribute their perspectives, patients and other non-clinical members of the British public also penned letters. In this article, I use the evidence submitted by self-proclaimed ‘ordinary’ people to contribute to emerging discussions about post-war British citizenship, and its intimate or quotidian relationship to the welfare state. I use these submissions as evidence for popular anxieties in the 1970s, and to explore the various ways that British citizens experienced and engaged with the NHS; investigate how they felt about its services; and consider the affective and political function of complaint.
Time for Clean Energy? Cleaner Fuels and Women’s Time in Home Production
Authors: Afridi Farzana , Debnath Sisir , Dinkelman Taryn , Sareen Komal
Published: January 2023

In much of the developing world, cooking accounts for the largest share of women’s time in home production. Does relying on solid fuels drive this time burden? This study revisits a clean energy information experiment in rural India to assess the time savings’ potential of cleaner cooking technologies. Treatment villages were randomly assigned to receive information about negative health effects of cooking with solid fuels and about public subsidies for cleaner liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Time-use data indicate that primary cooks spend almost 24 hours cooking each week. Cleaner fuel use is correlated with about 140 minutes less cooking time each week. Yet households only reduce their weekly cooking time by about 35 minutes in response to the randomized clean energy information nudge. Factors limiting the impact of clean energy nudges on the choice of home production technologies and time use are discussed and an avenue for future research is suggested.
Impacts of Individual Patient Language and Neighborhood Ethnic Enclave on COVID-19 Test Positivity Among Hispanic/Latinx Patients in San Francisco
Authors: Nguyen Kim Hanh , Rubinsky Anna D. , DeRouen Mindy C. , Kemper Kathryn E. , Bibbins-Domingo Kirsten , Lyles Courtney R.
Published: January 2023

Background:

Given the known disparities in COVID-19 within the Hispanic/Latinx community, we sought to examine the interaction between individual-level and neighborhood-level social determinants of health using linked electronic health record data.

Methods:

We examined electronic health record data linked to neighborhood data among Hispanic/Latinx patients tested for COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, from 2 large health care systems in San Francisco. Hispanic/Latinx ethnic enclave is measured using an index of census-tract level indicators of ethnicity, nativity, and language. Multilevel logistic regression models examined associations between ethnic enclave and COVID-19 positivity (COVID-19+), adjusting for patient-level sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and health system. Cross-level interactions were used to test whether associations between ethnic enclave and COVID-19+ differed by patient language preference.

Results:

Among 26,871 patients, mean age was 37 years, 56% had Spanish-language preference, and 21% were COVID-19+. In unadjusted models, patients living in the highest versus lowest Hispanic/Latinx enclave had 3.2 higher odds of COVID-19+ (95% CI, 2.45–4.24). Adjusted, the relationship between ethnic enclave and COVID-19+ was attenuated, but not eliminated (odds ratio: 1.4; 95% CI, 1.13–1.17). Our results demonstrated a significant cross-level interaction, such that the influence of ethnic enclave was modified by patient language preference. For individuals with Spanish-language preference, risk of COVID-19+ was high regardless of neighborhood context, whereas for those with English preference, neighborhood ethnic enclave more than doubled the odds of infection.

Conclusions:

Findings suggest that a multilevel and intersectional approach to the study of COVID-19 inequities may illuminate dimensions of health inequity that affect marginalized communities and offer insights for targeted clinical and community-based interventions.
Evaluation of the Common bile duct (CBD) Diameter After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC) and Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration (LCBDE)
Authors: Pallaneeandee Nayagan Kavidassen , Govindan Shankara Subramanyam , Zi Jun Liu
Published: January 2023

Background:

Common Bile duct (CBD) measurement is a crucial aspect in the evaluation of the biliary tree. Whether the CBD undergoes any compensatory change in diameter after laparoscopic cholecystectomy or laparoscopic common bile duct exploration is still up for discussion. The aim of this study was to investigate CBD diameter changes after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).

Materials and Methods:

Our retrospective study is divided into 2 sections. The first part assessing CBD diameter changes after laparoscopic cholecystectomy due to gallstones or gallbladder polyps, involved 85 patients, who underwent MRCP procedures. These patients aged between 30 and 85 were divided into an interval LC group (group A, n=56) and a remote LC group (group B, n=29). In group A, the common CBD diameters were measured at their widest portions on MRCP obtained before and after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Measurements of the CBD diameters were repeated on MRCP obtained twice after the surgery in group B.

Section 2 consisted of 38 patients who had choledocholithiasis and were treated with laparoscopic CBD exploration and T-tube placement. These patients aged 26 to 86 formed the interval LCBDE group (group C). The CBD widest diameters were measured on MRCP before LCBDE and after T-tube cholangiography for these individuals.

Patients in groups A and C were further divided into 5 and those in group B into 4 age-related subgroups to facilitate statistical analysis. The Pearson correlation test was performed to find any relationship between CBD diameters and age in groups A and B. Paired sample T test was used to compare the significant difference between the 2 sets of CBD diameters in each study group and their subgroups.

Results:

In the interval LC group, the post-LC mean CBD diameter was significantly wider when compared with the preoperative mean diameter (P<0.05). There was a significant difference between the first and second post-LC means CBD diameter in the remote LC group (P<0.05). In group C, the mean CBD diameter measured on T-tube cholangiography after LCBDE was significantly smaller than the preoperative dilated mean diameter (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

This study demonstrated significant dilation occurring in the common bile duct diameter after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Furthermore, our remote LC group also supported that claim by showing significant dilation between the first and second post-cholecystectomy CBD diameter values. And lastly, our interval LCBDE sample’s initial dilation of the CBD diameters was reduced after surgery and stone extraction.
In silico
screening of ethyl 4-[(E)-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)methyleneamino]benzoate and some of its derivatives for their NLO activities using DFT
Authors: Kiven Dinyuy Emmanuel , Nkungli Nyiang Kennet , Tasheh Stanley Numbonui , Ghogomu Julius Numbonui
Published: January 2023

The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of ethyl 4-[(
E
)-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)methyleneamino]benzoate (EMAB) and some of its derivatives are investigated herein using the density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent (TD)-DFT methods. The density functionals B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, M06-2X and
ω
B97XD, and basis sets 6-31 + G**, 6-311 + + G** and Def2-TZVPP have been used. From the results, EMAB and its substituted derivatives studied are promising candidates for NLO materials. In all cases, the static first and second hyperpolarizabilities (31.7–86.5 × 10
−30
and 84.4–273 × 10
−36
electrostatic units (esu), respectively) and the frequency-dependent NLO properties are found to be significantly larger (about 43–103 and 28–76 times greater) than those of the NLO prototypical molecule,
para
-nitroaniline. Furthermore, the maximum absorption wavelengths of the molecules fall within the UV region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Relative to EMAB, the derivatives have shown improved transparency–nonlinearity trade-offs. Natural bond orbital (NBO) and density of states (DOS) analyses herein revealed effective charge transfer within the molecules studied, especially those with stronger electron donors than that in EMAB (methoxy group). Among the molecules studied, the derivative obtained by substituting EMAB's methoxy group with the pyrrolyl group was found to exhibit the best NLO properties. Conclusively, the NLO activities of EMAB can be significantly improved through the substitution of its methoxy group with stronger electron donors.
High virulence is associated with pathogen spreadability in a songbird–bacterial system
Authors: Hawley Dana M. , Thomason Courtney A. , Aberle Matt A. , Brown Richard , Adelman James S.
Published: January 2023

How directly transmitted pathogens benefit from harming hosts is key to understanding virulence evolution. It is recognized that pathogens benefit from high within-host loads, often associated with virulence. However, high virulence may also directly augment spread of a given amount of pathogen, here termed ‘spreadability’. We used house finches and the conjunctival pathogenMycoplasma gallisepticumto test whether two components of virulence—the severity of conjunctival inflammation and behavioural morbidity produced—predict pathogen spreadability. We applied ultraviolet powder around the conjunctiva of finches that were inoculated with pathogen treatments of distinct virulence and measured within-flock powder spread, our proxy for ‘spreadability’. When compared to uninfected controls, birds infected with a high-virulence, but not low-virulence, pathogen strain, spread significantly more powder to flockmates. Relative to controls, high-virulence treatment birds both had more severe conjunctival inflammation—which potentially facilitated powder shedding—and longer bouts on feeders, which serve as fomites. However, food peck rates and displacements with flockmates were lowest in high-virulence treatment birds relative to controls, suggesting inflammatory rather than behavioural mechanisms likely drive augmented spreadability at high virulence. Our results suggest that inflammation associated with virulence can facilitate pathogen spread to conspecifics, potentially favouring virulence evolution in this system and others.