bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bio-engineered, phyto-decorated, multi-form P. betle/ZnO as a potential photocatalytic agent
Authors: Gaur Jyoti , Kumar Sanjeev , Pal Mohinder , Kaur Harpreet , Supreet  , Badru Rahul , Momoh Johnson , Pal Rishi , Kumar Sunil
Published: September 2023

The rising levels of water contamination worldwide signal a significant need for new materials for its restoration in the coming years. This study provides a novel, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach for the production of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) as a promising photocatalyst through the reduction of zinc nitrate hexahydrate using a leaf extract of Piper betle (P. betle). The wurtzite hexagonal structure of ZnO, with a crystallite diameter of 43.44 nm and an energy band gap of 2.97 eV, was seen in P. betle/ZnO. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) study showed that phytochemicals from the P. betle extract were present on the surface of P. betle/ZnO. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analyses revealed the existence of multiple structures scattered evenly (spherical, hexagonal, and rod-shaped). The BET findings indicate that P. betle/ZnO NPs have a highly porous structure with a significant surface area of 97.11 m2/g. The degradation of commercial dye was employed to evaluate the photocatalytic capability of P. betle/ZnO. With ultraviolet radiation, the removal percentage of light green dye might surpass 99% in 80 min with a degradation rate of 2.58 × 10−2 min−1. It was observed that the degradation kinetics follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. P. betle/ZnO is acknowledged as an effective photocatalyst for the treatment of commercial effluent.
Green synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles using Thymus vulgaris leaf extract for biological applications
Authors: K J Mangala
Published: September 2023

In the last few decades, the biosynthesis of nanoparticles using biological agents such as microorganisms or plant extracts has gained a lot of attention due to the growing need for generating safe and non-toxic substances, cost-effective techniques, ecologically friendly solvents, and renewable materials. The aqueous leaf extract of Thymus vulgaris was used in the current investigation to achieve the biosynthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). In this study, leaf extract was used as a size-reducer in synthesis of TiO2. Thyme leaf extract contains flavonoids, phenols, and saponins, which function as both reducing and stabilising agents and are crucial for the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles. Methods such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) were used to characterise TiO2 NPs. The XRD investigations showed that titanium dioxide nanoparticles are crystalline and average crystal size is 28 nm. Gram-positive bacteria like S. aureus and B. subtilis as well as Gram-negative bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used as standardised test microbial inoculums to evaluate the antibacterial properties of biosynthesised nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). Against each of the studied bacteria, the TiO2 nanoparticles demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity. TiO2 nanoparticles had the maximum activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with an inhibitory zone diameter of 14 mm at 100 g ml−1. By using DPPH, hydroxyl radical techniques, the comprehensive antioxidant activity of produced NPs was examined.
A LED visible-light-driven photocatalytic decontamination of azo dyes using Ag/ZnO heterojunction
Authors: Vo Nhu Thi Thu , Pham Viet Van
Published: September 2023

An emerging study is an Ag/ZnO heterojunction photocatalyst for the decomposition prospect of azo dyes in wastewater under visible light. Herein, spherical nanoparticles of the Ag/ZnO of 20–50 nm are synthesised via a green chemical method from a rosin agent. Combining Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and ZnO NPs extended the photoactivity range via a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag NPs at a wavelength of 450–500 nm region. Consequently, the visible light photocatalytic degradation performance of Ag/ZnO for MO and phenol removal is 80.92% and 44.15%, respectively after 6 h of LED lamp illumination. The high stability of the Ag/ZnO is achieved by approximately 60% after three times of the photocatalytic test.
Comparison of post reconstruction- and reconstruction-based deep learning denoising methods in cardiac SPECT
Authors: Sohlberg Antti , Kangasmaa Tuija , Tikkakoski Antti
Published: September 2023

Objective. The quality of myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) images is often hampered by low count statistics. Poor image quality might hinder reporting the studies and in the worst case lead to erroneous diagnosis. Deep learning (DL)-based methods can be used to improve the quality of the low count studies. DL can be applied in several different methods, which might affect the outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between post reconstruction- and reconstruction-based denoising methods. Approach. A UNET-type network was trained using ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) reconstructed MPS studies acquired with half, quarter and eighth of full-activity. The trained network was applied as a post reconstruction denoiser (OSEM+DL) and it was incorporated into a regularized reconstruction algorithm as a deep learning penalty (DLP). OSEM+DL and DLP were compared against each other and against OSEM images without DL denoising in terms of noise level, myocardium-ventricle contrast and defect detection performance with signal-to-noise ratio of a non-prewhitening matched filter (NPWMF-SNR) applied to artificial perfusion defects inserted into defect-free clinical MPS scans. Comparisons were made using half-, quarter- and eighth-activity data. Main results. OSEM+DL provided lower noise level at all activities than other methods. DLP’s noise level was also always lower than matching activity OSEM’s. In addition, OSEM+DL and DLP outperformed OSEM in defect detection performance, but contrary to noise level ranking DLP had higher NPWMF-SNR overall than OSEM+DL. The myocardium-ventricle contrast was highest with DLP and lowest with OSEM+DL. Both OSEM+DL and DLP offered better image quality than OSEM, but visually perfusion defects were deeper in OSEM images at low activities. Significance. Both post reconstruction- and reconstruction-based DL denoising methods have great potential for MPS. The preference between these methods is a trade-off between smoother images and better defect detection performance.
Advanced manufacturing applied to nuclear fusion—challenges and solutions
Authors: Jones Steve
Published: September 2023

Materials needed to achieve designed performance will require formulations and processing methods capable of delivering a compendium of metallic, ceramic and cermet chemistries, which must be finely tuned at source, and tolerant to down-stream thermomechanical adjustment. Structural steels and cermets are continuously being developed by researchers using computational thermodynamics modelling and modified thermomechanical treatments, with oxide dispersion strengthened steel (ODS)-reduced activated ferritic-martensitic steel (RAFM) steels based on 8%–16% wt.% Cr now being assessed. The combination of SiCf and CuCrZr as a metal matrix composite containing an active coolant would be seen as a major opportunity, furthermore, composite ceramic materials consisting of SiC fibres reinforcing a SiC matrix capable of being joined to metallic structures offer great potential in the development of advanced heat exchangers. Continuing the theme of advanced manufacturing, the use of solid-state processing technologies involving powder metallurgy–hot isostatic pressing and spark plasma sintering to produce near-net shaped products in metallics, ceramics and cermets are critical manufacturing research themes. Additive manufacturing (AM) to produce metallic and ceramic components is now becoming a feasible manufacturing route, and through the combination of AM and subtractive machining, capability exists to produce efficient fluid carrying structures that could not be manufactured by any other process. Extending this to using electron beam welding and advanced heat treatments to improve homogeneity and provide modularity, a two-pronged solution is now available to improve capability and integrity, whilst concurrently offering increased degrees of freedom for designers.
Combining variational autoencoders and physical bias for improved microscopy data analysis
∗
Authors: Biswas Arpan , Ziatdinov Maxim , Kalinin Sergei V
Published: September 2023

Electron and scanning probe microscopy produce vast amounts of data in the form of images or hyperspectral data, such as electron energy loss spectroscopy or 4D scanning transmission electron microscope, that contain information on a wide range of structural, physical, and chemical properties of materials. To extract valuable insights from these data, it is crucial to identify physically separate regions in the data, such as phases, ferroic variants, and boundaries between them. In order to derive an easily interpretable feature analysis, combining with well-defined boundaries in a principled and unsupervised manner, here we present a physics augmented machine learning method which combines the capability of variational autoencoders to disentangle factors of variability within the data and the physics driven loss function that seeks to minimize the total length of the discontinuities in images corresponding to latent representations. Our method is applied to various materials, including NiO-LSMO, BiFeO3, and graphene. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in extracting meaningful information from large volumes of imaging data. The customized codes of the required functions and classes to develop phyVAE is available at https://github.com/arpanbiswas52/phy-VAE.
Hierarchical Bayesian pharmacometrics analysis of Baclofen for alcohol use disorder
Authors: Baldy Nina , Simon Nicolas , Jirsa Viktor K , Hashemi Meysam
Published: September 2023

Alcohol use disorder (AUD), also called alcohol dependence, is a major public health problem, affecting almost

10
%

of the world’s population. Baclofen, as a selective

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A
B
A

B

receptor agonist, has emerged as a promising drug for the treatment of AUD. However, the inter-trial, inter-individual and residual variability in drug concentration over time in a population of patients with AUD is unknown. In this study, we use a hierarchical Bayesian workflow to estimate the parameters of a pharmacokinetic (PK) population model from Baclofen administration to patients with AUD. By monitoring various convergence diagnostics, the probabilistic methodology is first validated on synthetic longitudinal datasets and then applied to infer the PK model parameters based on the clinical data that were retrospectively collected from outpatients treated with oral Baclofen. We show that state-of-the-art advances in automatic Bayesian inference using self-tuning Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithms provide accurate and decisive predictions on Baclofen plasma concentration at both individual and group levels. Importantly, leveraging the information in prior provides faster computation, better convergence diagnostics, and substantially higher out-of-sample prediction accuracy. Moreover, the root mean squared error as a measure of within-sample predictive accuracy can be misleading for model evaluation, whereas the fully Bayesian information criteria correctly select the true data generating parameters. This study points out the capability of non-parametric Bayesian estimation using adaptive HMC sampling methods for easy and reliable estimation in clinical settings to optimize dosing regimens and efficiently treat AUD.
Artificial nanophotonic neuron with internal memory for biologically inspired and reservoir network computing
Authors: Winge David , Borgström Magnus , Lind Erik , Mikkelsen Anders
Published: September 2023

Neurons with internal memory have been proposed for biological and bio-inspired neural networks, adding important functionality. We introduce an internal time-limited charge-based memory into a III–V nanowire (NW) based optoelectronic neural node circuit designed for handling optical signals in a neural network. The new circuit can receive inhibiting and exciting light signals, store them, perform a non-linear evaluation, and emit a light signal. Using experimental values from the performance of individual III–V NWs we create a realistic computational model of the complete artificial neural node circuit. We then create a flexible neural network simulation that uses these circuits as neuronal nodes and light for communication between the nodes. This model can simulate combinations of nodes with different hardware derived memory properties and variable interconnects. Using the full model, we simulate the hardware implementation for two types of neural networks. First, we show that intentional variations in the memory decay time of the nodes can significantly improve the performance of a reservoir network. Second, we simulate the implementation in an anatomically constrained functioning model of the central complex network of the insect brain and find that it resolves an important functionality of the network even with significant variations in the node performance. Our work demonstrates the advantages of an internal memory in a concrete, nanophotonic neural node. The use of variable memory time constants in neural nodes is a general hardware derived feature and could be used in a broad range of implementations.
Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna): A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Adamson Peter
Published: September 2023

This book provides an introduction to the most important philosopher of the Islamic world, Ibn Sīnā (called in Latin Avicenna). After introducing the man and his works, with an overview of the historical context in which he lived, the book devotes chapters to the different areas of Ibn Sīnā’s thought. Topics covered include his innovations in logic, his theory of the human soul, his medical writings, and his metaphysics of existence, which culminates in a famous proof for God’s existence. A final chapter looks at Ibn Sīnā’s legacy both in the Islamic world and in Latin Christendom.
Life and works
Authors: Adamson Peter
Published: September 2023

This chapter begins with an overview of philosophy up to Ibn Sīnā’s time, discussing the Greek‒Arabic translation movement and the contributions of earlier thinkers like al-Kindī and al-Fārābī. It then moves on to the story of Ibn Sīnā’s life, drawing on his own autobiography and other sources. Here we learn about his voyages around central Asia and Persia as he joined a series of patrons who offered him support. Finally the chapter surveys his large corpus of writings and highlights the different writing methods used in his various works.
Logic and knowledge
Authors: Adamson Peter
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks at Ibn Sīnā’s logic and epistemology and how he modified the ideas that came down to him on these topics from Aristotle. In logic, we learn how Ibn Sīnā introduced new ideas about modality and made other important distinctions about the ways terms are predicated of one another. In epistemology, he adopts strict standards for ‘knowledge’ in the strict and proper sense, according to which we achieve knowledge on the basis of syllogistic demonstrations that rest ultimately on first principles. The chapter then moves on to discuss the sources of knowledge in sensation and intellect, winding up with a discussion of whether he can be considered an empiricist.
Law: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2023

Law: A Very Short Introduction 3e outlines the major branches of the law, which is at the heart of every society. The law protects rights, imposes duties, and establishes a framework for the conduct of almost all social, political, and economic activity. This VSI describes the role of lawyers and how courts operate, and considers the law’s pursuit of justice, freedom, and equality. The new edition examines a number of social and political events that have had an impact on the law. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of social media and surveillance, and the increasing threats to the rule of law.
Law’s roots
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2023

This chapter defines and traces the origins of law. The legal system is widely perceived as a vehicle for the protection of individual rights, the attainment of justice, or economic, political, and sexual equality. Despite the importance of law in society, its manifestation in the form of general codes first appears only around 3000 bc. The chapter then looks at the Code of Hammurabi, the Twelve Tables, and the emergence of the Western legal tradition, considering the ideal of the rule of law. It also differentiates between civil law and common law, before examining religious law, customary law, and Chinese law. Finally, the chapter examines the functions and sources of law.
Law’s branches
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the most significant branches of law: the law of contract, tort, criminal law, and the law of property. It begins by distinguishing between public and private law. Like the law of contract, the law of tort grants victims the right to obtain compensation for their loss. Criminal law punishes both serious and minor forms of antisocial behaviour. Meanwhile, the law of property determines what counts as ‘property’; when a person acquires an exclusive right to a thing; and the manner in which it protects this right. The chapter then considers constitutional and administrative law, as well as family law, public international law, environmental law, and company law.
Law and morality
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the relationship between the law and the moral practices adopted by society. Where they overlap, one finds a correspondence between the law and moral or ethical values. Outside the overlapping zone reside, on the one hand, acts which are legally wrong but not necessarily immoral and, on the other, conduct which is immoral but not necessarily unlawful. In some cases, the law conflicts with the moral code of certain individuals or groups. The chapter then considers the debate on the right to an abortion, the right to die (euthanasia and assisted suicide), and the use of torture. It also looks at natural law theory and human rights.
Courts
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2023

This chapter assesses the role that courts play in legal systems. Courts personify the law, and judges are its custodians, guardians of its values: sentinels of justice and fair play. They have power, authority—or what lawyers called ‘jurisdiction’—over specified criminal, civil, and other matters. Judges do not legislate; they generally enforce those rights that have in the main already been enacted by a representative legislature. The chapter then looks at the procedures in trial courts and appellate courts, and distinguishes between common law judges and civil law judges. It also considers the process of sentencing, civil trials, judicial review, trial by jury, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
The political dimension of globalization
Authors: Steger Manfred B.
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on political globalization, which is the intensification and expansion of political interrelations across the globe. Political globalization raises issues such as the principle of state sovereignty, and the prospects for regional and global governance, demographics, and global migration flows. The chapter explains the structure of global governance that resembles an eclectic network of interrelated power centres like national and international private-sector associations. It considers David Held’s theory wherein political globalization is moving in the direction of cosmopolitan democracy. However, global governance sceptics raised apprehension that the proponents of cosmopolitan democracy have not considered in sufficient detail its cultural feasibility.
The ecological dimension of globalization
Authors: Steger Manfred B.
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the ecological dimension of globalization. It explains how unsustainable forms of ecological globalization are recognized as threatening all life on our planet. Cultural values greatly affect people’s perspectives on their natural environment. For example, the capitalist culture industry endorsed that the chief value of life correlates to the limitless accumulation of material goods, but it ultimately threatens the livelihood and cultures of indigenous people. The chapter covers the major manifestations and consequences of global environmental degradation including climate change and biodiversity. It discusses how the major dimensions of globalization intersect by referencing how political and economic globalization has not kept up with the ecological demands of the planet.
Political Bohemias
Authors: Weir David
Published: September 2023

This chapter picks up on the political implications of the Schwabing Bohemia in the previous chapter and considers bohemian politics more generally. Beginning with Karl Marx’s withering criticism of bohemians as Lumpenproletariate incapable of collective political action, the chapter shows how bohemian culture became allied with anarchist ideology in the latter part of the nineteenth century before discussing the socialist Bohemia of Greenwich Village in some detail. The Greenwich Village Bohemia marks the brief entrance of Black participation in bohemian communities, but the chapter also critiques white people’s exploitation of Black experience as a means of “authenticating” their own bohemian credentials.
Inventing nature
Authors: Taub Liba
Published: September 2023

‘Inventing Nature’ discusses the early Greeks who theorized about nature and attempted to answer fundamental questions about the world. Most of what is known about what they thought has been preserved in the writings of later ancient authors, including Simplicius, who lived in the 6th century ce and who is a key source about the ideas of some earlier thinkers. The reporting and discussion of earlier ideas and activities by later thinkers demonstrates their continued importance. There is a tendency to refer to the early Greeks interested in nature as philosophers, because most of what is known about them has come to us via ancient accounts of the history of philosophy. Many of these early Greek thinkers were also involved in practical activities, including writing texts, teaching, designing scientific instruments (such as sundials), and making observations and predictions of different phenomena (often astronomical, meteorological, or medical).
Invasive Species: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Lockwood Julie , Welbourne Dustin J.
Published: September 2023

Invasive species cost society hundreds of billions of dollars annually in lost economic productivity, impacts to human health and wellbeing, and losses to biodiversity. Invasive Species: A Very Short Introduction provides a concise and accessible path to understand how and why species become invasive, how they are managed, and what the future of biological invasions holds. It opens by exploring what it means for a species to be invasive, highlighting that society’s definition of what is and isn’t invasive is much more about human values and our relationship with the environment than the species themselves. Although the book is an introduction, it doesn’t avoid the difficult issues surrounding invasive species that arise from competing values and aims in society. While the future appears to hold more, not fewer, invasive species, hope is found in new methods of management and the social and political will to solve this global socio-environmental challenge.
Pathways of introduction
Authors: Lockwood Julie L. , Welbourne Dustin J.
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on the invasion process, primarily the introduction of an organism into a non-native location. It starts by noting introduction, establishment, and spread as the main components of the invasion pathway. Introduction involves the transport of organisms from one location where they are native to another where they are not native, and the subsequent entry of these individuals into an environment. The chapter highlights how all introductions of invasive species result from human activity, especially due to trade and transport networks. Additionally, not every organism entering the introduction pathway survives—some organisms perish because the conditions en route are outside their environmental tolerance.
Establishing a population
Authors: Lockwood Julie L. , Welbourne Dustin J.
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the next step in the invasion process: the establishment of a non-native population. It clarifies that organisms surviving introduction have no guarantee of survival once released into a new habitat. The establishment of a non-native population depends on whether the species’ niche is available in the new habitat. An organism’s niche includes both the biotic and abiotic dimensions of an ecosystem, such as food or precipitation requirements. The chapter highlights the hurdle of reproduction for any non-native organisms that survive introduction, but adds that the measure of propagule pressure is the most consistent predictor of long-term establishment success.
Undesirable impacts
Authors: Lockwood Julie L. , Welbourne Dustin J.
Published: September 2023

This chapter addresses the question of why impacts might be considered undesirable. It elaborates on the categories of economic, human health, and environmental impact. Invasive species often result in the loss of economic opportunities and ecosystem services. Meanwhile, invasive species also affect human health and wellbeing through the introduction and spread of infectious diseases and parasites. The chapter explains that any impact of invasive species is of environmental concern whether or not it is directly concerned with human health or the economy. To examine why environmental impacts are undesirable, concepts of environmental ethics are introduced. The chapter explores how different philosophical paradigms give rise to differing levels of concern for invasive species.
A map of woe
Authors: Dixon Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into the historical depictions of woe and sorrow. Apart from being one of the most influential recent cultural representations of sadness, the movie Inside Out (2015) also represents the wide influence of the theory of basic emotions. History challenges the idea that people have inherited instincts influenced by a small number of basic emotions. The chapter examines the woes portrayed in William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, in Robert Burton’s works, and in Augustine of Hippo’s autobiographical Confessions. It also considers how histories of grief and weeping in religious contexts reveal several recurring themes, before examining concepts of depression and emotional disorders.
The order of things
Authors: McKenzie Ross H.
Published: September 2023

‘The order of things’ describes how distinct states of matter are associated with distinct types of ordering, such as the regular pattern of atoms in the material. The change in symmetry between different states of matter can be quantified in terms of an ‘order parameter’. Determining the relevant symmetry and order parameter for a state of matter often takes decades as it requires significant scientific insight. Lev Landau proposed a general theory to describe the amount of ordering present in any material that undergoes a phase transition to a distinct state of matter. The associated concept of spontaneous symmetry breaking is central to condensed matter physics and to the theory of elementary particles and fundamental forces. The concept was the basis for the prediction of the existence of the Higgs boson. There is a rigidity associated with the type of order in a state of matter, whether a crystal or a superconductor. This rigidity determines the type of deviations from perfect order that are possible. Examples of topological defects include dislocations in crystals and vortices in superconductors and superfluids.
Topology matters
Authors: McKenzie Ross H.
Published: September 2023

‘Topology matters’ in condensed matter physics because topology provides a means to describe the unusual types of order found in some states of matter in which there is no symmetry breaking. Topology is the field of mathematics that describes the properties of geometric objects that do not change when smoothly deformed. The Hall effect is the existence of a new type of electrical resistance in a conductor caused by an electric current moving in a different direction to that of an external magnetic field. In a two-dimensional metal (Flatland) in a large magnetic field, the Hall resistance is quantized in units defined by fundamental constants. This is a macroscopic quantum effect and provides a means to make precise measurements of electrical resistance. This quantum Hall effect is now used in metrology, being the basis for the international standard for the ohm, the unit of electrical resistance. Topology helps explain why the Hall resistance is so precisely quantized and is independent of so many details such as the chemical composition of the material in which the electrons move. Duncan Haldane showed that topology is also key to understanding the unusual properties of chains of magnetic atoms. They exhibit new states of matter that are quite distinct from those found in three-dimensional magnets. Haldane also laid the foundation for proposals of topological insulators, a state of matter which is an electrical conductor on its surfaces, but an insulator in its interior.
Mathematical Analysis: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Earl Richard
Published: September 2023

The 17th-century calculus of Newton and Leibniz was built on shaky foundations, and it wasn’t until the 18th and 19th centuries that mathematicians—especially Bolzano, Cauchy, and Weierstrass—began to establish a rigorous basis for the subject. The resulting discipline is now known to mathematicians as analysis. Mathematical Analysis: A Very Short Introduction, aimed at readers with some grounding in mathematics, describes the nascent evolution of mathematical analysis, its development as a subject in its own right, and its wide-ranging applications in mathematics and science, modelling reality from acoustics to fluid dynamics, from biological systems to quantum theory. Many questions of applied analysis are easy to ask: what is the largest area that can be enclosed with a length of rope? Why is the shortest distance between two points a line? Can one hear the shape of a drum? Some of these answers weren’t resolved until the late 20th century.
Should I believe my computer?
Authors: Earl Richard
Published: September 2023

Scientists use mathematics in much of their work, but the theories of an ideal mathematical world cannot immediately be brought to bear on the real one. A sense of reality can only be achieved via experimentation, but how does a scientist move from a collection of experimental data to wholly defined functions? A likely further problem is that—once posed—a real-world problem won’t have an exact answer. How do scientists and mathematicians gain approximate answers? These are topics within ‘numerical analysis’, the theme of ‘Should I believe my computer?’ This question highlights that an algorithm may find an approximate answer by running for thousands of steps; given the problems of rounding errors, how much should we believe a computer’s answer?
The trade in wildlife
Authors: Macdonald David W.
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on the challenge of wildlife trade in biodiversity conservation. Reducing the undesirable aspects of the wildlife trade boils down to reducing their unsustainable supply or demand. That an aspect of wildlife trade is legal does not guarantee that it is sustainable, nor sufficiently safeguards animals’ welfare. The chapter then assesses the question of what is legal and what is illegal in wildlife trade. It explores the unintended consequence of confiscations before considering the value of wildlife tourism and the regulation of wildlife trade markets. Finally, the chapter discusses how the online wildlife trade presents new challenges and how the vision of extractive sustainable use is becoming unrealistic.
What is Japanese literature?
Authors: Tansman Alan
Published: September 2023

Like all literatures, Japanese literature is an idiosyncratic idiom that has contributed to a global literary language. For all of the changes over many centuries in historical and literary context, it is possible to discern many threads running through the Japanese tradition that tie the earliest works to the most recent. Perhaps the most enduring strain running through the tradition is the aesthetic and ethical power of the “spirit of words.” There are many histories of Japanese literature than can be written. This history of Japanese literature concludes by returning to its birthright and deepest wellspring, the gift to us of the almost magically unifying, enchanting, and sometimes healing, power of words and their beauty in the face of what it means to be human
Projecting kelp (Ecklonia radiata) gametophyte thermal adaptation and persistence under climate change
Authors: Veenhof R J , Champion C , Dworjanyn S A , Schwoerbel J , Visch W , Coleman M A
Published: September 2023

Background and aims

Kelp forests underpin temperate marine ecosystems but are declining due to ocean warming, causing loss of associated ecosystem services. Projections suggest significant future decline but often only consider the persistence of adult sporophytes. Kelps have a biphasic life cycle, and the haploid gametophyte can be more thermally tolerant than the sporophyte. Therefore, projections may be altered when considering the thermal tolerance of gametophytes.

Methods

We undertook thermal tolerance experiments to quantify the effect of temperature on gametophyte survival, relative growth rate (RGR) and sex ratio for three genetically distinct populations of Ecklonia radiata gametophytes from comparatively high, mid- and low latitudes (43°, 33° and 30°S). We then used these data to project the likely consequences of climate-induced thermal change on gametophyte persistence and performance across its eastern Australian range, using generalized additive and linear models.

Key results

All populations were adapted to local temperatures and their thermal maximum was 2–3 °C above current maximum in situ temperatures. The lowest latitude population was most thermally tolerant (~70 % survival up to 27 °C), while survival and RGR decreased beyond 25.5 and 20.5 °C for the mid- and low-latitude populations, respectively. Sex ratios were skewed towards females with increased temperature in the low- and high-latitude populations. Spatially explicit model projections under future ocean warming (2050-centred) revealed a minimal decline in survival (0–30 %) across populations, relative to present-day predictions. RGRs were also projected to decline minimally (0–2 % d−1).

Conclusions

Our results contrast with projections for the sporophyte stage of E. radiata, which suggest a 257-km range contraction concurrent with loss of the low-latitude population by 2100. Thermal adaptation in E. radiata gametophytes suggests this life stage is likely resilient to future ocean warming and is unlikely to be a bottleneck for the future persistence of kelp.
European chronic kidney disease registries for children not on kidney replacement therapy: tools for improving health systems and patient-centred outcomes
Authors: Bakkaloğlu Sevcan A , Vidal Enrico , Bonthuis Marjolein , Neto Gisela , Paripović Dušan , Åsberg Anders , Hijosa Marta Melgosa , Vondrak Karel , Jankauskiene Augustina , Roussinov Dimitar , Awan Atif , Jager Kitty J
Published: September 2023

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children, from birth to late adolescence, is a unique and highly challenging condition that requires epidemiological research and large-scale, prospective cohort studies. Since its first launch in 2007, the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology/European Renal Association (ESPN/ERA) Registry has collected data on patients on kidney replacement therapy (KRT). However, slowing the progression of CKD is of particular importance and thus the possibility to extend the current registry dataset to include patients in CKD stages 4–5 should be a priority.

A survey was sent to the national representatives within the ESPN/ERA Registry to collect information on whether they are running CKD registries. All the representatives from the 38 European countries involved in the ESPN/ERA Registry participated in the survey. Eight existing CKD registries have been identified. General characteristics of the national registry and detailed data on anthropometry, laboratory tests and medications at baseline and at follow-up were collected. Results provided by this survey are highly promising regarding the establishment of an ESPN CKD registry linked to the ESPN/ERA KRT registry and subsequently linking it to the ERA Registry with the same patient identifier, which would allow us to monitor disease progression in childhood and beyond. It is our belief that through such linkages, gaps in patient follow-up will be eliminated and patient-centred outcomes may be improved.
Incessant myopericarditis after mRNA vaccination requiring IL-1 receptor antagonist therapy and pericardiectomy: case report
Authors: Hay Michael B , Muthalaly Rahul G , Tan Sean , Nerlekar Nitesh
Published: September 2023

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been global administration of novel mRNA vaccines that are effective in reducing the burden of COVID-19. In tandem with this administration, mRNA vaccine-associated complications have been identified. One such complication is mRNA vaccine-associated pericarditis.

Case summary

This is a case of a 40-year old male who developed clinical pericarditis 3 days after his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. The diagnosis of mRNA vaccine-induced pericarditis was confirmed on cardiac magnetic imaging and was resistant to numerous lines of medical therapy. These included substantial simple and opioid-based analgaesia, colchicine, prednisolone, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist therapy (anakinra), and a ketamine infusion that were all titrated over the course of eight hospital admissions. Ultimately, surgical pericardiectomy was performed that resulted in a favourable outcome.

Discussion

This case depicts an example of incessant mRNA vaccine-associated pericarditis, a known complication of the Pfizer-BioNtech mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. There is limited evidence guiding the therapy of mRNA-induced pericarditis especially when recurrent and resistant to simple analgaesia, colchicine, and steroids. Thus, this case represents a potential framework to help future cases of incessant mRNA vaccine-induced pericarditis.
Royal Attitudes to the Atlantic Slave Trade and Abolition in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries
Authors: Schwarz Suzanne
Published: September 2023

Recent historiography has placed particular emphasis on the social origins and influence of individuals who took opposing sides in debates on the abolition of the slave trade between 1787 and 1807. There is no doubt that family networks and connections influenced patterns of pro-slavery and abolitionist support. Despite this familial focus, comparatively little attention has been paid to the attitudes and interventions in the debate of King George III and his family. As early as 1808, Thomas Clarkson’s History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade by the British Parliament recorded how Prince William Henry, duke of Clarence, and his younger cousin, Prince William Frederick, second duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, held diametrically opposed views on the issue. Evidence that has recently come to light in the Royal Archives makes it possible to assess whether the divide between George III’s son and nephew points to a royal family riven by disagreement on the rights and wrongs of slavery. By broadening the canvas of study to include other royal dukes, this article contributes to a much fuller understanding of the family’s reaction to one of the most pressing moral and economic questions of the day. Their views were not just a matter of their own personal opinions; their interventions in debate affected (and on balance, impeded) the progress of abolition and had direct repercussions on the lives of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans.
Oxidative stress–related genetic variation and antioxidant vitamin intake in intact and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm: a Swedish population-based retrospective cohort study
Authors: Vats Sakshi , Sundquist Kristina , Sundquist Jan , Zhang Naiqi , Wang Xiao , Acosta Stefan , Gottsäter Anders , Memon Ashfaque A
Published: September 2023

Aims

The aim of this study is to investigate how genetic variations in genes related to oxidative stress, intake of antioxidant vitamins, and any potential interactions between these factors affect the incidence of intact abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and its rupture (rAAA), accounting for sex differences where possible.

Methods and results

The present retrospective cohort study (n = 25 252) uses baseline single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and total antioxidant vitamin intake data from the large population-based, Malmö Diet and Cancer Study. Cumulative incidence of intact AAA was 1.6% and of rAAA 0.3% after a median follow-up of 24.3 years. A variant in NOX3 (rs3749930) was associated with higher rAAA risk in males [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 2.49; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.36–4.35] and the overall population (aHR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.05–3.37). Higher intakes of antioxidant vitamins, riboflavin, and folate were associated with 20% and 19% reduced intact AAA incidence, respectively. Interestingly, the inverse associations between riboflavin and vitamin D intake with intact AAA incidence were stronger in the individuals carrying the NOX3 variant as compared with the wild-type recessive genotype, i.e. by 60% and 66%, respectively (P for interaction < 0.05). Higher riboflavin intake was associated with a 33% male-specific intact AAA risk reduction, while higher intake of vitamin B12 intake was associated with 55% female-specific intact AAA risk increase; both these associations were significantly modified by sex (P for interaction < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the role of oxidative stress genetic variations and antioxidant vitamin intake in AAA. Although a low AAA/rAAA sample size limited some analyses, especially in females, our findings highlight the need for future randomized controlled trials and mechanistic studies, to explore the potential benefits of antioxidant vitamins while accounting for genetic and sex differences.
Lysines K117 and K147 play conserved roles in Ras activation from Drosophila to mammals
Authors: Singh Jiya , Karunaraj Prashath , Luf Max , Pfleger Cathie M
Published: September 2023

Ras signaling plays an important role in growth, proliferation, and developmental patterning. Maintaining appropriate levels of Ras signaling is important to establish patterning in development and to prevent diseases such as cancer in mature organisms. The Ras protein is represented by Ras85D in Drosophila and by HRas, NRas, and KRas in mammals. In the past dozen years, multiple reports have characterized both inhibitory and activating ubiquitination events regulating Ras proteins. Inhibitory Ras ubiquitination mediated by Rabex-5 or Lztr1 is highly conserved between flies and mammals. Activating ubiquitination events at K117 and K147 have been reported in mammalian HRas, NRas, and KRas, but it is unclear if these activating roles of K117 and K147 are conserved in flies. Addressing a potential conserved role for these lysines in Drosophila Ras activation requires phenotypes strong enough to assess suppression. Therefore, we utilized oncogenic Ras, RasG12V, which biases Ras to the GTP-loaded active conformation. We created double mutants RasG12V,K117R and RasG12V,K147R and triple mutant RasG12V,K117R,K147R to prevent lysine-specific post-translational modification of K117, K147, or both, respectively. We compared their phenotypes to RasG12V in the wing to reveal the roles of these lysines. Although RasG12V,K147R did not show compelling or quantifiable differences from RasG12V, RasG12V,K117R showed visible and quantifiable suppression compared to RasG12V, and triple mutant RasG12V,K117R,K147R showed dramatic suppression compared to RasG12V and increased suppression compared to RasG12V,K117R. These data are consistent with highly conserved roles for K117 and K147 in Ras activation from flies to mammals.
Perceived Anxiousness About COVID-19 and Preventive Behaviors Among Dyads of Older Adults and Family Caregivers
Authors: Liang Jiaming , Aranda Maria P , Jang Yuri
Published: September 2023

Background and Objectives

Adopting preventive behaviors is crucial to avoiding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, and perceived anxiousness may influence such behaviors among older adults and their caregivers. This study investigated the relationships between perceived anxiousness about COVID-19 and preventive behaviors in older adult–caregiver dyads.

Research Design and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted using 1,565 older adult–caregiver dyads from the 2020 National Health and Aging Trend Study (NHATS)/National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) COVID-19 Supplements data. Actor–partner interdependence models were estimated to examine the associations between older adults’ and family caregivers’ perceived anxiousness about COVID-19 and their engagement in personal (e.g., wearing masks, washing hands) and social (e.g., avoiding contact with friends, limiting grocery shopping) preventive behaviors. Separate models were estimated based on older adults’ dementia status.

Results

We found significant actor effects of anxiousness about COVID-19 on preventive behaviors of both older adults and caregivers in nondementia dyads. The anxiousness about COVID-19 of older adults had significant partner effects on both personal and social preventive behaviors of caregivers, whereas caregivers’ anxiousness about COVID-19 only had a significant partner effect on social preventive behaviors of older adults. No significant partner effect was found in dementia dyads.

Discussion and Implications

Our findings highlight the critical role of caregivers in promoting older adults’ health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining mental well-being of older adults. The study also implies future efforts to explore the dyadic relationship of dementia care dyads in promoting health behaviors and mental health.