bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The trends of blood culture contamination and utilization rates in an LMIC tertiary care center from 2010 to 2022: a call for diagnostic stewardship?
Authors: Saleh Lama , Chamieh Amanda , El Basst Rima , Azar Eid
Published: January 2025

Objective:

At Saint George Hospital University Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, we determine (1) annual blood culture (BC) contamination (BCC) and utilization (BCU) rates vs international benchmarks, (2) identify blood culture contaminants, (3) bloodstream infections episodes in patients with and without COVID-19 after the pandemic onset, and (4) any epidemiologic trends in BCC and BCU.

Design:

Retrospective observational study.

Setting:

Private tertiary referral center, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2022.

Methods:

We define a contaminated BC as the growth of a typical contaminant/skin flora in 1-2/4 BC bottles. We calculate BCC rates as a percentage of the contaminated BC/total BC during the period and BCU rates as the number of BC/1000 patient days (PD).

Results:

The average BCU rate of 85.9/1000 PD in 2010–2019 increased to 106.6/1000 PD in 2020–2022. On average, patients with COVID-19 had a higher BCU rate of 185.9/1000 PD, corresponding to an additional 100 blood cultures/1000 PD. The average BCC rate was 7%, ranging from 6% in 2010–2019 to 8% in 2020–2022. We observed the highest BCC rate of 9% in patients with COVID-19, likely due to the higher BCU. The most frequently isolated contaminants were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (96%), of which 65% were Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Conclusion:

We saw a multifactorial, persistently elevated rate of BCC over 13 years as unaffected by strict infection control practices. We think that further research targeting a standardized, low BCU rather than inevitable BCC while advocating for diagnostic stewardship of low-middle-income countries is essential, especially where the lack of appropriate resource allocation and awareness are problematic.
Analysis of the practice of switch of antibiotics from intravenous to oral therapy at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal: a prospective observational study
Authors: Acharya Upasana , Shrestha Sweta , Rawal Aastha , Dangol Laxmi , Sapkota Binaya
Published: January 2025

Objective:

This study analyzed the practice of switching intravenous antibiotics to oral dosage form in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal.

Design:

A prospective observational study was performed among patients admitted to medical/surgical wards in a private tertiary care hospital of Nepal.

Methods:

Hospitalized adult patients who received IV antibiotics for at least 48 hours and met the eligibility criteria were enrolled in the study. The detailed information on use of antibiotics such as indication, duration, type time of switch etc. were collected and analyzed.

Results:

Among 335 patients, 282(83.9%) met the eligibility criteria for intravenous (IV) to oral conversion however, only 18.7% of patients were switched to oral regimen. Step-down conversion was the common type of IV to oral switch. Almost all patients were empirically treated with β-lactams antibiotics (n = 327). There was significant association between the antibiotic class and duration of IV therapy (P < 0.001). The length of hospital stays and duration of IV antibiotics therapy was lower in the timely converted group than in the non-converted groups (P < 0.001). The duration of IV antibiotics therapy was strongly correlated with duration of hospital stay (r = 0.743, P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

The findings revealed a low prevalence of conversion from IV antibiotics to oral, despite a higher percentage of patients meeting the eligibility criteria for conversion. There is a need for the implementation of structured program to review patients on IV antibiotics and promote timely conversion to oral once they meet the conversion criteria.
Candida auris screening of high-risk patients: a descriptive comparison of 2 strategies
Authors: Pedersen Laura , Barajas-Ochoa Aldo , Cooper Kaila , Price Jenna , Hannum Kathryn , Major Yvette , Ching Patrick R. , Rittmann Barry , Bryson Alexandra , Doern Christoper , Doll Michelle
Published: January 2025

We compared two Candida auris screening strategies in high-risk patients.

The positivity rates for point prevalence survey (PPS) and admission screening were similar: 3.9% versus 3.4%, respectively, P = 1.00. Approximately 3% of high-risk patients are colonized, thus there is a need for a universal infection prevention approach for C. auris.
Rigidity and factivity
Authors: Lampert Fabio
Published: January 2025

David Chalmers argued against the claim that for all p, or even for all entertainable p, it is knowable a priori that p iff actually p. Instead of criticizing Chalmers’s argument, I suggest that it can be generalized, in a sense, and in interesting ways, concerning other principles about contingent a priori truths. In particular, I will argue that the puzzle presented by Chalmers runs parallel to others that do not turn on ‘actually’. Furthermore, stronger arguments can be presented that do not turn on apriority either, though they do entail the conclusion of Chalmers’s argument. All such puzzles involve interactions between rigidifying sentence-forming devices with factive operators.
Credibility excess as an epistemic injustice
Authors: Dyck Keith
Published: January 2025

According to Fricker’s (2007) seminal account, an epistemic injustice is done when, based on prejudice, a hearer ascribes to a speaker a level of credibility below what they deserve. When prejudice results in credibility excess, however, Fricker contends no similar injustice takes place. In this paper, I will challenge the second of these claims. Using a modified version of Zollman’s (2007) two-armed bandit model, I will show how the systematic over-ascription of credibility within a dominant group can produce epistemic advantages for that group relative to non-group members.
Bratman on institutional agency
Authors: Brown Jessica
Published: January 2025

In his recent book, Shared and Institutional Agency, Bratman attempts to defend realism about institutional agency while appealing only to ontologically modest foundations. Here I argue that this ontologically modest foundation leaves Bratman unable to provide plausible accounts of institutional evidence, institutional belief, and the reasons for which institutions believe and act. Given that these phenomena are key to our moral and epistemic evaluation of institutions and their actions, this is a serious failing. Instead, we should defend a more robust realism about institutional agency.
On the value of changing your mind
Authors: Shields Matthew
Published: January 2025

We are all capable of arriving at views that are driven by corrupting non-epistemic interests. But we are nonetheless very skilled at performing a commitment to epistemic goods in such cases. I call this the “Problem of Mere Epistemic Performance,” and it generates a need to determine when these commitments are illusory and when they are in fact genuine. I argue that changing one’s mind, when done in response to the evidence and at a likely cost to oneself, is the best indication that an agent is committed to epistemic goods and that they are genuinely in the game of giving and asking for reasons. This is because changing one’s mind in this way goes as far as we can in eliminating the possibility that the agent has an ulterior motivation for their epistemic practices. Moreover, this account shows that the consensus view of the ideal epistemic agent is mistaken. The ideal agent must have false beliefs or deficient epistemic practices because only then do they have the opportunity to change their mind and establish a commitment to epistemic goods – a commitment that even an agent with only true beliefs and maximal justification or understanding may lack.
Rich representations and superrigidity
Authors: BALDI GREGORIO , MILLER NICHOLAS , STOVER MATTHEW , ULLMO EMMANUEL
Published: January 2025

We investigate and compare applications of the Zilber–Pink conjecture and dynamical methods to rigidity problems for arithmetic real and complex hyperbolic lattices. Along the way, we obtain new general results about reconstructing a variation of Hodge structure from its typical Hodge locus that may be of independent interest. Applications to Siu’s immersion problem are also discussed, the most general of which only requires the hypothesis that infinitely many closed geodesics map to proper totally geodesic subvarieties under the immersion.
Time almost periodicity for solutions of Toda lattice equation with almost periodic initial datum
Authors: ZHAO HAOXI , CHENG HONGYU
Published: January 2025

This paper analyzes the initial value problem for the Toda lattice with almost periodic initial data: let

$J(t; J_{0})$

denote the family of Jacobi matrices which are solutions of the Toda flow equation with initial condition

$J(0; J_{0})=J_{0},$

then, the given almost periodic datum

$J_{0}$

is a discrete linear Schrödinger operator with almost periodic potential, which plays a fundamental role in our considerations. We show that, under some given hypotheses, the spectrum of the Schrödinger operator is pure absolute continuous and homogeneous (measure-theoretically) by establishing exponential asymptotics on the size of spectral gaps. These two conclusions enable us to show the boundedness and almost periodicity in the time of solutions for Toda lattice equation with almost periodic initial data. As a consequence, our result presents a positive answer to the discrete Deift’s conjecture [Some open problems in random matrix theory and the theory of integrable systems. Integrable Systems and Random Matrices (Contemporary Mathematics, 458). American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 2008, pp. 419–430; Some open problems in random matrix theory and the theory of integrable systems. II. SIGMA Symmetry Integrability Geom. Methods Appl.13 (2017), Paper no. 016].
Young investors, precariousness, and the maturing asset economy
Authors: McKenzie Monique de Jong
Published: January 2025

Enamoured by gamified FinTech platforms and the rise of investment cultures on social media, young people are turning to financial markets to take control over their future in a present shaped by instability and crisis. Recently, the story of young investors has been dominated by sensationalist accounts of speculative investing (i.e., GameStop). But alongside these speculative traders exists the young passive investor, who steadily invests in safe, diverse assets to grow their wealth over their lifetime. The figure of the passive young investor points to a larger social phenomenon of a maturing asset economy where major assets such as property are out of reach, but financial assets have emerged to allow young people to live an assetised life. To understand why young investors are turning to financial markets as an instrument of wealth accumulation, I argue that these practices emerge as a response to young people’s affective state of precariousness. This precariousness emerges from their material and discursive context that includes a retreating welfare state, wage stagnation, limited employment pathways, and individualised risk management. This affective atmosphere of precariousness pushes young people to seek stability and security wherever they can, and for young investors, this is found in financial assets.
Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism
Authors: Klinge Tobias , Ouma Stefan , Hendrikse Reijer
Published: January 2025

This article explores the puzzling ups and downs of Tesla, going through one the most volatile stock market swings of the recent past, under conditions of financialised capitalism. We adopt a conjunctural approach, highlighting both the macro and micro dynamics shaping the firm’s financial market trajectory. Among these, meticulously maintained narratives, boosted by social media, attracted dedicated followers, while the rise of new retail trading platforms and excitement around Tesla’s index inclusion helped in producing its stock ‘mementum’. This volatility was further supported by an exceptionally large volume of financial derivatives trading, paralleling a public battle between short sellers and the company’s defenders. The resulting stock market boom enabled Tesla to stabilise its finances, whilst its ‘mercurial’ CEO Elon Musk negotiated the largest executive compensation package in US corporate history, turning him into the world’s richest individual. In conclusion, we argue that Tesla serves as an emblematic case of an increasingly tech-driven financialised capitalism, which scholars could use as a window to study future conjunctures.
Disregard: Attitudes about Male Survivors
Authors: Wilhelm Isaac
Published: January 2025

In this article, I discuss some ways in which my experience, as a sexual assault survivor, has often been disregarded. It was disregarded when it occurred, by a crowd of people who watched. It has also been disregarded, however, in certain sorts of conversations—that occur within feminist communities—about sexual violence. The latter forms of disregard stem from the fact that I am male, and so do not fit many peoples’ preconceptions about survivors of sexual assault. After discussing these different forms of disregard and how they relate, I raise some difficult questions concerning whether, and how, conversations about sexual violence should make room for experiences like mine. In closing, I propose tentative, schematic answers to those questions.
Heterogeneity in preoperative Staphylococcus aureus screening and decolonization strategies among healthcare institutions
Authors: Bennis Sarah L. , Kulasingam Shalini , Ferrieri Patricia , Kline Susan E.
Published: January 2025

We surveyed 111 institutions’ practices for screening and decolonization of Staphylococcus aureus in presurgical patients. Institutions commonly utilize universal, targeted, or no decolonization strategies. Frequently reported products were nasal mupirocin, chlorhexidine gluconate bathing, and nasal povidone-iodine. Practice variability indicates opportunities to define optimal strategies.
PATTERNS IN SELFED SEED PRODUCTION AND GERMINATION IN AMUR HONEYSUCKLE (LONICERA MAACKII)
Authors: Rivera Benjamin J. , Meilan Richard , Jenkins Michael A.
Published: January 2025

Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) is an aggressive invader of forests throughout the eastern United States. While self-pollination has been identified as an important trait of invasive plant species, this trait is understudied, and Amur honeysuckle is anecdotally described as lacking this characteristic. To examine the ability of Amur honeysuckle to self-pollinate, we selected 171 individual shrubs distributed across nine sites. Each site was grouped into one of three invasion types: heavy, light, and sprouting (sites on which a basal cutting treatment previously occurred, but Amur honeysuckle was allowed to reestablish). We compared the number of berries, seeds per berry, and seed germination rates of self- and open-pollinated flowers by pairing branches covered with pollination bags prior to flower emergence with uncovered branches on the same individual shrub. Out of 171 individuals, 48 produced berries from self-pollination within pollination bags (28%), with 48% of bagged branches exhibiting some degree of necrosis or chlorosis, presumably due to increased temperature and humidity. Berries from self-pollination produced 1.5 ± 1.4 (mean ± 1 SD) seeds per berry, whereas berries resulting from open-pollination produced 3.3 ± 1.5 seeds per berry. In a germination trial, 47.3% of self-pollinated seeds germinated, compared to 41.7% of open-pollinated seeds. This study has shown that Amur honeysuckle can self-pollinate and set viable seed, providing the species with an important mechanism to increase population abundance during the early stages of invasion.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE RURAL LANDSCAPES OF IRON AGE IMPERIAL MESOPOTAMIA PROJECT’S 2022–2023 SEASONS AT QACH RRESH (KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ)
Authors: Creamer Petra M. , Kaercher Kyra , Maynard Glynnis , Babakr Nader , Jodat Ahmad , Laugier Elise J. , Poolman Laurel , Proctor Lucas , Swerida Jennifer , Zane Parker , Vo Sophie
Published: January 2025

This article presents the preliminary results of investigations at the site of Qach Rresh on the Erbil Plain of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, conducted by the Rural Landscapes of Iron Age Imperial Mesopotamia project (RLIIM). The site of Qach Rresh is estimated to have been founded in the mid–eighth century B.C.E., at the height of the Assyrian Empire, and continued to be utilised in varying capacity until the onset of the Hellenistic period (c. 320 B.C.E.). Magnetic gradiometry survey and excavations currently suggest that Qach Rresh served as a rural administrative/storage center during the Assyrian Empire, which fell into disrepair following the empire’s collapse. The following post-Assyrian/Iron Age III period then saw several of its large buildings repurposed as refuse areas containing debris from largely domestic contexts. Qach Rresh is the first rural settlement investigated within the Assyrian imperial heartland. The results from this project seem to indicate a high degree of Assyrian state or elite involvement in the countryside, serving as a critical first foray into assessing the relationship between urban governing centers and their “hinterlands”.
CICHOŃ’S MAXIMUM WITH EVASION NUMBER
Authors: YAMAZOE TAKASHI
Published: January 2025

We show that the evasion number

$\mathfrak {e}$

can be added to Cichoń’s maximum with a distinct value. More specifically, it is consistent that

$\aleph _1<\operatorname {\mathrm {add}}(\mathcal {N})<\operatorname {\mathrm {cov}}(\mathcal {N})<\mathfrak {b}<\mathfrak {e}<\operatorname {\mathrm {non}}(\mathcal {M})<\operatorname {\mathrm {cov}}(\mathcal {M})<\mathfrak {d}<\operatorname {\mathrm {non}}(\mathcal {N})<\operatorname {\mathrm {cof}}(\mathcal {N})<2^{\aleph _0}$

holds.
MANY-ONE REDUCIBILITY WITH REALIZABILITY
Authors: KIHARA TAKAYUKI
Published: January 2025

In this article, we propose a new classification of

$\Sigma ^0_2$

formulas under the realizability interpretation of many-one reducibility (i.e., Levin reducibility). For example,

$\mathsf {Fin}$

, the decision of being eventually zero for sequences, is many-one/Levin complete among

$\Sigma ^0_2$

formulas of the form

$\exists n\forall m\geq n.\varphi (m,x)$

, where

$\varphi $

is decidable. The decision of boundedness for sequences

$\mathsf {BddSeq}$

and for width of posets

$\mathsf {FinWidth}$

are many-one/Levin complete among

$\Sigma ^0_2$

formulas of the form

$\exists n\forall m\geq n\forall k.\varphi (m,k,x)$

, where

$\varphi $

is decidable. However, unlike the classical many-one reducibility, none of the above is

$\Sigma ^0_2$

-complete. The decision of non-density of linear orders

$\mathsf {NonDense}$

is truly

$\Sigma ^0_2$

-complete.
ON FREE ULTRAFILTERS ON
$\omega $
WITH WELL-ORDERABLE BASES IN
$\mathsf {ZF}$
Authors: TACHTSIS ELEFTHERIOS
Published: January 2025

In

$\mathsf {ZF}$

(i.e., Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory minus the axiom of choice (

$\mathsf {AC}$

)), we investigate the open problem of the deductive strength of the principle

UFwob(ω): “There exists a free ultrafilter on ω with a well-orderable base”,

which was introduced by Herzberg, Kanovei, Katz, and Lyubetsky [(2018), Journal of Symbolic Logic, 83(1), 385–391]. Typical results are:

(1)

“

$\aleph _{1}\leq 2^{\aleph _{0}}$

” is strictly weaker than

$\mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

.

(2)

“There exists a free ultrafilter on

$\omega $

” does not imply “

$\aleph _{1}\leq 2^{\aleph _{0}}$

” in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

, and thus (by (1)) neither does it imply

$\mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

. This fills the gap in information in Howard and Rubin [Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, American Mathematical Society, 1998], as well as in Herzberg et al. (2018).

(3)

Martin’s Axiom (

$\mathsf {MA}$

) implies “no free ultrafilter on

$\omega $

has a well-orderable base of cardinality

$<2^{\aleph _{0}}$

”, and the latter principle is not implied by

$\aleph _{0}$

-Martin’s Axiom (

$\mathsf {MA}(\aleph _{0})$

) in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

.

(4)

$\mathsf {MA} + \mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

implies

$\mathsf {AC}(\mathbb {R})$

(the axiom of choice for non-empty sets of reals), which in turn implies

$\mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

. Furthermore,

$\mathsf {MA}$

and

$\mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

are mutually independent in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

.

(5)

For any infinite linearly orderable set X, each of “every filter base on X can be well ordered” and “every filter on X has a well-orderable base” is equivalent to “

$\wp (X)$

can be well ordered”. This yields novel characterizations of the principle “every linearly ordered set can be well ordered” in

$\mathsf {ZFA}$

(i.e., Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with atoms), and of

$\mathsf {AC}$

in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

.

(6)

“Every filter on

$\mathbb {R}$

has a well-orderable base” implies “every filter on

$\omega $

has a well-orderable base”, which in turn implies

$\mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

, and none of these implications are reversible in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

.

(7)

“Every filter on

$\omega $

can be extended to an ultrafilter with a well-orderable base” is equivalent to

$\mathsf {AC}(\mathbb {R}),$

and thus is strictly stronger than

$\mathsf {UF_{wob}}(\omega )$

in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

.

(8)

“Every filter on

$\omega $

can be extended to an ultrafilter” implies “there exists a free ultrafilter on

$\omega $

which has no well-orderable base of cardinality

${<2^{\aleph _{0}}}$

”. The former principle does not imply “there exists a free ultrafilter on

$\omega $

which has no well-orderable base” in

$\mathsf {ZF}$

, and the latter principle is true in the Basic Cohen Model.
DESCRIPTIVE PROPERTIES OF I2-EMBEDDINGS
Authors: DIMONTE VINCENZO , IANNELLA MARTINA , LÜCKE PHILIPP
Published: January 2025

We contribute to the study of generalizations of the Perfect Set Property and the Baire Property to subsets of spaces of higher cardinalities, like the power set

${\mathcal {P}}({\lambda })$

of a singular cardinal

$\lambda $

of countable cofinality or products

$\prod _{i<\omega }\lambda _i$

for a strictly increasing sequence

$\langle {\lambda _i}~\vert ~{i<\omega }\rangle $

of cardinals. We consider the question under which large cardinal hypothesis classes of definable subsets of these spaces possess such regularity properties, focusing on rank-into-rank axioms and classes of sets definable by

$\Sigma _1$

-formulas with parameters from various collections of sets. We prove that

$\omega $

-many measurable cardinals, while sufficient to prove the perfect set property of all

$\Sigma _1$

-definable sets with parameters in

$V_\lambda \cup \{V_\lambda \}$

, are not enough to prove it if there is a cofinal sequence in

$\lambda $

in the parameters. For this conclusion, the existence of an I2-embedding is enough, but there are parameters in

$V_{\lambda +1}$

for which I2 is still not enough. The situation is similar for the Baire property: under I2 all sets that are

$\Sigma _1$

-definable using elements of

$V_\lambda $

and a cofinal sequence as parameters have the Baire property, but I2 is not enough for some parameter in

$V_{\lambda +1}$

. Finally, the existence of an I0-embedding implies that all sets that are

$\Sigma ^1_n$

-definable with parameters in

$V_{\lambda +1}$

have the Baire property.
Gendering Justice in the Chilean Courts: Institutional Developments and Legal Actors’ Perspectives
Authors: Parodi Karime
Published: January 2025

This article examines how, why, and with what limitations judges have adopted a gendered perspective (perspectiva de género) in Chile. It addresses why the Supreme Court’s Secretariat of Gender and Nondiscrimination advocates for a particular understanding of the concept, how judges understand and apply it, and the barriers they perceive to its implementation. Drawing on interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and analysis of court rulings, the study identifies four ways in which judges understand a “gendered perspective”: as a method to detect stereotypes, a tool to analyze context, an instrument to reach a fair result, and a rejection of the notion of loosening evidentiary standards. The article argues that in contemporary Chile, different legal cultures shape disparate understandings about a gendered perspective. There is significant contestation between understandings endorsed by the dominant textualist legal culture and those favored by the emerging interpretive legal culture. By illuminating the limitations Chilean judges face in this evolving area of the law, the study contributes insights of relevance for our understanding of the factors that affect gender and judging in Latin America and beyond.
Less Wound and More Asymmetric: JWST Confirms the Evolution of Spiral Structure in Galaxies at z ≲ 3
Authors: Chugunov Ilia V. , Marchuk Alexander A. , Mosenkov Aleksandr V.
Published: January 2025

Spiral galaxies are ubiquitous in the local Universe. However the properties of spiral arms in them are still not well studied, and there is even less information concerning spiral structure in distant galaxies. We aim to measure the most general parameters of spiral arms in remote galaxies and trace their changes with redshift. We perform photometric decomposition, including spiral arms, for 159 galaxies from the HST COSMOS and JWST CEERS and JADES surveys, which are imaged in optical and near-infrared rest-frame wavelengths. We confirm that, in our representative sample of spiral galaxies, the pitch angles increase, and the azimuthal lengths decrease with increasing redshift, implying that the spiral structure becomes more tightly wound over time. For the spiral-to-total luminosity ratio and the spiral width-to-disc scale length ratio, we find that band-shifting effects can be as significant as, or even stronger than, evolutionary effects. Additionally, we find that spiral structure becomes more asymmetric at higher redshifts.
A stability inequality for planar lens partition
Authors: Bonacini Marco , Cristoferi Riccardo , Topaloglu Ihsan
Published: January 2025

Recently it has been shown that the unique local perimeter minimizing partitioning of the plane into three regions, where one region has finite area and the other two have infinite measure, is given by the so-called standard lens partition. Here we prove a sharp stability inequality for the standard lens, hence strengthening the local minimality of the lens partition in a quantitative form. As an application of this stability result we consider a nonlocal perturbation of an isoperimetric problem.
Possibilities and limitations of new radiocarbon dating for the Maucallacta site, dep. Arequipa, Peru
Authors: Sobczyk Maciej , Rakowski Andrzej Z , Siemianowska Sylwia , Kłaput Jan , Pawlyta Jacek , Sieczkowska-Jacyna Dominika , Olaya Cotera Claudio , Ancapichun Santiago
Published: January 2025

With the development of radiocarbon dating methods in the last decade, the Andean archaeological community has successfully leaned into the problem of the chronology of the expansion of the Inca State. While this chronology was based on ethnohistorical accounts (Rowe 1945), it has been possible to verify its foundations precisely in the last decade. The results from the Maucallacta region are part of these discussions and are intended to add new data from the Inca province of Kuntisuyu, which was neglected in this debate until now. The project encompasses archaeological investigations near the snow-covered volcano Coropuna, frequently mentioned by chroniclers of the 16th and 17th centuries as an oracle worshiped since pre-Inca times. This includes a large complex known as Maucallacta-Pampacolca, located approximately 170 km northwest of Arequipa in the southern highlands of Peru, within the District of Pampacolca, Province of Castilla, Department of Arequipa (LS; 3750 m asl). Due to its location, it holds a unique relationship with the Coropuna landscape. The site is a vast administrative center featuring over three hundred stone buildings, tombs, and ceremonial structures. Among them, the most important is the large ceremonial platform with ushnu and the dumps deposited beneath it. The analysis of ceramics and animal bones, combined with stratigraphic analysis and the results of new calibrations and interpretations of radiocarbon dates, provides a comprehensive picture of the formation and use of ceremonial dumps at the site, making them one of the most thoroughly examined collections in this regard.
“The Field of Endless Intrigue”: The Contest for North Iranian Oil, 1916–1947
Authors: Conlin Jonathan
Published: January 2025

The interwar period saw fitful attempts by British, American, French, and Russian interests to secure oil concessions for Iran’s northern provinces, in a region traditionally perceived as a Russian sphere of interest. Drawing on corporate as well as familiar state archives, this article argues that the contest over concessions in this region served political more than narrowly economic agendas. Although this contest was convoluted, repetitive, and ultimately inconclusive, it sheds light on the emergence of a world oil cartel, as well as the relations between oil-producing and oil-consuming countries before World War II. This article challenges familiar state-centered narratives of oil diplomacy and critiques the tendency to view the history of Iranian oil as one of all-out plunder by Britain and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It outlines the political as well as intellectual obstacles—obstacles not only to achieving a more equitable allocation of Pahlavi Iran’s oil wealth prior to Mossadegh’s 1951 nationalization, but to conceptualizing what such an equitable allocation might have looked like.
‘Jostling for right of way’: Hawker discourse, legitimation, and politics in post-independence Malay(si)a, 1957–1969
Authors: Yern Chin Kar
Published: January 2025

This article investigates the developments of hawker discourse and movements across the Malay(si)an peninsula in the first decade of independence. Looking at news coverage and municipal records, it examines the contingent, gendered, and egalitarian qualities of hawking as labour which led to its adoption by people experiencing hardship, and influenced the ways in which municipal authorities and the public discussed hawkers. In effect, hawkers, long significant to the historical and cultural systems of Malayan trade, were recharacterized as vulnerable subjects at the urban margins. The article then explores how local administrations understood and regulated hawkers through categories of location, race, and food, shaping the politics and governance of hawkers in public spaces. To engage with such governance, hawkers formed associations that protested against injustice and established dialogue with municipal and town councils, impelling authorities to consider a more significant inclusion of hawking in street planning. Throughout the period, the potential and limits of hawker inclusion in post-colonial public spaces became subject to significant debate between municipal authorities, political representatives, and hawkers. As local administrations eventually deepened their commitment to support hawkers, they also expanded their regulation, signifying a cautious imperative to legitimate hawkers and influencing the logic of post-independence planned spaces.
Estimated baseline density of a spotted hyaena population in a post-war landscape
Authors: Briers-Louw Willem D. , Kendon Tamar A. , Rogan Matthew S. , Leslie Alison J. , Bantlin Drew , Evers Emma , Gaynor David , Lindsey Peter , Almeida João , Naude Vincent N.
Published: January 2025

The spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta is relatively understudied across its range despite evidence of widespread declines. It is therefore essential that robust baseline population density assessments are conducted to inform current management and future conservation policy. In Mozambique this is urgent as decades of armed conflict followed by unchecked poaching have resulted in large-scale wildlife declines and extirpations. We conducted the first robust population density estimate for a spotted hyaena population in Mozambique using spatially explicit capture–recapture methodologies. We recorded a relatively low population density of 0.8–2.1 hyaenas/100 km2 in the wildlife management area Coutada 11 in the Zambezi Delta of central Mozambique in 2021. These densities are well below the estimated carrying capacity for the landscape and are comparable to published densities in high human-impact, miombo woodland-dominated and arid environments. The combination of historical armed conflict, marginal trophy hunting and bushmeat poaching using wire snares and gin traps (with physical injuries evident in 9% of identified individuals) presents persistent anthropogenic pressure, limiting the post-war recovery of this resident hyaena population. We provide insights into the dynamics of hyaena population status and recovery in such post-war landscapes, adding to mounting evidence that the species is less resilient to severe anthropogenic disturbances than previously believed. We recommend long-term monitoring of this and other carnivore populations in post-war landscapes to ascertain demographic trends and implement effective conservation interventions for population recovery.
A Preface to the First Critique: Reason’s Desire and Kant’s Political History of Metaphysics
Authors: Anderson Nicholas A.
Published: January 2025

Kant begins the 1781 Preface of the Critique of Pure Reason with a history of metaphysics told as a sequence of failed political regimes. This history has been largely passed over both in the literature on Kant’s metaphysics and in that on his political philosophy. This article provides an interpretation of Kant’s history of metaphysical regimes as a way of exploring the political themes and aims of the First Critique. Kant’s opening narrative articulates the role his critique of metaphysics plays in establishing the possibility of a lawful order of reason that defends morality against threats arising from reason’s theoretical dissatisfaction. The political history of metaphysics presented in the A Preface reveals Kant’s understanding of the public role philosophy must undertake in the context of the modern crisis of reason.
Following the Money, A Symposium on Stefan Eich’s The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes
Authors: Kelly Duncan
Published: January 2025

The two first reflections on the politics of money you will see in Eich’s book, a substantial intervention (indeed, the notes are fully one-third the length of the main text itself), come from the visual arts and poetry. Commented upon at the end of his book, the cover image comes from Otis Kaye’s simultaneously playful and biting memento of the Met’s 1961 purchase of Rembrandt’s shimmering 1653 painting, Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. At some 2.3 million dollars, it was the most expensive museum purchase of all time. And Kaye (who seems to have lost most of his own savings in the great crash of 1929) offers both an homage, recreating the main figure of Aristotle with his hand on the bust of a representation of Homer, and a mordant reflection. The trompe l’oeil qualities of paper money in the painting hark back to earlier inflationary economics with the French revolutionary assignats, whose history found renewed interest among those trying to account for German hyperinflation and the Great Depression. Similarly, around Kaye’s edges, the dark intensity of Rembrandt’s background peels away to reveal utilitarian paneling, into which are fixed and interlaced wodges of cash, alongside other symbols of money making. The Heart of the Matter is more than just a wry reflection on the imbrication of art and commerce, or of Rembrandt interpretation—fleeting worldly fame, or lasting reputation. For while its truth seems superficially obvious—that the art world and the art market are inseparable—it is not entirely clear what sort of lesson we are supposed to learn about money. It is on the surface and under it, the base and the superstructure, form and content, style as well as substance. Is it telling us that a society where money is king is one that cannot see the truth of things, or that money, or at least the having of it, is what allows us not to think about it too much?
An ulus within an ulus: the afterlife of Ariq Böke's appanage in the Mongol Empire (1252–1336)
Authors: Hope Michael
Published: January 2025

In 1206 Chinggis Khan replaced the warring factions of Mongolia with a single polity, the Great Mongol Realm (Yeke Mongqol Ulus). The ulus was ruled by a khan, who allocated pastures, households and revenues to his relatives as shares (qubi). Chinggis granted the first allocation to his brothers and senior sons in 1207 but many more redistributions took place in the coming decades. Many of these appanages grew so large that their holders challenged the khan's dominance and even broke free of his control to form their own polities (uluses). This article will explore the fluidity of the Mongol appanage system by taking the qubi of Chinggis Khan's grandson Ariq Böke (d. 1266) as a case study. The Ariq Bökids established their own secondary ulus in Inner Asia, before fragmenting and lending their support to neighbouring khans in the fourteenth century.
Legacies and Legalities: Bequests of Land to Ecclesiastical Institutions in England c. 1180–1300
Authors: White Sarah B.
Published: January 2025

In English testamentary history, there is a clear divide between Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman testamentary practice, with the primary difference being that in the latter case, heritable land could not be bequeathed. Once the transfer of land required the livery of seisin, a practice introduced during the reign of Henry II (1154–89), it was not possible for a gift of land to take effect upon the death of the owner, and the royal courts did not consider the intention to dispose of a tenement, as expressed in a will, sufficient in itself to complete the transfer. Nonetheless, an examination of extant wills from the period 1180–1300 demonstrates that some testators (or indeed beneficiaries) may have thought that bequests of land were possible or even enforceable. How do these wills fit into the legal framework of the time? If a bequest could not be enforced in the royal courts, what reasons might someone have for attempting to make one, and how might they try to ensure that the bequest held?
Out with the Old, In with the Republicans? The Partisan Push of Legislative Term Limits
Authors: Butcher Jordan
Published: January 2025

Legislative term limits garnered public support because they promised to drain the swamp, removing entrenched incumbents from office. There is often a partisan dimension to this appeal since “the swamp” that is to be “drained” has often been controlled by one party for a lengthy period. However, it remains unclear to what extent term limits realign partisanship within US state legislatures. Using newly available turnover data, this research evaluates how legislative partisanship shifted after the implementation of term limits in state legislatures and continued over 20 years. The initial surge effects of term limits did appear to level the playing field between parties. The passage of term limits reversed party majorities in state legislatures, primarily benefiting newfound Republican majorities. These findings have important implications for current understandings of legislative term limits, as more states revisit these proposals, and provide insight into party trends at the state legislative level.
Term Limits in France and the United States: A Comparative History of Policy Debate and Adoption
Authors: Fevrat Noemi , Kousser Thad
Published: January 2025

This article seeks to compare the policy histories of the legislative term limits in France and the United States. Both nations debated, initially adopted, and then ultimately rejected imposing term limits during the foundational moments of their democracies. Reemerging in the 1990s in America, proposals to refresh government through such limits have been successful in the states and have failed at the national level. The idea regained prominence in France when Emmanuel Macron supported it during his 2017 presidential election. Although Macron eventually abandoned the proposal, the revival of this debate is an opportunity to draw broad parallels but identify critical differences between the two nations in the philosophical debates over term limits and the ways that leaders have embraced or abandoned them to fulfill their political goals. We show how the idea circulated between the two nations, without a parallel exchange of evidence about its effects.
Introduction: Perspectives on Term Limits in Democratic Society
Authors: Strickland James
Published: January 2025

Discussions of term limits are happening in the United States and abroad. In July 2024, President Biden announced his support for limiting the number of years that federal judges may serve. Surveys suggest that limits for judges are popular with Americans.1 Relatedly, voters have historically supported term limits for members of Congress, with the most recent survey (from July 2023) finding support among 87%.2 For now, limits are unlikely to be imposed on federal judges or members of Congress, but there are recent changes in the states. Voters in North Dakota imposed limits on their state legislators in 2022, and those limits will take effect in 2028. In Michigan, also in 2022, voters shortened the long-standing lifetime limits for their legislators from 14 to 12 years. Discussions or reforms, including the elimination of limits, have also occurred outside of the United States. In Russia, voters seemingly reset the term limits that applied previously to President Vladimir Putin, thereby allowing him to serve in office until 2036. In China, where limits for various leaders including the president were first added to the country’s constitution in 1982, limits were abolished in 2018. Although these are prominent examples of limits being lifted, a remarkable number of new limits have been enacted elsewhere, with limits on executives being imposed in 17 countries within the past decade alone. To date, only a handful of countries, most of which are in the Americas, have legislative limits.3 Conversely, nearly every country limits the service of judges.4
‘A Rightful Share of Prestige and Influence’: The Russian Brigades in Macedonia and Russia’s Ambitions in the Balkans during the First World War
Authors: Piégais Gwendal
Published: January 2025

In 1916, a Russian contingent of 24,000 men landed in Salonika to fight alongside the French, Serbian and British armies on the Front d'Orient. Until December 1917, these troops fought against the Bulgarian troops, occupied Greek territory, and helped to bring Greece into line with the Entente. This article explains the reasons that prompted the Russian command to send such a contingent to a distant theatre, at a time when the Russian army was facing a manpower crisis. It reassesses the meaning that the imperial elites gave to the conflict and the role they attributed to Russia in the Balkans.
Jacob Lorenz's Mission to Turkey (1938): Corporatism, Kemalism and the Cost of Transforming Society
Authors: Balistreri Alexander E.
Published: January 2025

Jacob Lorenz (1883–1946) was a pathbreaking Swiss statistician and sociologist turned right-wing intellectual who promoted a revision of Swiss society and politics. In 1938, the Turkish government invited Lorenz to conduct fieldwork and submit a report on the country's high cost of living. Recent studies of transnational corporatism might lead us to assume that this invitation was the result of a shared corporatist ideology. Using Lorenz's report and travel writings alongside archival documents, however, this article argues against the hypothesis that Lorenz's mission served as a conduit of transnational corporatist interaction and influence. Instead, Lorenz's mission is best understood in its Turkish domestic political context, while its findings were shaped by Lorenz's personal ideological ambivalence. By highlighting the ideological tensions inherent in Lorenz's mission, this article contributes to the growing scholarship on ‘illiberal internationalism’.
Applying Rawls’ Theory of Public Reason to Controversies over Parental Surrogacy
Authors: Appel Jacob M.
Published: January 2025

Parental surrogacy remains a highly controversial issue in contemporary ethics with considerable variation in the legal approaches of different jurisdictions. Finding a societal consensus on the issue remains highly elusive. John Rawls’ theory of public reason, first developed in his A Theory of Justice (1971), offers a unifying model of political discourse and engagement that enables reasonable citizens to accept policies that they do not necessarily support at a personal level. The theory established a promising framework for private citizens with distinct moral positions on the subject to find common ground and, in doing so, to negotiate a consensus regarding the degree and nature of regulation that is palatable to all rational citizens.
Public Reason in Times of Corona: Countering Disinformation in the Netherlands
Authors: Buijsen Martin
Published: January 2025

Who should decide what passes for disinformation in a liberal democracy? During the COVID-19 pandemic, a committee set up by the Dutch Ministry of Health was actively blocking disinformation. The committee comprised civil servants, communication experts, public health experts, and representatives of commercial online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. To a large extent, vaccine hesitancy was attributed to disinformation, defined as misinformation (or data misinterpreted) with harmful intent. In this study, the question is answered by reflecting on what is needed for us to honor public reason: reasonableness, the willingness to engage in public discourse properly, and trust in the institutions of liberal democracy.
Committed leadership: a prerequisite for successful implementation of recovery during the workday
Authors: Ejlertsson Lina , Brorsson Annika
Published: January 2025

Aim:

The aim of this study was to explore the role of managers and employees with an assigned responsibility (i.e. inspirers) when integrating recovery-enhancing activities into everyday work in a primary health care setting.

Background:

The possibility of recovery during the workday is essential for employee wellbeing. However, the literature on workplace interventions focusing on recovery is scarce. Especially with regard to the importance of local driving forces, like managers and inspirers.

Methods:

Two focus groups and two individual interviews were conducted in this qualitative interview study. In total, ten managers and inspirers from different primary health care centres were interviewed about their experiences of brief recovery interventions at their workplaces. A semi-structured interview guide was used, and the qualitative analysis was conducted by using systematic text condensation.

Findings:

From a leadership perspective, two themes with promoting factors for recovery interventions were identified. These were structural promoting factors (including authorisation, communication, and integration) and cultural promoting factors (including attitude, support, and open-mindedness). This knowledge can contribute to future workplace environment development with the focus on recovery during the workday. The results also showed several positive effects of integrated recovery, both on an individual and group level. Hence, this study is a valuable addition to the work recovery research, in terms of understanding the importance of investing in recovery at work.