bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Current Situation of Domestic Wastewater Discharge in Rural Areas in China-A review
Authors: Tian Jia
Published: December 2024

In recent years, with the development of the economy and the improvement of living standards in rural areas of China, the production of rural domestic sewage has increased sharply. However, the construction of sewage treatment facilities in rural areas lags behind, leading to a relatively low rate of rural domestic sewage treatment and highlighting ecological issues in rural areas. In order to govern rural domestic sewage in a targeted manner and improve treatment efficiency, it is necessary to conduct investigations on the water quality, water quantity, discharge patterns, and composition of pollutants of rural domestic sewage. This is to provide references for the selection of rural domestic sewage treatment technologies.
Treating Leachate from a China-based Landfill with Modified Adsorbent Resin
Authors: Wei Jie , Pan Yuhang , Xu Ming , Wei Jingxin
Published: December 2024

We employed sodium lignosulfonate grafted sodium polyacrylate resin for the adsorption treatment of leachate from a landfill Fushun City, China. We obtained the resin’s removal rates of Pb2+, Cu2+, COD, and NH3-N and used them to examine how adsorbent dosages, pH levels, and oscillation times affect its performance in treating leachate in wastewater. According to the experimental results, its performance in adsorbing heavy metal ions, particularly Pb2+ and Cu2+, in the leachate from waste, was considerably improved. The optimal comprehensive treatment results were obtained with a pH of 4.5, an adsorbent dosage of 55 mg, and an oscillation time of 80 minutes, with the removal rates being 91.3% and 89.6%, respectively, for Pb2+ and Cu2+. The adsorbent resin exhibited certain removal capabilities for COD and NH3-N, although not to the same extent as observed for heavy metals.
Analysis of Variation and Difference in Compressive Strength along the Grain of Taxodium Ascendens Plantation
Authors: Yang Zhulin , Xu Youming , Lin Han , Zheng Hongbo , Wang Kunxi
Published: December 2024

The compressive strength along the grain (CSAG) is one of the important mechanical properties in design for wood structural materials. Taxodium ascendens Brongn is one of the important timber species planted in the water network area of the Yangtze River basin in China. In this paper, its radial and axial variation of the compressive strength along the grain within and among trees in Taxodium ascendens plantation. The results show that the CSAG variation of Taxodium ascendens increase in radial direction with a tree age and first increases, then decreases and fially keep stable. The axial variation of CSAG first increases, then decreases and stabilize from base of a tree to top. There is a clear positive correlation of its CSAG with extractives content, which reflected that the variation of its CSAG is mainly influenced by the content of extractives. There are significant differences in CSAG among trees of Taxodium ascendens and different heights a tree. The average of its CSAG is 35.37 MPA, with a range of 25.05-47.34 MPa. According to the standard data of Chinese wood properties, its CSAG is relatively small and its timber is soft in hardness. It can be used as general furniture material and is not suitable as a load-bearing lumber
Using Quantum Switches to Mitigate Noise in Grover's Search Algorithm
Authors: Srivastava Suryansh , Pati Arun Kumar , Chakrabarty Indranil , Bhattacharya Samyadeb
Published: December 2024

Grover's quantum search algorithm promises a quadratic speedup for unstructured search over its classical counterpart. But this advantage is affected by noise acting on the search space. Here, we show that a quantum switch can act as a resource to mitigate the effects of noise. In this scenario, the noise is modeled by a depolarizing channel, which coherently acts on the entire quantum register.  We show that a quantum switch can significantly reduce the error in Grover's search algorithm. We consider the success probability of finding the marked item as the sole quantifier of diminishing the effect of noise in the search space in the presence of quantum switch. We propose two frameworks for the application of quantum switches. In the first framework, we apply the superposition of channel's orders in the form of a switch and do a post-selection at every iteration of the applications of the Grover operator.In the second framework, we delay this measurement and post-selection until the very end. The number of post selections is minimal in the second scenario, and hence the noise reduction can be attributed more to the presence of quantum switch.  We illustrate with an example of significant advantage in the success probability of Grover's algorithm using quantum switch.
Sustainable Food Packaging Technologies: Income Optimization and Business Sustainability Through Edible Straws
Authors: Putri Salsabila Ramadhania , Febian Angelique Ivanka , Hendratno Setiani Putri
Published: December 2024

This research delves into the important part that food technology plays in reducing environmental impacts via sustainable practices and innovative packaging. It presents edible straws as a sustainable substitute for single-use plastic packaging and highlights the significant effect of this practice on environmental deterioration. In this qualitative study, we look at how members of Generations Y and Z in Indonesia feel about and use edible straws. Despite concerns about price and longevity, it reveals a growing demand for eco-friendly goods. Although there is a lot of support for green projects, the research reveals that SMEs have a hard time finding a balance between sustainability and profitability and staying competitive in the market. Findings stress the need for deliberate approaches to increase the food industry’s adoption of sustainable practices.
Green Campus Implementation and Challenges in Education and Research in Indonesia
Authors: Muzayyinah  , Andriani Feni , Rahayu Murtanti Jani , Suryanto  , Baharintasari Dinar Rachmadika , Sulistyana Yanti
Published: December 2024

Since the establishment of the green campus concept at the end of the 20th century, global awareness of its implementation has steadily increased. This study was a narrative review that explored the implementation and challenges of green campuses in Indonesia, focusing on education and research. Data were collected through a literature review using the UI Green Metric website, university green campus websites, and articles from Google and Google Scholar. The criteria for source selection included: (1) publication between January 2010 and January 2024, (2) data sources limited to journal articles, excluding theses and dissertations, (3) articles that mentioned green campus programs in education and research, (4) research conducted at Indonesian campuses, and (5) sources that could be either research journals or review articles. A total of 50 articles were analyzed qualitatively. The results indicated an increase in the number of Indonesian campuses implementing green campus programs from 2018 to 2023. Only 4% of Indonesian campuses had effectively implemented programs in education and research, based on articles and reports from the UI Green Metric website. The challenges faced included limited academic involvement due to a lack of awareness, insufficient policies and regulations, inadequate research funding, and a scarcity of relevant courses. This study concluded that the implementation of green campuses in Indonesia, particularly in research and education, remained ineffective. Significant development is necessary to advance sustainable and environmentally friendly education and research practices in Indonesian campuses.
Production of bioethanol from molasses by varying brix and yeast concentration
Authors: Lukum Astin , Tangahu Aura Dwi Kurnianda , Mohamad Erni , Sukamto Kostiawan , Paramata Arfiani Rizki
Published: December 2024

The study aimed to determine the optimal yeast concentration and growth pattern using the yeast growth curve and to evaluate bioethanol yield from molasses through fermentation with varying Brix levels and yeast concentrations. Bioethanol was produced from sugar mill molasses using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which converts sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Variations in Brix levels and yeast concentrations influence alcohol yield and volume, necessitating further research to identify optimal conditions for efficient bioethanol production. Seven yeast concentrations (1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, and 4%) were tested by measuring optical density (OD) to select the optimal concentration. This concentration was then applied in fermentation with Brix variations of 15%, 17%, and 19% for 72 hours, followed by distillation to obtain bioethanol. Ethanol content was measured using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, resulting in bioethanol yields of 0.145%, 0.166%, and 0.180% for 15%, 17%, and 19% Brix, respectively. The highest ethanol content (0.180%) was achieved with 19% Brix and 4% yeast concentration after 8 hours of fermentation. These findings are expected to improve the efficiency of bioethanol production from molasses, supporting renewable energy development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Metasurface phased arrays for conventional and quantum optics
Authors: Alam M Z
Published: December 2024

Optical phased array (OPA) has emerged as a promising technology for a wide range of applications ranging from LIDAR for autonomous vehicles, space communication, laser machining to augmented reality. Metasurfaces have the potential to greatly improve the performance of OPAs and extend their range of applications. Although metasurface OPAs have found applications mostly in conventional optics so far, they have also shown great promise for application in light emitting devices and quantum optics in recent years. This paper presents a review of the state of the art of metasurface OPAs for both conventional and emerging applications. Major progress made in recent years and the important challenges that need to be addressed are discussed.
An operational definition of quantum information scrambling
Authors: Lo Monaco Gabriele , Innocenti Luca , Cilluffo Dario , Chisholm Diana A , Lorenzo Salvatore , Massimo Palma G
Published: December 2024

Quantum information scrambling (QIS) is a characteristic feature of several quantum systems, ranging from black holes to quantum communication networks. While accurately quantifying QIS is crucial to understanding many such phenomena, common approaches based on the tripartite information have limitations due to the accessibility issues of quantum mutual information, and do not always properly take into consideration the dependence on the encoding input basis. To address these issues, we propose a novel and computationally efficient QIS quantifier, based on a formulation of QIS in terms of quantum state discrimination. We show that the optimal guessing probability, which reflects the degree of QIS induced by an isometric quantum evolution, is directly connected to the accessible min-information, a generalized channel capacity based on conditional min-entropy, which can be cast as a convex program and thus computed efficiently. By applying our proposal to a range of examples with increasing complexity, we illustrate its ability to capture the multifaceted nature of QIS in all its intricacy.
Solving an industrially relevant quantum chemistry problem on quantum hardware
Authors: Nützel Ludwig , Gresch Alexander , Hehn Lukas , Marti Lucas , Freund Robert , Steiner Alex , Marciniak Christian D , Eckstein Timo , Stockinger Nina , Wolf Stefan , Monz Thomas , Kühn Michael , Hartmann Michael J
Published: December 2024

Quantum chemical calculations are among the most promising applications for quantum computing. Implementations of dedicated quantum algorithms on available quantum hardware were so far, however, mostly limited to comparatively simple systems without strong correlations. As such, they can also be addressed by classically efficient single-reference methods. Here we calculate the lowest energy eigenvalue of active space Hamiltonians of industrially relevant and strongly correlated metal chelates on trapped ion quantum hardware, and integrate the results into a typical industrial quantum chemical workflow to arrive at chemically meaningful properties. We are able to achieve chemical accuracy by training a variational quantum algorithm on quantum hardware, followed by a classical diagonalization in the subspace of states measured as outputs of the quantum circuit. This approach is particularly measurement-efficient, requiring 600 single-shot measurements per cost function evaluation on a ten qubit system, and allows for efficient post-processing to handle erroneous runs.
Demand-side challenges and research needs on the road to 100% zero-emission vehicle sales
Authors: Hardman Scott , Chakraborty Amrita , Hoogland Kelly , Sugihara Claire , Helveston John Paul , Jensen Anders Fjendbo , Jenn Alan , Jochem Patrick , Plötz Patrick , Sprei Frances , Williams Brett , Axsen Jonn , Figenbaum Erik , Pontes Jose , Tal Gil , Refa Nazir
Published: December 2024

Most net-zero emissions targets require electrification of the entire light-duty vehicle fleet, and before that the electrification of all new vehicle sales. In this paper, we review literature on demand-side issues related to achieving 100% zero-emissions vehicle sales, focusing on plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). We discuss potential demand-side challenges to increasing PEV sales and related research gaps, including consumer factors (perceptions, knowledge, and consumer characterises), demand-focused policy (incentives), infrastructure, and energy prices. While global PEV sales have substantially increased in recent years, several challenges remain: some demographic groups are currently underrepresented among PEV buyers (e.g. renters, lower income buyers), some car drivers are resistant to PEVs, incentives are influential but have predominantly benefited higher-income new-car buyers and are being phased out, infrastructure is not sufficiently developed or equally distributed, infrastructure is not user friendly, and some households lack charging access. Some issues we identify may be related to the early stage of the PEV market, though will need to be addressed to reach higher PEV sales and PEV fleet shares. Finally, we outline areas where more research is needed to understand and guide the PEV transition.
Technology first, sustainability later: a systematic review on the literature on the policy development of China’s smart city strategy
Authors: Ge Ke , Creutzig Felix , Hintz Marie Josefine
Published: December 2024

In China, like in other countries, smart cities have been proposed to make cities more efficient and, ideally, also more sustainable and low-carbon. Unlike other countries, China pursued a smart city strategy since 2008 with substantial funding and intermediate goals, resulting in high data and computational-intensive digital infrastructures in some cities. However, there is a lack of systematic understanding of how Chinese smart city policies and practices evolved. It is also unclear if and how smart cities achieve sustainability goals. Here, we fill these gaps by conducting a systematic literature review on the timeline of China’s smart city policies during the past three Five-Year Plans. The literature review, based on screening 7995 papers, and analyzing 364 relevant articles, shows that priority research topics are smart city systems and governance, including surveillance, with a more limited focus on policy. China’s net-zero carbon strategy is far less developed than its smart city strategy. The funding and development of large-scale data and AI technology is exemplified in Hangzhou’s ‘Urban Brain’. While sustainability goals are often associated with smart cities, we find few applications with demonstrated sustainability benefits. We suggest that mutual learning is possible by combining the net zero strategy and sustainable city strategy of cities like Copenhagen, Nairobi, Singapore and Toronto with the urban brain strategy of cities like Hangzhou.
Introduction
Authors: Bright David
Published: December 2024

This book comprises chapters that aim to reveal insights into the intersection between illicit firearms markets, organized crime, and organized criminal groups (OCGs). The book employs a regional lens on illicit firearms markets, while concurrently exploring key emerging themes and challenges that lie at the intersection of illicit firearms markets and organized crime, such as the trafficking of firearms by OCGs and the facilitation of other organized crimes (e.g. drug trafficking) through the use of illicit firearms. In this introductory chapter, I address the contested nature of ‘organized crime’. Rather than endorse any specific definition of ‘organized crime’, I articulate a framework that incorporates the key characteristics of organized crime: the criminal activities associated with organized crime, the organization of criminals who undertake such activities, and extra-legal governance. I also provide an overview of the use of illicit firearms by organized criminal groups. I then introduce the concept of illicit markets and how they differ from legal markets, and provide a brief overview of the trafficking in illicit firearms including a review of some cross-regional similarities and differences. I conclude the chapter with an overview of the structure of the book with reference to the chapters that are to follow.
The Illicit Sources of Guns to Criminal Groups in the United States
Authors: Braga Anthony A
Published: December 2024

Gangs, drug-selling crews, and other criminal organizations generate a disproportionate amount of gun violence in US cities. Gangsters and members of other criminally active groups generally do not purchase their firearms from licensed retail dealers. Instead, they acquire guns from private transactions with friends and family, or from the street. Analyses of crime gun tracing and firearm trafficking investigation data reveal that underground gun markets are supplied through a variety of illegal pathways including unregulated private sellers, straw purchasers, corrupt licensed dealers, gun thieves, and privately made firearms. The types of illegal sources supplying firearms to specific underground markets is influenced by community gun prevalence and the strength of gun control in jurisdictions. Increasing the time, effort, and expense of illegally acquiring guns can reduce gun use in violent crime. Problem-oriented policing strategies can be effective in disrupting local underground gun markets.
Not Just a Ballistic Affair
Authors: Florquin Nicolas , Anderson Simon , Fabre Anne-Séverine , Joseph Callixtus , St. John Joy
Published: December 2024

This chapter examines the trafficking of firearms in the Caribbean, including the sources of these weapons, the actors involved—notably gangs and organized crime groups—and the impact of these activities on violence and crime. Given that firearms are the most commonly used weapon in homicides in a number of Caribbean countries, the chapter pays particular attention to the impacts of trafficking and violence on public health and highlights the need for measures to reduce the burden of firearm injuries. When reviewing trends in illicit firearms in the region, the chapter examines the types of firearms, sources, concealment methods, and modes of transport used by criminals. The chapter finally explores the policy implications for the region and reviews key regional efforts underway to counter the twin challenges of firearms trafficking and violent crime.
A Multiplex Network Perspective on Illicit Firearms Trafficking
Authors: van der Wijk Fenna , Bright David , Kootstra Freddie
Published: December 2024

Illicit firearms trafficking is a transnational problem affecting communities worldwide. It enables, and is frequently intertwined with, other organized crime activities, such as drug and human trafficking. Illicit firearms trafficking is considered to be primarily carried out by organized criminal groups. A way to map and measure relationships and flows between individuals in firearms trafficking groups is provided by social network analysis (SNA). This chapter focuses on using SNA to understand the criminal activities in firearms trafficking networks and the social structures facilitating those activities in the European context. By means of a multiplex network approach, six network layers or tie types were examined, including ties that support the flow of commodities (firearms, money, and equipment) and those that facilitate social dynamics (orders, negotiation, and planning). A case study of a Dutch firearms trafficking network that was subject to police investigation was used. The merged network consisted of forty-two actors with 224 ties between them, including ties of which the link type was unknown. SNA metrics (density, degree centralization, average degree, degree centrality, and betweenness centrality) were calculated for the merged network and the six individual network layers. Results are discussed in light of the literature on the social organization of criminal groups. The chapter concludes with implications of results for policy and practice.
‘If You Get into the Business, You Have to Arm Up’
Authors: Bright David , Halsey Mark
Published: December 2024

The chapter examines the use of illicit firearms in the context of organized criminal activities and by members of organized criminal groups. In this context ‘use’ includes carrying, displaying, and discharging guns for instrumental reasons during a crime or as a symbolic gesture such as to prove one’s mettle to peers. The chapter draws from seventy-five in-depth interviews with prisoners convicted of firearms-related crime in Australia and focuses specifically on the lived experience of participants in the context of illicit firearms markets and organized criminal groups. In this chapter, we explore the use of crime guns by members of organized criminal groups and in the commission or ‘organized crime’-type offences such as dealing and trafficking in illicit drugs. We explore a range of themes drawing on interviews including: preferences for specific types of firearms; the use of firearms to enhance status and power; the use of firearms for protection in illicit drug markets; firearms as a tool to steal drugs and money from drug dealers; and the use of firearms in conflicts between organized criminal groups. We discuss the implications of our results for policy and practice.
Redefining Codification
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

More than half of the world’s population lives under law codes. Yet, defining the concept of codification remains elusive. Rather than delving into abstract theories, this book provides a rich, contextual comparative legal history of codes in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium from the late eighteenth century to the present. The first part studies the evolution of French, German, Dutch, and Belgian codes in their political and comparative context, thus challenging deeply rooted national narratives. It covers not only the well-studied French, German, Dutch, and Belgian civil codes but also their often-overlooked commercial and procedural counterparts and drafts that failed to become law. The second part embarks on a comprehensive analysis of the factors contributing to the success or failure of codification efforts. Employing an innovative method of comparative legal history, it explores the key players and objectives behind codification, revealing that traditional notions of codification are far removed from reality. Following this deconstruction of some ‘universal truths’ about codifications, the book proposes a fresh, empirically based definition of codification, offering new insights. This book is essential for law scholars in civil and common law countries who study codification. For both beginners and specialists, it can also serve as a gateway to the histories and recent developments in private, commercial, and procedural law in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Historians and political scientists will find a behind-the-scenes analysis of the machinery of lawmaking in this book. Politicians and drafters of new codes can use this book as an overview of best practices in codification.
Introduction
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

Codification history fascinates comparative lawyers and legal historians, yet codification is a hard-to-define concept. The word ‘code’ has many meanings for jurists, referring to both compilations and original texts. In the traditional view, the latter, the so-called true codes, must be original, innovative, accessible, and systematic. However, in reality, no current or past code fulfils all these criteria. Therefore, it is necessary to work empirically, by looking at actual codes to determine what codes really are and to arrive at a new definition. As it is impossible to look at all the available material, the focus is on four countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium) from the late eighteenth century until now. Studying them in a comparative approach remedies the defects of current national historiographies. To counteract the emphasis on civil codes, commercial and civil procedure codes are also considered. Given the interaction between law and politics, the research looks at codes in their context and not as autonomous phenomena. In addition, including failed draft codes helps to understand better the nature of codifications, which makes it possible to construct a definition of the concept ‘code’ that better reflects current and past reality.
Germany
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

Due to political division, both in the nineteenth century before unification and after World War II before reunification, Germany has been a laboratory for codification. In nineteenth-century Germany, only one state managed to enact a civil code, and for commercial law no state got that far, but for civil procedure we find a plethora of codes. A national commercial code, the General German Commercial Code, arrived in 1861 before political unification in 1871, followed in 1877 by the Imperial Civil Procedure Rules. The German Civil Code was only enacted in 1896, with the revised German Commercial Code coming one year later. Prussia played a crucial role in unifying German law, but it could not always simply impose its wishes on the other German states. None of the three codes followed the normal pattern for legislation in Germany, in which the national Ministry of Justice (or its equivalent) steers the drafting process from the beginning to the end. In the twentieth century, the Nazi regime did not make new codes because Hitler did not want to be bound by the law. After his fall, communist East Germany wrote new codes, but they disappeared after reunification. The 2002 reform of the law of obligations proves that Germany can still enact major legislation, but in general, today’s Germany seems to be satisfied with its nineteenth-century codes. Meanwhile, civil procedure, the most urgent priority of the nineteenth century, has become a side topic, whereas the originally unpopular Civil Code has become well entrenched.
The Netherlands
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

Dutch codification history proves that the size of a country is less important than the quality of its drafters. Napoleon imposed his codes on the Netherlands, ignoring local efforts to write codes based on the Dutch legal tradition. The United Kingdom of Belgium and the Netherlands drafted new codes in 1815–1830, which entered into force in 1838 after the secession of Belgium. Although these codes remained within the French orbit, Dutch jurists were satisfied with them, and attempts to revise them failed at the end of the nineteenth century. After World War II, however, Meijers started to draft a new code integrating commercial law. As this codification effort was very much linked to the personality of Meijers, his death bogged down the drafting process, but most of the new Dutch Civil Code entered into force in 1992. Two of its books followed later, and one is unlikely to become a reality, but the Dutch Civil Code still comes close to incorporating all substantive private law. Because it was meant to show the nation’s greatness, the Dutch Civil Code has received the most attention. The 1838 Dutch Code of Civil Procedure still exists, as no plans for a new code were successful. However, a new code may not even be necessary as the mindset of many jurists on an efficient civil procedure has changed anyway.
Belgium
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

The constant of Belgian codification history is the pragmatism of Belgian jurists. Although the 1831 Constitution of newly independent Belgium called for new codes, Napoleon’s codes survived for a long time because they fit the needs of Belgian jurists. A very partisan draft by Laurent soured Belgian jurists and politicians on a new civil code, and a draft code of civil procedure foundered on resistance from a group of practitioners. Parliament reformed commercial law completely during the second half of the nineteenth century, but only because it had to do so, as Belgium was the first country after the United Kingdom to industrialize. The 1967 Belgian Judicial Code did not fundamentally change the pattern of loyalty to Napoleon’s codes, as it strengthened the main tendencies of the French 1806 Code of Civil Procedure. In 2013–2014, the Belgian Code of Economic Law proved that the country could still make great codes, but not with the minister of justice at the helm. This suddenly changed in 2016 when Minister of Justice Geens announced his plan for new codes. By now, this has resulted in major reforms in economic law and a new Belgian Civil Code, which is well on its way to completion. However, although the 1967 Judicial Code is defective, no plan exists to replace it.
The Lack of an Ideal Code
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

The best-known code is the French 1804 Civil Code, which, even today, many scholars consider the ideal codification model. However, it was imposed by a military dictator and is therefore not a good example for today’s democratic societies. France does not offer the ideal model, and neither does any other country. Civil, commercial, and procedural codes are so diverse that it is impossible to see one of them as the mould in which others were cast. The codes’ diversity also extends to decodification, which is not a necessary corollary of codification but a result of political choices. Whatever their differences, codifications have in common that success comes at a price. At least one of the traditional characteristics of a code (innovation, consistency, exclusivity, or accessibility) has to be sacrificed for a draft to become law. Researchers who want to study what would have happened if other choices had been made can use comparative legal history to find realistic alternative scenarios.
A Comparative Legal History Method for Studying the Success and Failure of Draft Codifications
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

As no ideal model of making a code exists in reality, it is necessary to empirically look at the causal factors for the success or failure of attempts to promulgate a new code. The criterion for success or failure is, in this case, whether or not a draft code becomes legislation that enters into force. Studying successful and failed drafts in several countries is an exercise in comparative legal history, a discipline which does not have much in the way of a distinct methodology. At first, contradicting national historiographies look like obstacles to research. However, they can also indicate that a previously ignored factor is at work. Therefore, this source of frustration for the comparative legal historian turns out to be a blessing in disguise, the building block for a methodology adapted to the current needs of comparative legal history.
Actors: Drafters, Politicians, and Other Stakeholders
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

The actors of a codification are drafters, politicians, and other stakeholders. Literature on codification extensively debates whether a single person or a commission is more apt to write a code, but the selection of the drafters matters more than their number. Drafters must be legal experts with free time to work, and the higher their number, the more they have to organize their activities. Amongst the drafters and the politicians, a stable consensus has to exist on the necessity and priority of a codification and its aims. This consensus is anchored in nationalism, including not just openly professed nationalism but also the wish to stimulate the national economy. To preserve or construct this stable consensus, drafters and politicians need to consider a diversity of opinions one way or another, and they have to be willing to make compromises amongst themselves and with other groups. Lobbying by special interest groups does not stand in the way of a codification, as lobby groups are more interested in specific issues than in the principle of a code. The opinions of law professors are of limited importance. Advocates, however, can break or make civil procedure codes due to their substantial representation in parliament.
Aims: Do Ambitions Survive Contact with Reality?
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

Boring drafts have more chances of success in the sense of approval by parliament. Drafters and politicians who want a code have to make several choices impacting the success or failure of their efforts. Because the French 1804 Civil Code preserved some elements of the French Revolution, the idea could take root that codifications have to be innovative, fundamentally changing society. Successful codifications, however, do not rock the boat too much and leave great social reforms to other legislation. Academics prefer learned codes, but texts that have to show off their authors’ brilliance do not become law because they fail to address the needs of practitioners. Preferably, drafters present a complete code to the politicians for their approval. However, working in stages has become the only way to achieve a result for several recent codifications, albeit at the price of coherence and consistency. For foreign material, drafters looking for inspiration will turn mostly to texts in the format of a code, whereas for domestic models, the format matters less. In the most successful approach, drafters only consider a limited number of models without much originality. All this means that judging codes as imperfect because of their content may be too harsh. Codes that are substandard from an academic point of view may be politically perfect, as their political approval proves.
Conclusion: Redefining the Concept of a Code
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk
Published: December 2024

A codification draft only becomes law after one or more of the traditional characteristics of a codification (original, innovative, accessible, and systematic) have been sacrificed. Taking into account the history of the codes analysed, we propose a new definition. A code is legislation covering a major part of the law, which contains at least some modification and imposes a new framework for further development, thereby making the law more accessible for professionals. Several possible objections to this definition are answered. It is grounded in the empirical material examined, but this also means that it cannot be transferred to other countries or branches of law without further study. Nevertheless, it may be interesting to look beyond the cases studied. A first impression is given of what our new definition could mean for the debate on codification in the United Kingdom, an overseas neighbour of all the countries studied. The differences in England, Scotland, and Wales make it necessary to look at them separately. Specialists of European private law have also, to no avail, promoted the idea of a European civil code or similar texts. If future authors of European law codes and their political backers keep in mind that modesty is crucial, their future efforts may even stand a chance.
Revolution to Civil War
Authors: Parasidis Efthimios
Published: December 2024

This chapter details the development of military medicine—and the medical profession at large—between the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War. It explains how shortcomings in military medicine during the early nineteenth century led to the establishment of a permanent military medical department in 1818. It also describes the development of the medical profession during the late eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century: how medical sects jostled for position and prestige, and the relative ease with which a person could earn a medical degree due to the lack of medical education standards and medical licensure requirements. Notwithstanding the predicament, the chapter explains how, during this period, the US military was at the forefront of medicine and medical research. The chapter also details military medical innovations that developed during the US Civil War, including triage, pain management, anesthesia, and surgery.
Radiation Experiments and Atomic Weapons Research
Authors: Parasidis Efthimios
Published: December 2024

This chapter details America’s post-World War II radiation experiments and atomic weapons research. The Atomic Energy Commission led this work, and the scope of activities was extraordinary. The AEC collaborated with hospitals, universities, public health agencies, industry, and the military. Service members, veterans, prisoners, pregnant women, children, and patients took part in AEC studies, though many were coerced into participation or were unsuspecting research subjects. With AEC oversight, the military administered field tests with atomic weapons to prepare service members for nuclear war, physicians conducted biomedical radiation research, and scientists secretly inundated large swaths of America with intentional radiation releases. The projects were developed to promote military preparedness and examine the impact of radiation on humans, animals, crops, and the environment.
Reformulating Governmental Immunities
Authors: Parasidis Efthimios
Published: December 2024

This chapter examines three legal doctrines frequently invoked by the government and military to shield untoward conduct from court review: the state secrets privilege, the political question doctrine, and sovereign immunity. As the chapter explains, although the doctrines serve important goals, they also reduce governmental accountability and impede the ability of injured citizens to seek redress through the courts. The chapter proposes amendments that seek to reformulate the doctrines to better harmonize national security goals with jus in praeparatione bellum: providing courts with more authority to assess whether policy decisions made by the Executive or Legislative infringe upon an individual’s constitutional rights, precluding government use of the doctrines when government conduct infringes constitutional rights, and establishing a mediation program that provides claimants with an alternative mechanism for redress when a governmental immunity applies and court review is precluded.
Heterogeneous depressive symptom trajectories among women with type 2 diabetes: findings from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study
Authors: Perez Nicole Beaulieu , D’Eramo Melkus Gail , Fletcher Jason , Allen-Watts Kristen , Jones Deborah L , Collins Lauren F , Ramirez Catalina , Long Amanda , Cohen Mardge H , Merenstein Daniel , Wilson Tracey E , Sharma Anjali , Aouizerat Brad
Published: December 2024

Background

Depression affects 33% of women with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and leads to increased risks of premature mortality. Fluctuation and variation of depressive presentations can hinder clinical identification.

Purpose

We aimed to identify and examine subgroups characterized by distinct depressive symptom trajectories among women with T2D.

Methods

This retrospective analysis leveraged the Women’s Interagency HIV Study data to identify depressive symptom trajectories based on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scores (2014-2019) among women with and without HIV. Descriptive statistics characterized sample demographics (eg, age, race, income), clinical indices (eg, hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c], BMI, HIV status), and psychosocial experiences (eg, discrimination, social support, anxiety, pain). We used growth mixture modeling to identify groups defined by distinct depressive symptom trajectories and parametric and non-parametric tests to examine demographic, clinical, and psychosocial differences across subgroups.

Results

Among the 630 women included, the mean age was 50.4 (SD = 8.3) years, 72.4% identified as Black and non-Hispanic, and 68.2% were living with HIV. Five subgroups were identified and distinguished by severity and symptom type. Participants with lower incomes (P = .01), lower employment (P < .0001), lower social support (P = .0001), and experiences of discrimination (P < .0001) showed greater membership in threshold, moderate, and severe depressive subgroups. Subgroup membership was not associated with metabolic indices (BMI, HbA1c) or HIV status. Anxiety, pain, and loneliness (all P = .0001) were worse in subgroups with higher depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

Among women with T2D, depressive symptom trajectories differ across clinical and social contexts. This study advances precision by delineating subgroups within a broad clinical category.
Linking adverbials in children’s writing: Exploring variation across year groups, genres, and disciplines
Authors: Durrant Philip , Akbaş Erdem , Barbaros Elif , Aldawood Arwa
Published: December 2024

Linking adverbials is a crucial element in successful academic writing that is particularly challenging for both first and second-language learners to master. Drawing on a corpus of writing by mainstream students in UK schools, the current article explores the under-researched issues of how these forms develop across levels of study in an Anglophone context and how their use and development vary across text genres and academic disciplines. We demonstrate that, excluding a small number of high-frequency pathbreaking items (such as and, but and so), linking adverbials are markedly more frequent in children’s non-literary than literary writing and that the former, but not the latter, shows an increase in use of linkers as children mature. Linkers are equally prevalent across academic disciplines. However, the specific linkers used are strongly dependent on both text genre and academic discipline, reflecting functional differences between these. The analysis further demonstrates how students move from using characteristically spoken-style linkers towards more written-style linkers as they progress through school.
A multivariate Polya tree model for meta-analysis with event-time distributions
Authors: Poli Giovanni , Fountzilas Elena , Tsimeridou Apostolia-Maria , Müller Peter
Published: December 2024

We develop a nonparametric Bayesian prior for a family of random probability measures by extending the Polya tree ($\mbox{PT}$) prior to a joint prior for a set of probability measures $G_1,\dots ,G_n$, suitable for meta-analysis with event-time outcomes. In the application to meta-analysis, $G_i$ is the event-time distribution specific to study $i$. The proposed model defines a regression on study-specific covariates by introducing increased correlation for any pair of studies with similar characteristics. The desired multivariate $\mbox{PT}$ model is constructed by introducing a hierarchical prior on the conditional splitting probabilities in the $\mbox{PT}$ construction for each of the $G_i$. The hierarchical prior replaces the independent beta priors for the splitting probability in the PT construction with a Gaussian process prior for corresponding (logit) splitting probabilities across all studies. The Gaussian process is indexed by study-specific covariates, introducing the desired dependence with increased correlation for similar studies. The main feature of the proposed construction is (conditionally) conjugate posterior updating with commonly reported inference summaries for event-time data. The construction is motivated by a meta-analysis over cancer immunotherapy studies.
Cumulative link mixed-effects models in the service of remote sensing crop progress monitoring
Authors: Oikonomidis Ioannis , Trevezas Samis
Published: December 2024

This study introduces an innovative cumulative link modeling (CLM) approach to monitor crop progress over large areas using remote sensing data. Two distinct models are developed, a fixed-effects CLM and a mixed-effects one that incorporates annual random effects to capture the inherent inter-seasonal variability. Inference is based on partial-likelihood with two law variations, the standard CLM based on the multinomial distribution and a novel one based on the product binomial distribution. Model performance is evaluated on eight crops, namely corn, oats, sorghum, soybeans, winter wheat, alfalfa, dry beans, and millet, using in-situ data from Nebraska, USA, spanning 20 years. The models utilize the predictive attributes of calendar time, thermal time, and the normalized difference vegetation index. The results demonstrate the wide applicability of this approach to different crops, providing large-scale predictions of crop progress and allowing the estimation of important agronomic parameters. To facilitate reproducibility, an ecosystem of R packages has been developed and made publicly accessible under the name Ages of Man. The packages can be utilized to implement the presented methodology in any area with this type of data, including the USA.
A Bayesian joint model for mediation analysis with matrix-valued mediators
Authors: Liu Zijin , Liu Zhihui (Amy) , Hosni Ali , Kim John , Jiang Bei , Saarela Olli
Published: December 2024

Unscheduled treatment interruptions may lead to reduced quality of care in radiation therapy (RT). Identifying the RT prescription dose effects on the outcome of treatment interruptions, mediated through doses distributed into different organs at risk (OARs), can inform future treatment planning. The radiation exposure to OARs can be summarized by a matrix of dose-volume histograms (DVH) for each patient. Although various methods for high-dimensional mediation analysis have been proposed recently, few studies investigated how matrix-valued data can be treated as mediators. In this paper, we propose a novel Bayesian joint mediation model for high-dimensional matrix-valued mediators. In this joint model, latent features are extracted from the matrix-valued data through an adaptation of probabilistic multilinear principal components analysis (MPCA), retaining the inherent matrix structure. We derive and implement a Gibbs sampling algorithm to jointly estimate all model parameters, and introduce a Varimax rotation method to identify active indicators of mediation among the matrix-valued data. Our simulation study finds that the proposed joint model has higher efficiency in estimating causal decomposition effects compared to an alternative two-step method, and demonstrates that the mediation effects can be identified and visualized in the matrix form. We apply the method to study the effect of prescription dose on treatment interruptions in anal canal cancer patients.