bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diversification of immunoglobulin genes by gene conversion in the domestic chicken (Gallus gallusdomesticus)
Authors: Mallaby Jessica , Mwangi William , Ng Joseph , Stewart Alexander , Dorey-Robinson Daniel , Kipling David , Hershberg Uri , Fraternali Franca , Nair Venugopal , Dunn-Walters Deborah
Published: January 2023

Sustainable modern poultry production depends on effective protection against infectious diseases and a diverse range of antibodies is key for an effective immune response. In the domestic chicken, somatic gene conversion is the dominant process in which the antibody immunoglobulin genes are diversified. Affinity maturation by somatic hypermutation (SHM) also occurs, but the relative contribution of gene conversion versus somatic hypermutation to immunoglobulin (Ig) gene diversity is poorly understood. In this study, we use high throughput long-read sequencing to study immunoglobulin diversity in multiple immune-associated tissues in Rhode Island Red chickens. To better understand the impact of genetic diversification in the chicken, a novel gene conversion identification software was developed (BrepConvert). In this study, BrepConvert enabled the identification of over 1 million gene conversion events. Mapping the occurrence of putative somatic gene conversion (SGC) events throughout the variable gene region revealed repetitive and highly restricted patterns of genetic insertions in both the antibody heavy and light chains. These patterns coincided with the locations of genetic variability in available pseudogenes and align with antigen binding sites, predominately the complementary determining regions (CDRs). We found biased usage of pseudogenes during gene conversion, as well as immunoglobulin heavy chain diversity gene (IGHD) preferences during V(D)J gene rearrangement, suggesting that antibody diversification in chickens is more focused than the genetic potential for diversity would suggest.
The Coronavirus Stimulus Package: How Large is the Transfer Multiplier
Authors: Bayer Christian , Born Benjamin , Luetticke Ralph , Müller Gernot J
Published: January 2023

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, large parts of the economy were locked down and, as a result, households’ income risk rose sharply. At the same time, policy makers put forward the largest stimulus package in history. In the United States it amounted to $2 trillion, a quarter of which represented transfer payments to households. To the extent that such transfers were (i) announced in advance and (ii) conditional on recipients being unemployed, they mitigated income risk associated with the lockdown—in contrast to unconditional transfers. We develop a baseline scenario for a COVID-19 recession in a medium-scale heterogeneous agent new Keynesian model and use counterfactuals to quantify the impact of transfers. For the short run, we find large differences in the transfer multiplier: it is negligible for unconditional transfers and about unity for conditional transfers. Overall, we find that the transfers reduced the output loss due to the pandemic by some two percentage points at its trough.
The Toulouse salons: a regional counterweight to the Parisian art scene? (1861–1939)
Authors: Saint-Raymond Léa
Published: January 2023

This paper analyses the functioning of the primary art market for living artists in the periphery of France, in a context where there was no secondary market nor intermediaries such as art dealers. It is based on a historical data set constituted manually, regarding the Toulouse Salons—the Union artistique de Toulouse (UAT) between 1861 and 1909, and the Société des Artistes méridionaux (SAM), between 1907 and 1939. These exhibitions, which were intended to give artists a regional alternative to the Parisian academic and dealer-critic systems, failed at emancipating the local artists from the domination of the capital.
Patient perception of attributes of primary care: a study of Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics in Delhi, India
Authors: Goyanka Roopali , Garg Charu C
Published: January 2023

Background

Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics (AAMC) are the community level public primary care facilities recently introduced to strengthen primary care in Delhi, India by bringing affordable healthcare close to home.

Objectives

This study looks at the primary care attributes of AAMC from a patient perspective, to assess their features, strengths and weaknesses.

Methods

Using a primary care survey tool, a cross-sectional survey of 360 users was conducted at 18 facilities across 9 districts of Delhi to gather information on six dimensions of primary care delivery. Thematic analysis of responses to quantitative, multiple-choice and Likert scale questions using percentage of respondents in each category; and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and suggestions (SWOS) framework, was used to examine the primary care attributes.

Results

AAMCs have done well in improving proximity, availability, physical and financial access to primary care with respondents reporting their residence within 1 kilometre of AAMCs (95%), physician being available (100%), free drugs in stock (99%). Service delivery is however not comprehensive with missing preventive care. Respondents reported missing gatekeeping, weak referral mechanism (6–19%), and low physician’s familiarity with their overall health (2%).

Conclusion

AAMCs have brought affordable healthcare with free medicines and diagnostics to neighbourhood. There is an opportunity for attaining universal healthcare that is responsive to user needs through provision of comprehensive care. Compulsory enrolment of neighbourhood population with an electronic database of patients has an immense potential to improve longitudinality and coordination of care.
QTL analysis for ascorbic acid content in strawberry fruit reveals a complex genetic architecture and association with GDP-L-galactose phosphorylase
Authors: Muñoz Pilar , Castillejo Cristina , Gómez José Antonio , Miranda Luis , Lesemann Silke , Olbricht Klaus , Petit Aurélie , Chartier Philippe , Haugeneder Annika , Trinkl Johanna , Mazzoni Luca , Masny Agnieszka , Zurawicz Edward , Ziegler Freya Maria Rosemarie , Usadel Björn , Schwab Wilfried , Denoyes Béatrice , Mezzetti Bruno , Osorio Sonia , Sánchez-Sevilla José F , Amaya Iraida
Published: January 2023

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) fruits are an excellent source of L-ascorbic acid (AsA), a powerful antioxidant for plants and humans. Identifying the genetic components underlying AsA accumulation is crucial for enhancing strawberry nutritional quality. Here, we unravel the genetic architecture of AsA accumulation using an F1 population derived from parental lines ‘Candonga’ and ‘Senga Sengana’, adapted to distinct Southern and Northern European areas. To account for environmental effects, the F1 and parental lines were grown and phenotyped in five locations across Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain). Fruit AsA content displayed normal distribution typical of quantitative traits and ranged five-fold, with significant differences among genotypes and environments. AsA content in each country and the average in all of them was used in combination with 6,974 markers for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Environmentally stable QTLs for AsA content were detected in linkage group (LG) 3A, LG 5A, LG 5B, LG 6B and LG 7C. Candidate genes were identified within stable QTL intervals and expression analysis in lines with contrasting AsA content suggested that GDP-L-Galactose Phosphorylase FaGGP(3A), and the chloroplast-located AsA transporter gene FaPHT4;4(7C) might be the underlying genetic factors for QTLs on LG 3A and 7C, respectively. We show that recessive alleles of FaGGP(3A) inherited from both parental lines increase fruit AsA content. Furthermore, expression of FaGGP(3A) was two-fold higher in lines with high AsA. Markers here identified represent a useful resource for efficient selection of new strawberry cultivars with increased AsA content.
Error estimates for a splitting integrator for abstract semilinear boundary coupled systems
Authors: Csomós Petra , Farkas Bálint , Kovács Balázs
Published: January 2023

We derive a numerical method, based on operator splitting, to abstract parabolic semilinear boundary coupled systems. The method decouples the linear components that describe the coupling and the dynamics in the abstract bulk- and surface-spaces, and treats the nonlinear terms similarly to an exponential integrator. The convergence proof is based on estimates for a recursive formulation of the error, using the parabolic smoothing property of analytic semigroups, and a careful comparison of the exact and approximate flows. This analysis also requires a deep understanding of the effects of the Dirichlet operator (the abstract version of the harmonic extension operator), which is essential for the stable coupling in our method. Numerical experiments, including problems with dynamic boundary conditions, reporting on convergence rates are presented.
Vaccine Effectiveness Against Influenza-Associated Urgent Care, Emergency Department, and Hospital Encounters During the 2021–2022 Season, VISION Network
Authors: Tenforde Mark W , Weber Zachary A , DeSilva Malini B , Stenehjem Edward , Yang Duck-Hye , Fireman Bruce , Gaglani Manjusha , Kojima Noah , Irving Stephanie A , Rao Suchitra , Grannis Shaun J , Naleway Allison L , Kirshner Lindsey , Kharbanda Anupam B , Dascomb Kristin , Lewis Ned , Dalton Alexandra F , Ball Sarah W , Natarajan Karthik , Ong Toan C , Hartmann Emily , Embi Peter J , McEvoy Charlene E , Grisel Nancy , Zerbo Ousseny , Dunne Margaret M , Arndorfer Julie , Goddard Kristin , Dickerson Monica , Patel Palak , Timbol Julius , Griggs Eric P , Hansen John , Thompson Mark G , Flannery Brendan , Klein Nicola P
Published: January 2023

Background

Following historically low influenza activity during the 2020–2021 season, the United States saw an increase in influenza circulating during the 2021–2022 season. Most viruses belonged to the influenza A(H3N2) 3C.2a1b 2a.2 subclade.

Methods

We conducted a test-negative case-control analysis among adults ≥18 years of age at 3 sites within the VISION Network. Encounters included emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits or hospitalizations with ≥1 acute respiratory illness (ARI) discharge diagnosis codes and molecular testing for influenza. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was calculated by comparing the odds of influenza vaccination ≥14 days before the encounter date between influenza-positive cases (type A) and influenza-negative and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–negative controls, applying inverse probability-to-be-vaccinated weights, and adjusting for confounders.

Results

In total, 86 732 ED/UC ARI-associated encounters (7696 [9%] cases) and 16 805 hospitalized ARI-associated encounters (649 [4%] cases) were included. VE against influenza-associated ED/UC encounters was 25% (95% confidence interval (CI), 20%–29%) and 25% (95% CI, 11%–37%) against influenza-associated hospitalizations. VE against ED/UC encounters was lower in adults ≥65 years of age (7%; 95% CI, −5% to 17%) or with immunocompromising conditions (4%; 95% CI, −45% to 36%).

Conclusions

During an influenza A(H3N2)-predominant influenza season, modest VE was observed. These findings highlight the need for improved vaccines, particularly for A(H3N2) viruses that are historically associated with lower VE.
P18 Audit on compliance with the preventive measures on Clostridioides difficile
Authors: Marques Reis I , Vikneswaramoorthy V , McHale G , Mullahy M , Valiakalayil J , Hallinan T , Cruz M , Nieto-Aponte L , Sibartie S
Published: January 2023

Background

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile persists to be a significant pathogen for healthcare acquired infections. Antibiotic usage is the main cause for the overgrowth of this organism and resulting in C. difficile infections (CDI). Other factors that are known to contribute are usage of proton pump inhibitors, laxatives usage and poor compliance with infection prevention control guidance in health care settings. The audit was carried out to analyse if the local guidance is followed on recognition of new onset of diarrhoea in an inpatient.

Objectives

Analyse compliance rate with our local guidance in Mayo University Hospital to be followed when inpatient has a new onset of diarrhoea. This to include reviewing of medications; such as laxatives, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and antibiotics; prompt isolation and CDI precautions were commenced, samples sent for testing and commencing stool chart.

Methods

The data of patients was collected by reviewing the chart and collected data was stored and analysed using excel spreadsheet.

Results

The audit was carried out over a 4 month period from 10.06.22 until 14.10.22 in 7 wards. 31 patients were recorded as having diarrhoea with 69% (n=19) female and 39% (n=12) males during their inpatient stay. Majority of the recorded patients, which is 29% (n=9) were in medical male ward. The age of the patients ranged from 24 to 92 years of age with a median of 68 years. The median number of days from the admission until onset of diarrhoea was 5. On identifying new onset of diarrhoea, 32% (n=10) had recorded documentation of medications review. Out of 31 patients, 90% (n=28) were on PPI and only 21% (n=6) of them were held, while 7% (n=2) of them had their medication reviewed and was advised to continue the PPI as for clinical indication. Ninety percent (n=28) of patients were on regular laxatives and after the onset of diarrhoea only 39% (n=11) had the laxatives held. Of all the recorded patients, 32% (n=10) of patients had documentation of medication review and 19% (n=6) were continued on antibiotics for organisms other than CDI after discussion with clinical microbiology team. Fifty-five percent (n=17) of patients were isolated after the onset of new diarrhoea while the rest remained in a shared bay as per the discussion with clinical teams, while awaiting the stool results. Sixty-five percent (n=20) had a stool culture sent for CDI testing after the onset of new diarrhoea. Of these patients, 25% (n=5) tested positive for C. difficile.

Conclusions

Compliance to local guidance should be followed more strictly to avoid development of hospital acquired CDI and to prevent outbreaks in the healthcare setting.
T cell functions and organ infiltration by leukemic T cells require cortactin
Authors: Castellanos-Martínez Ramón , León-Vega Iliana I , Guerrero-Fonseca Idaira M , Vargas-Robles Hilda , Jiménez-Camacho Karina E , Hernández-Galicia Gabriela , Ortiz-Navarrete Vianney F , Rottner Klemens , Medina-Contreras Oscar , Schnoor Michael
Published: January 2023

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological malignancy that is still fatal in many cases. T cell blasts are characterized by hyperactivation and strong proliferative and migratory capacities. The chemokine receptor CXCR4 is involved in mediating malignant T cell properties, and cortactin has been shown to control CXCR4 surface localization in T-ALL cells. We have previously shown that cortactin overexpression is correlated with organ infiltration and relapse in B-ALL. However, the role of cortactin in T cell biology and T-ALL remains elusive. Here, we analyzed the functional relevance of cortactin for T cell activation and migration and the implications for T-ALL development. We found that cortactin is upregulated in response to T cell receptor engagement and recruited to the immune synapse in normal T cells. Loss of cortactin caused reduced IL-2 production and proliferation. Cortactin-depleted T cells showed defects in immune synapse formation and migrated less due to impaired actin polymerization in response to T cell receptor and CXCR4 stimulation. Leukemic T cells expressed much higher levels of cortactin compared to normal T cells that correlated with greater migratory capacity. Xenotransplantation assays in NSG mice revealed that cortactin-depleted human leukemic T cells colonized the bone marrow significantly less and failed to infiltrate the central nervous system, suggesting that cortactin overexpression drives organ infiltration, which is a major complication of T-ALL relapse. Thus, cortactin could serve as a potential therapeutic target for T-ALL and other pathologies involving aberrant T cell responses.
Was Paul Hirst ever a Deweyan?
Authors: Dan Jau-wei
Published: January 2023

abstract

It is widely known that Paul Hirst had two theories of education in his academic career. He had been conscious of this intellectual transformation and felt quite positive about it. From the perspective of intellectual history and curiosity about his personal intellectual development, I try, following leads from my private correspondence and conversations with him in the 1990s, to touch on the following questions: How does Hirst see his two theories? Why does he think his early theory cannot stand? Is his personal account adequate in explaining his own intellectual shift? How is it that his later theory seems to suggest John Dewey’s pragmatism? Was Paul Hirst ever a Deweyan? In tackling these questions, I sketch Hirst’s two theories, point out the differences and continuities between them, offer a suggestion as to why Hirst’s early theory cannot stand, and give a short account of Dewey’s theory of education. My conclusion is that even if his later theory might be said to suggest a Deweyan approach, Paul Hirst was never a Deweyan.
A case of mistaken identity: bile duct masquerading as gallbladder
Authors: Jolly Samantha , Kundu Nikhil , Rathnayake Suraj
Published: January 2023

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a common surgical procedure, with potential for significant morbidity. The incidence of bile duct injuries has increased with the advent of laparoscopy, occurring in up to 1% of cases. Risk of injury increases with aberrant anatomy, acute inflammation and fibrosis. Preventative strategies include obtaining the critical view of safety, using a fundus-first approach and performing a subtotal cholecystectomy in the difficult gallbladder. Although controversy exists for routine cholangiography, its use is helpful in situations of obscure anatomy. We describe the case of a chronically inflamed and unusually small 1.5 cm gallbladder with an obliterated cystic duct. The critical view of safety was not able to be achieved and intraoperative cholangiography enabled identification of aberrant anatomy, with a dilated common duct mistaken as the gallbladder infundibulum. This case highlights the need to be vigilant to structural variation and the utility of selective cholangiography to clarify anatomy.
Sugars and sucrose transporters in pollinia ofPhalaenopsis aphrodite(Orchidaceae)
Authors: Sun Wan-Ting , Cheng Sy-Chyi , Chao Ya-Ting , Lin Shu-Yao , Yang Ting-Ting , Ho Yi-Ping , Shih Ming-Che , Ko Swee-Suak
Published: January 2023

The pollen grains of Phalaenopsis orchids are clumped tightly together, packed in pollen dispersal units called pollinia. In this study, the morphology, cytology, biochemistry, and sucrose transporters in pollinia of Phalaenopsis orchids were investigated. Histochemical detection was used to characterize the distribution of sugars and callose at the different development stages of pollinia. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution-tandem mass spectrometry data indicated that P. aphrodite accumulated abundant saccharides such as sucrose, galactinol, myo-inositol, and glucose, and trace amounts of raffinose and trehalose in mature pollinia. We found that galactinol synthase (PAXXG304680) and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (PAXXG016120) genes were preferentially expressed in mature pollinia. The P. aphrodite genome was identified as having 11 sucrose transporters (SUTs). Our qRT–PCR confirmed that two SUTs (PAXXG030250 and PAXXG195390) were preferentially expressed in the pollinia. Pollinia germinated in pollen germination media (PGM) supplemented with 10% sucrose showed increased callose production and enhanced pollinia germination, but there was no callose or germination in PGM without sucrose. We show that P. aphrodite accumulates high levels of sugars in mature pollinia, providing nutrients and enhanced SUT gene expression for pollinia germination and tube growth.
The satellite population around luminous red galaxies in the 25 deg2 DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys Early Data Release
Authors: Townsend Melinda , Rudnick Gregory
Published: January 2023

Luminous red galaxies, or LRGs, are representative of the most massive galaxies and were originally selected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as good tracers of large-scale structure. They are dominated by by uniformly old stellar populations, have low star formation rates, early type morphologies, and little cold gas. Despite having old stellar populations and little in situ star formation, studies have shown that they have grown their stellar mass since z = 1, implying that they grow predominantly via the accretion of satellites. Tests of this picture have been limited because of the lack of deep imaging data sets that both covers a large enough area of the sky to contain substantial numbers of LRGs and that also is deep enough to detect faint satellites. We use the 25 deg2 Early Data Release (EDR) of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys to characterize the satellite galaxy population of LRGs out to z = 0.65. The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys are comprised of grz imaging to 2–2.5 mag deeper than SDSS and with better image quality. We use a new statistical background technique to identify excess populations of putative satellite galaxies around 1823 LRGs at 0.2 < z < 0.65. In three redshift and luminosity bins we measure the numbers of satellite galaxies and their r−z colour distribution down to rest-frame g-band luminosity limits at least 3.6 times fainter than L*. In addition, we develop a forward modeling technique and apply it to constrain the mean number of satellites in each of our redshift and luminosity bins. Finally, we use these estimates to determine the amount of stellar mass growth in LRGs down to the local Universe.
The internal metallicity distributions of simulated galaxies from EAGLE, Illustris, and IllustrisTNG at z = 1.8–4 as probed by gamma-ray burst hosts
Authors: Metha Benjamin , Trenti Michele
Published: January 2023

Massive stars are thought to be progenitors of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), most likely with a bias favouring low-metallicity progenitors. Because galaxies do not have a constant metallicity throughout, the combination of line-of-sight absorption metallicity inferred from GRB afterglow spectroscopy and of host galaxy global metallicity derived from emission lines diagnostics represents a powerful way to probe both the bias function for GRB progenitors and the chemical inhomogeneities across star-forming regions. In this study, we predict the relationship between Zabs and Zemiss using three different hydrodynamical cosmological simulations: Illustris, EAGLE, and IllustrisTNG. We find that while the qualitative shape of the curve relating emission versus absorption metallicity remains the same, the predicted relationship between these two observables is significantly different between the simulations. Using data for the host galaxy of GRB121024A for which both Zabs and Zemiss have been measured, we find marginal support for the Illustris simulation as producing the most-realistic internal metallicity distributions within star-forming galaxies at cosmic noon. Overall, all simulations predict similar properties for the bulk of the GRB host galaxy population, but each has distinct features in the tail of the Zabs-Zemiss distribution that in principle allow to discriminate between models if a sufficiently large sample of observations are available (i.e. N ≳ 11 on average). Substantial progress is expected in the near future, with upcoming JWST/NIRspec observations of 10 GRB host galaxies for which absorption metallicity from the afterglow spectra exists.
Simulation of Phobos gravity field estimation from Tianwen-1 flybys and implications for the modelling of Phobos’ internal structure
Authors: Guo X , Yan J G , Yang X , Liu L , Chen Y H , Ye M , Barriot J P
Published: January 2023

Doppler radio tracking data from Tianwen-1, China’s first Mars mission, could contribute to a better estimate of the gravity field of Phobos. In this study, we show that a determination up to degree and order 3 is feasible by considering five additional flybys of Phobos by the Tianwen-1 spacecraft, in addition to the previous flybys already done by the Mars Express spacecraft, and probably degree and order 5 is within reach. Three cases of mass repartition are considered: (i) a homogeneous case, (ii) a core-dominated Phobos, and (iii) a mantle-dominated Phobos. The case of a mantle-dominated Phobos is the easiest to detect, followed by a homogeneous Phobos, and finally by a core-dominated Phobos. We also discuss implications about the modelling of the internal structure of Phobos.
Evidence for an abundant old population of Galactic ultra-long period magnetars and implications for fast radio bursts
Authors: Beniamini P , Wadiasingh Z , Hare J , Rajwade K M , Younes G , van der Horst A J
Published: January 2023

Two recent discoveries, namely PSR J0901−4046 and GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 (hereafter GLEAM-X J1627), have corroborated an extant population of radio-loud periodic sources with long periods (76 and 1091 s, respectively) whose emission can hardly be explained by rotation losses. We argue that GLEAM-X J1627 is a highly magnetized object consistent with a magnetar (an ultra-long period magnetar, ULPM), and demonstrate it is unlikely to be either a magnetically or a rotationally powered white dwarf. By studying these sources together with previously detected objects, we find there are at least a handful of promising candidates for Galactic ULPMs. The detections of these objects imply a substantial number, N ≳ 13 000 and N ≳ 500 for PSR J0901−4046 like and GLEAM-X J1627 like objects, respectively, within our Galaxy. These source densities, as well as cooling age limits from non-detection of thermal X-rays, Galactic offsets, timing stability and dipole spin-down limits, all imply the ULPM candidates are substantially older than confirmed Galactic magnetars and that their formation channel is a common one. Their existence implies widespread survival of magnetar-like fields for several Myr, distinct from the inferred behaviour in confirmed Galactic magnetars. ULPMs may also constitute a second class of FRB progenitors which could naturally exhibit very long periodic activity windows. Finally, we show that existing radio campaigns are biased against detecting objects like these and discuss strategies for future radio and X-ray surveys to identify more such objects. We estimate that ${\cal O}(100)$ more such objects should be detected with SKA-MID and DSA-2000.
Factors associated with kalemia in renal disease
Authors: Granal Maelys , Fouque Denis , Ducher Micher , Fauvel Jean-Pierre
Published: January 2023

Background

International recommendations promote a strict potassium diet in order to avoid hyperkalemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. However, the efficiency of such a dietary recommendation has never been demonstrated. The objectives of this study were to define the relationship between kalemia, dietary potassium intake estimated by kaliuresis and renal function, and to define the factors associated with kalemia in patients using artificial intelligence.

Methods

To this extent, data from patients followed in a nephrology unit, included in the UniverSel study and whose kalemia (measured on the day of urine collection; n = 367) were analyzed.

Results

The patients included had a wide range of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), but few had stage 5 CKD. Kalemia was negatively and linearly correlated to eGFR (P < .001) but was not correlated to kaliuresis (P = .55). Kaliuresis was not correlated to eGFR (P = .08). Factors associated with kalemia were analyzed using a Bayesian network. The five variables most associated with kalemia were, in descending order, eGFR, original nephropathy, age, diabetes and plasma bicarbonate level.

Conclusion

The results of this study do not support a strict dietary potassium control to regulate kalemia in stage 1–4 CKD patients.
Habit Forming
Authors: Gray Elizabeth Kelly
Published: January 2023

Habit Forming explores American drug dependency from 1776 to 1914—the era when drug sales were largely unregulated—as well as Americans’ growing understanding of addiction and attitudes toward habituated people; most commentators were white and middle class, and their prevailing views, influenced by racism and classism, shaped policy. Domestic opiate use grew rapidly in the nineteenth century. Many white, middle-class women used morphine to treat pain or insomnia, enjoyed its pleasurable effects, and became addicted. Many users could hide their habit, and domestic habituation—the era’s term for “addiction”—received limited attention before 1867. Americans learned about addiction from accounts of use in England, China, and parts of Africa and the Middle East. But while users rarely committed crimes—the drugs were widely available—addiction was a growing problem. Many misunderstood its intensity, and some family members blamed habitués for their plight. Some writers compared it to alcohol, but few suggested that opiate or cannabis use could become widespread domestically. Americans, however, began to write about domestic addiction extensively in the late 1860s. While some criticized Chinese immigrants’ opium smoking, native-born users shared their experiences, and doctors shared treatments. Many writers sympathized with white, middle-class habitués but blamed their working-class or nonwhite counterparts for their plight. By the 1910s, many regarded poor young men as the likeliest drug users, which facilitated support for regulations. The United States passed the Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act in 1914. The law deprived most users of legal access to their drugs, and illicit markets began to flourish.
The Vogue for Hashish, 1832–1884
Authors: Gray Elizabeth Kelly
Published: January 2023

Mid-nineteenth-century Americans tended to associate widespread cannabis use with non-Western societies that they regarded as alluring but unproductive, and some Americans published accounts of their own experimental and habitual use. Cannabis was available as a medicine in the United States, and while its medical efficacy was inconsistent, some enjoyed its effects. Pennsylvanian Bayard Taylor published an account of his using it, as did Fitz Hugh Ludlow in the 1857 The Hasheesh Eater. Ludlow prized the beauty of nature over profits, and many associated widespread cannabis use with parts of the Middle East that, while alluring, did not appear to be progressing. There was also a sinister side: the mythical association of cannabis with the twelfth-century Assassins in Persia and Syria, allegedly impelled to kill under its influence. Few were concerned with accounts of cannabis in America, however, probably because the users were middle class and few in number.
Federal Regulation Begins, 1875–1914
Authors: Gray Elizabeth Kelly
Published: January 2023

States and municipalities began restricting opiate and cocaine sales in the 1870s; the US government followed, as it sought international cooperation to limit the drug trade. Numerous jurisdictions passed laws to reduce use. Although the Pure Food and Drug Act combated proprietary medicines, many regarded drug regulation as a state matter. In 1898, however, the nation annexed the Philippines and sought to end drug use there. This required international cooperation, and the United States passed domestic legislation to underscore its anti-drug commitment. The 1909 Smoking Opium Act restricted imports, and the 1914 Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act required prescriptions for cocaine and opiate sales. Prejudice bolstered support. Many associated cocaine use with black men, and many American opiate users were young, working-class men using heroin. Meanwhile, in the West there were bans on marijuana, whose perceived users were Mexican immigrants, and efforts to ban peyote, which some Native Americans used.
Conclusion
Authors: Gray Elizabeth Kelly
Published: January 2023

The Supreme Court ruled in 1919 that drug users could receive maintenance doses of their drug only if they suffered from an unrelated illness; users then sought out illicit markets, and a public health problem became a larger, more challenging social problem. After passage of the Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act, many doctors suggested that ending drug use was easy or theorized that only immoral people became addicted. Other physicians, meanwhile, defended habitués. They deemed it immoral to remove the drug supply from such individuals and traced cases of addiction to a lack of access to health care. Because most addicted people could not buy drugs legally, addiction became—and has remained—entwined with crime. The opioid epidemic that began in the late 1990s has exacerbated the problem. An enduring feature of America’s drug problem, however, is the inclination to sympathize with white, middle-class users while blaming poorer users and people of color for their plight.
On the Edge of Eternity
Authors: Dal Prete Ivano
Published: January 2023

On the Edge of Eternity overturns the paradigm of the eighteenth-century discovery of geological time, showing that the antiquity of our planet was a widespread and culturally acceptable notion in pre-1800 Europe. In this groundbreaking study, Ivano Dal Prete brings to life a long-forgotten world, in which the biblical story of the Creation and of the Flood was only one among many doctrines that could be freely taught and discussed. University scholars and students, artists like Leonardo da Vinci, and the readers of easily accessible vernacular books, envisaged, painted, and debated an ageless Earth scarred by innumerable deluges, raised and submerged continents, annihilated and resurgent humanities. Rather than discover deep time, the eighteenth century erased its rich and complex history, replacing it with a simplistic account that suited its political agendas and still informs our culture. On the Edge of Eternity invites the reader to revisit engrained beliefs on the relationship of science and religion, the history of the Earth sciences, and the cultural assumptions that have underpinned the modern controversy on Young Earth creationism.
Digital Grooming
Authors: Lorenzo-Dus Nuria
Published: January 2023

This chapter brings together the book’s key findings and lays out how these may be applied in real-life scenarios to help combat digital sexual, commercial, and ideological grooming. Commonalities and nuances across the styling acts identified in the digital sexual, ideological, and commercial grooming datasets are examined. The identification of a common discourse of manipulation that deliberately mobilizes self and other styling to suit groomers’ goals, and of the specific nuances therein, is a significant step forward in academic understanding of digital grooming. To demonstrate the value of examining digital grooming—and more broadly manipulation—from an identity-focused approach, Chapter 9 also makes explicit the unique contribution that discourse-based disciplines can make to societal issues. This is done by reflecting on several academia–practitioner collaborations, which show readers how the analyses and approaches detailed in this book can, and are, impacting practitioner agendas, ranging from policymaking efforts at enhancing social media platform regulation so that it more efficiently clamps down on abusive, hateful, or otherwise manipulative communication to third-sector and industry development of targeted prevention and detection interventions to promote digital civility and safety.
Bridging the Gap between the Abundance of American Higher Education Talent and the Immense Foreign Demand for It
Authors: Joseph Richard J.
Published: January 2023

The gap between the abundance of American higher education talent and the immense foreign demand for it is “the Great Chasm in Global Education.” It is a gulf of lost opportunities. It is also a space of great economic potential. This book describes the contours of the Great Chasm, examines the principal factors underlying it, and proposes ways to bridge the gap so as to realize this potential. The abundance of talent stems from the slackening growth of the U.S. higher education sector in the New Millennium. Contributing to the slowdown are flat enrollments, adverse demographic trends, U.S. visa restrictions, and intensifying competition. The immense foreign demand has been fueled by the secular expansion of the global economy over time. It has been shaped by the pressing need, in emerging markets, to develop an educated workforce. The Great Chasm creates an opportunity for American academic institutions to extend their global reach to fortify the economic foundation of the sector. Bridging it requires fundamental changes in the culture, organization, and governance of traditional U.S. academic institutions. These changes would remove roadblocks in the way of international expansion, which could ultimately enhance the financial well-being of these institutions, the social well-being of less developed nations, and the critical role that America plays globally in knowledge creation, the dissemination of ideas, and the pursuit of the truth.
Authoritarian Practices in a Global Age
Authors: Glasius Marlies
Published: January 2023

This book challenges the assumption that authoritarianism is necessarily a phenomenon located at the level of the state, and that states as a whole are therefore either democratic or authoritarian. It provides a parsimonious framework for recognizing and analysing contemporary manifestations of authoritarianism beyond the state, and a number of empirical case studies. In its first chapter, the book offers a new conceptual understanding of authoritarianism as practices of accountability sabotage, applicable to units of analysis other than states. Subsequent chapters operationalize this definition in a number of empirical case studies. The unit of analysis is always the ‘authoritarian practice’, but the manifestations thereof are quite diverse. Chapters 2 to 6 comprise a study of transnational repression by authoritarian states; two chapters on informal and formal multilateral collaboration in anti-terrorist policies; a chapter on corporate and public-private authoritarian practices in the mining sector; and a chapter on cover-ups of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The concluding chapter reconsiders the concept of authoritarian practices and draws out commonalities and unique features from the case studies, thereby setting out a research agenda for future studies of authoritarianism beyond the state.
Governance of the Nation
Authors: Ura Karma
Published: January 2023

Known earlier as Khazhi and Mon, Zhabdrung consolidated it as a nation and gave an autonym Druk. Its territorial limits continued to be demarcated by Khazhi (the four cardinal points) and was contiguous with Ahoms, Darranga, Koch Hajo and Koch Bihar, Sikkim, and Tibet. But Europeans referred to it at different periods of history as Bottanter, Bootan, Bhotanta, Potente, and finally as Boutan. In terms of the distribution of population in different administrative division of the country, Tongsa Penlop had the largest population. The most important territorial difference in the past was the 18 Duars Bhutan controlled, till 1865, through a tier of officials known as jadrungs, subahs, and katmas. However, Bhutanese interest was limited to trade and revenue collection and officials did not endeavour to integrate them into the nation through educational and cultural means. Authority cascaded from Desi to penlops to dzongpons, from dzongpons to jadrungs and dungpas, and further down to the gups, tshorgan, mangmi, chipon, khagpon, jotedars, and mukhis. Commodities levied as taxes and collections (Wylie ‘thu) flowed up from the gups and tshorgans, jotedars and mukhis. Dungpas and jadrungs, living in their mansions, were the centre of such operation. Local elites, such as khoches, fulfilled the functions of dungpas hereditarily, some until the 1920s. They also subsisted on collections of food and labour from the communities of their orderly ministrations.
The Timeless Guru
Authors: Ura Karma
Published: January 2023

Guru Padmasambhava emerged from a particular religious and political setting in history. Guru catalysed the translation of both sutras and tantras into choekay, and their transmission and diffusion across the Himalayas. The legacy of Guru reconfigured arts and architecture, ritual dances and performances, literature and languages, environment and spiritual landscape in the Himalayas in a certain way. This pervasive influence owes partly to the syncretic and inclusive nature of Vajrayana that allowed other cults and rites to be amalgamated into it. Guru’s disciples were multi-racial and multi-lingual, male and female, monks and gomchens. Guru represented pure vision and pristine awareness that are outside of time and therefore always accessible. The potential to raise ourselves to pure vision and pristine awareness is always possible, and Guru manifested that timelessness.
Follow the Money
Authors: Humphrey Chris
Published: January 2023

The chapter begins by reviewing the MDB financial model and explaining the implications of this model in MDB operations, building on literature considering the role of resource dependence in international organizations. The goal is to illustrate how financial pressures are a key driver shaping MDB behavior, one that is “hidden” from most observers due to the lack of familiarity with the MDB financial model. Demystifying key concepts and looking underneath the financial jargon reveals the inherently political nature of the trade-offs and decisions posed by the MDB financial model. The chapter explores how financial dynamics play out in practice across the range of MDBs in three key areas matching up with the three components of a balance sheet: capital structure and net income (equity), how MDBs obtain funding from external sources (liabilities), and how the demand for an MDB’s loans by borrowers (assets) is influenced by its operational policies and processes.
Internet Bills of Rights
Authors: Yilma Kinfe
Published: January 2023

This chapter examines the potential of the so called the Internet bill of rights movement in addressing normative blind spots in international privacy law. Dating roughly back to the early days of the Internet, initiatives for Internet bill of rights seek to reformulate human rights, principles, and governance norms in light of the new realities of the digital age. Among the rights commonly addressed in IBRs initiatives is the right to privacy but in a manner that departs significantly from the normative structures of the right in international law. The chapter considers the extent to which new contours of the right to privacy envisioned in Internet bills of rights entrench, elaborate, or clarify international law, or even reinforce developing privacy norms. It argues that initiatives for Internet bill of rights are unlikely to develop into a freestanding international law response to the ‘privacy problem’ nor will they meaningfully contribute to ongoing privacy reform efforts. The chapter further shows that the rather tangible role of the Internet bill of rights movement is ‘catalytic’ by which its progressive visions may shape the form and content of a pragmatic approach to international privacy law.
Emergent Privacy Standards
Authors: Yilma Kinfe
Published: January 2023

This chapter examines the potential of the ongoing privacy discourse at the United Nations in reimagining international privacy law in the digital age. Broached in the wake of the Snowden revelations, the discourse consists primarily of a series of resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council which offer a rather progressive vision for the right to privacy in international law. Not only do the resolutions incrementally embrace modern privacy principles but they also address the respective obligations and responsibilities of States and technology companies more directly. This chapter considers the extent to which these aspects of the discourse may evolve into an international law response to the ‘privacy problem’ in the digital age. It demonstrates that the series of Resolutions are unlikely to effectively attend to the exigencies of upholding digital privacy. It argues that the most tangible role of the discourse is ‘catalytic’ by which it may shape the normative and methodological direction of future practical privacy law reform efforts.
Virtues of Soft Legalization
Authors: Yilma Kinfe
Published: January 2023

This chapter considers virtues of soft legalization as a pragmatic response to the normative blind spots of international privacy law. Over the years, soft law has been proposed as a pertinent instrument of translating human rights, including the right to privacy, based on the new realities of the digital age. Moving past mere proposals for an international soft law, the chapter offers the justifications, content, and legal form of an international soft law on the right to privacy that would attend to aspects of the ‘privacy problem’ in the digital age. It argues that soft legalization is the most pertinent mechanism to translate the rather vague provisions of the right to privacy in international law, to effectively globalize emergent privacy norms, and to catalyse the progressive development of international privacy law.
A Typology of Reference Systems
Authors: Frajzyngier Zygmunt
Published: January 2023

The term ‘reference system’ designates all functions within the grammatical system of a given language that indicate whether the addressee(s) should identify the referents of participants in the proposition and, if so, how they should identify the referents. Reference systems are a part of the semantic structure encoded in the grammatical system, and the study of reference systems contributes to the description of the semantic structure of individual languages. The present book offers a non-aprioristic typology of reference systems of typologically or genetically distinct languages including English, Mandarin, non-literate Russian, Polish, six Chadic languages spoken in Cameroon, Nigeria, and Chad, and a dozen Sino-Russian idiolect spoken in the far east of Russia for which no genetic relationship can be established. The analyses identify major functional domains, subdomains, and individual functions which enable the identification of participants in a proposition in individual languages. The book identifies the most frequent and least frequent functions that instruct the speakers whether to identify the participants and if so how to identify the participants in the propositions. The book demonstrates that bare nouns, pronouns, demonstratives, and determiners, coding on the verb (‘agreement’), have different functions in different languages. The book offers explanations for these differences. The book draws some implications of the reference systems for the theory and methodology of semantic analysis, for linguistic typology, and for syntactic theories.
Unconventional Law for Unconventional Ships? The Role of Informal Law in the International Maritime Organization’s Quest to Regulate Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships
Authors: Petrig Anna
Published: January 2023

New technologies have regularly triggered the creation of new rules, or the amendment of existing rules, by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) are not novel in this respect. All the same, MASS stand out from previous technological innovations in various respects, and their regulation poses exceptional challenges both in terms of the content of rules and also as regards the regulatory techniques to be deployed. This chapter enquires into what role unconventional law could play in the IMO’s quest to regulate these unconventional ships. It contemplates the possible future regulation of MASS by examining the post-law function of informal law in interpreting treaties, as well as the pre- and para-law functions where informal law paves the way for, or even replaces, treaties.