bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
9 Immobilized Reagents and Multistep Processes
Authors: Ley S. V. , Browne D. L. , O’Brien M.
Published: February 2019

Multistep continuous-flow processing enables the direct preparation of complex chemical materials from simple input streams through a series of complexity-adding reaction steps. The use of polymer-supported reagents can greatly facilitate this process through the inline hosting of reagents or catalysts, the scavenging of spent materials or impurities, or even the temporary hosting of reactive intermediates prior to their reaction and release from the support. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of such polymer-supported techniques.
12 Pushing the Limits of Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis with Continuous Flow
Authors: Mijalis A. J. , Steinauer A. , Schepartz A. , Pentelute B. L.
Published: February 2019

Since its invention by Bruce Merrifield, solid-phase peptide synthesis has conventionally been performed in batch reactors. With systems created by Atherton, Dryland, and Sheppard in the 1980s, flow-chemistry techniques began to be applied to enhance solid-phase peptide synthesis, improving mixing and enabling time-resolved monitoring of Fmoc removal. Here, we review the history of flow-chemical techniques for solid-phase peptide synthesis, advances in solid supports that make flow chemistry on the solid phase feasible, the rationale behind using flow chemistry for amino acid activation, and other techniques for synthesizing peptides in flow, including the use of solid-supported coupling reagents and soluble macromolecular supports. Advantages of flow-chemistry techniques for both solid- and liquid-phase peptide synthesis include precise control of reagent heating and chiral integrity of incorporated amino acids, improvements in amino acid coupling times, and in-process detection of problematic peptide sequences.
Electron density and velocity functions in a low beta Polywell
Authors: Poznic Dominic , Ren Johnson , Khachan Joe
Published: February 2019

Langmuir probe data from a low beta Polywell device at the University of Sydney are analysed to compare models describing its electron velocity distribution function (EVDF). Three models are compared using the Bayesian evidence across datasets measured at different spatial points in the device at varying coil voltage biases and coil currents. The best performing model of the EVDF across all datasets is found to be a mixture of Maxwellian and Gaussian distributions. This outperforms a model with a pure Maxwellian distribution and another model with an advanced non-thermalised distribution, indicating that this device partially thermalises its confined electron population. From the same analysis, the Bayesian posterior is used to give statistical distributions of plasma parameters, such as the plasma potential and density. Compared across the different datasets, these parameters indicate the successful formation of an electric potential well, crucial to the operation of the Polywell, and the conditions in which it appears. They also indicate that the electron density forms a dense shell near the centre of the device, which contracts with increasing bias voltage and coil current.
A dual nanosecond-pulsed laser setup for nanocomposite synthesis—Ag nanoparticles in Al2O3/VO2 matrix
Authors: Gaudin M. , Carles P. , Laborde E. , Champeaux C. , Dumas-Bouchiat F.
Published: February 2019

A reactor based on the association of a pulsed laser nanoparticle source and a pulsed laser deposition process is presented. This process uses two independent nano-second pulsed lasers. The nanoparticle source, based on a quenching of a plasma plume, is accurately described. Nanoparticles produced by this dedicated laser-based source present intrinsically quasi-monodisperse size in the range of 1–10 nm. This monodispersity is essential to correlate nanoparticle size and related properties. For silver nanoparticles, a change in a characteristic parameter, the opening t-time of the quenching valve, (conditioning the species residence time) from 280 μs to 580 μs, leads to a nanoparticle size increase by a factor of about two (from 2.5 nm to 4.3 nm). Consequently, the size modulation allows the synthesis of nanoparticles and resulting nanocomposites which present drastically different properties. A kinetic model in good agreement with the experiment shows two nanoparticle growth modes, i.e., a monomer accretion and a cluster coagulation. Revealing the potential of the pulsed laser reactor, different nanocomposite materials constituted by Ag nanoparticles associated with oxide thin films (Al2O3, VO2) matrix are optically characterized. A surface plasmon resonance (λSPR) in the visible–near IR regime is evidenced, and huge modulation and tunability are obtained linked to the host matrix nature and nanocomposite architecture. Moreover, the metal insulator transition capacity of a vanadium dioxide matrix makes λSPR tunable as a function of temperature. This type of nanocomposite appears pertinent for their great potential in both nano-photonics and nano-sensors.
The nature of catastrophic OLED lighting panel failure
Authors: Ding Zelong , Kim Hoyeon , Lee David , Stickel Scott , Boroson Michael , Hamer John , Giebink Noel C.
Published: February 2019

Catastrophic failure due to electrical shorting is currently one of the key reliability challenges for commercial organic light emitting diode (OLED) solid-state lighting panels. Here, we explore the origin of panel-killing shorts through the use of a temperature-selective electroluminescence imaging technique that allows us to locate them early in their life cycle and study their growth over time. We identify two general classes of panel defect, termed bright spots and hot spots, which respectively originate from indium-tin-oxide agglomerations and microscale organic semiconductor dust particles on the substrate. The former are largely benign, whereas the latter can lead to local shunts that grow over time and cause catastrophic failure. We understand the growth process as a self-reinforcing cycle, where shunt-induced heating volatilizes the surrounding organic semiconductor, which in turn expands the shunt and leads to even more heating. Based on these results, we identify several practical strategies to arrest the growth of early-stage shorts or prevent them entirely, which could reduce the cost and improve the reliability of OLED lighting.
Chimera state on a spherical surface of nonlocally coupled oscillators with heterogeneous phase lags
Authors: Kim Ryong-Son , Choe Chol-Ung
Published: February 2019

We consider a network of coupled oscillators embedded in the surface of a sphere with nonlocal coupling strength and heterogeneous phase lags. A nonlocal coupling scheme with heterogeneous phase lags that allows the system to be solved analytically is suggested and the main effects of heterogeneity in the phase lags on the existence and stability of steady states are analyzed. We explore the stability of solutions along the Ott-Antonsen invariant manifold and present a complete bifurcation diagram for stationary patterns including the coherent, incoherent, and modulated drift states as well as chimera state. The stability analysis shows that a continuum of uniform drift states and the modulated drift state could become stable only due to the heterogeneity of the phase lags and that the chimera state is bifurcated from the modulated drift state. Our theoretical results are verified by using the direct numerical simulations of the model system.
A human proximal tubule-on-a-chip to study renal disease and toxicity
Authors: Sakolish Courtney M. , Philip Brian , Mahler Gretchen J.
Published: February 2019

Renal disease is a global problem with unsustainable health-care costs. There currently exists a lack of accurate human renal disease models that take into account the complex microenvironment of these tissues. Here, we present a reusable microfluidic model of the human proximal tubule and glomerulus, which allows for the growth of renal epithelial cells in a variety of conditions that are representative of renal disease states including altered glomerular filtration rate, hyperglycemia, nephrolithiasis, and drug-induced nephrotoxicity (cisplatin and cyclosporine). Cells were exposed to these conditions under fluid flow or in traditional static cultures to determine the effects of a dynamic microenvironment on the pathogenesis of these renal disease states. The results indicate varying stress-related responses (α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression, alkaline phosphatase activity, fibronectin, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin secretion) to each of these conditions when comparing cells that had been grown in static and dynamic conditions, potentially indicating more realistic and sensitive predictions of human responses and a requirement for a more complex “fit for purpose” model.
Experimental study of particle electrophoresis in shear-thinning fluids
Authors: Malekanfard Amirreza , Ko Chien-Hsuan , Li Di , Bulloch Logan , Baldwin Alicia , Wang Yao-Nan , Fu Lung-Ming , Xuan Xiangchun
Published: February 2019

Electric field is the method of choice in microfluidic devices for precise transport and placement of particles via fluid electroosmosis and particle electrophoresis. However, current studies on particle electrophoresis in microchannels have been focused mainly upon Newtonian fluids though many of the chemical and biological fluids possess non-Newtonian characteristics. Especially lacking is the experimental study of particle electrophoresis in either type of fluids. We report in this work an unprecedented experimental observation that polystyrene particles migrate towards the walls of straight rectangular microchannels in the electroosmotic flow of shear-thinning xanthan gum (XG) solutions. This phenomenon is opposite to the particle focusing along the channel center in our control experiment with the Newtonian base fluid of the XG solutions. It is attributed to a fluid shear thinning-induced lift that overcomes the wall-induced repulsive electrical lift. The parametric effects of the fluid-particle-channel-(electric) field system are systematically investigated.
Perturbation modifications by pre-magnetisation of inertial confinement fusion implosions
Authors: Walsh C. A. , McGlinchey K. , Tong J. K. , Appelbe B. D. , Crilly A. , Zhang M. F. , Chittenden J. P.
Published: February 2019

Pre-magnetisation of inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility has the potential to raise current high-performing targets into the ignition regime [Perkins et al. “The potential of imposed magnetic fields for enhancing ignition probability and fusion energy yield in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion,” Phys. Plasmas 24, 062708 (2017)]. A key concern with this method is that the application of a magnetic field inherently increases asymmetry. This paper uses 3-D extended-magnetohydrodynamics Gorgon simulations to investigate how thermal conduction suppression, the Lorentz force, and α-particle magnetisation affect three hot-spot perturbation scenarios: a cold fuel spike, a time-dependent radiation drive asymmetry, and a multi-mode perturbation. For moderate magnetisations (B0 = 5 T), the single spike penetrates deeper into the hot-spot, as thermal ablative stabilisation is reduced. However, at higher magnetisations (B0 = 50 T), magnetic tension acts to stabilise the spike. While magnetisation of α-particle orbits increases the peak hot-spot temperature, no impact on the perturbation penetration depth is observed. The P4-dominated radiation drive asymmetry demonstrates the anisotropic nature of the thermal ablative stabilisation modifications, with perturbations perpendicular to the magnetic field penetrating deeper and perturbations parallel to the field being preferentially stabilised by increased heat-flows. Moderate magnetisations also increase the prevalence of high modes, while magnetic tension reduces vorticity at the hot-spot edge for larger magnetisations. For a simulated high-foot experiment, the yield doubles through the application of a 50 T magnetic field-an amplification which is expected to be larger for higher-performing configurations.
Beams and plasmas
Authors: Leemans Wim
Published: February 2019

Progress in plasma physics and accelerator science research advances astrophysics, energy production, and many other scientific fields.
The power and pitfalls of focus groups
Authors: Merner Laura , Porter Anne Marie
Published: February 2019

A moderated discussion can help clarify the concerns and opinions of the physics community. But if it’s not arranged and analyzed with care, even well-meaning efforts can lead to problems.
Complementing corpus analysis with web-based experimentation in research on World Englishes
Authors: Horch Stephanie
Published: February 2019

Usage-based research in linguistics has to a large extent relied on corpus data. However, a feature’s “failure to appear in even a very large corpus (such as the Web) is not evidence for ungrammaticality, nor is appearance evidence for grammaticality” (Schütze and Sprouse 2013: 29). It is therefore advisable to complement corpus-based analyses with experimental data, so as to (ideally) obtain converging evidence. This paper reviews reasons for combining corpus linguistic with psycholinguistic experimental methods, and demonstrates how research on varieties of English can profit from experimentation. For a study of conversion in Asian Englishes, the maze task (Forster, Guerrera, and Elliot 2009;Forster 2010) was implemented with a web-based, open-source software. The results of the experiment dovetail with a previous analysis of theCorpus of Global Web-based English(Davies 2013). These results should encourage researchers not to base findings exclusively on corpus evidence, but corroborate them by means of experimental data.
An American at the origins of EuropeanSprachwissenschaftand Italian historiographical thought
Authors: Dovetto Francesca M.
Published: February 2019

This contribution is dedicated to William Dwight Whitney (1827–1897), a scholar who generally has a modest space dedicated to him in the historiography of linguistics, despite his name and works having had considerable circulation among his contemporaries. His originality and method are outlined with particular attention being given to his reception in Europe and in the setting of Italian studies of theoretical and empirical linguistics.

Whitney was among the first to contest Schleicher’s concept of language as a natural fact, claiming, instead, that it has social nature, as an ‘institution’ created by man; he was a forerunner in recognizing the relevance of signs and their value, and of language acquisition. In his demonstrations and in his methods he proposes a science of historical linguistics but at the same time it is open to 20th century linguistics and the concept of language as a complex system ordered and crossed by relationships. Both his unique approach to the study of Sanskrit, which emphasised the study of its use and its variants, and his interest for modern languages, makes him a particularly interesting scholar, as he and his reception testify the rise, in Europe and especially in Italy, of a new approach to linguistic issues, no longer exclusively historical-comparative, but also theoretical and general.

Nonetheless, Whitney ought to occupy a prominent place in the history of linguistics, because he was also the author of one of the first introductory texts of the discipline, which was published in 1875; in that same year a French translation came out, which was soon followed by an Italian, and a German translation (both 1876).The number of almost contemporaneous translations gives an idea of the gap which a general and introductory work like Whitney’s filled and illustrates that there was a clear need for it.

In several works, including recent ones, De Mauro identified the specific characteristics of Italian linguistic studies: we can find a good many of these traits in Whitney as well. Although the fruitful contribution of Whitney’s ideas in an environment which is ‘naturally’ inclined towards the themes and methods the American linguist dealt with, i.e., the ‘Italian linguistic school’, has not been fully recognised until now, it is undeniable that his ideas provided an important stimulus for new interpretations and new models.
Hidden from women’s ears
Authors: Aikhenvald Alexandra Y.
Published: February 2019

Across the multilingual area of the Vaupés River Basin in north-west Amazonia, women are considered a dangerous ‘other’. In accordance with the local marriage practices, men marry women from language groups different to their own. Women are denied access to important rituals, such as the Yurupary rite, and are not supposed to hear any words associated with this tradition. The paper addresses a special linguistic practice of a women-directed taboo, so far documented just for the Tariana (the only Arawak-speaking groups in the Vaupés River Basin area). All the paraphernalia associated with the Yurupary ritual and a number of place names which contain the name of the Yurupary flute are a taboo to women, and so their original names cannot be pronounced in the presence of women. If a woman is present, a tabooed form has to be used instead. The tradition is on the way out, since the Tariana language and culture are severely endangered. The ‘taboo against women’ in Tariana is compared with other systems of gender-based taboos across the world. How did the erstwhile secret knowledge become public? And how can one get access to ‘forbidden’ knowledge in the Amazonian context? These issues are addressed at the end of the paper.
Gender-switching strategies in the activity oftsinampantsi‘joking’ among Northern Kampa Arawaks of Peru
Authors: Mihas Elena
Published: February 2019

Among Northern Kampas, the linguistically creative production oftsinampantsiby non-kin and affines intends – apart from having fun – to initiate an intimate relationship or affirm the intimacy of the existing interpersonal relationship. Northern Kampa participants oftsinampantsi‘joking’ often resort to gender-switching strategies for jocular effects. Creatively playing with linguistic gender marking is characteristic oftsinampantsi-joking conduct. The study’s findings revealed that there are variable lexicogrammatical means for accomplishing the man > woman gender switch. Two basic gender-switching strategies are deployed: manipulation of person marking indexes and deployment of derivational morphology. The verbal person marking strategy is the most basic and most common means of indicating gender switches, whereas derivational morphology functions as a supplementary technique. In gender reversals, participation structure (production and reception roles) is predominantly coded by third person (other-role) markers on the verb. The woman > man direction of gender reversals is uncommon in joking sequences.
A culture of secrecy
Authors: Ciucci Luca
Published: February 2019

This paper aims at discussing some aspects of the secrecy characterizing sacred texts by the Ayoreo, a Zamucoan
population of the Boreal Chaco in South America, from a linguistic perspective. The magic power exerted by words in Ayoreo
traditional culture is the reason why holy texts are kept secret, and this makes it difficult to provide a complete linguistic
documentation of Ayoreo ‘hidden’ narratives and ritual formulas. After having outlined etiological myths, I will show that
language not only can exert a magic power, but that grammar itself, and specifically linguistic gender, has played a role in the
development of these sacred narratives. Finally, I will compare some elements of Ayoreo culture with lexical data from extinct Old
Zamuco, the most conservative language of the family, in order to show that the populations speaking these languages share the
same cultural background.
Relativisation in Wobzi Khroskyabs and the integration of genitivisation
Authors: Lai Yunfan
Published: February 2019

This paper focuses on the morphosyntax as well as the semantics of relativisation in Wobzi Khroskyabs, a
Rgyalrongic language spoken in Sichuan, China. Different strategies of relativisation are presented, especially the nominalisation
strategy. Wobzi Khroskyabs exhibits an innovative relativisation strategy with the genitive marker =ji, which is
rarely found in other Rgyalrongic languages. Several hypotheses are put forward to account for the evolutionary pathway from
genitivisation to relativisation, showing that genitive =ji probably followed an ergative pattern to enter the
relativisation of core arguments.
Complementizer doubling and subject extraction in Italo-Romance
Authors: Munaro Nicola
Published: February 2019

In this article I analyze the complementizer doubling construction attested in some early and modern Italo-Romance varieties, where a preposed (clausal or non clausal) constituent associated to the selected clause appears in the embedded left periphery preceded and followed by a subordinating complementizer. While the higher complementizer is uncontroversially interpreted as a lexicalization of the head Force°, the lower complementizer has been taken to lexicalize either the functional head Topic° or the functional head Fin°. Relying on previous formal analyses of subject extraction, I argue that in the varieties in which the lower complementizer lexicalizes Fin°, its presence reflects the lexicalization of the mood features encoded by Fin°, and is ultimately due to the extraction of the thematic subject out of the embedded clause through Spec,FinP, a movement strategy made possible by the presence of an expletiveproin the canonical preverbal subject position.
TAPPing into PIPs: A new reporter reveals the origin of plasma membrane PI(3,4)P2
Authors: Yudushkin Ivan
Published: February 2019

The membrane lipid phosphatidylinositol-3,4-bisphosphate (PI(3,4)P2) is an important signaling effector, controlling both anabolic pathways and membrane trafficking. In this issue, Goulden et al. (2019. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201809026) report a new PI(3,4)P2 probe and show that plasma membrane PI(3,4)P2 is a product of PI(3,4,5)P3 dephosphorylation.
Fibroblasts: Dangerous travel companions
Authors: Schreiber Hans
Published: February 2019

In this issue of JEM, Gao et al. (https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20180765) demystify the exceptional metastatic success of ovarian cancer, the most lethal female malignancy: fibroblasts form heterotypic aggregates with disseminating cancer cells, thereby providing them with reciprocal signaling and matrix for adherence.
Functional imaging of tumor vasculature using iodine and gadolinium-based nanoparticle contrast agents: a comparison of spectral micro-CT using energy integrating and photon counting detectors
Authors: Badea C T , Clark D P , Holbrook M , Srivastava M , Mowery Y , Ghaghada K B
Published: February 2019

Advances in computed tomography (CT) hardware have propelled the development of novel CT contrast agents. In particular, the spectral capabilities of x-ray CT can facilitate simultaneous imaging of multiple contrast agents. This approach is particularly useful for functional imaging of solid tumors by simultaneous visualization of multiple targets or architectural features that govern cancer development and progression. Nanoparticles are a promising platform for contrast agent development. While several novel imaging moieties based on high atomic number elements are being explored, iodine (I) and gadolinium (Gd) are particularly attractive because of their existing approval for clinical use. In this work, we investigate the in vivo discrimination of I and Gd nanoparticle contrast agents using both dual energy micro-CT with energy integrating detectors (DE-EID) and photon counting detector (PCD)-based spectral micro-CT. Simulations and phantom experiments were performed using varying concentrations of I and Gd to determine the imaging performance with optimized acquisition parameters. Quantitative spectral micro-CT imaging using liposomal-iodine (Lip-I) and liposomal-Gd (Lip-Gd) nanoparticle contrast agents was performed in sarcoma bearing mice for anatomical and functional imaging of tumor vasculature. Iterative reconstruction provided high sensitivity to detect and discriminate relatively low I and Gd concentrations. According to the Rose criterion applied to the experimental results, the detectability limits for I and Gd were approximately 2.5 mg ml−1 for both DE-EID CT and PCD micro-CT, even if the radiation dose was approximately 3.8 times lower with PCD micro-CT. The material concentration maps confirmed expected biodistributions of contrast agents in the blood, liver, spleen and kidneys. The PCD provided lower background signal and better simultaneous visualization of tumor vasculature and intratumoral distribution patterns of nanoparticle contrast agent compared to DE-EID decompositions. Preclinical spectral CT systems such as this could be useful for functional characterization of solid tumors, simultaneous quantitative imaging of multiple targets and for identifying clinically-relevant applications that benefit from the use of spectral imaging. Additionally, it could aid in the development nanoparticles that show promise in the developing field of cancer theranostics (therapy and diagnostics) by measuring vascular tumor biomarkers such as fractional blood volume and the delivery of liposomal chemotherapeutics.
A characterization of superreflexivity through embeddings of lamplighter groups
Authors: Ostrovskii Mikhail , Randrianantoanina Beata
Published: February 2019

We prove that finite lamplighter groups

{

Z

2

≀

Z

n

}

n
≥
2

\{\mathbb {Z}_2\wr \mathbb {Z}_n\}_{n\ge 2}

with a standard set of generators embed with uniformly bounded distortions into any non-superreflexive Banach space and therefore form a set of test spaces for superreflexivity. Our proof is inspired by the well-known identification of Cayley graphs of infinite lamplighter groups with the horocyclic product of trees. We cover

Z

2

≀

Z

n

\mathbb {Z}_2\wr \mathbb {Z}_n

by three sets with a structure similar to a horocyclic product of trees, which enables us to construct well-controlled embeddings.
Inequalities for selected eigenvalues of the product of matrices
Authors: Xi Bo-Yan , Zhang Fuzhen
Published: February 2019

The product of a Hermitian matrix and a positive semidefinite matrix has only real eigenvalues. We present bounds for sums of eigenvalues of such a product.
Civil War and Religion: Turkey
Authors: Türkmen Gülay
Published: February 2019

Out of the 111 armed conflicts that took place worldwide between 1989 and 2000, only seven were interstate conflicts. The others were intrastate in nature. As a result, the last decade and a half witnessed a boom in the publication of works on civil wars. While the percentage of civil wars involving religion increased from 21% to 43% between the 1960s and 1990s, scholars have been rather slow to integrate the study of religion into the overall framework of conflict in general, and of civil wars in particular. Operating under the impact of the secularization thesis and treating religion as an aspect of ethnicity, the literature on civil wars has long embraced ethnonationalism as its subject matter. Yet, since the early 2000s there has been a rapid increase in the number of works focusing on religion and civil wars. While one branch treats religion as a trigger for and an exacerbating factor in conflict, another focuses on religion as a conflict resolution tool.

Turkey is an apt case to ponder the latter as several governments have deployed religion (namely, Sunni Islam) as a tool to suppress ethnic divisions for years. During the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, religion has gained even more visibility as a conflict resolution tool in the 33-year-long armed ethnic conflict between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Yet, the role of religion in Turkey’s Kurdish conflict still remains understudied. Increased attention to this topic could deliver important insights not only for those who conduct research on the Kurdish conflict in Turkey specifically, but also for those who explore the role of religion in civil wars more generally.
Post-Conflict Processes and Religion: An Overview
Authors: Sandal Nukhet
Published: February 2019

Religion was a relatively overlooked factor in the study of political science until the 21st century. Even when the focus on religion increased in the aftermath of 9/11, a majority of the scholarship still dealt with religion and violence. “Religion and peace” has arguably been a less popular topic, yet there is still a vibrant literature that has contributed to our understanding of religion and social dynamics, especially given the significant number of religiously inspired organizations that are active in postconflict processes, such as Network of Engaged Buddhists, Sant’Egidio, and American Jewish World Service. Religion can play a critical role in conflict resolution and negotiation, especially in settings where secular approaches fall short of resolving the tensions, and where religious actors are seen as more neutral than the political actors. Peacebuilding literature has also recognized the importance of religion. Every religious tradition has its own sources of nonviolence within itself, and under the right conditions, these sources can help with reconciliation, peacebuilding, and transitional justice. At the same time, involvement of religious actors in postconflict processes poses its own challenges. Religious actors are rarely fully neutral, their assistance usually comes with conditions attached, and their involvement in political processes can undermine their moral authority. In addition, there are religious leaders who work against reconciliation to protect their own status in conflict settings. Recognizing that it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of faith-inspired initiatives, more scholarship is needed to explore the dynamics of religious initiatives in postconflict processes. There are gaps especially when it comes to non-Christian actors’ involvement in peace processes, and how the faith-inspired initiatives of individuals differ from those of religious institutions and organizations.
Managing Ethnicity in African Politics
Authors: Hartmann Christof
Published: February 2019

Political regulation of ethnicity has been a core dimension of state-building in Africa, and a set of different macro-political strategies was applied in African postcolonial states to deal with ethnic heterogeneity. One set of strategies consisted in attempts to completely eliminate political manifestations of ethnicity, violently through genocide (Rwanda, 1994) or mass expulsions of ethnic minorities (Uganda, 1973), consensually through secession of autonomous provinces (Eritrea, 1993; South Sudan, 2005), through legal instruments that ban the political expression of ethnic identity such as party bans, or via coercive variants of assimilation (Rwanda, 2001). An opposing option promoted the formal recognition of ethnicity through consociationalism (Burundi, 2005), ethnic federalism (Ethiopia, 1995), ethnic minority rights (Mauritius), or hegemonic control (apartheid South Africa).

Many African countries have instead opted for an informal accommodation of ethnic identity in politics, which combines the pursuit of civic nationalism and ethnic party bans with a de facto recognition of ethnic group rights through informal power-sharing, centripetal institutions, or variants of federalism which shift resources and competencies to subnational levels. The choice of strategies is, however, constrained by how interethnic relations have been shaped in the process of postcolonial state-building. Both strategies of elimination and of formal recognition are applied in ranked societies where one racial or ethnic group managed to take control of the state and in which class corresponded with ethnic affiliation. South Africa, which also belonged to this group, seems to be the only country where a liberal model of civic nation is pursued along with a strong recognition of the country’s diversity in the political and constitutional architecture.
Social Gerontology Theories: Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Suitor Jill , Gilligan Megan , Rurka Marissa , Hou Yifei , Con Gulcin
Published: February 2019

Theories of social gerontology have progressed from a focus on individuals’ later-life decline to theories that emphasize the intra- and interindividual variability of later-life experiences and the ways in which such heterogeneity is conditioned by social structural, cultural, and interpersonal factors that often begin in childhood and continue to shape individuals and members of their social networks across the life course. Consistent with theories across the sciences, theories of social gerontology predict and explain real-world experiences. In the case of social gerontology, the goals of theory address a wide array of phenomena, ranging from individuals’ attitudes and motivations, social networks and social support, the actions and functions of formal organizations, the embodiment of cultural norms and stereotypes, social determinants of health, and sources of inequality throughout the life course.. As the field of social gerontology has developed, theories in the field have shown increasing complexity, particularly regarding the roles of early life course experiences, social structural positions, and interpersonal relations in explaining variations in well-being, longevity, and the quality of life across the lifespan. As part of this increased complexity, social gerontology has become increasingly cross-disciplinary, spanning disciplines such as sociology, psychology, biology, anthropology, public health, medicine, and engineering, with a strong emphasis on how each discipline can contribute to developing principles that transcend individual fields. These integrative theories of social gerontology are crucial to developing comprehensive approaches to improving the health and well-being of individuals throughout the life course. Theories of social gerontology help us comprehensively understand the aging process by emphasizing individual characteristics, social relationships, and the larger cultural contexts in which individuals’ lives are embedded.
Cultural Variance and Invariance of Age Differences in Social Cognition
Authors: Chu Li , Fang Yang , Tsang Vivian Hiu-Ling , Fung Helene H.
Published: February 2019

Cognitive processing of social and nonsocial information changes with age. These processes range from the ones that serve “mere” cognitive functions, such as recall strategies and reasoning, to those that serve functions that pertain to self-regulation and relating to others. However, aging and the development of social cognition unfold in different cultural contexts, which may assume distinct social norms and values. Thus, the resulting age-related differences in cognitive and social cognitive processes may differ across cultures. On the one hand, biological aging could render age-related differences in social cognition universal; on the other hand, culture may play a role in shaping some age-related differences. Indeed, many aspects of cognition and social cognition showed different age and culture interactions, and this makes the study of these phenomena more complex. Future aging research on social cognition should take cultural influences into consideration.
Substance Use in Later Life
Authors: Bright Stephen J.
Published: February 2019

In the 21st century, we have seen a significant increase in the use of alcohol and other drugs (AODs) among older adults in most first world countries. In addition, people are living longer. Consequently, the number of older adults at risk of experiencing alcohol-related harm and substance use disorders (SUDs) is rising. Between 1992 and 2010, men in the United Kingdom aged 65 years or older had increased their drinking from an average 77.6 grams to 97.6 grams per week. Data from Australia show a 17% increase in risky drinking among those 60–69 between 2007 and 2016. Among Australians aged 60 or older, there was a 280% increase in recent cannabis use from 2001 to 2016. In the United States, rates of older people seeking treatment for cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine have doubled in the past 10 years. This trend is expected to continue.

Despite these alarming statistics, this population has been deemed “hidden,” as older adults often do not present to treatment with the SUD as a primary concern, and many healthcare professionals do not adequately screen for AOD use. With age, changes in physiology impact the way we metabolize alcohol and increase the subjective effects of alcohol. In addition, older adults are prone to increased use of medications and medical comorbidities. As such, drinking patterns that previously would have not been considered hazardous can become dangerous without any increase in alcohol consumption. This highlights the need for age-specific screening of all older patients within all healthcare settings.

The etiology of AOD-related issues among older adults can be different from that of younger adults. For example, as a result of issues more common as one ages (e.g., loss and grief, identity crisis, and boredom), there is a distinct cohort of older adults who develop SUDs later in life despite no history of previous problematic AOD use. For some older adults who might have experimented with drugs in their youth, these age-specific issues precipitate the onset of a SUD. Meanwhile, there is a larger cohort of older adults with an extensive history of SUDs. Consequently, assessments need to be tailored to explore the issues that are unique to older adults who use AODs and can inform the development of age-specific formulations and treatment plans. In doing so, individualized treatments can be delivered to meet the needs of older adults. Such treatments must be tailored to address issues associated with aging (e.g., reduced mobility) and may require multidisciplinary input from medical practitioners and occupational therapists.
Body Cameras and Policing
Authors: Peterson Bryce Elling , Lawrence Daniel S.
Published: February 2019

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are small devices that police officers can affix to their person—in a head-, shoulder-, or chest-mounted position—that can audio and video record their interactions with community members. BWCs have received strong support from the public and, in recent years, widespread buy-in from police leadership and officers because of their ability to improve accountability and transparency and enhance the collection of evidence. Implementation guidelines recommend that officers activate their BWCs during each officer–citizen interaction and inform the people they encounter that they are being recorded. Early research on this technology found that officers equipped with body cameras were significantly less likely to engage in force and receive citizen complaints. However, more recent studies with larger samples have had mixed findings about the impact of body cameras on use of force, citizen complaints, and other police activities and behaviors.

Numerous legal and ethical considerations are associated with BWCs, including their implications for privacy concerns and public disclosure. However, police officials, policymakers, civil rights groups, and the public must continue to weigh these privacy concerns against the potential for BWCs to enhance police accountability and transparency. Future scholarship should focus on the degree to which BWCs can improve police–community relations and yield valuable evidence for both criminal cases and internal investigations.
Indigenous Intellectuals in Colonial Latin America
Authors: Tavárez David
Published: February 2019

The epistemic assumptions, methods, and rhetoric employed by colonial indigenous intellectuals in Latin America were based on preconquest intellectual labor and literacy systems. These practices were deeply impacted by collaborative projects and historical scholarship undertaken in the 16th century, as indigenous elites embraced European literacy and scholarly models. This merging of diverse traditions led to a “golden age” of indigenous intellectual achievements in the 17th century, and to a diversity of genres cultivated by native scholars in late colonial times. Indigenous historical actors were intellectuals not only because they recorded and disseminated historical, religious, or political knowledge, but also because they were inserted in culturally hybrid social networks through which collective knowledge circulated. While the works of Chimalpahin, Guaman Poma, Garcilaso de la Vega, and don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl are relatively well known, this small sample of native and mestizo intellectuals must be expanded considerably to examine works produced through co-authorship arrangements with friars and priests, and to address clandestine works composed exclusively for native audiences by less known, or even anonymous, indigenous scholars.
Parthian-Roman Wars
Authors: Schlude Jason M.
Published: February 2019

Founded and ruled by the Arsacid royal family, the Parthian empire (c. 250 bce–227 ce) was the native Iranian empire that filled the power vacuum in the Middle East in the midst of Seleucid decline. Arsacid interaction with the Roman empire began in the mid-90s bce, eventually established the Euphrates river as a shared border, and was peaceful in nature till 54 bce. In that year, the first of four cycles of Parthian-Roman wars began. Since the Romans carried out the initial large-scale mobilization of troops that introduced most of these wars, it is appropriate to associate these four cycles with the various Romans who coordinated the Roman military efforts: (a) Crassus to Antony (54–30 bce); (b) Nero (57–63 ce); (c) Trajan (114–117 ce); and (d) Lucius Verus to Macrinus (161–217 ce). The fundamental causes for these conflicts were Roman imperialism, which was well ingrained by the 1st century bce, and Parthian imperialism, which accelerated in the 2nd century bce, probably accompanied by the Arsacids’ attempts to present themselves as successors to the Achaemenid dynasty. These traditions led the Romans and Parthians to expand their spheres of power such that they came to meet in Armenia and Mesopotamia, over which regions they fought at different points for the three-century period of their empires’ coexistence. Even so, Rome and Parthia enjoyed lengthy periods of peace. Conflict was neither inevitable nor constant. In many cases (particularly in the late 1st century bce and 1st century ce), Romans and Parthians alike preferred peace and succeeded in maintaining it; but they presented diplomatic negotiations and limited military actions in ways that proclaimed hostility and martial victory (real and imagined). In this way, however, the persistent image of conflict conditioned the Roman people, especially, to accept and even expect such war. This aggressive anti-Parthian rhetoric, for example, enabled Emperor Trajan to break with years of peace and invade Mesopotamia (114–117 ce). In this way, the image of Parthian-Roman war was made a reality.
senatus consultum Orfitianum
Authors: Czajkowski Kimberley
Published: February 2019

The Senatus Consultum Orfitianum was a senatorial decree enacted under Marcus Aurelius in 178 ce that gave children priority over other heirs in inheriting from an intestate mother. Together with the sc Tertullianum, it is typically discussed in the context of the gradual shift from agnatic to cognatic ties in succession law.
Natural Hazards Governance in Democratic States With Developed Economies
Authors: Roberts Patrick S.
Published: February 2019

Natural hazards have evolved from being the responsibility of subnational governments—if the government intervened all—to become a core function of national governments. The cost of disaster losses has increased over time in states with developed economies, even as fewer lives are lost. Increasing losses are caused by an increasing number of extreme weather events, which wreak havoc on urbanizing populations that build expensive structures in vulnerable locations. Hazards governance attempts to use political and organizational tools to mitigate or prevent damage and bounce back when disasters occur. In large and developed states, authority for hazards governance is fragmented across levels of government, as well as the private sector, which controls much of the infrastructure and property that is subject to losses.

The political consequences of disaster losses are mixed and depend on contextual factors: sometimes politicians, government agencies, and nonprofit and voluntary organizations are blamed for failures on their watch, and sometimes they are rewarded for coming to the rescue. The study of disasters has become more interdisciplinary over time as scholars seek to integrate the study of natural hazards with socio-political systems. The future of hazards governance research lies in improving understanding of how to manage multiple, overlapping risks over a period of time beyond next election cycle, and across levels of government and the private sector.
Energy delocalization during dynamic rock fragmentation
Authors: Ghaffari H O , Griffith W A , Barber T J
Published: February 2019

The formation of fragments due to avalanche-like growth of damage under impulsive forces is a process central to numerous studies ranging from shaped charge jet break up and rock blasting to bolide impacts, and, more recently, earthquake rupture. In the latter case, pulverized rocks found millimetres to tens of metres from the principal slip zones of large faults have been associated with fast, even supershear, rupture propagation. It has been postulated that earthquake source characteristics directly affect the degree of fragmentation, and the study of fragment size distribution may shed light on the energy budget of individual earthquakes as well as long-term effects on fault zone properties. The actual fragmentation process, and the partitioning of dissipated energy at fast loading rates, however, is still enigmatic. We use modified Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar experiments, in which we can control stressing rate, amplitude and duration, as a laboratory analogue for the complex natural prototype source processes. In our experiments, we characterize the velocity distribution of ejected fragments from Westerly Granite specimens resulting in a range of fragmentation states, from weakly fragmented to pulverized. Analysis of the velocity distributions (and the related kinetic energy) reveals spatial domains that are free of ejected fragments; these so-called ‘zero kinetic energy modes’ are related to the fragmentation state: increasing fragmentation corresponds to a reduction of zero mode domains. The evolution of these zero modes with strain rate reveals that the transition from low strain rate fracturing to high strain rate pulverization is a smooth, continuous transition, rather than a sharp boundary. Furthermore, our results yield important insights into the process of fragmentation in earthquake process zones, including how dissipated energy is partitioned during fragmentation, and indicate that delocalization of energy is systematically coupled with source parameters.