bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A comparative analysis of two‐stage approaches for embedding network function virtualization enabled multicast services
Authors: Asgarian Mina , Mirjalily Ghasem
Published: June 2024

The Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology has emerged to turn hardware‐based network functions into software‐based virtual entities. In NFV‐enabled multicast services, the data flow should be passed through a series of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) before reaching destinations. In the problem of NFV‐enabled multicast service embedding, not only the VNFs must be deployed, but also the traffic forwarding topology must be constructed. As the exact solution of this problem suffers from high computational complexity, the heuristic or approximation approaches are used in practice. However, as a way to control the trade off between complexity and efficiency, using multistage solutions is offered in literature. In this article, some two‐stage approaches for embedding NFV‐enabled multicast services are introduced, and they are compared through analysis and simulation. Specifically, a new low‐complexity approach based on the Auxiliary VNF Graph (AVG) is proposed to determine the sub‐optimal locations for VNF placement and to construct the NFV‐based multicast routing tree. The comparative analysis shows that the proposal has acceptable performance while reducing the computational complexity significantly.
TanrsColour: Transformer‐based medical image colourization with content and structure preservation
Authors: Liu Qinghai , Zhao Dengping , Tang Lun , Xu Limin
Published: June 2024

Medical image colouring techniques enable to colourize grey‐scale medical images for assisting doctors in diagnosis. Benefiting from the non‐linear fitting ability of deep neural network, deep medical image colouring techniques have achieved remarkable results. However, existing methods are still facing content and structure feature leakage, unrealistic colouring and poor scale invariability. Thus, this paper, proposes a Transformer‐based medical image colouring algorithm with long‐term dependency to avoid feature leakage of coloured images. To be specific, this method employs two different Transformer encoders to generate and encode feature sequences for grey‐scale medical images and real human colour slice images, respectively. Then, a novel multi‐layer Transformer decoder is used to stylize grey‐scale map image features based on the real physical colour feature sequences. For colouring images at different scales, we implement content‐ aware positional encoding with scale invariance and propose style‐aware positional encoding strategy to take realistic and physical colour prior into account. Extensive experimental results indicate our method has achieved better colourization effects than recent state‐of‐the‐art medical image colourization methods.
The impact of online purchase behaviour on customer lifetime value
Authors: Kvíčala Daniel , Králová Maria , Suchánek Petr
Published: June 2024

This paper investigates customer lifetime value (CLV) in e-shops, particularly those operated by small on-platform evolving financially independent online resellers (SOEFIOR) e-shops. The aim is to identify factors predicting CLV and assess their associations with CLV. Given the nested structure of the data, where transactions by customers are clustered within e-shops, a multilevel model is employed as the analytical framework. While classical linear regression assumes independence of observations within a sample, our dataset operates across three hierarchical levels: transaction level (I), customer level (II), and e-shop level (III). This hierarchical structure challenges the validity of inferences drawn from linear regression models, as transactions by one customer are not independent, and customers within a single e-shop may exhibit interdependencies. Therefore, a multilevel model is utilised to appropriately address the dependence among transactions within this nested data structure. The analysis reveals that the “number of transactions” exhibits the strongest positive association with CLV, followed by “days to transaction” and “session duration”. Furthermore, we discovered that “direct access” exhibits a positive association with CLV compared to access through Google campaigns, whereas access through Facebook campaigns demonstrates a negative association with CLV when compared to Google campaigns. Additionally, using the e-shop on mobile and landing on the product details page both show negative associations with CLV compared to desktop usage and landing on the e-shop’s home page, respectively. Our research identifies several variables that are associated with CLV in e-shops. This enables e-shop managers to effectively target and engage customers through marketing activities, thereby maximising revenues, financial performance, and customer CLV.
Historical contextualisation in primary school history textbooks in Ghana
Authors: Oppong Charles Adabo , Essiaw Prince
Published: June 2024

This study focused on how historical contextualisation is reflected in 12 history textbooks for primary schools in Ghana. The study employed a content analysis design to analyse how historical contextualisation is reflected in history textbooks. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in selecting 12 textbooks to represent the 6 classes in the Ghanaian primary school. A thematic matrix was developed from historical thinking frameworks to collect data from the textbooks. Microsoft Excel functions were used to rate the textbooks on a scale of 0–5, depending on the amount of evidence of historical contextualisation. Descriptive statistics and Maton’s (2013) principle of shift in the Semantic Wave were used in the analysis to determine the level of evidence of historical contextualisation in the textbooks. The study established that historical contextualisation is reflected in the history textbooks used in the study. This study contributes to understanding how textbook writers incorporate historical contextualisation within textbook narratives to meet history curriculum requirements. It gives an understanding of how historical contextualisation is needed in history textbooks to promote historical reasoning among textbook users such as teachers and students. Possible implications of the findings are discussed in the main text.
Universal Machine Learning Kohn–Sham Hamiltonian for Materials
Authors: Zhong 钟 Yang 阳 , Yu 于 Hongyu 宏宇 , Yang 杨 Jihui 吉辉 , Guo 郭 Xingyu 星宇 , Xiang 向 Hongjun 红军 , Gong 龚 Xingao 新高
Published: June 2024

While density functional theory (DFT) serves as a prevalent computational approach in electronic structure calculations, its computational demands and scalability limitations persist. Recently, leveraging neural networks to parameterize the Kohn–Sham DFT Hamiltonian has emerged as a promising avenue for accelerating electronic structure computations. Despite advancements, challenges such as the necessity for computing extensive DFT training data to explore each new system and the complexity of establishing accurate machine learning models for multi-elemental materials still exist. Addressing these hurdles, this study introduces a universal electronic Hamiltonian model trained on Hamiltonian matrices obtained from first-principles DFT calculations of nearly all crystal structures on the Materials Project. We demonstrate its generality in predicting electronic structures across the whole periodic table, including complex multi-elemental systems, solid-state electrolytes, Moiré twisted bilayer heterostructure, and metal-organic frameworks. Moreover, we utilize the universal model to conduct high-throughput calculations of electronic structures for crystals in GNoME datasets, identifying 3940 crystals with direct band gaps and 5109 crystals with flat bands. By offering a reliable efficient framework for computing electronic properties, this universal Hamiltonian model lays the groundwork for advancements in diverse fields, such as easily providing a huge data set of electronic structures and also making the materials design across the whole periodic table possible.
Approximate constructions of counterdiabatic driving with NMR quantum systems
Authors: Zhou 周 Hui 辉 , Dai 代 Xiaoli 晓莉 , Geng 耿 Jianpei 建培 , Ji 季 Yunlan 云兰 , Peng 彭 Xinhua 新华
Published: June 2024

Counterdiabatic driving (CD) offers a fast and robust route to manipulate quantum systems, which has widespread applications in quantum technologies. However, for higher-dimensional complex systems, the exact CD term involving the spectral properties of the system is difficult to calculate and generally takes a complicated form, impeding its experimental realization. Recently, many approximate methods have been proposed for designing CD passages in many-body systems. In this topical review, we focus on the CD formalism and briefly introduce several experimental constructions and applications of approximate CD driving in spin-chain models with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) systems.
The Development of the Jury: Changing Regulation and Function
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the changing role of the jury, specifically in England and Wales, in order to demonstrate the different ways that the jury has functioned and the different roles that it has assumed over time, and the priorities that have shaped its evolution. The history of the modern jury is reviewed based on contemporary commentaries, categorizing jury development into four suggested key phases in which the role of the jury evolved. The chapter draws on the history of the jury to show that there is nothing about the jury system that makes it inherently appropriate as the best tool to fulfil a particular role, and that the way in which the jury functions must be shaped by policy surrounding trial by jury. It concludes by suggesting that the variety of ways that the jury can function demonstrates the importance of articulating what we want the jury to do in society and designing evidence-based policy to ensure the jury is functioning to do that.
Jury Systems Worldwide
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

In this chapter, different procedures surrounding jury trial in jurisdictions worldwide are explored in order to begin to examine prioritizations and presumptions underlying modern jury systems. The chapter first provides some context on how jury systems have developed. A range of approaches to jury regulation are then introduced, framed around common debates on how best to regulate juries. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the number of people on a jury and unanimity or majority verdict requirements, eligibility and selection of jurors, and juror decision-making freedom. It is suggested that many jurisdictional approaches reflect imprecise normative goals and reliance on common-sense-type reasoning or weak empirical evidence, which are not grounded in science and so can differ by jurisdiction. The chapter suggests that regulation is still more opinion-based than science-based and concludes by highlighting the importance of clearly articulating desired goals of the jury and gathering evidence to facilitate tailoring of function to those goals.
The Role of the Modern Jury
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter looks closely at what society demands of the jury today, with the intention of being broad enough to cover jury systems generally, primarily in the common law context. It suggests that while the focus of jury critique and reform during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was ensuring fair procedure for the defendant (a result of historical development that had created a one-sided trial favouring the prosecution before that time), the last two centuries have seen increasing demand for the development of a more sophisticated jury with the ability to respond to evidence and integrate community judgment in ways that are rational from a scientific perspective and to avoid the influence of misconceptions or biases. The chapter discusses how this demand requires us to rethink how we conceptualize and assess jury decision-making and suggests that in this context it is helpful to more clearly delineate the role of the jury as a ‘scientific’ fact-finder, and the role of the jury as a ‘subjective’ community decision-maker. It concludes by outlining suggested benchmarks against which jury performance can be evaluated in each of the two roles described and highlights the need for strong evidence-based procedure surrounding jury trial to ensure that the jury is well positioned to function optimally in each of those roles.
Juror Decision-Making Models: Existing Models and a New Representation-Based Framework
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter focuses on models of juror decision-making—assessing existing models and developing a new theory-based model. Models of juror decision-making are an important starting point for understanding how juries work, since juror decisions are highly predictive of jury decisions. First, an overview of existing models of juror decision-making is provided, with a particular focus on two cognitive models—the Story Model and the Director’s Cut Model. The chapter outlines empirical support for these models, but also highlights key limitations of the models. It then proposes a new theory-based model with the potential to be helpful in developing our understanding of how jurors and juries work and, importantly, the factors that influence them. Specifically, the chapter introduces and outlines Fuzzy-Trace Theory (FTT), a psychological theory of memory and decision-making, and combines FTT with Fuzzy Logic (FL), an approach to computing based on degrees of truth rather than a true/false dichotomy, to develop a new model of juror decision-making focused on attribution of meaning (the Representation-Based Model). It then reviews the ways in which people develop intuitions and beliefs that feed into the attribution of meaning and discusses what that development can tell us about juror decision-making. The chapter concludes by noting benefits and risks related to the assignment of meaning in the juror decision-making process, and by describing how the Representation-Based Model can provide a framework through which much existing work on juror decision-making can be better understood, and influences on jurors evaluated.
Juror Characteristics
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter identifies literature demonstrating associations between juror characteristics and verdicts and examines how these associations can be explained by relationships between juror characteristics and the meaning assigned to evidence, trial participants, the body of evidence, and legal standards (ie through differences in relevant representations). Seven distinct characteristics will be considered, grouped under two headings: (1) juror attitudes, beliefs, and experiences including political opinions (including authoritarianism), legal attitudes (including legal system trust), case-specific beliefs, and experiences, and (2) individual differences and demographics including need for cognition and cognitive processing, gender, and race. Based on this examination, the normative desirability of relationships between juror characteristics and verdicts against proposed goals of the modern jury is assessed. The chapter concludes by drawing on this examination to briefly assess what these relationships tell us about how jurors work and, crucially, how jurors might work better.
Case-Level Characteristics
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter identifies literature demonstrating associations between case characteristics and verdicts and examines how these associations can be explained by relationships between case characteristics and the meaning assigned to evidence, trial participants, the body of evidence, and legal standards (ie through differences in relevant representations). First, case evidence itself is considered, followed by other important case characteristics including victim and defendant characteristics, emotional evidence, and pretrial publicity. Based on this examination, the chapter assesses the normative desirability of relationships between case characteristics and verdicts against proposed goals of the modern jury. The chapter concludes by briefly discussing what these relationships can tell us about how jurors work and how they might work better.
Jury Deliberations
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter considers how individual juror verdicts are combined to ultimately result in a jury verdict, and how this process can ameliorate or exacerbate weaknesses of individual juror decisions. While significantly less research has examined jury verdicts compared to individual juror verdicts, research highlights the importance of individual juror verdicts in predicting jury verdicts. The chapter begins by reviewing a range of existing research on factors that affect how individual juror impressions are translated into jury verdicts, complemented by research on group decision-making more generally. It then draws on this research, alongside an existing model of jury decision-making (the DISCUSS Model) and the Representation-Based Model of juror decision-making, to develop a proposed Representation-Based Model of the translation of individual preferences into jury verdicts. Referring to this model and existing work, the chapter assesses strengths and weaknesses of the deliberation process, and concludes with some notes on how knowledge relating to jury deliberation can be combined with knowledge about how jurors formulate initial impressions to feed into procedures designed to improve deliberations and, ultimately, to improve verdicts against proposed benchmarks.
Improving Juror Decisions
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter draws on the Representation-Based Model of juror decision-making and accompanying research discussed in this book to evaluate the consistency between theory relating to the jury and juror decision-making in practice. It then considers how interventions might improve juror decisions. Recommendations include changes to directions and guidance, changes to the way expert evidence is introduced, the utilization of targeted decision aids, the utilization of agreed questions for cross-examination, evidence-based rules on admissibility, and more careful design of legal standards. In some areas, discussions focus primarily on England and Wales, although some references are made to other jurisdictions, and many recommendations apply more broadly.
Improving Deliberations and Utilizing Other Decision-Makers
Authors: Helm Rebecca K
Published: June 2024

This chapter discusses a range of interventions that have the potential to alter the way that individual preferences are translated into group verdicts and, as a result, to potentially change the impact of minority voices, and to promote the influence of those with the most appropriate contributions (rather than those with high social status or power). These interventions focus on increasing the diversity and representativeness of the jury, as well as ensuring that the most valuable contributions effectively feed through into ultimate decisions. The chapter then briefly outlines some examples where limitations of juror and jury decision-making mean that other decision-makers may be helpfully used to supplement the jury. It concludes with four final take-home messages relating to the recommendations in this chapter and the previous chapter, and highlights the fact that although juries can work, they have important weaknesses that should be addressed through evidence-based intervention.
Dowland
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

Dowland celebrates the story of one of the most important, most studied, and most performed composers to emerge from early modern England. More than just a biography, this monograph contextualizes the geographical, political, religious, cultural, and musical aspects of the life of John Dowland (1563–1626). In doing so, the book provides a window into life as a musician in the Elizabethan-Jacobean era, illuminating the importance of social, courtly, and academic connections. The narrative follows a master lutenist, renowned for his virtuosic skills, on journeys to France, through the German and Italian lands, and into the Danish and English courts of Christian IV and James I, as he developed a musical style that was at once personal and cosmopolitan. Dowland also closely explores and contextualizes Dowland’s musical compositions, which consisted of lute song–airs, lute solos and duos, consort music, and psalm harmonizations. During his lifetime, the composer issued four songbooks, including the most successful secular music anthology of the era, a collection of consort music, and a theoretical translation, all printed in London. In these publications, Dowland utilized innovative print formats and set new standards for contemporary genres. Dowland’s music also appears in many other prints and manuscripts in both England and on the Continent, a testimony to his widespread appeal. As a complete record, Dowland captures the entrepreneurial resourcefulness of the foremost musician of his day, a performing composer who understood expected conventions, seized opportunities, and created a musical legacy that still stands firm four centuries after his death.
“Musicke, which from my childhoode I haue euer aymed at”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

The year 1563, when John Dowland was born, witnessed a number of notable events in the early reign of Elizabeth I. Against this background, this chapter explores the England in which Dowland was born and raised. As nothing is known of Dowland’s life prior to circa 1579, his musical education must be envisioned on the basis of contemporaneous musical training practices. After an exploration of Dowland’s national origins, genealogy, and the reasons that birth records of the time can be elusive, a discussion of musical education and training in the Elizabethan era is presented with a focus on apprenticeship, the usual means by which sixteenth-century English instrumentalists, including lutenists, learned their craft. This type of preparation was necessary for Dowland’s future musical pursuits.
“I trauelled the chiefest parts of France”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

Documentation of John Dowland’s first-known professional alliance points to about 1579, when the musician was employed in the entourage of Sir Henry Cobham, English Ambassador to France. Although little is known of the details of Dowland’s position or his daily activities, this chapter reconstructs the environment of Cobham’s embassy, known activities of the French court, and the musical atmosphere of Paris at the time, including consideration of important anthologies of French song published during the lutenist’s years there. All of these facets laid a foundation for Dowland’s future international and domestic activities. The chapter also provides an overview of Protestant-Catholic tensions at the time, both in England and in France, and introduces the circumstances of Dowland’s initial conversion to the Catholic faith.
“Enfranchisd in the ingenuous profession of Musicke”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

In the decade following John Dowland’s return to England from France, the musician established his reputation as England’s most accomplished lutenist through a series of achievements, most especially a Bachelor of Music degree granted by Christ Church, Oxford, and possible participation in a number of entertainments produced for presentation before Queen Elizabeth I when she was on progress or during festivities surrounding annual Accession Day tilts. One such occasion, which celebrated retiring “Knight of the Crown” Sir Henry Lee, featured songs with lyrics that later appear in Dowland’s lute song anthologies. This chapter considers paths taken to obtain baccalaureate degrees in late-fifteenth-century England and the associated value gained for those who completed requirements for the honor. It also explores performances of Dowland’s music before the queen. The chapter ends with consideration of Dowland’s application for a position in Queen Elizabeth’s court after the death of lutenist John Johnson, a post that was never granted to him, in his recollection because of perceptions of his Catholic faith.
“A man to serve any prince in the world”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

In the mid-1590s, after being rejected for a coveted position in Elizabeth I’s court, John Dowland traveled to the German-speaking lands, most notably visiting the courts of Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg at Wolfenbüttel, and Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse at Kassel. These German rulers were part of a northern European Protestant network and closely connected through marital, geographical, and political alliances. In this chapter, primary and secondary source material, both historical and musical, is presented that examines the environments Dowland experienced. The text illuminates Dowland’s relationships with German nobles, musicians, and associates, including lutenist Gregory Howet, Alessandro Orologio, and organist Michael Praetorius, and considers his activities within these German courts. During this time Dowland also had his first opportunity to meet future employer Christian IV of Denmark.
“I founde the Cities furnisht with all good Artes”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

After his time in Germany, Dowland set forth on a trip to the Italian lands in 1595. Although few specifics are known of this journey, this chapter considers the musicians he may have met and other musical influences he may have experienced in the cities he stated he visited in his First Booke preface: Venice, Padua, Genoa, Ferrara, and Florence, cities known for both lute making and music printing. Among the known highlights of his tour were an introduction to Venetian composer Giovanni Croce and a performance before Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici in Florence. A primary purpose of Dowland’s trip was ostensibly to meet and study with composer Luca Marenzio, who resided in Rome. The goal of connecting in person with the great Italian madrigalist, however, was never realized, and Dowland was diverted along his path by papist sympathizers. An awareness of the predicament in which he found himself, one that might have been perceived as disloyalty to the English crown, precipitated a lengthy letter from Dowland to Robert Cecil, English Secretary of State. In this important piece of correspondence, now housed in the Cecil Papers in the Hatfield House Archives, Dowland divulged his activities, put forth a great deal of biographical information, and pled for understanding from his countryman.
“You shall not neede to doubt of satisfaction here”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

At some time after his 1595 Italian travels, Dowland returned to the court of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, traveling via Nuremburg. In 1596, he received a letter from an old patron, Sir Henry Noel, who encouraged his return to England, intimating that the time had come for him to take his place in the Elizabethan court (Folger Shakespeare Library, V.a.321). Unfortunately, Noel died soon after and, although Dowland returned to England, the aforementioned prospects never materialized. Dowland composed a collection of seven four-part settings of penitential psalms and prayers in commemoration of his friend, creating music that honored Noel in a way appropriate for a Protestant patron within the Church of England, but that also showed a certain Italian influence, perhaps inspired by the music of Giovanni Croce. This chapter examines primary-source documents related to Dowland’s final 1596 months in the German lands, briefly explores the history of musical psalm prints in England, and considers Dowland’s previous and future forays into setting metrical psalms, including those included in musically harmonized editions of The Whole Booke of Psalmes produced by Thomas East (1592) and Thomas Ravenscroft (1621), contrasting them with the funeral psalms for Noel.
The First Booke of Songes or Ayres
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

Dowland’s first publication, The First Booke of Songes or Ayres (1597), printed by Peter Short, was one of the most influential and bestselling musical anthologies of the Tudor-Stuart eras. While it was not the first to include lute songs (pieces written for voice and lute), it was the first lute song book comprised of music by a single English composer. The volume also standardized tablebook format, in which musicians could share a single book, opened upon a table, with parts facing different directions, to allow for viewing by all. In doing so, the composer moved away from the typical partbook format that required volumes of music for each individual part. Dowland’s collection was so popular that it was reproduced in 1600, 1603, 1606, and 1613, marking it as the most successful music book of its time. In addition to including information on the prints associated with the anthology, this chapter examines prefatory material, as well as important individual songs in The First Booke such as “Can she excuse my wrongs” and “Now, O now I needs must part,” providing commentary on Dowland’s innovations and influence on subsequent similar publications, as well as consideration of how the volume exemplified the role of music within sixteenth-century English culture, most especially that surrounding the Elizabethan court, and the courtly poetry it provided the larger population.
“Personal Lutenist to the King”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

In 1598, John Dowland was appointed royal lutenist to Christian IV, King of Denmark, commencing the most important and well-paid position he held during his career. Christian’s court was one of the most highly regarded in all of Europe, thanks in part to the king’s support of and access to musicians of excellence. This chapter explores the atmosphere of the Danish court, as well as reasons why the lutenist chose Denmark over a position in the Kassel court of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse. Similarly, the text also considers the allure that Dowland’s talents and skills held for King Christian. Circumstances of the first half of Dowland’s tenure in Denmark, including his recruitment, terms of contract, courtly role, and relationship to King Christian and other court musicians such as Melchior Borchgrevinck, are also probed. The chapter concludes with details of Dowland’s first trip back to England on Danish business.
The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres (1600) and The Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires (1603)
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

During John Dowland’s tenure in Denmark, he produced some important musical volumes, including the The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres (1600) and The Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires (1603), both printed in England. The Second Booke was published while the composer was in Denmark and the process for publication, in which his wife assumed the initial role of agent, George Eastland publisher, and Thomas East printer, sheds light on printing practices in late Elizabethan England. The Second Booke also includes an often overlooked acrostic based on the name of dedicatee Lucy Harington Russell, Countess of Bedford, that hides a Dowland musical reference. This chapter comments upon Dowland’s mature style, his adaptation of pieces from lute solo to the expected lute song format of the day, set in motion by his own First Booke, and the inclusion of some of his most iconic songs, including “Flow my tears,” “Sorrow stay,” and “If floods of tears,” compositions that helped form Dowland’s perceived status as the leading musician of a trendy melancholic philosophy. In many ways, the third book functions as a response to the second. Most importantly, the chapter reveals unspoken meaning found in the lyrics of both books, related to Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, before and after his execution, and the earl’s relationship to Queen Elizabeth, which was understood and exemplified in Dowland’s music.
“Frozen in a colde and forreine country”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

During the second half of his time serving Christian IV in Denmark, Dowland was in contact with English agent Stephen Lesieur, who worked for Robert Cecil to improve shipping disputes between England and Denmark. One primary source document, a letter from Lesieur to Dowland, housed in Copenhagen’s Royal Library (NKS1305, 2o, læg 5), requests assistance from the musician, prompting questions as to Dowland’s loyalties to the Danish court versus his home country. During this time Dowland also traveled back to England to oversee publication of his consort collection Lachrimae and to cement English aristocratic connections. The timeline coincides with the death of Elizabeth I, and in 1603, Dowland met with the new King James I’s wife, Anna of Denmark, to whom his 1604 Lachrimae is dedicated. This chapter examines Dowland’s connections with Lesieur, his travels back to London, and his reputation in England throughout his Danish tenure, as recorded in contemporaneous literature by authors such as Frances Meres, Joshua Sylvester, and Richard Barnfield, and concludes with information on the musician’s final months in Denmark.
“Maister Doctor Dowland”
Authors: Grapes K Dawn
Published: June 2024

Dowland’s final years were spent as a musician in the London courts of James I and Charles I as one of a group of “Musicians for the Lutes.” This chapter outlines the terms of his employment and considers the musician’s other activities of the years 1612 through 1626 and his ongoing reputational legacy in both England and on the Continent. His contributions to William Leighton’s Teares or Lamentacions of a Sorrowfull Soule and Thomas Ravenscroft’s A Briefe Discourse and Whole Booke of Psalmes also receive attention, as do contemporaneous mentions of the composer by authors and musicians such as Johannes-Philippus Mendelius, Thomas Tompkins, and William Webb. The chapter ends with commentary on the career and family of son Robert Dowland, and presents details of John Dowland’s 1626 death and burial at St. Ann Blackfriars, London.
Common Law Liberalism
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

Libertarian philosophers of law often argue that unless law arises from some express or implicit social contract by which individuals consent to be bound, it constitutes unjustified coercion that subjects some human beings to the will of others. This book argues that this is a false dilemma. Law can arise through a process of unplanned evolution in which those subject to law are bound, but not by the will of any identifiable human beings. Although law is inherently coercive, it is not inherently a vehicle for domination. Anglo-American common law that evolves without a guiding human intelligence is this type of law. This book maintains that the common law generative process can provide all the law that is needed to maintain a peaceful, prosperous society.
Whither Criminal Law?
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

Most people assume that a system of criminal law is necessary to preserve order in society. But this is because most people also assume that there is no other option, and that a world without criminal law is one with no mechanism for discouraging violent, harmful, and dishonest actions. This chapter argues that this is not a proper comparison. It presents an analysis of the historical development of the criminal law and the psychology and philosophy of punishment to show that the underlying system of tort law can supply all the order-providing service currently provided by the criminal law, and can do so in a neutral and more just manner than the contemporary criminal law.
Market Failure, Regulation, and Invisible Gorillas
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

The market failure argument is one of the conventional arguments for government regulation of the market. It holds that private transactions can generate negative externalities—costs to third parties that the transacting parties do not take into account. As a result, the government must regulate the market to prevent transactions where such costs to third parties are great enough to render the transaction socially detrimental. This chapter argues that this argument is flawed to the extent that it ignores the regulatory effect of common law civil liability. When revised to take this into account, the market failure argument provides a much smaller scope for government regulation of market transactions.
Two Theories of Environmental Regulation
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

This chapter demonstrates how the common law addresses environmental problems. It begins with a description of the tragedy of the commons, which shows that the only solutions to environmental problems are to restrict access to the commons or privatize the commons. The conventional approach to environmental problems is to enact environmental legislation. This is designed to protect the environment by restricting access to the commons. In contrast, common law privatizes the commons. This means that preventing environmental degradation requires a comparative analysis of the two approaches. Such an analysis shows that common law privatization is almost always the more effective way of protecting the environment.
Empirical Natural Rights
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

Traditional theories of natural rights—those associated with Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Robert Nozick—provide a powerful argument for limited government. However, because they lack a firm philosophical grounding, they are unpersuasive to those who are not already supporters of natural rights. This chapter offers an alternative understanding of natural rights—empirical natural rights—that has a secure normative grounding. Empirical natural rights are rights that evolve in the state of nature through human interaction in the absence of centralized government authority. Such rights are normatively well-grounded because they are productive of peaceful human interaction in society, which is a universal instrumental moral value.
The Law of Anarchy
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

This chapter traces the historical development of the common law. In doing so, it distinguishes the customary law and old common law from legislation and the modern common law, and goes on to show how customary law and the old common law form a body of nonpolitically generated law. It then demonstrates how a modernized version of the customary law/old common law can still function in our contemporary society, and that this law is sufficient to support a peaceful and prosperous society. Because this law does not depend on the existence of the state, it is the law of anarchy.
Can an Anarchist Have a Moral Duty to Obey the Law?
Authors: Hasnas John
Published: June 2024

This chapter argues that there can be a duty to obey the law of anarchy. It distinguishes between political obligation—the duty to obey the state—and the duty to obey the law, which, as the preceding chapter demonstrates, need not be created by the state. When the law is created by the evolutionary forces of the customary and common law, the law can bind individuals without subjecting them to the conscious control of any other human beings. This implies that there can be a meaningful conception of the rule of law when the law consists of customary law or common law. This, in turn, implies that there can be a well-grounded ethical duty to obey the law.
New Horizons in Peripheral Artery Disease
Authors: Houghton John S M , Saratzis Athanasios N , Sayers Rob D , Haunton Victoria J
Published: June 2024

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is the lower limb manifestation of systemic atherosclerotic disease. PAD may initially present with symptoms of intermittent claudication, whilst chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI), the end stage of PAD, presents with rest pain and/or tissue loss. PAD is an age-related condition present in over 10% of those aged ≥65 in high-income countries. Guidelines regarding definition, diagnosis and staging of PAD and CLTI have been updated to reflect the changing patterns and presentations of disease given the increasing prevalence of diabetes. Recent research has changed guidelines on optimal medical therapy, with low-dose anticoagulant plus aspirin recommended in some patients. Recently published randomised trials highlight where bypass-first or endovascular-first approaches may be optimal in infra-inguinal disease. New techniques in endovascular surgery have increased minimally invasive options for ever more complex disease. Increasing recognition has been given to the complexity of patients with CLTI where a high prevalence of both frailty and cognitive impairment are present and a significant burden of multi-morbidity and polypharmacy. Despite advances in minimally invasive revascularisation techniques and reduction in amputation incidence, survival remains poor for many with CLTI. Shared decision-making is essential, and conservative management is often appropriate for older patients. There is emerging evidence of the benefit of specialist geriatric team input in the perioperative management of older patients undergoing surgery for CLTI. Recent UK guidelines now recommend screening for frailty, cognitive impairment and delirium in older vascular surgery patients as well as recommending all vascular surgery services have support and input from specialist geriatrics teams.
Mechanistic study of acupuncture on the pterygopalatine ganglion to improve allergic rhinitis: analysis of multi-target effects based on bioinformatics/network topology strategie
Authors: Tian Meihui , Sun Weifang , Mao Yinhui , Zhang Yanan , Liu Huan , Tang Yong
Published: June 2024

One of the prevalent chronic inflammatory disorders of the nasal mucosa, allergic rhinitis (AR) has become more widespread in recent years. Acupuncture pterygopalatine ganglion (aPPG) is an emerging alternative therapy that is used to treat AR, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its anti-inflammatory effects are unclear. This work methodically demonstrated the multi-target mechanisms of aPPG in treating AR based on bioinformatics/topology using techniques including text mining, bioinformatics, and network topology, among others. A total of 16 active biomarkers and 108 protein targets related to aPPG treatment of AR were obtained. A total of 345 Gene Ontology terms related to aPPG of AR were identified, and 135 pathways were screened based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis. Our study revealed for the first time the multi-targeted mechanism of action of aPPG in the treatment of AR. In animal experiments, aPPG ameliorated rhinitis symptoms in OVA-induced AR rats; decreased serum immunoglobulin E, OVA-sIgE, and substance P levels; elevated serum neuropeptide Y levels; and modulated serum Th1/Th2/Treg/Th17 cytokine expression by a mechanism that may be related to the inhibition of activation of the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. In vivo animal experiments once again validated the results of the bioinformatics analysis. This study revealed a possible multi-target mechanism of action between aPPG and AR, provided new insights into the potential pathogenesis of AR, and proved that aPPG was a promising complementary alternative therapy for the treatment of AR.
AITeQ: a machine learning framework for Alzheimer’s prediction using a distinctive five-gene signature
Authors: Ahammad Ishtiaque , Lamisa Anika Bushra , Bhattacharjee Arittra , Jamal Tabassum Binte , Arefin Md Shamsul , Chowdhury Zeshan Mahmud , Hossain Mohammad Uzzal , Das Keshob Chandra , Keya Chaman Ara , Salimullah Md
Published: June 2024

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, pose a significant global health challenge with their complex etiology and elusive biomarkers. In this study, we developed the Alzheimer’s Identification Tool (AITeQ) using ribonucleic acid-sequencing (RNA-seq), a machine learning (ML) model based on an optimized ensemble algorithm for the identification of Alzheimer’s from RNA-seq data. Analysis of RNA-seq data from several studies identified 87 differentially expressed genes. This was followed by a ML protocol involving feature selection, model training, performance evaluation, and hyperparameter tuning. The feature selection process undertaken in this study, employing a combination of four different methodologies, culminated in the identification of a compact yet impactful set of five genes. Twelve diverse ML models were trained and tested using these five genes (CNKSR1, EPHA2, CLSPN, OLFML3, and TARBP1). Performance metrics, including precision, recall, F1 score, accuracy, Matthew’s correlation coefficient, and receiver operating characteristic area under the curve were assessed for the finally selected model. Overall, the ensemble model consisting of logistic regression, naive Bayes classifier, and support vector machine with optimized hyperparameters was identified as the best and was used to develop AITeQ. AITeQ is available at: https://github.com/ishtiaque-ahammad/AITeQ.
Sensitive and error-tolerant annotation of protein-coding DNA with BATH
Authors: Krause Genevieve R , Shands Walt , Wheeler Travis J
Published: June 2024

We present BATH, a tool for highly sensitive annotation of protein-coding DNA based on direct alignment of that DNA to a database of protein sequences or profile hidden Markov models (pHMMs). BATH is built on top of the HMMER3 code base, and simplifies the annotation workflow for pHMM-based translated sequence annotation by providing a straightforward input interface and easy-to-interpret output. BATH also introduces novel frameshift-aware algorithms to detect frameshift-inducing nucleotide insertions and deletions (indels). BATH matches the accuracy of HMMER3 for annotation of sequences containing no errors, and produces superior accuracy to all tested tools for annotation of sequences containing nucleotide indels. These results suggest that BATH should be used when high annotation sensitivity is required, particularly when frameshift errors are expected to interrupt protein-coding regions, as is true with long-read sequencing data and in the context of pseudogenes.

Availability and implementation

The software is available at https://github.com/TravisWheelerLab/BATH.
Bootstrap test procedure for variance components in nonlinear mixed effects models in the presence of nuisance parameters and a singular Fisher information matrix
Authors: Guédon T , Baey C , Kuhn E
Published: June 2024

We examine the problem of variance component testing in general mixed effects models using the likelihood ratio test. We account for the presence of nuisance parameters, ie, the fact that some untested variances might also be equal to zero. Two main issues arise in this context, leading to a nonregular setting. First, under the null hypothesis, the true parameter value lies on the boundary of the parameter space. Moreover, due to the presence of nuisance parameters, the exact locations of these boundary points are not known, which prevents the use of classical asymptotic theory of maximum likelihood estimation. Then, in the specific context of nonlinear mixed effects models, the Fisher information matrix is singular at the true parameter value. We address these two points by proposing a shrunk parametric bootstrap procedure, which is straightforward to apply even for nonlinear models. We show that the procedure is consistent, solving both the boundary and the singularity issues, and we provide a verifiable criterion for the applicability of our theoretical results. We show through a simulation study that, compared to the asymptotic approach, our procedure has a better small sample performance and is more robust to the presence of nuisance parameters. A real data application on bird growth rates is also provided.