bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental Study on the Difference of Shale Mechanical Properties
Authors: Liu Qi , Liang Bing , Sun Weiji , Zhao Hang
Published: June 2021

This paper studies the anisotropic characteristics of shale and the difference in mechanical performance between deep shale and outcrop shale. The outcrop shale was collected from the Shuanghe section in Changning County, southern Sichuan, and the deep shale was collected from the Wells Yi201 and Lu202. Study their basic mechanical parameters, failure modes, and wave velocity responses through laboratory tests. Research shows that with the increase of bedding angle, the deformation mode has the trend from elastic deformation to plastic deformation in high‐stress state. When the bedding angles are 0°, 30°, and 45°, the weak bedding surface plays a leading role in the formation of the failure surface trend. As the bedding angle increases to 60° and 90°, its influence is weakened. The tensile strength, elastic modulus, and wave velocity decrease with the increase of bedding angle. The compressive strength and Poisson’s ratio have the law of U‐type change, there are higher values at 0° and 90°, and the lowest values are at 30°. The brittleness index first increases and then decreases with the increase of the bedding angle. The tensile strength and Poisson’s ratio of outcrop shale and deep shale are close, but the compressive strength of deep shale is only 1/3 of outcrop shale, the elastic modulus is only 3/4 of outcrop shale, and the failure of deep shale is accompanied by instability failure.
Migration Simulation of Radioactive Soil Particles in the Atmospheric Environment Using CFD-DEM Coupled with Empirical Formulas
Authors: Chen Liwei , Chen Chunhua , Fan Qingchun , Yang Zihui , Zheng Zihao , Wang Jianye
Published: May 2021

Radioactive particle migration from the soil surface is an unignorable factor for the radioactive material distribution prediction after a nuclear accident, especially for the decision support of radioactive disposal. Considering the continuous emission, collision, and reattachment of radioactive particles, a creative simulation method with a coupled model was proposed, which combines an empirical model and the CFD-DEM method, and was established to simulate the secondary emission and motion of radioactive particles. The source term of the radioactive particles is estimated by an empirical model as the input of the CFD-DEM. Regarding the characteristics of the particle motion, the spout-fluidized bed simulation by the coupled model is consistent with the referred simulation results and experimental data, which validates the correctness of this model. The coupling model was applied to simulate the radioactive particle distribution and migration on the nonconfined backward facing step (NBFS). The simulation reveals that the distribution features and migration flux of the radioactive particles can be estimated in detail by the proposed model, which can help to provide more actual information for radioactive disposal after nuclear accidents.
Determination of Mineral Composition and Phenolic Content and Investigation of Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, and Antibacterial Activities of Crocus sativus L. Aqueous Stigmas Extracts
Authors: Zaazaa Lemiae , Naceiri Mrabti Hanae , Ed-Dra Abdelaziz , Bendahbia Khaoula , Hami Hind , Soulaymani Abdelmajid , Ibriz Mohammed
Published: May 2021

The aim of this study is to investigate the in vitro antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antibacterial activities of Moroccan and Italian Crocus sativus (L.) stigmas extracts. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assay, and the results showed that the Moroccan extract has a powerful antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 0.32 ± 0.059 μg/mL compared to the Italian extract (IC50 of 3.14 ± 0.021 μg/mL). Additionally, the antidiabetic activity was evaluated by using alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibition assay, and both extracts showed significant antidiabetic activity. However, the antibacterial activity was evaluated by the disc diffusion method to determine the inhibitory diameters and microplate dilutions method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration. Our findings revealed that both Moroccan and Italian extracts were more effective against Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacteria. From this study, we can conclude that the studied extracts of C. sativus are rich in natural compounds and could have a broad application in the pharmaceutical, food, and medical fields.
miRNA-6715-5p Inhibits Cellular Proliferation and Invasion in Colorectal Cancer by Directly Targeting CST4
Authors: Shi Ding , Zhou Zheng , Zhang Shun
Published: May 2021

Background. Data on the correlation between CST4 and colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze CST4 expression and investigate its biological roles and related microRNA- (miRNA-) mediated regulation in CRC. Methods. The expression of CST4 was examined in cancer tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues from 40 gastric adenocarcinoma patients. The expression level of CST4 in specimens (cancer and normal tissues) was assessed through immunohistochemistry and/or quantitative polymerase chain reaction. miRNAs targeting CST4 in CRC were predicted by bioinformatics software. CST4 was knocked down in HCT116 cells and candidate miRNAs were transfected into HCT116 cells, and the effects of CST4 knockdown and miRNA transfection on cell proliferation and invasion were examined using CCK8, cell colony formation, and Transwell migration assays. Luciferase double-reporter assays were performed to verify the relationship between miRNA and CST4. Results. The expression of CST4 in CRC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal paracancerous tissues, but the results for miRNA-6715-5p were opposite. Regardless of CST4 knockdown or miRNA-6715-5p overexpression, the proliferation and invasion ability of HCT116 cells decreased significantly. Luciferase double-reporter assays showed that the upregulation of miR-6715-5p significantly reduced the luciferase activities of the CST4 3′-UTR plasmid in HCT116 cells. Conclusion. CST4 may be involved in CRC proliferation and metastasis. miRNA-6715-5p directly targets CST4 and negatively regulates its expression.
Martingale Transforms between Martingale Hardy-amalgam Spaces
Authors: Bansah Justice Sam
Published: May 2021

We discuss martingale transforms between martingale Hardy-amalgam spaces

H

p
,
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s

,

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and

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.

Let

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1

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and

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1

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and let

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=

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n

,
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∈
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be a martingale in

P

p

1

,

q

1

; then, we show that its martingale transforms are the martingales in

P

p
,
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for some

p
,
q

and similarly for

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p
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q

s

and

Q

p
,
q

.
Epigenetic Modulation of Microglia Function and Phenotypes in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Authors: Wang Li , Yu Chao-Chao , Liu Xin-Yuan , Deng Xiao-Ni , Tian Qing , Du Yan-Jun
Published: May 2021

Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is one of the most remarkable hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including AD, PD, and ALS. Accumulating evidence indicates that microglia play both neuroprotective and detrimental roles in the onset and progression of NDDs. Yet, the specific mechanisms of action surrounding microglia are not clear. Modulation of microglia function and phenotypes appears to be a potential strategy to reverse NDDs. Until recently, research into the epigenetic mechanisms of diseases has been gradually developed, making it possible to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the epigenetic regulation of microglia in NDDs. This review highlights the function and phenotypes of microglia, elucidates the relationship between microglia, epigenetic modifications, and NDDs, as well as the possible mechanisms underlying the epigenetic modulation of microglia in NDDs with a focus on potential intervention strategies.
Fast Detection of Deceptive Reviews by Combining the Time Series and Machine Learning
Authors: Zhong Minjuan , Li Zhenjin , Liu Shengzong , Yang Bo , Tan Rui , Qu Xilong
Published: May 2021

With the rapid growth of online product reviews, many users refer to others’ opinions before deciding to purchase any product. However, unfortunately, this fact has promoted the constant use of fake reviews, resulting in many wrong purchase decisions. The effective identification of deceptive reviews becomes a crucial yet challenging task in this research field. The existing supervised learning methods require a large number of labeled examples of deceptive and truthful opinions by domain experts, while the available unsupervised learning methods are inefficient because they depend on the features of reviewers to detect each fake review. Therefore, by focusing on the detection efficiency problem and the limitation of large amount of labeled examples dependence, in this paper, we proposed an effective semisupervised learning approach for detecting spam reviews. Firstly, a time series model of all the reviews of a product is constructed, and then the suspected time intervals are captured based on the burst review increases in these intervals. Secondly, a co‐training two‐view semisupervised learning algorithm was performed in each captured interval, in which linguistic cues, metadata, and user purchase behaviors were synthetically employed to classify the reviews and check whether they are spam ones or not. A series of numerical experiments on a real dataset acquired from Taobao.com have confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed model, not only reaping benefits in terms of time efficiency and high accuracy but also overcoming the shortcomings of supervised learning methods, which depend on large amounts of labeled examples. And a trade‐off balance was obtained between accuracy and efficiency.
Privacy-Preserving Attribute-Based Keyword Search with Traceability and Revocation for Cloud-Assisted IoT
Authors: Zhang Kai , Li Yanping , Lu Laifeng
Published: May 2021

With the rapid development of cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) technology, it is becoming increasingly popular for source-limited devices to outsource the massive IoT data to the cloud. How to protect data security and user privacy is an important challenge in the cloud-assisted IoT environment. Attribute-based keyword search (ABKS) has been regarded as a promising solution to ensure data confidentiality and fine-grained search control for cloud-assisted IoT. However, due to the fact that multiple users may have the same retrieval permission in ABKS, malicious users may sell their private keys on the Internet without fear of being caught. In addition, most of existing ABKS schemes do not protect the access policy which may contain privacy information. Towards this end, we present a privacy-preserving ABKS that simultaneously supports policy hiding, malicious user traceability, and revocation. Formal security analysis shows that our scheme can not only guarantee the confidentiality of keywords and access policies but also realize the traceability of malicious users. Furthermore, we provide another more efficient construction for public tracing.
Axial Compression of Glass Fiber Tube‐Gangue Concrete‐Steel Tubular Hollow Columns
Authors: Zhang Ni , Zheng Chenyang , Zhao Zhongwei , Yang Bo
Published: May 2021

The replacement of coal gangue for aggregate in concrete can not only reduce the construction cost but also improve the environmental condition. The GFRP‐coal gangue concrete‐steel tubular (GGCS) columns provide a way to consume the coal gangue. The target of this work is to validate the feasibility of replacing ordinary concrete with coal gangue concrete and investigate the compression behavior of GGCS columns. The nonlinear analysis program of GGCS hollow columns under axial compression was proposed, and the axial compression tests of seven GGCS hollow columns were carried out. The program was verified through experimental results. On the basis of the correctness of the program, the influences of the typical parameters, such as the thickness of the glass fiber tube, the thickness of the steel tube, and the outer radius of the steel tube, on its axial compression performance were systematically analyzed. Finally, the analytical formula for predicting the axial bearing capacity of GGCS hollow column was proposed. The comparison of results indicated that the analytical results agreed well with the experimental results. The axial compression capacity of GGCS hollow columns increased linearly with the increase of the thickness of the glass fiber tube and the steel tube, but not linearly with the decrease of the outer radius of the steel tube. With the increase of the thickness of the glass fiber tube, the constraint effect of the glass fiber tube on gangue concrete was improved. With the increase of the thickness of the steel tube, the stiffness of GGCS hollow column increased. The conclusions of the presented work can provide references for the design and calculation of the GGCS columns.
Bartonella-Associated Endocarditis with Severe Active Crescentic Glomerulonephritis and Acute Renal Failure
Authors: Dukkipati Ramanath , Lawson Benjamin , Nast Cynthia C. , Shah Anuja
Published: May 2021

We report a case of severe acute kidney failure due to crescentic glomerulonephritis who presented initially with culture-negative endocarditis with vegetations on the aortic valve. Anti-nuclear and anti-phospholipid antibodies were positive with initially negative anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs). Kidney biopsy revealed severe acute crescentic glomerulonephritis with mesangial immune complex deposition. PR3-ANCA subsequently become positive, and the patient developed worsening kidney failure requiring hemodialysis. This case illustrates that Bartonella can present as culture-negative endocarditis with severe crescentic glomerulonephritis with positive PR-3 ANCAs and can mimic ANCA-associated crescentic glomerulonephritis.
Method to Realize the Tilt Monitoring and Instability Prediction of Hazardous Rock on Slopes
Authors: He Zheng , Xie Mowen , Huang Zhengjun , Lu Guang , Yan Bo , Wang Jianfei
Published: June 2021

Hazardous rock refers to an unstable rock block that is cut by weak structural planes and gradually separates from the slope. Hazardous rock generally collapses rapidly, and at present, it is challenging to effectively identify the separation degree of the rock and accurately predict its sudden failure. In this study, focusing on a hazardous rock with tilt behavior, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) acceleration sensor is used in combination with the calculation principle of the included angle of the space vector to establish a microtilt angle monitoring method. A physical model test is designed, in which a thermally sensitive material (with heat‐sensitive strength) is adopted as the weak structural plane of the hazardous block, and the change in the tilt angle during the process of block instability is monitored at a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. The test results show that the accelerated evolution of the tilt angle is a precursor to hazardous rock failure. In the rapid acceleration stage, the reciprocal of the tilt angle rate is approximately linear with time, and a correlation equation is obtained. Assuming that the change rate of the tilt angle is approximately infinite, the failure time of hazardous rock can be predicted using the correlation equation. In addition, the effectiveness of the instability prediction method based on microtilt angle monitoring is verified by analyzing the long‐term monitoring data of hazardous rock.
Stability, Multistability, and Complexity Analysis in a Dynamic Duopoly Game with Exponential Demand Function
Authors: Li Hui , Zhou Wei , Chu Tong
Published: May 2021

In this paper, a discrete‐time dynamic duopoly model, with nonlinear demand and cost functions, is established. The properties of existence and local stability of equilibrium points have been verified and analyzed. The stability conditions are also given with the help of the Jury criterion. With changing of the values of parameters, the system shows some new and interesting phenomena in terms to stability and multistability, such as V‐shaped stable structures (also called Isoperiodic Stable Structures) and different shape basins of attraction of coexisting attractors. The eye‐shaped structures appear where the period‐doubling and period‐halving bifurcations occur. Finally, by utilizing critical curves, the changes in the topological structure of basin of attraction and the reason of “holes” formation are analyzed. As a result, the generation of global bifurcation, such as contact bifurcation or final bifurcation, is usually accompanied by the contact of critical curves and boundary.
Deletion of Clusterin Protects Cochlear Hair Cells against Hair Cell Aging and Ototoxicity
Authors: Zhao Xiaochang , Henderson Heidi J. , Wang Tianying , Liu Bo , Li Yi
Published: May 2021

Hearing loss is a debilitating disease that affects 10% of adults worldwide. Most sensorineural hearing loss is caused by the loss of mechanosensitive hair cells in the cochlea, often due to aging, noise, and ototoxic drugs. The identification of genes that can be targeted to slow aging and reduce the vulnerability of hair cells to insults is critical for the prevention of sensorineural hearing loss. Our previous cell-specific transcriptome analysis of adult cochlear hair cells and supporting cells showed that Clu, encoding a secreted chaperone that is involved in several basic biological events, such as cell death, tumor progression, and neurodegenerative disorders, is expressed in hair cells and supporting cells. We generated Clu-null mice (C57BL/6) to investigate its role in the organ of Corti, the sensory epithelium responsible for hearing in the mammalian cochlea. We showed that the deletion of Clu did not affect the development of hair cells and supporting cells; hair cells and supporting cells appeared normal at 1 month of age. Auditory function tests showed that Clu-null mice had hearing thresholds comparable to those of wild-type littermates before 3 months of age. Interestingly, Clu-null mice displayed less hair cell and hearing loss compared to their wildtype littermates after 3 months. Furthermore, the deletion of Clu is protected against aminoglycoside-induced hair cell loss in both in vivo and in vitro models. Our findings suggested that the inhibition of Clu expression could represent a potential therapeutic strategy for the alleviation of age-related and ototoxic drug-induced hearing loss.
Application of Internet of Things and Edge Computing Technology in Sports Tourism Services
Authors: Zheng Benxia , Mei Zheng , Hou Liangyu , Qiu Shuoli
Published: May 2021

Aiming at the problems of long retrieval time of sports tourism data, high integration error of sports tourism data, and high energy consumption of sports tourism service management in traditional methods, the application of Internet of Things and edge computing technology in sports tourism services is proposed. We established a sports tourism service application model based on Internet technology to realize the functions of sports tourism service internal management control, external collaboration, and information release. We calculated the similarity of sports tourism resources from the two levels of feature words and the environment where the sports tourism resources are located. According to the calculation results, the edge computing method is used to realize the integration of sports tourism service resources to improve the application effect of sports tourism service application models. The experimental results show that the minimum data retrieval time of the proposed method is only 2.35s. The sports tourism data fusion error is low. The management energy consumption is small, which significantly improves the existing problems and fully verifies the practical application value of the method.
Buddhist Children and Misunderstood Crows
Authors: Kieffer-Pülz Petra
Published: May 2021

This article reviews the book Little Buddhas: Children and Childhoods in Buddhist Texts and Traditions. It first gives an overview of the contents, altogether nineteen articles discussing children and childhood in Buddhist texts and traditions. Subsequently, the concepts of kākuṭṭepaka pabbajjā and upāsaka pravrajyā, presented in one of the articles, are discussed in more detail.
The Early Historical Semantics of Śruti
Authors: St. Amant Guy
Published: May 2021

An examination of the early usage of the word śruti is needed to clarify how it came to refer to the Veda. This paper reveals that śruti did not assume this meaning as the result of a belief in the aural revelation of the Vedic hymns. The śrautasūtras use the word śruti to cite brāhmaṇa texts and to indicate “hearing” a unit of speech in a Vedic passage. The second of these meanings was probably the historically original one, and this paper argues that it emerged out of early attempts to theorize how people drew information from the Veda. Śruti was placed in contrast with other modes of textual engagement that were understood to go beyond the literal words of the text.
YAv. Spitiiura- and the Compositional Form of PIE *u̯r̥h1-en- ‘Lamb’ in Indo-Iranian
Authors: Nikolaev Alexander
Published: May 2021

This paper argues that the second member of the Avestan compounded personal name Spitiiura- goes back to the Indo-Iranian word for ‘lamb’: Ved. úran-, Mod. Pers. barra. The name ‘having shining white lambs’ can be shown to have mythopoetic parallels in other Indo-European traditions. It is argued that the expected second member *-u̯r̥h1n-ó- formed from simplex *u̯r̥h1en- with a thematic suffix was analogically remodeled as *-u̯r̥h1-ó- in pre-Indo-Iranian times: the model was provided by second members of compounds made from n-stems which lost the nasal due to the so-called “ašnō-rule”, e.g. Ved. víparva- made from *péru̯on- or YAv. ka-mərəda- made from *ml̥h3dhon-. Similar analogical remodeling is found in Ved. aṣṭavr̥ṣá- from vr̥ṣán- and many other cases. The compound further underwent a laryngeal loss by the so-called “νεογνός-rule” (cf. Ved. tuvigrá- ‘swallowing much’ < *-gwr̥h3-ó-) and the resulting sequence *-u̯r̥o- was resyllabified as *-uro-. Therefore, Av. ºura- can represent a “compositional form” of PIE *u̯r̥h1en- ‘lamb’ and Bartholomae’s analysis of Spitiiura- as ‘having shining white lambs’ may still carry the day.
Cascading Morality After Dewey: A Proposal for a Pluralist Meta-Ethics with a Subsidiarity Hierarchy
Authors: Coeckelbergh Mark
Published: May 2021

In response to challenges to moral philosophy presented by other disciplines and facing a diversity of approaches to the foundation and focus of morality, this paper argues for a pluralist meta-ethics that is methodologically hierarchical and guided by the principle of subsidiarity. Inspired by Deweyan pragmatism, this novel and original application of the subsidiarity principle and the related methodological proposal for a cascading meta-ethical architecture offer a “dirty” and instrumentalist understanding of meta-ethics that promises to work, not only in moral philosophy but also in the (rest of the) real world, and that facilitates collaboration with other disciplines outside moral philosophy.
Re-thinking Rorty´s Ethical-Political Pragmatism from Perspectivism and Language Games
Authors: Gómez Salazar Mónica
Published: May 2021

Rorty holds that it is possible to defend a liberal democratic policy without having to substantiate it according to universal criteria linked to corresponding notions of truth, instead, he affirms that this democratic policy can be founded on a notion of truth narrowly linked to justification. Following this idea one would expect Rorty to take a position committed to pluralism understood in a strong sense, where different positions are justified and validated in relation to specific existential conditions, however, this does not happen. As we will demonstrate, Rorty´s proposal, although it is partly inspired by Nietzsche´s perspectivism, as well as the ethical-political reading of plurality based on Wittgenstein´s proposal of language games, it goes no further than a contextualized pretence which is not based on a real posture of pluralism. In this article we maintain that the Rortian position, far from being pluralist, tends toward ethno-centrism and even domination through persuasion.
The Role of Reasoning in Pragmatic Morality
Authors: Svoboda Toby
Published: May 2021

Charles Sanders Peirce offers a number of arguments against the rational application of theory to morality, suggesting instead that morality should be grounded in instinct. Peirce maintains that we currently lack the scientific knowledge that would justify a rational structuring of morality. This being the case, philosophically generated moralities cannot be otherwise than dogmatic and dangerous. In this paper, I contend that Peirce’s critique of what I call “dogmatic-philosophical morality” should be taken very seriously, but I also claim that the purely instinctive morality Peirce endorses is liable to a danger of its own, namely fanaticism. Indeed, Peirce himself recognizes this danger. As an alternative, I sketch a form of “pragmatic morality” that attempts to sidestep the dogmatism of philosophical morality and the fanaticism of instinctive morality. This form of morality avoids philosophical dogmatism by treating extant instincts as the postulates and materials with which it works. It avoids instinctive fanaticism by allowing a role to reason. By exhibiting fallibilism, revisability, pluralism, and meliorism, this type of reasoning can avoid the dogmatism of the philosophical kind of morality Peirce critiques.
Pragmatic Ethics for Generative Adversarial Networks: Coupling, Cyborgs, and Machine Learning
Authors: Tschaepe Mark
Published: May 2021

This article addresses the need for adaptive ethical analysis within machine learning that accounts for emerging problems concerning social bias and generative adversarial networks (gan s). I use John Dewey’s criticisms of the reflex arc concept in psychology as a basis for understanding how these problems stem from human-gan interaction. By combining Dewey’s criticisms with Donna Haraway’s idea of cyborgs, Luciano Floridi’s concept of distributed morality, and Shaowen Bardzell’s recommendations for a feminist approach to human-computer interaction, I suggest a dynamic perspective from which to begin analyzing and solving issues of injustice evident in this particular domain of machine learning.
Incest, Classified
Authors: Samuels Jonathan
Published: May 2021

The prohibition on incest, a topic so key to kinship studies, has not featured prominently in literature on Tibet. This article draws attention to a previously unreported section of writing devoted to the topic of incest, composed by the Tibetan ‘prime minister’ Sangye Gyatso (Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, 1653–1705), one of the principal architects of the Tibetan state. Sangye Gyatso sets out what purports to be a threefold classification of incest, traditional to Tibet, and considers how aspects of it are to be interpreted. The present article focuses on some of the significant issues raised by this piece. Among these are questions about the context and circumstances of its appearance, the status of incest as a category in historical Tibet, and the place of religious and state authority in the social domain.
Measures and Countermeasures
Authors: Bingaman Eveline
Published: May 2021

The ethnography of kinship and marriage in Tibetan communities demonstrates a broad diversity and flexibility of practices. In examining these variations across both ethnographic Tibet and its borderlands, studies have yet to explore fully the processes through which Tibetan Buddhist polities have played an active role in shaping families through governance structures and state policies. Monk levies (T. grwa khral or btsun khral) are a form of monastic recruitment requiring a taxable unit to provide sons to fill monastery quotas. The practice has obvious consequences for kinship and marriage practices as families choose either to comply with or to evade the levy. The Muli Kingdom was a Tibetan Buddhist polity of the Gelug School that governed an ethnically diverse area in southern Kham. This study takes a historical approach to explore Muli Monastery’s monk levy from the perspective of one non-Tibetan community. In doing so, it highlights the connection between family organisation and state governance structures, revealing kinship practices as one mechanism through which local populations negotiated within limitations set by the state.
Practical Kinship
Authors: Levine Nancy E.
Published: May 2021

This paper assesses enduring values and on-going changes in kin relationships among eastern Tibetan pastoralists. A key finding is the importance of sibling ties, an aspect of kinship life that was overshadowed by earlier historical and anthropological concerns with clans and tribes. The paper begins by reviewing accounts drawn from premodern times, the problematic terms in which these accounts were couched and some of the presuppositions guiding the authors. Next, it discusses government reforms implemented in pastoralist regions beginning in the 1950s and how these reforms have affected personal life and livelihoods. It then considers how long-standing expectations for kin concerning residence and inheritance have combined with new circumstances to create novel household forms and patterns of mutual aid. Brothers and sisters have facilitated adaptations to these new opportunities by providing chains of assistance across the rural–urban divide. Finally, the paper illustrates how focusing on kinship at a personal and practical level can contribute to our understanding of social change.
‘Tears of Rejoicing Spirits’
Authors: Bristley Joseph , Tumen-Ochir Erdene-Ochir
Published: May 2021

Accounts of Mongol mountain sacrifices (ovoo takhilga) variously focus on transactional offerings that elicit benefits from local spirits and on the patron-like position held by spirits towards those who supplicate them. In contrast this article explores how, in such ceremonies, human–spirit relations are shaped through the enactment of emotions: in this context, happiness. Bringing classic literature on sacrifice into dialogue with recent studies of happiness as a social phenomenon, we argue that the generation of happiness (bayarluulakh; bayasgakh) in local spirits is of great importance in mediating the distance between spirits and their human neighbours. This mediation allows for the shaping of optimal post-sacrificial relations between these two categories of being. Our argument is made through an analysis of ethnographic and linguistic data relating to an ovoo takhilga in a Khalkha area of central Mongolia.
Dispelling the Myth of the “Tang-Song Transition Theory”
Authors: Yang Jiping , Broughton Michael
Published: May 2021

Administrative statutes in the Tang clearly recognized that the fields of commoners could be held through private ownership. Field ownership structures in the recently restored Tang Statutes, while seeming to support ideas of land nationalization, did not actually change the private landowning practices that had been in place since the Qin and the Han dynasties. Numerous tenancy contracts unearthed in Dunhuang and Turfan dating back to the Tang and Five Dynasties show ample evidence that, prior to the establishment of the double-tax system in 780, a highly developed system of contract tenancy was already in place. Tenancy was clearly the leading form of agricultural production outside subsistence farming. This proves that the labor force during the Sui and Tang dynasties consisted not of “slaves and tenant farmers” or “agricultural dependents and serfs” but of commoners who were legally free. The Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, as described by Japanese historian Naitō Konan, bear no resemblance to the historical reality of this period. In many instances, Naitō’s arguments have distorted the history of these dynasties in an effort to make China’s history fit neatly into the framework of medieval European history. Consequently, his premises, arguments, and his central conclusion are all wrong. It is crucial that we dispel the myth of Naitō’s “Tang-Song transition theory” and return to historical reality.
Time to Turn the Page in Tang and Song History Studies: Exploring the Tang-Song Transformation Theory from Multiple Perspectives
Authors: Li Huarui , Bihler Anja
Published: May 2021

In China, Naitō Konan’s “theory on modernity since the Song” (Tang-Song transformation theory) did not elicit widespread academic interest until the twenty-first century. The following article provides a comprehensive analysis of the reception to Naitō’s theory by Chinese historians and the implications for Chinese Song studies. The author discusses the Naitō hypothesis from six different perspectives: the theoretical basis and political background of Naitō’s work, historical development patterns in China and the West, Chinese history as the history of a multiethnic country, international scholarship on the periodization of Chinese history, and the contributions by Chinese scholars. The author concludes that Chinese Tang and Song historians should turn the page and move on from Naitō Konan’s modernity theory (transformation theory).
A Historical Study of Political System Reform in the Tang and Song Dynasties
Authors: Wang Huayu , Zhang Donia
Published: May 2021

The theory of Tang and Song reform proposed by Naitō Torajirō, commonly known as Naitō Konan at the beginning of the twentieth century, not only is a perspective on the differences between the Tang and Song institutions but, to a large extent, also formed the research model on the history of the Song-dynasty system in Japanese research on the history of political institutions. Since the 1990s, the topic of Tang and Song reform was introduced to China, but it did not bring any new ideas to the study of Chinese history, nor did it promote reflection on previous research ideas or methods. The historical transformation in the Tang and Song dynasties is, indeed, worthy of attention from historians, but it needs to be done by combining the discussion of Tang and Song reform with the study of political institutional history, avoiding the various existing paradigms in theories on Tang and Song reforms. We must expand the research horizon, placing importance on the restoration of historical reality and referring to the perspectives of “change” and “continuity” rationally, thus allowing for a true breakthrough in Tang and Song historical studies.
A Discussion of Several Issues Concerning the “Tang-Song Transition”
Authors: Mou Fasong , Green William
Published: May 2021

Naitō Konan’s hypothesis on the “Tang-Song transition” was first expressed in lecture notes from his 1909 class on modern Chinese history at Kyoto University and, then, expounded in subsequent works such as “A General View of the Tang and Song Dynasties” and “Modern Chinese History.” The theory systematically outlines that an evolutionary medieval to modern transition occurred in Chinese society during the period between the Tang and the Song dynasties, focusing in particular on the areas of politics/government, the economy, and culture. Political change is regarded as the core metric, demonstrated in concentrated form by the government’s transformation from an aristocratic to a monarchical autocratic system alongside a rise in the status and position of the common people. The “Tang-Song transition theory,” underpinned theoretically by a cultural-historical perspective, advocates for a periodization of Chinese history based on the stages and characteristics of China’s cultural development, which is also attributed to cultural shifts, downward to the commoner class from a culture monopolized by the aristocracy during the period between the Tang and Song, with concomitant changes in society. For over a century since it was first proposed, the “Tang-Song transition theory” has had far-reaching influence in Chinese, Japanese, and Western academic circles, continuing to be lively and vigorous even now. We might be able to find the cause in its originality and liberality, which leave significant room for later thinkers’ continued adherence and development or criticism and falsification and continue to inspire new questions. Naitō’s proposal was also intimately connected to his observations of China’s circumstances in the late Qing dynasty and early Republican period, which also provided a “sample of the era” regarding realistic approaches to historical studies.
Tao Yuanming’s Perspectives on Life as Reflected in His Poems on History
Authors: Zhang Yue
Published: May 2021

Studies on Tao Yuanming have often focused on his personality, reclusive life, and pastoral poetry. However, Tao’s extant oeuvre includes a large number of poems on history. This article aims to complement current scholarship by exploring his viewpoints on life through a close reading of his poems on history. His poems on history are a key to Tao’s perspectives with regard to the factors that decide a successful political career, the best way to cope with difficulties and frustrations, and the situations in which literati should withdraw from public life. Examining his positions reveals the connections between these different aspects. These poems express Tao’s perspectives on life, as informed by his historical predecessors and philosophical beliefs, and as developed through his own life experience and efforts at poetic composition.
Burmannia munnarensis (Burmanniaceae) a new species and rediscovery of B. indica after 110 years from southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India

Authors: FRANCIS DANI , MOHAN VISHNU , VENUGOPAL DIVYA K. , NAMPY SANTHOSH
Published: June 2021

A new species of Burmannia (Burmanniaceae), endemic to the southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India is described as Burmannia munnarensis and illustrations are provided. The new species is morphologically most similar to B. indica but can be easily distinguished by its narrow flower wings, involute margin of the perianth lobes, shorter perianth tube and shape of inflorescence. Burmannia indica, known only from the type locality Peermade in Idukki district, Kerala, is rediscovered after a lapse of 110 years on another locality, Meenuliyanpara in the same district. Key to the Indian species of Burmannia is included and status of both taxa is provisionally assessed as per IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
Studies on Neotropical crickets: The continental Otteiini taxa (Orthoptera: Phalangopsidae), those cave crickets are not confined to the West Indies
Authors: CADENA-CASTAÑEDA OSCAR J. , SOTO WOLFANG ANDRÉS RODRÍGUEZ , CÁRDENAS ANDREA DEL PILAR FLORÉZ , ACEVEDO ANGÉLICA
Published: June 2021

The tribe Otteiini is a group of cave crickets, that were believed only to inhabit the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Cayman Islands, and Hispaniola). However, when reviewing and studying similar cave crickets in Mexico, their relationship was proven with island taxa, expanding their distribution to the continental area, from the Yucatan Peninsula to the Gulf and Northeast of Mexico. Herein, the genus Paracophus is divided, and three additional genera are described: Hubbellcophus n. gen., Venegascophus n. gen. and Hortacophus n. gen. Also, two additional species for Paracophus are described (P. victoriensis n. sp. and P. velazquezi n. sp.). Diagnoses for all genera and dichotomous keys for genera and species are provided. Finally, the taxonomic relationships between the insular and continental taxa of the tribe are discussed, and the different taxonomic placements they had over time, with some genera located in Phalangopsinae and Luzarinae (Phalangopsidae) and Pentacentrinae (Gryllidae).
Description of the larva of Micrathyria paulsoni González-Soriano, 2020 (Odonata: Libellulidae)
Authors: NOVELO-GUTIÉRREZ RODOLFO , ARCE-PÉREZ ROBERTO
Published: June 2021

The last instar larva of Micrathyria paulsoni González-Soriano, 2020 is described and illustrated in detail based on specimens collected in Veracruz State, Mexico. It is compared with the larvae of M. didyma (Selys in Sagra, 1857) and M. hypodidyma Calvert, 1906, all of them belonging into the “Micrathyria didyma” group. The main structural features of M. paulsoni larva are 9–10 long premental setae plus 4–5 small setae, palpal setae 10, legs banded, a large, submedian, dark spot on each side of a pale middorsal line on S6–9, S8–9 with a posterolateral spine, larger in S9.
Introducing the New Regional Community Earth System Model, R-CESM
Authors: Fu Dan , Small Justin , Kurian Jaison , Liu Yun , Kauffman Brian , Gopal Abishek , Ramachandran Sanjiv , Shang Zhi , Chang Ping , Danabasoglu Gokhan , Thayer-Calder Katherine , Vertenstein Mariana , Ma Xiaohui , Yao Hengkai , Li Mingkui , Xu Zhao , Lin Xiaopei , Zhang Shaoqing , Wu Lixin
Published: June 2021

The development of high-resolution, fully coupled, regional Earth system model systems is important for improving our understanding of climate variability, future projections, and extreme events at regional scales. Here we introduce and present an overview of the newly developed Regional Community Earth System Model (R-CESM). Different from other existing regional climate models, R-CESM is based on the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) framework. We have incorporated the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model and Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) into CESM2 as additional components. As such, R-CESM can be conveniently used as a regional dynamical downscaling tool for the global CESM solutions or/and as a standalone high-resolution regional coupled model. The user interface of R-CESM follows that of CESM, making it readily accessible to the broader community. Among countless potential applications of R-CESM, we showcase here a few preliminary studies that illustrate its novel aspects and value. These include 1) assessing the skill of R-CESM in a multiyear, high-resolution, regional coupled simulation of the Gulf of Mexico; 2) examining the impact of WRF and CESM ocean–atmosphere coupling physics on tropical cyclone simulations; and 3) a convection-permitting simulation of submesoscale ocean–atmosphere interactions. We also discuss capabilities under development such as (i) regional refinement using a high-resolution ROMS nested within global CESM and (ii) “online” coupled data assimilation. Our open-source framework (publicly available at https://github.com/ihesp/rcesm1) can be easily adapted to a broad range of applications that are of interest to the users of CESM, WRF, and ROMS.
Can we rely on COVID-19 data? An assessment of data from over 200 countries worldwide
Authors: Farhadi Noah
Published: May 2021

To fight COVID-19, global access to reliable data is vital. Given the rapid acceleration of new cases and the common sense of global urgency, COVID-19 is subject to thorough measurement on a country-by-country basis. The world is witnessing an increasing demand for reliable data and impactful information on the novel disease. Can we trust the data on the COVID-19 spread worldwide? This study aims to assess the reliability of COVID-19 global data as disclosed by local authorities in 202 countries. It is commonly accepted that the frequency distribution of leading digits of COVID-19 data shall comply with Benford’s law. In this context, the author collected and statistically assessed 106,274 records of daily infections, deaths, and tests around the world. The analysis of worldwide data suggests good agreement between theory and reported incidents. Approximately 69% of countries worldwide show some deviations from Benford’s law. The author found that records of daily infections, deaths, and tests from 28% of countries adhered well to the anticipated frequency of first digits. By contrast, six countries disclosed pandemic data that do not comply with the first-digit law. With over 82 million citizens, Germany publishes the most reliable records on the COVID-19 spread. In contrast, the Islamic Republic of Iran provides by far the most non-compliant data. The author concludes that inconsistencies with Benford’s law might be a strong indicator of artificially fabricated data on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by local authorities. Partially consistent with prior research, the United States, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, and China reveal data that satisfies Benford’s law. Unification of reporting procedures and policies globally could improve the quality of data and thus the fight against the deadly virus.
Antisense yycG modulates the susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to hydrogen peroxide via the sarA
Authors: Wu Shizhou , Liu Yunjie , Lei Lei , Zhang Hui
Published: May 2021

Background

The infectious pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is primarily associated with osteomyelitis. Hydrogen peroxide drainage is an effective antimicrobial treatment that has been adopted to combat S. aureus infections. Previous investigations have indicated that the antisense RNA (asRNA) strategy negatively modulates S. aureus YycFG TCS, and it significantly disrupts biofilm formation. However, the effects of the antisense yycG RNA (ASyycG) strategy on the susceptibility of biofilm-producing S. aureus to hydrogen peroxide and the mechanisms underlying this effect have not been elucidated to date.

Results

Overexpression of ASyycG inhibited the transcription of biofilm formation-related genes, including sarA and icaA. Additionally, the CFU counts and the live bacterial ratios of ASyycG biofilm-producing S. aureus treated with H2O2 were notably reduced across the groups. Notably, the predicted promoter regions of the sarA and icaA genes were directly regulated by YycF.

Conclusions

ASyycG was observed to sensitize biofilm-producing S. aureus to H2O2 intervention synergistically via the sarA and thus may represent a supplementary strategy for managing osteomyelitis. However, future in-depth studies should attempt to replicate our findings in animal models, such as the rat osteomyelitis model.
24-hr observation unit is safe location for rapid glucose control in uncomplicated severe hyperglycaemia
Authors: Ibrahim I. , Macatangay R. , Chai C. Y. , Khoo C. M. , Mahadevan M.
Published: May 2021

Background

Uncomplicated hyperglycaemia is a common presentation in the emergency department (ED). Rapid glucose control is associated with the risk of iatrogenic hypoglycaemia. We sought to determine the safety of a rapid glucose control protocol delivered in a 24-h emergency department observation unit (OU).

Methods

This is a retrospective chart review of patients admitted to the OU for hyperglycaemia where the assessing clinician deemed there was no other reason for medical admission apart from hyperglycaemia; and that the patient could be safely discharged provided their hyperglycaemia was adequately treated. The rapid glucose control protocol consists of 4–6 hourly glucose monitoring and insulin injections according to a sliding scale. We report the demographics, reduction in glucose values and the incidence of hypoglycaemia in the OU. We also determine the rate of discharge from OU and the rate of hospital admission at 30 days.

Results

We included 101 patients. The mean age was 53.5 years (95% CI 50.4–56.6) and 64% of patients were male. The mean HbA1c value was 12.8% (95% CI 12.3–13.3). The mean admission and discharge glucose values were 27.2 (95% CI 26.3–28.1) and 13.9 (95% CI 13.2–14.6) mmols/l respectively. There was no incidence of hypoglycaemia in the OU. We successfully discharged 90.1% of the patients from the OU, of which 3 (3.3%) patients were admitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge.

Conclusion

ED OU is a safe location to deliver effective management for patients presented with uncomplicated severe hyperglycaemia.