bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methodological quality of studies assessing validity and reliability of the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale: a systematic review using the COSMIN methodology
Authors: Köberich Stefan , Kato Naoko P , Kugler Christiane , Strömberg Anna , Jaarsma Tiny
Published: February 2021

Aims

The European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale (EHFScBS) is frequently used to assess self-care behaviours in patients with heart failure. This scale has been translated into several languages. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstrument (COSMIN) Risk of Bias checklist for a systematic review has recently been published. The aim of the study was to assess the methodological quality of studies reporting on psychometric evaluations of the EHFScBS using the COSMIN methodology.

Methods and results

To identify relevant studies, a systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and CINAHL databases in December 2019 and the search was updated in June 2020. The COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist was used to assess the methodological quality. In total, 21 relevant studies were rated. The overall methodological quality of content validity was rated as inadequate in 17 studies and a main reason of the inadequate rating was a lack of patient involvement. Structural validity was adequately addressed in 12 studies, internal consistency in seven, and eight of 11 studies reporting on construct validity and had good methodological quality.

Conclusion

Although the use of the EHFScBS has grown rapidly and the validity and reliability are reported to be good, the methodological quality of studies reporting on psychometric properties of the scale is not optimal. Further studies are necessary to strengthen the evidence on validity and reliability of the EHFScBS.
A novel c.1759T>G variant in follicle-stimulating hormone-receptor gene is concordant with male determination in the flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus)
Authors: Curzon Arie Y , Dor Lior , Shirak Andrey , Meiri-Ashkenazi Iris , Rosenfeld Hana , Ron Micha , Seroussi Eyal
Published: February 2021

Various master key regulators (MKRs) that control a binary switch of sex determination (SD) have been found in fish; these provide an excellent model for the study of vertebrate genetic SD. The SD region in flathead grey mullet has been previously mapped to a 1 Mbp region harboring 27 genes, of which one is follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (fshr). Although this gene is involved in gonad differentiation and function, it has not been considered as an MKR of SD. We systematically investigated polymorphism in mullet fshr using DNA shotgun sequences, and compared them between males and females. Capable of encoding nonconservative amino acid substitutions, c.1732G>A and c.1759T>G exhibited association with sex on a population level (N = 83; P ≤ 6.7 × 10−19). Hence, 1732 A and 1759 G represent a male-specific haplotype of the gene, designated as “fshry.” Additional flanking SNPs showed a weaker degree of association with sex, delimiting the SD critical region to 143 nucleotides on exon 14. Lack of homozygotes for fshry, and the resulting divergence from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (N = 170; P ≤ 3.9 × 10−5), were compatible with a male heterogametic model (XY/XX). Capable of replacing a phenylalanine with valine, c.1759T>G alters a conserved position across the sixth transmembrane domain of vertebrate FSHRs. Amino acid substitutions in this position in vertebrates are frequently associated with constant receptor activation and consequently with FSH/FSHR signaling alteration; thus, indicating a potential role of fshr as an MKR of SD.
Rapid divergence of the male reproductive proteins in theDrosophila dunnigroup and implications for postmating incompatibilities between species
Authors: Hill Tom , Rosales-Stephens Hazel-Lynn , Unckless Robert L
Published: February 2021

Proteins involved in post-copulatory interactions between males and females are among the fastest evolving genes in many species, usually attributed to their involvement in reproductive conflict. As a result, these proteins are thought to often be involved in the formation of postmating-prezygotic incompatibilities between species. The Drosophila dunni subgroup consists of a dozen recently diverged species found across the Caribbean islands with varying levels of hybrid incompatibility. We performed experimental crosses between species in the dunni group and see some evidence of hybrid incompatibilities. We also find evidence of reduced survival following hybrid mating, likely due to postmating-prezygotic incompatibilities. We assessed rates of evolution between these species genomes and find evidence of rapid evolution and divergence of some reproductive proteins, specifically the seminal fluid proteins. This work suggests the rapid evolution of seminal fluid proteins may be associated with postmating-prezygotic isolation, which acts as a barrier for gene flow between even the most closely related species.
No difference in HIV-1 integrase inhibitor resistance between CSF and blood compartments
Authors: Abdi Basma , Chebbi Mouna , Wirden Marc , Teyssou Elisa , Sayon Sophie , Palich Romain , Seang Sophie , Valantin Marc-Antoine , Simon Anne , Tubiana Roland , Katlama Christine , Calvez Vincent , Marcelin Anne-Geneviève , Soulie Cathia
Published: February 2021

Background

Little is known about HIV-1 integrase inhibitor resistance in the CNS.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate integrase inhibitor resistance in CSF, as a marker of the CNS, and compare it with the resistance in plasma.

Methods

HIV integrase was sequenced both in plasma and CSF for 59 HIV-1 patients. The clinical and biological data were collected from clinical routine care.

Results

Among the 59 HIV-1 patients, 32 (54.2%) were under antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. The median (IQR) HIV-1 RNA in the plasma of viraemic patients was 5.32 (3.85–5.80) and 3.59 (2.16–4.50) log10 copies/mL versus 4.79 (3.56–5.25) and 3.80 (2.68–4.33) log10 copies/mL in the CSF of ARV-naive and ARV-treated patients, respectively. The patients were mainly infected with non-B subtypes (72.2%) with the most prevalent recombinant form being CRF02_AG (42.4%). The HIV-1 integrase sequences from CSF presented resistance mutations for 9/27 (33.3%) and 8/32 (25.0%) for ARV-naive (L74I, n = 3; L74I/M, n = 1; T97A, n = 1; E157Q, n = 4) and ARV-treated (L74I, n = 6; L74M, n = 1; T97A, n = 1; N155H, n = 1) patients, respectively. Integrase inhibitor resistance mutations in CSF were similar to those in plasma, except for 1/59 patients.

Conclusions

This work shows similar integrase inhibitor resistance profiles in the CNS and plasma in a population of HIV-1 viraemic patients.
Market Depth, Leverage, and Speculative Bubbles
Authors: Enders Zeno , Hakenes Hendrik
Published: February 2021

We develop a model of rational bubbles based on leverage and the assumption of an imprecisely known maximum market size. In a bubble, traders push the asset price above its fundamental value in a dynamic way, driven by rational expectations about future price developments. At a previously unknown date, the bubble will endogenously burst. Households optimally decide whether to lend to traders with limited liability. Bubbles increase welfare of the initial asset holders, but reduce welfare of future households. We provide general conditions for the possibility of bubbles depending on uncertainty about market size, traders’ degree of leverage, and the risk-free rate. This allows us to discuss several policy measures. Capital requirements and a correctly implemented Tobin tax can prevent bubbles. Implemented incorrectly, however, these measures may create the possibility of bubbles and can reduce welfare.
An integrated approach for reservoir characterisation in deep-water Krishna-Godavari basin, India: a case study
Authors: Mondal Samit , Chatterjee Rima , Chakraborty Shantanu
Published: February 2021

The Miocene reservoirs in prolific Krishna-Godavari basin are mostly fluvial deposits and laminated or blocky in nature. The type of reservoir quality depends on associated geological environments. Due to several lateral variations in reservoir properties, a similar kind of workflow for reservoir characterisation does not work. Customised workflow needs to be applied in this area for estimation of petrophysical properties or rock physical analysis for reservoir quality prediction. As the major input of rock physical analysis is petrophysical properties, it is crucial to estimate these properties accurately. Meanwhile, it is also important to check the seismic sensitivity to change in fluid saturation in the reservoir characterisation process. The analysis assures the presence of reservoir and hydrocarbon contact in seismic sensitivity, which is essential for removing risk. Integrating the geological model with rock physical analysis for reservoir characterisation at the drilled well, the reservoir quality at undrilled prospects is predicted. In this study, the comprehensive study for reservoir characterisation of Miocene reservoirs consists of three different steps: calculation of petrophysical properties for mixed of thick and laminated sequence, rock physical analysis for identification of hydrocarbon reservoir and corresponding seismic sensitivity for change in saturation and finally the rock physics template for prediction of reservoir quality away from the drilled well. Results from the study have added significant value in de-risking the number of undrilled prospects in this area.
Parents' Nonstandard Work and Children’s Sleep: The Mediating Role of Bedtime Routines
Authors: Craft Alexandrea L , Perry-Jenkins Maureen , Herman Rachel , Spencer Rebecca M C
Published: February 2021

Objective: The present study examined if caregivers’ long work hours or shift work are related to children’s sleep duration through the disruption of bedtime routines. Method: Work hours and schedules, bedtime routines and sleep (actigraph assessments) were examined in a sample of 250 caregivers and their preschool children. Results: Results revealed that consistent bedtime routines mediated the relationship between caregiver’s work and children’s sleep, such that longer hours and shift work predicted fewer routines that, in turn, predicted less child sleep. Conclusion: These results point to the crucial role of bedtime routines as a promising point of intervention for working parents. While caregivers may not be able to change their work hours or schedules, they can create more stable and consistent bedtime routines to mitigate the negative effects of their work on children’s sleep.
Preparation of loratadine nanocrystal tablets to improve the solubility and dissolution for enhanced oral bioavailability
Authors: Li Jing , Zhou Yingping , Aisha Mayinuer , Wu Jingyan , Wang Hongyun , Huang Fang , Sun Minjie
Published: February 2021

Objectives

Loratadine is a selective H1 receptor inhibitor that has been widely used in the clinical treatment of allergic diseases. Here we aimed to develop a novel solid loratadine nanocrystal to increase the low and pH-dependent water solubility for bioavailability enhancement.

Methods

Loratadine solid nanocrystal was developed through high-speed shear-high pressure homogenization followed by freeze-drying, which was further prepared into tablets through direct compression. The formulation and process parameter were screened. Furthermore, the characterization and oral bioavailability of loratadine nanocrystal were studied.

Key findings

The loratadine nanocrystal had the satisfactory particle size of 425.9 nm and great redispersibility, which was mainly attributed to the addition of Pluronic F127 and polyvinylpyrrolidone K17 as the stabilizer. The saturation solubility of the loratadine nanocrystal was increased to 3.81, 3.22 and 2.57-fold that of the crude drug in water, pH 6.8 and pH 4.5 buffer respectively. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic studies in rats revealed that the AUC (0-∞) of the nanocrystal tablets was 2.38-fold that of raw tablets and 1.94-fold that of commercial tablets, respectively.

Conclusions

The nanocrystal tablets could significantly improve the oral bioavailability of loratadine, which would also be a promising approach to enhance the solubility of insoluble drugs.
An unusual reason for an inguinal swelling: De Garengeot’s hernia
Authors: Sommerhalder Barbara , Burger Reint , Bueter Marco , Thalheimer Andreas
Published: February 2021

We present the case of a 71-year-old female with an inguinal swelling. Intra-abdominally the appendix was found in a femoral hernia sac (De Garengeot’s hernia). A laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernia repair procedure was performed with uneventful post-operative course.

Clinical presentation of this type of hernia is unspecific and often not to be distinguished from a common incarcerated hernia. Computed tomography can be helpful in obtaining a diagnosis, although the definite diagnosis is mostly found intraoperatively. As surgical options are numerous, there is no consensus on the most suitable one. A laparoscopic approach incorporates the benefit of a total abdominal overview and the possibility of standard procedures. If the appendix appears normal, the use of synthetic mesh is considered safe and an incidental appendectomy is not necessarily required.
The Descent into Hell: Its Origin and First Development
Authors: Knight Jonathan
Published: February 2021

The motif of Christ’s descent to hell is a familiar one in systematic theology—especially that written from a Roman Catholic perspective. It is often assumed that this doctrine has solid New Testament foundations; but this is not the case. This article examines the New Testament and other evidence for this emerging doctrine, arguing that it is known but not explicitly mentioned in the canonical literature, and drawing attention to the neglected early second-century apocalypse called the Ascension of Isaiah as its earliest established appearance. The article then examines some other alleged or potential non-canonical appearances of the descensus motif, asking what this doctrine meant in its first usage and offering some brief reflections as to how this first usage might determine an appropriate Christian understanding today.
RNAMotifContrast: a method to discover and visualize RNA structural motif subfamilies
Authors: Islam Shahidul , Rahaman Md Mahfuzur , Zhang Shaojie
Published: February 2021

Understanding the 3D structural properties of RNAs will play a critical role in identifying their functional characteristics and designing new RNAs for RNA-based therapeutics and nanotechnology. While several existing computational methods can help in the analysis of RNA properties by recognizing structural motifs, they do not provide the means to compare and contrast those motifs extensively. We have developed a new method, RNAMotifContrast, which focuses on analyzing the similarities and variations of RNA structural motif characteristics. In this method, a graph is formed to represent the similarities among motifs, and a new traversal algorithm is applied to generate visualizations of their structural properties. Analyzing the structural features among motifs, we have recognized and generalized the concept of motif subfamilies. To asses its effectiveness, we have applied RNAMotifContrast on a dataset of known RNA structural motif families. From the results, we observed that the derived subfamilies possess unique structural variations while holding standard features of the families. Overall, the visualization approach of this method presents a new perspective to observe the relation among motifs more closely, and the discovered subfamilies provide opportunities to achieve valuable insights into RNA’s diverse roles.
Streamlining CRISPR spacer-based bacterial host predictions to decipher the viral dark matter
Authors: Dion Moïra B , Plante Pier-Luc , Zufferey Edwige , Shah Shiraz A , Corbeil Jacques , Moineau Sylvain
Published: February 2021

Thousands of new phages have recently been discovered thanks to viral metagenomics. These phages are extremely diverse and their genome sequences often do not resemble any known phages. To appreciate their ecological impact, it is important to determine their bacterial hosts. CRISPR spacers can be used to predict hosts of unknown phages, as spacers represent biological records of past phage–bacteria interactions. However, no guidelines have been established to standardize host prediction based on CRISPR spacers. Additionally, there are no tools that use spacers to perform host predictions on large viral datasets. Here, we developed a set of tools that includes all the necessary steps for predicting the hosts of uncharacterized phages. We created a database of >11 million spacers and a program to execute host predictions on large viral datasets. Our host prediction approach uses biological criteria inspired by how CRISPR–Cas naturally work as adaptive immune systems, which make the results easy to interpret. We evaluated the performance using 9484 phages with known hosts and obtained a recall of 49% and a precision of 69%. We also found that this host prediction method yielded higher performance for phages that infect gut-associated bacteria, suggesting it is well suited for gut-virome characterization.
An in vitro reconstituted U1 snRNP allows the study of the disordered regions of the particle and the interactions with proteins and ligands
Authors: Campagne Sébastien , de Vries Tebbe , Malard Florian , Afanasyev Pavel , Dorn Georg , Dedic Emil , Kohlbrecher Joachim , Boehringer Daniel , Cléry Antoine , Allain Frédéric H-T
Published: February 2021

U1 small nuclear ribonucleoparticle (U1 snRNP) plays a central role during RNA processing. Previous structures of U1 snRNP revealed how the ribonucleoparticle is organized and recognizes the pre-mRNA substrate at the exon–intron junction. As with many other ribonucleoparticles involved in RNA metabolism, U1 snRNP contains extensions made of low complexity sequences. Here, we developed a protocol to reconstitute U1 snRNP in vitro using mostly full-length components in order to perform liquid-state NMR spectroscopy. The accuracy of the reconstitution was validated by probing the shape and structure of the particle by SANS and cryo-EM. Using an NMR spectroscopy-based approach, we probed, for the first time, the U1 snRNP tails at atomic detail and our results confirm their high degree of flexibility. We also monitored the labile interaction between the splicing factor PTBP1 and U1 snRNP and validated the U1 snRNA stem loop 4 as a binding site for the splicing regulator on the ribonucleoparticle. Altogether, we developed a method to probe the intrinsically disordered regions of U1 snRNP and map the interactions controlling splicing regulation. This approach could be used to get insights into the molecular mechanisms of alternative splicing and screen for potential RNA therapeutics.
Roxadustat for anemia in patients with end-stage renal disease incident to dialysis
Authors: Provenzano Robert , Shutov Evgeny , Eremeeva Liubov , Korneyeva Svitlana , Poole Lona , Saha Gopal , Bradley Charles , Eyassu Meraf , Besarab Anatole , Leong Robert , Liu Cameron S , Neff Thomas B , Szczech Lynda , Yu Kin-Hung P
Published: February 2021

Background

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of roxadustat versus epoetin alfa for the treatment of chronic kidney disease-related anemia in patients new to dialysis.

Methods

HIMALAYAS was a Phase 3, open-label, epoetin alfa-controlled trial. Eligible adults were incident to hemodialysis/peritoneal dialysis for 2 weeks to ≤4 months prior to randomization and had mean hemoglobin (Hb) ≤10.0 g/dL. Primary endpoints were mean Hb (g/dL) change from baseline averaged over Weeks 28–52 regardless of rescue therapy [non-inferiority criterion: lower limit of 95% confidence interval (CI) for treatment difference >−0.75] and percentage of patients achieving an Hb response between Weeks 1 and 24 censored for rescue therapy (non-inferiority margin for between-group difference −15%). Adverse events were monitored.

Results

The intent-to-treat population included patients randomized to roxadustat (n = 522) or epoetin alfa (n = 521). Mean (standard deviation) Hb changes from baseline averaged over Weeks 28–52 were 2.57 (1.27) and 2.36 (1.21) in the roxadustat and epoetin alfa groups. Roxadustat was non-inferior [least squares mean difference: 0.18 (95% CI 0.08, 0.29)] to epoetin alfa. Percentages of patients with an Hb response were 88.2% and 84.4% in the roxadustat and epoetin alfa groups, respectively. Roxadustat was non-inferior to epoetin alfa [treatment-group difference 3.5% (95% CI −0.7%, 7.7%)]. Adverse event rates were comparable between treatment groups.

Conclusions

Roxadustat was efficacious for correcting and maintaining Hb levels compared with epoetin alfa. Roxadustat had an acceptable safety profile.
The First Troll Prerequisite
Authors: Jamieson Kathleen Hall
Published: February 2021

Chapter 3 examines the first prerequisite required for social media or hacked content to influence the U.S. election: was it widespread and extensive enough to make a difference? The chapter first notes that 2016 election-related Russian propaganda was also disseminated overtly via Russia’s state-sponsored RT. Jamieson goes on to detail the extent and reach of the trolls’ covert social media messaging on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, 9GAG, and more. The chapter discusses the use of troll accounts to create and amplify content across platforms, including Russian-hacked Democratic content released on WikiLeaks, as well as the use of bots on these sites to skew the trending of content.
The Third Troll Prerequisite, Part 1
Authors: Jamieson Kathleen Hall
Published: February 2021

Chapter 5 examines the third prerequisite for Russian stolen or generated content to influence the U.S. election: did it address the interests of vital constituencies whose mobilization or demobilization was critical to a Trump Electoral College victory? The chapter details how troll messaging and the release of hacked content aimed to influence two key traditional Republican voting blocs that Trump needed in order to win: white Christians and veterans. Jamieson explores the trolls’ appeals to evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics, including the use of a hacked exchange involving a Clinton communications director. In a similar fashion, the chapter shows how the trolls worked to mobilize veterans by attacking Clinton’s record on military affairs.
Lincoln Center
Authors: Robin William
Published: February 2021

When Bang on a Can first hosted their marathon concert and All-Stars recitals at Lincoln Center in 1994, critics and observers wrote about them with hyperbolic rhetoric, emphasizing how different the upstart festival was from the hallowed grounds of the Manhattan presenter. But under the direction of curator Jane Moss, Lincoln Center had begun to embrace contemporary music, representing a moment in which some of classical music’s most mainstream organizations looked to new work in the hopes of reaching new audiences. Bang on a Can, too, found new audiences at Lincoln Center; in partnering with the major institution, the organization prioritized their marketplace aims—their desire for expanding its reach—over the anti-establishment image that they had previously cultivated.
The Scientific Hypothesis Today
Authors: Alger Bradley E.
Published: February 2021

Chapter 2 begins by reviewing the concept of the Scientific Method, as well as many outdated definitions of “hypothesis.” The discussion leads to the modern definition of the hypothesis as a conjectural explanation for a phenomenon; it is testable and falsifiable. The hypothesis serves as a blueprint and a summary of an investigation. Certain criticisms of the hypothesis and hypothesis-driven research are based on the older definitions of the term, and the book returns to them later. This chapter identifies and defines, with simple, nontechnical examples, concepts associated with the hypothesis, such as prediction and direct and indirect measurements. The philosophical programs of Karl Popper and John Platt, Critical Rationalism and Strong Inference, respectively, form a major focus of the chapter. The chapter explores the complexities of the concepts of falsification and corroboration and the importance of having multiple hypotheses. The chapter introduces the idea of the implicit hypothesis and ends with the presentation and discussion of key features of a good hypothesis.
Equal Footing
Authors: Ablavsky Gregory
Published: February 2021

In 1796, the Southwest Territory became the first U.S. territory to become a state, joining the union as Tennessee. This new state promptly used its newfound status as a sovereign on “equal footing” with existing states to challenge the persistence of federal authority, especially over land and Indian affairs. A series of collisions followed: over ownership of the public domain; over William Blount’s odd scheme to use his supposed influence in Indian country to challenge federal power; and, above all, over the federal government’s attempt to survey the boundary of the Cherokee Nation, which threatened to dispossess white land claimants. Ultimately, the federal government preserved its formal authority even as it gave Tennessee what it wanted—a seemingly Pyrrhic victory that had important precedential consequences. In particular, when part of the Northwest Territory sought to become the new state of Ohio in 1802, the federal government sought to protect its authority. Most importantly, it decided for the first time to attach conditions to the new state’s admission that guaranteed federal land ownership, a practice that quickly became a constitutional norm; the new state also tacitly accepted continued federal authority over the state’s Native peoples. The result was that the federal government’s power to adjudicate property and jurisdictional conflicts survived despite state challenge; in the process, the federal government ironically became the most visible defender of the earlier, multipolar order against these states’ assaults.
Epilogue
Authors: Ablavsky Gregory
Published: February 2021

Three federal systems coalesced from the ad hoc practices of governance in the Northwest and Southwest Territories—over land, Indian affairs, and the territories themselves. The foundations for the federal land system laid in these early struggles persisted and survived through the Civil War and beyond, as federal adjudication of land rights expanded. The federal government also codified its earlier experiments in compensation, formalizing its payments to Natives and whites even as it also continued to pay for brutal, even genocidal violence against Native peoples from the federal treasury. Finally, even Congress continued to use conditional admission to try to control newly admitted states, the territorial system entrenched the expectation that the plural sovereignty and ownership of the borderlands was temporary; statehood represented the moment when these preexisting claims supposedly passed away. Statehood also helped doom the flawed vision that the federal government would serve as a neutral arbiter between Natives and whites. Rather, statehood gave the former territories perhaps the most effective way yet to make claims on the federal government. As these new states increasingly became the federal government—in Congress, in the cabinet, and in the presidency—they turned their goals into federal law. This result occurred within the federal lands, where states successfully bent federal land policy to serve their expansionist aims, and in Indian affairs, where state representatives successfully persuaded the federal government to back their assertions of sovereignty against the compelling sovereignty claims of the Cherokee and Native Nations in the struggle known as Removal. This effectiveness at exploiting federal power allowed these former territories to rapidly remake these former borderlands to satisfy their long-standing settler colonial aspirations.
A First Example: The “Particle in a Box“ and Quantized Translational Motion
Authors: Autschbach Jochen
Published: February 2021

The simple ‘particle in a box’ (Piab) is introduced in this chapter so that the reader can get familiar with applying the quantum recipe and atomic units. The PiaB is introduced in its one, two, and three dimensional variants, which demonstrates the use of the separation of variables technique as a strategy to solve the Schrodinger equation for a particle with two or three degrees of freedom. It is shown that the confinement of the particle causes the energy to be quantized. The one-dimensional PiaB is then applied to treat the electronic spectra of cyanine dyes and their absorption colors. The chapter then introduces more general setups with finite potential wells, in order to introduce the phenomenon of quantum tunnelling and to discuss more generally with the unintuitive ‘quantum behavior’ of particles such as electrons. Scanning tunnelling and atomic force microscopes are also discussed briefly.
Hydrogen-like Atomic Wavefunctions: A First Sketch
Authors: Autschbach Jochen
Published: February 2021

This chapter reiterates the quantum numbers for atomic orbitals, known from general chemistry, and places them into the context developed so far. It is sketched how the Schrodinger equation (SE) for the hydrogen atom hydrogen-like systems (one electron plus a nucleus of charge Z) is set up. When the nucleus is treated as a fixed point charge, the SE is only for the electron. The solutions of the SE can be obtained by switching to spherical polar coordinates, such that the variables are separable in terms of the electron distance from the nucleus, r, and two angles. The kinetic energy of the electron then has a radial component, and an angular component. The latter is associated with the angular momentum quantum number, which is codified by the letters s, p, d, f, and so forth. A step by step solution of the SE is provided later, in chapter 19.
Particle in a Cylinder, in a Sphere, and on a Helix
Authors: Autschbach Jochen
Published: February 2021

The particle in a box from an earlier chapter is useful as a model to treat the electron motion in linear molecular ‘wires’, rectangular surfaces, and cuboid nano-particles. In this chapter, similar models are developed for spherical and cylindrical nano-particles, and helical nano-wires. Applications of these models that have been reported in the literature are discussed. For example, the particle in a cylinder model has been applied to treat the absorption spectra of silver nano-rods. The particle in a sphere model can be used tom rationalize the occurrence of sodium nano-clusters with certain ‘magic’ numbers of Na atoms. The model also explains the behaviour of potassium under high pressure, where the element starts to behave like a transition metal. The particle on a helix has been used to rationalize the optical activity of helical pi-conjugated molecules.
The One-electron Quantum Hamiltonian in the Presence of EM Fields
Authors: Autschbach Jochen
Published: February 2021

The interaction between atoms or molecules and electromagnetic (EM) fields underlies all spectroscopic techniques and a great variety of desirable molecular properties. EM fields and EM waves are introduced via the famous Maxwell equations. The scalar and vector potential are defined, and the gauge freedom is outlined. The Coulomb gauge is adopted. The classical Hamiltonian for a charged particle in an EM field is derived, and from this the ‘minimal substitution’ rules for incorporating the fields in the quantum Hamiltonian are obtained. The operators describing the interaction of an electron with static electric and magnetic fields, including the magnetic fields from nuclear spins, are derived, followed by the derivation of the interaction between an electron and an EM wave.
Goodbye to All That: Escape Stories
Authors: Woldoff Rachael A. , Litchfield Robert C.
Published: February 2021

Place matters—so much so that some successful people are willing to abandon their established lives to change it. Creative class professionals who leave behind their conventional lives and employment report that life in creative class cities is expensive and demanding. Moreover, their so-called creative jobs are often routine and disappointing, failing to offer a career track or promise of wage growth that will outpace the rising cost of living in these prime locations. This chapter examines digital nomads’ narratives of the push factors that drove them from their home countries into the digital nomad lifestyle abroad, detailing the factors that triggered their decisions to flee unfulfilling jobs, unsatisfying relationships, and unsustainable lifestyles. It explains why people with initiative and skills are increasingly considering new paths that allow them to retain control over their location, lifestyle, and employment options.
Epistemological Issues
Authors: Van Nieuwenhove Rik
Published: February 2021

Epistemological issues addressed in this chapter include: How do we know? Can we know God? Which three operations of the intellect does Aquinas identify and what do they mean (apprehension, judgement, reasoning)? How does Aquinas conceive of contemplation in the strictly speculative sense and how does it relate to these three operations? It argues that Aquinas draws an emphatic distinction between discursive reason (ratio) and simple understanding (intellectus), describing the acme of the contemplative act in terms of intuitus simplex, a simple, non-discursive insight into truth. Aquinas draws on Christian Neoplatonic authors, not Aristotle, to explain this. It is argued that Aquinas wanted to give scope to a non-apodeictic notion of contemplation, which could accommodate the phenomenon of insight after speculative reasoning, as well as the connatural, intuitive insight of the ordinary Christian.
The Dominican Calling and the Relation between the Active and Contemplative Lives
Authors: Van Nieuwenhove Rik
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses how Aquinas conceives of the relation between the active and contemplative lives in light of the mendicant controversy. Aquinas distinguishes between the two lives on the basis of the distinction between the practical and theoretical intellect. Hence, he does not explicitly adopt the terminology of the mixed life. From the beginning of his career Aquinas argued that the contemplative life is inherently more meaningful; but at times, given the needs of the present life, the active life deserves priority and may prove more useful. Aquinas proved unwavering on this issue but his argumentation subtly shifts: increasingly, he will appeal to the role of charity to argue that greatest love is manifested when, at times, we relinquish the delights of contemplation to engage in activities of the active life, especially those closely associated with, and nourished by, contemplation: contemplata aliis tradere.
Under the Banner of Islam
Authors: Türkmen Gülay
Published: February 2021

How do religious, ethnic, and national identities interact in religiously homogenous ethnic conflicts? Is it possible for religion to act as a resolution tool in such conflicts? Why? Why not? In search for answers to these questions, Under the Banner of Islam focuses on the ambivalent role Sunni Islam has played in Turkey’s Kurdish conflict—both as a conflict-resolution tool and as a tool of resistance—in the last two decades. Relying mainly on participant observation in Civil Friday Prayers and 62 interviews conducted in three different cities in Turkey (Istanbul and the majority-Kurdish Diyarbakir and Batman) between June 2012 and June 2013, it demonstrates that Sunni Islam has had a very limited impact as a conflict-resolution tool in Turkey. Blending interview data with a detailed historical institutional analysis that goes back as early as the nineteenth century, it argues that the strength of Turkish and Kurdish nationalisms, the symbiotic relationship between Turkey’s religious and political fields, religious elites’ varying conceptualizations of religious and ethnic identities, and the recent political developments in the region (particularly the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region, Rojava, in Syria) have all contributed to this outcome. The resulting narrative is not only a record of religion, ethnicity, and nationalism in Turkey’s Kurdish conflict, but also an investigation of how ethnic and religious identities are negotiated in conflict resolution and how symbolic boundaries are drawn in ethnic conflict zones.
What Happened in 1950?
Authors: Kirchman David L.
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses what happened around 1950 that led to the expansion of dead zones. For the Gulf of Mexico, there are many reasons to think the flow of the Mississippi River has changed since the days of Mark Twain, considering the construction of so many levees, dikes, floodways, spillways, weirs, and revetments. Rain-absorbing grasslands and forests have been replaced by asphalt, roof shingles, and other hydrophobic material that hasten rainwater to the Gulf. But the flow of the Mississippi has not changed enough to explain why the Gulf dead zone grew around 1950. As the chapter discusses, what did change was nutrients. It shows that concentrations doubled in the Mississippi River from the 1930s to the 1990s, which stimulated algal growth and production of organic material that eventually led to depletion of dissolved oxygen. In addition to creating dead zones, the increase in nutrients has stimulated harmful algal blooms, leading to fish kills and beach closings.
Introduction and Motivation
Authors: Garfield Jay L. , Priest Graham
Published: February 2021

This chapter briefly introduces dialetheism—the view that some contradictions may be true. It explains why much of Western philosophy has been hostile to contradiction, and it motivates the idea that East Asian philosophy may be more accommodating of contradiction. It also sets out the program of the book.
Building Borders
Authors: Hoy Benjamin
Published: February 2021

This chapter traces the creation of the Canada–US border from the American Revolution until the beginning of the Civil War. It outlines the international agreements signed by European nations—the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of 1818, Anglo-Russian Treaty (1825), and the Oregon Treaty (1846)—which established British, American, and Russian territorial claims on paper. By comparing this administrative history of the border to the stories of Tom Mutceheu (Cree), Feather (Assiniboine-Soto), and Joe Louie (Coast Salish), the chapter emphasizes the diverse ways that Indigenous people and colonial powers conceptualized and enforced territorial divisions. Finally, it looks at how violence, dispute, and the boundary survey process shaped how both countries approached their national boundaries and their relationships with Indigenous people.
Blood and Bones
Authors: Hoy Benjamin
Published: February 2021

By 1874, Canada and the United States had surveyed land and placed boundary stones over 6,000 kilometers of territory. They had established a cohesive skeleton for the border in every major region except the Arctic. Drawing on government correspondence, annual reports, and paylists, chapter 7 rebuilds the bureaucratic footprint of the Canada–US border at the end of the nineteenth century. It maps the positions and operations of the North-West Mounted Police and American soldiers as well as customs, immigration, and Indian Affairs personnel. In doing so, it shows how the border diverged across the East Coast, Great Lakes, Prairies, West Coast, and Artic, as well as differentiating the US approach to its border with Canada and Mexico.
Empirical Cases
Authors: Gent Stephen E. , Crescenzi Mark J. C.
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses the selection of the case studies for the book: Iraq and the oil market, Russia and the natural gas market, and China and the rare earth elements market. These cases provide useful plausibility probes for the authors’ theory of market power politics. First, these cases involve competition in key commodity markets in which states could potentially have the opportunity and willingness to pursue a market power opportunity though territorial expansion. Second, since these states have had significant control over their firms in these commodity markets, one can isolate the mechanism by which market power motivations influence foreign policy decisions. Finally, these cases include incidents of both violence and strategic delay, which provides variation on the dependent variable.
China’s Limits to Growth
Authors: Drahos Peter
Published: February 2021

China’s rapid economic growth has taken it closer to the frontiers of ecological collapse. Evidence of the ecological limits of its coal-based economic growth model began to emerge in the 1980s. China’s model did deliver strong economic growth rates and the electrification of its economy. This model also delivered technology spillovers from multinationals, setting the scene for the emergence of a new economic model based more on innovation and environmental sustainability. This new model has started to appear. China’s innovation success threatens US hegemony. Intellectual property rights and trade wars are a proxy for US fears about losing its dominance of innovation and military technology. Successful innovation by China represents the best chance of avoiding the worst climate change scenarios.
India, the Janus Energy Sovereign
Authors: Drahos Peter
Published: February 2021

India is at an innovation crossroads in which it can choose between staying on its well-worn path of an incremental imitation of mature technologies developed elsewhere or becoming an innovator in the bio-digital energy paradigm. India has an incentive to do the latter because climate models suggest it and its region will be one of the most severely affected by climate change. India has launched the “Solar India” mission, but it has also opened its coal sector to private firms. India like China is undergoing a monumental urbanization. It could use its cities to urbanize innovation. India, with its successful high-tech experience in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and information technology, along with its large population of poor people, could combine high technology with the value of frugality.
Survival Governance
Authors: Drahos Peter
Published: February 2021

The success of the project of survival governance, which requires states to focus on the repair of ecosystems, depends on the success of China’s experimental cities and whether China can manage to develop core technologies in the face of opposition from the US national security state. The technologies that are central to the construction of the bio-digital energy paradigm are also the ones that matter to US military power. The United States is using regulatory mechanisms such as intellectual property and export controls to block or slow China’s acquisition of core technologies. The United States has already created a technological fork in global technology markets, making it more or less impossible for companies like Google to deal with Chinese companies like Huawei. Less clear is whether multinational capital will support this fork. It may choose to support the new circuits of accumulation that emerge as states embrace survival governance.
Harm
Authors: Sunstein Cass R.
Published: February 2021

A false statement might create risks to public health and safety. It might endanger the operation of the criminal justice system. It might make it difficult to run the tax system. How far should lawmakers and regulators, concerned about truth, go beyond libel? In the modern era, a pervasive concern is the dissemination of falsehoods about actual or potential public officials. Importantly, they might be positive, as, for example, in a statement that a particular candidate served with great distinction in the military, competed in the Olympics, performed heroic actions, or invented some technology. It is important here to focus on the question of harm; if the harm is great enough, regulation should be acceptable. Public officials should have considerable power to regulate deepfakes and doctored videos. They are also entitled to act to protect public health and safety, certainly in the context of lies, and if innocent falsehoods create sufficiently serious risks, to control such falsehoods as well.
Introduction
Authors: Vatter Miguel
Published: February 2021

This chapter situates Jewish political theology as a discourse developed in the 20th century, mainly by German Jewish thinkers. It sets out the basic differences between this analysis and the discourse on political theology developed by Carl Schmitt, centered on the need for absolute sovereignty to “restrain” disorder and revolutionary upheavals. The chapter argues that Jewish political theology offers an alternative conception of divine sovereignty and its implications for democracy and revolution. Jewish political theology is both republican and anarchic, attached to the idea of a higher law above human sovereignty and to the egalitarian ideal of a politics beyond domination. This chapter presents the two analytical-conceptual guiding-threads of the investigation. The first is concerned with Max Weber’s category of charismatic leadership and the problem of its functioning within a constitutional idea of democratic legitimacy. The second guiding-thread is concerned with the process of secularization. This chapter argues that Jewish political theology reconceives divine providence in order to criticize the assumption of human progress in and through history.
Hysterical Bias and Democratic Representations
Authors: Krzych Scott
Published: February 2021

This chapter offers a general overview of the short history of conservative political documentary and likewise offers a thorough explanation of the relation between political media and the psychoanalytic conception of hysteria and hysterical discourse. In addition to surveying key texts in the psychoanalytic canon concerning the etiology and reproduction of hysterical discourse, I argue in favor of distinguishing two distinct forms of psychic trauma: hysterical complaints (which are singular, contingent, and emergent) and hysterical discourse (which is self-perpetuating). In the case of conservative political media and rhetoric, hysterical discourse magnifies the affective trauma of political complaints for more cynical ends, as a means to forestall change and to keep the hysterical subject at a significant remove from its perceived competitors even as the hysteric’s discourse appears to engage in sustained dialogue.
Introduction
Authors: Boyd Christina L. , Nelson Michael J. , Ostrander Ian , Boldt Ethan D.
Published: February 2021

Scholars, politicians, and prosecutors themselves have repeatedly maintained that federal prosecutors have vast independence when carrying out their jobs. Despite this, we argue that federal prosecutors are constrained by the federal and local political environments in which they serve. U.S. Attorneys, the chief federal prosecutors for the 93 federal judicial districts around the country, are selected through a politically driven appointment process and operate within the purview of the Department of Justice, an executive branch agency. Federal prosecutors are led by the U.S. Attorney General, a presidential appointee and high-ranking member of the president’s cabinet. And U.S. Attorneys are invested members of their local community and are likely to be mindful of those preferences when making prosecutorial decisions. As a result, we should expect to find political influence at every stage of a U.S. Attorney’s service. The chapter closes with a preview of the full book.