bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International Negotiable Instruments in the Electronic Age
Authors: Geva Benjamin , Peari Sagi
Published: January 2021

This chapter assesses the application of our proposals to the era of digitalization, when negotiable instruments will take their electronic form. It outlines the various ‘electronification’ moves that have taken place within the traditional versions of negotiable instruments and considers the various international legislative frameworks that might be relevant to a digital version of negotiable instruments. Moreover, we contend that the suggested framework of choice-of-law rules should be attractive to the digital era of the instruments. The expected loss of the physical aspect of the instrument does not challenge the validity of our proposals and, in fact, enhances them. Indeed, ‘electronification’—that is, any elimination of physical processing and delivery—will enhance efficiency and speed. There is a possibility that it will also enhance security and reduce errors. Accordingly, assuming there is a business rationale for its continued use, there ought to be no doubt as to the desirability of bringing the negotiable instrument into the ambit of electronic banking.
The Agenda (1946)
Authors: Pace John P
Published: January 2021

This chapter examines the issues that the Commission on Human Rights took up in the decades following the drafting of the International Bill of Human Rights. The work of the Commission reflected international, political and social developments, largely propelled by a vital civil society. Thus, the period of decolonization brought the first issues to the agenda of the Commission, as did the Cold War and the emergence of the Non-aligned Movement between the 1950s and the mid-1970s, with the focus on racism and self-determination. This influenced the character of the Commission from that of a largely technical drafting body to a forum where situations were taken up. The Commission’s agenda thus widened in scope and with it, the challenges that are considered in these chapters. The challenges that emerged for the Commission related to the appreciation by states of their human rights obligations at the domestic level as a result of their becoming parties to international human rights law; and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights as an integral component of international human rights law, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations. These two challenges were to dominate the further evolution of the Great Enterprise for the rest of the existence of the Commission and that of the Human Rights Council after 2006.
Managing the Agenda
Authors: Pace John P
Published: January 2021

This chapter assesses the organizational and managerial underpinning of the work of the Commission on Human Rights. Managing the agenda was not a mere logistical exercise whereby a given set of issues was fitted into a determined breadth of space and time. It was also influenced by the prevailing international climate; different states and/or groups of states had different priorities. Inter-state (and often inter-regional) relations necessarily found their way into the chambers of the Commission. Within this complex process, three factors emerged that affected the management of the agenda: the ongoing emergence of new issues; the differences among states (or groups of states) as to their urgency, relevance to the International Bill of Human Rights and to their political priorities; and the effect that these differences have on the actual treatment of the human rights issues involved. The chapter then considers how the Commission took up the issues described in the previous chapters through a process of ‘coordination’, ‘programming’ and eventually ‘rationalization’, so that they became a part of the agenda.
The ‘Incubation’ of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1968–1992)
Authors: Pace John P
Published: January 2021

This chapter focuses on the ‘incubation’ of economic, social and cultural rights. The implementation of human rights presented challenges to the Commission on Human Rights from its first years of existence. It was the main reason invoked to separate civil and political rights from economic, social and cultural rights, and to have two Covenants instead of the unitary convention, as originally decided by the General Assembly. Once the two Covenants were adopted and opened for signature and ratification in 1966, the international community would face the real test of the implementation processes. Whereas the implementation of civil and political rights presented relatively little question, the implementation—or better still, ‘realization’—of economic, social and cultural rights, both in substance and in procedure, gave rise to much debate and took several years to reach the current level of understanding and acceptance. The formal focus on the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights was launched in 1968 when PE Nedbailo (Ukrainian SSR), outgoing Chairman of the Commission, proposed the inclusion of ‘Study of the question of the realization of the economic and social rights’ in the agenda of the twenty-fourth session. It was to remain on the agenda of the Commission for the rest of the Commission's existence, and thereafter on the agenda of the Human Rights Council.
The Emergence of Ad Hoc or Special Procedures (1966)
Authors: Pace John P
Published: January 2021

This chapter traces the origins of ad hoc or special procedures, and the evolution that led to one of the two main systems of implementation of international human rights norms—alongside the treaty system. Although the initial work on human rights had not taken up situations in specific countries, it was a matter of time until the Commission would find itself having to do so. The Commission added ‘the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms including policies of racial discrimination and segregation and of apartheid, in all countries’ to its agenda in 1966. The power to investigate was thoroughly discussed in 1966 and 1967. As the Commission added the study of violations of human rights as a standing item on its agenda, it came up with an interesting range of proposals, some of which served to enhance its role and responsibilities in the future. Following the International Conference on Human Rights in 1968, the Commission decided ‘to prepare model rules of procedure for ad hoc bodies of the United Nations entrusted with the study of particular situations alleged to reveal a consistent pattern of violations of human rights’. The chapter then describes the Commission’s action in respect of human rights situations in countries and thematic procedures and mandates.
The Great Enterprise Enters the Modern Era (1987–2005)
Authors: Pace John P
Published: January 2021

This chapter describes how a new era emerged in the evolution of the Great Enterprise starting in the 1990s as a consequence of the expansion in the number of conventions and of special procedures. These implied a closer need for monitoring in substance and with it, the outreach that was a necessary corollary. This era was marked by the creation of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights in 1987, the adoption of the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights in 1988, the decision in 1990 to convene the World Conference on Human Rights, and the establishment of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1993. It was also beginning of the ‘mainstreaming’ of human rights across the programmes and activities of the UN system, including the introduction of human rights to the work of the Security Council in 1994, and the outreach to business with the Global Compact in 1999. Indeed, the Global Compact on human rights, labour, and environment was in the wider context of the involvement of ‘relevant partners, in particular the private sector’ in UN activities.
The Great Enterprise Today (2006)
Authors: Pace John P
Published: January 2021

This chapter studies the arrival of the Human Rights Council. The idea of a Human Rights Council was raised in 1976, as the Great Enterprise entered a new phase. The documentation in 1976 on this issue is comprehensive, consisting of no less than five informative reports. In addition, the Commission on Human Rights had before it the analysis of the observations received from some Member States. They included an analysis of the deliberations at the Assembly that had taken place in November of 1975, which covered a range of topics, including ‘the possibility of transforming the Trusteeship Council into a Human Rights Council’. In 2005, the Secretary-General announced his plans to propose the establishment of a Human Rights Council to the Commission. A few months later, the World Summit decided on the establishment of a Human Rights Council. The Human Rights Council inaugurated its work with the adoption of two international human rights instruments, which had reached completion in the Commission on Human Rights: the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It also extended the mandate of the Working Group formed under the Commission to elaborate an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and of the Commission’s Working Group on the Right to Development.
A Guide to the CIETAC Arbitration Rules
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (‘CIETAC’) is the largest permanent arbitration centre in the world, with a fast-growing case load and rising international profile. This commentary on the CIETAC 2012 Arbitration Rules provides guidance on the rules, alongside practical and procedural recommendations from practitioners of unparalleled experience. The commentary is a rule-by-rule examination of the inception, interpretation and application of the new rules, which makes comparative reference to the rules of other institutions and considers all relevant case law and legislation. It groups the rules thematically according to the principle areas of practitioner interest, including chapters on: Jurisdiction and the Arbitration Agreement; Commencing the Arbitration; Formation and Challenges to the Arbitral Tribunal; Conduct of Proceedings; Awards; Summary Procedure; and Costs. The book chapters deal with the practical aspects of arbitrating in China, ensuring the book is a comprehensive reference work for practitioners in the field.
The CIETAC’s Jurisdiction
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

This chapter focuses on the CIETAC’s jurisdiction. Article 3.1 of the CIETAC Rules provides that the CIETAC accepts cases involving economic, trade, and other disputes of a contractual or non-contractual nature, based on an agreement of the parties. There are three types of cases accepted by the CIETAC: (1) international or foreign-related disputes; (2) disputes related to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and the Taiwan Region; and (3) domestic disputes. However, both the CIETAC and local arbitration commissions are prohibited by the PRC Arbitration Law from assuming jurisdiction over certain types of disputes. The chapter addresses these non-arbitrable matters under PRC law. It then traces the evolution of the CIETAC’s scope of jurisdiction. Lastly, the chapter assesses the jurisdiction of local arbitration commissions.
Arbitral Tribunal
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

This chapter highlights the arbitral tribunal. The right of parties to select arbitrators for arbitrating their disputes is probably the most important aspect of party autonomy in international arbitration. The chapter discusses: the duties of an arbitral tribunal (Article 24); the number of arbitrators (Article 25); the nomination and appointment of arbitrator (Articles 26 to 31); challenge to the arbitrator (Article 32); and the replacement of arbitrator (Article 33) in CIETAC arbitrations. Article 24 clarifies that arbitrators, particularly party-nominated arbitrators, shall not represent either party, shall handle the case independently, and treat both parties equally. In order to understand this provision it is necessary to look into the relevant statutory provisions in the PRC Arbitration Law and the CIETAC’s specific regulations on the ethical issues of arbitrators. The chapter concludes by discussing the ability of the majority of the arbitral tribunal to continue with the arbitration after the conclusion of the last hearing (Article 34).
Arbitral Awards
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

This chapter explores the various issues in relation to arbitral awards under the CIETAC Rules. These issues include: the types of awards (Articles 49 and 50); the time period for rendering an award (Article 48); the making of an award (Article 49); the scrutiny of a draft award (Article 51); the allocation of costs (Article 52); correction of an award (Article 53); an additional award (Article 54); and performance of an award (Article 55). Arbitral awards are written decisions of an arbitral tribunal dealing with substantive matters in dispute and which have been submitted to arbitration. Under the CIETAC Rules, the arbitral tribunal may make the following types of awards: (1) partial award and interlocutory award; (2) consent award; and (3) final award. As set forth in Article 48.1, a final award shall be rendered within six months from the date on which the arbitral tribunal was constituted. Under Article 51, arbitrators are required to submit a draft award to the CIETAC for review before finalizing the award. The purpose of this scrutiny mechanism is to ensure the quality of arbitral awards.
Arbitration Fees and Costs
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

This chapter discusses arbitration fees and costs, covering Article 82 and Appendix II of the CIETAC Rules. Article 82.1 empowers the CIETAC to charge arbitration fees and other actual costs incurred in the course of arbitration. The other additional and reasonable actual costs include arbitrators’ ‘special remuneration’; their travel and accommodation expenses incurred for handling the case; fees of stenographers; as well as the costs and expenses of experts, appraisers, or interpreters appointed by the arbitral tribunal. Appendix II of the CIETAC Rules sets forth three fee schedules with regard to arbitration fees. Under Schedule I, the CIETAC is to charge a ‘registration fee’ and an ‘arbitration fee’; under Schedule II, the CIETAC is to charge a ‘registration fee’ and a ‘handling fee’; and under Schedule III, the CIETAC is to charge a ‘registration fee’, an ‘administrative fee’, and ‘arbitrator’s fees and expenses’.
Summary Procedure
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

This chapter examines the Summary Procedure under the CIETAC Rules, which resembles most expedited procedures of other institutions in that the arbitral procedure is expedited for cases with a relatively small amount in dispute or where the parties agree to the application of the special procedure. While the Summary Procedure can be highly efficient, there is always a tension between the need for efficient and expeditious dispute resolution and the right of parties to present their cases, and failure to afford a party the right to present case could give rise to an application to set aside or resist recognition and enforcement of an award. Articles 56 to 64 of the CIETAC Rules are designed to maintain the balance between efficiency and parties’ right to be heard. These articles set forth special provisions of the Summary Procedure. These special provisions include: the application; notice of arbitration; formation of the arbitral tribunal; defence and counterclaim; conduct of hearing; notice of oral hearing; time period for rendering the award; change of procedure; and context reference.
Domestic Arbitration
Authors: Yu Jianlong , Cao Lijun
Published: January 2021

This chapter focuses on Chapter V of the current CIETAC Arbitration Rules, which sets forth several special provisions that are applicable to domestic arbitration only. These include provisions in regard to acceptance of case filing by the Claimant; formation of arbitral tribunal; pleadings (such as defence, counterclaim, and defence to counterclaim); notice of oral hearing; record of oral hearing; and time period for rendering arbitral award. Notably, the time periods in a domestic arbitration—such as those in regard to submission of pleadings, notice of oral hearing(s), and rendering of arbitral award(s)—are shorter than the corresponding time periods in a foreign-related arbitration, which is in line with the nature of domestic proceedings, as reflected in the convenience in communications and travel arrangements, the short time periods for service of process, as well as the fact that most domestic cases are conducted in the Chinese language only. Since the special provisions only apply to domestic arbitration cases, there is a need to distinguish between domestic cases and foreign-related cases. Foreign-related cases are cases involving ‘foreign-element(s)’.
The properties of clusters, and the orientation of magnetic fields relative to filaments, in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of colliding clouds
Authors: Dobbs C L , Wurster J
Published: January 2021

We have performed Smoothed Particle Magneto-Hydrodynamics (SPMHD) calculations of colliding clouds to investigate the formation of massive stellar clusters, adopting a timestep criterion to prevent large divergence errors. We find that magnetic fields do not impede the formation of young massive clusters (YMCs), and the development of high star formation rates, although we do see a strong dependence of our results on the direction of the magnetic field. If the field is initially perpendicular to the collision, and sufficiently strong, we find that star formation is delayed, and the morphology of the resulting clusters is significantly altered. We relate this to the large amplification of the field with this initial orientation. We also see that filaments formed with this configuration are less dense. When the field is parallel to the collision, there is much less amplification of the field, dense filaments form, and the formation of clusters is similar to the purely hydrodynamical case. Our simulations reproduce the observed tendency for magnetic fields to be aligned perpendicularly to dense filaments, and parallel to low density filaments. Overall our results are in broad agreement with past work in this area using grid codes.
Evidence for obscured broad [O iii] components in Type-2 AGN
Authors: Zhang Xue-Guang
Published: January 2021

In the manuscript, we report evidence on broad [O iii] components apparently obscured in Type-2 active galactic nuclei (AGN) under the framework of the unified model, after checking properties of broad [O iii] emissions in large samples of Type-1 and Type-2 AGN in Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR12. We can well confirm the statistically lower flux ratios of the broad to the core [O iii] components in Type-2 AGN than in Type-1 AGN, which can be naturally explained by stronger obscured broad [O iii] components by central dust torus in Type-2 AGN, unless the unified model for AGN was not appropriate to the narrow emission lines. The results provide further evidence to support broad [O iii] components coming from emission regions nearer to central BHs, and also indicate the core [O iii] component as the better indicator for central activities in Type-2 AGN, due to few effects of obscuration on the core [O iii] component. Considering the broad [O iii] components as signs of central outflows, the results provide evidence for strong central outflows being preferentially obscured in Type-2 AGN. Furthermore, the obscured broad [O iii] component can be applied to explain the different flux ratios of [O iii]λ5007Å/H β between Type-1 and Type-2 AGN in the BPT diagram.
How to constrain warm dark matter with the Lyman-α forest
Authors: Garzilli Antonella , Magalich Andrii , Ruchayskiy Oleg , Boyarsky Alexey
Published: January 2021

The flux power spectrum (FPS) of the high-resolution Lyman-α forest data exhibits suppression at small scales. The origin of this suppression can be due to long-sought warm dark matter (WDM) or to thermal effects, related to the largely unknown reionization history of the Universe. Previous works explored a specific class of reionization histories that exhibit sufficiently strong thermal suppression and leave little room for WDM interpretation. In this work, we choose a different class of reionization histories, fully compatible with available data on evolution of reionization, but much colder than the reionization histories used by previous authors in determining the nature of dark matter, thus leaving the broadest room for the WDM interpretation of the suppression in the FPS. We find that WDM thermal relics with masses below 1.9 keV (95 per cent CL) would produce a suppression at scales that are larger than observed maximum of the FPS, independently of assumptions about thermal effects. This WDM mass is significantly lower than previously claimed bounds, demonstrating the level of systematic uncertainty of the Lyman-α forest method, due to the previous modelling. We also discuss how this uncertainty may affect also data at large scales measured by eBOSS(Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey).
What to expect when using globular clusters as tracers of the total mass distribution in Milky Way-mass galaxies
Authors: Hughes Meghan E , Jethwa Prashin , Hilker Michael , van de Ven Glenn , Martig Marie , Pfeffer Joel L , Bastian Nate , Kruijssen J M Diederik , Trujillo-Gomez Sebastian , Reina-Campos Marta , Crain Robert A
Published: January 2021

Dynamical models allow us to connect the motion of a set of tracers to the underlying gravitational potential, and thus to the total (luminous and dark) matter distribution. They are particularly useful for understanding the mass and spatial distribution of dark matter (DM) in a galaxy. Globular clusters (GCs) are an ideal tracer population in dynamical models, since they are bright and can be found far out into the halo of galaxies. We aim to test how well Jeans-Anisotropic-MGE (JAM) models using GCs (positions and line-of-sight velocities) as tracers can constrain the mass and radial distribution of DM haloes. For this, we use the E-MOSAICS suite of 25 zoom-in simulations of L* galaxies. We find that the DM halo properties are reasonably well recovered by the JAM models. There is, however, a strong correlation between how well we recover the mass and the radial distribution of the DM and the number of GCs in the galaxy: the constraints get exponentially worse with fewer GCs, and at least 150 GCs are needed in order to guarantee that the JAM model will perform well. We find that while the data quality (uncertainty on the radial velocities) can be important, the number of GCs is the dominant factor in terms of the accuracy and precision of the measurements. This work shows promising results for these models to be used in extragalactic systems with a sample of more than 150 GCs.
Genomics Reveals the Origins of Historical Specimens
Authors: Cong Qian , Shen Jinhui , Zhang Jing , Li Wenlin , Kinch Lisa N , Calhoun John V , Warren Andrew D , Grishin Nick V
Published: January 2021

Centuries of zoological studies have amassed billions of specimens in collections worldwide. Genomics of these specimens promises to reinvigorate biodiversity research. However, because DNA degrades with age in historical specimens, it is a challenge to obtain genomic data for them and analyze degraded genomes. We developed experimental and computational protocols to overcome these challenges and applied our methods to resolve a series of long-standing controversies involving a group of butterflies. We deduced the geographical origins of several historical specimens of uncertain provenance that are at the heart of these debates. Here, genomics tackles one of the greatest problems in zoology: countless old specimens that serve as irreplaceable embodiments of species concepts cannot be confidently assigned to extant species or population due to the lack of diagnostic morphological features and clear documentation of the collection locality. The ability to determine where they were collected will resolve many on-going disputes. More broadly, we show the utility of applying genomics to historical museum specimens to delineate the boundaries of species and populations, and to hypothesize about genotypic determinants of phenotypic traits.
[68Ga]-DOTATATE PET/MRI as an adjunct imaging modality for radiation treatment planning of meningiomas
Authors: Mahase Sean S , Roth O’Brien Diana A , No Diana , Roytman Michelle , Skafida Myrto E , Lin Eaton , Karakatsanis Nicolas A , Osborne Joseph R , Brandmaier Andrew , Pannullo Susan C , Ramakrishna Rohan , Stieg Philip E , Knisely Jonathan P S , Ivanidze Jana
Published: January 2021

Background

Meningiomas express high levels of somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2). SSTR2-targeted PET imaging with [68Ga]-DOTATATE can aid with distinguishing residual meningioma from reactive changes in the postoperative setting. We present initial dosimetric analyses, acute events, and local control data utilizing [68Ga]-DOTATATE PET/MRI-assisted target delineation for prospectively-treated intermediate-risk meningiomas.

Methods

Twenty-nine patients underwent DOTATATE PET/MRI meningioma evaluation in 2019. Eight patients with 9 postoperative meningiomas met RTOG 0539 intermediate-risk criteria (recurrent WHO grade I, 1/9; WHO grade II, 8/9). Target volumes were created using DOTATATE PET/MRI to determine residual disease and received a nominal dose of 35.0 Gy over 5 fractions. For comparison, cases were recontoured and planned with MRI alone per RTOG 0539 guidelines. Mean and maximum equivalent 2 Gy doses were generated for target volumes and organs at risk (OAR) within 1 cm of the PTV and compared using Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test.

Results

DOTATATE PET/MRI-guided planning significantly reduced mean PTV (11.12 cm3 compared to 71.39 cm3 based on MRI alone, P < .05) and mean and max dose to the whole brain, optic nerves, and scalp. PET/MRI plans resulted in at least 50% reduction of mean and max doses to the lens, eyes, chiasm, cochlea, brainstem, and hippocampi. One patient experienced focal alopecia. There were no local recurrences at 6 months.

Conclusion

Incorporating DOTATATE-PET/MRI for postoperative target delineation in patients with intermediate-risk intracranial meningiomas results in PTV reduction and decreased OAR dose. Our findings warrant larger studies evaluating DOTATATE-PET/MRI in the radiotherapeutic planning of postoperative meningiomas.
Durable 5-year local control for resected brain metastases with early adjuvant SRS: the effect of timing on intended-field control
Authors: Bander Evan D , Yuan Melissa , Reiner Anne S , Panageas Katherine S , Ballangrud Åse M , Brennan Cameron W , Beal Kathryn , Tabar Viviane , Moss Nelson S
Published: January 2021

Background

Adjuvant stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) improves the local control of resected brain metastases (BrM). However, the dependency of long-term outcomes on SRS timing relative to surgery remains unclear.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of patients treated with metastasectomy-plus-adjuvant SRS at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) between 2013 and 2016 was conducted. Kaplan-Meier methodology was used to describe overall survival (OS) and cumulative incidence rates were estimated by type of recurrence, accounting for death as a competing event. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) and competing risks regression modeling assessed prognostic variables and associated events of interest.

Results

Two hundred and eighty-two patients with BrM had a median OS of 1.5 years (95% CI: 1.2-2.1) from adjuvant SRS with median follow-up of 49.8 months for survivors. Local surgical recurrence, other simultaneously SRS-irradiated site recurrence, and distant central nervous system (CNS) progression rates were 14.3% (95% CI: 10.1-18.5), 4.9% (95% CI: 2.3-7.5), and 47.5% (95% CI: 41.4-53.6) at 5 years, respectively. Median time-to-adjuvant SRS (TT-SRS) was 34 days (IQR: 27-39). TT-SRS was significantly associated with surgical site recurrence rate (P = 0.0008). SRS delivered within 1 month resulted in surgical site recurrence rate of 6.1% (95% CI: 1.3-10.9) at 1-year, compared to 9.2% (95% CI: 4.9-13.6) if delivered between 1 and 2 months, or 27.3% (95% CI: 0.0-55.5) if delivered >2 months after surgery. OS was significantly lower for patients with TT-SRS >~2 months. Postoperative length of stay, discharge to a rehabilitation facility, urgent care visits, and/or disease recurrence between surgery and adjuvant SRS associated with increased TT-SRS.

Conclusions

Adjuvant SRS provides durable local control. However, delays in initiation of postoperative SRS can decrease its efficacy.
1000 Wh L−1 lithium-ion batteries enabled by crosslink-shrunk tough carbon encapsulated silicon microparticle anodes
Authors: Chen Fanqi , Han Junwei , Kong Debin , Yuan Yifei , Xiao Jing , Wu Shichao , Tang Dai-Ming , Deng Yaqian , Lv Wei , Lu Jun , Kang Feiyu , Yang Quan-Hong
Published: January 2021

Microparticulate silicon (Si), normally shelled with carbons, features higher tap density and less interfacial side reactions compared to its nanosized counterpart, showing great potential to be applied as high-energy lithium-ion battery anodes. However, localized high stress generated during fabrication and particularly, under operating, could induce cracking of carbon shells and release pulverized nanoparticles, significantly deteriorating its electrochemical performance. Here we design a strong yet ductile carbon cage from an easily processing capillary shrinkage of graphene hydrogel followed by precise tailoring of inner voids. Such a structure, analog to the stable structure of plant cells, presents ‘imperfection-tolerance’ to volume variation of irregular Si microparticles, maintaining the electrode integrity over 1000 cycles with Coulombic efficiency over 99.5%. This design enables the use of a dense and thick (3 mAh cm–2) microparticulate Si anode with an ultra-high volumetric energy density of 1048 Wh L–1 achieved at pouch full-cell level coupled with a LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode.
Strength of Recommendation and Quality of Evidence for Recommendations in Current Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines
Authors: Miles Kaitlin E , Rodriguez Ryan , Gross Alan E , Kalil Andre C
Published: January 2021

Background

Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) is a systematic approach to grading strength of recommendation (SOR) and quality of evidence (QOE) for guideline recommendations. We aimed to assess the relationship between SOR and QOE in current Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines.

Methods

In this cross-sectional analysis, we analyzed the frequency of SOR-QOE pairings, including discordance (defined as strong SOR based on expert opinion, very low, or low QOE) for GRADEd recommendations in IDSA guidelines published since 2010. Data for each recommendation were extracted on SOR, QOE, the domain of disease management (one or more of diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and other categories), and relevance to drug or nondrug treatment.

Results

Seventeen eligible guidelines provided 1042 unique GRADEd recommendations (n = 237, 711, 76, and 73 pertaining to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and other domains, respectively; n = 574 and 137 pertaining to drug and nondrug treatment). Overall, the most common SOR was strong (71.8%; n = 748) and the most common QOE was low (48.6%; n = 506). Among all strong recommendations, 47.1% (n = 352) demonstrated discordance with QOE. By domain, strong recommendations were discordant in 36.6%, 51.4%, 29.3%, and 58.1% of recommendations pertaining to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and other domains, respectively. Similarly, 50.7% and 54.0% of strong recommendations related to drug and nondrug treatment were discordant, respectively. We identified 39.6% of discordant recommendations to be consistent with good practice statements, which are recommended to be labeled as such without formal GRADEd designations of SOR or QOE.

Conclusions

Among all IDSA guideline recommendations with strong SOR, approximately half were discordant with QOE, and this frequency varied across strata of domains of disease management.
Low Cycle Threshold Value in Xpert MTB/RIF Assay May Herald False Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance: A Study of Two Cases
Authors: Ngabonziza Jean Claude S , Decroo Tom , Maniliho Rodrigue , Habimana Yves M , Van Deun Armand , de Jong Bouke C
Published: January 2021

We report 2 cases for whom Xpert MTB/RIF falsely signaled rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis, based on unusually low cycle threshold and 3 of 5 probes missing. Other mycobacterial tests were negative. Further optimization of the Xpert MTB/RIF algorithm is warranted.
Anterior Petrosal [Kawase] Approach to Meckel's Cave Meningioma: 2-Dimensional Operative Video
Authors: Khan Nickalus R , Liounakos Jason I , Morcos Jacques J
Published: January 2021

Meningiomas arising from Dorello's canal
1-3
are a rare disease entity often resulting in an unclear diagnosis even at the time of surgery.
4,5
We present a case of a 63-yr-old man who presented with a sixth nerve palsy. He was found to have a lesion in the region of Meckel's cave on neuroimaging studies. Additionally, there were cutaneous and joint complaints that gave rise to a clinical possibility of sarcoidosis. The differential diagnosis also included meningioma or other inflammatory processes. The patient underwent a right-sided middle fossa approach and partial anterior petrosectomy (Kawase approach). Meckel's cave was opened, the tumor resected, and the petrosphenoid ligament (Gruber's) was identified. It was a meningioma. The case presentation, surgical anatomy, technique, and postoperative course and outcome are reviewed.

 The patient gave verbal consent for participating in the procedure and surgical video.
Superficial Temporal Artery to Middle Cerebral Artery Cranial Bypass for Nonmoyamoya Steno-Occlusive Disease in Patients Who Failed Optimal Medical Treatment: A Case Series
Authors: Haynes Joseph , Kronenburg Annick , Raz Eytan , Rostanski Sara , Yaghi Shadi , Ishida Koto , Shapiro Maksim , Nelson Peter Kim , Tanweer Omar , Langer David J , Riina Howard A , Eichel Roni , Nossek Erez
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

In the post-Carotid Occlusion Surgery Study (COSS) era, multiple reviews suggested subset groups of patients as potential candidates for superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass. Among them are patients with recurrent strokes despite optimal medical therapy. There is a paucity of data on the outcome of bypass in these specific patients.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the safety and efficacy of direct STA-MCA bypass in patients with nonmoyamoya, symptomatic steno-occlusive disease with impaired distal perfusion, who failed optimal medical management or endovascular treatment.

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed to identify patients with cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease who underwent bypass after symptomatic recurrent or rapidly progressive strokes, despite optimal conservative or endovascular treatment.

RESULTS

A total of 8 patients (mean age 60 ± 6 yr) underwent direct or combined direct/indirect STA-MCA bypass between 2016 and 2019. All anastomoses were patent. One bypass carried slow flow. There were no procedure-related permanent deficits. One patient developed seizures which were controlled by medications. A total of 7 out of 8 patients were stable or improved clinically at last follow-up (mean 27.3 ± 13.8 mo) without recurrent strokes. One patient did not recover from their presenting stroke, experienced severe bilateral strokes 4 mo postoperatively, and subsequently expired. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) improved in 6 patients (75%), remained stable in 1 patient (12.5%), and deteriorated in 1 (12.5%). Good long-term functional outcome was achieved in 5 patients (63%, mRS ≤ 2).

CONCLUSION

Patients with symptomatic, hypoperfused steno-occlusive disease who fail optimal medical or endovascular treatment may benefit from cerebral revascularization. Direct or combined STA-MCA bypass was safe and provided favorable outcomes in this small series.
Representing Russia's Orient
Authors: Issiyeva Adalyat
Published: January 2021

This book examines the musical ramifications of Russia’s nineteenth-century expansion to the east and south and explores the formation and development of Russian musical discourse on Russia’s own Orient. It traces the transition from music ethnography to art songs and discusses how various aspects of (music) ethnographies, folk song collections, music theories, and visual representations of Russia’s ethnic minorities, or inorodtsy, shaped Russian composers’ perception and musical representation of Russia’s oriental “others.” Situated on the periphery, minority peoples not only defined the geographical boundaries of the empire, its culture, and its music but also defined the boundaries of Russianness itself. Extensively illustrated with music examples, archival material, and images from long-forgotten Russian sources, this book investigates the historical, cultural, and musical elements that contributed to the formation and creation of Russia’s imperial identity. It delineates musical elements that have been adopted to characterize Russians’ own national hybridity. Three case studies—well-known leader of the Mighty Five Milii Balakirev, lesser known Alexander Aliab’ev, and the late-nineteenth-century composers affiliated with the Music-Ethnography Committee—demonstrate how and why, despite the overwhelming number of pejorative images and descriptions of inorodtsy, these composers decided to disregard their social and political differences and sometimes confused and combined diverse minorities’ identities with that of the Russian “self.” The analysis of the arrangements of folk songs of Russia’s eastern and southern minorities reveals the trajectory of the ways their music was treated, from denigration and “othering” to embracing peoples from all the provinces of the empire.
Aryanism and Asianism in the Quest for Russian Identity
Authors: Issiyeva Adalyat
Published: January 2021

In the late nineteenth century, the growing popularity of the Aryanist and Asianist (Vostochnik) movements attracted many members of Russia’s political and educated elite. This chapter outlines Russian music theoretical discourse on cultural affiliation with the Aryan race and reveals that there was a widespread agreement that in Russia Aryan or Asian culture was far more influential than that of Europe. Some Russian music critics argued that the Russian connection to the East could be traced in the modal or pentatonic structure of folk melodies, while others believed that Russian musical instruments were proof of Russia’s Asian heritage. Because of growing nationalism and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), discourses of Russian cultural superiority proliferated at the turn of the century. Although music writings did not overtly claim Russia’s cultural preeminence, they suggested it through visual representations of Asian and Russian musicians, and discussion of the repertoire of Russian instruments.
Milii Balakirev, His Orient, and the Mighty Five
Authors: Issiyeva Adalyat
Published: January 2021

This chapter focuses on Milii Balakirev’s role in the formation of the Russian musical Orient. It discusses how the leader of the Mighty Five and other members of his circle approached and incorporated folk melodies of Russia’s inorodtsy into their music and how some elements previously associated with the East became an inherent part of Russian musical identity. Multiple examples of musical appropriation or syncretism of Russian and eastern styles demonstrate this transition. Deep respect for the peoples living in the Caucasus, combined with Balakirev’s desire to learn about their culture and music, not only had a stimulating effect on his originality but also inspired a large number of works written by the members of his circle, which transcended the “otherness.” Toward the end of his life, Balakirev’s approach to the Orient became more complex: through his settings of oriental poems he criticized Russia’s official policies in the East and expressed his disapproval of the empire’s expansionist wars in the Caucasus.
Introduction
Authors: Levin Susan B.
Published: January 2021

Optimally, would decisions be reached by reason alone? Would existence be better if we felt only pleasure, having excised the capacity to experience anything deemed unpleasant? Are key societal challenges we face rooted in human biology, to which, therefore, we should look for solutions? Such questions draw our attention to contending values and aspirations in today’s debate over human enhancement. The stakes of how this debate turns out are highest for transhumanism, whose proponents urge humanity’s self-transcendence via science and technology. In this introduction, Susan B. Levin states that Posthuman Bliss? The Failed Promise of Transhumanism will challenge transhumanists’ views of the mind, brain, ethics, liberal democracy, knowledge, and reality in a thoroughgoing and integrated way. Against the backdrop of this critique, the author will defend a perspective on living well that incorporates insights from Aristotle’s virtue ethics but is adapted to the ideas and promise of liberal democracy.
Evaluating the Debate Thus Far over Moral Bioenhancement
Authors: Levin Susan B.
Published: January 2021

To avoid “ultimate harm,” or human extinction, Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu maintain that a species-wide, biological upgrade of human morality is required. To support their claim that we already possess biological kernels of their featured, prosocial attitudes, they rely implausibly on evolutionary psychology. Further, they support “neuroessentialism” and misconceive what genetic manipulation could deliver regarding complex phenotypic traits. Alongside their talk of augmenting prosocial attitudes, Persson and Savulescu stress that, to forestall ultimate harm, what we ultimately require is the elimination of antisocial acts. Though presented as two interpretive lenses on one endeavor, their prosocial and antisocial focuses represent different agendas for our moral alteration. Further, from their utilitarian standpoint, if making antisocial acts impossible to perform were a streamlined route to avoiding extinction, then this is what we should do. Persson and Savulescu’s antisocial focus, in particular, reflects a willingness to forgo what makes human existence worth conducting.
Policy and Teaching
Authors: Benedict Cathy
Published: January 2021

This chapter places all the ideas discussed throughout the book in the context of policy and presents a new way of looking at policy as intrinsically connected to the work of teachers. The chapter helps the teacher see the differences between policy as a daily practice in the school and community context and polices as rules and regulations organized around policy texts. Thus, it offers a vision that links policy to pedagogical process articulating this in terms of conscientization, participation, and activism.
Women Speakers and Interlocutors
Authors: Ibrahim Celene
Published: January 2021

This chapter explores the female voice in the Qur’an by examining dialogic exchanges involving divine or angelic speech directed toward women and girls. It discusses patterns of female speech throughout the Qur’an. For instance, several female figures articulate their thoughts clearly and effectively in difficult situations; Moses’s sister, Moses’s foster mother, and the Queen of Sheba all speak effectively in trying circumstances. Other women are expressive and then also contemplative. Mary, who is otherwise depicted as conversing with angels and crying out with birth pangs, is silent in relation to defending her honor against charges of licentiousness; her vow of silence is a thematic echo of the silence of her guardian Zachariah. With detailed intra-textual analysis, the speech of pious women is compared to that of pious men. Attention is also given to how affective dimensions of heightened female emotion may impact the experience of a Qur’anic listener, reader, or reciter.
Women Exemplars for an Emerging Polity
Authors: Ibrahim Celene
Published: January 2021

This chapter analyzes how female figures relate to events in the nascent Muslim polity—in its emerging theological discourses, its normative social practices, and its encounters with other religiously identified polities. Moving roughly chronologically through the revelation of Qur’anic surahs, the chapter focuses on narratives in which women are involved in the establishment of communal moral and legal precedents, such as in the case of a slander against a righteous woman. This heuristic brings to light ways in which female personalities serve as exemplars of vice and virtue against the backdrop of a religious polity in formation. The chapter argues that the Qur’an regularly depicts female moral and spiritual excellence and is often proactively engaged with affairs of direct importance for girls and women. At the same time, certain female figures exercise their agency only to their own detriment. The chapter highlights how narratives involving biblical figures feature prominently in the Qur’an during a period in which the Prophet Muḥammad was attempting to forge political alliances grounded in a sense of theological kinship. In this context, the Qur’an depicts the women of the Prophet Muḥammad’s family as continuing a legacy of exemplary biblical women figures.
Neural Reuse and Recycling
Authors: Zerilli John
Published: January 2021

“Neural reuse” refers to the exaptation of established and relatively fixed neural circuits without loss of original function/use. Reuse arises over the course of normal development and evolution. The evidence of this phenomenon speaks most loudly against the idea of strict domain-specificity. It seems that no area of the brain is exempt from redeployment, with areas of the brain traditionally considered to be among the most domain-specific (such as sensory areas) also contributing their computational/structural resources to other domains, including those involving language. The evidence supporting reuse takes many forms, among them evolutionary and developmental considerations, computational considerations, and the neuroimaging and biobehavioral literature.
Brahms in the Priesthood of Art
Authors: McManus Laurie
Published: January 2021

Brahms in the Priesthood of Art: Gender and Art Religion in the Nineteenth-Century German Musical Imagination explores the intersection of gender, art religion (Kunstreligion), and other aesthetic currents in Brahms reception of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular, it focuses on the theme of the self-sacrificing musician devoted to his art, or “priest of music,” with its quasi-mystical and German Romantic implications of purity seemingly at odds with the lived reality of Brahms’s bourgeois existence. While such German Romantic notions of art religion informed the thinking on musical purity and performance, after the failed socio-political revolutions of 1848/49, and in the face of scientific developments, the very concept of musical priesthood was questioned as outmoded. Furthermore, its essential gender ambiguity, accommodating such performing mothers as Clara Schumann and Amalie Joachim, could explain why Brahms never married while leaving the composer open to speculation about his health and masculinity. Supportive critics combined elements of masculine and feminine values with a muddled rhetoric of prophets, messiahs, martyrs, and other art-religious stereotypes to account for the special status of Brahms and his circle. Detractors tended to locate these stereotypes in more modern, fin-de-siècle psychological frameworks that scrutinized the composer’s physical and mental well-being. In analyzing these receptions side by side, this book revises the accepted image of Brahms, recovering lost ambiguities in his reception. It resituates him not only in a romanticized priesthood of art but also within the cultural and gendered discourses overlooked by the absolute music paradigm.