bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cover-time Gumbel fluctuations in finite-range, symmetric, irreducible random walks on torus
Authors: Han X , Zhang Y , Ge H
Published: June 2024

In this paper, we provide the mathematical foundation for an explicit and universal feature of cover time for a large class of random work processes, which was previously observed by Chupeau et al (2015 Nat. Phys.
11 844–7). Specifically, we rigorously establish that the fluctuations of the cover time, normalized by the mean first passage time, follow a Gumbel distribution, for finite-range, symmetric, irreducible random walks on a torus of dimension three or higher. The result contributes to a better understanding of cover-time behavior in random search processes, especially on the efficiency of exhaustive searches. Our approach builds upon the work of Belius (2013 Probab. Theory Relat. Fields
157 635–89) on cover times for simple random walks, leveraging a strong coupling between the random walk and random interlacements.
Nanocomposites in agriculture as pesticides for plant protection: a review
Authors: Saberi Riseh Roohallah , Vatankhah Masoumeh , Hassanisaadi Mohadeseh , Tamanadar Elahe , Skorik Yury
Published: June 2024

Plant pests pose a significant threat to agricultural crops, requiring the use of pesticides for effective and large-scale production. With increasing concerns about environmental and health risks, as well as potential resistance to synthetic pesticides, there is a growing need for sustainable and effective alternatives. Nanocomposites (NCs) offer a promising solution due to their unique properties such as biodegradability, affordability and accessibility. The development of novel NCs improves the management of plant pests, mitigating the emergence of resistant and persistent pests and the loss of crop production due to the damage they cause. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the relevant literature in this field, focusing on the applications and modes of action of NC-based pesticides in agriculture. By synthesising the available information, this paper provides valuable insights into the value and potential of NCs in crop protection. The results of this review are intended to inform researchers and agricultural practitioners about the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of NC-based pesticides, ultimately facilitating the development of sustainable and efficient crop pest management strategies.
Vitis heyneana extract mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles with high bioactive and colorimetric sensing properties
Authors: Quynh Pham Huong , Ninh Tran Thi Thuy , Tinh Nguyen Quang , Van Thu Nguyen , Van Thanh Dang , Nguyen Duc Dung , Thanh Hai Cao , Tam Khieu Thi
Published: June 2024

The green synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles using plant extracts has been an important strategy to mitigate the uses of hazardous chemicals and thus reduce toxic by-products. We herein report for the first time the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) utilizing Vitis heyneana fruit peel as a key agent. Specifically, oleanolic acid was found in the extract and its crucial role as both reducing and stabilizing agent was experimentally evidenced. The as-synthesized AgNPs were morphologically and structurally characterized to possess quasi-spherical shapes with an average diameter of 11 nm and exhibit polycrystalline nature. Bioactive studies indicated that as-synthesized AgNPs revealed potent antimicrobial activities against Lactobaccillus plantarum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Aspergillus flavus, demonstrating an IC50 value of 20.00 ± 2.05 μg ml−1 and a MIC value of 32 ± 0.03 μg ml−1 (against Pseudomonas aeruginosa); the NPs also possessed superior antioxidant activities with an IC50 value of 23.22 ± 1.25 μg ml−1 compared to vitamin C (18.23 ± 0.15 μg ml−1). The AgNPs further revealed capabilities of colorimetrically detecting Hg2+ ions with a limit of detection of 0.048 μM and a limit of quantitation of 0.16 μM. These findings therefore suggest promising uses of the phytosynthesized AgNPs in nanomedicine and sensing technology.
Unveiling the combined influence of higher molecular weight polyethylene glycol and superplasticizer chemistry on fresh, mechanical, and microstructural performance of internally cured mortar
Authors: V Kastro Kiran , Sathyan Dhanya
Published: June 2024

The limitations of conventional water curing in tall structures and arid regions necessitate alternative hydration strategies. Use of internal curing agents in high strength concrete can effectively mitigate evaporation and promote enhanced cement hydration in the concrete. However, because the superplasticizer is a required component in high strength concrete, compatibility of the internal curing agent with superplasticizer needs to be investigated. This study investigates the efficacy of internal curing (IC) using polyethylene glycols (PEGs)–PEG 4000 and PEG 6000, in conjunction with superplasticizer from two different families, polycarboxylate ether (PCE) and sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde (SNF) in mortar mixes. A total of ten mixes were prepared for which samples from each mix were exposed to standard water curing, room curing, and internal curing. The research outcomes reveal a novel application of PEG 6000 and PEG 4000 in conjunction with PCE-based superplasticizers at optimized dosages, presenting a promising avenue for direct implementation in mortar mixes to meet both mechanical and durability prerequisites. Optimized IC mortar mixes displayed comparable or superior mechanical and durability performance to conventionally cured counterparts. This study demonstrates the potential of PEG 6000-PCE combinations as IC agents for improved fresh and hardened properties, offering a viable alternative for challenging construction environments. Further research is warranted to explore the long-term performance and economic feasibility of IC mortars in large-scale projects.
Intrafractional motion and dosimetric analysis in prostate stereotactic body radiation therapy with auto beam hold technique
Authors: Cattell Renee F , Hsia An Ting , Kim Jinkoo , Qian Xin , Lu Siming , Slade Alexander , Mani Kartik , Ryu Samuel , Xu Zhigang
Published: June 2024

Objective: To summarize our institutional prostate stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) experience using auto beam hold (ABH) technique for intrafractional prostate motion and assess ABH tolerance of 10-millimeter (mm) diameter. Approach: Thirty-two patients (160 fractions) treated using ABH technique between 01/2018 and 03/2021 were analyzed. During treatment, kV images were acquired every 20-degree gantry rotation to visualize 3–4 gold fiducials within prostate to track target motion. If the fiducial center fell outside the tolerance circle (diameter = 10 mm), beam was automatically turned off for reimaging and repositioning. Number of beam holds and couch translational movement magnitudes were recorded. Dosimetric differences from intrafractional motion were calculated by shifting planned isocenter. Main Results: Couch movement magnitude (mean ± SD) in vertical, longitudinal and lateral directions were −0.7 ± 2.5, 1.4 ± 2.9 and −0.1 ± 0.9 mm, respectively. For most fractions (77.5%), no correction was necessary. Number of fractions requiring one, two, or three corrections were 15.6%, 5.6% and 1.3%, respectively. Of the 49 corrections, couch shifts greater than 3 mm were seen primarily in the vertical (31%) and longitudinal (39%) directions; corresponding couch shifts greater than 5 mm occurred in 2% and 6% of cases. Dosimetrically, 100% coverage decreased less than 2% for clinical target volume (CTV) (−1 ± 2%) and less than 10% for PTV (−10 ± 6%). Dose to bladder, bowel and urethra tended to increase (Bladder: ΔD10%:184 ± 466 cGy, ΔD40%:139 ± 241 cGy, Bowel: ΔD1 cm3:54 ± 129 cGy; ΔD5 cm3:44 ± 116 cGy, Urethra: ΔD0.03 cm3:1 ± 1%). Doses to the rectum tended to decrease (Rectum: ΔD1 cm3:−206 ± 564 cGy, ΔD10%:−97 ± 426 cGy; ΔD20%:−50 ± 251 cGy). Significance: With the transition from conventionally fractionated intensity modulated radiation therapy to SBRT for localized prostate cancer treatment, it is imperative to ensure that dose delivery is spatially accurate for appropriate coverage to target volumes and limiting dose to surrounding organs. Intrafractional motion monitoring can be achieved using triggered imaging to image fiducial markers and ABH to allow for reimaging and repositioning for excessive motion.
KRASFormer: a fully vision transformer-based framework for predicting KRAS gene mutations in histopathological images of colorectal cancer
Authors: Singh Vivek Kumar , Makhlouf Yasmine , Sarker Md Mostafa Kamal , Craig Stephanie , Baena Juvenal , Greene Christine , Mason Lee , James Jacqueline A , Salto-Tellez Manuel , O’Reilly Paul , Maxwell Perry
Published: June 2024

Detecting the Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Virus (KRAS) gene mutation is significant for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The KRAS gene encodes a protein involved in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway, and mutations in this gene can negatively impact the use of monoclonal antibodies in anti-EGFR therapy and affect treatment decisions. Currently, commonly used methods like next-generation sequencing (NGS) identify KRAS mutations but are expensive, time-consuming, and may not be suitable for every cancer patient sample. To address these challenges, we have developed KRASFormer, a novel framework that predicts KRAS gene mutations from Haematoxylin and Eosin (H & E) stained WSIs that are widely available for most CRC patients. KRASFormer consists of two stages: the first stage filters out non-tumor regions and selects only tumour cells using a quality screening mechanism, and the second stage predicts the KRAS gene either wildtype’ or mutant’ using a Vision Transformer-based XCiT method. The XCiT employs cross-covariance attention to capture clinically meaningful long-range representations of textural patterns in tumour tissue and KRAS mutant cells. We evaluated the performance of the first stage using an independent CRC-5000 dataset, and the second stage included both The Cancer Genome Atlas colon and rectal cancer (TCGA-CRC-DX) and in-house cohorts. The results of our experiments showed that the XCiT outperformed existing state-of-the-art methods, achieving AUCs for ROC curves of 0.691 and 0.653 on TCGA-CRC-DX and in-house datasets, respectively. Our findings emphasize three key consequences: the potential of using H & E-stained tissue slide images for predicting KRAS gene mutations as a cost-effective and time-efficient means for guiding treatment choice with CRC patients; the increase in performance metrics of a Transformer-based model; and the value of the collaboration between pathologists and data scientists in deriving a morphologically meaningful model.
Flexible, self-healing, and degradable polymeric dielectrics cross-linked through metal–ligand for resistive memory device
Authors: Chang Yu-Chi , Liang Yi-Yun , Liu Hao-Jung
Published: June 2024

The ability to self-heal is a crucial feature in nature, where living organisms can repair themselves when subjected to minor injuries. With an increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability, the concept of biomimetic self-healing polymeric materials has emerged as a prominent trend, promising to significantly extend the lifespan and reliability of products. Studies have shown that one-third of proteins in living organisms require metal cofactors to function properly. It is known that protein-metal interactions can enhance the performance of certain biomaterials, and different choices of metals and ligands can create diverse material properties, influencing characteristics such as hardness, toughness, adhesion, and self-healing abilities. Gelatin is a natural polymer derived from the hydrolysis of collagen, and its unique amino acid structure has led to a wide range of applications. In this research, by introducing aluminum ions that form metal coordination complexes with the carboxyl groups in gelatin, an elastic network with self-healing properties was constructed. This gelatin-based material was utilized as an insulating layer in resistive switching devices. Furthermore, by employing a gelatin substrate of the same composition, the device demonstrated strong interfacial adhesion. The device based on the self-healing gelatin film exhibited excellent electrical performance and mechanical properties. Even after self-healing, it maintained a high ON/OFF ratio of up to 105 and a concentrated distribution of switching parameters. Supported by compelling physical and electrical evidence, this study showcases significant development opportunities for biomimetic materials in green electronic devices.
Acoustically transparent alumina-based cranial implants enhance ultrasound transmission through a combined mechano-acoustic resonant effect
Authors: Gutierrez Mario Ibrahin , Sellappan Pathikumar , Penilla Elias H , Poblete-Naredo Irais , Vera Arturo , Leija Lorenzo , Garay Javier E
Published: June 2024

Therapeutic ultrasound for brain stimulation has increased in the last years. This energy has shown promising results for treating Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injury, among other conditions. However, the application of ultrasound in the brain should trespass a natural but highly attenuating and distorting barrier, the cranium. Implantable ceramic materials can be used to replace part of the cranium as an alternate method to enhance ultrasound transmission. In this work, it is presented the acoustic characterization of alumina ceramic disks that can be employed as cranial implants for acoustic windows-to-the-brain. Alumina samples were prepared using current-activated pressure-assisted densification and were acoustically characterized. Acoustic impedance and attenuation of the samples were determined for different porosities. Additionally, measured and modeled acoustic fields are presented and analyzed in terms of the total ultrasound transmitted through the ceramics. Results indicate a resonant behavior in the alumina disks when the thickness corresponds to a half-wavelength of ultrasound; this resonance permits a total of 95.4% of ultrasound transmission; for thicknesses out of the resonant zone, transmission is 53.0%. Alumina proves to be an excellent medium for ultrasound transmission that, in conjunction with its mechanical and optical properties, can be useful for cranium replacement in mixed opto-acoustic applications.
Introduction of novel method of cyclic self-heating for the experimental quantification of the efficiency of caloric materials shown for LaFe11,4Mn0,35Si1,26Hx
Authors: Schipper Jan , Melchin Stefan , Metzdorf Julius , Bach David , Fehrenbach Miriam , Löwe Konrad , Vieyra Hugo , Kühnemann Frank , Wöllenstein Jürgen , Bartholomé Kilian
Published: June 2024

Hysteresis and the associated production of dissipative heat during first order phase transitions are often major contributors to thermodynamic losses in caloric heat pumps. The figure of merit (FOM), defined as the ratio of adiabatic temperature change and the thermal hysteresis of the caloric material, quantifies these losses, and can also be used to calculate the maximum potential efficiency of a caloric material in a thermodynamic cycle. This paper presents a novel and simple method to determine the heat loss and thus the FOM can be determined from self-heating of the caloric material during repeated field cycling. As this method mainly requires temperature readings and the ability to cycle the caloric material in a field, most test setups that directly measure the adiabatic temperature change should already be able to perform dissipative heat measurements with this technique. With the presented method, we were able to determine the efficiency of a commercial LaFeSiMnH-sample with a high degree of accuracy. A maximum FOM of

37
±
1

was determined for the selected LaFeSiMnH-sample. In an ideal cascaded magneto caloric system, this corresponds to a system efficiency of 90%, with an ideal heat regeneration this could theoretically even be increased to 97%.
Estimating hydrodynamic performances of the designed leisure boats: a study considering hull shape and dimension variations
Authors: Ihsanudin Wahid Nur , Prabowo Aditya Rio , Muhayat Nurul , Adiputra Ristiyanto , Bahatmaka Aldias , Baek Seung Jun
Published: June 2024

Abundant marine natural resources make Indonesia have potential in the field of marine tourism. Karimunjawa is one of the regions that still relies on marine tourism as the main sector in supporting the economy. Unfortunately, the existing modes of marine tourism transportation are dominated by traditional ships that have low performance, safety, and comfort. Therefore, infrastructure development is needed by developing a leisure boat design that has stability and good ship movement so that tourists are comfortable and safe on the trip. This study focuses on optimizing the hydrodynamic characteristics of leisure boats with variations in hull shape and hull dimensions adjusted to the characteristics of waters in Karimunjawa. The research was conducted by designing and analyzing 16 variations of hull models based on 5 reference ships. The regression approach is carried out on the dimensions of the reference ship to obtain variations in ship dimensions, then variations in hull shape include deep v, shallow v, flat bottom and round bottom. Each model variation is tested for resistance, stability, and seakeeping to determine the hydrodynamic performance of each model. Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) calculations are carried out afterwards to get the best tourist hull design. Then a sensitivity analysis was carried out on each variation to determine the influence of variations in dimensions and hull shape. The results showed the Deep V D model as the best model based on MADM calculations and hull shape variations had a significant influence on the hydrodynamic performance of the ship. It is hoped that this model can help the development of safe and comfortable tourist boats in accordance with the characteristics of the waters in Karimunjawa.
A novel programmable gain control low noise amplifier (PGCLNA) design for automatic gain control loop in BLE applications
Authors: Neeraja Pasupuleti , Khan Md Sameeulla
Published: June 2024

Bluetooth low energy (BLE) is a widely used short-range communication protocol and BLE receivers frequently encounter transient high-power RF (radio frequency) signals from antennas, leading to receiver saturation. To address this issue, this work proposes a 2.4 GHz programmable gain control low-noise amplifier (PGCLNA), which is a key element in an automatic gain control (AGC) system for BLE receiver applications. The proposed PGCLNA achieves discrete levels of gain using the g

m
-boosting technique by splitting the negative feedback. The proposed circuit is simulated in UMC 180 nm technology and the maximum gain achieved is 41.4 dB, with a step decrease of 15 dB in discrete levels. The gain variations do not degrade the performance of S11, which is always less than -16 dB. The noise figure (NF) is always minimum of 5.5 dB and in high gain mode, the minimum value of NF is 1.82 dB. The third-order intercept point (IIP3) is −7.621 dBm in the best circumstances and always remains above −10.69 dBm. These results are achieved by utilising 5.4 mW power at 1.8 V of supply voltage. The circuit occupies an area of 732 μm × 771 μm. The proposed PGCLNA design offers a solution to accommodate a wide range of input signals in BLE receivers, excellent gain control, low noise and robust performance characteristics, making it an essential component in an AGC system for BLE receiver applications.
Advancing efficiency: comprehensive strategies for minimizing optical and electrical losses in group III-V compound tandem solar cells for future photovoltaic technology
Authors: Soley Swati S , Verma Shrikant , Khatri Narendra , Pokhriyal Sumit
Published: June 2024

Global energy consumption is rising, and fossil resources are dwindling, driving demand for clean, affordable energy. Solar power is the most promising alternative energy source and can meet future energy needs. In terrestrial photovoltaics, low-cost Silicon solar cells dominate. However, as the single junction silicon solar cells are approaching their highest achievable efficiency of 30%, high-efficiency, ‘group III-V Compound’ semiconductor tandem solar cells are being considered as an alternative energy source. The absorption capacity of the wide range of solar radiation photons enables them to achieve high efficiency. However, further improvement in efficiency is constrained due to the various loss mechanisms that occur during the physical process of converting light to electrical energy in ‘group III-V compound’ tandem solar cells. Extensive research is being conducted to develop solution approaches to minimize the loss mechanisms in order to improve efficiency. Although many published review articles have studied the research progress of ‘group III-V compound’ solar cells based on fabrication techniques, applications, status, and challenges, there is no article mentioning a comprehensive and comparative study of strategies employed by researchers to enhance efficiency in ‘group III-V compounds’ tandem solar cells considering loss mechanisms. The present study focuses on discussing the fundamental losses in ‘group III-V compounds’ tandem solar cells and various strategies employed by researchers to reduce optical and electrical losses to improve the efficiency of these devices so that they may be employed in terrestrial applications.
Biodiversity on the line: life cycle impact assessment of power lines on birds and mammals in Norway
Authors: Gilad Dafna , Borgelt Jan , May Roel , Verones Francesca
Published: June 2024

The global shift towards renewable energy plays an important role in fighting climate change. To facilitate the global growth of renewable energy production, the expansion of the electric grid becomes inevitable. Yet further construction of power lines poses a risk to biodiversity. Power lines traverse natural habitats and can lead to habitat conversion, fragmentation, and loss. Moreover, due to collisions and electrocutions, power lines kill hundreds of millions of birds each year. These impacts, however, have so far not been incorporated into decision-making. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely used framework to compare environmental impacts and support decision-makers in planning and promoting sustainable strategies. We adapted existing life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models to quantify the three main impacts of power lines on biodiversity: collision, electrocution, and habitat conversion and fragmentation. Our models incorporated species-area and species-habitat relationships to assess the effects of power lines on the diversity of birds and non-flying mammals in Norway, as the country is currently committed to reducing its emissions by expanding its renewable energy capacity. Overall, habitat conversion and fragmentation had the highest impact across the three impact categories, particularly affecting mammal richness. Furthermore, distribution lines often affected species richness more than transmission lines. The effect of the three impact pathways varied among different species groups, highlighting the vulnerability of certain species to habitat change, collision, and electrocution. Integrating LCIA models that quantify the impacts of power lines on biodiversity into LCA can support decision-makers with tools to promote the development of the electric grid without overlooking its effect on species richness. In addition, our models set the stage for a comprehensive assessment of the effects of electricity generation and transmission on biodiversity.
Relational Justice
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

What makes private law private? What is its domain? What are the values it promotes? Relational Justice: A Theory of Private Law addresses these foundational questions in a robust analysis of the key doctrines of private law, including torts, contracts, and restitution. Discarding the vision of private law as a bastion of negative duties of non-interference or efficiency maximization, this book reframes private law in terms of what it calls “relational justice”—reciprocal respect for self-determination and substantive equality. By vindicating self-determination, private law can forge the horizontal interactions vital to the ability to shape and implement a conception of the good life. By structuring these interactions in terms requiring parties to respect one another for who they are, private law can cast them as interactions between equals. In the book’s first part, the authors set out a normative position they term relational justice, whereby the rules of private law abide by the fundamental maxim of reciprocal respect for self-determination and substantive equality. The second part of the book applies this framework to an analysis of familiar private law doctrinal areas, followed by a third part charting newer areas including workplace safety, poverty, discrimination, and implications for international law. Throughout, the authors show how relational justice theory provides a normative vocabulary for evaluating core features of existing private law, while suggesting directions for necessary or desirable reforms.
Private Law
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

This chapter argues that civil recourse, though often instrumental and at times even intrinsically valuable to private law, must not serve as its defining characteristic. Private law governs our horizontal, interpersonal interactions in a range of social and economic settings. In sum, it is the law of human relations. Private law meets people while embedded in their various interaction settings, implying they must not be viewed as dissociated individuals. It does not treat individuals as executive agents, nor does it derive their reciprocal obligations from civic duties they may owe to other members of their political communities. We participate in these interpersonal interactions as real individuals with specific life plans, distinctive personhoods, and special circumstances, not as abstract beings. This condition of interdependence means that many of our valuable projects are joint projects, and in pursuing these plans, we may often become vulnerable to or interfere with the legitimate interests of others, both within and without the privity of the joint enterprise.
Justice in Private Law
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

Private law invites a conception of interpersonal justice that requires people to treat one another as self-determining and substantively equal. This chapter undertakes the task of articulating the systemic constraints on—and thus guidelines for—translating this maxim of relational justice into the currency of law. It develops four main lessons: (1) A liberal legal order should abide by the rule of law that requires legal prescriptions to be relatively clear, minimizing recourse to individualized knowledge and radical ad hoc judgments. (2) Many legal subjects—especially well-informed and sophisticated ones—may take law’s prescriptions as incentives rather than norms, and the architects of private law must be attentive to these potential responses. (3) The mutual dependence of private and public law implies that public concerns may, at times, override private law or recruit a private law framework to serve a collective goal. Given that the state’s performance of its public law duties impacts people’s circumstances, it may also affect the content of their responsibilities. (4) The realization that the connection between private law and adjudication is contingent implies that the legal articulation of relational justice must pay heed to the institutional and procedural possibilities at hand.
Nonfeasance Liability
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

This chapter argues that the rule of nonfeasance liability is best explained as reflecting institutional rather than moral considerations. At the foundational level, tort law is—and should be—hostile to the notion of relieving private persons of easy rescue duties, but in many situations, this hostility does not surface due to institutional limitations. It is found, however, in the form of exceptions to the rule whenever these limitations are eliminated or satisfactorily contained. This chapter shows that this account offers a better explanation than its rivals of the existing doctrine and provides normative resources to lawmakers, enabling them to develop it by recognizing additional exceptions to the rule.
Substantive Remedies
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

This chapter focuses on a hitherto obscure dimension of tort remedies. Relational justice theory elucidates these remedies, which we call “substantive,” meaning that they do not aim to enforce or vindicate underlying rights but to ensure post-wrong justice. In some cases, concentrating on the parties’ post-wrong situation affects the type of remedy awarded (damages in lieu of injunctive relief). In others—for instance, the tort doctrine of crushing liability—imposes a ceiling on the plaintiff’s compensation. In yet other cases, dealing with the loss of earning capacity or with the thin skull rule, it entails a compensatory floor below which compensation should not go. This chapter shows that these seemingly disparate rules are manifestations of relational justice in the private law context of remedies law rather than embarrassing deviations from the traditional make-whole principle.
Restitution
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

The law of restitution is said to be governed by the principle of preventing unjust enrichment. But the distinction between just and unjust enrichment has puzzled generations of judges, lawyers, and scholars. Prominent attempts to do so without relying on an open-ended intuitionist sense of right and wrong fall apart upon scrutiny. This chapter argues that private law’s commitment to relational justice offers the answer and demonstrates this claim through the study of two major paradigmatic categories of the law of restitution: the law of mistaken payments, often described as restitution law’s “core case,” and the doctrines governing self-interested conferral of benefits.
Regulating Workplace Safety
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

This chapter analyzes two legal arrangements for vindicating people’s right to bodily integrity: workers’ compensation schemes and regulatory safety agencies. These arrangements include features that, seemingly confusing if understood as devices attending solely to the public good, make perfect sense when the focus is on their private law task of vindicating relational justice. Distilling the coherence and normative strength of these arrangements helps to defend some of their basic features currently under attack, mainly on collectivist (notably economic) grounds. It also demonstrates that a singular focus on one-to-one adjudication unduly limits the procedural and institutional imagination of the law of horizontal relationships, that is, private law.
Poverty
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

Although poverty is widely perceived as only a matter of distributive justice and thus beyond the scope of interpersonal interactions, poverty also has an irreducibly relational dimension since it implicates people’s ability to interact as self-determining and substantively equal persons. Like other social conditions and personal traits that make private discrimination unacceptable, poverty imposes severe limitations on the options available to individuals. It can thus impair their autonomous functioning and also undermine the possibility of relating to others as equals. Accommodating the poor, however, is particularly challenging due to significant operational difficulties in implementing private responsibility for poverty alleviation. This chapter shows, however, that private law can devise appropriate strategies for addressing this operational challenge and has done so to some extent. A particularly attractive strategy animates doctrines like minimum wage and the implied warranty of habitability, where accommodating the poor is built into the terms of the interaction. These doctrines target major spheres of interpersonal interaction—the workplace and the housing markets—where poverty has jeopardized private law’s compliance with relational justice. By setting the appropriate floors (which vary from one society to another), they express the concern of private law with relevant differences between the parties’ economic conditions.
Beyond Borders
Authors: Dagan Hanoch , Dorfman Avihay
Published: June 2024

Existing private law theory largely confines its domain to the law governing interactions among a state’s citizens, failing to appreciate potential implications beyond its borders. This failure is particularly momentous when grievances raised by victims of transnational wrongs are at stake, and strategies in public and private international law face significant difficulties when addressing them. Some of these difficulties stem from what we call “the missing link of privity,” namely, the reason for imposing the burden of plaintiffs’ vertical rights on putative defendants. The key to the missing link is to identify the normatively acceptable common denominator underlying private law in divergent legal systems—the jus gentium privatum—that can serve as the premise of interpersonal human rights, the anchor for criticizing domestic private law rules, and the foundation for the standing of aggrieved parties vis-à-vis those who wronged them. This chapter argues that the common denominator is the commitment of private law to relational justice. However, it does remain aware of the difference between using relational justice as an aspirational idea and prescribing a global floor that all private law systems must comply with to be legitimate. Relational justice theory acknowledges that states enjoy significant advantages—in terms of both legitimacy and competence—in performing the necessary tasks of elaborating, implementing, and enforcing interpersonal rights and obligations. It does insist, however, that every humanist polity has a compelling reason to acknowledge private law’s minimal requirements of relational justice.
Trampling in the Garden
Authors: Myers K Sara
Published: June 2024

Chapter 4 examines a wide range of satiric texts in which the idealized visions of rustic life associated with the garden, whether of those of hoary old Roman tradition or of Alexandrian programmatics, are spoofed and “dirtied.” Ethical, gendered, and generic ideals associated with the garden are debased by the use of rustic settings and lowly characters. Satire veers into invective in its mockery and derision of both poverty and the excessive display of wealth. The Greek and Roman tradition of Priapic epigram is explored in the Carmina Priapea. The Priapic epigram tradition, which in Latin poetry usually entails a garden setting, defines the space of the garden as obscene and as under aggressive masculine control, although this pose is frequently undermined through humor. The satirist’s tendency toward invective and derision has been likened to the pose of Priapus, whose rusticity also mocks literary pretentiousness. Horace in Satires 1.8 finds the Priapic garden useful for his project of self-definition, both in generic and social terms. Martial also adapts the Priapic epigram to his own purposes of generic definition. In the case of Petronius’s Satyricon and the Copa, we find disreputable female garden owners and inhabitants of gardens, whose (predictably) sexual aims debase their garden settings, which contain allusions to Homeric and Vergilian landscapes, thereby creating literary parody. The Moretum and Copa are also best understood within the scoptic traditions of the mockery of poverty and literary parody.
Columella and the Poetics of Horticulture
Authors: Myers K Sara
Published: June 2024

Chapter 5 takes as its subject Columella’s dual treatment of horticulture in poetry and prose in his agricultural treatise De Re Rustica. This is the first extant treatment of horticulture in Latin literature, and perhaps the first work to include the garden as part of agriculture. Columella justifies its inclusion on literary and economic grounds, which corresponds to his two horticultural passages, one in verse and one in prose (De Re Rustica 10, 11.3). The practical prose version of horticulture in calendrical order supplements the poem, which instead demonstrates Columella’s literary skill. It is the generic contrast which allows Columella to explore poetic modes of representation in Book 10. Columella characterizes his switch to poetic composition as supplying the omitted treatment of gardening in Vergil’s Georgics, which he left to be dealt with by later writers (G. 4.147–48). Acknowledging the metapoetic role of Vergil’s garden, Columella’s hexameter poem represents its own function as a literary ornament, while demonstrating the greater effectiveness of prose for instruction. The poem presents horticulture on a cosmic and imperializing scale, cramming in literary allusions to a wide array of authors and over seventy varieties of plants, from cabbages to roses.
Introduction
Authors: Tiwary Ishita
Published: June 2024

This chapter introduces the book—the key debates, the events, and time period it is situated in, its central thesis, and its methodological approach. Specifically, it makes connections with the analog video moment and the digital, placing it within the context of the cultural history of India in 1980s–90s and the theoretical debates around video.
Screening Conjugality
Authors: Tiwary Ishita
Published: June 2024

This chapter explores the myriad lives and forms of the marriage video through the oral narratives of videographers and posits video as a close up medium. As a form, the marriage video reinvented weddings to create a new techno-social template. The aesthetics of the marriage video has a direct relationship with technological forms, specifically to the formal and material limitations imposed by video. The ubiquity of the marriage video drew on forms like home movies, ethnographic films, and documentaries. It also shared a mutually constitutive relationship with Bollywood films, sometimes using songs and music to create a heightened emotional experience. This crisscrossing relationship provided a fertile site from which to explore the status of video technology as a mnemonic assemblage.
Unsettling News
Authors: Tiwary Ishita
Published: June 2024

This chapter looks at current affairs news magazines, specifically Newstrack. Video magazines in India came into existence in 1987 as Bollywood news magazines and current affairs news magazines. The video news magazine emerged in reaction to Doordarshan’s strict control over news following the Bofors Scandal. Video magazines utilized the circulation offered by video to counter Doordarshan‘s version of news. The video magazine redefined ‘news’, traditionally controlled by the state, converting it into a mega business and establishing an aesthetic that continues to play itself out in the productions of several news channels today. In the absence of access to state-controlled broadcasting space, the video news magazine proved to be an important intervention, technologically, aesthetically, and in terms of circulation.
Caste and Untouchability
Authors: Rodrigues Valerian
Published: June 2024

The caste system and the institution of untouchability are social constructs that inform the social ensemble of India. Caste is socially exclusionary, marks a person from birth to his death, locates him in a division of labour, and bears a name. The caste system upholds the principle of graded inequality, characterized by submission from below and aversion from above. Untouchability denotes a polluting social layer, excluded from the social fold, but encompassed at the same time within the caste order as its lowest rung. These institutions and their practices are considered by a vast majority of its members as religiously ordained. The caste system and untouchability have a palpable bearing on religions other than Hinduism and inform class relations as well. Untouchability is by far the worst instance of human subjection ever known, and the path of emancipation from it will invariably have a wider bearing on combatting human servitude everywhere.
The Idea of Democracy
Authors: Rodrigues Valerian
Published: June 2024

In Ambedkar’s view, democracy is a mode of rule that provides fair access and reach to its members to tap the diverse resources of sociality. He distinguished between radical democracy, that is, a self-governing community of equal and free citizens, and a constitutional democracy. There are no restraints on the scope of the former except those cognized by itself. It is akin to fraternity with a rich inner life of its own. Constitutional democracy ensures a mode of rule freely endorsed by a political community through universal franchise and periodic elections and exercised through institutions and processes appropriate for the purpose. It aims to further the prospects of radical democracy and not perpetuate itself. Constitutional democracy may take the form of parliamentary or presidential democracy. While Ambedkar distinguished between democracy and republicanism, he thought the latter can be a great resource to strengthen the former.
Ideas of State and Power
Authors: Rodrigues Valerian
Published: June 2024

Ambedkar draws attention to the pervasive presence of power at all levels of a social ensemble. Power shapes our idea of the human, informs social institutions and practices, and directs modes of representation and constitutional and legal order. It is important to diagnose and contend against the complex and overladen working of power to make social relations be in sync with justice and democracy. However, the state being the nodal anchor and ultimate site of power, there cannot be a decisive alternative to the prevailing entwinement of power without decisively shifting state power in this direction. Democracy, representation, and constitutionalism are precisely geared to subserve this end. Given the way Ambedkar constructs the idea of state as the power of the political community as a whole, he squarely rejects such notions as a withering away of the state. He also proposes a distinct genealogy of the Indian state.
Effect of microfilaments produced by eggs of Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), against egg parasitoids
Authors: Moya-Raygoza Gustavo
Published: June 2024

Insect eggs, once oviposited, defend against abiotic and biotic factors using thickness, secretions, or other defenses. The eggs of most insect species are attacked by parasitoid wasps, which are often their most significant mortality factors. The present study is the first investigation of microfilaments as defense from parasitoids. Specifically, the effect of the corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis DeLong (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) egg microfilaments against parasitism by Anagrus virlai Triapitsyn (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) and Paracentrobia subflava (Girault) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) was evaluated. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate several biological traits related to parasitism in D. maidis eggs with and without microfilaments. An initial field experiment found no difference in parasitism by A. virlai and P. subflava of eggs with vs. without microfilaments after 5 days of exposure of healthy D. maidis eggs to parasitism. A second field experiment then looked at exposure for 1 day, and this treatment found greater parasitism of healthy D. maidis eggs by each parasitoid species in eggs without microfilaments vs. in eggs with microfilaments. Laboratory experiments conducted separately for A. virlai and P. subflava parasitism after 1 day of exposure to healthy D. maidis eggs confirmed a higher percentage of parasitoid emergence in the eggs without microfilaments (both young and mature eggs) vs. mature eggs with microfilaments. These results suggest that eggs without microfilaments are more parasitized than eggs with microfilaments during a 1-day exposure, but that this difference disappears as egg microfilaments regrow over a 5-day period.
Statistical approaches for the integration of external controls in a cystic fibrosis clinical trial: a simulation and an application
Authors: Warden Mark N , Heltshe Sonya L , Simon Noah , Mooney Stephen J , Mayer-Hamblett Nicole , Magaret Amalia S
Published: June 2024

Development of new therapeutics for a rare disease such as cystic fibrosis is hindered by challenges in accruing enough patients for clinical trials. Use of external controls from well-matched historical trials can reduce prospective trial sizes, and this approach has supported regulatory approval of new interventions for other rare diseases. Here we consider 3 statistical methods that incorporate external controls into a hypothetical clinical trial of a new treatment to reduce pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis patients: (1) inverse probability weighting, (2) bayesian modeling with propensity-score–based power priors, and (3) hierarchical bayesian modeling with commensurate priors. We compare the methods via simulation study and in a real clinical-trial data setting. Simulations showed that bias in the treatment effect was less than 4% using any of the methods, with type I error (or in the bayesian cases, posterior probability of the null hypothesis) usually less than 5%. Inverse probability weighting was sensitive to similarity in prevalence of the covariates between historical and prospective trial populations. The commensurate prior method performed best with real clinical trial data. Using external controls to reduce trial size in future clinical trials holds promise and can advance the therapeutic pipeline for rare diseases.

This article is part of a Special Collection on Pharmacoepidemiology.
Ambient exposure to fine particulate matter with oxidative potential affects oxidative stress biomarkers in pregnancy
Authors: Meng Qi , Liu Jonathan , Shen Jiaqi , Del Rosario Irish , Janzen Carla , Devaskar Sherin U , Lakey Pascale S J , Shiraiwa Manabu , Weichenthal Scott , Zhu Yifang , Oroumiyeh Farzan , Banerjee Sudipto , Paulson Suzanne E , Jerrett Michael , Paul Kimberly C , Ritz Beate
Published: June 2024

Prenatal exposures to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) from traffic may generate oxidative stress and thus contribute to adverse birth outcomes. We investigated whether PM2.5 constituents from brake and tire wear affect levels of oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde [MDA], 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG]) using urine samples collected up to 3 times during pregnancy in 156 women recruited from antenatal clinics at the University of California Los Angeles. Land use regression models with co-kriging were employed to estimate average residential outdoor concentrations of black carbon (BC), PM2.5 mass, PM2.5 metal components, and 3 PM2.5 oxidative potential metrics during the 4 weeks prior to urine sample collection. The 8-OHdG concentrations in mid-pregnancy increased by 24.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.0-42.8) and 14.3% (95% CI, 0.4%-30.0%) per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.5 mass and BC, respectively. The brake wear marker (barium) and the oxidative potential metrics were associated with increased MDA concentration in the first sample collected (10-17 gestational week), but 95% CIs included the null. Traffic-related air pollution contributed in early to mid-pregnancy to oxidative stress generation previously linked to adverse birth outcomes.

This article is part of a Special Collection on Environmental Epidemiology.