bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Discrimination and the Political Economy of Environmental Inequality
Authors: Morello-Frosch Rachel A
Published: August 2002

Over the last decade there has been a surge in academic and scientific inquiry into disparities in environmental hazards among diverse communities. Much of the evidence points to a general pattern of disproportionate exposures to toxics among communities of color and the poor, with racial differences often persisting across economic strata. Although results have implications for the politics of environmental decisionmaking, most of these analyses are limited to illustrating how inequities in exposures and health risks are spread across the landscape, while shedding little light on their origins or the reasons for their persistence. Previous attempts to theorize the causes of environmental inequality have focused on procedural justice in the regulatory arena, emphasizing civil rights jurisprudence and social theories on individual and institutional discrimination. Although these approaches offer insights into the epistemology of environmental inequality, they fail adequately to account for the political economy of discrimination relating to industrial location behavior and racialized labor markets. By integrating relevant social and legal theories with a spatialized economic critique, this paper formulates a more supple theory of environmental discrimination. How the political economy of place shapes distributions of people and pollution and ultimately gives rise to environmental inequality are revealed by exploring the following factors: historical patterns of industrial development and racialized labor markets; suburbanization and segregation; and economic restructuring. This multidisciplinary approach to theorizing the dynamic of environmental discrimination provides a new framework for future policymaking and community organizing to address environmental and economic justice. Implications of this broader framework for policy and politics are discussed in the conclusion.
Rethinking Lowi's Constituent Policy: Governance Policy and Direct Democracy
Authors: Tolbert Caroline J
Published: August 2002

The author develops the concepts of ‘governance policy’ and how it relates to existing public policy typologies, especially ‘constituent policy’. Although distributive, regulatory, and redistributive types of policy are well understood, scholars have long struggled with an appropriate definition to complete this four-fold typology. Lowi referred to this fourth type as ‘constituent policy’—conferring broad costs and benefits to society—as opposed to policy that affects narrow (often economic) interests. Lowi's conception of constituent policy assumed a top-down process of policymaking dominated by elected officials and administrative agencies. Governance policy represents an attempt to refine the concept of ‘constituent policy’. Governance policy has a prominent procedural component and can be initiated by a bottom-up process of policymaking, via citizen initiatives or interest groups, as well as by a top-down process through political elites. This author explores the history and social significance of governance policy. Cross-sectional data from the fifty states of the USA are used to statistically model explanations for the adoption of nine governance policies. Empirical analysis suggests that states with frequent usage of ballot initiatives are more likely to adopt governance policy, after controlling for other factors. The author also suggests that a Progressive reform tradition, measured by a moralistic political culture, may provide an important trigger for the initial adoption of state direct democracy mechanisms. This suggests that prior adoption of direct democracy mechanisms may provide a necessary intervening trigger for frequent reliance on governance policy.
The British Child Support Agency: Did American Origins Bring Failure?
Authors: Dolowitz David P
Published: August 2002

In late 1990 the British government published a two-volume White Paper, Children Come First: The Government's Proposals on the Maintenance of Children, announcing its intention to establish a Child Support Agency (CSA). In contrast with most of the literature associated with the British CSA, my main concern in this paper is not with the direct identification of the problems, or the perceived problems, the agency has experienced since its inception in 1993; it is with how the agency was developed, and how this can help explain many of its subsequent problems or perceived problems. More directly, I will show that the origins of the agency are to be found in policy transfer from the USA, and that the difficulties inherent in this process led to important implementation problems. To do this, the paper is divided into four sections. In the first section I examine why the Thatcher government decided to develop the agency, rather than continuing with the Department of Social Security (DSS)/court-based child-support award system in operation at the time. Second, I demonstrate how parallel developments in Britain and the USA led the British government to be interested in, and then borrow, the key elements of the US Child Support Enforcement System (CSES). Third, I discuss the key elements of the CSA that were transferred from the USA. In the final section I illustrate how policy transfer offers an important, even if partial, explanation of the CSA's implementation problems, and why two successive governments have used considerable legislative time attempting to ‘fix’ the CSA.
Converging on Competitiveness: Garbage Cans and the New Global Economy
Authors: Sousa David J
Published: August 2002

In this paper I build on Krugman's work on the “obsession” with competitiveness, accepting as inescapable fact what Krugman laments: the emergence of the global economy and competitiveness as focal points for policy debate is a political phenomenon understandable in terms of agenda setting and issue framing. I explore trade politics in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s in light of two related propositions. First, globalization's domestic effects and the policy requirements imposed by the world economy are at once real and negotiated in the political process—the global economy is ‘socially constructed’ for domestic political/purposes. Second, the ways that the world economy has been constructed can be well understood by using the issue framing and ‘garbage can’ literatures from policy studies. Understandings of the domestic policy requirements of the world economy are at once manufactured in the political process as interests seek to connect old solutions to promising new problems and shape that process as those understandings come to mark the limits of political economic possibility.
Reinventing Government? Explaining Management Reform at the Hong Kong Housing Authority
Authors: Walker Richard M , Li Ling Hin
Published: August 2002

In this paper we explain why the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) is embarking upon a substantial programme of management reform to outsource the management and maintenance of 600 000 units of public rental housing. An international management-reform analytical framework is developed which classifies reforms under the headings of finance, management, ownership, and performance. The application of this framework to reform at the HKHA indicates that the emphasis is upon market-led approaches. The management-reform framework is able to explain aspects of the HKHA approach in relation to searches for reduced costs, downsizing, clearer standards, higher quality, and more customer-responsive services. Alone, however, it is unable to explain fully the reform programme. The housing-policy reforms and the government's aim to increase levels of home-ownership are shown to be major contributory factors to the direction adopted by the HKHA. These case-study findings assert the importance of policy processes for the explanation of management reforms and have implications for the analysis of management reforms in many settings.
Citizens' Juries: An Aid to Environmental Valuation?
Authors: Kenyon Wendy , Hanley Nick , Nevin Ceara
Published: August 2002

Survey techniques such as contingent valuation have been used extensively by environmental economists to develop an understanding of consumer preferences for environmental goods. On the basis of such techniques, recommendations have been formulated in relation to environmental policy. However, the exposure of weaknesses in this method has led economists to look to other information-gathering approaches which might enhance, and/or complement, environmental valuation. One such approach is that of ‘citizens’ juries' (CJs). A CJ consists of a small group of people, selected to represent the general public rather than any interest group or sector, which meets to deliberate upon a policy question. This approach may complement traditional approaches to data gathering on public preferences for environmental goods and services by addressing some of the concerns that have been voiced regarding existing methods. First, CJs may be useful in tackling the problem of information provision, and concerns relating to the level of understanding of the respondent. Second, CJs may be a means of addressing the ‘citizen value versus consumer value’ argument in environmental valuation. Third, CJs may help researchers understand how participants construct their values. Fourth, this approach allows sustainability issues to be addressed explicitly. The authors also discuss a number of problems associated with CJs and conclude with examples from two recent juries on environmental issues which were held in Scotland, and make recommendations on how environmental economists might utilise this tool.
Rescaling and Regional Governance: The English Regional Development Agencies and the Environment
Authors: Gibbs David , Jonas Andrew E G
Published: August 2002

The establishment of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in the English regions will bring about an important change in UK regional governance. A key area of contention and struggle is likely to occur over the contribution of the RDAs to sustainable development. Although the pursuit of sustainable development is a stated goal of the RDAs, in this paper we argue that this goal is likely to be compromised by tensions and contradictions emerging in the evolving new governance landscape of England. In terms of promoting sustainable-development policy, the regional scale of the UK state is becoming materially and discursively significant, and a particular focus of struggles around economic and environmental issues. These struggles strategically intersect with wider processes of reregulation and rescaling in the UK state. We not only consider the practical policy implications of integrating the economy and environment at the regional scale, but also analyse emerging tensions in regional governance in the light of processes of social reregulation and rescaling within the UK state. We argue that theoretical approaches to the latter need to incorporate the uneven process of rescaling and the contingent nature of regional state forms and institutions.
Community Economic Development in Urban and Regional Regeneration: Unfolding Potential or Justifiable Scepticism?
Authors: Lawless Paul
Published: August 2002

In this paper I explore the scale of community economic development (CED) and the barriers impacting upon its evolution within an English region—Yorkshire and The Humber. CED has been widely perceived by a range of policymakers as one mechanism through which to moderate the scale of economic decline in more disadvantaged localities. A number of funding sources, and in particular European Structural Funds, have increasingly allocated resources to creating and sustaining CED projects. But evidence from this region points to a very limited population of community businesses which undertake trading activities. Moreover, the sector is bedevilled by a series of constraints including those revolving around finance and partnership working. A number of policy developments could enhance the status and sustainability of CED projects, including a more structured approach towards the funding and operation of intermediary agencies. Even then, CED is likely to prove only a marginal player in economic reconversion. The scale of market failure in ‘CED localities’ points to the need for a more interventionist and collective approach to regeneration.
An Econometric Analysis of Local Fiscal Response to Revenue Sharing in Turkey
Authors: Sagbas Isa
Published: August 2002

In this paper I examine local fiscal response to revenue sharing in Turkey under two main headings: revenue response and expenditure response. Whether local revenue is responsive to revenue sharing is examined by using cross-section and time-series analyses. The results of the cross-section analysis are inconclusive. However, evidence based on the time trend of the tax-effort ratio indicates that tax effort is influenced by the institutional framework of property taxation. This finding implies that local revenue is not responsive to revenue sharing. Whether local expenditure is responsive to revenue sharing is examined by using cross-section, time-series, and panel-data analyses. The results show that there is a strong positive relationship between the revenue sharing and expenditure trends. The Granger causality test indicates that revenue sharing drives expenditure, and this shows the existence of the circularity problem. These findings imply that local expenditure is responsive to revenue sharing.
Scientific Forest Conservation and the Statistical Picturing of Nature's Limits in the Progressive-Era United States
Authors: Demeritt David
Published: August 2002

This paper explores debates over the statistical picturing of the nation's finite forest resources in the Progressive-era United States. This picturing was made possible by a variety of new quantitative and graphical practices that made maps and statistics appear as objective evidence of the natural limits those objects appeared to exhibit. Drawing on the work of Timothy Mitchell, I argue that this appearance was generated through more generalized practices of enframing. Enframing involved the systematic ordering of objects to create the appearance of a world metaphysically divided in two and graspable in terms of the distinction between reality and the objective representations through which reality as such was made to appear. This binary ordering, or enframing, of appearance created the appearance of order itself as an apparently abstract framework within which the objects so enframed could be more closely regulated. Enframing the forest quantitatively transformed heterogeneous forests into an apparently calculable quantity available to new disciplinary forms of state power that Foucault argues are characteristic of modern governmentality. The timber-famine debate also highlights the question of trust and the dependence of expert authority on traditional gender and class differences, which were themselves reworked through the quantifying practices of scientific forest conservation.
Liminal Figures: Poor Whites, Freedmen, and Racial Reinscription in Colonial Barbados
Authors: Lambert David
Published: August 2002

The author argues that liminal groups occupied uncertain positions within colonial societies and that this reveals the complexities and tensions attendant with colonial rule. The ambiguous nature of such groups does not simply reflect divisions within the colonising elite, but also the acts and representations of subalterns, including the liminal groups themselves. Focusing on the debates about the poor whites and freedmen in early 19th-century Barbados, the author seeks to explore a project of ‘racial reinscription’ which focused on a particular attempt to reproduce colonial whiteness. The resistance to and failure of this project reveal the dynamic and contested nature both of liminality and of colonial whiteness. In this way, the author aims to contribute to the growing critical literature on whiteness, and to do so in a way that avoids its recentring.
Shrinkage of Perceived Tonal Duration Produced by Extra Sounds: Effects of Spectral Density, Temporal Position, and Transition Direction
Authors: Tsuzaki Minoru , Kato Hiroaki
Published: August 2002

To investigate the mental mechanism that estimates the duration of sounds, the subjective duration of a tone was measured. In the first experiment a portion of the target sound was replaced with another sound. In the second and third experiments another sound either started or ended in the middle of the target sound. Ten or eleven undergraduates participated as listeners in each of the experiments. In the first experiment, effects of spectral spacing and those of temporal position of the replacing sound were tested. Compared with the intact case, the subjective duration of the replaced target shrunk, and the degree of shrinkage increased as the spectral spacing became wider. The temporal position of the replacing sound did not affect the degree of shrinkage. In the second experiment, effects produced by the start (ON) of the concurrent sound and those by the end (OFF) were compared. The ON case was more effective than the OFF case. In the third experiment, effects of the rise time and fall time of the concurrent sound were tested. A long rise and fall time reduced the difference between the ON and OFF cases. These results are discussed from two viewpoints, one assuming an interaction between the time markers, the other assuming continuous gate control in a neural-counting model for duration.
Ambiguity and the ‘Mental Eye’ in Pictorial Relief
Authors: Koenderink Jan J , van Doorn Andrea J , Kappers Astrid M L , Todd James T
Published: August 2002

Photographs of scenes do not determine scenes in the sense that infinitely many different scenes could have given rise to any given photograph. In psychophysical experiments, observers have (at least partially) to resolve these ambiguities. The ambiguities also allow them to vary their response within the space of ‘veridical’ responses. Such variations may well be called ‘the beholder's share’ since they do not depend causally on the available depth cues. We determined the pictorial relief for four observers, four stimuli, and four different tasks. In all cases we addressed issues of reliability (scatter on repeated trials) and consistency (how well the data can be explained via a smooth surface, any surface). All data were converted to depth maps which allows us to compare the relief from the different operationalisations. As expected, pictorial relief can differ greatly either between observers (same stimulus, same task) or between operationalisations (same observer, same stimulus). However, when we factor out the essential ambiguity, these differences almost completely vanish and excellent agreement over tasks and observers pertains. Thus, observers often resolve the ambiguity in idiosyncratic ways, but mutually agree — even over tasks — in so far as their responses are causally dependent on the depth cues. A change of task often induces a change in ‘mental perspective’. In such cases, the observers switch the ‘beholder's share’, which resolves the essential ambiguity through a change in viewpoint of their ‘mental eye’.
Of Holes and Wholes: The Perception of Surrounded Regions
Authors: Nelson Rolf , Palmer Stephen E
Published: August 2002

Fully enclosed regions in a two-dimensional image can often be perceived either as an object in front of a surface or as a hole through a surface. Several experiments were conducted to determine what factors affect perception of holes versus objects. Three types of factors were tested and found to influence this outcome. First, depth factors directly indicate that the enclosed region lies behind its surrounding surface. Second, grouping factors relate the enclosed region to an outer region that is generally perceived as a continuation of the surface seen through the hole. Finally, figural factors indicate whether the enclosed region is to be perceived as figure or ground. Relations among these factors and their implications for perceptual organization are discussed.
Flank Transparency: Transparent Filters Seen in Dynamic Two-Color Displays
Authors: Wollschläger Daniel , Rodriguez Antonio M , Hoffman Donald D
Published: August 2002

Flank transparency is the perception of a colored transparent filter evoked by apparent-motion displays containing as few as two colors. Displays of flank transparency contain a random array of line segments placed on a uniform background. Small flanks are added to the line segments if the segments fall in the interior of a moving virtual shape, such as a virtual disk. This leads to the perception of a colored transparent disk with well-defined boundaries moving over the array of lines. Current qualitative and quantitative models of luminance and color conditions for perceptual transparency do not account for flank transparency as they require displays containing at least three different colors.
Activated cyclopropanes in the synthesis of five-membered carbocycles and heterocycles
Authors: Oleg G Kulinkovich
Published: August 2002

The conversion of functionalised cyclopropane compounds to derivatives of cyclopentane and five-membered heterocycles is described. Topics discussed include reaction conditions, the regio- and stereo-selectivity of the reactions depending on the type of substituents in the three-membered ring, and also the main procedures for obtaining appropriate cyclopropane substrates. The bibliography includes 174 references.
Pentachondra dehiscens sp. nov. - An aberrant new member of Styphelieae
Authors: Cherry W. , Gadek P. A. , Brown E. A. , Heslewood M. M. , Quinn C. J.
Published: August 2002

A new species of Styphelieae collected from the Blue Mountains region of New
South Wales is described. Cladistic analyses of morphological and molecular
data show that the species has a strong affinity with the genus
Pentachondra. The genus is redefined to accommodate the
following features of the new species: a drupaceous fruit with 6–11
locules in which the mesocarp splits to release the separate pyrenes at
maturity and a more complex inflorescence.
PROJECTIVE CONNECTIONS, AGD MANIFOLD AND INTEGRABLE SYSTEMS
Authors: GUHA PARTHA
Published: August 2002

If uis are periodic function on the line, the operator [Formula: see text], acting on periodic functions, is called a Adler–Gelfand–Dikii (or AGD) operator. In this paper we consider a projective connection as defined by this nth order operator on the circle. In particular, projective connection as defined by a second order operator can be identified with the dual of Virasoro algebra, and it is well known that the KdV equation as a Euler–Arnold equation in the coadjoint orbit of the Bott–Virasoro group. In this paper we study (formally) the evolution equation of the Adler–Gelfand–Dikii operator, Δ(n), (at least for n ≤ 4), under the action of Vect (S1). This yields a single generating equation for periodic function u. We also establish a connection between the projective vector field, a vector field leaves fixed a given (extended) projective connection, and the C. Neumann system using the idea of Knörrer and Moser. We show that certain quadratic function of a projective field satisfies C. Neumann system.
A NONLINEAR MODEL FOR DETERMINING THE MOST ECONOMIC PROCESS MEAN UNDER A BETA DISTRIBUTION
Authors: PHILLIPS MICHAEL D. , CHO BYUNG-RAE
Published: August 2002

The selection of the process mean (target) is critically important since it directly affects the process defective rate, material cost, scrap or rework cost, and the loss to the customer due to the deviation of product performance. The goal is to determine the optimum process target based on minimizing total cost relating to product quality. For mathematical convenience, normal distributions have been traditionally assumed in solving this problem. Under practical situations, however, typical process distributions are often either positively or negatively skewed. Consequently, the normal distribution may not be ideal for many situations. In this paper, we consider a beta distribution which can be shaped and scaled to fit most skewed and symmetric process distributions. Furthermore, this paper uses a quality loss function to capture and quantify the quality loss from the customer's perspective. Finally, we develop an economic model for selecting the optimum process target. An example is given to illustrate the model.
SYSTEM RELIABILITY OPTIMIZATION WITH k-OUT-OF-n SUBSYSTEMS
Authors: COIT DAVID W. , LIU JIA CHEN
Published: August 2002

Optimal solutions to the redundancy allocation problem are determined for systems designed with multiple k-out-of-n subsystems in series. The objective is to select the components and redundancy levels to maximize system reliability given system-level constraints. The individual subsystems may use either active or cold-standby redundancy, or they may require no redundancy. Previously, optimization methods for this problem either pertained to k-out-of-n systems consisting of a single subsystem or to series–parallel systems (k=1). Additionally, it had generally been assumed that only active redundancy was to be used. In practice design problems can vary appreciably from these restrictions and the design process may consider more complex system configurations. Unfortunately, available optimization algorithms are inadequate for many of these design problems. The methodology presented here is specifically developed to accommodate the case with k-out-of-n subsystems. Optimal solutions to the problem are found by an equivalent problem formulation and integer programming. The methodology is demonstrated on a well-known test problem with interesting results. The availability of this tool fills a void and should result in more reliable and cost-effective engineering designs.
Comparison of US Oncologist Rurality by Practice Setting and Patients Served
Authors: Cornelius Sarah L. , Shaefer Andrew P. , Wong Sandra L. , Moen Erika L.
Published: January 2024

Importance

Studies of the oncology workforce most often classify physician rurality by their practice location, but this could miss the true extent of physicians involved in rural cancer care.

Objective

To compare a method for identifying oncology physicians involved in rural cancer care that uses the proportion of rural patients served with the standard method based on practice location.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study used retrospective Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services encounter data on medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and surgeons treating Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer from January 1 to December 31, 2019. Data were analyzed from May to September 2023.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The standard method of classifying oncologist physician rurality based on practice location was compared with a novel method of classification based on proportion of rural patients served.

Results

The study included 27 870 oncology physicians (71.3% male), of whom 835 (3.0%) practiced in a rural location. Physicians practicing in a rural location treated a high proportion of rural patients (median, 50.0% [IQR, 16.7%-100%]). When considering the rurality of physicians’ patient panels, 5123 physicians (18.4%) whose patient panel included at least 20% rural patients, 3199 (11.5%) with at least 33% rural patients, and 1996 (7.2%) with at least 50% rural patients were identified. Using a physician’s patient panel to classify physician rurality revealed a higher number and greater spread of oncology physicians involved in rural cancer care in the US than the standard method, while maintaining high performance (area under the curve, 0.857) and fair concordance (κ, 0.346; 95% CI, 0.323-0.369) with the method based on practice setting.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study, classifying oncologist rurality by the proportion of rural patients served identified more oncology physicians treating patients living in rural areas than the standard method of practice location and may more accurately capture the rural cancer physician workforce, as many hospitals have historically been located in more urban areas. This new method may be used to improve future studies of rural cancer care delivery.
In Utero Exposure to Alcohol and Tobacco and Electroencephalogram Power During Childhood
Authors: Pini Nicolò , Sania Ayesha , Rao Shreya , Shuffrey Lauren C. , Nugent J. David , Lucchini Maristella , McSweeney Marco , Hockett Christine , Morales Santiago , Yoder Lydia , Ziegler Katherine , Perzanowski Matthew S. , Fox Nathan A. , Elliott Amy J. , Myers Michael M. , Fifer William P.
Published: January 2024

Importance

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) are risk factors associated with adverse neurobehavioral and cognitive outcomes.

Objective

To quantify long-term associations of PAE and PTE with brain activity in early and middle childhood via electroencephalography (EEG).

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study included participants enrolled in the Safe Passage Study (August 2007 to January 2015), from which a subset of 649 participants were followed up in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program. From September 2018 through November 2022, EEG recordings were obtained at ages 4, 5, 7, 9, or 11 years. Data were analyzed from November 2022 to November 2023.

Exposures

Maternal self-reported consumptions of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy were captured at the recruitment interview and at up to 3 visits during pregnancy (20-24, 28-32, and ≥34 weeks’ gestation). Classifications of PAE (continuous drinking, quit-early drinking, and nondrinking) and PTE (continuous smoking, quit-early smoking, and nonsmoking) were previously obtained.

Main Outcomes and Measures

EEG band powers (theta, alpha, beta, gamma) were extracted from the EEG recordings. Linear regression models were used to estimate the associations of PAE and PTE with EEG estimates.

Results

The final sample included 649 participants (333 [51.3%] female) aged 4, 5, 7, 9, or 11 years. Children whose mothers were in the quit-early drinking cluster had increased alpha power (0.116 [95% CI, 0.023 to 0.209] μV2; P = .02) compared with individuals without PAE. The magnitude of this increase was approximately double for children exposed to continuous drinking (0.211 [95% CI, 0.005 to 0.417] μV2; P = .04). Children whose mothers were in the continuous smoking cluster had decreased beta power (−0.031 [95% CI, −0.059 to −0.003] μV2; P = .03) and gamma power (−0.020 [95% CI, −0.039 to −0.000] μV2; P = .04) compared with the nonsmoking cluster. In exploratory sex-stratified models, male participants in the quit-early PAE cluster had greater EEG power in the alpha band (0.159 [95% CI, 0.003 to 0.315] μV2; P = .04) compared with those with no PAE, and the difference was approximately double for male participants with continuous PAE (0.354 [95% CI, 0.041 to 0.667] μV2; P = .03). Male participants in the continuous PTE cluster had decreased beta (−0.048 [95% CI, −0.090 to − 0.007] μV2; P = .02) and gamma (−0.032 [95% CI, −0.061 − 0.002] μV2; P = .04) power compared with those with no PTE.

Conclusions and Relevance

These findings suggest that even low levels of PAE and PTE were associated with long-term alterations of brain activity.
Xylazine in Overdose Deaths and Forensic Drug Reports in US States, 2019-2022
Authors: Cano Manuel , Daniulaityte Raminta , Marsiglia Flavio
Published: January 2024

Importance

Xylazine is increasingly reported in street drugs and fatal overdoses in the US, yet state-level data are limited, hampering local public health responses.

Objective

To gather available state-level data on xylazine involvement in overdose deaths and in forensic drug reports.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study was a secondary analysis of 2019 to 2022 data from the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS), National Center for Health Statistics, and individual states' medical examiner or public health agency reports. Data were analyzed from August to October 2023.

Exposure

State.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Yearly xylazine-related overdose deaths per 100 000 residents; xylazine NFLIS drug reports, both per 100 000 residents and as a percentage of all NFLIS drug reports (from samples of drugs seized by law enforcement and analyzed by NFLIS-participating laboratories).

Results

A total of 63 state-years were included in analyses of mortality rates, while 204 state-years were included in analyses of NFLIS reports. According to the publicly available data compiled in this study, at least 43 states reported at least 1 xylazine-related overdose death from 2019 to 2022, yet yearly totals of xylazine-related deaths were available for only 21 states. Of states with data available, xylazine-involved overdose death rates were highest in Vermont (10.5 per 100 000 residents) and Connecticut (9.8 per 100 000 residents) in 2022. In 2019, 16 states had zero xylazine reports included in NFLIS reports; in 2022, only 2 states had zero xylazine reports and all but 3 states had recorded an increase in xylazine’s representation in NFLIS reports. In 2022, xylazine represented 16.17% of all NFLIS reports in Delaware and between 5.95% and 7.00% of NFLIS reports in Connecticut, Maryland, District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, yet less than 1.0% of NFLIS reports in 35 different states.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study of publicly available data on fatal overdoses and drugs analyzed by forensic laboratories, xylazine’s reported presence in overdose deaths and forensic reports was concentrated in the eastern US yet extended across the country to encompass nearly all states. In spite of xylazine’s geographic reach, yearly state-level numbers of xylazine-related overdose deaths were publicly available for less than half of all states.
Electrical Tracking of the Mott Insulating Kitaev Magnet using Graphene/α‐RuCl3 Heterostructure
Authors: Chau Tuan Khanh , Choi Youngsu , Hwang Kyusung , Oh Gyounghoon , Akhtar Sophia , Kim Jeongyong , Choi Kwang‐Yong , Lee Hyun‐Yong , Hong Sung Ju , Suh Dongseok
Published: January 2024

Electrical signatures for quantum magnetic phases of α‐RuCl3 sensed by an adjacent graphene field‐effect transistor (FET) are reported. The gate‐voltage dependence of the graphene FET reveals p‐type doping beneath α‐RuCl3 caused by the charge transfer due to the work function difference. Furthermore, the gate‐voltage hysteresis exhibits a marked change in the transport behavior with the temperature variation. The high‐T simple paramagnetic phase and the low‐T zigzag antiferromagnetic phase of α‐RuCl3 exhibit negligible hysteresis. In sharp contrast, a huge hysteresis of the graphene FET at intermediate temperatures is observed. The possibility that the observed conductance hysteresis is associated with the intriguing continuum excitations of the thermally induced Kitaev paramagnet state is discussed. The results show that the proximity effect‐based electric approach can be utilized for investigating charge‐neutral quasiparticles in quantum magnetic insulators.
Single‐Atom Nanozymes for Catalytic Therapy: Recent Advances and Challenges
Authors: He Weiyi , Wu Jiahao , Liu Jianli , Li Jing
Published: January 2024

As a powerful tool, nanozyme catalysts broaden the avenues to implement bio‐inspired solutions for addressing many important concerns, covering energy, healthcare, the environment, and more. Recent endeavors, characterized by atomic precision, have enabled extensive exploration of single‐atom nanozymes (SAzymes) with high catalytic activity, superior substrate selectivity, and integrated multifunctionalities, thus becoming an emerging field that bridges nanotechnology and biology. This review provides a brief outline of the progress and summarizes the latest research advances regarding SAzymes in biomedical therapeutics, mainly including tumor therapy, wound antibacterial therapy, and tissue anti‐inflammatory therapy, with a focus on their prototypical synthesis and therapeutic catalytic mechanisms. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives for the engineering of advanced SAzymes are also discussed and outlooked. It is anticipated that this review of the important area shall provide useful guidance for catalytic therapy.
Chemical/Electrochemical Dual‐Driven Transition Behavior of Copper Element from Current Collector to Chalcogenide Anode in Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Yin Xucai , Liu Yuejun , Ren Yang , Zhou Yulin , Cheng Xinqun , Chen Meng , Du Chunyu , Yin Gepin , Huo Hua
Published: January 2024

The transition phenomenon involving copper replacing the transition metal elements within transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) is a recent and unique observation in the context of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) where TMCs serve as anodes. Fundamental understanding of the driving forces and kinetics governing this transition is crucial for elucidating the sodium storage mechanism in TMCs anodes. Herein, cobalt disulfide (CoS2) has been chosen as a representative anode. It is revealed that the transition behavior of copper replacing cobalt during the cycling originates from chemical/electrochemical dual‐driving forces. The chemical driving force emanates from the interaction between Cu+ dissolved in the electrolyte and the resulting sodium polysulfide products. The reaction extent is intricately linked to the surface roughness of the copper collector. The electrochemistrical driving force is effectively elucidated through the application of the Hard‐Soft‐Acid‐Base theory. Multiple charaterization techniques, such as Solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) have been employed to confirm that cobalt exists as cation instead of metal after transition. This research offers a novel perspective understanding the transition behavior exhibited by CoS2, with potential wider implications for understanding analogous behaviors in other metal sulfide anodes.
A Continuous Pressure Positioning Sensor with Flexible Multilayer Structures Based on a Combinatorial Bionic Strategy
Authors: Meng Xiancun , Zhang Changchao , Xie Haoran , Niu Shichao , Han Zhiwu , Ren Luquan
Published: January 2024

A high‐performance flexible pressure sensor is one of the most important components of electronic skin, which can endow artificial devices with human‐like capabilities. However, the electronic skin usually relies on the arrays of sensors to simultaneously obtain both pressure magnitude and position, making the data processing time‐consuming, tedious, and error‐prone. Here, a novel continuous pressure positioning sensor (PPS) with flexible multilayer structures based on a combinatorial bionic strategy is designed and fabricated. This PPS is composed of the pressure sensing layer (PSL) and the pressure positioning layer (PPL). The PSL exhibits high sensitivity (18.87 kPa−1) owing to the bionic crack structures. Based on the connection/disconnection of the upper and lower conductive layers, this PPL exhibits excellent positioning properties with excellent resolution (≈35 µm). More importantly, due to stable signal change and synchronization of signals between the two functional layers (>21 pa), this PPS can recognize the type of signal. Applications of the PPS for pressure monitoring, tire safety monitoring, lunar rover road condition monitoring, and emotional communication in human–computer interaction are further demonstrated to measure magnitude, position, and recognition of pressure signals. So, it will have broad application prospects in fields such as pressure detection and human–computer interaction.
3D‐Printed Architectured Silicones with Autonomic Self‐Healing and Creep‐Resistant Behavior
Authors: Menasce Stefano , Libanori Rafael , Coulter Fergal Brian , Studart André R.
Published: January 2024

Self‐healing silicones that are able to restore functionalities and extend the lifetime of soft devices hold great potential in many applications. However, currently available silicones need to be triggered to self‐heal or suffer from creep‐induced irreversible deformation during use. Here, a platform is proposed to design and print silicone objects that are programmed at the molecular and architecture levels to achieve self‐healing at room temperature while simultaneously resisting creep. At the molecular scale, dioxaborolanes moieties are incorporated into silicones to synthesize self‐healing vitrimers, whereas conventional covalent bonds are exploited to make creep‐resistant elastomers. When combined into architectured printed parts at a coarser length scale, the layered materials exhibit fast healing at room temperature without compromising the elastic recovery obtained from covalent polymer networks. A patient‐specific vascular phantom and fluidic chambers are printed to demonstrate the potential of architectured silicones in creating damage‐resilient functional devices using molecularly designed elastomer materials.
Advanced Terahertz Refractive Sensing And Fingerprint Recognition Through Metasurface‐Excited Surface Waves
Authors: Zhang Zeyan , Wang Zhuo , Zhang Chao , Yao Zhibo , Zhang Shoujun , Wang Ride , Tian Zhen , Han Jiaguang , Chang Chao , Lou Jing , Yan Xueqing , Qiu Chengwei
Published: January 2024

High‐sensitive metasurface‐based sensors are essential for effective substance detection and insightful bio‐interaction studies, which compress light in subwavelength volumes to enhance light–matter interactions. However, current methods to improve sensing performance always focus on optimizing near‐field response of individual meta‐atom, and fingerprint recognition for bio‐substances necessitates several pixelated metasurfaces to establish a quasi‐continuous spectrum. Here, a novel sensing strategy is proposed to achieve Terahertz (THz) refractive sensing, and fingerprint recognition based on surface waves (SWs). Leveraging the long‐range transmission, strong confinement, and interface sensitivity of SWs, a metasurface‐supporting SWs excitation and propagation is experimentally verified to achieve sensing integrations. Through wide‐band information collection of SWs, the proposed sensor not only facilitates refractive sensing up to 215.5°/RIU, but also enables the simultaneous resolution of multiple fingerprint information within a continuous spectrum. By covering 5 µm thickness of polyimide, quartz and silicon nitride layers, the maximum phase change of 91.1°, 101.8°, and 126.4° is experimentally obtained within THz band, respectively. Thus, this strategy broadens the research scope of metasurface‐excited SWs and introduces a novel paradigm for ultrasensitive sensing functions.
Engineering Semi‐Reversed Quantum Well Photocatalysts for Highly‐Efficient Solar‐to‐Fuels Conversion
Authors: Yuan Qing , Huang Jindou , Li Ang , Lu Na , Lu Wei , Zhu Yongan , Zhang Zhenyi
Published: January 2024

Semiconductor quantum wells (QWs) exhibit high charge‐utilization efficiency for light‐emitting applications due to their strong charge confinement effect. Inspired by this effect, herein, this work proposes a new idea to significantly improve the photo‐generated charge separation for attaining a highly‐efficient solar‐to‐fuels conversion process through “semi‐reversing” the conventional QWs to confine only the photo‐generated electrons. This electron confinement‐improved charge separation is implemented in the well‐designed model of the CdS/TiO2/CdS semi‐reversed QW (SRQW) structure. The latter is fabricated by selectively assembling CdS quantum dots (QDs) onto the {101} facets (ultra‐thin edge regions) of the TiO2 nanosheets (NSs). Upon light excitation, the photo‐generated electrons of SRQW can be confined on the TiO2‐{101} facets in the vicinity of the CdS/TiO2 hetero‐interface. Thereby, the continuous multi‐electron injection to the adsorbed reactants on the interfacial active‐sites is significantly accelerated. Thus, the CdS/TiO2/CdS SRQW exhibits ≈35.7 and ≈56.0‐fold enhancements on the photocatalytic activities for water and CO2 reduction, respectively, compared to those of pure TiO2. Correspondingly, its CH4‐product selectivity is increased by ≈180%. This work provides a novel charge separation mechanism, which is of great importance for the design of the next‐generation quantum‐sized photocatalysts for solar‐to‐fuels conversion.
Functionalized Superhydrophobic Coatings with Electro‐Photothermal Effect for All‐Day Durable Anti‐Icing
Authors: Deng Yuanting , Du Feng , Chen Zongbao , Lv Pengyu , Yin Zuozhu , He Ming , Xue Mingshan , Li Hongyuan
Published: January 2024

Superhydrophobic surfaces offer notable advantages, including markedly low water affinity and reduced ice adhesion strength. Nevertheless, their practical utility is impeded by their limited durability and vulnerability to failure in cold and humid environments. In this study, a novel approach for devising an electro‐photothermal superhydrophobic (EPS) nanocomposite coating is presented. The findings indicate that the EPS nanocomposite coating exhibits both physical and chemical self‐cleaning attributes, showcasing a synergistic interplay of superhydrophobicity, electrothermal, and photothermal characteristics. The superhydrophobic coating delays icing about four times longer than the original coating. At ambient temperatures of −20 °C, the coating stacked with an electro‐ and photo‐thermal performance de‐icing layer reduces the de‐icing time by about 5 times more than the purely photo‐thermal performance de‐icing time, and reduces the de‐icing time by about 4 times more than the purely electro‐thermal de‐icing time. Furthermore, the EPS surface demonstrates the capability to sustain temperatures above 0 °C through the photothermal effect on sunny days, utilizing both the electrothermal and photothermal effects on cloudy days, and relying on the electrothermal effect during cold nights. The research introduces a novel method for fabricating functional materials, pertinent to practical anti‐icing and de‐icing applications.
Tunable Second Harmonic Generation with Large Enhancement in A Nonlocal All‐Dielectric Metasurface Over A Broad Spectral Range
Authors: Jiang Hui , Sun Kaili , Jia Yuechen , Cai Yangjian , Levy Uriel , Han Zhanghua
Published: January 2024

Recently, all‐dielectric metasurfaces are profoundly exploited to enhance light‐matter interactions, resulting from the high quality‐factor (Q‐factor) optical resonances that based on novel concepts such as the bound states in the continuum (BIC). Unfortunately, BIC operates at a fixed resonance wavelength and a fixed wavevector for a specific structure. Here, the experimental demonstration of a dielectric nonlocal metasurface capable of robustly maintaining high‐Q resonances is reported, over a broad spectral range, where the specific wavelength is selected by controlling the incident angle. This is enabled by steering infinite‐Q guided modes (GMs) in subwavelength lattices into quasi‐GMs (QGMs), which are accessible by external radiations while retaining the same dispersion as the GMs. Such invaluable characteristics are achieved by harnessing the period‐doubling perturbation, implemented in a nonlocal metasurface structure on top of a lithium niobate (LN) film. Furthermore, spectrally tunable second‐harmonic generations are demonstrated in this structure with an enhancement factor of ≈1200 compare to that of a bare LN film of the same thickness over a large bandwidth. These results suggest that the QGMs supported by all‐dielectric nonlocal metasurfaces provide an excellent platform for enhancing light‐matter interactions with additional desired functionalities of spectral tunability and random selection of the operation wavelength.