bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and properties of fluorinated benzotriazole‐based donor‐acceptor‐type conjugated polymers via Pd‐catalyzed direct CH/CH coupling polymerization
Authors: Li Jingwen , Han Dong , Zhang Qiang , He Zewang , Lu Yan
Published: January 2021

Fluorine substituted benzotriazole (BTz) units have shown great potential in improving various conjugated polymers (CPs)‐based optoelectronic devices' performance. Thus, it is highly expected for the establishment of simple, efficient, and inexpensive accesses to such polymers. In this paper, Pd‐catalyzed direct CH/CH coupling polymerization is first employed for the synthesis of 5,6‐difluorobenzotriazole containing π‐CPs, which fully avoids prefunctionalization of monomers. Under the optimized conditions, a series of donor‐acceptor‐type π‐CPs with excellent regio‐regularity are facilely obtained via the direct CH/CH coupling reaction of 5,6‐difluoro‐2‐(2‐hexyldecyl)‐2H‐BTz with different thiophene analogs. The chemical structure of the as‐synthesized polymers are confirmed by NMR technique including 1H NMR, 19F NMR, and the edited heteronuclear singular quantum correlation and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation spectra as well as comparative study on the same polymers obtained via Stille coupling and direct (hetero)arylation polymerization. Further, their optical properties, electrochemical properties, and thermal stabilities are also carefully explored by UV–Vis absorption spectra, cyclic voltammograms as well as thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. On the basis of density functional theory (DFT) simulation, the effect of alkyl substituents attached to thiophene units on the reactivity and optical performance of the resultant polymers is explained. Our protocol exhibits remarkable advantages in synthetic simplicity, atom‐economy, high efficiency, and excellent regioselectivity of cross‐coupling, providing an alternative synthetic strategy for high‐performance optoelectronic materials.
Nonadherence to inhaled corticosteroids: A characteristic of the pediatric obese‐asthma phenotype?
Authors: Orriëns Lynn B. , Vijverberg Susanne J.H. , Maitland—van der Zee Anke H. , Longo Cristina
Published: January 2021

Background

Children with excess weight and asthma tend to respond less well to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) than children with normal weight, potentially resulting in nonadherence to ICS.

Objectives

To assess whether excess weight (body mass index ≥85th percentile) was associated with general, unintentional, and intentional nonadherence to ICS in children with asthma.

Methods

We analyzed data from 566 children aged 4–13 years with asthma, who used ICS as maintenance therapy, from the cross‐sectional Pharmacogenetics of Asthma medication in Children: Medication with Anti‐inflammatory effects study. General nonadherence was measured objectively with the proportion of days covered (<50%) and subjectively with the parent‐reported Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS <21) reflecting parent‐reported nonadherent behavior. Unintentional and intentional nonadherence were defined as forgetting to take medication and deliberately changing or skipping doses, respectively, from specific items of the MARS. We performed logistic regression analyses, stratifying estimates by asthma severity and age group.

Results

Excess weight was associated with a trend towards increased odds of parent‐reported nonadherent behavior (odds ratio [OR]: 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84–2.81) and objectively measured general nonadherence, but only in moderate‐to‐severe asthma (OR: 1.71; 95% CI: 0.84–3.48). The odds of intentional, but not unintentional, nonadherence seemed to be greater in children with excess weight than normal weight (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 0.94–4.01), and the association appeared to be stronger in younger (OR: 2.17; 95% CI 1.00–4.73) versus older children (OR: 1.18; 95% CI: 0.36–3.94).

Conclusions

Excess weight was associated with general nonadherence to ICS, but only in children with moderate‐to‐severe asthma, and nonadherent behavior, which seemed to be intentional.
Plants impact cellular immunity of caterpillars to an entomovirus
Authors: Wang Jin‐Yan , Zhang Hao , Siemann Evan , Fan Neng‐Neng , Ji Xiang‐Yun , Chen Yi‐Juan , Jiang Jie‐Xian , Wan Nian‐Feng
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

Tri‐trophic interactions among plants, insect herbivores and entomopathogens are one of the hot topics in ecology. Although plants have been shown to impact the interactions between herbivores and entomopathogens, it is still unclear how plants affect the cellular immunity of herbivores to entomopathogens.

RESULTS

The number of hemocytes and the proportion of two main cell types (granular hemocytes and plasmatocytes), plasmatocyte‐spreading rate, apoptosis rate, two Spodoptera exigua caspase (SeCasp‐1, SeCasp‐5) activities and gene expressions were all higher and the activities and gene expression of S. exigua inhibitor of apoptosis protein (SeIAP) were lower in nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV)‐infected caterpillars fed Ipomoea aquatica than those fed other plants or artificial diet. Scanning electron microscopy images were consistent with molecular patterns of immune responses.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that host plants affect the immune responses of herbivores to entomopathogens by manipulating the composition, morphology and apoptosis of herbivore hemocytes, which sheds light on the mechanisms that allow host plants to influence multi‐trophic interactions. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry
Ocean front detection and tracking using a team of heterogeneous marine vehicles
Authors: McCammon Seth , Marcon dos Santos Gilberto , Frantz Matthew , Welch T. P. , Best Graeme , Shearman R. Kipp , Nash Jonathan D. , Barth John A. , Adams Julie A. , Hollinger Geoffrey A.
Published: January 2021

Ocean monitoring is an expensive and time consuming endeavor, but it can be made more efficient through the use of teams of autonomous robots. In this paper, we present a system for the autonomous identification and tracking of ocean fronts by coordinating the sampling efforts of a heterogeneous team of autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The primary contributions of this study are (1) our algorithm for performing autonomous coordination using general autonomy principles: Sequential Allocation Monte Carlo Tree Search (SA‐MCTS) which incorporates domain knowledge into the environmental estimation through both augmenting a standard Gaussian process with a nearest neighbors prior and planning in a drifting reference frame, (2) our decision support user interface to help human operators oversee the autonomous system, and (3) the demonstration of the system's operation in a 2‐week long deployment in the Gulf of Mexico using a heterogeneous team of four Slocum gliders and two robotic ocean surface samplers. With these contributions, we aim to bridge the gap between state of the art autonomy algorithms and marine vehicle planning methods that have been tested in large‐scale field trials. This paper presents the first deployment of a general, heuristic‐based, multi‐robot coordination algorithm for an extended sampling mission.
Phase transitions of Best‐of‐two and Best‐of‐three on stochastic block models
Authors: Shimizu Nobutaka , Shiraga Takeharu
Published: January 2021

This is concerned with voting processes on graphs where each vertex holds one of two different opinions. In particular, we study the Best‐of‐two and the Best‐of‐three. Here at each synchronous round, each vertex updates its opinion to match the majority among the opinions of two random neighbors and itself (the Best‐of‐two) or the opinions of three random neighbors (the Best‐of‐three). In this study, we consider the Best‐of‐two and the Best‐of‐three on the stochastic block model G(2n, p, q), which is a random graph consisting of two distinct Erdős–Rényi graphs G(n, p) joined by random edges with a density q ≤ p. We prove phase transition results for these processes: there is a threshold r∗ such that, if q/p > r∗ then the process reaches consensus within rounds and the process requires rounds if q/p < r∗. For the Best‐of‐two and Best‐of‐three, the thresholds are and r∗ = 1/7, respectively.
The size‐Ramsey number of short subdivisions
Authors: Draganić Nemanja , Krivelevich Michael , Nenadov Rajko
Published: January 2021

The r‐size‐Ramsey number of a graph H is the smallest number of edges a graph G can have such that for every edge‐coloring of G with r colors there exists a monochromatic copy of H in G. For a graph H, we denote by Hq the graph obtained from H by subdividing its edges with q − 1 vertices each. In a recent paper of Kohayakawa, Retter and Rödl, it is shown that for all constant integers q, r ≥ 2 and every graph H on n vertices and of bounded maximum degree, the r‐size‐Ramsey number of Hq is at most , for n large enough. We improve upon this result using a significantly shorter argument by showing that for any such graph H.
Information content of stepped wedge designs with unequal cluster‐period sizes in linear mixed models: Informing incomplete designs
Authors: Kasza Jessica , Bowden Rhys , Forbes Andrew B.
Published: January 2021

In practice, stepped wedge trials frequently include clusters of differing sizes. However, investigations into the theoretical aspects of stepped wedge designs have, until recently, typically assumed equal numbers of subjects in each cluster and in each period. The information content of the cluster‐period cells, clusters, and periods of stepped wedge designs has previously been investigated assuming equal cluster‐period sizes, and has shown that incomplete stepped wedge designs may be efficient alternatives to the full stepped wedge. How this changes when cluster‐period sizes are not equal is unknown, and we investigate this here. Working within the linear mixed model framework, we show that the information contributed by design components (clusters, sequences, and periods) does depend on the sizes of each cluster‐period. Using a particular trial that assessed the impact of an individual education intervention on log‐length of stay in rehabilitation units, we demonstrate how strongly the efficiency of incomplete designs depends on which cells are excluded: smaller incomplete designs may be more powerful than alternative incomplete designs that include a greater total number of participants. This also serves to demonstrate how the pattern of information content can be used to inform a set of incomplete designs to be considered as alternatives to the complete stepped wedge design. Our theoretical results for the information content can be extended to a broad class of longitudinal (ie, multiple period) cluster randomized trial designs.
Personality antecedents of challenge and threat appraisal
Authors: Tomaka Joe , Magoc Dejan
Published: January 2021

It has been suggested in personality and emotion theories that traits can influence emotional states and behaviour through interpretive processes such as cognitive appraisals. The present study investigated the relationships between Big Five personality dimensions and the cognitive appraisal processes associated with challenge and threat states in a large sample of municipal firefighters. The study assessed the Big Five traits and cognitive appraisal tendencies using a new measure of challenge‐threat appraisal that measured appraisals directly and aggregated both across stressful situations and within six specific stressor domains. The results indicated that the Big Five traits related to overall challenge‐threat appraisal and their accompanying primary and secondary components in unique and compelling ways, with some traits related more strongly to primary appraisals of situational demands and others related more to secondary appraisals of coping abilities. Overall, the results provide insights into how personality traits are associated with stress‐related emotional experiences.
Imaging Secondary Electron Emission from a Single Atomic Layer
Authors: Dyck Ondrej , Swett Jacob L. , Lupini Andrew R. , Mol Jan A. , Jesse Stephen
Published: January 2021

Graphene‐based devices hold promise for a wide range of technological applications. Yet characterizing the structure and the electrical properties of a material that is only one atomic layer thick still poses technical challenges. Recent investigations indicate that secondary‐electron electron‐beam‐induced current (SE‐EBIC) imaging can reveal subtle details regarding electrical conductivity and electron transport with high spatial resolution. Here, it is shown that the SEEBIC imaging mode can be used to detect suspended single layers of graphene and distinguish between different numbers of layers. Pristine and contaminated areas of graphene are also compared to show that pristine graphene exhibits a substantially lower SE yield than contaminated regions. This SEEBIC imaging mode may provide valuable information for the engineering of surface coatings where SE yield is a priority.
Metal‐Organic Framework Hybrids Aid Metabolic Profiling for Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Li Xinxing , Kulkarni Anuja Shreeram , Liu Xun , Gao Wei‐Qiang , Huang Lin , Hu Zhiqian , Qian Kun
Published: January 2021

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common fatal cancer worldwide, accounting for ≈10% of cancer‐related mortality. Metabolic shift occurs from the very early stage during the development of CRC, which is of significant etiological and diagnostic importance toward precision medicine. Here, an advanced molecular tool to characterize the metabolic alterations in CRC, based on metal‐organic framework (MOF) hybrids is reported. Consuming only 500 nL of plasma without any sample pretreatment, MOF hybrids yield direct metabolic fingerprints by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry in seconds. A diagnostic prediction model by a machine learning algorithm is constructed, to discriminate CRC patients from normal controls with an average area under the curve of 0.947 for the discovery cohort and 0.912 for the independent validation cohort. In addition, CRC‐specific metabolic signature consisting of 34 potential biomarkers, based on the aforementioned diagnostic model is identified. The results advance the design of nanomaterial‐based platforms for metabolic analysis and establish a new liquid biopsy tool for CRC screening compatible with the current clinical workflow in practice.
A managerial operationalization of antifragility and its consequences in supply chains
Authors: Größler Andreas
Published: January 2021

Robust systems can recover after a shock to a previous steady state. Thus, to make organizations robust is a frequent goal of system dynamics projects. However, in recent years, the adequacy of robustness as a design criterion for systems (and, thus, of the models that represent them) has been challenged based on the ideas of antifragility, that is, the ability of a system to recover after a shock and to achieve a higher performance level than before the shock. The purpose of this article is to propose how antifragility can be interpreted and operationalized in managerial settings and to explore what consequences result from its existence for supply chain behaviour and performance. System dynamics modelling and simulation are employed, and the insights of the analyses are used for a critique of the antifragility concept. It is demonstrated that the antifragility concept can lose its unambiguous advantage in highly dynamic situations.
Photosynthesis metabolism in the Compositae: Current knowledge and future directions
Authors: Siniscalchi Carolina M. , Edwards Robert D. , Gomez Jorge L. , Moore Erika R. , Mandel Jennifer R.
Published: January 2021

Compositae accounts for ca. 10% of all flowering plants, being found in nearly all types of habitats worldwide. The family is particularly diverse in markedly dry and seasonal habitats, raising questions about what processes led to diversification in these challenging environments. The presence of C4 and CAM metabolism in some Compositae taxa has been known since the 1970s, and although some of these taxa have been extensively studied, such as Flaveria, there has been no systematic effort in gathering and reviewing data about photosynthesis metabolism in the family in the last few decades. In the present paper, we gathered data from more than 50 articles, spanning several different methods, raising information on photosynthesis metabolism for more than 400 Compositae species. We also present newly acquired carbon isotope data for 66 species, mostly from previously unsampled tribes. We analyzed photosynthesis metabolism in the tribe Tageteae using a phylogeny and ancestral character reconstruction. C4 photosynthesis in Compositae is restricted to two tribes: Tageteae, where it had two independent origins, and Coreopsideae, where it seems to have arisen only once. CAM metabolism is found in succulent members of tribe Senecioneae, and in Astereae and Eupatorieae, with an unknown number of evolutionary origins. We discuss the evolutionary implications of the results and propose future directions for studying photosynthesis metabolism in the family.
For a Better World for All: Teaching the Sustainable Development Goals Through Trade Books
Authors: Holshouser Kaitlyn O. , Medina Adriana L.
Published: January 2021

In this practitioner‐based teaching tip, the authors provide pragmatic tips to teachers regarding the integration of global education and literacy instruction. Through the pairing of the Sustainable Development Goals and carefully selected trade books, teachers are provided with a framework that can help them get started transforming their curriculum into one that is more globally minded. Throughout this teaching tip, teachers are encouraged to position themselves as learners along with their students, familiarize themselves with the Sustainable Development Goals, evaluate trade books for their relevancy to the Sustainable Development Goals, and explore the connections between local and global issues that are directly relevant to their students’ lives. Detailed steps walk readers through the planning process and excerpts from a teacher’s classroom provide support for the implementation practices recommended by the authors. Website and book recommendations provide teachers with tangible resources that can be easily transferred to classroom practice.
Ischaemic myelopathy in a cat with chronic kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, and hyperaldosteronism
Authors: Silvestrini Paolo , Piviani Martina , Sanchez Masian Daniel
Published: January 2021

Ischaemic myelopathy (IM) in cats often affects the cervical region. It is generally associated with an underlying predisposing condition with systemic arterial hypertension due to chronic kidney disease and cardiomyopathies the most frequently reported. The present case report describes the successful management of an old cat presented for acute onset of weakness, neck ventroflexion, and ataxia as a result of cervical IM secondary to severe systemic hypertension associated with hyperthyroidism, chronic renal disease, and primary hyperaldosteronism. Feline cervical IM carries a favourable prognosis with resolution of neurological deficits unless the underlying medical condition is not resolved, favouring further ischaemic events.
The inhibitory impact of ammonia on thermally hydrolyzed sludge fed anaerobic digestion
Authors: Li Baoqiang , Ladipo‐Obasa Mojolaoluwa , Romero Adrian , Wadhawan Tanush , Tobin Michael , Manning Elizabeth , Higgins Matthew , Al‐Omari Ahmed , Murthy Sudhir , Novak John T. , Riffat Rumana , De Clippeleir Haydée
Published: January 2021

This study evaluated the impact of ammonia on mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) with thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) treating a mixture of primary sludge and waste activated sludge and operated under constant organic loading rate of 9 kg COD/m3/d. Free ammonia concentrations in the digesters were varied between 37 and 966 mg NH3‐N/L, while maintaining all other operational conditions constant. A decrease in volatile solids reduction from 54 ± 5% (at <554 mg NH3‐N/L) to 35 ± 6% at the maximum free ammonia concentration of 966 mg NH3‐N/L was observed at steady‐state conditions. No impact of free ammonia on final dewaterability was detected. Free ammonia thus mostly limited methanogenesis. A free ammonia Monod inhibition constant of 847 ± 222 mg NH3‐N/L for methanogens was estimated based on the digester steady‐state methane rates dynamics. This study showed that current THP AD digesters (typically 110–260 mg NH3‐N/L) operate under 12%–18% ammonia inhibition for methanogenesis. Operation under SRT of 15 days, about 2 times more than needed to retain methanogens, can compensate for lower methanogens rates and avoid performance impacts. The later shows a good potential to operate under higher free and total ammonia concentration without jeopardizing performance.

Practitioner points

Only from a free ammonia concentration above 554 mg NH3‐N/L, decreased volatile solids reduction and biogas yield were observed.

A volatile solids reduction of 35 ± 6% at maximum free ammonia concentration of 966 mg NH3‐N/L was still achieved.

A Monod inhibition constant for methanogens of 847 ± 222 mg NH3‐N/L was estimated.

It was estimated that current THP AD systems (110–260 mg NH3‐N/L) operate under 12%–18% NH3 inhibition for methanogenesis.
ConFuzz: Coverage-Guided Property Fuzzing for Event-Driven Programs
Authors: Padhiyar Sumit , Sivaramakrishnan K. C.
Published: January 2021

Bug-free concurrent programs are hard to write due to non-determinism arising out of concurrency and program inputs. Since concurrency bugs typically manifest under specific inputs and thread schedules, conventional testing methodologies for concurrent programs like stress testing and random testing, which explore random schedules, have a strong chance of missing buggy schedules.

In this paper, we introduce a novel technique that combines property-based testing with mutation-based, grey box fuzzer, applied to event-driven OCaml programs. We have implemented this technique in , a directed concurrency bug-finding tool for event-driven OCaml programs. Using , programmers specify high-level program properties as assertions in the concurrent program. uses the popular greybox fuzzer AFL to generate inputs as well as concurrent schedules to maximise the likelihood of finding new schedules and paths in the program so as to make the assertion fail. does not require any modification to the concurrent program, which is free to perform arbitrary I/O operations. Our experimental results show that is easy-to-use, effective, detects concurrency bugs faster than Node.Fz - a random fuzzer for event-driven JavaScript programs, and is able to reproduce known concurrency bugs in widely used OCaml libraries.
Wenn Notarzt und Telenotarzt gemeinsam Leben retten
Authors: Follmann A. , Schröder H. , Neff G. , Rossaint R. , Hirsch F. , Felzen M.
Published: January 2021

Die Telemedizin ist in einigen Regionen Deutschlands bereits fester Bestandteil des Rettungsdienstes. Dieser Fallbericht handelt von einem Telenotarzteinsatz, bei dem die initiale Telekonsultation durch eine an der Einsatzstelle befindliche Notärztin erfolgte. Der Patient hatte eine lebensbedrohliche ventrikuläre Tachykardie mit zunehmender Kreislaufinstabilität. Dies stellte für die noch unerfahrene Notärztin eine extrem herausfordernde Einsatzsituation dar. Sie entschied sich, telemedizinische Unterstützung in Anspruch zu nehmen. So konnte sie angeleitet werden, bei dem instabilen Patienten einen i.o.-Zugang, eine medikamentöse Therapie und eine elektrische Kardioversion durchzuführen. Die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Telenotarzt ermöglichte der noch unerfahrenen Notärztin, eine leitlinienkonforme Therapie durchzuführen sowie den Patienten zeitnah stabilisiert ins Krankenhaus zu transportieren.
The vehicle routing problem with heterogeneous locker boxes
Authors: Grabenschweiger Jasmin , Doerner Karl F. , Hartl Richard F. , Savelsbergh Martin W. P.
Published: January 2021

To achieve logistic efficiency and customer convenience in last-mile delivery processes, a system with alternative delivery points in the form of locker box stations can be used. In such a system, customers can be served either at their home address within a certain time window, or at a locker box station where parcels can be picked up at any time. Customers can get a compensation payment when being served at a locker box. They can have a request of more than one parcel and the parcels can be of different sizes. At a locker box station, a limited number of slots of different sizes is available; we assume that parcels of one customer can be stored together in a slot. We consider the vehicle routing problem with heterogeneous locker boxes, where the total cost—consisting of routing and compensation costs—has to be minimized while taking into account the packing of parcels into locker boxes. We provide a mathematical formulation of the problem and propose a metaheuristic solution method. Instances and results from the literature for the problem with a single parcel and a single slot size are used to benchmark our metaheuristic solution method. For the problem with different sizes, we compare a unit-size model to a multi-size model, packing being considered in the latter. Finally, we analyze how different configurations of locker box stations work for different demand scenarios.
Developing a biorefinery from spent coffee grounds using subcritical water and hydrothermal carbonisation
Authors: Massaya Jackie , Chan Ka Ho , Mills-Lamptey Ben , Chuck Christopher J.
Published: January 2021

Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) have been extensively investigated as a feedstock to produce fuels, specialty chemicals and materials. Whilst a few reports have used cascade processes to generate several products from SCG, this work takes the novel approach of using integrated subcritical water extraction (SWE) and hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) to derive three products: a bioactive extract, a protein isolate (SCG PI) and solid fuel. SWE and HTC processes were optimized producing an antioxidant rich extract, with the chlorogenic acid (CGA) content and antioxidant activity determined. The protein content was quantified via total amino acid analysis, giving the first SCG specific elemental nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor of 7.90. HTC was then performed on the residual solids from SWE, the protein extraction and the raw feedstock. This biorefinery approach gave higher quality products than previously reported in single product systems. For example, pretreatment reduced nitrogen in the hydrochar (N = 0.23% wt, HHV = 33.30 MJ/kg) relative to the control (3.03% wt, HHV = 31.31 MJ/kg). Limiting biorefinery processes to the pretreatment and HTC preferentially increased protein content (33.0% vs 16.9% wt) and yield (53.0% vs 23.9%) of the protein isolate, rendering a hydrochar with a higher yield and HHV compared with hydrochar derived following upstream SWE process (33.30 vs 26.92 MJ/kg, 16.3% vs 14.7%, respectively). This work goes towards the complete utilisation of SCGs within a biorefinery, highlighting the potential of subcritical water processing to produce commercially viable products across the value chain.
Kashmir in the Aftermath of Partition
Authors: Hussain Shahla
Published: January 2021

Kashmir remains one of the world's most militarized areas of dispute, which has been in the grips of an armed insurgency against India since the late 1980s. In existing scholarship, ideas of territoriality, state sovereignty, and national security have dominated the nationalist discourses on the Kashmir conflict. This book, in contrast, places Kashmir and Kashmiris at the centre of historical debate and investigates a broad range of sources to illuminate a century of political players and social structures in contested Kashmir and to reveal Kashmiris' myriad imaginings of 'freedom,' transcending the borders of the nation-states between which the region is partitioned. It contends that the colonial constructs of territorial nationalism and non-negotiable sovereignty have failed to provide stable political structures on the South Asian subcontinent. Instead, the trauma of partition continues to unfold in Kashmir as Kashmiris struggle for dignity and peace.
Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya
Authors: Walton Beatrice A.
Published: January 2021

In Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to dismiss a series of customary international law claims brought by Eritrean refugees against a Canadian mining corporation for grave human rights abuses committed in Eritrea. In doing so, the Supreme Court opened the possibility of a novel front for transnational human rights litigation: common law tort claims based on customary international law. Under the doctrine of adoption, customary international law is directly incorporated into the Canadian common law. However, Canadian courts have not yet upheld a private right of action for violations of customary international law. Writing for a divided court (5–4), Justice Abella allowed the plaintiffs’ claims to proceed, finding that it is not “plain and obvious” that the plaintiffs’ customary international law claims are bound to fail under either Canada's burgeoning “transnational” or “foreign relations” law, or international law itself. In reaching this conclusion, she offered a unique and overdue reflection on the role of national courts in identifying, adopting, and developing custom. A larger majority of the court (7–2) also rejected outright the application of the act of state doctrine in Canada, tracking several common law systems in limiting the doctrine in favor of human rights litigants.
Becoming Armenian: Religious Conversions in the Late Imperial South Caucasus
Authors: Hamed-Troyansky Vladimir
Published: January 2021

In the nineteenth-century South Caucasus, hundreds of local farmers and nomads petitioned Russian authorities to allow them to become Christians. Most of them were Muslims and specifically requested to join the Armenian Apostolic Church. This article explores religious conversions to Armenian Christianity on Russia's mountainous southern border with the Ottoman Empire and Iran. It demonstrates that tsarist reforms, chiefly the peasant reform and the sedentarization of nomads, accelerated labor migration within the region, bringing many Muslims, Yazidis, and Assyrians into an Armenian environment. Local anxieties over Russian colonialism further encouraged conversions. I argue that by converting to Armenian Christianity many rural South Caucasians benefited from a change in their legal status, which came with the right to move residence, access to agricultural land, and other freedoms. Russia's Jewish communities, on the other hand, saw conversion to Armenian Christianity as a legal means to circumvent discrimination and obtain the right to live outside of the Pale of Settlement. By drawing on converts’ petitions and officials’ decisions, this article illustrates that the Russian government emerged as an ultimate arbiter of religious conversions, evaluating the sincerity of petitioners’ faith and how Armenian they had become, while preserving the empire's religious and social hierarchies.
Poetics of the People: The politics of debating local identity in Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement and its literature (2014–16)
Authors: YEUNG WAYNE C. F.
Published: January 2021

This article scrutinizes the negotiations with, and discursive refashioning of, Hong Kong identity during and after the Umbrella Movement (2014–16). I argue that these discursive experimentations borne out of the Umbrella Movement bring to light Hong Kong's uniquely cultural formulations of democratic self-determination that exceed the traditional analytic framework of Hong Kong cultural studies. The article analyses literary works as a hitherto neglected facet of the ‘Umbrella culture’ that, as a whole, acts as a discursive laboratory for multiple reflexive theorizations of Hong Kong identity and democratic subjectivity to be devised and debated. Cases studied here include the protesters’ on-site cultural expressions and two major Hong Kong literary authors: Dung Kai-cheung and Wong Bik-wan. This article examines social-movements artworks and literary works in terms of their performative and ethnographic dimensions, arguing that they are important intellectual and cultural-political processes to produce new knowledge about collective identity. This article first demonstrates how the Umbrella artworks repurpose the performative and the ethnographic strategies in Saisai's canonical novel, My City (1975), often cited as the ur-text of Hong Kong identity, to proclaim themselves as ‘we the Hong Kong people’. After reading Dung's and Wong's Umbrella-related works, I then show in this article that the performative and the ethnographic can open up spaces to reconfigure collective identity beyond its existent discourses. Putting theories of performativity into dialogue with critical ethnography, I consider the politics of negotiating and debating cultural identity in literature and protest arts as integral to postcolonial democratic action.
Out of the Ordinary: Confronting Paradox in the Historiography of Francoism
Authors: Wright Stephanie
Published: January 2021

On 19 November 1975 Francisco Franco lay dying in Madrid's La Paz hospital. Clutching the cloak of the Virgin del Pilar, and with the ill-gotten relic of St Teresa of Ávila's hand at his bedside, the ailing dictator would soon depart this existence following the withdrawal of life support. For Enrique Moradiellos in Franco: Anatomy of a Dictator, the juxtaposition of modernity and tradition within this deathbed scene was emblematic of the countless paradoxes which characterised the Francoist dictatorship in its later years. Since the dictator's death scholars have continued to grapple with such paradoxes, struggling over how best to define a regime which has come to occupy a notoriously contentious space within contemporary Spanish politics and society. Like a fairground hall of mirrors, historical representations of Francoism have been stretched or squashed by different analytical frames, shaped in many cases by the political and social legacies of the dictatorship. Despite dubious claims to ‘objectivity’, the regime's apologists depict Francoism as a stabilising antidote to the ‘chaos’ of republicanism, conveniently overlooking the destruction and misery which followed the coup of 18 July 1936. Meanwhile, those who seek justice for the regime's victims continue to emphasise the repressive nature of the dictatorship. Though an important component of Francoism's modus operandi, repression does not, by itself, help us to fully understand Francoism's long-term survival or the consent it secured from millions of ordinary Spaniards. The titles under review reflect an increasing willingness to confront Francoism's many contradictions head-on, and to regard the paradoxical nature of the regime not as a conceptual knot to be disentangled, but as a historiographical problem in itself. Historians exploring the experiences of ‘ordinary’ people have proved particularly adept at addressing such complexities, as have scholars adopting comparative or transnational frameworks which reach beyond traditional emphasis on fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The titles surveyed in this article offer a snapshot of recent developments in the field, while signposting potential avenues through which historians of Francoism might contribute to broader discussions within the historiography of modern Europe.
Consistent Relationships Among Productivity Rate Methods in the NE Subarctic Pacific
Authors: Timmerman Amanda H. V. , Hamme Roberta C.
Published: January 2021

Phytoplankton photosynthesize in surface waters, exporting organic carbon to depth through the biological pump. Quantifying productivity and the export of carbon is important to understanding the global carbon cycle and predicting its future changes. An issue in quantifying rates is that the many existing methods are not all equivalent, making comparisons between studies using different methods challenging. Our goal is to compare in situ and in vitro methods in order to identify where methods agree in the NE subarctic Pacific. During this study, we measured productivity using two in situ methods (oxygen/argon ratio and triple oxygen isotope mass balance approaches) and four in vitro methods (13C, , , and H218O uptake rates through incubations), and compared the results with one satellite‐based productivity estimate. The in situ carbon export method was consistently higher than the in vitro method, likely due to dissolved organic matter release not included in our incubation measurements. Upwelling bringing low‐O2 water to the surface and the interaction between bloom dynamics and a method's inherent time of integration cause outliers from the relationship. In contrast, in situ and in vitro methods for estimating gross primary production were consistent across a wide range in rates. We find that chlorophyll‐a concentration is strongly related to many of our measured rates. Satellite estimates of primary production are consistently different from 13C incubations. Our identification of consistent trends and causes for disagreement will allow observations from one method to be converted to another, facilitating future comparisons across studies.
High‐Speed 3D Imaging of Multiphase Systems: Applying SCAPE Microscopy to Analog Experiments in Volcanology and Earth Sciences
Authors: Oppenheimer J. , Patel K. , Lindoo A. , Hillman E. M. C. , Lev E.
Published: January 2021

Multiphase suspensions are complex systems where microscopic interactions between suspended bubbles, particles, and liquids can signiﬁcantly alter bulk behavior. Observing the internal mechanics of such suspensions can help constrain the dynamics of natural multiphase flows. To capture these internal processes at high speed and in three dimensions, we propose the use of Swept Confocally Aligned Planar Excitation (SCAPE) microscopy in analog experiments. This imaging technique, developed for neuroscience and biology, uses a sweeping light sheet to illuminate and image fluorophores within a sample. We performed experiments using water and various oils as the liquid phases, glass or PMMA particles for solids, and air or CO2 for gas, which we imaged at rates >50 volumes per second, over a volume size of ∼1 × 1 × 0.4 mm. We focused on three case studies: (1) bubble nucleation, growth, and rise in sparkling water, where we found that bubble detachment from angular PMMA particles left residual bubbles that also grew and detached, generating more bubbles compared to smooth particles; (2) ﬂow of immiscible liquids (water droplets suspended in canola oil) in a porous matrix of PMMA beads, which highlighted the importance of pore and throat sizes on droplet velocities; and (3) injection of air bubbles into concentrated suspensions of glass beads or crushed PMMA particles in a refractive‐index‐matched liquid, which revealed particle motion and strong alterations of the bubble shape. We conclude that SCAPE microscopy is a powerful tool to study the dynamics of multiphase systems.
Pressure Solution Compaction During Creep Deformation of Tournemire Shale: Implications for Temporal Sealing in Shales
Authors: Geng Zhi , Bonnelye Audrey , David Christian , Dick Pierre , Wang Yanfei , Schubnel Alexandre
Published: January 2021

The temporal evolution of gouge compaction determines fluid transfer and rock rupture dynamics. Thus, studies on the time‐dependent creep compaction processes of shale materials may elucidate the chemo‐mechanical behavior of shallow clay‐rich zones. We investigated this problem by combining creep experiments conducted in triaxial compression under upper crustal conditions with modeled pressure solution processes in Tournemire shale. The shale samples were deformed parallel and perpendicular to the bedding at low (10 MPa, 26°C, this study) and high (80 MPa, 26°C, published by Geng et al., 2018, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB016169) pressures. We monitored the deformation during stepping creep experiments until sample failure. Our results differ from those of traditional creep experiments and show that the creep failure strength of Tournemire shale samples increased significantly (by ∼64%) at both pressures. Our experiments suggest that at appropriate temperatures, the pressure solution is highly active and is the dominant temporal sealing mechanism in the shale. Using our experimental data and the statistical rock physics method, we modeled the temporal reduction of effective porosity in terms of depth and temperature. Our thermal‐stress coupled modeling results suggest that the pressure solution induced sealing is the most active at middle‐shallow depths (∼3.8 km). We believe that the sealing capacity and creep failure strength of dolomite‐rich shales may change significantly at middle‐shallow depths, indicating an important influence on reservoir fluids transfer and fault gouge strength.
Precipitation Characteristics and Future Changes Over the Southern Slope of Tibetan Plateau Simulated by a High‐Resolution Global Nonhydrostatic Model
Authors: Na Ying , Lu Riyu , Fu Qiang , Kodama Chihiro
Published: January 2021

Current climate model resolution cannot accurately describe the complex topography over the Tibetan Plateau, which limits our understanding of past and future precipitation over this region. This study investigates the daily precipitation characteristics and its future changes over the Tibetan Plateau, especially for the southern slope of Tibetan Plateau (SSTP), by 14‐km Nonhydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) with explicitly calculated convection for historical and future 30‐years period. By comparing with the satellite Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), NICAM well reproduces the historical precipitation spatial pattern, seasonal cycle, and the extreme precipitation belt over SSTP, but overestimates precipitation amount by ∼35%. It is found that heavy precipitation probability decreases as elevation becomes higher while the light precipitation generally shows the opposite. For the precipitation changes during June to September from 1979–2008 to 2075–2104, NICAM predicts that mean precipitation will decrease over low‐level SSTP but increase over high‐level SSTP. Nonprecipitation and heavy precipitation probability will increase while light precipitation probability will decrease in the future over SSTP. The extreme precipitation probability and intensity will increase ∼50%/°C and ∼8%/°C over SSTP, and this increase is more obvious as elevation becomes higher. The robust increase of extreme precipitation along the SSTP topography is unique and has not been identified by the climate model simulations before. The strong meridional gradient of specific humidity over SSTP is found to be further enhanced under global warming, and this gradient enhancement is suggested to be responsible for the increase in the extreme precipitation over SSTP.
The Impact of Slantwise Descending Dry Intrusions on the Marine Boundary Layer and Air‐Sea Interface Over the ARM Eastern North Atlantic Site
Authors: Ilotoviz E. , Ghate V. P. , Raveh‐Rubin S.
Published: January 2021

Dry intrusions (DIs) are synoptic‐scale slantwise descending airstreams from the midlatitude upper troposphere toward the boundary layer at lower latitudes. Typically occurring behind cold fronts, such intrusions of dry air often reach the boundary layer and cause its deepening, thereby affecting boundary‐layer clouds. Although subsidence is generally an inherent feature of the subtropical marine boundary layer (MBL), it is unclear how the MBL reacts to the transient, dynamically distinct DI. In this study, reanalysis data were combined with observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) site (39.1°N,28.0°W) to characterize the impact of DIs on MBL characteristics and clouds. Specifically, an objective criterion is applied to the observations made during the winter months of 2016–2018 to identify the DI days from those before and following DIs, and reference periods without DIs. The analyses suggest substantial deepening of the well‐mixed boundary layer accompanied by changes in the cloud, precipitation and thermodynamic properties during the DI events. During the DI, the lower troposphere cooled and dried substantially thereby inducing strong surface sensible and latent heat fluxes. All while a strong inversion builds up at the elevated MBL top affecting cloud occurrence. The results show DIs to affect the boundary layer and cloud structure at the ENA site ∼21% of the time in winter months, with the response of the cloud fields to the DI‐fronts substantially different than that to the non‐DI fronts. Hence, the DI events should be considered while studying boundary layer and cloud processes in the region.
Investigating the Influences of Crustal Thickness and Temperature on the Uplift of Mantle Materials Beneath Large Impact Craters on the Moon
Authors: Ding Min , Soderblom Jason M. , Bierson Carver J. , Zuber Maria T.
Published: January 2021

In this work, we examine variations in the mantle uplift associated with large lunar impact craters and basins between major terranes. This study is based on Bouguer gravity anomalies of 100–650‐km diameter impact craters using Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) observations and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) crater database. The Bouguer gravity anomalies of 324 large impact craters analyzed herein are primarily controlled by the uplifted crust‐mantle (Moho) interface in the central region of these impact craters, while postimpact mare deposits that represent ∼25%–35% of the postimpact deposit column also contribute to the gravity anomalies of mare craters. The central uplift of the Moho interface is primarily controlled by impact energy and increases to ∼ 30 km for a 650‐km diameter crater. Analyses of nonmare craters in the Feldspathic Highlands Terrane (FHT) with varied crustal thickness (Tc) reveal that the onset crater diameter (Dmin) with an uplifted Moho interface is dependent on the local Tc: Dmin ∼ 150 + 1.3Tc (in a unit of km). This equation also provides a quantification of the depth‐dependent attenuation of impact‐induced structural uplift, using the Moho uplift as a proxy for the structural uplift. The Moho uplift of large craters in the South Pole‐Aitken (SPA) Terrane is not statistically different from the FHT craters, consistent with limited overall thermal difference between these two terranes and compensational thermal effects at crater collapse and viscoelastic relaxation stages.
Modeling Earth’s Ever-Shifting Magnetism
Authors: Chulliat Arnaud , Brown William , Alken Patrick , Macmillan Susan , Paniccia Michael
Published: January 2021

The World Magnetic Model, updated every 5 years through an international collaboration, supports numerous technologies that help us find our way.
Genetic barcoding of museum eggshell improves data integrity of avian biological collections
Authors: Grealy Alicia , Langmore Naomi E. , Joseph Leo , Holleley Clare E.
Published: January 2021

Natural history collections are often plagued by missing or inaccurate metadata for collection items, particularly for specimens that are difficult to verify or rare. Avian eggshell in particular can be challenging to identify due to extensive morphological ambiguity among taxa. Species identifications can be improved using DNA extracted from museum eggshell; however, the suitability of current methods for use on small museum eggshell specimens has not been rigorously tested, hindering uptake. In this study, we compare three sampling methodologies to genetically identify 45 data-poor eggshell specimens, including a putatively extinct bird’s egg. Using an optimised drilling technique to retrieve eggshell powder, we demonstrate that sufficient DNA for molecular identification can be obtained from even the tiniest eggshells without significant alteration to the specimen’s appearance or integrity. This method proved superior to swabbing the external surface or sampling the interior; however, we also show that these methods can be viable alternatives. We then applied our drilling method to confirm that a purported clutch of Paradise Parrot eggs collected 40 years after the species’ accepted extinction date were falsely identified, laying to rest a 53-year-old ornithological controversy. Thus, even the smallest museum eggshells can offer new insights into old questions.