bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immune-related transcripts, microbiota and vector competence differ in dengue-2 virus-infected geographically distinct Aedes aegypti populations
Authors: Chen Tse-Yu , Bozic Jovana , Mathias Derrick , Smartt Chelsea T.
Published: May 2023

Background

Vector competence in Aedes aegypti is influenced by various factors. Crucial new control methods can be developed by recognizing which factors affect virus and mosquito interactions.

Methods

In the present study we used three geographically distinct Ae. aegypti populations and compared their susceptibility to infection by dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2). To identify any differences among the three mosquito populations, we evaluated expression levels of immune-related genes and assessed the presence of microbiota that might contribute to the uniqueness in their vector competence.

Results

Based on the results from the DENV-2 competence study, we categorized the three geographically distinct Ae. aegypti populations into a refractory population (Vilas do Atlântico), a susceptible population (Vero) and a susceptible but low transmission population (California). The immune-related transcripts were highly expressed in the California population but not in the refractory population. However, the Rel-1 gene was upregulated in the Vilas do Atlântico population following ingestion of a non-infectious blood meal, suggesting the gene’s involvement in non-viral responses, such as response to microbiota. Screening of the bacteria, fungi and flaviviruses revealed differences between populations, and any of these could be one of the factors that interfere with the vector competence.

Conclusions

The results reveal potential factors that might impact the virus and mosquito interaction, as well as influence the Ae. aegypti refractory phenotype.

Graphical Abstract
Premature ovarian insufficiency is associated with global alterations in the regulatory landscape and gene expression in balanced X-autosome translocations
Authors: Di-Battista Adriana , Favilla Bianca Pereira , Zamariolli Malú , Nunes Natália , Defelicibus Alexandre , Armelin-Correa Lucia , da Silva Israel Tojal , Reymond Alexandre , Moyses-Oliveira Mariana , Melaragno Maria Isabel
Published: May 2023

Background

Patients with balanced X-autosome translocations and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) constitute an interesting paradigm to study the effect of chromosome repositioning. Their breakpoints are clustered within cytobands Xq13–Xq21, 80% of them in Xq21, and usually, no gene disruption can be associated with POI phenotype. As deletions within Xq21 do not cause POI, and since different breakpoints and translocations with different autosomes lead to this same gonadal phenotype, a “position effect” is hypothesized as a possible mechanism underlying POI pathogenesis.

Objective and methods

To study the effect of the balanced X-autosome translocations that result in POI, we fine-mapped the breakpoints in six patients with POI and balanced X-autosome translocations and addressed gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes in four of them.

Results

We observed differential expression in 85 coding genes, associated with protein regulation, multicellular regulation, integrin signaling, and immune response pathways, and 120 differential peaks for the three interrogated histone marks, most of which were mapped in high-activity chromatin state regions. The integrative analysis between transcriptome and chromatin data pointed to 12 peaks mapped less than 2 Mb from 11 differentially expressed genes in genomic regions not related to the patients’ chromosomal rearrangement, suggesting that translocations have broad effects on the chromatin structure.

Conclusion

Since a wide impact on gene regulation was observed in patients, our results observed in this study support the hypothesis of position effect as a pathogenic mechanism for premature ovarian insufficiency associated with X-autosome translocations. This work emphasizes the relevance of chromatin changes in structural variation, since it advances our knowledge of the impact of perturbations in the regulatory landscape within interphase nuclei, resulting in the position effect pathogenicity.
Plant growth regulators improve nitrogen metabolism, yield, and quality of soybean–rhizobia symbiosis
Authors: Chen Wenhao , Li Juan , Yuan Huawei , You Ling , Wei Qin , Feng Ruizhang , Jiang Sipei , Zhao Xiaohong
Published: May 2023

Purpose

In recent years, considerable research has been conducted on the use of plant growth regulators (PGRs) to improve crop yields. Large amounts of PGRs are applied to regulate crop growth. However, few studies have assessed the impact of PGRs, which leave soil residues, on soil microorganisms, especially rhizobia.

Methods

In this study, the influence of inoculation of soybean roots with Sinorhizobium fredii and Bradyrhizobium japonicum exposed to gibberellin A3 (GA3) and mepiquat chloride (MC) on nodule number, nitrogenase activity, and a symbiotic nitrogen fixation gene (fixA) expression was studied. The nitrate content, free amino acids, and nitrate reductase activity of the roots, and seed yield and quality of soybean were measured.

Result

Nodulation was promoted to some extent, whereas nitrogenase activity and fixA expression were inhibited to some extent by treatment with GA3; however, these effects were reversed by treatment with MC. In a pot experiment to study phenotypic characteristics, rhizobia treatment in combination with GA3 or MC significantly improved soybean yield and seed nitrogen content, and increased the root nitrate content, free amino acid content, and nitrate reductase activity.

Conclusion

The results indicated that PGRs, which leave soil residues, have significant positive effects on the growth and activity of soybean and rhizobia.
Vibrio vulnificus pneumonia with multiorgan failure: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Abeyagunawardena Ishanya , Priyankara Dilshan
Published: May 2023

Background

Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative bacterium causing three clinical syndromes namely, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin sepsis and primary sepsis. Primary sepsis exhibits mortality rates exceeding 50%, particularly in the immunocompromised. Vibrio vulnificus is transmitted via consumption of contaminated seafood and contaminated seawater skin exposure. We describe a rare case of an immunocompetent male presenting with an atypical Vibrio vulnificus infection, culminating in severe pneumonia requiring intensive care.

Case presentation

A 46 year old Indian male dockyard worker, a non-smoker and teetotaler, of Indian origin presented to the emergency treatment unit of a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka, with fever, productive cough with yellow sputum, pleuritic chest pain and tachypnea for five days. He had no gastrointestinal or skin manifestations. His respiratory rate was 38 breaths/min, pulse rate was 120 bpm, blood pressure was 107/75 mmHg and pulse oximetry was 85% on air. Chest X-ray revealed consolidation of the left lung. Empiric intravenous Piperacillin-tazobactam and Clarithromycin were commenced after obtaining blood and sputum cultures. Over the next 24 h, his oxygen requirement rose and as he required vasopressor support, he was admitted to the intensive care unit. He was intubated and bronchoscopy was performed on day two, which demonstrated thick secretions from left upper bronchial segments. His antibiotics were changed to intravenous ceftriaxone and doxycycline following a positive blood culture report of Vibrio vulnificus. He was ventilated for ten days and his intensive care stay was complicated with a non-oliguric acute kidney injury, with serum creatinine rising up to 8.67 mg/dL (0.81–0.44 mg/dL). He developed mild thrombocytopenia with platelets dropping to 115 × 103 /uL (150–450 × 103/uL) which resolved spontaneously. Vasopressors were weaned off by day eight and the patient was extubated on day ten. He was discharged from intensive care on day twelve and made a full recovery.

Conclusions

Pneumonia itself is an atypical manifestation of Vibrio vulnificus and furthermore, this patient was immunocompetent and did not exhibit the classical gastro-intestinal and skin manifestations. This case highlights the occurrence of atypical Vibrio sp. infections in patients with high exposure risks and the need for early supportive and appropriate antibiotic therapies.
Circuit- and laminar-specific regulation of medial prefrontal neurons by chronic stress
Authors: Liu Wei-Zhu , Wang Chun-Yan , Wang Yu , Cai Mei-Ting , Zhong Wei-Xiang , Liu Tian , Wang Zhi-Hao , Pan Han-Qing , Zhang Wen-Hua , Pan Bing-Xing
Published: May 2023

Background

Chronic stress exposure increases the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a hub for controlling stress responses through communicating with multiple limbic structures, including the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, considering the complex topographical organization of the mPFC neurons in different subregions (dmPFC vs. vmPFC) and across multiple layers (Layer II/III vs. Layer V), the exact effects of chronic stress on these distinct mPFC output neurons remain largely unknown.

Results

We first characterized the topographical organization of mPFC neurons projecting to BLA and NAc. Then, by using a typical mouse model of chronic restraint stress (CRS), we investigated the effects of chronic stress on the synaptic activity and intrinsic properties of the two mPFC neuronal populations. Our results showed that there was limited collateralization of the BLA- and NAc-projecting pyramidal neurons, regardless of the subregion or layer they were situated in. CRS significantly reduced the inhibitory synaptic transmission onto the BLA-projecting neurons in dmPFC layer V without any effect on the excitatory synaptic transmission, thus leading to a shift of the excitation-inhibition (E-I) balance toward excitation. However, CRS did not affect the E-I balance in NAc-projecting neurons in any subregions or layers of mPFC. Moreover, CRS also preferentially increased the intrinsic excitability of the BLA-projecting neurons in dmPFC layer V. By contrast, it even caused a decreasing tendency in the excitability of NAc-projecting neurons in vmPFC layer II/III.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that chronic stress exposure preferentially modulates the activity of the mPFC-BLA circuit in a subregion (dmPFC) and laminar (layer V) -dependent manner.
On the statistical background of quantum mechanics: generalities and a concrete example
Authors: Le Berre Martine , Pomeau Yves
Published: May 2023

We revisit our description of randomness in quantum processes that began in collaboration of Jean Ginibre. The calculations were performed on a worked example: the fluorescence of a single two-level atom pumped by a resonant laser field. This pump laser is described classically (by a function, not an operator). Our aim is first to built a Kolmogorov-type equation (K-equation) for the atomic state, so that the two parameters θ, φ that define this density matrix are random functions of time, therefore the atomic density matrix is a random density matrix. Such an approach, initiated for gas kinetics, was not yet applied to quantum phenomena, whereas it is especially tailored to very quick events well separated (in time) like the quantum jumps observed in spontaneous emission of photons by an atom. Here, we try to clarify the basis of our statistical approach leading to the K-equation below, and we present the main results deduced from it. We explain finally that our approach can be interpreted in terms of Everett’s theory of many-worlds, because at every emission a new history begins for the atom, with two nonoverlapping wave functions.
The influence of maternal reflective functioning and parenting behavior on infant development in the context of perinatal intimate partner violence: a study protocol
Authors: Jongenelen Inês , Pinto Tiago Miguel , Costa Raquel , Pasion Rita , Morais Ana , Henriques Sandra , Lamela Diogo
Published: May 2023

Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects 25% of children under the age of five worldwide, yet the impact of perinatal IPV and its underlying mechanisms on infant development remains poorly understood. IPV indirectly affects infant development through the mother’s parenting behavior, but research on maternal neuro and cognitive processes, such as parental reflective functioning (PRF), is scarce, despite its potential as an unfolding mechanism. The objective of our study, Peri_IPV, is to examine the direct and indirect pathways linking perinatal IPV and infant development. We will analyze the direct impact of perinatal IPV on mothers’ neuro and cognitive parental reflective functioning (PRF) and parenting behavior during the postpartum period, the direct impact of perinatal IPV on infant development, and whether maternal PRF mediates the link between perinatal IPV and parenting behavior. We will also explore the mediation role of parenting behavior in the association between perinatal IPV and infant development and whether the impact of perinatal IPV on infant development occurs through the links between maternal PRF and parenting behavior. Finally, we will examine the moderation role of mother’s adult attachment in the impact of perinatal IPV on maternal neuro and cognitive PRF and parenting behavior during the postpartum period, as well as on infant development.

Methods

Our study will use a multi-method, prospective design to capture different levels of PRF, parenting behavior, and infant development. Three-hundred and forty pregnant women will participate in a 4-wave longitudinal study from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy to 12 months postpartum. In the 3rd trimester and 2 months postpartum, women will report on their sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics. In all assessment waves, mothers will complete self-reported measures of IPV, cognitive PRF, and adult attachment. At 2 months postpartum, women’s neuro PRF will be monitored, and at 5 months postpartum, their parenting behavior will be assessed. The infant-mother attachment will be assessed at 12 months postpartum.

Discussion

Our study’s innovative focus on maternal neuro and cognitive processes and their impact on infant development will inform evidence-based early intervention and clinical practices for vulnerable infants exposed to IPV.
Prescription characteristics associated with drug overdose risk among adults prescribed benzodiazepines: a cohort study
Authors: Maust Donovan T. , Bohnert Amy S. B. , Strominger Julie , Goldstick Jason E.
Published: May 2023

Background

Drug overdose (OD) deaths in the U.S. continue to rise. After opioids, benzodiazepines (BZD) are the medication most commonly involved in prescription overdoses, yet OD risk factors among those prescribed BZD are not well understood. Our objective was to examine characteristics of BZD, opioid, and other psychotropic prescriptions associated with increased drug OD risk following a BZD prescription.

Methods

We completed a retrospective cohort study using a 20% sample of Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug coverage. We identified patients with a BZD prescription (“index”) claim between 1 April 2016 and 31 December 2017. In the 6 months pre-index, those without and with BZD claims comprised incident and continuing cohorts, which were split by age (incident < 65 [n = 105,737], 65 + [n = 385,951]; continuing < 65 [n =  240,358], 65 + [n = 508,230]). Exposures of interest were: average daily dose and days prescribed of the index BZD; baseline BZD medication possession ratio (MPR) for the continuing cohort; co-prescribed opioids and psychotropics. Our primary outcome was a treated drug OD event (including accidental, intentional, undetermined, or adverse effect) within 30 days of the index BZD, examined using Cox proportional hazards.

Results

Among incident and continuing BZD cohorts, 0.78% and 0.56% experienced an OD event. Compared to 14–30 days, a < 14-day fill corresponded to higher OD risk in incident (< 65 adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.16 [95% CI 1.03–1.31]; 65 + : aHR 1.21 [CI 1.13–1.30]) and continuing (< 65: aHR 1.33 [CI 1.15–1.53]; 65 + : aHR 1.43 [CI 1.30–1.57]) cohorts. Among continuing users, lower baseline exposure (i.e., MPR < 0.5) was associated with increased OD risk for those < 65 (aHR 1.20 [CI 1.06–1.36]); 65 + (aHR 1.12 [CI 1.01–1.24]). Along with opioids, concurrent antipsychotic use and antiepileptic use were associated with elevated risk of OD in all 4 cohorts (e.g., aHRs for the continuing 65 + cohort: opioid, 1.73 [CI 1.58–1.90]; antipsychotic, 1.33 [CI 1.18–1.50]; antiepileptic, 1.18 [1.08–1.30]).

Conclusions

In both the incident and continuing cohorts, patients dispensed fewer days' supply were at increased OD risk; those in the continuing cohort with more limited baseline BZD exposure were also at elevated risk. Concurrent medication exposures including opioids, antipsychotics, and antiepileptics were associated with short-term elevated OD risk.
Long-term clinical results of alumina ceramic medial pivot total knee arthroplasty: a 10-year follow-up study
Authors: Ueyama Hideki , Nakagawa Shigeru , Kishimura Yuichi , Minoda Yukihide , Nakamura Suguru , Koyanagi Junichiro , Yamamura Mitsuyoshi , Kadoya Yoshinori
Published: May 2023

Background

The newly-designed alumina ceramic medial pivot total knee prosthesis was introduced to reduce polyethylene wear and better fit the anatomical morphology of the Asian population. This study aimed to clarify the long-term clinical results of alumina medial pivot total knee arthroplasty over a minimum follow-up period of 10 years.

Methods

The data of 135 consecutive patients who underwent primary alumina medial pivot total knee arthroplasty were analyzed in this retrospective cohort study. Patients were examined over a minimum 10-year follow-up period. The knee range of motion, Knee Society Score (KSS) knee score, Knee Society Score function score, and radiological parameters were assessed. The survival rate was also evaluated by using reoperation and revision as endpoints.

Results

The mean follow-up period lasted 11.8 ± 1.4 years. Patients who were not followed accounted for 7.4% of the total cohort. Knee and function scores of KSS improved significantly following total knee arthroplasty (P < 0.001). In 27 individuals (28.1%), a radiolucent line was observed. Aseptic loosening occurred in three cases (3.1%). The survival rates for reoperation and revision were 94.8% and 95.8% 10 years after the operation, respectively.

Conclusions

During a minimum 10-year follow-up period, the present model of alumina medial pivot total knee arthroplasty showed good clinical outcomes and survival rates.
Multiple higher-order topological phases with even and odd pairs of zero-energy corner modes in a C3symmetry broken model
Authors: Saha Sudarshan , Nag Tanay , Mandal Saptarshi
Published: May 2023

Here we study emergent higher-order topological (HOTI) phases in the extended Haldane model without C
3 symmetry. For the inversion symmetric case, the QSHI and QAHI phases can embed the HOTI phases while the remaining QASHI phase does not yield any HOTI phases. Remarkably, four-fold degeneracy of zero-energy corner states can be reduced to two-fold under the application (withdrawal) of sub-lattice mass (Zeeman field) term. The sub-lattice mass and Zeeman field terms compete with each other to pin down the two mid-gap states at zero-energy. Interestingly, the bulk polarization can topologically characterize the second-order topological insulator phase with the mid-gap corner modes irrespective of their energies as long as inversion symmetry is preserved. Our study indicates that a hybrid symmetry can in principle protect the second-order topological insulator phases, however, spin-spectrum gap has to be essentially finite there.
Transnasal Humidified Rapid Insufflation Ventilatory Exchange Augments Oxygenation in Children With Juvenile Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis During Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Crossover Controlled Trial
Authors: Lei Guiyu , Wu Lili , Xi Chunhua , Xiao Yang , Wang Guyan
Published: May 2023

BACKGROUND:

Evidence is lacking regarding the efficacy of transnasal humidified rapid insufflation ventilatory exchange (THRIVE) in tubeless anesthesia, especially in pediatric patients. This study aimed to evaluate the use of THRIVE for juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP) patients.

METHODS:

Twenty-eight children aged 2 to 12 years with JORRP, abnormal airways, and ASA physical status II–III that presented for surgical treatment under general anesthesia were included in this study. Each patient received 2 interventions in random order, with a 5-minute washout period between treatments: apnea without oxygen supplementation and apnea with THRIVE intervention. The primary outcome apnea time was defined as the duration from withdrawal of intubation to reintubation and resumption of controlled ventilation. The secondary outcomes were the mean transcutaneous carbon dioxide (tcco
2) increase rate, the minimum pulse oxygen saturation (Spo
2) during apnea, and the occurrence of unexpected adverse effects.

RESULTS:

The median apnea time in the THRIVE period was significantly longer than that in the control period (8.9 [8.6–9.4] vs 3.8 [3.4–4.3] minutes; mean difference [95% confidence interval (CI)], 5.0 [4.4–5.6]; P < .001) for all patients. The rate of CO2 change in the control period was higher than that in the THRIVE period both for patients aged 2 to 5 years old (6.29 [5.19–7.4] vs 3.22 [2.92–3.76] mm Hg min−1; mean difference [95% CI], 3.09 [2.27–3.67]; P < .001) and for patients aged 6 to 12 years old (4.76 [3.7–6.2] vs 3.38 [2.64–4.0] mm Hg min−1; mean difference [95% CI], 1.63 [0.75–2.56]; P < .001). The minimum Spo
2 was significantly higher in the THRIVE period than in the control period (mean difference [95% CI], 19.7 [14.8–22.6]; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings demonstrate that THRIVE safely increased the apnea time among children with JORRP undergoing surgery and decreased the rate of carbon dioxide increase. THRIVE is clinically recommended as an airway management technique for tubeless anesthesia in apneic children.
The Zero Regrets Algorithm: Optimizing over Pure Nash Equilibria via Integer Programming
Authors: Dragotto Gabriele , Scatamacchia Rosario
Published: May 2023

Designing efficient algorithms to compute Nash equilibria poses considerable challenges in algorithmic game theory and optimization. In this work, we employ integer programming techniques to compute Nash equilibria in integer programming games, a class of simultaneous and noncooperative games in which each player solves a parameterized integer program. We introduce zero regrets, a general and efficient cutting-plane algorithm to compute, enumerate, and select Nash equilibria. Our framework leverages the concept of equilibrium inequality, an inequality valid for any Nash equilibrium, and the associated equilibrium separation oracle. We evaluate our algorithmic framework on a wide range of practical and methodological problems from the literature, providing a solid benchmark against the existing approaches.

History: Accepted by Andrea Lodi, Area Editor for Design & Analysis of Algorithms – Discrete.

Supplemental Material: The online supplement is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2022.0282 .
RUKO SEBAGAI BARRIER UNTUK MEREDUKSI KEBISINGAN AKIBAT AKFTIFITAS TRANSPORTASI DI JALAN RAYA
Authors: Purwandani Riana
Published: May 2023

Di sepanjang Jalan Raya terdapat rumah toko ruko yang membelakangi pemukiman-pemukiman yang ada di sekitar daerah tersebut. Ruko tersebut secara tidak langsung bertindak sebagai barrier yang bermanfaat untuk melindungi pemukiman dari kebisingan akibat aktifitas transportasi di Jalan Raya Mulyosari. Dalam penelitian ini dilakukan pengukuran tingkat efisiensi ruko dalam mereduksi kebisingan berdasarkan variabel ketinggian ruko dan jarak antara ruko dengan sumber bising. Tingkat kebisingan diukur dengan menggunakan SLM (Sound Level Meter). Penelitian ini mengukur kebisingan di depan dan dan di belakang ruko. Ketinggian ruko yang diteliti adalah ruko yang memilki ketinggian  5-9 meter, 9-13 meter dan 13-16 meter. Sedangkan variabel jarak antara ruko dengan sumber bising  yang diteliti adalah pada ruko yang memiliki jarak dengan sumber bising 0–4 meter, 4-8 meter dan 8-12 meter.
Kajian Kelayakan Kualitas Sungai Amprong sebagai Air Baku PDAM Kota Malang Menggunakan Metode Storet
Authors: Andini Aprilia Widia
Published: May 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui nilai kualitas Sungai Amprong untuk melihat kesiapannya sebagai alternatif air baku baru di Kota Malang. Data yang dibutuhkan berupa data Data ini memuat kualitas Sungai Amprong dari tahun 2016 hingga tahun 2017. Data ini akan diperlukan sebagai acuan analisis kualitas Sungai Amprong. Histori kualitas ini dapat dijadikan pedoman dalam menjaga kualitas Sungai Amprong kedepannya. Metode yang digunakan dalam menentukan nilai kualitas adalah metode storet. Analisis menggunakan metode storet yaitu membandingkan hasil pengukuran masing-masing paramater air dan nilai baku mutu di keempat kelas air berdasarkan Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 82 Tahun 2001 Tentang Pengelolaan Kualitas Air dan Pengendalian Pencemaran Air Kriteria Mutu Air. Masing-masing parameter pencemar dihitung terlebih dahulu nilai statistiknya berupa nilai maksimum, nilai minimum, dan nilai rata-rata. Nilai statistik ini kemudian dibandingkan dengan nilai storet dan dijumlah keseluruhannya untuk didapatkan nilai kualitas. Dalam analisa menggunakan Metode Storet menyatakan bahwa Sungai Amprong tidak layak karena tidak memenuhi baku mutu kelas I dengan nilai mutu -44 atau cemar berat.
STUDI PEMANFAATAN SAMPAH ORGANIK MENJADI KOMPOS DINAS LINGKUNGAN HIDUP KABUPATEN MALANG
Authors: Apriliani Nita Galuh
Published: May 2023

Integrated Resource Recovery Center (IRRC) dibentuk oleh Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Kabupaten Malang bersama UNESCAP, Waste Concern Bangladesh dan UCLG ASPAC bertujuan untuk mengurangi sampah organic yang masuk ke TPA hingga 50%. Timbulan sampah organic di Kecamatan Pujon (Kabupaten Malang) mencapai lebih dari 1 ton perhari yang berasal dari Sub Terminal Agrobis Mantung Pujon dan lokasi permukiman yang menjadi sentra distributor. Selain itu, Kecamatan Pujon juga merupakan sentral peternak sapi perah dan diperkirakan jumlah sapi sekitar 20.640 ekor. Limbah kotoran sapi dan sampah organik tersebut masih belum diolah dan dibuang langsung ke badan air. IRRC merupakan sistem pengolahan sampah organik menjadi kompos yang juga dilengkapi dengan biodigester untuk pemanfaatan sebagai sumber listrik. Sampah sisa sayuran yang tidak layak jual dan manur diolah dalam reaktor anaerobik yang dimana biogas yang dihasilkan ditangkap untuk disalurkan ke generator. Slurry dan supematan yang terbentuk dikeringkan pada sludge drying bed. Berdasarkan hasil uji laboratorium, kompos yang dihasilkan dari IRRC memiliki kadar air sebesar 10,48%, pH 6,29, kandungan C-organik sebesar 31,60%, kandungan N total sebesar 2,50%, dan C/N rasio sebesar 12,64.
‘Advance and Be Forward’
Authors: Davies Huw J.
Published: May 2023

This chapter recounts how Lieutenant General Charles, the Earl of Cornwallis assumed the office of governor-general of India. It describes how he spent a considerable amount of time reading the latest intelligence reports from India — these included general intelligence estimates on the society, population and military strength of the increasingly disparate Indian political entities as the Mughal empire gradually fragmented, as well as more specific information collected on local rulers and military states. The chapter underlines how all of this helped to frame Cornwallis's understanding of the situation he could expect to find when he arrived in India. The chapter then shifts to discuss Britain's main opponent during Cornwallis's governor-generalship: Tipu Sultan of Mysore. It outlines how the combination of a detailed awareness of the military history of Mysore and of the wider history of the Indian subcontinent helped Tipu to transform his military. The chapter analyzes how Tipu Sultan posed a substantial threat to the British position in South India. More mobile, and capable in turn of neutralising British mobility, armed with longer-range weapons, and benefitting from larger numbers of infantry trained in European methods of warfighting, this chapter highlights that Tipu outmatched the British in nearly every department.
‘Decisive Victory Will Relieve Us from All Our Distresses’
Authors: Davies Huw J.
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores how the political dynamic in India changed after Tipu Sultan risked another war with the East India Company. It highlights that Tipu's attack on Travancore had exposed the limits of the company's strategic intelligence, and the assumptions made about the balance of political power in India. The chapter begins by examining how Cornwallis responded swiftly by despatching Colonel Robert Abercromby from Bombay with orders to attack Tipu's position on the Malabar Coast. It also considers another veteran of the American Revolutionary War, William Medows, who orchestrated an operation from Madras. Tipu had successfully evaded two British forces and induced them to withdraw from Mysore. Cornwallis, therefore, decided to take personal command in December 1790. The chapter details how Cornwallis demonstrated that he had learned some lessons from the difficulties he experienced in North Carolina a decade earlier. It outlines his more extensive logistics plan, which aimed to resource his army with the necessary ammunition, equipment and supplies, while maximising mobility. Ultimately, the chapter underscores that the British infantry, both European and Indian, demonstrated the continued superiority of their training, managing a battlefield transition across uneven terrain, and then forming for a conventional confrontation under heavy fire.
‘Totally Unfit for Service’
Authors: Davies Huw J.
Published: May 2023

This chapter chronicles the discussion of Henry Clinton, veteran of the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, and the Duke of Brunswick on the eve of British involvement in a war that would consume Europe for the next 23 years. The chapter recounts how Clinton imparted lessons from his experiences against the Americans, and warned Brunswick not to rely too heavily on the support of defectors from the French armies. Drawing on Clinton's American experience in an attempt to inform and advise the British government, the chapter outlines the principle issues that the British Army would face when it was hurriedly deployed to confront the French Revolutionaries. First was the problem of sickness in the army. Second was the mismanagement of logistics. Third was the character of the French army. Finally, Clinton had become aware of tensions and disagreements between the allies. The chapter concludes by emphasizing that the defeats incurred in the first campaign against Revolutionary France more often than not exposed the inability of Britain to cope with a war against a state that mobilised the resources of its nation.
Oscar Wilde’s Remarkable Career: Professional Ambitions, Sexual Adventures
Authors: Bristow Joseph
Published: May 2023

This chapter pays close attention to Oscar Wilde's evolving sexual interest in other men during a period when he established himself as a talented literary author with an attractive wife and two young sons. It begins with Wilde's initially happy marriage, which began in May 1884, to the talented Irishwoman Constance Mary Wilde, whom he had met through a friendship between their Dublin families. It also looks closely at Wilde's growing desire to enjoy intimacy with his own sex, which became evident three years into his wedded life. The chapter explores the circumstances that resulted in the severe harassment that Wilde suffered at the hands of John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry. The account that unfolds here leads up to the months preceding the libel suit that Wilde, in unguarded fashion, took out against the belligerent marquess.
The Second Criminal Trial: Reg ina v . Taylor, Reg ina v . Wilde , Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey)
Authors: Bristow Joseph
Published: May 2023

This chapter reviews the late Victorian discourse of a range of printed sources that provided reports on the prosecution of Oscar Wilde all the way from the pretrial hearing to the conviction. It addresses the noticeable moments of discomfort that sundry newspaper editors expressed when they were faced with sexually explicit testimony about London's queer underworld. It references relevant legal cases, including particulars such as the network of streets, the major landmarks, and the main institutions of Victorian London. The chapter talks about how Wilde's ordeal, which involved the tiresome rehashing of evidence that had already been scrutinized before, took a toll on his performance. It mentions the actor Seymour Hicks, who came to know Wilde through Ada Leverson, and who recalled witnessing Wilde's despair at the “guilty” verdict.
Coda: Release
Authors: Bristow Joseph
Published: May 2023

This chapter considers Oscar Wilde's various attempts at restoring his personal and professional affairs in the months after he had completed his sentence. It narrates how he lived in exile, moving between France and Italy, where he eventually found it impossible to sustain his creativity. Toward the end of 1900, Wilde died in debt, as well as in great physical distress from an infection of a ruptured eardrum that created an opportunity for the meningoencephalitis that killed him. The chapter highlights the petition to the British government for a retrospective royal prerogative of mercy in light of the considerable wrong that was done to Oscar Wilde. It points out how the case for the Crown to make an explicit pardon for the acts of gross indecency that Wilde was deemed to have committed remains more pressing and more urgent than ever before.
Introduction
Authors: Neuwirth Angelika , Wilder Samuel
Published: May 2023

This introductory chapter presents the Qur'an as the “transcript of a proclamation.” Unlike the commentaries presently available, this book detaches the Qur'an text as rigorously as possible from the Islamic tradition, and thus also from the sequence of events in the life of the prophet Muhammad, in order to make the text recognizable. The commentary thus assumes a perspective essentially different from that of the Islamic exegetical tradition, which reflects a later stage of development. For this reason, the traditional ordering of the suras within the textual corpus cannot be binding for the hand commentary: it does not begin with the first sura of the Qur'an. What is relevant here is not the canonical text corpus that is now materially available, and which was established in the first Islamic century, but rather a virtual corpus, the sequence of the texts spoken out by the prophet Muhammad. The chapter then provides an overview of the sura groups of early Mecca.
Subgroup B
Authors: Neuwirth Angelika , Wilder Samuel
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines subgroup B of the first group of suras: suras 102, 107, 111, and 104. These suras already show a critical relationship to the behavior of the contemporaries, and which also seems to already presuppose a sura performance in public, in any case before outsider hearers. While those blamed in suras 102 and 107 still remain anonymous, addressed simply with “you” or reproved as “they,” they become the focus in those suras that recall ancient Arabic invective poetry, individually in sura 111 and as a particular type in sura 104. Among the reproachable behaviors of the contemporaries, at this phase only the most striking ones are submitted to criticism. These include the exaggerated valuation of family prestige and possessions, and superficiality in the accomplishment of cultic practices, which in sura 107 is paired to denial of the judgment in the hereafter.
Subgroup C
Authors: Neuwirth Angelika , Wilder Samuel
Published: May 2023

This chapter evaluates subgroup C of the first group of suras: suras 103, 99, 100, 101, and 95. In this subgroup, there are for the first time eschatologically marked suras, each with a poetically marked beginning. Sura 103 begins with an oath by a liturgically deployed time, followed by a rebuking pronouncement about humanity as a religiously unmoved creature, a rebuke that can only be understood with an eschatological aspect. Sura 100 begins with an essentially more extensive, poetically forceful oath tableau, wherein the oaths also transition into a rebuke of humanity. The two purely eschatological suras 99 and 101, which show humanity in its precarious situation in the hereafter, share the image of the scales. While suras 99 and 100 culminate in the disclosure of the balance of deeds on the Final Day, sura 101, which for the first time is introduced by a teaching question, already refers to the recompense of the judged that results from their deeds.
Subgroup B
Authors: Neuwirth Angelika , Wilder Samuel
Published: May 2023

This chapter studies subgroup B of the third group of suras: suras 75, 70, 78, and 88. In the foregrounding of the opponents' challenging question about the point in time when the predicted will occur, the discussion opened in subgroup A about the status of the message and the proclaimer gains a new point. This not only raises the problem of the scope of the prophetic competence of the proclaimer. Above all, a gap now opens that will henceforth separate the proclaimer, who visionarily perceives the life-world's integration into eschatology, from his opponents, who wish to reify this visionary dimension into a historical reality. In sura 75, the introductory oath sentence culminates in the assertion, “when is then the day of the resurrection?” The following suras also begin with this question. Sura 88 summarizes the proclaimer's position as a warner rather than an “overseer” that is responsible for them.
1914 – The New Warfare
Authors: Prior Robin
Published: May 2023

This chapter covers the warfare of 1914. The campaign of 1914 was often seen as the last kick of the old warfare, especially when the cavalry played a useful reconnaissance role before becoming obsolete. The chapter explains that the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) instituted a new dimension in warfare while referencing the time when aeroplanes started spotting the fall of shots for the artillery. It also considers the contributions of Sir John French and General Horace Smith-Dorrien. The Cabinet had to remind French that he was fighting to ensure the freedom of Western Europe. Moreover, civilians had little opportunity to influence the war.
1915 – Learning and not Learning
Authors: Prior Robin
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores the realities and political leadership in Britain in 1915. It acknowledges the Gallipoli experiment as an alternative strategy to the killing fields of the Western Front. Sir Henry Rawlinson recognized the mistake of hammering the enemy's defences through the last days of the Neuve Chapelle battle instead of just being satisfied with the capture of the village. The chapter explains that the realities of the Western Front resulted in the belief that British strategy was misguided, but the victory lay through various corners of increasingly obscure foreign fields accompanied by increasingly dubious allies. It mentions the expectations surrounding Sir Douglas Haig.
The Desert – Wavell’s War 1939–1942
Authors: Prior Robin
Published: May 2023

This chapter focuses on the war leadership of General Sir Archibald Wavell. After France concluded an armistice with Germany, Britain was left, and outnumbered, to face Italy alone in the Mediterranean. British forces increased on the Egyptian and Libyan border, which was the only area where the British were in direct contact with Axis forces and simultaneously kept the Mediterranean as a route back to mainland Europe. The chapter elaborates on the execution and aftermath of Operation Compass led by Sir Richard O'Connor. It also highlights the failure of Battleaxe and the communication between Winston Churchill and Wavell concerning the ongoing war.
Inching Towards Italy
Authors: Prior Robin
Published: May 2023

This chapter tackles Winston Churchill's plans and suggestions to follow up the Torch landings with the capture of Sicily and Sardinia. After being invaded by seven Allied divisions, Sicily fell, and the island was formally in Allied hands in five weeks. The chapter highlights the hands-off approach Churchill took with the operation. It notes the change in Churchill's strategic outlook after the cross-Channel attack, so the invasion of Italy became an operational necessity. At this point of the operation, Britain seemed to have the best strategic arguments wherein they took practical actions without further risks. The chapter clarifies the vagueness of the invasion's outcome.
Interlude 1919–1939
Authors: Prior Robin
Published: May 2023

This chapter provides an overview of the second German war. It highlights how Britain found itself with an army in readiness of just five under-equipped infantry divisions. Despite the Armistice, Britain—and its empire's largest navy in the world, the largest air force, and the most efficient army—had insufficient tanks to deploy even one armoured division and respond to the war. The level of expenditure on armaments in the last years of the war was unsustainable and increasingly reliant on loans from the United States. The chapter discusses the British political and military leadership of Britain amidst the season of war in 1939.
Opposition without Democracy
Authors: Kirshner Alexander S.
Published: May 2023

This chapter uses the history of the Roman Republic to illustrate why the “clockwork constitutionalism” approach may be mistaken in most cases of interest, that is, cases in which institutions reflect inequities and injustices. Clockwork constitutionalism assumes that political institutions can be easily changed and that they will function as intended, like the precise elements of a Swiss clock. The chapter shows that the inegalitarian character of Roman opposition was not, fundamentally, the product of a lack of information about how to improve the political system. It then mines a different vein of the violence–opposition connection, exploring the failure of Roman opposition. Examining recent proposed alternatives to opposition, the chapter concludes with a measurement of clockwork constitutionalism's theoretical limitations.
It’s the State, Not Parties
Authors: Kirshner Alexander S.
Published: May 2023

This chapter tracks the consistent intellectual threads binding the arguments of Henry Bolingbroke, David Hume, and Edmund Burke to each other. Their arguments depend on their readers' acceptance of opposition. What was not accepted, what required justification, was formed or partisan opposition. This shift in perspective allows us to see the acceptance of organized opposition in a new light. The chapter also reconsiders J. S. Mill's proposal for a representative, democratic government. Crafting his totemic brief for intellectual, collegial rivalry, Mill engages in clockwork constitutionalism, explicitly sidestepping the problem of executive advantage. That limits, radically, the applicability of his ideals. And if modern theories in the Millian mold intentionally or unintentionally adopt the same approach, their arguments will suffer the same flaw.
Escorting the Troops
Authors: Knight Roger
Published: May 2023

This chapter assesses how convoys had to protect the transports carrying the army to overseas operations and permanent garrisons. Once the troops were landed ashore, they had to be resupplied with stores, provisions and reinforcements, year in, year out. As the war continued, expeditions and supply convoys made longer and longer passages to more distant destinations. Safely escorted shipping gave Britain a great advantage over Napoleonic France. Ultimately, troops required for overseas garrisons varied with the ebb and flow of the conflict. The greater number of troops were transported and convoyed in the amphibious expeditions. The threat to these convoys came from hostile weather rather than enemy action, as privateers were primarily seeking merchant cargoes, and, in any case, a transport containing perhaps two hundred soldiers, each armed with a musket and bayonet, was not easy to overcome.
Prelude to Default, 1917–1932
Authors: Gill David James
Published: May 2023

The United Kingdom survived the majority of the First World War without financial support from the United States government. Although private American investors did provide considerable amounts of credit, the U.S. Treasury assumed the burden of sustaining the Allied effort only after the United States declared war against Germany in 1917. Financial support came in the form of dollar-denominated loans. Even before the war had ended, and throughout the postwar period, Washington repeatedly rejected suggestions of revision or cancellation emanating from London and Paris. The challenges posed by war debts and the related issue of reparations have already attracted considerable attention from historians and economists. This chapter serves as a summary of existing work to help contextualize the United Kingdom’s eventual default to the United States, covering the period from the end of the First World War through to the Lausanne Conference.
Conclusion
Authors: Gill David James
Published: May 2023

All sovereign lending carries risk. Even though most debtor governments meet their contractual obligations to foreign creditors every year, any state can default in the right circumstances. The United Kingdom is often presented as an exception to this claim. It is, for some observers, part of a small and exclusive club of states that has never defaulted on its sovereign debt despite centuries of financial challenges. Yet the British government did just that when it unilaterally suspended repayment of its First World War debts to the United States. These obligations remain unpaid and outstanding to this day. The popular memory of these unpaid debts has faded over the course of almost nine decades. What the economist Sebastian Edwards has identified as a “collective amnesia” in financial history surrounding some instances of default has increasingly come to apply to the British government’s suspension of payments to the United States. This book has sought to recover and interrogate the legacy of these unpaid debts, and this chapter provides a summary of its key findings.
The Pioneering British
Authors: Brown Matthew
Published: May 2023

This chapter covers the influence of Britain on the development of South American sports. South American sports were the result of the British informal empire in the continent, which primarily refers to the commercial, financial, and cultural power that limited the sovereignty of the independent countries. Moreover, the recontextualization of the role of British soccer pioneers sits within the broader aim of decolonizing the histories of South American sports. The chapter considers sports becoming spaces where languages fused, especially when British migrants were important in the early stages of South American sporting development. It highlights the prominence of soccer and the history of the first soccer match in South America.
Controlled Violence
Authors: Brown Matthew
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines the notion of controlled violence in South American sports in the early 1900s. It analyses boxing and soccer to showcase how elites' racialized fears about the primitive or barbaric nature of Black and Brown people shaped the decisions made about violent sports. The popularization of soccer in South America brought racialized ideas about sports and civilization into full public view, especially when the sport was promoted to limit the amount of violence seen on the field of play compared with other football codes. The chapter also explains how sports promote masculinity despite their controlled violence. Moreover, even though sports regulated controlled violence, the spaces they opened triggered opportunities for monetary reward and social mobility for some marginalized men.