bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Grounding global environmental assessments through bottom-up futures based on local practices and perspectives
Authors: Pereira Laura , Asrar Ghassem R. , Bhargava Rohan , Fisher Laur Hesse , Hsu Angel , Jabbour Jason , Nel Jeanne , Selomane Odirilwe , Sitas Nadia , Trisos Christopher , Ward James , van den Ende Mandy , Vervoort Joost , Weinfurter Amy
Published: August 2021

Future scenarios and pathways of potential development trajectories are powerful tools to assist with decision-making to address many sustainability challenges. Such scenarios play a major role in global environmental assessments (GEAs). Currently, however, scenarios in GEAs are mostly developed at the global level by experts and researchers, and locally imagined, bottom-up scenarios do not play a role in such assessments. In this paper, we argue that addressing future sustainability challenges for achieving more equitable development in GEAs requires a more explicit role for bottom-up inspired futures. To this end, this paper employs an innovative global assessment framework for exploring alternative futures that are grounded in local realities and existing practical actions, and that can be appropriately scaled to the required decision-making level. This framework was applied in the context of the UN’s Global Environment Outlook 6, a major example of a GEA. We developed novel methods for synthesizing insights from a wide range of local practices and perspectives into global futures. We collected information from crowdsourcing platforms, outcomes of participatory workshops in different regions of the world, and an assessment of reported regional outlooks. We analysed these according to a framework also used by an integrated assessment model in the same GEA. We conclude that bottom-up approaches to identify and assess transformative solutions that envision future pathways towards greater sustainability significantly strengthen current GEA scenario-development approaches. They provide decision makers with required actionable information based on tangible synergistic solutions that have been tested on the ground. This work has revealed that there are significant opportunities for the integration of bottom-up knowledge and insights into GEAs, to make such assessments more salient and valuable to decision makers.
Poor quality of life and sleep in patients with adrenal insufficiency—another cause of increased mortality?
Authors: Blacha Antje K. , Kropp Peter , Rahvar Amir H. , Flitsch Jörg , van de Loo Iris , Harbeck Birgit
Published: August 2021

Background

Patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) are treated with glucocorticoid replacement therapy (GRT). Although current glucocorticoid regimens aim to mimic the physiological circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion, temporary phases of hypo- and hypercortisolism are common undesired effects which lead to a variety of consequences like increased cardiovascular risk and premature mortality. Additionally, poor quality of life (QoL) and impaired sleep have been reported. However, little is known about these topics regarding the effects of daily dosage, duration of therapy, and patients with different forms of AI (primary, PAI, and secondary, SAI).

Methods

In this study, 40 adults with AI substituted with hydrocortisone (HC) and 20 matched healthy controls completed questionnaires evaluating depressive symptoms, subjective health status, quality of sleep and daytime sleepiness. Furthermore, demographic data, dosage of HC, duration of therapy and co-medication were evaluated. Patients were compared in different groups.

Results

Patients assessed general health significantly worse than controls; likewise, daytime sleepiness was reported significantly more often. Depressive symptoms differed significantly in the two groups but did not reach clinically relevant scores. There was no difference between patients with PAI and SAI. High dosage of hydrocortisone had negative impact on mental health but not on sleep quality or daytime sleepiness.

Conclusions

The present data highlight that poor QoL and impaired sleep are still severe and underrated issues in current GRT and might be additional factors for premature mortality in patients with AI. Some AI patients reach normal or near-normal self-assessed QoL and sleep, even despite unphysiological replacement.
If-then planning, self-control, and boredom as predictors of adherence to social distancing guidelines: Evidence from a two-wave longitudinal study with a behavioral intervention
Authors: Bieleke Maik , Martarelli Corinna S. , Wolff Wanja
Published: August 2021

In the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), social distancing is instrumental for containing the pandemic. To maximize its effectiveness, it is paramount to investigate psychological factors that predict adherence to social distancing guidelines and examine corresponding interventions. We focused on individual differences in if-then planning, self-control, and boredom, and tested an intervention based on if-then planning. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal study combining observational and experimental methods. Participants (N = 574, 35.7% female, age: M = 37.5 years, SD = 10.8) reported their adherence to social distancing guidelines and the perceived difficulty of adherence at T1, along with trait measures of if-then planning, self-control, and boredom. Afterwards, they were randomly assigned to an if-then planning intervention to increase adherence, or to a control intervention. One week later at T2, participants again reported their adherence and the perceived difficulty of adhering. Multiple regression and structural equation modeling were used to establish whether trait if-then planning, self-control, and boredom predicted adherence, and to examine the effects of the if-then planning intervention. Trait if-then planning, self-control, and boredom were associated with T1 adherence, while only if-then planning and boredom predicted T2 adherence. No overall treatment effect of the if-then planning intervention emerged; however, participants who complied with the intervention (75.6%) maintained higher levels of adherence over time than control participants. In sum, individual differences in if-then planning, self-control, and boredom predicted adherence to social distancing guidelines. If-then planning interventions are promising but require further steps to ascertain compliance.
The capacity and cognitive processing of vibrotactile working memory for frequency
Authors: Wang Chundi , Deng Hu , Dong Yu , Zhang Xuemin , Wang Da-Hui
Published: August 2021

A hallmark of working memory (WM) is its limited capacity. While visual and verbal domains of WM are able to store multiple items, the capacity of parametric vibrotactile WM (vtWM) has not yet been established for supra-threshold, one-dimensional sensory vibrotactile frequencies. The present study extends the standard delayed match-to-sample vibrotactile discrimination task to determine the capacity of the vtWM and its cognitive mechanism. Here, by presenting subjects with 2 to 6 vibratory frequencies sequentially in each trial, the present study demonstrates that it is possible to retain about only two vibrotactile frequencies information in vtWM. The results also showed that the capacity of vtWM does not depend on whether sequentially presented vibrotactile frequencies are delivered to the same or to different fingers. At the same time, the rate of correct report depends on sequence length and when in the sequence the stimuli are presented, suggesting the dynamic updating of vtWM similar to that of visual WM.
Six new species of coffee (Coffea) from northern Madagascar
Authors: Davis Aaron P. , Rakotonasolo Franck
Published: August 2021

Six new species of Coffea are described as new to science: Coffea callmanderi, C. darainensis, C. kalobinonensis, C. microdubardii, C. pustulata and C. rupicola. All six species are endemic to northern Madagascar; four species are narrowly endemic to specific forest areas. Associated information, including distribution maps, conservation assessments, phenology and taxonomic notes are provided, and two species are illustrated with line drawings.
Clinical outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with modified transtibial and anteromedial portal
Authors: Vijayan S. , Kyalakond H. , Kulkarni M. S. , Aroor M. N. , Shetty S. , Bhat V. , Rao S. K.
Published: August 2021

Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction is the current standard care of treatment for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Modified transtibial (mTT) and anteromedial portal (AMP) techniques aim at the anatomical placement of femoral tunnel. Controversy existed in the literature with regard to the outcome of these techniques. Hence, we designed a retrospective comparative study to analyse the clinical and functional outcomes of mTT and AMP techniques. We hypothesized that there would be no difference between the clinical and functional outcomes in mTT and AMP techniques. This retrospective observational study was conducted in consecutive patients who underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction using semitendinosus-gracilis (STG) quadrupled graft in our tertiary care centre with a minimum follow-up of two years. Out of 69 patients, 37 had undergone ACL reconstruction by mTT technique and remaining by AMP technique. All the patients were assessed clinically by anterior drawer, Lachman’s, pivot shift and single-legged hop test. Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee evaluation score were used for the functional status. Knee instability was assessed objectively by KT-1000 arthrometer. There was no statistically significant difference in baseline demographic characteristics between mTT and AMP groups. At the end of 2 years, no statistically significant difference was noted in the anterior drawer and Lachman’s test. Though not significant, IKDC scores and Lysholm’s scores showed a better outcome in the AMP group when compared to the mTT group. AMP group showed significantly better outcome with KT-1000 arthrometer. Based on the results obtained, we presume that overall both mTT and AMP have similar functional outcome. However, as AMP technique offers significantly improved subjective rotational stability on pivot shift test, better hop limb symmetry index and KT 1000 readings compared to mTT, we suggest AMP over mTT.
Robocalypse? Yes, Please! The Role of Robot Autonomy in the Development of Ambivalent Attitudes Towards Robots
Authors: Stapels Julia G. , Eyssel Friederike
Published: August 2021

Attitudes towards robots are not always unequivocally positive or negative: when attitudes encompass both strong positive and strong negative evaluations about an attitude object, people experience an unpleasant state of evaluative conflict, called ambivalence. To shed light on ambivalence towards robots, we conducted a mixed-methods experiment with N = 163 German university students that investigated the influence of robot autonomy on robot-related attitudes. With technological progress, robots become increasingly autonomous. We hypothesized that high levels of robot autonomy would increase both positive and negative robot-related evaluations, resulting in more attitudinal ambivalence. We experimentally manipulated robot autonomy through text vignettes and assessed objective ambivalence (i.e., the amount of reported conflicting thoughts and feelings) and subjective ambivalence (i.e., self-reported experienced conflict) towards the robot ‘VIVA’ using qualitative and quantitative measures. Autonomy did not impact objective ambivalence. However, subjective ambivalence was higher towards the robot high versus low in autonomy. Interestingly, this effect turned non-significant when controlling for individual differences in technology commitment. Qualitative results were categorized by two independent raters into assets (e.g., assistance, companionship) and risks (e.g., privacy/data security, social isolation). Taken together, the present research demonstrated that attitudes towards robots are indeed ambivalent and that this ambivalence might influence behavioral intentions towards robots. Moreover, the findings highlight the important role of technology commitment. Finally, qualitative results shed light on potential users’ concerns and aspirations. This way, these data provide useful insights into factors that facilitate human–robot research.
Dimensionality reduction in the context of dynamic social media data streams
Authors: Heusinger Moritz , Raab Christoph , Schleif Frank-Michael
Published: August 2021

In recent years social media became an important part of everyday life for many people. A big challenge of social media is, to find posts, that are interesting for the user. Many social networks like Twitter handle this problem with so-called hashtags. A user can label his own Tweet (post) with a hashtag, while other users can search for posts containing a specified hashtag. But what about finding posts which are not labeled by the creator? We provide a way of completing hashtags for unlabeled posts using classification on a novel real-world Twitter data stream. New posts will be created every second, thus this context fits perfectly for non-stationary data analysis. Our goal is to show, how labels (hashtags) of social media posts can be predicted by stream classifiers. In particular, we employ random projection (RP) as a preprocessing step in calculating streaming models. Also, we provide a novel real-world data set for streaming analysis called NSDQ with a comprehensive data description. We show that this dataset is a real challenge for state-of-the-art stream classifiers. While RP has been widely used and evaluated in stationary data analysis scenarios, non-stationary environments are not well analyzed. In this paper, we provide a use case of RP on real-world streaming data, especially on NSDQ dataset. We discuss why RP can be used in this scenario and how it can handle stream-specific situations like concept drift. We also provide experiments with RP on streaming data, using state-of-the-art stream classifiers like adaptive random forest and concept drift detectors. Additionally, we experimentally evaluate an online principal component analysis (PCA) approach in the same fashion as we do for RP. To obtain higher dimensional synthetic streams, we use random Fourier features (RFF) in an online manner which allows us, to increase the number of dimensions of low dimensional streams.
Evaluation of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes using GIS-based water quality index in urban area of Abaya-Chemo sub-basin of Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia
Authors: Aragaw Tamru Tesseme , Gnanachandrasamy Gopalakrishnan
Published: August 2021

Groundwater is the major resource for drinking and irrigation purposes in urban areas of Abaya-Chemo sub-basin of Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia. There is an incredible increase in demand in the sub-basin for good-quality groundwater resources. However, the exhaustive irrigation and rapid urbanization has posed a serious threat to groundwater quality in the urban districts of sub-basin like Arba Minch town. The aim of the study was to evaluate the groundwater quality status and to map their spatial distribution with respect to the suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes in Arba Minch town, Ethiopia. Fourteen bore well samples were examined for geochemical variations and groundwater qualities. The spatial distribution maps of quality parameters were prepared using the kriging method in ArcGIS 10.3. Drinking water quality index, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), percentage sodium (Na%), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), and permeability index (PI) were considered for drinking and irrigation suitability assessment. Comparison of the hydrochemical results with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ethiopian drinking water standards (ES) and various classifications revealed that the current status of the groundwaters is suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes except for a few sites at the northwestern part of the study area. The WQI results revealed that 7% and 64% of samples fall from excellent to good classes for drinking categories. Irrigation indices also demonstrated that 80% of samples fall in good classes for irrigation purposes. About 75 percent of samples belong to Ca–Mg-HCO3 facies, and the reaming samples belong to Ca–Mg–Cl facies. The results of the study concluded that the proposed approach is reliable and efficient for the groundwater pollution status evaluation and can also be applied in decision making for effective groundwater resources monitoring in the study area.
Effect of dietary fat intake and genetic risk on glucose and insulin-related traits in Brazilian young adults
Authors: Alsulami Sooad , Cruvinel Nathália Teixeira , da Silva Nara Rubia , Antoneli Ana Carolina , Lovegrove Julie A. , Horst Maria Aderuza , Vimaleswaran Karani Santhanakrishnan
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) is closely linked to a complex interplay between genetic and dietary factors. The prevalence of abdominal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidaemia, and high blood pressure among Brazilian adolescents is increasing and hence, early lifestyle interventions targeting these factors might be an effective strategy to prevent or slow the progression of T2D.

Methods

We aimed to assess the interaction between dietary and genetic factors on metabolic disease-related traits in 200 healthy Brazilian young adults. Dietary intake was assessed using 3-day food records. Ten metabolic disease-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to construct a metabolic-genetic risk score (metabolic-GRS).

Results

We found significant interactions between the metabolic-GRS and total fat intake on fasting insulin level (Pinteraction = 0.017), insulin-glucose ratio (Pinteraction = 0.010) and HOMA-B (Pinteraction = 0.002), respectively, in addition to a borderline GRS-fat intake interaction on HOMA-IR (Pinteraction = 0.051). Within the high-fat intake category [37.98 ± 3.39% of total energy intake (TEI)], individuals with ≥ 5 risk alleles had increased fasting insulin level (P = 0.021), insulin-glucose ratio (P = 0.010), HOMA-B (P = 0.001) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.053) than those with < 5 risk alleles.

Conclusion

Our study has demonstrated a novel GRS-fat intake interaction in young Brazilian adults, where individuals with higher genetic risk and fat intake had increased glucose and insulin-related traits than those with lower genetic risk. Large intervention and follow-up studies with an objective assessment of dietary factors are needed to confirm our findings.
Multiparametric ultrasound evaluation of a case of bilateral carotid body tumor
Authors: Pacini Patrizia , Polti Giorgia , Faggiano Antongiulio , Giannetta Elisa , Tarsitano Maria Grazia , Cantisani Vito
Published: August 2021

Paragangliomas are a rare form of highly vascularized tumors that originate from paraganglia Baysal (J Med Genet 39: 617–622, 2002). In the head and neck PGL arise primarily in four distinct areas: vagal, middle ear, and larynx and more frequently carotid bifurcation. Imaging evaluations include sonography, color Doppler, US-elastosonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Additionally, Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as well as digital subtraction angiography can be performed Stoeckli et al. (Laryngoscope 112: 143–146, 2002). We present herein a case of a rare bilateral carotid body tumor assessed with multiparametric ultrasound evaluation, including CEUS and US-elastography.
Evolutionary multiple instance boosting framework for weakly supervised learning
Authors: Bhattacharjee Kamanasish , Pant Millie , Srivastava Shilpa
Published: August 2021

Multiple instance boosting (MILBoost) is a framework which uses multiple instance learning (MIL) with boosting technique to solve the problems regarding weakly labeled inexact data. This paper proposes an enhanced multiple boosting framework—evolutionary MILBoost (EMILBoost) which utilizes differential evolution (DE) to optimize the combination of weak classifier or weak estimator weights in the framework. A standard MIL dataset MUSK and a binary classification dataset Hastie_10_2 are used to evaluate the results. Results are presented in terms of bag and instance classification error and also confusion matrix of test data.
Oxygen-Deficient β-MnO2@Graphene Oxide Cathode for High-Rate and Long-Life Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries
Authors: Ding Shouxiang , Zhang Mingzheng , Qin Runzhi , Fang Jianjun , Ren Hengyu , Yi Haocong , Liu Lele , Zhao Wenguang , Li Yang , Yao Lu , Li Shunning , Zhao Qinghe , Pan Feng
Published: August 2021

Recent years have witnessed a booming interest in grid-scale electrochemical energy storage, where much attention has been paid to the aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs). Among various cathode materials for AZIBs, manganese oxides have risen to prominence due to their high energy density and low cost. However, sluggish reaction kinetics and poor cycling stability dictate against their practical application. Herein, we demonstrate the combined use of defect engineering and interfacial optimization that can simultaneously promote rate capability and cycling stability of MnO2 cathodes. β-MnO2 with abundant oxygen vacancies (VO) and graphene oxide (GO) wrapping is synthesized, in which VO in the bulk accelerate the charge/discharge kinetics while GO on the surfaces inhibits the Mn dissolution. This electrode shows a sustained reversible capacity of ~ 129.6 mAh g−1 even after 2000 cycles at a current rate of 4C, outperforming the state-of-the-art MnO2-based cathodes. The superior performance can be rationalized by the direct interaction between surface VO and the GO coating layer, as well as the regulation of structural evolution of β-MnO2 during cycling. The combinatorial design scheme in this work offers a practical pathway for obtaining high-rate and long-life cathodes for AZIBs.
Difference in polypropylene fragmentation mechanism between marine and terrestrial regions
Authors: Nakatani Hisayuki , Muraoka Takuya , Ohshima Yuina , Motokucho Suguru
Published: August 2021

Two kinds of marine polypropylene (M1-PP and M2-PP) and one land PP (L-PP) samples were collected from two beaches and land in Japan, respectively, to study the fragmentation mechanisms. Delamination was observed on both M1-PP and M2-PP surfaces. Moreover, there was no delamination but an abrasion patch structure on the surface of L-PP. The delamination was studied using an advanced oxidation process-degraded PP as the marine PP model. The number and shape of cracks varied with an increase in degradation time. The fluctuations in the values and ratios of the carbonyl index as well as the weight change ratio were due to repeated oxidation and delamination. We found that the delamination behavior depends on the oxidation state. Poly(oxyethylene)8 octylphenyl ether (POE8) surfactant treatment caused the delamination to speed up, which is a typical characteristic of polyolefin environmental stress cracking (ESC). These results reveal that delamination is based on ESC.

Article Highlights

Two kinds of marine and one land polypropylene (PP) samples were collected from two beaches and land, respectively, to study the fragmentation mechanisms.

Delamination was observed on both of marine PP surfaces. Moreover, there was no delamination but an abrasion patch structure on the land PP surface.

We found that the delamination was based on environmental stress cracking mechanism by employing a marine PP model.
State Responsibility and Rebels
Authors: Greenman Kathryn
Published: August 2021

This book traces the emergence and contestation of State responsibility for rebels during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. In the context of decolonisation and capitalist expansion in Latin America, it argues that the mixed claims commissions-and the practices of intervention associated with them-served to insulate economic order against revolution, by taking the question of who assumed the risk of harm by rebels out of the scope of national authority. The jurisprudence of the commissions was contradictory and ambiguous. It took a lot of interpretive work by later scholars and codifiers to rationalise rules of responsibility out of these shaky foundations, as they battled for the meaning and authority of the arbitral practice. The legal debates were structured around whether the standard of protection against rebels owed to aliens was nationally or internationally determined and whether it was domestic or international authority that adjudicated such standard-a struggle over the internationalisation of protection against rebels.
Worlds Apart
Authors: Byrne Malcolm , Byrne Kian
Published: August 2021

A relationship beset with extraordinary acrimony, the US and Iran rarely see eye-to-eye, if only to avoid war or nuclear catastrophe. What is at the core of this troubled rivalry that has stymied policymakers and scholars alike? Using a carefully selected collection of White House, CIA, State Department, and other records, Worlds Apart provides a comprehensive answer to this question: starting from the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis, through the Iran-Iraq War and the spread of radical Islam, to 9/11 and the nuclear impasse, to the 2009 Green Movement and the Obama and Trump presidencies. The records, which form the heart of the book, offer a rare, unfiltered view into the perspectives and experiences of the American and Iranian governments over 40 years. Providing timelines, glossaries, discussion questions, and a guide on reading declassified documents, Byrne and Byrne explore this complicated relationship accessibly and innovatively in this unique documentary history.
Deformation motion tracks sliding changes through summer, western Greenland
Authors: Maier Nathan , Humphrey Neil , Meierbachtol Toby , Harper Joel
Published: August 2021

Surface speeds in Greenland's ablation zone undergo substantial variability on an annual basis which are presumed to mainly be driven by changes in sliding. Yet, meltwater-forced changes in ice–bed coupling can also produce variable deformation motion, which impacts the magnitude of sliding changes inferred from surface measurements and provides important context to flow dynamics. We examine spatiotemporal changes in deformation, sliding and surface velocities over a 2-year period using GPS and a dense network of inclinometers installed in borehole grid drilled in western Greenland's ablation zone. We find time variations in deformation motion track sliding changes through the summer and entire measurement period. A distinct spatial deformation and sliding pattern is also observed within the borehole grid which remains similar during winter and summer flow. We suggest that positively covarying sliding and deformation across seasonal timescales is characteristic of passive areas that are coupled to regions undergoing transient forcing, and the spatial patterns are consistent with variations in the local bed topography. The covarying deformation and sliding result in a 1.5–17% overestimate of sliding changes during summer compared to that inferred from surface velocity changes alone. This suggests that summer sliding increases are likely overestimated in many locations across Greenland.
SURREAL ORDERED EXPONENTIAL FIELDS
Authors: EHRLICH PHILIP , KAPLAN ELLIOT
Published: August 2021

In 2001, the algebraico-tree-theoretic simplicity hierarchical structure of J. H. Conway’s ordered field${\mathbf {No}}$of surreal numbers was brought to the fore by the first author and employed to provide necessary and sufficient conditions for an ordered field (ordered$K$-vector space) to be isomorphic to an initial subfield ($K$-subspace) of${\mathbf {No}}$, i.e. a subfield ($K$-subspace) of${\mathbf {No}}$that is an initial subtree of${\mathbf {No}}$. In this sequel, analogous results are established forordered exponential fields, making use of a slight generalization of Schmeling’s conception of atransseries field. It is further shown that a wide range of ordered exponential fields are isomorphic to initial exponential subfields of$({\mathbf {No}}, \exp )$. These include all models of$T({\mathbb R}_W, e^x)$, where${\mathbb R}_W$is the reals expanded by aconvergent Weierstrass system W. Of these, those we calltrigonometric-exponential fieldsare given particular attention. It is shown that the exponential functions on the initial trigonometric-exponential subfields of${\mathbf {No}}$, which includes${\mathbf {No}}$itself, extend tocanonicalexponential functions on theirsurcomplexcounterparts. The image of the canonical map of the ordered exponential field${\mathbb T}^{LE}$oflogarithmic-exponentialtransseries into${\mathbf {No}}$is shown to be initial, as are the ordered exponential fields${\mathbb R}((\omega ))^{EL}$and${\mathbb R}\langle \langle \omega \rangle \rangle $.
VAUGHT’S CONJECTURE FOR ALMOST CHAINABLE THEORIES
Authors: KURILIĆ MILOŠ S.
Published: August 2021

A structure
${\mathbb Y}$
of a relational language L is called almost chainable iff there are a finite set
$F \subset Y$
and a linear order
$\,<$
on the set
$Y\setminus F$
such that for each partial automorphism
$\varphi $
(i.e., local automorphism, in Fraïssé’s terminology) of the linear order
$\langle Y\setminus F, <\rangle $
the mapping
$\mathop {\mathrm {id}}\nolimits _F \cup \varphi $
is a partial automorphism of
${\mathbb Y}$
. By theorems of Fraïssé and Pouzet, an infinite structure
${\mathbb Y}$
is almost chainable iff the profile of
${\mathbb Y}$
is bounded; namely, iff there is a positive integer m such that
${\mathbb Y}$
has
$\leq m$
non-isomorphic substructures of size n, for each positive integer n. A complete first order L-theory
${\mathcal T}$
having infinite models is called almost chainable iff all models of
${\mathcal T}$
are almost chainable and it is shown that the last condition is equivalent to the existence of one countable almost chainable model of
${\mathcal T}$
. In addition, it is proved that an almost chainable theory has either one or continuum many non-isomorphic countable models and, thus, the Vaught conjecture is confirmed for almost chainable theories.
Mineral magnetic properties of loess–paleosol couplets of northern Serbia over the last 1.0 Ma
Authors: Namier Namier , Gao Xinbo , Hao Qingzhen , Marković Slobodan B. , Fu Yu , Song Yang , Zhang Huandi , Wu Xuechao , Deng Chenglong , Gavrilov Milivoj B. , Guo Zhengtang
Published: August 2021

We conducted the first detailed mineral magnetic investigation of more than nine loess–paleosol couplets of the composite Titel-Stari Slankamen loess section in Serbia, which provides one of the longest and most complete terrestrial record of paleoclimatic changes in Europe since ~1.0 Ma. The results show that the ferrimagnetic mineral assemblage of the loess units is dominated by partially oxidized multidomain (MD) and pseudo-single domain (PSD) magnetite; however, with an increasing degree of pedogenesis, the eolian contribution is gradually masked by pedogenic superparamagnetic(SP) and single-domain (SD) ferrimagnets (mainly maghemite). The overall consistency of ferrimagnetic grain-size parameters indicates an absence of dissolution of the fine-grained ferrimagnetic fraction despite changes in climate regime over the past 1.0 Ma. The variations of normalized dJ/dT@120Kand normalized χheating@530°Creflect a long-term stepwise increase in aridity during glacials with a major step at ~0.6–0.5 Ma, over the last 1.0 Ma. Overall, the results provide an improved basis for the future use of the magnetic properties of Serbian loess deposits for paleoclimatic reconstruction.
Les (re)constructions plurielles de la citoyenneté des femmes âgées à travers les pratiques de la vie quotidienne
Authors: Marchand Isabelle , Gaudet Stéphanie
Published: August 2021

À partir d'une recherche qualitative menée auprès de femmes âgées de 60 ans et plus, l'article propose une modélisation de la citoyenneté « vécue » dans l'avancée en âge. Construites à partir des pratiques de la vie quotidienne, quatre figures de citoyenneté sont proposées. La présentation des figures met en lumière autant la description des pratiques du quotidien que les finalités d'action qui animent l'agir quotidien. Par la suite, l'analyse narrative examine les diverses formes de citoyenneté vécue des participantes dans le vieillissement. Si les citoyennetés tracées rendent compte de différentes pratiques de participation sociale et d'affiliation au collectif, elles témoignent aussi, par ailleurs, des inégalités sociales et de genre qui sont toujours à l’œuvre pour penser les rapports à la citoyenneté vécue des femmes âgées sous des modes polyphoniques.
The Council of the Thebaid, 362: Lucifer of Calaris, Eusebius of Vercellae, and the Readmission of the Clergy
Authors: FIANO EMANUEL
Published: August 2021

This article focuses on the Council of the Thebaid of 362. A close examination of Theodoret's version of events reveals that, upon the recall of the pro-Nicenes from exile, Eusebius of Vercellae organised in the Thebaid a non-rigorist meeting, which laid the groundwork for the Council of Alexandria of the same year. The Council of the Thebaid may have also included lapsed pro-Nicenes who had reverted to their original views after being deposed at Constantinople in 360, and may even have seen the participation of members of the homoiousian alliance.
Micronutrient malnutrition across the life course, sarcopenia and frailty
Authors: Welch Ailsa
Published: August 2021

Micronutrient malnutrition, the deficiency of vitamins or minerals, impacts on physical and mental health, in clinical and general populations, across the life course. In older western populations the high prevalence and impact of micronutrient malnutrition is less well recognised. Low- and middle-income countries are experiencing the ‘double burden of disease’ where malnutrition coexists alongside the non-communicable diseases of aging, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Held in December 2020, the Winter Conference of the Nutrition Society was designed to cover new areas of research and concern in micronutrient malnutrition across the life course. Common themes arising from the conference were: 1) The continuing high prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition across the life-course, in diverse populations, in high, middle and low-income countries. 2) That multiple deficiencies of micronutrients frequently exist. 3) The primary cause of deficiency is poor quality diets, of low diversity, low in micronutrient dense foods. 4) Clinical conditions, medications for common non-communicable diseases, and environmental conditions, interact with and exacerbate the effects of poor diet quality. 5) Understanding of the mechanistic effects of micronutrients is still emerging. 6) Micronutrients are necessary for maintaining immune function, which has importance for the COVID-19 epidemic. 7) Better biomarkers are needed detect and understand the effects of deficiency. 7) Dietary recommendations need to be updated regularly. Further research is needed in all these areas. Comprehensive public health and government approaches to ensure access and affordability of good quality foods to populations of all ages, particularly during the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, are crucial.
Africanists and the Challenge of the Mission Veranda
Authors: Waters Tony
Published: August 2021

I returned to the United States in 1988 in order to get a graduate education in the social sciences. Three years in rural Kasulu, Tanzania, had taught me that how western social science framed development problems was inadequate. I had some hopes that good social science could address how relief and development workers viewed the African society that surrounded them. To me the close relationships that should exist between the two seemed obvious. I had seen enough PhD. students and consultants to know that their Swahili skills and bush savvy were lacking. But I had also seen enough savvy field workers whose inability to generalize beyond their own project, or systematically frame a problem within a broader context meant that their knowledge would never contribute to a broader understanding of anything outside their small corner of the world.
Burundi: Social Sciences Facing Ethnic Violence
Authors: Chrétien Jean-Pierre
Published: August 2021

The text of an analysis on Burundi presented by Mr. René Lemarchand on September 22, 1988 before the Africa Subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives was published in the 1989 winter number of ISSUE. As noted, more precise research has been published since this date on the Ntega and Marangara events by people who actually went to “revisit” the country, which is not the case of Mr. Lemarchand, since his last visit to Bujumbura was in autumn 1973.
Opposition Parties and Democracy in South Africa
Authors: Ottaway Marina
Published: August 2021

In the heydays of African socialism, Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere declared that socialism was a state of mind. It was, it turned out, the state of mind of some intellectuals, but neither of the mass of the population nor of those in a position to turn an ideal into a political and economic system. In the early 1990s, democracy was sweeping through the continent—as the state of mind not only of a few intellectuals but of a larger segment of the population, although by no means all. It was revulsion against the abuses and human rights violations perpetrated by single party and military regimes, against the lack of accountability of leaders and the economic hardship brought about by years of mismanagement on the part of officials seeking first the political kingdom.
Growing Opposition in Zimbabwe
Authors: Knight Virginia Curtin
Published: August 2021

A realignment of economic interests in Zimbabwe is fueling broad-based demands for an open, democratic, multiparty society. The shift in alignment comes as a result of the ruling party’s failure to meet the needs and expectations of the majority of Zimbabweans in the eleven years since independence. Under the leadership of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), headed by President Robert Mugabe, the government adopted socialism guided by Marxist-Leninist principles as its ideological philosophy. The socialist agenda, coupled with cumbersome, centralized decision-making by a bloated bureaucracy, discouraged domestic and foreign investment and stymied employment growth.
The 1990 Elections in Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: Widner Jennifer A.
Published: August 2021

Paraphrasing Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivoirian politician Camille Aliali once said, “Democracy is a system of government for virtuous people. It seldom works even in mature countries. We must be realistic. Our people are ignorant of the problems we face. They cannot be left to choose the solutions,....” In 1990, the president and his close associates changed their minds. On May 3, 1990, the president of Côte d’Ivoire announced the legalization of opposition parties and the intent to hold multi-party elections. On October 28, Ivoirians voted in their first multi-candidate presidential election, which pitted the eighty-five year old Houphouët against long-standing critic and candidate of the “democratic left” coalition, Laurent Gbagbo.
Agro-Technology Information and Africa-Centered Development
Authors: Kordylas J. Maud
Published: August 2021

In 1982 I left Ghana, as director of the Food Research Institute, for Cameroon. The next three years were spent researching and gathering information and data on alternative, affordable, manageable and sustainable processes that can be put together to form workable agro-industrial systems for use in Africa.

In 1984 I started experimenting with the organic system of crop production as an affordable improvement to the traditional multiple and multi-story cropping system. Several fruit trees—guava, carambola, sour sop, mango and avocado—were planted in a backyard plot of about twenty meters by nine meters or 180 square meters to which compost was applied.
African Cinema in the American Video Market
Authors: Moore Cornelius
Published: August 2021

There are probably a billion videocassettes in the United States. Yet few, probably under a thousand, are African films. I want to ask why this is and describe a strategy to change it.

How can one of the least known and most under-funded cinemas in the world, African cinema, find a place in the most lavishly promoted and capitalized media marketplaces on earth, the U.S. feature film market?
Editor’s Introduction
Authors: Glickman Harvey
Published: August 2021

This special double ISSUE is brought to readers via generous grants from the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation, and the support of Haverford College. The African authors in this double ISSUE were recruited in summer 1992 with the help of many friends of the African Studies Association in USA and Africa. All of them (with the exception of N’Diaye) participated in two panels sponsored by ISSUE at the annual meeting of ASA in Seattle in November 1992. Those not resident at the time in the USA spent almost two weeks traveling and speaking to various groups around the USA in the period surrounding the ASA meetings. This period in November and December 1992 also provided an opportunity to exchange ideas within the group and prepare the final drafts. Consequently, the articles reflect views and events no later than the end of 1992. A year in the making, this ISSUE is an attempt to bring to bear an African perspective on the emerging new African political order of the 1990s. In the past few years we have become familiar—at least on the surface—with the vast political changes sweeping across the Continent. ISSUE’s effort tries to project African voices into the center of the commentary and debate on democratization and new patterns of international relations in Africa.
The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Cases of Benin and Mali
Authors: Nzouankeu Jacques Mariel
Published: August 2021

For several years now, Africa has been forced to reexamine its image as a continent that is dominated by single-party regimes, which have characterized it for the past three decades. For the most past, the demands have centered around multiparty systems. These have either been peaceful, when the leaders have accepted to undertake the political changes involved, or violent.
SADCC and the Future of Southern African Regionalism
Authors: Gwaradzimba Fadzai
Published: August 2021

Since the 1960s, Southern Africa’s regional alliance patterns have been primarily determined by South Africa’s military and economic dominance of the region. Not surprisingly, divisive and conflict-ridden relations between South Africa and the less powerful majority-ruled states characterized interstate relations in the region throughout this period. In the 1970s, the latter’s collective and individual opposition to an apartheid-dominated regional order gave rise to two competing regional blocs: the South African-led Pax Pretoriana and the Frontline States (FLS) informal diplomatic alliance, which became the nucleus of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC).
Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution in the African Context: Peacekeeping in Liberia
Authors: N’Diaye Tafsir Malick
Published: August 2021

The West African force known as the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was sent to Liberia by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). A closer look at the Force shows that it is an adaptation of the peacekeeping system used by the United Nations. What started as a system of collective security based on the regional security mechanism of ECOWAS turned into a standard peacekeeping operation as a result of “the Yamoussoukro process.”
ECOMOG and West African Regional Security: A Nigerian Perspective
Authors: Yoroms Gani J.
Published: August 2021

For the first time in the history of Africa, a regional conflict, such as that in Liberia, has succeeded in producing an indigenous regional mechanism for conflict management. The conflict may not yet be resolved, but its management demands an in-depth understanding. This attempts an interpretation of the Liberian crisis from Nigeria’s perspective.
Group Conflict and Human Rights in the Horn of Africa
Authors: Markakis John
Published: August 2021

Africa’s receptiveness to Western fashionable concepts and theories appears to have suffered little from repeated demonstration of inappropriateness. The list of inapt imports is long and quite familiar to the older generation of Africanist academics who had a hand in fashioning and disseminating them. It began with the imperative of the “nation-state” that was to be forged in the process of national integration and institution building. Economic development was to come via industrialization, “import substitution” and diversification of exports, and social modernization would follow the passing of traditional society. Political development had a complex formula: “constitutionalism” and “rational legitimacy,” “interest articulation, aggregation and representation,” “functionally specific” bureaucratic institutions, and “prescriptive” as opposed to “ascriptive” recruitment.
Violation of Democratic Rights in Zaire
Authors: Nzongola-Ntalaja Georges
Published: August 2021

In a report released on September 16, 1993, Amnesty International came up with an apt description of the current human rights situation in Zaire as consisting of “violence against democracy.” In a violent backlash against the democratization process, the regime of President Mobutu Sese Seko has plunged the country into “its worst human rights crisis since the end of the civil war in the early 1960s.” More than 5,000 people have been killed and more than 100,000 displaced in ethnic cleansing in the Shaba and North Kivu provinces. Moreover, repeated looting, extortion, and other acts of violence by Mobutu’s army have endangered the lives of millions of people all over the country, particularly in the major cities.
Women’s Land Rights in Zimbabwe
Authors: Gaidzanwa Rudo
Published: August 2021

This paper focuses on the issue of human rights with respect to women’s land rights in Zimbabwe. The concept of human rights is particularly pertinent because of the debates on land reform and the activities of the land Commission exploring possibilities for the reform of land use in Zimbabwe.
Press Freedom in West Africa: an Analysis of one Ramification of Human Rights
Authors: Ogbondah Chris W.
Published: August 2021

Human rights is an issue that is broader than ordinarily understood. Its ramifications cover political, economic, social and cultural rights. Almost every nation has made constitutional provisions guaranteeing these rights. The purpose of the constitutional provisions is to defend, by institutionalized means, the rights of human beings against abuses of power committed by the organs and agencies of the state. Notably enough, however, each nation emphasizes those human rights that it frequently respects and observes. Thus, the United States emphasizes, for example, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of religion as if those aspects that it emphasizes constitute the entire human rights.
Domestic Human Rights Organizations in Africa: Problems and Perspectives
Authors: Matua Makua Wa
Published: August 2021

The modern human rights movement, as it is known today, is largely the product of the horrors of the mainly European war of 1939-45. Its rise is mostly a direct result of the abominations committed by the Third Reich during that war. Drawing on the Western liberal tradition, the human rights movement arose primarily to control and contain state action against the individual. The two principal documents of the movement—the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—largely establish negative rights that either limit or prohibit altogether government intrusion into the so-called “private realm.”