bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design and Validation of a High-Fidelity Left Atrial Cardiac Simulator for the Study and Advancement of Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion
Authors: Mendez Keegan , Singh Manisha , Willoughby Patrick , Ncho Beatrice , Liao Aileen , Su Susan , Lim Megan , Lee Elijah , Alkhouli Mohamad , Alarouri Hasan , Roche Ellen T.
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic cardiac arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke, primarily due to thrombus formation in the left atrial appendage (LAA). Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) devices offer an alternative to oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention. However, the complex and variable anatomy of the LAA presents significant challenges to device design and deployment. Current benchtop models fail to replicate both anatomical variability and physiological hemodynamics, limiting their utility. This study introduces a novel left atrial cardiac simulator that incorporates patient-derived LAA models within a benchtop circulatory flow loop, enabling high-fidelity LAAO device testing and development.

Methods

A rigid, patient-derived left atrium (LA) model was 3D printed from segmented MRI data and modified to accommodate attachment of patient-specific LAA models. A library of LAA geometries was fabricated using silicone casting techniques to replicate the mechanical properties of native tissue. The LA-LAA model was integrated into a circulatory flow loop equipped with a pulsatile pump, pressure sensors, and flow probes, allowing real-time hemodynamic analysis. System tunability was demonstrated by varying heart rate, stroke volume, resistance, and compliance to simulate physiological and pathological conditions.

Results

The simulator accurately replicated LA pressure and flow waveforms, closely approximating physiological conditions. Changes in heart rate, stroke volume, and compliance effectively modulated LAP and LA inflow before and after LAAO. Distinct pressure and flow waveforms were observed with different LAA geometries. Hemodynamic analysis revealed increased left atrial pulse pressure after occlusion, with the greatest increase occurring after complete exclusion of the LAA. The simulator facilitated the evaluation of LAAO device performance, including metrics such as seal and PDL, and served as an effective training tool for iterative device deployment and recapture with visual and imaging-guided feedback.

Conclusions

The left atrial cardiac simulator offers a highly tunable and realistic platform for testing and developing LAAO devices. It also serves as an effective procedural training tool, allowing for the simulation of patient-specific anatomical and hemodynamic conditions. By enabling these advanced simulations, the simulator enhances pre-procedural planning, device sizing, and placement. This innovation represents a significant step toward advancing personalized medicine in atrial fibrillation management and improving LAAO outcomes.
Green companions: Affordances of human–tree relationships
Authors: Vainio Kaisa Kristiina , Takala Tuomo , Limpens Juul , Lummaa Karoliina , Korrensalo Aino , Räsänen Aleksi , Tuittila Eeva-Stiina
Published: January 2025

Trees offer multiple benefits, including impacts on physical and mental health. In this interdisciplinary study, we explored the relationships humans develop with specific favourite trees based on our survey data (n = 158) collected in the Netherlands. Here, we examined action possibilities (affordances) provided by trees, including immaterial actions, such as memorisation or the enjoyment of beauty. We implemented the affordance theory with mixed-method analysis. We identified three distinct types of human-arboreal relationships offering a different variety of action possibilities: nostalgic relationships, nurturing relationships, and empowering relationships. We assume that when humans form relationships with trees, the essence of trees is not their characteristics, but the possibilities for action. We recommend that urban green spaces would support interactions between humans and trees. By strengthening our connectedness with nature, it is possible to promote both human well-being and to strengthen environmentally responsible values and behaviours.
Investigating seafarers’ perceptions of well-being onboard: do company size and vessel type matter?
Authors: Karakasnaki Maria , Polemis Dionysios , Gerou Anastasia
Published: January 2025

Throughout the last few years, the maritime sector has recognized the significance of strengthening seafarers’ well-being to ensure safe transportation services of high quality. The population of seafarers is quite heterogeneous regarding demographics and other working characteristics. Even though seafarers’ well-being is at the core of the academic agenda, company-specific factors associated with their well-being perceptions remain quite under-investigated. The current study aims to examine whether seafarers’ perceptions of their well-being are associated with the size of the company, which they work for, and with the vessel type of their employment. An empirical survey was performed on a sample of 872 seafarers and the data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis and analysis of variance. According to the findings, it seems that company size (i.e., small, medium, and large/ very large) is associated with well-being perceptions (conceptualized as a multidimensional construct comprising the physical dimension, functional dimension, healthy dimension, communication and cultural dimension). However, these perceptions do not seem to be linked with the vessel type of seafarers’ employment (containerships, dry bulk carriers, tankers). The current study attempts to contribute to the literature that associates company-specific characteristics with employees’ perceptions and adds new knowledge to the maritime transportation literature regarding the understanding of the link between company-specific factors and seafarers’ well-being.
ADIIT — An Evidence-Based Maturity Model for Faculty Support Teams in the Health Professions
Authors: Kurzweil Dina , Marcellas Karen , Macaulay Linda S.
Published: January 2025

Faculty support teams in health professions education operate in a unique environment that can engender specific challenges in their operations and development. This paper introduces an evidence-based maturity model designed to support the establishment and growth of such teams. The ADIIT model, which is named for the five levels of maturity that such teams can attain: (1) Ad Hoc/Initial; (2) Defined; (3) Integrated; (4) Innovative; (5) Transformative, enables faculty support teams to assess their current state and identify areas for improvement. Key elements of performance included in the model are team, leadership, operations/focus, customer base, and auxiliary services. The paper describes criteria for each element at each level and provides guidance about how to advance to the next level. A fictional case study is provided to demonstrate the application of the maturity model. Using this model will help faculty support teams in health professions education to develop the high level of focus and professionalism necessary to navigate between and provide support for classroom education, distributed learning, and clinical education.
NH4+-Modulated Cathodic Interfacial Spatial Charge Redistribution for High-Performance Dual-Ion Capacitors
Authors: Chen Yumin , Song Ziyang , Lv Yaokang , Gan Lihua , Liu Mingxian
Published: January 2025

Compared with Zn2+, the current mainly reported charge carrier for zinc hybrid capacitors, small-hydrated-sized and light-weight NH4
+ is expected as a better one to mediate cathodic interfacial electrochemical behaviors, yet has not been unraveled. Here we propose an NH4
+-modulated cationic solvation strategy to optimize cathodic spatial charge distribution and achieve dynamic Zn2+/NH4
+ co-storage for boosting Zinc hybrid capacitors. Owing to the hierarchical cationic solvated structure in hybrid Zn(CF3SO3)2–NH4CF3SO3 electrolyte, high-reactive Zn2+ and small-hydrate-sized NH4(H2O)4
+ induce cathodic interfacial Helmholtz plane reconfiguration, thus effectively enhancing the spatial charge density to activate 20% capacity enhancement. Furthermore, cathodic interfacial adsorbed hydrated NH4
+ ions afford high-kinetics and ultrastable C‧‧‧H (NH4
+) charge storage process due to a much lower desolvation energy barrier compared with heavy and rigid Zn(H2O)6
2+ (5.81 vs. 14.90 eV). Consequently, physical uptake and multielectron redox of Zn2+/NH4
+ in carbon cathode enable the zinc capacitor to deliver high capacity (240 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), large-current tolerance (130 mAh g−1 at 50 A g−1) and ultralong lifespan (400,000 cycles). This study gives new insights into the design of cathode–electrolyte interfaces toward advanced zinc-based energy storage.
Pathogens threatening agriculture and biodiversity in South Africa: A horizon scanning approach
Authors: Tshikhudo Phumudzo P. , Rambauli Maanda , Mnguni Simphiwe , Nnzeru Livhuwani R. , Mulabisana Julia , Cruywagen Elsie M. , Sutherland Rene , Munyai Thinandavha C.
Published: January 2025

There is mounting evidence that invasive alien species (IAS) have adverse effects on plant health and the global economy, posing a significant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Identifying and assessing emerging IAS, such as plant pathogens, is a proactive approach that might assist in prioritising potential pathogen threats before they become established or widespread, negatively affecting plant health, crop production, animal production, animal health by affecting pastures and food security in South Africa. We collected information from the CABI Invasive Species Compendium and Crop Protection Compendium on plant pathogens that are present in neighbouring countries and are likely to be introduced throughout the Republic of South Africa using an expert-elicitation horizon scanning study. Pathogens with the highest score were determined based on their strong capability on the chance of entry, establishment, economic impact, and biodiversity destruction. The current study revealed that only 17 pathogens (6 fungi, 7 viruses, 2 bacteria and 2 phytoplasma) had been prioritised due to their potential to enter the country and have been reported in the neighbouring countries. Maize lethal necrosis disease, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus
,
Candidatus Phytoplasma palmae, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense tropical race 4, and Maize chlorotic mottle virus have the highest potential to enter and establish in the country. The most effective phytosanitary actions for the high scoring pathogen were to conduct surveillance for their potential presence in South Africa and risk analysis, especially for organisms recorded in neighbouring countries.
Salvage-Operationen beim Prostatakarzinomrezidiv
Authors: Padevit Christian
Published: January 2025

Seitdem die PSMA-PET („prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography“) zur Verfügung steht, konnten differenzierte Therapiekonzepte für die Rezidivsituation nach radikaler Prostatektomie entwickelt werden. Davor war nur die frühzeitige Salvage-Radiotherapie beim vermuteten Lokalrezidiv möglich oder gar eine systemische Therapie mittels Androgendeprivation. Heutzutage können lokale Salvage-Behandlungen in Form von Resektion oder Bestrahlung von Lymphknotenmetastasen erfolgen, um damit die Notwendigkeit einer medikamentösen Therapie zu verzögern. Das beste Outcome konnte bei Patienten mit unilateralem Befall von Lymphknoten im kleinen Becken beobachtet werden. Einen kompletten PSA-Abfall kann mittlerweile bei bis zu 80 % aller operierten Patienten erreicht werden, im Schnitt beträgt die mittlere rezidivfreie Zeit 8 Monate. Bei einem gut selektionierten Patientengut kann eine Salvage-Prostatektomie bei lokalem Tumorrezidiv in Betracht gezogen werden.
Explicit Synchronized Solitary Waves for Some Models for the Interaction of Long and Short Waves in Dispersive Media
Authors: Brewer Bruce , Liu Chuangye , Nguyen Nghiem V.
Published: January 2025

A system coupling the cubic, nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLS) and the Korteweg–de Vries equation (KdV) commonly known as the NLS–KdV system was previously analysed to be inconsistently derived and a few alternative systems were proposed as more suitable models for describing the interaction of long and short waves in dispersive media (Deconinck et al. in J Phys A: Math Theor 49:415501, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/49/41/415501; Nguyen and Liu in Water Waves 2:327–359, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42286-020-00038-6; Commun Math Sci 21(3):641–669, 2023. https://doi.org/10.4310/CMS.2023.v21.n3.a3). In this manuscript, these alternative systems are shown to possess synchronized solitary waves via the method of constrained minimization, as well as by direct computation of the associated systems of ODEs. These synchronized solitary waves have the hyperbolic

$$\textrm{sech}^2$$

sech
2

-profile typical of dispersive equations.
Hands-On Mastery in Physiological Signal Processing: A Challenge-Based Learning Approach
Authors: Barquero-Pérez Óscar , Cámara-Vázquez Miguel Ángel , Goya-Esteban Rebeca
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Teaching and learning statistical signal processing in Biomedical Engineering Degrees poses challenges for both students and teachers. Students often perceive signal processing subjects as demanding and somewhat unattractive, with failure rates several times higher than that of other courses. The aim of this work is to address the following question: Are competitions that present real physiological signal processing problems an effective way to teach the practical skills needed in statistical signal processing?

Methods

We propose to use a problem-driven activity in which students form groups of two or three students and enter a Kaggle-type competition during the whole semester. The competition consists of a real physiological signal problem along with well-defined metrics to establish the performance of the solutions. We measure the effectiveness of the activity with questionnaires together with sentiment and inductive coding analysis that allows evaluation of the acquisition of competencies.

Results

According to the results obtained in four consecutive editions, students find the challenge to be a better means than traditional laboratory practices for acquiring practical skills, as well as allowing them to better understand theoretical concepts. Students found the activity challenging and demanding but one of the best activities in the whole degree, since it brings the student closer to real practice as biomedical engineers.

Conclusion

The results support the hypothesis that this type of competition allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the practical aspects of physiological signal processing courses.
The Author in Early Christian Literature
Authors: Bonar Chance E.
Published: January 2025

While scholars of ancient Mediterranean literature have focused their efforts heavily on explaining why authors would write pseudonymously or anonymously, less time has been spent exploring why an author would write orthonymously (that is, under their own name). This Element explores how early Christian writers began to care deeply about 'correct' attribution of both Christian and non-Christian literature for their own apologetic purposes, as well as how scholars have overlooked the function that orthonymity plays in some early Christian texts. Orthonymity was not only a decision made by a writer regarding how to attribute one's own writings, but also how to classify other writers' texts based on proper or improper attribution. This Element urges us to examine forms of authorship that are often treated as an unexamined default, as well as to more robustly consider when, how, for whom, and for what purposes an instance of authorial attribution is deemed 'correct.
From Benefit–Cost Analysis to Social Welfare: A Pragmatic Approach
Authors: Ferranna Maddalena , Hammitt James K. , Robinson Lisa A.
Published: January 2025

Conventional benefit–cost analysis is well-established and widely used to assess interventions designed to improve public health and welfare. While it has many advantages, it has well-known limitations. Chief among these is its inattention to the distributional equity of the impacts. To measure individual well-being, the conventional approach relies on individuals’ willingness to exchange their own income for the outcomes they experience. To measure societal welfare, it relies on simple aggregation of these values across individuals. This approach reflects a relatively narrow conception of welfare and ignores how impacts are distributed across advantaged and disadvantaged individuals. Social welfare analysis has been proposed as an alternative approach to address these limitations, but real-world applications are rare due largely to the complexity of the calculations. This article provides a pragmatic approach for conducting equity-sensitive benefit–cost analysis globally that addresses data limitations and other challenges, illustrated with example applications. It formally develops and implements equity weights that adjust for the decreasing marginal value of money and for additional moral considerations, prioritizing increases in welfare for those who are worse off.
Trajectories and Influencing Factors of Post-Traumatic Stress in Disaster-Affected People According to Their Income Level: A Longitudinal Study in South Korea
Authors: Lee Yubin , You Myoungsoon
Published: January 2025

Objective

Disasters often have long-lasting effects on the mental health of people affected by them. This study aimed to examine the trajectories and predictors of mental health in people affected by disasters according to their income level.

Method

This study used data from the “Long-Term Survey on the Change of Life of Disaster Victim” conducted by the National Disaster Management Research Institute. Latent growth curve modeling and multigroup analysis were employed on 699 participants.

Results

Individuals in the low-income class had a higher post-traumatic stress (PTS) intercept than those in the middle-high-income class. The PTS intercept was increased by unmet health care needs and financial hardship caused by disasters and was decreased by health care support. Social support, which was low in the low-income class, did not affect their PTS level; however, it lowered the PTS intercept in the middle-high-income class.

Conclusions

These results suggest that it is important to address the mental health of disaster survivors by providing sufficient disaster relief services and compensation to ensure that disasters do not further exacerbate social inequalities. It is also crucial to provide emotional, informational, and material support using local community resources for those who have less or no access to in-person social networks.
A reply to Komárek
Authors: Somek Alexander , Paar Elisabeth
Published: January 2025

This is a reply to Komárek’s criticism of our article “Europe’s political constitution”. We address the issues raised by our critic one by one. The topics range from the definition of the public sphere to the role that law blogs and social media play in it. The reply concludes by examining what it means to pursue truth in legal scholarship based on contrasting the views of Hans Kelsen und Stanley Fish.
From SSI to contextualism
Authors: Langford Simon
Published: January 2025

Subject-Sensitive Invariantism (SSI) and Epistemic Contextualism (EC) are rival theories in epistemology. Both involve shifting epistemic standards, but they differ in how they explain this shiftiness. SSI is primarily a metaphysical thesis about the knowledge relation, whereas EC is primarily a semantic thesis about knowledge attributions. This paper revisits some of the central problems faced by SSI, especially those concerning Dutch books and third-person knowledge ascriptions. The main aim is to show that existing responses that stay true to SSI do not succeed, leaving SSI in serious jeopardy. Some strategies put forward by, or on behalf of, SSI-friendly philosophers fare better. But these involve forsaking central features of SSI, ceding ground to EC, and falling back on a defense of impurism. I sketch what such an impurist fallback position might look like and argue that the more ground it cedes to EC, the more attractive it will be. It is shown that such an impurist, contextualist position can handle all the difficulties I discuss in relation to SSI. The paper concludes by briefly considering what new challenges this kind of position faces instead.
Navigating the blood–brain barrier: enhancing blood culture practices in the neuro-ICU
Authors: Metz Maureen , Colton Katharine , Seidelman Jessica
Published: January 2025

This study evaluates the implementation of a blood culture (BCx) algorithm in the neurology ICU (NICU) to reduce BCx event (BCE) rates. Results show a reduction in BCE rates, without increasing adverse outcomes. The findings support the feasibility of BCx algorithms for improving diagnostic stewardship in the specialized NICU population.
Facilitators of antibiotic decision-making in home-based primary care: a qualitative investigation
Authors: Datta Rupak , Kiwak Eliza , Fried Terri , Benjamin Andrea , Iannone Lynne , Krein Sarah , Carter Warren , Cohen Andrew
Published: January 2025

Interviews with 22 home-based primary care (HBPC) clinicians revealed that infectious disease physicians and clinical pharmacists facilitate infection management and antibiotic selection, respectively, and that local initiatives within programs support antibiotic prescribing decisions. Interventions that facilitate specialist engagement and tailored approaches that address the unique challenges of HBPC are needed.
A bridge over troubled water: reverse osmosis to maintain patient care in a boil water notice
Authors: Smith Jacob , Fischer Julia , Mathew Manju , Haessler Sarah
Published: January 2025

A citywide boil water notice necessitated an alternative solution for treating contaminated water. We report our experience using portable reverse osmosis machines to treat the municipal water to provide purified water to patient care areas where non-sterile water was needed, preventing interruptions in services like elective surgeries.
Active volume of water in a laboratory aquifer
Authors: Lajeunesse E. , Devauchelle O. , Douçot J. , Jules V.
Published: January 2025

During a rainfall event, water infiltrates into the ground where it accumulates in porous rocks. This accumulation pushes the underlying groundwater towards neighbouring streams, where it runs to the sea. After the rain has stopped, the aquifer gradually releases its excess water, as the water table relaxes, until the next rain. In the absence of recharge, the water table would eventually reach its horizontal equilibrium position. The volume of groundwater stored above this level, which we call the active volume, sustains the river between two rainfall events. In this article, we use an experimental aquifer recharged by artificial rain to investigate how this active volume depends on the rainfall rate. Restricting our analysis to the steady-state regime, wherein the discharge into the stream balances rainfall, we explore a broad range of rainfall rates, for which the water table deforms significantly. We find that the active volume of water stored in the aquifer decreases with its depth. Using conformal mapping, we derive the flow equations and develop a numerical procedure that accounts for the active volume of groundwater in our experiments. In the case of an infinitely deep aquifer, the problem admits a closed-form solution, which provides a satisfying estimate of the active volume when the aquifer's depth is at least half its width. In the general case, a rougher estimate results from the energy balance of the dissipative groundwater flow.
ON THE BURES METRIC,
$C^*$
-NORM AND QUANTUM METRIC
Authors: AGUILAR KONRAD , BEHERA KARINA , OMLAND TRON , WU NICOLE
Published: January 2025

Given a unital

$C^*$

-algebra and a faithful trace, we prove that the topology on the associated density space induced by the

$C^*$

-norm is finer than the Bures metric topology. We also provide an example when this containment is strict. Next, we provide a metric on the density space induced by a quantum metric in the sense of Rieffel and prove that the induced topology is the same as the topology induced by the Bures metric and

$C^*$

-norm when the

$C^*$

-algebra is assumed to be finite dimensional. Finally, we provide an example where the Bures metric and induced quantum metric are not metric equivalent. Thus, we provide a bridge between these aspects of quantum information theory and noncommutative metric geometry.
A southernmost record of the Pacific black scabbardfish Aphanopus arigato (Scombriformes, Trichiuridae) from the South China Sea
Authors: Lin Yen-Ting , Lin Chien-Hsiang , Han Yu-San
Published: January 2025

In this study, a single specimen of Pacific black scabbardfish Aphanopus arigato Parin, 1994 was collected at a depth of ~500 m near Dongsha Island in southwestern Taiwan (18°49′ to 20°45′N and 112°46′ to 116°15′E), on 14 March 2023. This is the southernmost record of A. arigato, with a significantly wide range extension from northern Japan, and southern Kuril Islands to the South China Sea. We also provide comparisons of the morphological measurements, first description of sagittae otoliths, and a partial sequence of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene for the specimen studied in this study.
Unraveling the host range of Plasmodium huffi: morphological, histopathological and molecular characterization in red-legged seriemas from Brazil
Authors: de Carvalho e Vieira Lis Marques , Epiphanio Sabrina , Fernandes Natália Coelho Couto de Azevedo , Guerra Juliana Mariotti , Catão Dias José Luiz , Pacheco Maria Andreína , Escalante Ananias A. , Braga Érika Martins
Published: January 2025

Avian Plasmodium parasites can be pathogenic to their vertebrate hosts. Although cases of anaemia are frequently reported in parasitized birds, the potential damage caused by the parasite during the exoerythrocytic reproduction phase remains poorly investigated. Here, we report 2 individuals of red-legged seriemas (Cariama cristata) infected with 2 different lineages of Plasmodium huffi, one of them exhibiting potential malarial-compatible tissue lesions in the spleen, liver, brain and lungs, alongside molecular confirmation of parasite presence in the spleen. Previously classified as specific to birds from the order Piciformes, this parasite has shown different associated lineages amplified across diverse host orders in South America (Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, Columbiformes, Galliformes, Pelecaniformes and Passeriformes). Those infections, however, were defined as abortive due to the absence of gametocytes visualized in blood smear slides. Herein, we confirm P. huffi as a generalist parasite based on the first morphological characterization in the peripheral blood of a bird outside the Piciformes order. This is also the first morphological and molecular description of a Plasmodium species in Cariamiformes. In addition to the morphological analyses, we have also proposed a novel phylogenetic hypothesis based on the partial cytb gene and the near-complete mitochondrial genome of this parasite. Our findings support that the division of the genus Plasmodium into subgenera is not monophyletic, as P. (Huffia) huffi and its associated lineages cluster more closely with Plasmodium (Haemamoeba) gallinaceum than with Plasmodium (Huffia) elongatum.
Tocqueville on Servants, Servitude, and Impersonal Domination
Authors: Halikias Dimitrios
Published: January 2025

Alexis de Tocqueville highlights a paradox at the heart of the democratic spirit. Egalitarians are allergic to markers of social hierarchy and are on the hunt to identify and abolish remnants of the old regime’s entrenchment of aristocratic rank. The resulting abolition of personal hierarchy, however, does not deliver equality and freedom. Rather it inclines democrats to accept depersonalized forms of discipline at the hands of public opinion, the tutelary state, and the market economy. Tocqueville argues that the commitment to an “imaginary equality” lies at the root of the soft despotism he finds across democratized institutions, mores, and economic relationships. He develops a distinct account of the emergence of domination under conditions of formal equality. Social dependence in liberal societies does not derive from a new class of elites or the rise of capitalist economic formations. Equality is itself connected to new, impersonal forms of servitude.
Ancient Tyranny and Modern Dictatorship
Authors: Márquez Xavier
Published: January 2025

This article traces the conceptual history of key terms used to describe and criticize bad political regimes, focusing on the displacement of “tyranny” by “dictatorship” and “authoritarianism.” Classical Greek thought understood tyranny primarily in terms of the character of rulers, whereas the modern idea of dictatorship emerged from a Roman conceptual framework that focused on authority and its legitimation. New problems of legitimation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries diminished the utility of the character-centric concept of tyranny and increased the fruitfulness of dictatorship for political analysis. The emergence of the modern state in the nineteenth century shaped the conceptual field by increasing the salience of problems concerning the appropriation or usurpation of sovereignty, the distortion of popular legitimation and accountability, and the incentives for submission to illegitimate orders. I conclude that the use of “authoritarianism” is likely to increase in prominence, but that retaining multiple regime concepts enriches analysis.
A simple bipedal robot model demonstrating speed-dependent gait transition
Authors: Shin Hirofumi , Ikemoto Shuhei
Published: January 2025

This paper introduces a novel bipedal robot model designed for adaptive transition between walking and running gaits solely through changes in locomotion speed. The bipedal robot model comprises two sub-components: a mechanical model for the legs that accommodates both walking and running and a continuous state model that does not explicitly switch states. The mechanical model employs a structure combining a linear cylinder with springs, dampers, and stoppers, designed to have mechanistic properties of both the inverted pendulum model used for walking and the spring-loaded inverted pendulum model used for running. The state model utilizes a virtual leg representation to abstractly describe the actual support leg, capable of commonly representing both a double support leg in walking and a single support leg in running. These models enable a simple gait controller to determine the kick force and the foot touchdown point based solely on the parameter of the target speed, thus allowing a robot to walk and run stably. Hence, simulation validation demonstrates the adaptive robot transition to an energy-efficient gait depending on locomotion speed without explicit gait-type instructions and maintaining stable locomotion across a wide range of speeds.
Voluntary collective pensions: a viable alternative?
Authors: van Ewijk Casper
Published: January 2025

This contribution discusses the central thesis in Michael Otsuka’s book that collective pensions can be organized on a voluntary basis from the recent experience with pension reform in the Netherlands. Despite a long tradition of collective-funded pensions organized in a decentralized way by social partners, basis reform was necessary as population ageing made it increasingly harder to maintain the intergenerational solidarity implicit in these pensions. Although it is well-established that risk sharing between generations can be beneficial and welfare improving to all, it is far from certain that new generations will enter existing pension arrangements on a voluntary basis. First, there is a considerable ‘discontinuity risk’ if deficits in pension funding – caused by bad shocks – deter younger generations from entering the scheme. Second, even if it is to their own interest most people do not voluntarily engage in pension schemes due to several kinds of behavioural and psychological barriers.
Risk pooling, reciprocity, and voluntary association
Authors: Otsuka Michael
Published: January 2025

What follows is a sketch of three of the main claims of How to Pool Risks across Generations: The Case for Collective Pensions (Otsuka 2023) with which my symposium commentators critically engage: namely, that (1) by efficiently pooling risks across as well as within generations, (2) collective pensions can realize a form of Rawlsian reciprocity involving fair terms of cooperation for mutual advantage, (3) through the voluntary binding agreements of individuals to join a mutual association that provides social insurance. I respond to their challenges to these claims in my replies that follow their contributions.
Risk-sharing in pension plans: multiple options
Authors: Barr Nicholas
Published: January 2025

A response to pressures on pension finance caused by population ageing and economic turbulence has been a substantial move from traditional defined-benefit plans in which, at least in principle, all risk falls on the contributions side, to defined-contribution plans in which risk during accumulation all falls on the benefits side. This paper argues that both designs are ‘corner solutions’ and hence generally suboptimal, and goes on to set out a range of designs that offer different ways of sharing risk among workers, employers, future pensioners and current pensioners.
Emergency by Design: The “Native Repressive Tribunals” and the Normalization of Exception in Colonial Algeria, 1858–1904
Authors: Ghabrial Sarah
Published: January 2025

This study is the first to explore the creation of the Tribunaux repressifs indigènes (Native repressive tribunals, TRIs), a novel jurisdiction of exception promulgated at the turn of the twentieth century in colonial Algeria. The TRIs were the product of several intersecting historical processes that took shape over the last quarter of the nineteenth century: first, this period witnessed intense settler security panics marked by genuine anxiety that Algeria might succumb to uncontrollable banditry and mass uprisings. During this same period, colonial “sciences” couched in burgeoning race theory intersected with juridical knowledge-production to form a new legal discourse on assimilation. The TRIs were advanced using this new grammar of race-bound legal relativism, reimagined as consistent with republican universalism. This ascendant juridical epistème dovetailed with debates over the both indeterminate and overdetermined nature of sovereignty in Algeria, whose land was juridically and administratively “Frenchified,” yet whose Muslim (by definition non-citizen) colonial subjects remained excluded from access to civil rights or protections. A doctrine of racialized exception was invented and codified in the unfolding of an impassioned juristic and public debate. The TRIs were legitimized—and endured—thanks to a doctrinal rationale applied retroactively: that for Muslim colonized subjects, exception was the rule.
“Still Doin’ Time”: An Analysis of the Conditional Effects of Legislative Term Limits on State Incarceration Rates
Authors: Byers Jason S. , Shay Laine P.
Published: January 2025

A vast body of work investigates the consequences of legislative term limits for public policy. However, considerably less research has delved into their effects in noneconomic policy domains. In this article, we develop the argument that implemented term limits increase the effect that a state government’s ideology has on the state’s incarceration rate. When analyzing incarceration rates among all states between 1979 and 2017, we find evidence to support our theoretical expectation. Specifically, for states with term limits, we find that an increase in state government conservatism is associated with a higher incarceration rate. Conversely, for non-term-limited states, we find that the policy preferences of the state government have little influence on the incarceration rate. These findings deepen our insight into how institutional design can affect public policy.
Legislative Term Limits and Ideological Representation
Authors: Olson Michael P.
Published: January 2025

How do term limits affect dyadic ideological representation? Despite reformers’ claims that term limits should improve legislators’ connections to their constituents, much empirical political science research suggests that term limits actually break that electoral connection. In this study, I use a regression discontinuity design to measure the ideological gap in how Democrats and Republicans represent evenly matched districts and then explore how this gap varies across settings with and without state legislative term limits in effect. Across a number of specifications, my results are consistent with term limits exacerbating rather than improving dyadic representation. This study contributes to a growing scholarly consensus that term limits do not improve, and may worsen, state legislative representation.
Degrees and Demands
Authors: Mason Elinor
Published: January 2025

Norcross's recent book has a two-part title: Morality by Degrees: Reasons without Demands. In this essay I focus on the second part of the title – the idea that there are moral reasons without demands. I do not think that it is at all obvious what this means, and whether it is distinct from Norcross's central (and compelling) idea, that moral reasons come in degrees. I explore several possible ways of cashing out a distinctive claim that morality does not make demands, and argue that we should not accept that morality does not make demands. It does make demands, but it sometimes makes them in degrees.
Updated Code of Practice for the Welfare of Meat Chickens and Meat Breeding Chickens in England
Authors: Carter E
Published: January 2025

Following a period of consultation in 2017, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has recently published an updated Code of Practice for the Welfare of Meat Chickens and Meat Breeding Chickens in England. The Code came into force in March 2018.
Animal welfare and competitiveness of EU livestock producers
Authors: Carter E
Published: January 2025

The European Commission (EC) is the executive body of the European Union (EU) that represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole. Part of the role of the EC is to promote animal welfare and earlier this year the Commission published a Report on the impact of animal welfare international activities on the competitiveness of European livestock producers in a globalised world.
School Achievement, Intelligence, and Personality in Twins
Authors: da Silva B.T. Telles , Osorio M.R.L. Borges , Salzano F.M.
Published: January 2025

A sample of 47 MZ and 49 DZ pairs of Brazilian twins was investigated in relation to school achievement in six specific areas of study, as well as performance in the test of Dominoes, the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT) and Griéger's Characterological Questionnaire. Significant F-ratios (variance within DZ/variance within MZ) were observed for the school grades obtained in five of the six areas considered, as well as for their general average; the same being true for the results on the indicated measure of general intelligence, six of the eight DAT tests, and two of the characterological elements. There is a clear positive relationship between the grades earned by the twins and their performance in the Dominoes test. Achievement in Portuguese and foreign language correlates positively with DAT's Sentences; and achievement in mathematics correlates positively with DAT's Numerical Ability, Abstract Reasoning, and Clerical Speed and Accuracy. The results show an agreement with previous estimates of the genetic determination of these variables, which is to a certain extent surprising if we consider the differences in sample sizes, age, and degree of schooling of the subjects, environmental differences, and the dissimilarities which exist between the homes and school systems of USA, Europe, and Brazil.
Interactive System for Automatic Analysis of Human R-Banded Metaphases. 1. Interactive Procedure in Selection of Metaphase Digitized Images
Authors: Fontana G. , Matteuzzi P. , Fabiani G. , Forabosco A.
Published: January 2025

A computer system analysing human metaphase images and finding banding patterns of R-banded chromosomes has been set up. This first paper describes the interactive procedure in selection of metaphase images, automatically digitized starting from microphotographic negatives.
Erythrocyte Galactose-1-Phosphate Uridyltransferase and Galactokinase Levels in Twins
Authors: Cholnoky P. , Sitzmann F.C. , Teubl I. , Kaloud H.
Published: January 2025

The levels of the two enzymes, GAL-1-PUT and GAL-KIN, have been examined in a sample of 35 MZ and 45 DZ twin pairs of both sexes. The activities of these enzymes do not appear to be influenced by sex. The role of genetic factors appears to be rather limited in the case of GAL-1-PUT, but much higher in the case of GAL-KIN.
The Red Cell Acid Phosphatase Polymorphism in Greek b-Thalassemia Patients
Authors: Kalos A. , Melissinos K. , Archimandritis A. , Kourounis G. , Angelopoulos B.
Published: January 2025

Red cell acid phosphatase polymorphism was studied by starch gel electrophoresis in 70 b-thalassemia patients and in 310 healthy Greeks. Our results gave the following gene frequencies: b-thalassemia patients: pa 0.321, pb 0.643, pc 0.036; healthy Greeks: pa 0.302, pb 0.653, pc 0.045. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups.
A Study of Some Genetic Markers in the Bahawalpuris of Patiala, India
Authors: Singh Lakhbir , Goel Karam Vir
Published: January 2025

ABO blood groups, secretor factor, Rh-factor, and PTC taste ability have been examined in 360 individuals of Bahawalpuri population of Patiala. B and O blood groups are more frequent (44.46 % & 31.36% respectively). Frequency of secretors (84.72%) outweighs that of nonsecretors (15.28%). All the individuals have been found to belong to Rh + ve type. High incidence of non tasters (55.55%) has been seen. Genes r, Se, D, and t are found to be most frequent in the population.
Morphological and Cytogenetic Studies on Conjoined Twins
Authors: Konstantinova Bl.
Published: January 2025

Two cases of monoamniotic conjoined male twins, born at term after normal pregnancies, are reported. The first case, a bicephalus, shows hypoplastic and malformed left-side organs, absence of the left umbilical artery, and two communicating hearts, the left one with three cameras. The second case, a pygotho-racopagus, consists in a twin “parasite”, with no head but with two upper and two lower limbs, slightly less developed than those of the formed twin. The left eye of the formed twin is double than the right one and contains two eye apples — one well-formed and the other rudimentary. There is a rudiment of a second mouth on the left cheek. The umbilical cord contains five blood vessels — one umbilical vein and four umbilical arteries. The cytogenetic study of the pygothoracopagus reveals aneuploidy, more pronounced in the “parasite” than in the formed twin.
Heredity of Twinning in Families of Monozygotic Twins
Authors: Gedda L. , Russo O. , Capone M.
Published: January 2025

Whereas the existence of some genetic factor underlying the phenomenon of twinning is almost generally accepted with respect to DZ twins, no such agreement exists with respect to MZ twins. The possible existence of genetic factors underlying MZ twinning has been verified through an analysis of segregation in the sibships of MZ twins and in those of their parents, carried out on a sample of 57 MZ twin pairs (30 M and 27 F). Haldane's a priori method has been applied, considering the sample as obtained through a complete and through an incomplete ascertainment. The results may lead to cautiously confirm the hypothesis of some genetic conditioning of MZ twinning.
Death-Discordant Twins A New Method to Evaluate Genetic Factors in Chronic Diseases
Authors: de Faire Ulf , Lundman Torbjorn
Published: January 2025

One of the most important lines of research on unselected large scale twin registries are mortality follow-ups. Death-specific concordance rates have been calculated using different measures of concordance. These estimates are of great importance but they only reflect an “all or-none” classification of the genetic effect. It is suggested that mortality studies could be extended to, and include studies on, death-discordant twins. Such studies combine the advantages from mortality follow-ups on total twin populations with the detailed clinical investigation on subsamples. By examining the surviving cotwins with respect to various traits and supposed risk factors, an opportunity has been provided to study the genetic determination on the development of disease. This approach has been used in a study of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and its risk factors in a representative subsample from the Swedish Twin Registry.
Blood Vessels of the Twin Placenta in Relation to Zygosity
Authors: Bhargava Indra
Published: January 2025

The anatomical characteristics of the arteries, veins and arteriovenous relationships, velamentous vessels, and vascular communications in 148 placentae from multiple pregnancies were studied. All features were found to show discordance of varying degrees, irrespective of the twins' zygosity. Singular involvement of one component of the twin placenta by hydramnios or congenital defects, incidence of vascular communications and the anatomical characteristics of the vessels in conjoined twins, acardiac monsters and triplets, and a chromosomal discordance in a MZ pair, lend additional support to the initial surmise of anatomical characteristics of fetal blood vessels of the placenta being determined by functional demands. It is suggested that the inequalities of prenatal environment be assessed by an examination of the fetal blood vessels of the placenta before drawing homologies in the twin concordance studies.
The National Heart and Lung Institute Twin Study of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Organization and Methodology
Authors: Feinleib Manning , Christian J. C. , Borhani N. O. , Rosenman R. , Garrison R.J. , Wagner J. , Kannel W. B. , Hrubec Z. , Schwartz J. T.
Published: January 2025

The National Heart and Lung Institute undertook a twin study on the etiology of coronary heart disease and genetic relations underlying differential levels of coronary risk. Between 1969 and 1974, 250 MZ and 264 DZ male twin pairs aged 42-56 were examined. The examination featured a medical and family history, a dietary interview, ECG, blood pressure, weight and height measurement, a variety of blood chemistry tests, including complete lipoprotein analyses, and lung function tests. Zygosity was determined through 22 red cell antigens. A detailed interview dealing with the twins' relationships to each other was also obtained. Each of the quantitative variables was tested for the presence of genetic variance using the method of Christian. This method first tests the equality of the total variances of MZ and DZ twins by a two-tailed F' test. When the hypothesis of equality of these two variances is rejected, use of the among-component estimate of genetic variance is indicated. The current report discusses the organization and methodology of the study while accompanying reports focus on the genetic variance in blood lipids, blood pressure, and coronary-prone behavior patterns.