bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Small Genome amidst the Giants: Evidence of Genome Reduction in a Small Tubulinid Free-Living Amoeba
Authors: Tekle Yonas I , Tefera Hanna
Published: March 2024

This study investigates the genomic characteristics of Echinamoeba silvestris, a small-sized amoeba within the Tubulinea clade of the Amoebozoa supergroup. Despite Tubulinea’s significance in various fields, genomic data for this clade have been scarce. E. silvestris presents the smallest free-living amoeba genome within Tubulinea and Amoebozoa to date. Comparative analysis reveals intriguing parallels with parasitic lineages in terms of genome size and predicted gene numbers, emphasizing the need to understand the consequences of reduced genomes in free-living amoebae. Functional categorization of predicted genes in E. silvestris shows similar percentages of ortholog groups to other amoebae in various categories, but a distinctive feature is the extensive gene contraction in orphan (ORFan) genes and those involved in biological processes. Notably, among the few genes that underwent expansion, none are related to cellular components, suggesting adaptive processes that streamline biological processes and cellular components for efficiency and energy conservation. Additionally, our investigation into noncoding and repetitive elements sheds light on the evolution of genome size in amoebae, with E. silvestris distinguished by low percentage of repetitive elements. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that E. silvestris has the lowest mean number of introns per gene among the species studied, providing further support for its observed compact genome. Overall, this research underscores the diversity within Tubulinea, highlights knowledge gaps in Amoebozoa genomics, and positions E. silvestris as a valuable addition to genomic data sets, prompting further exploration of complexities in Amoebozoa diversity and genome evolution.
The 1444 Sunday law of London
Authors: Kirkland Justin S
Published: March 2024

On Sunday 3 May 1444, the London Common Council issued a law that prohibited certain professions from selling their goods on Sundays. While there were numerous laws created during the middle ages that prohibited commerce and work on holy days, the 1444 London law is unique in that it was stricter than the canon law of the church. This article analyses the 1444 London law in order to gain a better insight into mid fifteenth-century London and late medieval religion. It suggests that the 1444 law was created as a response to ideas originally found in canon law and confessors’ manuals. These orthodox sources allowed certain activities that were, seemingly, objectionable to some in 1440s London.
Soil microbiome feedbacks during disturbance-driven forest ecosystem conversion
Authors: Nelson Amelia R , Fegel Timothy S , Danczak Robert E , Caiafa Marcos V , Roth Holly K , Dunn Oliver I , Turvold Cosette A , Borch Thomas , Glassman Sydney I , Barnes Rebecca T , Rhoades Charles C , Wilkins Michael J
Published: March 2024

Disturbances cause rapid changes to forests, with different disturbance types and severities creating unique ecosystem trajectories that can impact the underlying soil microbiome. Pile burning—the combustion of logging residue on the forest floor—is a common fuel reduction practice that can have impacts on forest soils analogous to those following high-severity wildfire. Further, pile burning following clear-cut harvesting can create persistent openings dominated by nonwoody plants surrounded by dense regenerating conifer forest. A paired 60-year chronosequence of burn scar openings and surrounding regenerating forest after clear-cut harvesting provides a unique opportunity to assess whether belowground microbial processes mirror aboveground vegetation during disturbance-induced ecosystem shifts. Soil ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity was reduced the first decade after pile burning, which could explain poor tree seedling establishment and subsequent persistence of herbaceous species within the openings. Fine-scale changes in the soil microbiome mirrored aboveground shifts in vegetation, with short-term changes to microbial carbon cycling functions resembling a postfire microbiome (e.g. enrichment of aromatic degradation genes) and respiration in burn scars decoupled from substrate quantity and quality. Broadly, however, soil microbiome composition and function within burn scar soils converged with that of the surrounding regenerating forest six decades after the disturbances, indicating potential microbial resilience that was disconnected from aboveground vegetation shifts. This work begins to unravel the belowground microbial processes that underlie disturbance-induced ecosystem changes, which are increasing in frequency tied to climate change.
Validation of a Method for Surveillance of Nanoparticles in Mussels Using Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Bruvold Are , Valdersnes Stig , Loeschner Katrin , Bienfait André Marcel
Published: March 2024

Background

Determining the concentration of nanoparticles (NPs) in marine organisms is important for evaluating their environmental impact and to assess potential food safety risks to human health.

Objective

The current work aimed at developing an in-house method based on single-particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) suitable for surveillance of NPs in mussels.

Methods

A new low-cost and simple protease mixture was utilized for sample digestion, and novel open-source data processing was used, establishing detection limits on a statistical basis using false-positive and false-negative probabilities. The method was validated for 30 and 60 nm gold NPs spiked to mussels as a proxy for seafood.

Results

Recoveries were 76–77% for particle mass concentration and 94–101% for particle number concentration. Intermediate precision was 8–9% for particle mass concentration and 7–8% for particle number concentration. The detection limit for size was 18 nm, for concentration 1.7 ng/g, and 4.2 × 105 particles/g mussel tissue.

Conclusion

The performance characteristics of the method were satisfactory compared with numeric Codex criteria. Further, the method was applied to titanium-, chromium- and copper-based particles in mussels.

Highlights

The method demonstrates a new practical and cost-effective sample treatment, and streamlined, transparent, and reproducible data treatment for the routine surveillance of NPs in mussels.
False-positive MDA findings in HRMS-based screening of putrefied postmortem blood samples—Identification of the interference as N-acetyltyramine
Authors: Stammer Viviane C , Wissenbach Dirk K , Peters Frank T
Published: March 2024

An unidentified compound in putrefied postmortem blood samples showed identical accurate mass and chromatographic behavior as 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and led to false-positive preliminary screening results. The aim of the study was to identify this unknown interference. Postmortem blood samples were analyzed after protein precipitation on a QExactive Focus high-resolution mass spectrometer (Thermo Fisher, Germany) coupled to a RP C18 column (Macherey-Nagel, Germany). Based on the analysis of mass spectrometry (MS) adducts and isotope ratios using fullscan (m/z 134–330) information, the empiric formula of the protonated molecule [M + H]+ of the unknown compound was found to be C10H14O2N (+ 0.6 ppm). Product ion spectra recorded using normalized collision energy 22% showed a base peak of C8H9O1 (+ 1.5 ppm) and a low-abundant water loss to C7H9 (+ 1.9 ppm), neutral losses of C2H2O and NH3 were found. Based on fullscan and MS-MS information and under consideration of the observed order of neutral losses, the compound was presumptively identified as N-acetyltyramine. This assumption was supported by SIRIUS software showing a SIRIUS score of 99.43% for N-acetyltyramine. Finally, the putative structure annotation was confirmed by a reference compound. The described false-positive MDA findings could be attributed to the presence of N-acetyltyramine in putrefied blood samples. Being an isomer of MDA, N-acetyltyramine could not be distinguished by high-resolution data of the protonated molecules. The presented results once again highlight that false-positive findings may occur even in hyphenated high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) when using full-scan information only.
Establishing Consensus of Best Practice for CEA Use in Treatment of Severe Burns: A US Burn Provider Delphi Study
Authors: Glat Paul , Quirk Lisa , Hultman Scott , Kesey Jennifer , Jain Arpana , Griswald John , Natalie Fitzgerald , Wibbenmeyer Lucy , Amani Hamed , Cramer Caryn , Hickerson William L
Published: March 2024

The goal of this study was to inform standards of best practice in the use of cultured epidermal autograft (CEA), manufactured in the United States, for the treatment of patients with severe burns. The study was designed using the modified Delphi technique, a method for structuring group communication among experts to promote the development of consensus-based recommendations. Known areas of variability related to the stages of CEA treatment were identified by literature review prior to the study and were confirmed through qualitative interview with the experts. The areas included Preoperative Planning/Surgical Planning, Immediate Postoperative Care, and Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care. A list of 22 questions was developed based on interviews with the experts, and a 3-round Delphi technique was used to establish consensus (≥80% agreement). Following 3 rounds (quantitative, qualitative, and virtual roundtable meeting) of the Delphi study, important guidance for the use of CEA treatment in severely burned patients gained consensus. Final key recommendations included minimum burn limit for CEA treatment (30%-50% TBSA), ideal biopsy timing (1-2 days), number of grafts (enough to cover; adjust 72 hours before application), use of dermal substrates (recommended) and wide meshed autograft underlay (recommended), optimal CEA drying time per day (open air >6 hours), slings used if CEA placed on extremities (recommended), dressing changes (performed every day, all at once, with all layers removed down to bridal veil), CEA backing removal (10-14 days after placement), heat lamps (can be used to aid the wound in drying, depending on clinical judgment), initial activity restrictions lifted (beginning 10 days after backing removal), compression garments (introduced at approximately 2 months post-CEA surgery), and lasers (CO2 laser can be introduced between 3 and 6 months post-CEA surgery).
The Effectiveness of Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements
Authors: Abman Ryan , Lundberg Clark , Ruta Michele
Published: March 2024

Trade liberalization can spur environmental degradation. Concerns over these adverse impacts have led to a debate over the need for environmental provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs); however, the effectiveness of such provisions is unknown. In this paper, we provide new plausibly causal evidence that environmental provisions are effective in limiting deforestation following the entry into force of RTAs. We exploit high resolution, satellite-derived estimates of deforestation, and identify the content of RTAs using a new dataset with detailed information on individual provisions. Accounting for the potential endogeneity of environmental provisions in RTAs, we find that the inclusion of specific provisions aimed at protecting forests and/or biodiversity almost entirely offsets the net increases in forest loss observed in similar RTAs without such provisions. The effects are particularly strong in tropical, developing countries with greater biodiversity. The inclusion of these provisions limits agricultural expansion and agricultural trade.
Evaluating the Impact of Different Feature as a Counter Data Aggregation approaches on the Performance of NIDSs and Their Selected Features
Authors: Magán-Carrión Roberto , Urda Daniel , Diaz-Cano Ignacio , Dorronsoro Bernabé
Published: March 2024

There is much effort nowadays to protect communication networks against different cybersecurity attacks (which are more and more sophisticated) that look for systems’ vulnerabilities they could exploit for malicious purposes. Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDSs) are popular tools to detect and classify such attacks, most of them based on ML models. However, ML-based NIDSs cannot be trained by feeding them with network traffic data as it is. Thus, a Feature Engineering (FE) process plays a crucial role transforming network traffic raw data onto derived one suitable for ML models. In this work, we study the effects of applying one such FE technique in different ways on the performance of two ML models (linear and non-linear) and their selected features. This the Feature as a Counter approach. The derived observations are computed from either with the same number of raw samples, (batch-based approaches) or by aggregating them by time intervals (timestamp-based approach). Results show that there is no significant differences between the proposed approaches neither in the performance of the models nor in the selected features that validate our proposal making it feasible to be widely used as a standard FE method.
Genome-wide data support recognition of an additional species of Neotropical river otter (Mammalia, Mustelidae, Lutrinae)
Authors: de Ferran Vera , Vieira Figueiró Henrique , Trinca Cristine Silveira , Hernández-Romero Pablo César , Lorenzana Gustavo P , Gutiérrez-Rodríguez Carla , Koepfli Klaus-Peter , Eizirik Eduardo
Published: March 2024

Cryptic biodiversity continues to be revealed worldwide, even in apparently well-known groups such as carnivorans. The Neotropical Otter (Lontra longicaudis) presents shape variation in its nose pad, a character that has been used to differentiate species in this group. Based on this, 3 subspecies are recognized: L. l. annectens (Mexico, Central America, and South America west of the Andes), L. l. enudris (Amazon and Orinoco basins), and L. l. longicaudis (Paraná basin and remaining distribution). Previous studies partially supported their distinctness based on mitochondrial DNA markers, morphometrics, and ecological niche modeling. We analyzed genome-wide nuclear markers (ultraconserved elements) of 29 L. longicaudis individuals across the species’ range to assess its population structure. Phylogenomic analysis recovered L. longicaudis as paraphyletic with robust support, with 1 clade comprising samples from Mexico and Colombia (trans-Andean populations) and another encompassing the remaining samples (cis-Andean populations), which grouped with 2 other South American species, L. felina and L. provocax. Principal component and admixture analyses strongly differentiated the 2 main L. longicaudis groups, and distinguished the Amazonian individuals from the remaining cis-Andean samples. Our results support the recognition of trans-Andean populations of L. longicaudis as a distinct otter species, which should be recognized as Lontra annectens.
Diagnostic yield of postmortem brain examination following premortem brain biopsy for neoplastic and nonneoplastic disease
Authors: MacRae Cassie B , Grieco Kristina C , Solomon Isaac H
Published: March 2024

Medical autopsies have decreased in frequency due in part to advances in radiological techniques and increased availability of molecular and other ancillary testing. However, premortem diagnosis of CNS disease remains challenging; while ∼90% of brain tumor biopsies are diagnostic, only 20%–70% of biopsies for presumed nonneoplastic disease result in a specific diagnosis. The added benefits of performing an autopsy following surgical brain biopsy are not well defined. A retrospective analysis was performed of patients who underwent brain biopsy and autopsy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2003 to 2022. A total of 135 cases were identified, including 95 (70%) patients with primary CNS neoplasms, 16 (12%) with metastatic tumors, and 24 (18%) with nonneoplastic neurological disease. Diagnostic concordance between biopsy and autopsy diagnosis was excellent both for primary CNS neoplasms (98%) and metastatic tumors (94%). Conversely, patients with nonneoplastic disease received definitive premortem diagnoses in 7/24 (29%) cases. Five (21%) additional patients received conclusive diagnoses following autopsy; 8 (33%) received a more specific differential diagnosis compared to the biopsy. Overall, autopsy confirmed premortem diagnoses or provided new diagnostic information in 131/135 (97%) cases, highlighting the value in performing postmortem brain examination in patients with both neoplastic and nonneoplastic diseases.
Rare case of strangulated primary acquired perineal hernia causing small bowel obstruction requiring emergency operative repair
Authors: Jamsari Giuleta , Kwik Charlotte , King Jenny , Pathma-Nathan Nimalan
Published: March 2024

Primary acquired perineal hernia is rare with only 100 reported cases in the literature. Emergency presentations of intestinal obstruction secondary to perineal hernia are very rare and to-date, there are only eight cases reported in the literature. We present a case of a 74-year-old lady who presented with a small bowel obstruction secondary to strangulated perineal hernia in the absence of pelvic exenteration or abdominoperineal resection requiring operative repair via combined open transabdominal and transperineal approach. To our knowledge, this case represents the first reported case of intestinal obstruction secondary to primary acquired perineal hernia in the absence of pelvic exenteration or abdominoperineal resection.
Understanding and managing a case of the omphalocele-exstrophy-imperforate anus-spinal defect complex
Authors: Nurani Khulud Mahmood , Abdalla Waleed , Ayub Khalid Mohamed
Published: March 2024

The omphalocele-exstrophy-imperforate anus-spinal defects (OEIS) complex is a rare birth disorder involving a combination of gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, renal, neural, and genitourinary system defects. We present a case report of a neonate with OEIS born by vertex spontaneous delivery to non-consanguineous parents. The major presenting defect was exstrophy of the cecum lying between two exstrophied halves of the bladder, an imperforate anus and spina bifida myelomeningocele. Explorative laparotomy revealed a duplex kidney system, attachment of the terminal ileum and cecum to the exstrophy, and a sausage-like atretic large bowel. Malrotation was also noted. Ladd’s bands were released followed by ileostomy and ureterostomy. Patient was stable post-operatively and in the incubator on room air. OEIS remains a challenging anomaly that requires optimal treatment to facilitate the quality of life. With appropriate surgical intervention, the functional and social treatment goals for this unusual congenital defect can be met.
Genital self-image and sexual function in Iranian women from pregnancy to postpartum: a cohort study
Authors: Samiei Ghazale , Mehrbakhsh Zahra , Khosravi Hamideh , Moghasemi Sedigheh
Published: March 2024

Background

Genital self-image is among the factors affecting women’s sexual function.

Aim

The present study aimed to determine changes in the genital self-image and its relationship with women’s sexual function in the third trimester of pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods

The participants of this prospective cohort study included 301 eligible pregnant women chosen through stratified random sampling with proportional allocation from comprehensive health centers in Gorgan, Iran. The Persian version of the 7-item Female Genital Self-Image Scale, the 6-item Female Sexual Function Index, and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 were filled in a self-report manner on 2 occasions: (1) 30 to 37 weeks of pregnancy and (2) 12 to 16 weeks (± 2 weeks) postpartum. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 24 software.

Outcomes

Outcomes included Female Genital Self-Image Scale and Female Sexual Function Index changes from pregnancy to postpartum according to the childbirth mode.

Results

The mean age of participants was 29.66 ± 5.27 years. These values for the genital self-image scores of women during pregnancy (19.18 ± 3.25) and postpartum (19.43 ± 3.57) were not significantly different (P = .30). Also, this difference was not statistically significant regarding the mode of delivery in 2 groups of women with vaginal birth (P = .62) and cesarean section (P = .14). The mean Female Sexual Function Index scores during pregnancy (15.15 ± 6.73) and postpartum (17.52 ± 6.46) were significantly different (P = .001). In addition, this difference was significant in women with vaginal birth (P = .004) and cesarean section (P = .001).

Clinical Implications

Clinicians should inform women/couples about changes in female sexual function and address genital self-image as a factor involved in female sexual function during pregnancy and postpartum.

Strengths and Limitations: Because the participants of this study were women in the third trimester of pregnancy, the obtained results may not be generalized to pregnant women in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy or even to different postpartum periods (ie, midterm and long term).

Conclusion

The results showed that the female genital self-image is not significantly different during pregnancy and postpartum, or with the mode of delivery. However, the female sexual function score in postpartum is higher than in pregnancy, regardless of the mode of delivery.
Bayesian reasoning and the prior in court: not legally normative but unavoidable
Authors: Meester Ronald , Stevens Lonneke
Published: March 2024

We introduce Bayesian reasoning in court not as a toolbox for doing computations, but as a way to assess evidence in a case. We argue that Bayesian reasoning comes naturally, even when the findings in a case cannot readily be translated into numbers. Not having numbers at one’s disposal is not an obstacle to use Bayesian reasoning. Although we present a coherent and complete view, we focus on the prior, since that seems to be the most problematic part of Bayesian reasoning. We explain that attempts to numerically express the prior fail in general, but also that a prior is necessary and cannot be dispensed with. Indeed, we explain in detail why decision-making should not be based on likelihood ratios alone. We next discuss two of the most delicate questions around the prior: (1) the possible conflict with the presumption of innocence, and (2) the idea that unwanted personal conviction (like racism) might enter the decision procedure via the prior. We conclude that these alleged problems are not problematic after all, and we carefully explain this position.
Hierarchical consciousness: the Nested Observer Windows model
Authors: Riddle Justin , Schooler Jonathan W
Published: March 2024

Foremost in our experience is the intuition that we possess a unified conscious experience. However, many observations run counter to this intuition: we experience paralyzing indecision when faced with two appealing behavioral choices, we simultaneously hold contradictory beliefs, and the content of our thought is often characterized by an internal debate. Here, we propose the Nested Observer Windows (NOW) Model, a framework for hierarchical consciousness wherein information processed across many spatiotemporal scales of the brain feeds into subjective experience. The model likens the mind to a hierarchy of nested mosaic tiles—where an image is composed of mosaic tiles, and each of these tiles is itself an image composed of mosaic tiles. Unitary consciousness exists at the apex of this nested hierarchy where perceptual constructs become fully integrated and complex behaviors are initiated via abstract commands. We define an observer window as a spatially and temporally constrained system within which information is integrated, e.g. in functional brain regions and neurons. Three principles from the signal analysis of electrical activity describe the nested hierarchy and generate testable predictions. First, nested observer windows disseminate information across spatiotemporal scales with cross-frequency coupling. Second, observer windows are characterized by a high degree of internal synchrony (with zero phase lag). Third, observer windows at the same spatiotemporal level share information with each other through coherence (with non-zero phase lag). The theoretical framework of the NOW Model accounts for a wide range of subjective experiences and a novel approach for integrating prominent theories of consciousness.
Arousal coherence, uncertainty, and well-being: an active inference account
Authors: Biddell Hannah , Solms Mark , Slagter Heleen , Laukkonen Ruben
Published: March 2024

Here we build on recent findings which show that greater alignment between our subjective experiences (how we feel) and physiological states (measurable changes in our body) plays a pivotal role in the overall psychological well-being. Specifically, we propose that the alignment or ‘coherence’ between affective arousal (e.g. how excited we ‘feel’) and autonomic arousal (e.g. heart rate or pupil dilation) may be key for maintaining up-to-date uncertainty representations in dynamic environments. Drawing on recent advances in interoceptive and affective inference, we also propose that arousal coherence reflects interoceptive integration, facilitates adaptive belief updating, and impacts our capacity to adapt to changes in uncertainty, with downstream consequences to well-being. We also highlight the role of meta-awareness of arousal, a third level of inference, which may permit conscious awareness, learning about, and intentional regulation of lower-order sources of arousal. Practices emphasizing meta-awareness of arousal (like meditation) may therefore elicit some of their known benefits via improved arousal coherence. We suggest that arousal coherence is also likely to be associated with markers of adaptive functioning (like emotional awareness and self-regulatory capacities) and discuss mind–body practices that may increase coherence.
Marizomib for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma: A randomized phase 3 trial
Authors: Roth Patrick , Gorlia Thierry , Reijneveld Jaap C , de Vos Filip , Idbaih Ahmed , Frenel Jean-Sébastien , Le Rhun Emilie , Sepulveda Juan Manuel , Perry James , Masucci G Laura , Freres Pierre , Hirte Hal , Seidel Clemens , Walenkamp Annemiek , Lukacova Slavka , Meijnders Paul , Blais Andre , Ducray Francois , Verschaeve Vincent , Nicholas Garth , Balana Carmen , Bota Daniela A , Preusser Matthias , Nuyens Sarah , Dhermain Fréderic , van den Bent Martin , O’Callaghan Chris J , Vanlancker Maureen , Mason Warren , Weller Michael
Published: March 2024

Background

Standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma includes surgery, radiotherapy (RT), and temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy (TMZ/RT→TMZ). The proteasome has long been considered a promising therapeutic target because of its role as a central biological hub in tumor cells. Marizomib is a novel pan-proteasome inhibitor that crosses the blood–brain barrier.

Methods

European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer 1709/Canadian Cancer Trials Group CE.8 was a multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label phase 3 superiority trial. Key eligibility criteria included newly diagnosed glioblastoma, age > 18 years and Karnofsky performance status > 70. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio. The primary objective was to compare overall survival (OS) in patients receiving marizomib in addition to TMZ/RT→TMZ with patients receiving the only standard treatment in the whole population and in the subgroup of patients with MGMT promoter-unmethylated tumors.

Results

The trial was opened at 82 institutions in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. A total of 749 patients (99.9% of the planned 750) were randomized. OS was not different between the standard and the marizomib arm (median 17 vs. 16.5 months; HR = 1.04; P = .64). PFS was not statistically different either (median 6.0 vs. 6.3 months; HR = 0.97; P = .67). In patients with MGMT promoter-unmethylated tumors, OS was also not different between standard therapy and marizomib (median 14.5 vs. 15.1 months, HR = 1.13; P = .27). More CTCAE grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events were observed in the marizomib arm than in the standard arm.

Conclusions

Adding marizomib to standard temozolomide-based radiochemotherapy resulted in more toxicity, but did not improve OS or PFS in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.
The effects of local variations in conditions on carbon storage and release in the continental mantle
Authors: Foley Stephen F , Chen Chunfei , Jacob Dorrit E
Published: March 2024

Recent advances indicate that the amount of carbon released by gradual degassing from the mantle needs to be revised upwards, whereas the carbon supplied by plumes may have been overestimated in the past. Variations in rock types and oxidation state may be very local and exert strong influences on carbon storage and release mechanisms. Deep subduction may be prevented by diapirism in thick sedimentary packages, whereas carbonates in thinner sequences may be subducted. Carbonates stored in the mantle transition zone will melt when they heat up, recognized by coupled stable isotope systems (e.g. Mg, Zn, Ca). There is no single ‘mantle oxygen fugacity’, particularly in the thermal boundary layer (TBL) and lowermost lithosphere, where very local mixtures of rock types coexist. Carbonate-rich melts from either subduction or melting of the uppermost asthenosphere trap carbon by redox freezing or as carbonate-rich dykes in this zone. Deeply derived, reduced melts may form further diamond reservoirs, recognized as polycrystalline diamonds associated with websteritic silicate minerals. Carbon is released by either edge-driven convection, which tears sections of the TBL and lower lithosphere down so that they melt by a mixture of heating and oxidation, or by lateral advection of solids beneath rifts. Both mechanisms operate at steps in lithosphere thickness and result in carbonate-rich melts, explaining the spatial association of craton edges and carbonate-rich magmatism. High-pressure experiments on individual rock types, and increasingly on reactions between rocks and melts, are fine-tuning our understanding of processes and turning up unexpected results that are not seen in studies of single rocks. Future research should concentrate on elucidating local variations and integrating these with the interpretation of geophysical signals. Global concepts such as average sediment compositions and a uniform mantle oxidation state are not appropriate for small-scale processes; an increased focus on local variations will help to refine carbon budget models.
Surface-phonon-polariton-enhanced photoinduced dipole force for nanoscale infrared imaging
Authors: Li Jian , Jahng Junghoon , Ma Xuezhi , Liang Jing , Zhang Xue , Min Qianhao , Wang Xiao-Liang , Chen Shuangjun , Lee Eun Seong , Xia Xing-Hua
Published: March 2024

The photoinduced dipole force (PiDF) is an attractive force arising from the Coulombic interaction between the light-induced dipoles on the illuminated tip and the sample. It shows extreme sample-tip distance and refractive index dependence, which is promising for nanoscale infrared (IR) imaging of ultrathin samples. However, the existence of PiDF in the mid-IR region has not been experimentally demonstrated due to the coexistence of photoinduced thermal force (PiTF), typically one to two orders of magnitude higher than PiDF. In this study, we demonstrate that, with the assistance of surface phonon polaritons, the PiDF of c-quartz can be enhanced to surpass its PiTF, enabling a clear observation of PiDF spectra reflecting the properties of the real part of permittivity. Leveraging the detection of the PiDF of phonon polaritonic substrate, we propose a strategy to enhance the sensitivity and contrast of photoinduced force responses in transmission images, facilitating the precise differentiation of the heterogeneous distribution of ultrathin samples.
Networked dynamic systems with higher-order interactions: stability versus complexity
Authors: Wang Ye , Li Aming , Wang Long
Published: March 2024

The stability of complex systems is profoundly affected by underlying structures, which are often modeled as networks where nodes indicate system components and edges indicate pairwise interactions between nodes. However, such networks cannot encode the overall complexity of networked systems with higher-order interactions among more than two nodes. Set structures provide a natural description of pairwise and higher-order interactions where nodes are grouped into multiple sets based on their shared traits. Here we derive the stability criteria for networked systems with higher-order interactions by employing set structures. In particular, we provide a simple rule showing that the higher-order interactions play a double-sided role in community stability—networked systems with set structures are stabilized if the expected number of common sets for any two nodes is less than one. Moreover, although previous knowledge suggests that more interactions (i.e. complexity) destabilize networked systems, we report that, with higher-order interactions, networked systems can be stabilized by forming more local sets. Our findings are robust with respect to degree heterogeneous structures, diverse equilibrium states and interaction types.
Clinical Outcomes for Patients With Monomicrobial vs Polymicrobial Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus Complex Infections Treated With Sulbactam-Durlobactam or Colistin: A Subset Analysis From a Phase 3 Clinical Trial
Authors: McLeod Sarah M , Miller Alita A , Rana Khurram , Altarac David , Moussa Samir H , Shapiro Adam B
Published: March 2024

Background

In a previous study, the efficacy and safety of sulbactam-durlobactam vs colistin for the treatment of patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (CRABC) infections were evaluated in a randomized controlled phase 3 trial. Both arms were dosed on a background of imipenem-cilastatin to treat coinfecting gram-negative pathogens. Thirty-six percent of infections in the primary efficacy population were polymicrobial.

Methods

A subset analysis was performed to compare clinical and microbiological outcomes at test of cure (7 ± 2 days after the last dose) for patients with monomicrobial and polymicrobial CRABC infections. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics against baseline isolates were determined by broth microdilution according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute methodology.

Results

Clinical cure, 28-day all-cause mortality, and microbiological outcomes were similar for patients in the sulbactam-durlobactam treatment arm with monomicrobial or polymicrobial A baumannii-calcoaceticus infections. Patients in the colistin arm with monomicrobial CRABC infections had higher mortality rates with worse clinical and microbiological outcomes as compared with those with polymicrobial infections. For patients who received sulbactam-durlobactam, imipenem susceptibility of coinfecting gram-negative pathogens trended with clinical benefit for patients with polymicrobial A baumannii-calcoaceticus infections. When tested in vitro, durlobactam restored imipenem susceptibility to the majority of coinfecting gram-negative pathogens from the sulbactam-durlobactam arm. This phenotype appeared to be related to the clinical outcome in 13 of 15 evaluable cases.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the use of sulbactam-durlobactam plus a carbapenem could be an effective approach to treat polymicrobial infections that include CRABC, but additional clinical data are needed to demonstrate efficacy.
Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919)
Authors: Patton Lydia
Published: March 2024

Rosa Luxemburg is a political theorist and economist in the Marxist tradition. Her work builds on the classic communist view of the state as embodying class conflicts, establishing key results including the role of the capitalist state in imperialism and colonialism. Her interventions in debates on Polish independence were famous in socialist circles. This essay evaluates how Luxemburg’s interventions in those debates are related to her political theory as laid out in The Accumulation of Capital, and argues that her opposition to nationalism was rooted in her defense of “natural economies.” Luxemburg’s work is of increasing importance to the history of socialist thought.
Towards a More Inclusive Enlightenment
Authors: Dyck Corey W.
Published: March 2024

Moses Mendelssohn’s conception of enlightenment is distinctive both for its wide scope and progressive character, but it also has the advantage of bringing the manifold intellectual contributions of a diverse set of women into focus, or so I argue in this chapter. In particular, I consider the efforts on the part of Henriette Herz and Rahel Levin Varnhagen to expand women’s role in promoting the flourishing of culture, Amalia Holst’s attempts to realize the emancipatory potential in the notion of the vocation of a human being, and finally Elise Reimarus’s forthright account of the responsibility of the would-be enlightener to gradually but decisively persist in undermining the edifice of prejudice that stands in the way of enlightenment. In the end, what all of these women have in common is that each works to transform and expand the Mendelssohnian conception of enlightenment in an even more inclusive direction.
Women and Nineteenth-Century Philosophy of Science in the German Tradition
Authors: Helbig Daniela Katharina
Published: March 2024

The formative period of modern science and its philosophy during the nineteenth century coincided with women being barred from institutionalized higher education, and limited to informal networks in their participation in philosophical as well as scientific debates. There were nevertheless several different, and compelling avenues for women to realize their intellectual ambitions. This chapter examines women’s contributions to the philosophy of science throughout the nineteenth century, and brings into view the gendered social organization of the sciences and their philosophy as a factor in the constitution of the philosophy of science as an academic discipline. The discipline’s focus on primarily epistemological and methodological problems reflects a legacy not only of the end of Kant’s systematic ambitions to articulate the relation between problems of theoretical and practical philosophy, but also of the lack of academic credentials for challenges to scientific arguments for the nineteenth century’s gendered social order.
The Art of the Deccan Sultans (c. 1500–1700)
Authors: Haidar Navina
Published: March 2024

For six centuries the Deccan region of India saw the flourishing of successive Indo-Persian kingdoms whose artistic legacy defines its unique cultural identity. Bahmani rule, from the mid-fourteenth century until the end of the fifteenth century, leaves an impressive architectural record but few artifacts. The art of the five successor states that followed from the late fifteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century—Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bijapur, Bidar, and Golconda—forms the most inspired and original phase of Deccani artistic production. A sense of fantasy and imagination grew alongside more formal idioms of art, which also reflected connections with the Safavid and Ottoman worlds. Under Mughal hegemony in the Deccan from the late seventeenth century, new styles were introduced from the north. This chapter discusses the arts of the Deccani sultans before the rise of the Nizams of Hyderabad, during the period of its greatest independence when the Deccan’s cultural identity was most its own.
Cuba
Authors: Gonzalez Maldonado Michelle
Published: March 2024

This chapter explores the history of religion in Cuba, which is intricately interconnected with the transatlantic slave trade and the intersection of African, European, and indigenous religions on the island. It reveals that Cuba became the Spanish colony that was the largest importer of slaves. The complicated history of Cuba resulted in a landscape where religious identity was much more fluid than the rigid categories of religion often imply. Moreover, Cuba witnessed a revival in public religious beliefs and practices, in large part due to the 1980 policy of convivencia. The chapter explains the distinct differences in religious practices in Cuba as to whether they are found in an urban or rural setting.
United States
Authors: De La Torre Miguel A.
Published: March 2024

All religions introduced to a new geographical locale are transformed as they traverse through a different culture. As Caribbean-based religions interact within a U.S. reality, both the religion and culture are changed, allowing both to coexist as new expressions. What makes the evolution of orisha-based religions possible is their malleability to adapt to new environments. Each succeeding generation of migrants is encouraged to reinterpret, expand, delete, or add to the myths, proverbs, and traditions of previous generations to meet newer challenges faced in a new land. Sometimes the changes to the religion or culture are dramatic, at other times unnoticeable. At times the religion changes for the best; at other times, for the worse. Regardless of these changes, one thing is certain: the interaction between Caribbean religious expressions within the United States ensures that both the religion and culture would never remain the same as they develop into new ways of being.
Caribbean Religious Art
Authors: Juncker Kristine
Published: March 2024

This chapter covers the significance of Caribbean religious art as it accumulates both media and historical strength or power. It explains that Caribbean religious art is not meant for a static, Western European, museum environment, so change is expected and the preferred norm. Precolonial, Renaissance, and Baroque art historical movements provided important foundations for religious expression throughout the Caribbean. Moreover, the long nineteenth century offered an opportunity for change in religious expression throughout the Caribbean after the independence from colonial rule. The chapter explains that Caribbean religious arts engaged modern audiences and continue to be a powerful form of postmodern expression globally.
Protestant Christianity
Authors: Espinosa Gastón
Published: March 2024

This chapter focuses on the key concepts of modern Protestant Christianity while addressing the distinct ways Pentecostalism arrived and grew in the Caribbean. It details the trends that characterize the shift of the Christian landscape in the Caribbean. The trends range between extensive Protestant missionary activity in former Catholic colonies and the birth and explosion of Pentecostal Christianity pioneered by Juan León Lugo. The chapter explains that Pentecostalism showcases the narratives of individuals and their missionary activity that served as one of the most important vehicles for the evangelization and evangelicalization of Puerto Rico. It also elaborates on the rebirth of the work by the Assemblies of God (AG) in Puerto Rico.
Soil Fertility
Authors: Drinkwater Laurie E.
Published: March 2024

This chapter considers how soil fertility management systems have evolved during the most recent era, beginning with the transition to the Green Revolution, industrial agriculture, and continuing to the present day when the sustainability of food production systems is viewed as a grand challenge facing humanity. The evolution of soil fertility research and practice is discussed in terms of implications for the challenges farmers face in managing soil resources sustainably while maintaining crop yields and conserving natural resources and biodiversity. The overarching frameworks guiding synthetic fertilizer management, soil health, and ecological nutrient management are discussed, as well as the barriers farmers face in adopting innovative management systems that would increase sustainability and human well-being.
Sugar
Authors: Moon Suzanne
Published: March 2024

The cultivation of sugar as a global commodity has had profound consequences for the lives of those who labor to grow and process it, and for the environments in which it is grown. Sugar is so ubiquitous as to be taken for granted. But this should not obscure the extraordinary efforts it took over the long term to create industrial-scale sugar production, and the ongoing efforts required to maintain it in the face of tensions over exploitative labor practices and environmental fragility. The mutual development of sugar growing and wider systems of labor, environmental use, and scientific and technological development created fierce systemic problems, as producers cyclically solved, and then created, new social, economic, and environmental challenges. This chapter explores the history of sugar cane production, its vulnerabilities, and the work involved to manage those vulnerabilities, through three overlapping thematics: labor history, environmental history, and the history of science and technology.
A Short History of Seed Keeping
Authors: Curry Helen Anne
Published: March 2024

Across millennia of agricultural activity, farmers have devised many methods for selecting and storing the best seed for future cultivation. As markets for seed developed, these practices of seed keeping began to move off the farm, first gradually and then more dramatically. Public breeders and private seed companies took on seed selection and improvement, while seed physiologists at seed testing stations assessed seed quality. By the turn of the twenty-first century, selecting seed on the farm to maintain or improve a particular variety remained a necessity only for some subsistence farmers and for growers who preferred varieties not widely available. In many cases, seed storage also transitioned off farm, although the extent to which farmers saved their own seed varied according to the crop, country, regulatory context, and market expectations. Although these transitions brought about gains in productivity, they also generated new concerns. Wherever farmers stopped selecting and storing seed, worries arose about the diversity of crops in cultivation. This concern gave rise to a novel form of seed keeping, the seed bank, tasked with ensuring continuing possibilities for selecting good seeds in the future.
The Atlantic Plantation
Authors: Burnard Trevor
Published: March 2024

The plantation was a global institution, but it has a particular purchase in the Atlantic World. It was a system that came to be based upon enslaved African labor and involved distinctive form of work, such as ganged labor. In its purest form, on eighteenth-century Caribbean islands and in the Lower South of the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century, it resembled the kind of industrial labor of European factories. Its organization of labor provided great profits for fortunate owners and massive misery to workers, some of whom resisted plantation discipline, at great risk, given the violence inherent in the system and planter willingness to punish perceived wrongdoing among enslaved people.
The British Agricultural Revolution
Authors: Hoyle Richard
Published: March 2024

This chapter offers a new interpretation of the British agricultural revolution. It begins by reviewing the historiography of the late eighteenth-century agricultural revolution, showing how the idea had been largely abandoned by the 1980s but has since been revived. The background to it is quickly sketched in, including population growth, but also a move away from arable cultivation through enclosure. The impact of English population growth on Scotland and Ireland is considered. It is explained how contemporaries saw agrarian change in the late eighteenth century as evidence of failure, given that England moved from being an exporter to an importer of grain. War after 1793 encouraged a revival of arable agriculture and massive investment in agriculture including the enclosure of wastes; after 1815 there was a perception that a bubble had burst. The argument that an agricultural revolution took place in the depressed years after 1815 is quickly reviewed.