bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Self-assembled peptide/polymer hybrid nanoplatform for cancer immunostimulating therapies
Authors: Khazaei Saeedeh , Varela-Calviño Ruben , Rad-Malekshahi Mazda , Quattrini Federico , Jokar Safura , Rezaei Nima , Balalaie Saeed , Haririan Ismaeil , Csaba Noemi , Garcia-Fuentes Marcos
Published: September 2023

Integrating peptide epitopes in self-assembling materials is a successful strategy to obtain nanovaccines with high antigen density and improved efficacy. In this study, self-assembling peptides containing MAGE-A3/PADRE epitopes were designed to generate functional therapeutic nanovaccines. To achieve higher stability, peptide/polymer hybrid nanoparticles were formulated by controlled self-assembly of the engineered peptides. The nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility to both human red blood- and dendritic cells. Incubation of the nanoparticles with immature dendritic cells triggered immune effects that ultimately activated CD8 + cells. The antigen-specific and IgG antibody responses of healthy C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with the nanoparticles were analyzed. The in vivo results indicate a specific response to the nanovaccines, mainly mediated through a cellular pathway. This research indicates that the immunogenicity of peptide epitope vaccines can be effectively enhanced by developing self-assembled peptide-polymer hybrid nanostructures.

Graphical Abstract
The availability of primary rhenium as a by-product of copper and molybdenum mining
Authors: Brainard Jamie L.
Published: September 2023

Rhenium is a valuable rare metal that is primarily captured as a by-product during the processing of copper and molybdenum. Its complex capture pathway and low annual production (< 100 tons per year) mean that there is limited information about how current capture compares with the amounts of rhenium geologically present in mined material. This study compiles deposit rhenium grades and mine production data to estimate the flow of rhenium in mined material, including through international trade. It is found that less than 12% of rhenium present in ore is captured; however, capture may be as high as 30 to 44% when accounting for technical recovery limits. This has substantial impacts on the future availability of rhenium as the current supply chain faces a geologically imposed limit of rhenium available in ores. Further increases in primary metal capture beyond technical recovery limits can only be achieved by increasing the mining of the copper and molybdenum host ores.
Bioactivity profile of dissolved organic matter and its relation to molecular composition
Authors: Catalá Teresa S. , Speidel Linn G. , Wenzel-Storjohann Arlette , Dittmar Thorsten , Tasdemir Deniz
Published: September 2023

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) occupies a huge and uncharted molecular space. Given its properties, DOM can be presented as a promising biotechnological resource. However, research into bioactivities of DOM is still in early stages. In this study, the biotechnological potential of terrestrial and marine DOM, its molecular composition and their relationships are investigated. Samples were screened for their in vitro antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and antioxidant activities. Antibacterial activity was detected against Staphylococcusaureus in almost all DOM samples, with freshwater DOM showing the lowest IC50 values. Most samples also inhibited Staphylococcusepidermidis, and four DOM extracts showed up to fourfold higher potency than the reference drug. Antifungal activity was limited to only porewater DOM towards human dermatophyte Trichophytonrubrum. No significant in vitro anticancer activity was observed. Low antioxidant potential was exerted. The molecular characterization by FT-ICR MS allowed a broad compositional overview. Three main distinguished groups have been identified by PCoA analyses. Antibacterial activities are related to high aromaticity content and highly-unsaturated molecular formulae (O-poor). Antifungal effect is correlated with highly-unsaturated molecular formulae (O-rich). Antioxidant activity is positively related to the presence of double bonds and polyphenols. This study evidenced for the first time antibacterial and antifungal activity in DOM with potential applications in cosmeceutical, pharmaceutical and aquaculture industry. The lack of cytotoxicity and the almost unlimited presence of this organic material may open new avenues in future marine bioprospecting efforts.

Graphical abstract
Se non strozza ingrassa?
Authors: Donini Lorenzo M. , Sorabella Daniele , Frigerio Francesco , Mocini Edoardo , Muzzioli Luca , Pinto Alessandro , Poggiogalle Eleonora , Giusti Anna Maria
Published: September 2023

Sommario

L’utilizzo degli integratori è largamente diffuso in occidente e in Italia troviamo il mercato più ampio, con una previsione di vendite di 5 miliardi di euro nel 2025. Le motivazioni all’acquisto sono principalmente la ricerca del benessere psico-fisico o la risposta a specifiche esigenze di salute. Gli integratori sono prodotti destinati a integrare la dieta e fornire sostanze nutritive che mancano o non sono assunte in quantità sufficienti con la sola alimentazione. Tuttavia, il concetto di integrazione è stato esteso a sostanze di cui non abbiamo un reale fabbisogno in condizioni fisiologiche e a dosaggi non più di integrazione, ma farmacologici, causando confusione tra gli operatori e i consumatori. Gli integratori, se usati senza controllo, possono comportare rischi per la salute. In particolare, la potenziale tossicità dei nutrienti e degli integratori è un concetto spesso dimenticato, nonostante nei Livelli di Assunzione di Riferimento di Nutrienti (LARN) per la popolazione italiana sia definito per ogni nutriente il livello massimo tollerabile di assunzione. La scarsità di studi sistematici sugli effetti avversi degli integratori, che possono essere immessi sul mercato senza il supporto di studi clinici, rende difficile stabilire un nesso causale tra l’assunzione di un integratore e l’insorgenza di sintomi avversi. La tossicità è rara per le vitamine idrosolubili, ma più frequenti per le vitamine liposolubili, come la vitamina E, la vitamina A e i carotenoidi, e la vitamina D. In determinate situazioni, alcune categorie di persone possono essere a rischio di carenze nutrizionali; tuttavia, l’integrazione di nutrienti deve seguire in ogni caso un percorso di valutazione dello stato di nutrizione e di modulazione del comportamento alimentare e va mantenuta per il tempo necessario al recupero di un corretto stato nutrizionale e comportamentale. L’uso di integratori può anche predisporre gli individui a comportamenti alimentari scorretti e deve essere attentamente valutato in base al reale rapporto costo-beneficio.
Equity-Oriented Learning Design: An Entangled Future
Authors: Gachago Daniela , Bali Maha , Pallitt Nicola
Published: September 2023

There is growing interest in the literature towards a more distributed, collaborative view of learning design that focuses on relationships and connection. In this paper, we propose a vision of learning design that is entangled and crosses boundaries, framed by an equity-oriented mindset that blurs and resists boundaries, and merges learning design with facilitation, external with internal communities, and academia with activism. Based on interviews with learning design practitioners across the world, and framed by theories of posthumanism and postdigital education, we share eight orientations that form a future and equity-oriented learning design pattern: awareness of context, matter matters, co-creating with humans and non-humans, relationality and connection, modelling vulnerability, the entanglement of the personal and political, and creating transformative spaces. We then use one of our responses to the advent of ChatGPT to show how these orientations have helped us in times of uncertainty and disruption, an agential cut that highlights the value of acknowledging the material-discursive relationships emerging in and through our work. As such, rather than focusing on conventional, static definitions and models, we are interested in knowledge-making processes that come into existence when we practise learning design and engage with each other and the world around us, and who we become in our relationships with others, both human and non-human, and the patterns that we form in this entanglement.
Depression and self-esteem among Afghan school-going adolescents under the Taliban Government: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Neyazi Ahmad , Padhi Bijaya Kumar , Ahmadi Mahsa , Rangelova Vanya , Mohammadi Abdul Qadim , Neyazi Mehrab , Griffiths Mark D.
Published: September 2023

Background

During the period of adolescence, several major developmental changes occur that can have significant impact on an individual’s brain structure and functioning through their entire life.

Aims

The present study aimed to examine the association between depression and self-esteem alongside specific sociodemographic factors among school-going adolescents living under the rule of Taliban.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with adolescents (n = 452) from 20 randomly selected public primary, secondary and high schools of Herat province (Afghanistan) out of the 86 schools registered in Herat Education Department. The survey included the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES).

Results

Two-thirds of adolescents reported depression symptoms (65.3%) and 86.3% reported poor self-esteem. Multiple regression analysis indicated that (i) mother's education level was significantly associated with depression symptoms and (ii) low-income economic status was significantly associated with self-esteem.

Conclusion

As well as being one of the few studies in Afghanistan, the present study is one of the very few to assess the association between class group, self-esteem, and depression symptoms. These findings may be used by healthcare authorities and school administrators to raise awareness and implement strategies to facilitate self-esteem among school school-going adolescents.
Applications of biochar in medical and related environmental fields: current status and future perspectives
Authors: Zhuo Qiao , Liang Yu , Hu Yuxiang , Shi Mingsu , Zhao Chen , Zhang Shujie
Published: September 2023

Biochar (BC) is a stable, carbon-rich material produced through biomass pyrolysis in an oxygen-restricted environment. In recent years, BC has gained recognition as an environmentally friendly material and has been extensively researched for its various applications related to human health. However, the medical applications of biochar remain relatively unexplored. This review aims to analyze recent publications from PubMed, focusing on the direct association between biochar and medical science over the past 3 years. The analysis identified five main subjects: contaminant immobilization, medical waste treatment and nutrient recovery, biochar toxicity, electrical sensors and biosensors, and drug delivery. Among these subjects, drug delivery and biosensors demonstrated the most direct relevance to the medical field. To enhance the validity of our findings, a bibliometric analysis was performed using the Web of Science Core Collection to visualize the trends in medical applications of biochar over time. The results further support our analysis. Finally, potential directions for future medical applications of biochar were discussed. This review underscores the necessity for further research on the medical applications of biochar. By exploring its potential in drug delivery, biosensors, and other domains, biochar has the potential to revolutionize medicine.

Graphical Abstract
Research on model-free adaptive active flutter suppression based on ridge regression
Authors: Yu J. , Qi H. , Du J. , Wang K. , Guo J.
Published: September 2023

Traditional active flutter suppression controllers are designed based on model. However, as the aircraft becomes more and more powerful, the modeling of aeroelastic system becomes difficult and the model-free requirement of controller design becomes more and more urgent. The complexity of industrial processes has brought about massive operational data generated online. Aviation industry development has entered the era of big data. Breaking through the traditional theoretical framework, mining the correlation, evolution and dynamic characteristics of the system from the data is the inevitable choice to meet this demand. In this paper, a data-driven model-free controller is designed, which relies on ridge regression of the input and output variation at each operating point of the closed-loop controlled system to recursively derive the iterative format of the control signals and ensure the numerical stability of the signals. The controller can only use the real-time measurement of the system’s online input and output data for continuous correction, to achieve the purpose of flutter suppression. Then flutter suppression of a three-degree-of-freedom binary wing with a control surface is studied, and the superiority of model-free controller is demonstrated by comparing it with the optimal controller.
The importance of financial literacy: Evidence from Japan
Authors: Sticha Andrea , Sekita Shizuka
Published: September 2023

This paper examines financial literacy in Japan using a recent dataset from 2022 and finds that financial literacy levels are low. Only 36% of the respondents could correctly answer the Big Three financial literacy questions, three well-known questions assessing the understanding of interest, inflation, and risk diversification. Also, significant demographic variation exists in the Japanese population: the young, women, and the less educated are those who struggle the most with these fundamental financial concepts. Additionally, we find that Japanese who know the basics about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)-related principles are also those who show better financial literacy levels than those who do not know about ESG. Lastly, our results confirm that financial literacy matters: it is strongly and positively correlated with active investment behavior, which may affect wealth accumulation and financial wellbeing.
Mental illness stigma in Bangladesh: Findings from a cross-sectional survey
Authors: Faruk Md Omar , Khan Abid Hasan , Chowdhury Kamal Uddin Ahmed , Jahan Sabiha , Sarker Depon Chandra , Colucci Erminia , Hasan M. Tasdik
Published: September 2023

Background

Mental illness stigma is universally prevalent and a significant barrier to achieving global mental health goals. Mental illness stigma in Bangladesh has gained little attention despite its widespread impact on seeking mental health care in rural and urban areas. This study aimed to investigate mental illness stigma and the associated factors in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh.

Methods

The study areas were divided into several clusters from which 325 participants (≥18 years) were recruited with systematic random sampling. The Bangla version of the Days’ Mental Illness Stigma Scale was used to collect data. Independent-samples t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression were performed.

Results

Results suggest that gender, age, geographical location, socioeconomic status, and occupation significantly differed across subscales of stigma. Age, gender, seeking treatment of mental illness, having knowledge on mental health, and socioeconomic status were predictive factors of mental illness stigma. The results also showed a high treatment gap in both rural and urban areas.

Conclusion

This study supports that mental illness stigma is prevalent in Bangladesh, requiring coordinated efforts. Results can inform the development of contextually tailored mental health strategies to reduce stigma and contribute to the promotion of mental health of individuals and communities across Bangladesh.
Does Maxwell's hypothesis of air saturation near the surface of evaporating liquid hold at all spatial scales?
Authors: Benilov E.S.
Published: September 2023

The classical model of evaporation of liquids hinges on Maxwell's assumption that the air near the liquid's surface is saturated. It allows one to find the evaporative flux without considering the interface separating liquid and air. Maxwell's hypothesis is based on an implicit assumption that the vapour-emission capacity of the interface exceeds the throughput of air (i.e. its ability to pass the vapour on to infinity). If this is indeed so, then the air adjacent to the liquid would get quickly saturated, justifying Maxwell's hypothesis. In the present paper, the so-called diffuse-interface model is used to account for the interfacial physics and thus derive a generalised version of Maxwell's boundary condition for the near-interface vapour density. It is then applied to a spherical drop floating in air. It turns out that the vapour-emission capacity of the interface exceeds the throughput of air only if the drop's radius is

$r_{d}\gtrsim 10\ \mathrm {\mu } \mathrm {m}$

, but for

$r_{d}\approx 2\ \mathrm {\mu } {\rm m}$

, the two are comparable. For

$r_{d} \lesssim 1\ \mathrm {\mu } {\rm m}$

, evaporation is interface-driven, and the resulting evaporation rate is noticeably smaller than that predicted by the classical model.
FIRST-ORDER HOMOTOPICAL LOGIC
Authors: HELFER JOSEPH
Published: September 2023

We introduce a homotopy-theoretic interpretation of intuitionistic first-order logic based on ideas from Homotopy Type Theory. We provide a categorical formulation of this interpretation using the framework of Grothendieck fibrations. We then use this formulation to prove the central property of this interpretation, namely homotopy invariance. To do this, we use the result from [8] that any Grothendieck fibration of the kind being considered can automatically be upgraded to a two-dimensional fibration, after which the invariance property is reduced to an abstract theorem concerning pseudonatural transformations of morphisms into two-dimensional fibrations.
Roll-call voting under random seating assignment
Authors: Darmofal David , Finocchiaro Charles J. , Indridason Indridi H.
Published: September 2023

Social connections between individuals can profoundly impact their political behavior. A growing body of research on legislative politics examines how spatial proximity to fellow legislators affects voting behavior within the institution. However, studies that examine this question often suffer from a fundamental identification problem in which proximity effects may reflect actual behavioral diffusion between members or, instead, homophily, in which legislators of a similar political feather flock together. We overcome this observational equivalence by exploiting a unique random seating lottery for seating assignments in the world's oldest existing parliament, Iceland's national legislature, Alþingi. Utilizing this naturally occurring randomization, we employ spatial analyses of more than 20,000 estimates of spatial dependence and find little evidence that seating proximity leads to similar voting behavior by members in this legislative context.
SUMSETS CONTAINING A TERM OF A SEQUENCE
Authors: CHEN MIN , TANG MIN
Published: September 2023

Let
$S=\{s_{1}, s_{2}, \ldots \}$
be an unbounded sequence of positive integers with
$s_{n+1}/s_{n}$
approaching
$\alpha $
as
$n\rightarrow \infty $
and let
$\beta>\max (\alpha , 2)$
. We show that for all sufficiently large positive integers l, if
$A\subset [0, l]$
with
$l\in A$
,
$\gcd A=1$
and
$|A|\geq (2-{k}/{\lambda \beta })l/(\lambda +1)$
, where
$\lambda =\lceil {k}/{\beta }\rceil $
, then
$kA\cap S\neq \emptyset $
for
$2<\beta \leq 3$
and
$k\geq {2\beta }/{(\beta -2)}$
or for
$\beta>3$
and
$k\geq 3$
.
A bionic multi-chamber pneumatic actuator for powered exoskeleton based on muscle scale mechanism
Authors: Fang Delei , Wang Jianwei , Yang Ming , Zhang Yan , Zhang Peng , Zhang Junxia
Published: September 2023

In order to solve the problems of low loading capacity and low driving efficiency for the powered exoskeleton, this paper presents a bionic multi-chamber pneumatic actuator based on muscle scale mechanism. Firstly, the bionic muscle scale mechanism and multi-chamber structure design for the novel pneumatic actuator are introduced. Afterward, the driving characteristics of the multi-chamber actuator are analyzed theoretically, including analysis of output force and analysis of energy efficiency. Then, the load matching control strategy for the novel actuator is optimized, and the load matching performance, displacement tracking accuracy, and energy efficiency are studied by simulation. Finally, the prototype of the multi-chamber actuator is developed, and the exoskeleton testing platform is built, experiment and discussion are conducted for the driving characteristics, which realized the high energy efficiency and the feasibility of load matching.
The China English fallacy
Authors: Li Yiyang
Published: September 2023

Over the past decades, the pageantry of selecting the appropriate terminology for representing the Chinese English variety has evolved into a movement promoting the widely celebrated term, China English. In He’s (2020: 14) book of Chinese English in World Englishes: Education and Use in the Professional World, an old Chinese saying, ‘without a legitimate name, without authority to the words’, is conjured to justify the rebranding of the Chinese English variety. However, initially, the term ‘China English’ did not automatically win the bid; many other terms were also pitched for being the representative terminology, including ‘Chinese colored English’ (Huang, 1988), ‘Chinese-style English’ (Gui, 1988), ‘Sinicized English’ (Zhang, 1997; Jin, 2002; Jiang, 2003), and even the widely criticized ‘Chinglish’ (Wang, 1999; Zhuang, 2000; Qiong & Wolff, 2003) had its day in the sun. Gradually, scholarly endorsements of China English begin to grow. However, one might wonder: What is the uniqueness of English in China that could trigger such decades of efforts to assert the ownership of an English variety through a mere terminological update?
China English and Chinese culture
Authors: Pan Lin , Seargeant Philip
Published: September 2023

In his short list of predictions for the future of English, written in 2006, David Graddol wrote that ‘Asia may determine the future of global English’ (2006: 15). India and China especially, he suggested, were likely to be the major influences on how the concept of English as a global language would develop. As Asian economies grew, so did their political status, potentially offering a different model for the global ecology of languages. Nearly two decades on, we are beginning to see notable shifts in the way English is perceived in different parts of the world. As a variety in an Expanding Circle country (Kachru, 1985), English in China has conventionally been seen as a foreign or international language, and the concept of an indigenized variety has received less discussion than it has in Outer Circle countries. But with shifts in geopolitics, the conventional rationales for naming practices around English in China may no longer be applicable. The discussion below is centred, therefore, around the issue of what might be a better term to capture the contemporary reality of English use, and attitudes to this use, in China; and on how an emergent variety, associated with the term China English, is becoming a more and more accepted part of linguistic culture in Chinese society.
ON GMM INFERENCE: PARTIAL IDENTIFICATION, IDENTIFICATION STRENGTH, AND NONSTANDARD ASYMPTOTICS
Authors: Poskitt Donald S.
Published: September 2023

This paper analyses aspects of generalized method of moments (GMM) inference in moment equality models in settings where standard regularity conditions may break down. Explicit analytic formulations for the asymptotic distributions of estimable functions of the GMM estimator and statistics based on the GMM criterion function are derived under relatively mild assumptions. The moment Jacobian is allowed to be rank deficient, so first order identification may fail, the values of the Jacobian singular values are not constrained, thereby allowing for varying levels of identification strength, the long-run variance of the moment conditions can be singular, and the GMM criterion function weighting matrix may also be chosen sub-optimally. The large-sample properties are derived without imposing a specific structure on the functional form of the moment conditions. Closed-form expressions for the distributions are presented that can be evaluated using standard software without recourse to bootstrap or simulation methods. The practical operation of the results is illustrated via examples involving instrumental variables estimation of a structural equation with endogenous regressors and a common CH features model.
Persistence of Practice in Law's Parwana and Palm Leaf Empire
Authors: Halliday Paul D.
Published: September 2023

The essays in this forum demonstrate how attending to the intricacies of documentary practice provides a way to see legal practices over the long haul. Different materials—for instance, paper and palm leaves—manifested different ways of understanding and doing law. But change from one way of doing law to another is sticky; old practices persist alongside new ones. Appreciating this helps us see past apparent ruptures in ways of living brought about by states and empires as they come and go. By looking closely at the routines and physical materials through which law works, we can look past simple binaries: European vs. indigenous; pre-colonial vs. colonial; resistance vs. accommodation; oral vs. literate; manuscript vs. print; paper vs. palm leaf.
What factors affect the alpha diversity of microarthropods (Acari, Collembola) on King George Island (Antarctica)?
Authors: Gwiazdowicz Dariusz J. , Niedbała Wojciech , Skarżyński Dariusz , Zawieja Bogna
Published: September 2023

The natural environment in polar regions is being transformed, glaciers are melting and succession of microarthropods is being observed. We tested the hypothesis that habitat conditions, determined by the locality and character of the vegetation cover, play a significant role in such succession. The material for analysis was collected from four localities on King George Island in Antarctica: Arctowski Station, Demay Refuge, Republica del Ecuador Refuge and Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. From each locality, 30 samples (grasses, lichens, mosses) were collected and 310 508 microarthropod specimens were recorded, with 17 species (1 Mesostigmata, 9 Oribatida, 7 Collembola species) identified. Based on statistical analyses, it was shown that microarthropod communities differ both in individual localities and selected microhabitats. The greatest number of species was reported in the grass turf, while the greatest number of individuals was recorded in mosses. The dominant species at all the localities was Cryptopygus antarcticus antarcticus (299 203 individuals), which was found in greatest numbers in grasses and mosses. In turn, Tullbergia mixta (2485 individuals) was the dominant species of the lichens. Moreover, the following species, new to King George Island, were also identified: Flagrosuctobelba subcornigera, Liochthonius australis, Membranoppia ventrolaminata and Quadroppia monstruosa belonging to Oribatida as well as Archisotoma brucei belonging to Collembola.
Girl
Authors: Byler Lauren
Published: September 2023

This essay surveys the variant meanings and uses of the term “girl” caused by gender, age, class, race, and etymological differences. It argues that the extremes of idealization and contempt expressed toward girls and through the figure of the girl accentuate the girl's use as a fulcrum for assigning value in Victorian literature and culture.
Conscience
Authors: Murray Jessica
Published: September 2023

The word “conscience” appears frequently in Victorian writings across realms of discourse, in which it assumed an edge of ambivalence and energy difficult for us to perceive in the twenty-first century. While conscience today may seem a residual concept, recent critical strains in Victorian studies have suggested the possibilities bound up in examining anew this complex and multivalent word. Turning particularly to the writings of Charles Darwin and George Eliot reveals a self-conscious awareness not only of how the fluctuating meanings of conscience capture broader social shifts, but the ways these shifts are registered and enacted in language.
Indigeneity
Authors: Mincks Emma B. , Fong Ryan D.
Published: September 2023

This keyword essay discusses the importance of centering Indigenous perspectives as Victorianists engage in the work of “decolonizing” their research and teaching. It underscores the necessity of citing Native and First Nations scholars and activists and of building reciprocal relations with living Indigenous communities in both local and global contexts.
Drugs
Authors: Small Douglas
Published: September 2023

This “Keywords Redux” article examines the significance of drugs (psychoactive substances) in Victorian culture and literature, theorizing their potential for both performance enhancement and for pleasure.
Knowable
Authors: Parker Ben
Published: September 2023

Raymond Williams influentially claimed that the history of the English novel could be organized through the problem of the “knowable community.” This keyword entry rehearses, clarifies, and extends the idea of the “knowable” in Williams's theory of the novel. I argue that the dialectical (neither entirely subjective nor entirely objective) dimension of the concept has been overlooked, with attendant consequences for the important transition between George Eliot and Thomas Hardy in Williams's account.
Urban
Authors: Ferguson Christopher
Published: September 2023

In this essay, I argue for the importance of employing the concept of the urban when analyzing Victorian Britain, given the status of the British Isles as the most urbanized place on the planet during the nineteenth century.
Socialism
Authors: Allison Mark
Published: September 2023

Anglo-American socialism has reached a curious impasse. Levels of economic inequality not seen since the nineteenth century would lead one to anticipate an upsurge in socialist affiliation and activism. Nevertheless, socialism has stagnated as a political force. This essay argues that, as a collectivist ideology, socialism demands a degree of communal identification that modern individuals find uncomfortable, even threatening, to the integrity of the self. Investigating this discomfort leads me to argue that, while socialism is not a religion (pace the claim of Gareth Stedman Jones), it nonetheless flourishes in eras of spiritual and societal foment. In such periods, communal effervescence softens the boundaries of the self, rendering collectivist ideologies like socialism more intuitive and appealing. Given desacralizing trends in Anglo-America, a contemporary socialist revival would seem unlikely. Consequently, I argue that it is time for progressives to embrace, rather than critique, the strong sense of individual autonomy and deep subjectivity that characterizes bourgeois individualism. The Victorian socialist canon provides many resources for a reconciliation of individualism and collectivism, which I illustrate via reference to H. G. Wells, John Stuart Mill, and Oscar Wilde.
International Law
Authors: Radeen Evan
Published: September 2023

This keyword essay establishes the significance of international law for the study of Victorian globalization. The history of international law has not really been registered yet by scholars in Victorian studies, but we might obtain a number of dividends by remedying that deficit.
Dandy
Authors: Adams James Eli
Published: September 2023

The article surveys the significance of the dandy as a central figure in nineteenth-century constructions of masculinity and social class.
Information Transmission in a Social Network: A Field Experiment
Authors: Patacchini Eleonora , Pin Paolo , Rotesi Tiziano
Published: September 2023

Using an app for smartphones, we run an experiment among high-school students to study the pattern of aggregation of sparsely distributed information. Agents are randomly arranged in small networks and can share only non-verifiable pieces of information. Results show that while information exchange is high, the level and the distribution of centralities among network members are important to shape the overall level of information aggregation. A reduction in the asymmetry among agents’ network centralities is associated with an improvement in the performance of the group in terms of aggregation of information.
Experimental Methods for Measuring Social Networks without Censoring
Authors: Morton Rebecca , Patacchini Eleonora , Pin Paolo , Rogers Jonathan , Rosenblat Tanya
Published: September 2023

We elicit social networks among students in an Italian high school either by measuring the complete network in an incentive-compatible way or by using a truncated elicitation of at most five links. We find that truncation undercounts weak links by up to 90% but only moderately undercounts the time spent with strong friends. We use simulations to demonstrate that the measurement error induced by censoring might be particularly significant when studying phenomena such as social learning which are often thought to operate along weak ties. We then discuss how a modified network elicitation protocol might be able to reduce measurement error.
Making sense of voting “habits”: Applying the process model of behavior change to a series of large-scale get-out-the-vote experiments
Authors: Ternovski John
Published: September 2023

I apply a new theoretical framework to voting to more cohesively bridge the economic cost-benefit model of voting with the psychology-motivated voting-as-a-habit literature. This new theoretical frame gives greater clarity as to how a vote in one election might beget a vote in another election, while yielding testable predictions as to which circumstances are more favorable for developing turnout persistence. To test these predictions, I make use of a novel dataset consisting of nine large-N, door-to-door voter mobilization field experiments in various election contexts (with ∼1.8 million voters in total). Consistent with prior empirical research, my analysis finds that being nudged to vote in one election leads to increased turnout four years later. But the main contribution of this paper is that the theoretical framework’s predictions and the corresponding empirical results make sense of turnout persistence heterogeneities that have been detected in certain prior empirical studies but not others.
Achieving Sustainable Earth Futures in the Anthropocene by Including Local Communities in Critical Zone Science
Authors: Naylor Larissa A. , Dungait Jennifer A. J. , Zheng Ying , Buckerfield Sarah , Green Sophie M. , Oliver David M. , Liu Hongyan , Peng Jian , Tu Chenglong , Zhang Gan‐lin , Zhang Xinyu , Quine Tim A. , Waldron Susan , Hallett Paul D.
Published: September 2023

Critical Zone Science (CZS) explores the deep evolution of landscapes from the base of the groundwater or the saprolite‐rock interface to the top of vegetation, the zone that supports all terrestrial life. Here we propose a framework for CZS to evolve further as a discipline, building on 1st generation CZOs in natural systems and 2nd generation CZOs in human‐modified systems, to incorporate human behaviour for more holistic understanding in a 3rd generation of CZOs. This concept was tested in the China‐UK CZO programme (2016–2020) that established four CZOs across China on different lithologies. Beyond conventional CZO insights into soil resources, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology across scales, surveys of farmers and local government officials led to insights into human‐environment interactions and key pressures affecting the socio‐economic livelihoods of local farmers. These learnings combined with the CZS data identified knowledge exchange (KE) opportunities to unravel diverse factors within the Land‐Water‐Food Nexus, that could directly improve local livelihoods and environmental conditions, such as reduction in fertilizer use, contributing toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and environmental policies. Through two‐way local KE, the local cultural context and socio‐economic considerations were more readily apparent alongside the environmental rationale for policy and local action to improve the sustainability of farming practices. Seeking solutions to understand and remediate CZ degradation caused by human‐decision making requires the co‐design of CZS that foregrounds human behavior and the opinions of those living in human modified CZOs. We show how a new transdisciplinary CZO approach for sustainable Earth futures can improve alignment of research with the practical needs of communities in stressed environments and their governments, supporting social‐ecological and planetary health research agendas and improving capacity to achieve SDGs.
Bringing Social Science Into Critical Zone Science: Exploring Smallholder Farmers' Learning Preferences in Chinese Human‐Modified Critical Zones
Authors: Naylor Larissa A. , Zheng Ying , Munro Neil , Stanton Alasdair , Wang Weikai , Chng Nai R. , Oliver David M. , Dungait Jennifer A. J. , Waldron Susan
Published: September 2023

There is a growing global emphasis on sustainable agriculture to reduce human impacts and improve delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With increasing investment in critical zone observatories (CZOs), it becomes important to understand how sustainable agricultural knowledge is produced, shared and used between different groups including farmers, scientists and government. To explore these issues, scientists leading the knowledge exchange (KE) component of a China‐UK CZO program studied three farming regions with contrasting geologies and varying economic levels, using a practice‐based research method. We demonstrate how additional funding for social science research allowed us to understand how farmers access and share farming knowledge through bonding, bridging and linking networks, and how this varies spatially, using interviews and survey questionnaires. Knowledge flows, barriers and opportunities for designing locally suited two‐way KE activities were identified. First, we highlight the need for a more locally, socially embedded and reflexive approach to build trust and better address pressing local environmental challenges. Second, we show how social science can usefully inform KE for collaborative, international development science, to draw on local knowledge, promote research impacts and capacity building while avoiding knowledge mismatches. Lastly, a blueprint for the design and funding of future CZOs, social‐ecological and planetary health research agendas that combine science, social science, local knowledge and KE is presented, including the need for substantive social science research to take place in addition to science research in human‐modified landscapes—enabling the CZ science to be better grounded in, informed by and useful to local communities.
Air‐Sea CO2 Fluxes Localized by Topography in a Southern Ocean Channel
Authors: Youngs Madeleine K. , Freilich Mara A. , Lovenduski Nicole S.
Published: September 2023

Air‐sea exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Southern Ocean plays an important role in the global carbon budget. Previous studies have suggested that flow around topographic features of the Southern Ocean enhances the upward supply of carbon from the deep to the surface, influencing air‐sea CO2 exchange. Here, we investigate the role of seafloor topography on the transport of carbon and associated air‐sea CO2 flux in an idealized channel model. We find elevated CO2 outgassing upstream of a seafloor ridge, driven by anomalous advection of dissolved inorganic carbon. Argo‐like Lagrangian particles in our channel model sample heterogeneously in the vicinity of the seafloor ridge, which could impact float‐based estimates of CO2 flux.
A long-term follow-up of treatment for young children with obesity: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Ek Anna , Brissman Markus , Nordin Karin , Eli Karin , Nowicka Paulina
Published: September 2023

Background

Early childhood obesity interventions supporting parents have the largest effects on child weight status. However, long-term follow-ups are lacking.

Objective

To examine weight status 48 months after obesity treatment initiation for 4- to 6-year-olds.

Methods

177 families were recruited to the More and Less study, a 12-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in Sweden (2012–2017); 6 children were excluded due to medical diagnoses. Thus, 171 families (non-Swedish origin 59%, university degree 40%) were eligible for this 48-month follow-up with modified intention-to-treat (n = 114 had 48-month data, n = 34 dropped out, n = 23 lost to follow-up). The RCT compared 3 treatment approaches: a 10-week parent support program (1.5 h/w) with follow-up booster sessions (PGB) or without (PGNB), and standard outpatient treatment (ST). Treatment effects on primary outcome (BMI-SDS) and secondary outcomes (BMI, %IOTF25 i.e., the distance, in percent, above the cut-off for overweight) were assessed. Clinically significant reduction of BMI-SDS (≥0.5) was assessed with risk ratio. Sociodemographic factors and attendance were examined by three-way interactions.

Results

After 48 months (mean 50 months, range 38–67 months) mean (95% CI) BMI-SDS was reduced in all groups: PGB −0.45 (−0.18 to −0.73, p < 0.001), PGNB −0.34 (−0.13 to −0.55, p < 0.001), ST −0.25 (−0.10 to −0.40, p < 0.001), no significant difference between groups. A clinically significant reduction of BMI-SDS ≥ 0.5 was obtained in 53.7% of PGB which was twice as likely compared to ST, 33.0%, RR 2.03 (1.27 to 3.27, p = 0.003), with no difference to PGNB, 46.6% (p = 0.113). %IOTF25 was unchanged from baseline for PGB 4.50 (−1.64 to 10.63), and significantly lower compared to ST 11.92 (8.40 to 15.44) (p = 0.043). Sociodemographics or attendance had no effect.

Conclusion

The intensive parent-support early childhood obesity intervention led to better weight status outcomes over time, though BMI-SDS alone did not reflect this. Further research should investigate how to assess weight changes in growing children.

Clinical trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01792531.
Opening a window to skin biomarkers for diabetes stage with optoacoustic mesoscopy
Authors: He Hailong , Fasoula Nikolina-Alexia , Karlas Angelos , Omar Murad , Aguirre Juan , Lutz Jessica , Kallmayer Michael , Füchtenbusch Martin , Eckstein Hans-Henning , Ziegler Annette , Ntziachristos Vasilis
Published: September 2023

Being the largest and most accessible organ of the human body, the skin could offer a window to diabetes-related complications on the microvasculature. However, skin microvasculature is typically assessed by histological analysis, which is not suited for applications to large populations or longitudinal studies. We introduce ultra-wideband raster-scan optoacoustic mesoscopy (RSOM) for precise, non-invasive assessment of diabetes-related changes in the dermal microvasculature and skin micro-anatomy, resolved with unprecedented sensitivity and detail without the need for contrast agents. Providing unique imaging contrast, we explored a possible role for RSOM as an investigational tool in diabetes healthcare and offer the first comprehensive study investigating the relationship between different diabetes complications and microvascular features in vivo. We applied RSOM to scan the pretibial area of 95 participants with diabetes mellitus and 48 age-matched volunteers without diabetes, grouped according to disease complications, and extracted six label-free optoacoustic biomarkers of human skin, including dermal microvasculature density and epidermal parameters, based on a novel image-processing pipeline. We then correlated these biomarkers to disease severity and found statistically significant effects on microvasculature parameters as a function of diabetes complications. We discuss how label-free RSOM biomarkers can lead to a quantitative assessment of the systemic effects of diabetes and its complications, complementing the qualitative assessment allowed by current clinical metrics, possibly leading to a precise scoring system that captures the gradual evolution of the disease.
Circular RNAs in the human brain are tailored to neuron identity and neuropsychiatric disease
Authors: Dong Xianjun , Bai Yunfei , Liao Zhixiang , Gritsch David , Liu Xiaoli , Wang Tao , Borges-Monroy Rebeca , Ehrlich Alyssa , Serrano Geidy E. , Feany Mel B. , Beach Thomas G. , Scherzer Clemens R.
Published: September 2023

Little is known about circular RNAs (circRNAs) in specific brain cells and human neuropsychiatric disease. Here, we systematically identify over 11,039 circRNAs expressed in vulnerable dopamine and pyramidal neurons laser-captured from 190 human brains and non-neuronal cells using ultra-deep, total RNA sequencing. 1526 and 3308 circRNAs are custom-tailored to the cell identity of dopamine and pyramidal neurons and enriched in synapse pathways. 29% of Parkinson’s and 12% of Alzheimer’s disease-associated genes produced validated circRNAs. circDNAJC6, which is transcribed from a juvenile-onset Parkinson’s gene, is already dysregulated during prodromal, onset stages of common Parkinson’s disease neuropathology. Globally, addiction-associated genes preferentially produce circRNAs in dopamine neurons, autism-associated genes in pyramidal neurons, and cancers in non-neuronal cells. This study shows that circular RNAs in the human brain are tailored to neuron identity and implicate circRNA-regulated synaptic specialization in neuropsychiatric diseases.
Dissipative optomechanics in high-frequency nanomechanical resonators
Authors: Primo André G. , Pinho Pedro V. , Benevides Rodrigo , Gröblacher Simon , Wiederhecker Gustavo S. , Alegre Thiago P. Mayer
Published: September 2023

The coherent transduction of information between microwave and optical domains is a fundamental building block for future quantum networks. A promising way to bridge these widely different frequencies is using high-frequency nanomechanical resonators interacting with low-loss optical modes. State-of-the-art optomechanical devices rely on purely dispersive interactions that are enhanced by a large photon population in the cavity. Additionally, one could use dissipative optomechanics, where photons can be scattered directly from a waveguide into a resonator hence increasing the degree of control of the acousto-optic interplay. Hitherto, such dissipative optomechanical interaction was only demonstrated at low mechanical frequencies, precluding prominent applications such as the quantum state transfer between photonic and phononic domains. Here, we show the first dissipative optomechanical system operating in the sideband-resolved regime, where the mechanical frequency is larger than the optical linewidth. Exploring this unprecedented regime, we demonstrate the impact of dissipative optomechanical coupling in reshaping both mechanical and optical spectra. Our figures represent a two-order-of-magnitude leap in the mechanical frequency and a tenfold increase in the dissipative optomechanical coupling rate compared to previous works. Further advances could enable the individual addressing of mechanical modes and help mitigate optical nonlinearities and absorption in optomechanical devices.