bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Status of Eldana saccharina (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), its host plants and natural enemies in Ethiopia
Authors: Assefa Y. , Conlong D.E. , Mitchell A.
Published: August 2023

Surveys for sugarcane stem borers were undertaken in Ethiopia to determine the prevalence and distribution of these and their natural enemies in crops and indigenous host plants. Eldana saccharina Walker was not recovered from sugarcane, but was present in three indigenous wetland sedges, Cyperus papyrus, C. fastigiatus and C. dives in the southern, central and northern part of the country. The latter indigenous host plant was present in waterways adjacent to sugarcane on the commercial sugar estates. The tachinids Schembria eldanae Barraclough and Actia sp. were common parasitoids of E. saccharina larvae in these indigenous sedges. The braconid Dolichogenidea sp. was recovered from E. saccharina larvae in C. dives. Pathogens comprising Beauveria bassiana, Bacillus thuringiensis and Entomophthora sp., were found to be important mortality factors of E. saccharina larvae in the indigenous sedges. The occurrence of E. saccharina in Ethiopia is reported for the first time, and the host plant preferences of the borer and its indigenous natural enemies found during the surveys are recorded. In addition, its potential threat to sugarcane production in Ethiopia is discussed.
Synchrotron emitting Komissarov torus around naked singularities
Authors: Prada-Méndez German D , Lora-Clavijo F D , Velásquez-Cadavid J M
Published: August 2023

From a theoretical perspective, matter accretion processes around compact objects are highly relevant as they serve as a natural laboratory to test general relativity in the strong field regime. This enables us to validate fundamental concepts such as the no-hair theorem, the cosmic censorship hypothesis, and the existence of alternative solutions to Einstein’s equations that mimic the effects of black holes. In this study, we analyze the emission spectra of geometrically thick accretion disks, referred to as Polish doughnuts, around naked singularities described by the q-metric. To begin, we revisit the construction of equilibrium configurations of magnetized tori in this spacetime and evaluate the role of the deformation parameter over these configurations. Once we have systematically studied the disks in this spacetime, we use the OSIRIS code to perform a backward ray-tracing method, resulting in the first simulations of the intensity map and emission profiles of magnetized tori within this metric. Furthermore, we validate the effect of both the quadrupole moment and the angular momentum on observable quantities such as flux and intensity for optically thin and thick disks, since for values of q < 0, which correspond to objects with prolate deformation, and which in turn, are constructed with higher values of angular momentum, the emission spectrum exhibits higher intensity than that obtained for Schwarzschild’s spacetime. Hence, we find a first differential feature that distinguishes tori formed around naked singularities from those around static black holes.
Energy conditions for non-timelike thin shells
Authors: Maeda Hideki
Published: August 2023

We study energy conditions for non-timelike thin shells in arbitraryn(⩾3)dimensions. It is shown that the induced energy–momentum tensortμνon a shell Σ is of the Hawking–Ellis type I if Σ is spacelike and either of type I, II, or III if Σ is null. Then, we derive simple equivalent representations of the standard energy conditions fortμν. In particular, on a spacelike shell or on a null shell with non-vanishing surface current,tμνinevitably violates the dominant energy condition. If the surface pressure on the null shell is vanishing in addition,tμνis of type III and violates all the standard energy conditions. Those fully general results are obtained without imposing a spacetime symmetry and can be used in any theory of gravity. Lastly, several applications of the main results are presented in general relativity in four dimensions.
Bayesian inversion with α-stable priors
Authors: Suuronen Jarkko , Soto Tomás , Chada Neil K , Roininen Lassi
Published: August 2023

We propose using Lévy α-stable distributions to construct priors for Bayesian inverse problems. The construction is based on Markov fields with stable-distributed increments. Special cases include the Cauchy and Gaussian distributions, with stability indices α = 1, and α = 2, respectively. Our target is to show that these priors provide a rich class of priors for modeling rough features. The main technical issue is that the α-stable probability density functions lack closed-form expressions, and this limits their applicability. For practical purposes, we need to approximate probability density functions through numerical integration or series expansions. For Bayesian inversion, the currently available approximation methods are either too time-consuming or do not function within the range of stability and radius arguments. To address the issue, we propose a new hybrid approximation method for symmetric univariate and bivariate α-stable distributions that is both fast to evaluate and accurate enough from a practical viewpoint. In the numerical implementation of α-stable random field priors, we use the constructed approximation method. We show how the constructed priors can be used to solve specific Bayesian inverse problems, such as the deconvolution problem and the inversion of a function governed by an elliptic partial differential equation. We also demonstrate hierarchical α-stable priors in the one-dimensional deconvolution problem. For all numerical examples, we use maximum a posteriori estimation. To that end, we exploit the limited-memory BFGS and its bounded variant for the estimator.
Visualization of dynamic metastable states evolution in TiO2 memristor during electroforming by electroluminescence
Authors: Cao Xinyu , Meng Yang , Wang Li , Wang Zhen , Zhao Hongwu
Published: August 2023

The electroforming process, transforming a homogeneous insulating oxide into localized conductive filaments, is crucial for memristive devices. However, it is still unclear how the intermediate phases develop microscopically throughout the transient forming process. Here, we investigate the nonequilibrium dynamic phase transition in the conductive region of TiO2 memristors during electroforming. Synchronous electroluminescence emission and transport measurements demonstrate that the application of pulse fields primarily causes a gradual reduction in the conducting area, accompanied by the reversible field-dependent evolution of metastable phases at the cathode region. As a result of positive feedback between the lateral gradient of oxygen vacancies and the electric field, the self-reinforcing process eventually facilitates the final filament generation. This study offers insights into the physical mechanisms governing the metastable phase evolution during electroforming and raises implications for optimizing the forming process of memristive devices.
Phononic crystals for Love waves based on thin-film lithium niobate
Authors: Wang Yong , Wu Shu-Mao , Yu Si-Yuan , Wu Yongzhong , Hao Xiaopeng , Chen Yan-Feng
Published: August 2023

Abstract

This paper presents a type of surface acoustic wave (SAW) phononic crystals based on thin-film lithium niobate (LN). They are created by forming micro-pillar or micro-well structures on the LN, resulting in significant Rayleigh and Love SAW bandgaps. Especially for Love waves, they offer an irreplaceable advantage because they overcome the inability of conventional electrodes to reflect Love waves effectively. This enables the creation of high-quality, compact, high electromechanical coupling coefficient, stable and power-resistant acoustic resonators based on Love waves, potentially leading to a new generation of high-performance SAW filters and sensors. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of such phononic crystals using xy-cut LN-on-SiC. However, it is worth noting that other piezoelectric materials such as lithium tantalate can also be used instead of LN, and high acoustic velocity substrates such as sapphire and diamond can be substituted for SiC.
Statistics of the cuprate pairon states on a square lattice
Authors: Noat Yves , Mauger Alain , Sacks William
Published: August 2023

In this paper the fundamental parameters of high-Tc
superconductivity are shown to be connected to the statistics of pairons (hole pairs in their antiferromagnetic (AF) environment) on a square lattice. In particular, we study the density fluctuations and the distribution of the area surrounding each pairon on the scale of the AF correlation length

ξ

A
F

, for the complete range of hole concentration. We show that the key parameters of the phase diagram, the Tc
dome, and the pseudogap (PG) temperature

T
∗

, emerge from the statistical properties of the pairon disordered state. In this approach, the superconducting and the PG states appear as inseparable phenomena. The condensation energy, which fixes the critical temperature, is directly proportional to the correlation energy between pairons and not to the energy gap, contrary to conventional superconductors. When the correlation energy between pairons is suppressed by fluctuations, either thermally, by disorder, or in the vortex core, the PG state of disordered pairons is obtained. We attribute the unique features of cuprate superconductivity to this order–disorder transition in real space, which clearly differs from the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer mechanism. Our predictions are in quantitative agreement with low-temperature tunneling and photoemission spectroscopy experiments.
Multi-component delocalized nonlinear vibrational modes in nickel
Authors: Bachurina O V , Murzaev R T , Shcherbinin S A , Kudreyko A A , Dmitriev S V , Bachurin D V
Published: August 2023

Delocalized nonlinear vibrational modes (DNVMs) are relatively new dynamical objects that can be used for testing interatomic potentials and for classification and finding new types of discrete breathers. In this work, for the first time, multi-component DNVMs in a single crystal of fcc nickel are studied using molecular dynamics method. Previously discovered two one-component DNVMs are used to construct and investigate properties of all possible two- and three-component superpositions. A quasi-periodic energy exchange between components in multi-component DNVMs is described. If the amplitudes of the one-component DNVMs in a superposition differ by less than four times, then an equivalent energy exchange between them is observed. Otherwise, an unequal energy exchange takes place, i.e. when the high-amplitude component gives up only a part of its energy leading to a slight increase in the amplitude of another component. The DNVMs consisting of two- and three-components have a lifetime of more than 10 ps as long as the initial atomic amplitudes do not exceed 0.08 Å. An increase in the initial amplitude leads to a substantial decrease in the lifetime due to the rapidly developing modulational instability. Some superpositions of modes with the same initial amplitudes of the components can transform into a one-component DNVM, while others remain multi-component ones. The results obtained in this work demonstrate the existence of multi-component DNVMs, being a superposition of two or three components, which significantly expands our understanding of their dynamics in an fcc lattice.
Deep learning-based dose map prediction for high-dose-rate brachytherapy
Authors: Li Zhen , Yang Zhenyu , Lu Jiayu , Zhu Qingyuan , Wang Yanxiao , Zhao Mengli , Li Zhaobin , Fu Jie
Published: August 2023

Background. Creating a clinically acceptable plan in the time-sensitive clinic workflow of brachytherapy is challenging. Deep learning-based dose prediction techniques have been reported as promising solutions with high efficiency and accuracy. However, current dose prediction studies mainly target EBRT which are inappropriate for brachytherapy, the model designed specifically for brachytherapy has not yet well-established. Purpose. To predict dose distribution in brachytherapy using a novel Squeeze and Excitation Attention Net (SE_AN) model. Method. We hypothesized the tracks of 192Ir inside applicators are essential for brachytherapy dose prediction. To emphasize the applicator contribution, a novel SE module was integrated into a Cascaded UNet to recalibrate informative features and suppress less useful ones. The Cascaded UNet consists of two stacked UNets, with the first designed to predict coarse dose distribution and the second added for fine-tuning 250 cases including all typical clinical applicators were studied, including vaginal, tandem and ovoid, multi-channel, and free needle applicators. The developed SE_AN was subsequently compared to the classic UNet and classic Cascaded UNet (without SE module) models. The model performance was evaluated by comparing the predicted dose against the clinically approved plans using mean absolute error (MAE) of DVH metrics, including D
2cc and D
90%. Results. The MAEs of DVH metrics demonstrated that SE_AN accurately predicted the dose with 0.37 ± 0.25 difference for HRCTV D
90%, 0.23 ± 0.14 difference for bladder D
2cc, and 0.28 ± 0.20 difference for rectum D
2cc. In comparison studies, UNet achieved 0.34 ± 0.24 for HRCTV, 0.25 ± 0.20 for bladder, 0.25 ± 0.21 for rectum, and Cascaded UNet achieved 0.42 ± 0.31 for HRCTV, 0.24 ± 0.19 for bladder, 0.23 ± 0.19 for rectum. Conclusion. We successfully developed a method specifically for 3D brachytherapy dose prediction. Our model demonstrated comparable performance to clinical plans generated by experienced dosimetrists. The developed technique is expected to improve the standardization and quality control of brachytherapy treatment planning.
Haralick texture analysis for microdosimetry: characterization of Monte Carlo generated 3D specific energy distributions
Authors: Mansour Iymad R , Thomson Rowan M
Published: August 2023

Objective. Explore the application of Haralick textural analysis to 3D distributions of specific energy (energy imparted per unit mass) scored in cell-scale targets considering varying mean specific energy (absorbed dose), target volume, and incident spectrum. Approach. Monte Carlo simulations are used to generate specific energy distributions in cell-scale water voxels ((1 μm)3–(15 μm)3) irradiated by photon sources (mean energies: 0.02–2 MeV) to varying mean specific energies (10–400 mGy). Five Haralick features (homogeneity, contrast, entropy, correlation, local homogeneity) are calculated using an implementation of Haralick analysis designed to reduce sensitivity to grey level quantization and are interpreted using fundamental radiation physics. Main results. Haralick measures quantify differences in 3D specific energy distributions observed with varying voxel volume, absorbed dose magnitude, and source spectrum. For example, specific energy distributions in small (1–3 μm) voxels with low magnitudes of absorbed dose (10 mGy) have relatively high measures of homogeneity and local homogeneity and relatively low measures of contrast and entropy (all relative to measures for larger voxels), reflecting the many voxels with zero specific energy in an otherwise sporadic distribution. With increasing target size, energy is shared across more target voxels, and trends in Haralick measures, such as decreasing homogeneity and increasing contrast and entropy, reflect characteristics of each 3D specific energy distribution. Specific energy distributions for sources of differing mean energy are characterized by Haralick measures, e.g. contrast generally decreases with increasing source energy, correlation and homogeneity are often (not always) higher for higher energy sources. Significance. Haralick texture analysis successfully quantifies spatial trends in 3D specific energy distributions characteristic of radiation source, target size, and absorbed dose magnitude, thus offering new avenues to quantify microdosimetric data beyond first order histogram features. Promising future directions include investigations of multiscale tissue models, targeted radiation therapy techniques, and biological response to radiation.
Taste perception of oligosaccharides derived from pullulan
Authors: Damani Shashwat , Penner Michael H , Lim Juyun
Published: August 2023

Recent studies indicate that humans can taste starch hydrolysis products (i.e. maltooligosaccharides; MOS). However, the structural specificity of oligosaccharides that elicit such perception is not known. This study investigated taste perception of pullulan-derived oligosaccharides (PDOS) that are structurally similar to MOS, but differ in that every third glycosidic linkage in PDOS is α-1,6, rather than α-1,4. Three food-grade PDOS stimuli were produced by limited-enzyme hydrolysis of pullulan. The resulting products were stimuli with degree of polymerization (DP) of 3, 6, and 9. Subjects discriminated all 3 stimuli from blanks at a significant level (P < 0.00001) in the absence of lactisole, a sweet taste inhibitor. In the presence of lactisole, the subjects could not detect DP 3 at a significant level (P > 0.05), but were able to detect DP 6 and 9 (P < 0.005), although the degree of detectability dropped significantly (P < 0.05). In a follow-up qualitative study, subjects made the target stimuli and glucose into 2 groups (glucose/DP 3 vs. DP 6/DP 9) and characterized both groups as mostly “sweet” with having different sweetness intensity. With lactisole, they described glucose and DP 3 as “taste like blank” (lactisole water) and found it challenging to describe DP 6 and 9 stimuli due to their subtle nature. These results suggest that taste perception of PDOS primarily depends on the sweet taste receptor, although they may elicit other sensory attributes; this is strikingly different from the reported taste of MOS. The potential impact of structural configuration on taste perception is further discussed.
The significance of general data protection regulation in the compliant data contribution to the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons database
Authors: Bertolaccini Luca , Falcoz Pierre-Emmanuel , Brunelli Alessandro , Batirel Hasan , Furak Jozsef , Passani Stefano , Szanto Zalan
Published: August 2023

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), enacted in the European Union in 2018, has significantly transformed the landscape of personal data management and protection. This article provides an overview of GDPR's impact, focusing on its applicability, fundamental principles and influence on data management practices, particularly within the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) database.

GDPR's reach extends to all entities collecting and processing personal data of European Union residents, regardless of their location. It encompasses various data types, emphasizing meticulous handling and protection of identifiable information. Special categories of data, such as health and sensitive attributes, require even more stringent protection. The regulation sets legal, fair and transparent data processing principles, emphasizing accuracy, purpose limitation and data minimization. It also stresses accountability, leading to the appointment of Data Protection Officers and significant penalties for non-compliance.

The ESTS database, designed to enhance thoracic surgical research and care, collects data on European procedures. It follows GDPR principles by pseudonymizing data, ensuring secure data transmission and providing clear instructions for data submission. The database contributes to research, policymaking and practice improvement in thoracic surgery by offering a comprehensive dataset for analysis. Here, we aim to shed light on the complexities of GDPR implementation and emphasize the need for comprehensive data management strategies to ensure compliance and enhance privacy protection with the contribution to the ESTS database.

GDPR compliance comes with challenges, including potential human dignity and privacy rights violations. Data breaches can result in unauthorized disclosures, and non-compliance can lead to substantial fines and reputational damage. The implementation of GDPR encourages organizations to prioritize ethical data practices, security measures and transparent data handling.

In conclusion, GDPR has revolutionized personal data protection by emphasizing accountability, transparency and individual rights. It has impacted organizations globally, promoting responsible data management practices. Adhering to GDPR ensures privacy protection, trust-building and overall enhancement of data management in today's data-driven environment.
Quantifying the Contribution of Work Characteristics to Educational Disparities in Health-Induced Work Limitations
Authors: Abrams Leah R , Berkman Lisa F
Published: August 2023

Objectives

To quantify how poor health and inhospitable working conditions each contribute to educational disparities in work disability in midlife and old age.

Methods

We used the Health and Retirement Study (2006–2016) to examine educational disparities in reporting “any impairment or health problem that limits the kind or amount of paid work” in ages 51–80.

Results

We found disparities to be profound and persistent over time. Blinder–Oaxaca threefold decomposition revealed that distributions of income and employer insurance made the largest contribution to explaining different rates of work limitations among respondents with versus without high school degrees, followed by work characteristics (physical job demands, insufficient hours) and health conditions (diabetes, lung disease). Comparing respondents with high school versus college degrees, distributions of health conditions mattered most (high blood pressure, lung disease, heart disease, stroke), followed by health behaviors (smoking, drinking). Health-induced work limitations are often used as a measure of health, but we found that work characteristics explained 57% of the disadvantage of those without a high school degree and 44% of the disadvantage of high school compared to college graduates.

Discussion

Work environments appear to play an important role in educational disparities in mid- to late-life disability.
Does Reducing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Workload Enhance Equity in Program Access? Evidence from Burdensome College Financial Aid Programs
Authors: Bell Elizabeth , Meyer Katharine
Published: August 2023

Persistent disparities in program access jeopardize social equity and erode a key pillar of democratic governance. Scholars have uncovered the causes of these disparities, including administrative burden and front-line discrimination, but less attention has been devoted to identifying tools for reducing disparities. We build on this work by arguing that reducing street-level bureaucrats’ workload may be a key lever for reducing disparities. We also argue that workload reductions will be especially effective at advancing equity when administrative burden is expanded and complexity in client cases could otherwise create room for racial discrimination. We leverage data on all high schools in Oklahoma from 2005 to 2014 (n = 4,155) to estimate the causal effects of a state policy that mandates a counselor-student ratio in a regression discontinuity design. In line with our hypotheses, we find that decreasing workload corresponds to an increase in access for intersectionally minoritized students—low-income Black, Native American, and Hispanic students. Moreover, we find that effects were concentrated in the years after administrative burden was expanded. Together, our findings suggest that reducing workload can alleviate longstanding disparities in program access.
SRG/eROSITA survey of Be stars
Authors: Nazé Yaël , Robrade Jan
Published: August 2023

Massive stars are known X-ray emitters and those belonging to the Be category are no exception. One type of X-ray emission even appears specific to that category, the γ Cas phenomenon. Its actual incidence has been particularly difficult to assess. Thanks to four semesters of sky survey data taken by the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG)/extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA), we revisit the question of the X-ray properties of Be stars. Amongst a large catalogue of Be stars, eROSITA achieved 170 detections (20 per cent of the sample), mostly corresponding to the earliest spectral types and/or close objects. While X-ray luminosities show an uninterrupted increasing trend with the X-ray-to-bolometric luminosity ratios, the X-ray hardness was split between a large group of soft (and fainter on average) sources and a smaller group of hard (and brighter on average) sources. The latter category gathers at least 34 sources, nearly all displaying early spectral types. Only a third of them were known before to display such X-ray properties. The actual incidence of hard and bright X-rays amongst early-type Be stars within 100–1000 pc appears to be ∼12 per cent, which is far from negligible. At the other extreme, no bright supersoft X-ray emission seems to be associated with any of our targets.
Three-dimensional magnetothermal evolution of off-centred dipole magnetic field configurations in neutron stars
Authors: Igoshev Andrei P , Hollerbach Rainer , Wood Toby
Published: August 2023

Off-centred dipole configurations have been suggested to explain different phenomena in neutron stars, such as natal kicks, irregularities in polarization of radio pulsars and properties of X-ray emission from millisecond pulsars. Here, for the first time, we model magnetothermal evolution of neutron stars with crust-confined magnetic fields and off-centred dipole moments. We find that the dipole shift decays with time if the initial configuration has no toroidal magnetic field. The decay time-scale is inversely proportional to magnetic field. The octupole moment decreases much faster than the quadrupole. Alternatively, if the initial condition includes strong dipolar toroidal magnetic field, the external poloidal magnetic field evolves from centred dipole to off-centred dipole. The surface thermal maps are very different for configurations with weak B = 1013 G and strong B = 1014 G magnetic fields. In the former case, the magnetic equator is cold while in the latter case, it is hot. We model light curves and spectra of our magnetothermal configurations. We found that in the case of cold equator, the pulsed fraction is small (below a few per cent in most cases) and spectra are well described with a single blackbody. Under the same conditions, models with stronger magnetic fields produce light curves with pulsed fraction of tens of per cent. Their spectra are significantly better described with two blackbodies. Overall, the magnetic field strength has a more significant effect on bulk thermal emission of neutron stars than does the field geometry.
Albatross: a scalable simulation-based inference pipeline for analysing stellar streams in the Milky Way
Authors: Alvey James , Gerdes Mathis , Weniger Christoph
Published: August 2023

Stellar streams are potentially a very sensitive observational probe of galactic astrophysics, as well as the dark matter population in the Milky Way. On the other hand, performing a detailed, high-fidelity statistical analysis of these objects is challenging for a number of key reasons. First, the modelling of streams across their (potentially billions of years old) dynamical age is complex and computationally costly. Secondly, their detection and classification in large surveys such as Gaia renders a robust statistical description regarding e.g. the stellar membership probabilities, challenging. As a result, the majority of current analyses must resort to simplified models that use only subsets or summaries of the high quality data. In this work, we develop a new analysis framework that takes advantage of advances in simulation-based inference techniques to perform complete analysis on complex stream models. To facilitate this, we develop a new, modular dynamical modelling code sstrax for stellar streams that is highly accelerated using jax. We test our analysis pipeline on a mock observation that resembles the GD1 stream, and demonstrate that we can perform robust inference on all relevant parts of the stream model simultaneously. Finally, we present some outlook as to how this approach can be developed further to perform more complete and accurate statistical analyses of current and future data.
Assessing OCD Symptoms and Severity
Authors: Bleier Maria , Woody Sheila R.
Published: August 2023

This chapter describes the methods and tools for evidence-based assessment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Using case material to highlight some of the major tasks of assessment, the chapter outlines the purposes of assessment and discusses special challenges presented by OCD, such as the shame associated with socially unacceptable obsessional content. Several types of assessment tools are discussed, including structured diagnostic interviews, semi-structured interviews to assess the profile and severity of OCD symptoms, self-report instruments, behavioral assessment and self-monitoring, and assessment of OCD-relevant appraisals, beliefs, and functional impairment. The importance of linking assessment findings to an evidence-based treatment plan is discussed.
Assessing Hoarding Disorder
Authors: Muroff Jordana
Published: August 2023

Over the past 25 years, assessments of hoarding have evolved substantially. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of hoarding-specific measures of core diagnostic features (e.g., difficulty discarding, clutter, distress), associated cognitive and behavioral symptoms (e.g., beliefs about saving, attachment, acquisition), the living environment (e.g., clutter, risks, presence of squalor), and the impact on individual and family functioning (e.g., activities of daily living, family accommodation). Hoarding-specific assessments are multimodal and include clinician interviews, self-reports from clinical and nonclinical populations, family reports, practitioner reports, and behavioral tasks (e.g., discarding, categorization). This chapter examines the characteristics and psychometric properties of hoarding-specific assessments. It concludes with a discussion of considerations and directions for future research on the assessment of hoarding, including technology-based innovations.
Combining Pharmacotherapy and Psychological Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Tolin David F. , Sain Kimberly S.
Published: August 2023

It is well established that pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are effective monotherapies for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This chapter examines the efficacy of combining the two treatments. First, the chapter covers meta-analytic strategies for studies in which the two treatments were applied simultaneously, compared to monotherapy. Results indicate that combined therapy is superior to medication monotherapy, whereas the superiority of combined therapy over CBT monotherapy is small to neglible. Second, the chapter gives a systematic review of studies in which one treatment was applied after the initiation of the other, often when the first treatment failed. Results show that second-line CBT and medications can be effective when patients do not respond adequately to first-line monotherapy. Finally, meta-analysis is used to examine the efficacy of D-cycloserine (DCS), a compound purported to potentiate a biological mechanism of CBT. Results suggest that DCS, when combined with CBT, is associated with a small but significant advantage over placebo after treatment, and some data suggest that the advantage may be more evident mid-treatment.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Cultural Issues
Authors: Hee Yang Yoon , Moulding Richard , Nedeljkovic Maja , Foroughi Elham , Doron Guy , Kyrios Michael
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the cross-cultural understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Epidemiological studies suggest a reasonably consistent prevalence of OCD around the world. The role of culturally influenced factors (such as religiosity and beliefs) in the presentation of OCD is also considered, with religion being considered particularly important in the presentation of OCD, although not in its prevalence per se. The influence of cultural factors on help-seeking behaviors and its role in assessment (including misdiagnosis) is considered. The importance of culture for treatment is also discussed, including the role of religious factors, along with other issues relating to working with clients from minority cultures. Limitations of the literature base are discussed, particularly the lack of non-Western studies and the lack of comparative cross-cultural studies.
Phenomenology and Epidemiology of Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Authors: Kelly Megan M. , Phillips Katharine A.
Published: August 2023

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is an often-severe disorder characterized by distressing or impairing preoccupations with nonexistent or slight defects in one’s physical appearance. Individuals with BDD suffer from time-consuming obsessions about their bodily appearance and excessive compulsive behaviors (for example, mirror-checking, excessive grooming, and skin-picking). Functioning and quality of life are typically very poor, and suicidality is markedly elevated. BDD currently affects 0.7% to 2.9% of the population; however, BDD typically goes unrecognized in clinical settings. This chapter discusses BDD’s definition and classification, epidemiology, demographics, and clinical features, including several case descriptions of BDD, age at onset, course of illness, comorbidity, morbidity (including suicidality), gender similarities and differences, and healthcare utilization. In addition, BDD’s relationships to obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychotic disorders, and social anxiety disorder are discussed.
What’s in a Name?
Authors: Mayne Alan
Published: August 2023

Is “slum” a useful term to describe the poorest districts of an increasingly urbanized modern world? Notwithstanding the word’s widespread use by commentators, urban planners and developers, the judgmental and paternalistic assumptions that have been historically embedded in the term continually compromise efforts to redevelop disadvantaged urban neighborhoods on more functional and equitable lines. This chapter reviews the early nineteenth-century origins of the word “slum” and its subsequent spread across the world as a result of colonialism and urbanization. It overviews the ways in which the word conditions our understanding of urban disadvantage and of the policy options that are available to overcome it. The chapter contends that more-effective social inclusion and urban renewal programs need to be grounded in what “slum”-based thinking has always ignored: the commonsense viewpoints and self-help strategies of the poor themselves.
The Spillover Effects of Fire, Riot, and Epidemics from Slums
Authors: Smart Alan , Tretter Eliot
Published: August 2023

Urban planning of whole cities, rather than improvements to the precincts of elites, in western cities and in their colonies, began to a significant degree in response to threats that spilled over from slums. Fires, epidemics, and riot were perceived as dangers, particularly during industrial urbanization, that required new forms of intervention. While each of these threats has received attention, the impact of their commonality of spillover from slums to the districts of the powerful has been neglected. This chapter reviews a range of contexts in which this dynamic is explored. It traces the impact of fires, epidemics, and riots on urban planning from the eighteenth through twenty-first centuries in both metropolitan and colonial cities. The chapter concludes by noting that while later waves of urban planning were more influenced by concern for the poor and disadvantaged, even now worries about the spillovers of negative externalities from poor areas to the rich appear to be the primary motivation for city planning.
The Political Construction of Slums in India
Authors: Gooptu Nandini
Published: August 2023

The slum in India is a relational concept, brought into being through actions of the state and non-state actors, who create specific forms of knowledge about the slum, imbuing it with multiple meanings and attributes. The colonial construction of slums as insanitary sites of disease contagion and as spatial aberrations consisting of debased humanity were further elaborated in postcolonial India, with the changing dynamics of nationalism, development, and democratic politics as well as class conflict over rights to the city. Slum populations have been variously portrayed as criminal, illegal interlopers in the city who undermine democratic politics, as multitudinous consumers of scarce urban resources, as reckless polluters who degrade urban life and thwart both urban and national development, yet worthy of benevolent ministrations of the state and elites. The idea of the slum has been at the heart of struggles over the nation and the city, spatially, ideologically, and politically.
Historical Archaeology and the Evolution of Twentieth-Century Slums in Detroit
Authors: Ryzewski Krysta
Published: August 2023

Between 1880 and 1920 Detroit’s population exploded due first to the city’s gradual industrialization and then to the rapid development of the automobile industry during the initial decades of the 1900s. The influx of newcomers filled existing working-class housing to capacity and introduced a host of social welfare issues into local governance and city planning. These changes manifested spatially in the proliferation of crowded and poorly maintained neighborhoods, which housed different configurations of the city’s poor and working-class residents. This chapter employs historical archaeological sources to examine the evolution, depiction, and manipulation of slum neighborhoods in Detroit. Case studies of three different neighborhoods demonstrate how conceptions of slums in Detroit changed over time, how residents in these neighborhoods lived in ways that, at times, departed from stereotypes of slum dwellers, and how the so-called slums of Detroit contrasted from counterparts in other North American cities.
Legitimacy as a Driver of the Competition Between Institutions of Internet Governance
Authors: Brousseau Eric
Published: August 2023

This chapter considers the history and debates around internet governance in an attempt to explain how multi-stakeholderism—embodied in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)—replaced the multilateral model of governance that prevailed in the pre-internet era under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The extent to which the outcome of the confrontation between ICANN and the ITU reflects the superiority of multi-stakeholderism over multilateralism is discussed in detail. Both organizations’ development paths and histories are assessed to understand the circumstances that led the US government to propose an alternative to an intergovernmental organization, an alternative that was then supported by a large coalition of players. The current limits of the regime that now governs the internet is also reviewed, while its open-ended character is highlighted. Finally, an analysis is offered of the game of legitimacy establishment that has been played, and how ICANN, to date, has remained ahead.
Cyber Security for Nuclear Facilities
Authors: Aghara Sukesh K. , Spirito Christopher
Published: August 2023

The digital revolution that began in the late twentieth century has transformed every facet of modern life and applications. The application of digital controls in the nuclear industry has led to an important change in the design of engineering systems and their management, operations, and maintenance. Digital controls bring superior performance, design flexibility, and lower costs. Every industry, including the energy sector, is undergoing a digital transformation to benefit from these advances. Nuclear facilities, especially nuclear power plants (NPPs), have been relatively slow to the adoption of digital transformation due to concerns about cyber threats. Analogue systems are significantly more isolated than digital ones; isolated systems limit points of entry and hence reduce the attack surface, although are still vulnerable to insider threats. Nuclear facilities involve operational technology, which poses its own unique security challenges that must be addressed before NPPs can deploy broad scale digitization. Despite such concerns, digital systems can increasingly be found in nuclear facilities as demand grows for increased productivity, predictability, reliability, and modernization of operations. The chapter addresses five key areas related to securing the digital assets at nuclear facilities: understanding the attack surface; graded protection and nuclear facility architectures; cyber threat actor capabilities against nuclear facilities; inclusion of cyber security in the risk management plan; and defensive operations and incident response.
Sensible Well-being
Authors: Diaconu Mădălina
Published: August 2023

Based on the reinterpretation of aesthetics as aisthetics or the theory of perceptual experience, this chapter explores the impact of touch, smell, and taste on mental health and well-being in general. The first section provides a historic retrospective of the intellectualist and anti-hedonistic coalition in Western philosophy and theology and examines the consequences of repressing these three ‘secondary senses’ for aesthetics, art, and everyday life. Understanding the subject as incarnate and relational enables the argument in the second part that inter- and multimodal environmental perception represents the rule. Examples of common and artistic practices demonstrate that tactility in the broad sense, olfaction, and the sense of taste are crucial for a positive relation to one’s bodily self (self-acceptance), to other people (togetherness, conviviality), and to physical, natural or built, environments (co-naturality or feeling at home in the world). Finally, the silence of the body, physical health and regeneration, comfort, pleasure, happiness, and existential fulfilment emphasize different shapes and stages of wellness.
On the Well-Being of Aesthetic Beings
Authors: Irvin Sherri
Published: August 2023

As aesthetic beings, we are receptive to and engaged with the sensuous phenomena of life while also knowing that we are targets of others’ awareness: we are both aesthetic agents and aesthetic objects. Our psychological health, our standing within our communities, and our overall well-being can be profoundly affected by our aesthetic surroundings and by whether and how we receive aesthetic recognition from others. When our embodied selves and our cultural products are valued, and when we have rich opportunities for aesthetic experience and for the exercise of aesthetic agency, the aesthetic can foster and sustain well-being and help to make our lives worthwhile. But when we are subjected to aesthetic blight, restriction of our aesthetic agency, and aesthetic devaluing of our embodied selves and our communities’ cultural products, the aesthetic can do great harm: such aesthetic manoeuvres play a significant role in oppression and social hierarchy related to race, gender, fatness, and disability. This essay explores the notions of aesthetic objects and aesthetic agents, their relations with each other, and the unique affordances of persons’ status as simultaneously aesthetic objects and aesthetic agents. It examines the prospects for bodily aesthetic experience to promote well-being and, at the end, considers how the aesthetic might play a role in establishing forms of mutual vulnerability and recognition to combat oppressive social hierarchies.
The Implications of Uncertainty for Fairness
Authors: Lind E. Allan , van den Bos Kees
Published: August 2023

There are two substantial literatures in social and organizational psychology that sit at the interface of uncertainty and fairness concerns. Work on “informational uncertainty” examines how people respond to lack of certainty about the informational bases of fairness judgments. Work on “personal uncertainty” addresses how fairness processes are themselves affected by uncertainty about how one is being evaluated by others in social or organizational contexts and what personal implications the resulting feelings have on people’s reactions. This chapter addresses both informational and personal uncertainty, examining how uncertainty affects the generation of fairness judgments and the use of fairness to guide attitudes, decisions, and behavior in organizational settings. The review indicated that research and theory on these topics can tell us a great deal about fundamental processes in organizational psychology. Studies on informational uncertainty processes show how people seek to “fill in the gaps” in their understanding of what is fair and whether management and organizational supervisors are trustworthy. Research on personal uncertainty management shows that when people are treated fairly, this helps them to manage their insecurities and to cope when they are alarmed. The underlying psychological dynamics seen in both of these literatures illustrate basic social psychological concerns that are important to, but sometimes neglected in, the understanding of how people behave within organizations.
Meta-Ethics and Meta-Aesthetics
Authors: King Alex
Published: August 2023

Metaethics is a live and flourishing subdiscipline of ethics, and meta-aesthetics flourishes in aesthetics, but only infrequently under that title. Still, in the long history of aesthetics and the philosophy of art, a great many thinkers have delved into meta-aesthetic issues. Given their different histories and focal points, metaethics and meta-aesthetics have gone in somewhat different directions. As a result, both would benefit from more contemporary cross-pollination. This chapter investigates four epicenters of debate that should be of importance to anyone working in meta-aesthetics. It will also provisionally defend realism, partly to illustrate how the arguments work, but partly to show that aesthetic realism isn’t the nonstarter it is sometimes taken to be.
Feminism, Ethics, and Art
Authors: Mullin Amy
Published: August 2023

Artworks can be ethically evaluated by reflecting on those who make them, the purposes their creators articulate, and how they impact their audiences. When they are ethically evaluated, this evaluation may be guided by a specific ethical theory or be more informal. While a critical analysis would not be feminist if it did not oppose sexism, feminist analysis includes those that take up harms and forms of oppression caused by sexism in interaction with other forms of inegalitarianism. As a result, feminist approaches to the ethical evaluation of art are heterogeneous. This chapter focuses on ways to think about the moral or political subject matter of artworks. The author explores connections between their ethical and aesthetic value. Cases are emphasized in which the normative content of artwork involves imaginative exploration, in ways that unsettle habitual responses and encourages more complex aesthetic engagement.
Moralism
Authors: Carroll Noël
Published: August 2023

The aim of this chapter is to present an overview of the position entitled moralism in the debate over the appropriate relation of art to morality. Moralism maintains that it is appropriate to evaluate artworks morally. Various versions of moralism will be canvassed in this chapter, including radical moralism and moderate moralism. Radical moralism maintains that it is always appropriate to evaluate artworks morally. This view is rejected as too broad; many artworks are obviously morally indifferent. Moderate moralism is defended as a far more reasonable position. According to moderate moralism, only some artworks are appropriate objects of moral evaluation and, in some of those cases, their moral defects are also aesthetic defects. Objections to moderate moralism from autonomists, moderate autonomists, ethicists and immoralists are critically discussed.