bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The demographic potential of the regions in the steppe zone as a basis for spatial development under the current challenges
Authors: Rudneva O S
Published: July 2021

The population structure, the potential of its reproduction and replacement in the territory are significant components of spatial socio-economic development. Under conditions of the current challenges, it is necessary to detect economic and geospatial factors and hazards of demographic growth in the country, especially in adjacent border territories to which the RF steppe belongs. Based on the statistical analysis methods, we identified the interconnection of the population dynamics, welfare indicators, workforce resources quality, and depth of differentiation of the steppe regions taking into account the total spatial organization in conditions of stable development challenges. The most critical situation formed in Kurganskaya region, where the reduction of personal income exacerbated health status, promoted heavy mortality and reinforced the outflow of labor supply. The southern (Krasnodarskiy and Stavropolskiy Krays and Rostovskaya region) and central regions (Belgorodskaya and Voronezhskaya regions) have a high demographic potential provided by favorable natural conditions, official places, a relatively high rate of income. It promotes to identify points of prospect development in these areas under the transfer to stable nature management.
Experience in analysing the landscape morphological structure based on innovative methodological approaches
Authors: Ryakhov R V , Petrishchev V P , Dubrovskaya S A
Published: July 2021

The current tendencies in studying landscape geosystems direct to increase information support of processes using innovative spatial information processing methods. The paper represents the developed complex analysis of theoretical, cartographical, and geo-informative studies, including automated decoding techniques of remote sensing data. Problems of approval of methodology and interpretation of results are considered. They were received with multi-channel segmenting of pixel images from satellite vehicles for a long-term period (1989-2018). Spectral channels of visible, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared diapasons were used. Parameters were identified to select territorial units on the geosystem level – the landscape province. Steppe and forest-steppe areas of the Orenburg region were chosen to conduct the study. The results were compared with existing landscape zoning. Anthropogenic factors defining the dynamics of the morphological structure of landscape geosystem were identified: subsurface and land use, abandonment of agricultural landscapes, self-restoration of inter-component and inside-landscape interconnections on steppe strips, urbanization processes. The developed algorithm promotes a maximal possible objectiveness of the conducted study at the expense of using automated mathematic methods and realization of repeated verifications of the results. The universality of the methodology promotes extrapolating its principles in areas of various natural zones.
Landscape-geochemical specifics of steppe geosystems in Baikal basin
Authors: Snytko V A , Semenov Yu M , Semenov M Yu , Silaev A V
Published: July 2021

Landscape-geochemical studies of the steppe geosystems of the Lake Baikal catchment area revealed the spatial regularities of matter differentiation of the geosystem components and the landscape-geochemical features of geosystems at different levels of organization. The steppe geosystems occupy mainly the piedmont plain and the bottoms of the submontane and intermontane depressions. Dry steppe geosystems are confined to the lowest belt in the altitudinal zonality system. Regional and local features of landscape-geochemical differentiation of matter are diagnosed by the ratio of radial and lateral heterogeneity of the distribution of chemical elements. The steppe calcium and subtaiga sour-calcium geosystems are characterized by a weak radial contrast ratio in the content of different chemical elements in soils against the background of a well-pronounced lateral contrast, and at the contact of steppe and subtaiga geosystems. Lateral differentiation of the content of chemical elements is practically absent. Thus, at the contact of many low-mountain and piedmont landscape-geochemical systems (LGS) in the Preolkhon region, ecotones have been formed, which determine very weak differences between the soil parameters of forest and steppe geosystems. This has necessitated the display of types of conjugations (TC) on landscape-geochemical maps for a more correct reflection of the nature of the matter differentiation. In connection with the predominance of heterolithic conjugations in mountainous conditions, for a correct assessment of the lateral migration of matter, it is advisable to single out individual links of conjugated rows of facies formed on homogeneous bedrocks.
Detection of the current structural-sectoral shifts in the steppe zone regions of Russia
Authors: Sokolov A A
Published: July 2021

The current challenge of stable development in the Russian steppe zone is an imbalance of structural-sector shifts in the economy of regions entering it. The paper presents an analysis of the sectoral structure transformation in the steppe regionsб according to principal types of economic activity, including different industrial and non-production sectors (manufacturing activity, mineral production, energetics, trade, transport, agriculture, etc.). The study’s specifics consist of various methodological approaches used to determine a structural-sectoral shift: depending on specialization according to kinds of sectors and coverage. As a result, it was identified that in regions of the steppe zone, structural-sectoral reconstruction of the economy happened. It touched on a vast diapason of various sectors. The economy of the areas has passed the stage of overtaking development. The portion of the non-production sector has stably increased, simultaneously, an industrial and agricultural part, despite the reduction, has still stayed high. The regional specifics are the growth of non-production portion everywhere, a considerable increase of agro-industrial complexes in the traditionally agricultural regions, and slight changes in areas with a relatively balanced economic structure.
Ameliorative potential and rating of the agrochernozem in the Trans-Ural steppe zone of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Russia)
Authors: Suleymanov R R , Gabbasova I M , Suleymanov A R , Adelmurzina I F , Gizatshina G M , Asylbaev I G
Published: July 2021

Under the conditions of an intensive growth of the Earth’s population, a decrease in the area and quality of productive arable land, the question of reproduction of a sufficient amount and quality of plant agricultural products arises. The arid areas, where amid climate is marked by an increase in soil production moisture shortages and declining crop yields are particularly problematic in this regard. One of the possible ways to solve this problem is to use irrigation reclamation. However, change in the water regime can lead to degradation of the soil cover, in connection with which there is a need for a preliminary assessment of the soil resistance to irrigation. The research was carried out on an agricultural site, which is planned for use in irrigated agriculture. It is shown that the soil cover of the site is represented by agrochernozem (Chernozems Luvic (CHlv), which is characterized by an average level of organic matter and nutrients, a slightly acidic reaction, favorable water-physical properties and, accordingly, it is resistant to irrigation. Assessment of the soil cover based on the soil-agro-climatic index showed that the limiting factor in this area is insufficient moisture. In this connection, carrying out irrigation reclamation will increase the productivity of agricultural crops.
Preserving the fertility of Russian chernozems. Status, trends, forecast
Authors: Trofimov I A , Trofimova L S , Yakovleva E P , Emelyanov A V , Skripnikova E V
Published: July 2021

As a result of our agrolandscape-ecological zoning performed for all natural and economic regions of Russia with the presence of steppe ecosystems with chernozem soils, the following patterns were revealed: unbalanced agriculture, unbalanced agricultural landscapes, unbalanced structure of sown areas and crop rotations (significant predominance of economically attractive crops); obtaining crop yields due to natural fertility of Russian chernozems. The high ploughing of the Russian Chernozem region and the insufficient number of tread elements leads to the creation of foci of erosion, deflation and desiccation. Open, unprotected or poorly protected by vegetation the surface of plowed soil, clean vapors, and row crops is significantly more exposed to the development of erosion and deflation processes. The long-term arable use of the chernozem soils of the steppe ecosystems of Russia without due attention to the reproduction of their fertility contributed to their degradation, erosion, dehumification, destruction of the structure and compaction. At present, they are in urgent need of rational use of natural resources and protection. Based on the analysis of the state and identified trends in nature management in forest-steppe and steppe landscapes, a forecast for the preservation of the fertility of Russian Chernozems is developed.
Geoinformation mapping of modern gully erosion in the steppe region of the Russian Plain
Authors: Yermolaev O P , Medvedeva R A
Published: July 2021

Considering the linear erosion processes in the river basins slopes it can be noticed that the gully erosion is most intensively changing the relief, leading to the complete soil cover destruction, and is making the land not suitable for agricultural use. The latest maps of the gullies’development in Russia were compiled more than 50 years ago and can be seen as very outdated. Since that time no comprehensive gullies network mapping has been carried out. Due to the gullies’ network shape and their large size, the satellite images allow noticing their representation. The study of the modern gully network was carried out in the steppe east of the Russian Plain on an area of more than 38000 km2. The gullies were mapped using high-resolution satellite images (1.65 – 0.4 m). It allowed compiling an electronic map of the modern gullies’ density in river basins. The areal and linear dynamics of morphologically active gullies for the period 2003-2014 were determined using satellite images. The data obtained indicate a very weak territory dissection by the gullies. It can be asserted that for the majority of the gullies their peak of activity has already passed, and currently they are either in a state of dynamic equilibrium or are being transformed into balkas. These results correlate with the data obtained during the earlier study of the forest and forest-steppe zones in the same Russian region.
PHYTOSENOLOGICAL STUDY OF ZOSIMA ABSINTHIFOLIA (VENT.) LINK. IN AZERBAIJAN
Authors: Yusifov Elman
Published: July 2021

Describes the study of the habitats, populations and phytocenology of the Zosima absinthifolia (Vent.) Link. Zosima absinthifolia belongs to the Apiaceae family and the only species of the genus distributed in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Absheron Peninsula in the steppe landscapes. The results showed that in 6.7,10th senopopulations the coefficient of efficiency was higher (ω = 0.59-0.67). This is due to the fact that, in these populations, the dynamics of the number of plants belonging to the juvenile and immature phases before the generative developmental phases is high, and individuals with aging (s, ss) phases were few. In favorable conditions seed reproduction increases the number of seedling senopopulation (35.48%). In such cases, the post-generation fraction level decreases (25.87%). As the environment deteriorates, the role of vegetative reproduction increases. As a result, sprouts in the age spectrum are minimized (3.97%). The maximum share of j + im + v (47.4%) in the III senopopulation decreased accordingly (7.77-35.38%). Number of individuals in populations VI, VII and X is increasing. In other populations, a decrease in the number of individuals was observed.
Heavy metals in the soil and vegetation cover of agricultural landscapes in the steppe southern European Russia (Rostov region as a case study)
Authors: Zakrutkin V E , Shishkina D Yu , Kohanistaya N V
Published: July 2021

Recently, there has been an active development of all industries, transport, agriculture within the steppe zone of southern Russia. The agro-industrial complex is widely developed within the Rostov region, characterized by highly efficient crop production, grain and sunflower production. The article examines the soil cover and agricultural products of the region. A change in the distribution of trace elements in the upper soil layer with the use of various agricultural technologies was revealed. It was revealed that the most favorable conditions for the accumulation of most of the studied microelements are formed in the soils under rice fields and vineyards. In the course of the research, the differentiation of the main crops for a number of heavy metals was studied. An analysis of the data obtained indicates the existence of a tendency for the average content of trace elements to increase from grain crops to forage grasses, which is associated with soil conditions and specific biological characteristics. According to the content of elements in soils, the coefficient of biological absorption and biogeochemical activity of the studied crops were calculated, which made it possible to rank them according to their ability to accumulate heavy metals.
Phytoremediation-a sustainable remedial method for soil contaminated by vanadium
Authors: Wu Zhen-Zhong , Yang Jin-Yan , Zhang You-Xian
Published: July 2021

Vanadium amassing in the soil increased with its widespread usage in multi-field. Elevated soil vanadium confers adverse effects on living organisms involved in plants, animals, and microorganisms. Moreover, vanadium can enter the human body through the food chain and lead to potential health risks stemming from its toxicity and carcinogenicity. Therefore, the remediation of soil contaminated by vanadium is imperative. Phytoremediation, a clean phytotechnology, is gaining increasing grace in modern society that prefers spirit-enjoy persuing. However, due to the blemishes of the remediation plants per se, the remediation efficiency relying on plants alone is not attractive. Therefore, the strengthened screening of vanadium accumulator and hyperaccumulator plants should step forward. Simultaneously, it is necessary to improve phytoremediation efficiency by some complementary measures, such as inoculating plant growth-promoting bacteria, vanadium reducing bacteria, and the proper application of plant growth regulators. Overall, microbe-assisted and moderate usage of plant growth-promoting factors are promising for the phytoremediation of vanadium-contaminated soil.
Research on the recycling path of cleaner production in agriculture and animal husbandry from the perspective of sustainable development
Authors: Zhang Huaguo
Published: July 2021

The sustainable development of population, resources and environment is an important research direction and hot topic in academic circles. Based on the perspective of sustainable development how to improve the use efficiency of materials, resources and energy, develop low-carbon economy through green production methods and ways and realize the dual effects of economic growth and ecological cycle coordinated development. Based on the clean production and recycling of agricultural and animal husbandry waste resources in the plateau, this paper discusses how to tap the production potential of agricultural and animal husbandry waste resources, reduce environmental pollution, change energy flow and realize value-added from the perspective of resource utilization, industrial innovation, environmental evaluation and value-added. Finally, it provides the way method and direction for the future clean production and recycling of plateau animal husbandry waste resources, and provides innovative theoretical basis and ideas for actively promoting and accelerating the sustainable development of clean production and construction of plateau animal husbandry waste resources. The relevant research results provide strategic guidance and scientific and technological support for the future high-quality development of plateau agriculture and animal husbandry, It is only for social and academic discussion and exchange.
Factors affecting the hydrological response of substrate material for green roofs and bioretention
Authors: Qin Yifeng , Chen Mingsheng , Li Xudong , Qiu Jiangping
Published: July 2021

Green roof and bioretention have been frequently used as stormwater management practices to address urban hydrology issues, and researches regarding these technologies are increasing lately. However, a knowledge gap remains in characterizing the hydraulic properties of these practices. The hydrological process of green roof and bioretention is mainly determined by the substrate media of the practices. Based on current studies, this paper discussed factors affecting the hydrological response of substrate material for green roofs and bioretention. Most researches provide qualitative information on water movement within substrate, but few have further investigated the theoretical explanations on the hydrological process of substrate and give quantitative data. This study proposed that following factors affecting water flow dynamics of substrate media: type of materials and composition of the materials; depth of the substrate media; pore structure/network of the substrate materials. Many investigations focus on the effect of a single factor and generalizing the other, but the hydrological process of the substrate material is mostly under the effect of multiple factors simultaneously. And under different study conditions and different designs of green roof or bioretention, the importance of these factors to the hydrological performance of substrate media is different. In addition, interrelationships exist among the factors, changes in one factor could influence other factors. Current research on the factors influencing the hydrological process of the substrate material needs to be related. Future study needs to consider the effect of multiple factors and their interrelations, to create integrated approaches for a better understanding of the hydrological process of the substrate material, and for modeling the hydrological performance of the green roof and bioretention more accurately and designing the practices more efficient.
Research on the Preparation and Performances of a New Type of Hollow Glass Microspheres
Authors: Wang Han , Wang Zhi , Li Jing , Sun Jian , Wang Tingting , Li Wenfeng
Published: July 2021

Hollow glass microsphere is a cross-functional frontier material that can be added to a variety of substrate materials to improve their performances and environmental benefits. In this paper, the characteristics, application fields and development status of hollow glass microspheres were summarized, and the basic formula, preparation process, performance testing equipments and methods of a new type of hollow glass microspheres were expounded. By testing and analyzing the main performances such as micro morphology, chemical composition, particle size, floating rate, bulk density, true density, compressive strength and other indicators of the microsphere samples, the properties and application potential of the hollow glass microspheres that we prepared are comprehensively characterized. The experimental results show that the microspheres have regular morphology and uniform particle size, the floating rate of them is higher than 97%, the bulk density is 0.1∼0.4g/cm3, the true density is 0.20∼0.65g/cm3 and fluctuates in a reasonable range; besides, the compressive strength is so good that microspheres are barely broken. What’s more, the development prospect of glass microsphere industry is prospected at the end.
Stakeholder Behavior Analysis of Low-carbon Housing Promotion
Authors: Yang Lei , Du Peng , Liao Haiyan , Zhang Haixia
Published: July 2021

The construction field is one of the key fields of energy conservation in the whole society. China has become the world’s second largest energy consumer and the largest CO2 emitter. China’s total energy consumption from building operation reached 22% of the total national energy consumption, of which residential buildings accounted for about 45.7%. The proportion may further increase with the progress of urbanization and growth of population. Therefore, It is believed that the development of low-carbon housing market is important for energy conservation and emission reduction. Due to different positions and interests, low-carbon housing has not been effectively promoted by various stakeholders involved in the development of low-carbon housing in China. This paper discussd how to encourage stakeholders to accept, participate and promote the development of low-carbon housing on the base of analyzing the behavior and interest demands of all stakeholders. The paper take Guangzhou city as the case, the reaserch shows the Guangzhou goverment has issued relevant policies to encourage that real estate projects implement green building two-star or above standards, both commercial housing and affordable housing have provided low-carbon housing products nowadays, but there are only a few projects and few real estate enterprises involved. Most consumers hold a supportive attitude towards the supply of low-carbon housing products, but it is hoped that low-carbon housing can improve the living comfort without too high a price. The paper suggested that the government should improve policy design and incentive mechanism, build a quality assurance system for the whole life cycle of low-carbon housing. cooperate with real estate developers and strengthen publicity to improve the recognition of low-carbon housing in the whole society.
Projection of energy mix in China using carbon emission pinch analysis
Authors: Cao Jinkang , Jia Xiaoping , Wang Fang
Published: July 2021

This work uses carbon emission pinch analysis (CEPA) method to analyze the energy mix of power generation in the Chinese power sector. It proposes to explore the optimal energy mix to achieve effective control of carbon emissions while meeting electricity demand. Under the constraint of global carbon neutrality, China’s power industry is reducing carbon emissions by transforming the energy mix. The energy mix of China’s power industry in 2030 and 2050 is analyzed according to the policy requirements and the emission reduction effect of the optimal combination. The study shows that vigorously reducing coal power, developing wind power and solar power as the main renewable energy sources, and vigorously developing the renovation and new construction of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for coal power are more conducive to reducing carbon emissions. The goals are up to achieve 4073.13 Mt CO2-e in 2030 and 3948.54 Mt CO2-e in 2050.
Review on unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing and its application in coastal ecological environment monitoring
Authors: Hu Yiqiang , Yang Chuanxun , Yang Ji , Li Yanyan , Jing Wenlong , Shu Sijing
Published: July 2021

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and UAV-based remote sensors are becoming more technologically advanced and widely used in the ecological environment monitoring. The analyses of UAV remote sensing data can help to improve the input efficiency in ecological environment assessment, which can greatly improve the monitoring efficiency and reduce the impact on environmental pollution. This review introduces the common types of UAV, types of UAV-based remote sensors as well as UAV communication, and their practical application in different coastal ecological environment monitoring scenes: terrestrial pollution source, marine debris, algae disaster, which can provide fresh perspective and thought for producer and researcher to develop the UVA remote sensing application in this field.
The Study of Healthy Benefits and Design Strategy of Urban Residential Green Space
Authors: Wang Zhipeng , Lv Songyuan , Shao Mengmeng , Liu Xinmeng
Published: July 2021

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has made the health of urban populations as a key research issue in various disciplines. Residential green space as one of the most basic units of urban ecological environment has potential benefits to people’s health. Based on the analysis of affecting factors of urban residents’ heath, this paper discusses the benefits of residential green space on people’s health and its working mechanism through literature research, and at last, proposes the design strategy of residential green space based on improving residents’ health. In conclusion, to activate the healthy benefits of residential green space, it should be planned reasonably, and the greening rate and amenity facility of residential green space need to be improved too.
Hierarchical management scheme of urban waterlogging risk based on critical rainfall level: a case study of Xining City
Authors: Chu Junying , Tian Ziyang , Zhou Zuhao , Jiang Yunzhong
Published: July 2021

With the global climate change and the intensification of human activities, urban waterlogging caused by rainstorm is becoming more prominent, and the problem of urban waterlogging needs to be solved. According to different return periods and drainage standards, a new hierarchical management scheme of urban waterlogging risk is proposed, which is composed of micro source runoff control system, minor drainage transmission system, major waterlogging prevention system and resilience improvment system. Based on long series short duration precipitation data, different critical rainfall levels are calculated considering the relevant drainage and waterlogging prevention standards. The calculation results show that the rainfal level for micro source runoff control system is 15.8mm (i.e. point A). For minor drainage control system, the rainfal level are 20.6 mm and 26.9 mm respectively (i.e. point B and B’). For major waterlogging prevention system, the rainfall level is 53.5mm (i.e. point C). According to these segmentation points, four interconnected urban waterlogging risk management strategies are proposed, i.e. stategy 1.0 focuses on micro scale and aims to promote source runoff control by ‘green infrastructure’, 2.0 focuses on minor scale aims to conduct drainage optimization of ‘grey infrastructure’, 3.0 focuses on major scale aims to improve waterlogging prevention by ‘blue infrastructure’ and 4.0 aims to deal with disaster mitigation by ‘red infrastructure’. Furthermore, the rainfall characteristics, the influence degree of rainfall, and objectives and measures for each stragy are given in detail.
RETRACTED: Design and Research of Smart Hydrological Monitoring Network Based on Internet of Things
Authors: Zhang Yimeng , Li Tongji , Guan Yi
Published: July 2021

Aiming at the low monitoring efficiency of the current hydrological monitoring network and low accuracy of monitoring data, this paper studies and designs a smart hydrological monitoring network based on the Internet of Things with satellites, drones, radars, and mobile broadband Internet as the core. This article describes the hardware structure and functional structure of the smart hydrological monitoring network, and describes the process of the system how to analyze the big data obtained through the Internet of Things to improve the accuracy and efficiency of monitoring data.
Constructing driver Hamiltonians for optimization problems with linear constraints
Authors: Leipold Hannes , Spedalieri Federico M
Published: July 2021

Recent advances in the field of adiabatic quantum computing and the closely related field of quantum annealing have centered around using more advanced and novel Hamiltonian representations to solve optimization problems. One of these advances has centered around the development of driver Hamiltonians that commute with the constraints of an optimization problem—allowing for another avenue to satisfying those constraints instead of imposing penalty terms for each of them. In particular, the approach is able to use sparser connectivity to embed several practical problems on quantum devices in comparison to the standard approach of using penalty terms. However, designing the driver Hamiltonians that successfully commute with several constraints has largely been based on strong intuition for specific problems and with no simple general algorithm for generating them for arbitrary constraints. In this work, we develop a simple and intuitive algebraic framework for reasoning about the commutation of Hamiltonians with linear constraints—one that allows us to classify the complexity of finding a driver Hamiltonian for an arbitrary set of linear constraints as NP-complete. Because unitary operators are exponentials of Hermitian operators, these results can also be applied to the construction of mixers in the quantum alternating operator ansatz framework.
Inferring the drivers of language change using spatial models
Authors: Burridge James , Blaxter Tamsin
Published: July 2021

Discovering and quantifying the drivers of language change is a major challenge. Hypotheses about causal factors proliferate, but are difficult to rigorously test. Here we ask a simple question: can 20th century changes in English be explained as a consequence of spatial diffusion, or have other processes created bias in favour of certain linguistic forms? Using two of the most comprehensive spatial datasets available, which measure the state of English at the beginning and end of the 20th century, we calibrate a simple spatial model so that, initialised with the early state, it evolves into the later. Our calibrations reveal that while some changes can be explained by diffusion alone, others are clearly the result of substantial asymmetries between variants. We discuss the origins of these asymmetries and, as a by-product, we generate a full spatio–temporal prediction for the spatial evolution of English features over the 20th century, and a prediction of the future.
A universal fully reconfigurable 12-mode quantum photonic processor
Authors: Taballione Caterina , van der Meer Reinier , Snijders Henk J , Hooijschuur Peter , Epping Jörn P , de Goede Michiel , Kassenberg Ben , Venderbosch Pim , Toebes Chris , van den Vlekkert Hans , Pinkse Pepijn W H , Renema Jelmer J
Published: July 2021

Photonic processors are pivotal for both quantum and classical information processing tasks using light. In particular, linear optical quantum information processing requires both large-scale and low-loss programmable photonic processors. In this paper, we report the demonstration of the largest universal quantum photonic processor to date: a low-loss 12-mode fully tunable linear interferometer with all-to-all mode coupling based on stoichiometric silicon nitride waveguides.
2. The Yiddish self
Authors: Stavans Ilan
Published: July 2021

“The Yiddish self” analyzes the emergence and dissemination of Yiddish as the lingua franca of eastern European Jews from the thirteenth century to the Holocaust and beyond, focusing on the three founders of Yiddish literature: Mendele Mokher Sforim, Israel Joshua Singer, and Sholem Aleichem. Sholem Aleichem’s volume of interconnected stories Tevye the Dairyman is arguably the most important narrative ever to be produced in the Yiddish language. Yiddish writers have reflected on anti-Semitism and migration. Yiddish writing in the United States, Latin America, and other parts of the world and the Singer siblings (Israel Joshua, and Isaac Bashevis) in particular are examples of adaptation to different environments after the Second World War.
10. The letterless canon
Authors: Stavans Ilan
Published: July 2021

“The letterless canon” argues that Jewish literature from the mid-twentieth century onward is not restricted to fiction, poetry, and theater. The book as a tool for the dissemination of knowledge has undergone a metamorphosis. Along the way, the border between high-brow and popular culture has been erased. Comic strips like Superman and graphic novels can be viewed as literary artifacts. Indeed we should consider the work of Will Eisner (A Contract with God), Art Spiegelman (Maus), and Alison Bechdel (Fun House), each of whom offers different contributions. There is also the matter of stand-up comedy, film scripts, and television shows which examine, from a Jewish perspective, gender, racial, and class issues.
The English origins
Authors: Tyler Amanda L.
Published: July 2021

This chapter traces the origins of the common law writ of habeas corpus, finding that it was born out of a simple idea: the need to serve the king and demand justification for the detention of one of his subjects. It was not so much for those courts to question the king himself, for he could do no wrong. This chapter details how all of this changed over the course of the seventeenth century, and specifically the important role that the English Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 played in this shift. As is also explored, Parliament’s objectives in passing the Habeas Corpus Act sprang from its intention to expand its power at the expense of the king much more so than a desire to protect individual liberty. But in time, Blackstone and others came to praise the Act as a “second Magna Carta” for curtailing the detention of so-called “state prisoners.”
Revolution
Authors: Tyler Amanda L.
Published: July 2021

This chapter details how across the Atlantic, Americans widely studied Henry Care’s treatise and Blackstone’s Commentaries, both of which glorified as the foundation of English law and liberties Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Habeas Corpus Act. Yet, as explored here, Americans did not know many of these rights and protections, being denied them as colonists. Over time, the denial of the protections of the Habeas Corpus Act to the colonists became a major source of complaint regarding British rule. As the chapter explores, the British viewed the American “Rebels” as traitors and therefore not in the service of a foreign sovereign. This meant that once American prisoners started coming to English shores, a suspension was necessary to detain them outside the criminal process. The chapter explores the Revolutionary War suspension that Parliament adopted, as well as its lapsing at the end of the war.
2. Diplomacy of the American Revolution
Authors: Siracusa Joseph M.
Published: July 2021

‘Diplomacy of the American Revolution’ considers the United States' battle for independence and the diplomatic efforts required to reach agreement with Great Britain. In order to win independence, the United States had found it necessary to involve itself in the international rivalries and politics of Europe. The negotiations between the US peace commissioners — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay — and the Comte de Vergennes, the French Foreign Minister, the Earl of Shelburne, Richard Oswald, and the Spanish are worth examining at this point. A number of key treaties were signed during the negotiations, including the 1778 Treaty of Amity and Commerce and Treaty of Alliance between America and France.
4. The night Stalin and Churchill divided Europe
Authors: Siracusa Joseph M.
Published: July 2021

‘The night Stalin and Churchill divided Europe’ discusses the important meeting between Josef Stalin and Winston Churchill in Moscow on 9 October 1944, when they agreed a plan for the Balkan region. The diplomatic efforts of the latter stages of World War II are described with the negotiations between the Three Powers — Stalin's Russia, Churchill's Great Britain, and Franklin .D. Roosevelt's United States. FDR and Churchill understood that the needed Soviet victories would come with a price. They never contested the Soviet annexations under the Nazi–Soviet Pact. Nor did Roosevelt ever seriously challenge the personal diplomacy of Churchill and Stalin to divide Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.
6. The amphibians’ world
Authors: Kemp T. S.
Published: July 2021

‘The amphibians’ world’ focuses on the amphibians’ sense organs. Amphibians have the eyes, ears, olfactory organs of smell in the nose, and touch receptors common to all vertebrates, but the relative importance of the different senses varies from group to group depending on habitats and modes of life. Anurans have a sensory world most like that of humans; their vision is good, and includes the ability to see colours, and their hearing is acute. Urodeles and caecilians rely much more on their senses of smell and touch. Amphibian larvae have an additional sensory system called the lateral line system. Amphibians use several sensory cues in combination to navigate around their territories.
A novel method of literature mining to identify candidate COVID-19 drugs
Authors: Muramatsu Tomonari , Tanokura Masaru
Published: July 2021

COVID-19 is a serious infectious disease that has recently emerged and continues to spread worldwide. Its spreading rate is too high to expect that new specific drugs will be developed in sufficient time. As an alternative, drugs already developed for other diseases have been tested for use in the treatment of COVID-19 (drug repositioning). However, to select candidate drugs from a large number of compounds, numerous inhibition assays involving viral infection of cultured cells are required. For efficiency, it would be useful to narrow the list of candidates down using logical considerations prior to performing these assays. We have developed a powerful tool to predict candidate drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 and other diseases. This tool is based on the concatenation of events/substances, each of which is linked to a KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) code based on a relationship obtained from text mining of the vast literature in the PubMed database. By analyzing 21 589 326 records with abstracts from PubMed, 98 556 KEGG codes with NAME/DEFINITION fields were connected. Among them, 9799 KEGG drug codes were connected to COVID-19, of which 7492 codes had no direct connection to COVID-19. Although this report focuses on COVID-19, the program developed here can be applied to other infectious diseases and used to quickly identify drug candidates when new infectious diseases appear in the future.

Availability and implementation

The programs and data underlying this article will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding authors.

Contact

atmuramatsu@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp, amtanok@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics Advances online.
Python interfaces for the Smoldyn simulator
Authors: Singh Dilawar , Andrews Steven S
Published: July 2021

Motivation

Smoldyn is a particle-based biochemical simulator that is frequently used for systems biology and biophysics research. Previously, users could only define models using text-based input or a C/C++ application programming interface (API), which were convenient, but limited extensibility.

Results

We added a Python API to Smoldyn to improve integration with other software tools, such as Jupyter notebooks, other Python code libraries and other simulators. It includes low-level functions that closely mimic the existing C/C++ API and higher-level functions that are more convenient to use. These latter functions follow modern object-oriented Python conventions.

Availability and implementation

Smoldyn is open source and free, available at http://www.smoldyn.org and can be installed with the Python package manager pip. It runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.

 

Documentation is available at http://www.smoldyn.org/SmoldynManual.pdf and https://smoldyn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/python/api.html.
Quantifying the invasion and migration ability of cancer cells with a 3D Matrigel drop invasion assay
Authors: Aslan Merve , Hsu En-Chi , Liu Shiqin , Stoyanova Tanya
Published: July 2021

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-associated morbidity which will account for ∼ 600,000 deaths in the USA in 2021. Defining new mechanisms that drive cancer metastasis is vital for developing new therapeutic strategies and improving clinical outcomes for cancer patients. Herein, we describe a recently established 3D Matrigel drop invasion assay to measure cancer cell invasion and migration capability in vitro. This assay is a versatile and simple tool to test the ability of cells to invade and migrate, test the functional role of genes of interest in cell invasion and migration, analyze the localization of the target proteins at the cell invasion edge in situ, and screen drug effects on cancer cell invasion and migration.
“Pollen tube shower” inBertolonia(Melastomataceae): a new delayed selfing mechanism in flowers with poricidal anthers
Authors: Passos Luan Salles , Telles Francismeire Jane , Goldenberg Renato , Maia Fabiano Rodrigo
Published: July 2021

About one-fifth of angiosperms reproduce predominantly through self-fertilization, mediated by morphological and functional flower traits. Autonomous selfing is rare in Melastomataceae, a megadiverse family with most species featuring poricidal anthers and herkogamy. However, previous studies suggested that some Bertolonia spp. were capable of autonomous selfing. Here, we investigated the existence of autonomous selfing in the group and, considering its specialized floral morphology, the mechanisms involved in this process. We conducted studies on floral biology, pollination experiments and pollinator visitation rates for Bertolonia paranaensis (anthers with introrse pores) and Bertolonia mosenii (anthers with extrorse pores). The transient absence of herkogamy and the dynamics of the movements of the flower parts during post-anthesis events promoted delayed selfing in both species. In post-anthesis flowers, pollen grains germinate inside the anthers, the pollen tubes come out through the anther pores and then reach the stigma, penetrating the transmission tissue, and fertilize the ovules. Both species received visits from buzzing bees and have a mixed mating system, i.e. the capacity of cross-pollination and delayed selfing-pollination. We present the first description of an autonomous selfing mechanism for plants with poricidal anthers, for which we coin the name “pollen tube shower”. Pollen tube shower promotes reproductive assurance to flowers that have not been pollinated and ensures reproductive success of individuals in the absence of pollinators.
Of losers and laggards: the interplay of material conditions and individual perceptions in the shaping of EU discontent
Authors: Díaz-Lanchas Jorge , Sojka Aleksandra , Di Pietro Filippo
Published: July 2021

Two principal strands of scholarship analyse the material roots of European Union (EU) discontent. Some focus on the effects of regional decline, while others examine the role of individual socioeconomic factors. This paper brings these two perspectives together. We argue that EU discontent is a multifaceted phenomenon structured by the spatially-rooted interplay between individual and regional material conditions and subjective perceptions. We apply PLS-SEM to Eurobarometer public opinion data (2018–2019) and find that the geographical location and the socioeconomic position shape EU discontent directly. However, material factors’ relevance for EU discontent is the greatest in structuring individual future expectations. Furthermore, democratic dissatisfaction turns out to be a key factor, pointing to the importance of institutional perceptions in the geography of discontent.
The change in the prevalence of obesity and new-onset diabetes in Chinese peritoneal dialysis patients over 25 years
Authors: Than Win Hlaing , Ng Jack Kit-Chung , Chan Gordon Chun-Kau , Fung Winston Wing-Shing , Chow Kai-Ming , Szeto Cheuk-Chun
Published: July 2021

Background

The global prevalence of both obesity and end-stage kidney diseases (ESKDs) has increased in recent decades. Given the complicated interaction between obesity and ESKD, we examined the change in the prevalence of obesity in incident Chinese peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients over the past 25 years.

Methods

We reviewed the anthropometric measures of incident PD patients in a single Hong Kong center from 1995 to 2019. The results are reported in five 5-year periods. Patients with and without diabetes were analyzed separately, and the incidence of new-onset diabetes after PD was explored.

Results

We reviewed 1681 patients. Their mean age was 58.4 ± 12.5 years; 931 patients (55.4%) had pre-existing diabetes. From 1995–99 to 2015–19, the prevalence of obesity or overweight at the initiation of PD increased progressively for every 5-year period (from 21.9% to 26.2, 37.9, 42.7 and 47.3%, P < 0.001 for linearity). The increase in the prevalence of obesity or overweight was more pronounced in diabetic patients (from 33.7% to 59.6%) than non-diabetic ones (from 13.2% to 32.3%). Among nondiabetics patients, the incidence of new-onset diabetes after started on PD showed an insignificant rising trend during that period (from 18.0, 19.7, 17.8 and 22.4% to 23.3%, P = 0.106). The incidence of new-onset impaired fasting glucose or diabetes was significantly higher in obese or overweight patients than the others (56.9% versus 51.4%, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

The prevalence of obesity has increased substantially in both diabetic and nondiabetic new PD patients in Hong Kong over the past 25 years. The incidence of new-onset diabetes was significantly higher in new PD patients with pre-existing obesity or overweight than those without obesity. The prognostic implication and impacts on the healthcare system deserve further studies.
Toward An Understanding of the Economics of Apologies: Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment
Authors: Halperin Basil , Ho Benjamin , List John A , Muir Ian
Published: July 2021

We use a theory of apologies to design a nationwide field experiment involving 1.5 million Uber ridesharing consumers who experienced late rides. Several insights emerge. First, apologies are not a panacea—the efficacy of an apology and whether it may backfire depend on how the apology is made. Second, across treatments, money speaks louder than words—the best form of apology is to include a coupon for a future trip. Third, in some cases sending an apology is worse than sending nothing at all, particularly for repeated apologies and apologies that promise to do better. For firms, caveat venditor should be the rule when considering apologies.