bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A demonstration of the Faraday’s law of induction by means of a magnetized fidget spinner
Authors: Eff-Darwich Antonio , Goded-Merino Alejandra , González-Pérez Sara
Published: March 2023

We propose a simple demonstration to explain to prospective primary teachers the basic ideas behind Faraday’s law of induction and the generation of electricity. In this conceptual activity, a rotating magnetized fidget spinner induces voltage in a copper coil. In an attempt to make this demonstration more motivating and surprising, the voltage was not measured and analysed with a voltmeter; instead, we used a loudspeaker to listen to and understand the induction of electricity. It is therefore a variation of the classical experiment of the bar magnet sweeping through a solenoid.
Shafranov shift correction to the Furth–Yoshikawa scaling of tokamak adiabatic compression
Authors: Nicolas T , Lütjens H , Sauter O , Garbet X
Published: March 2023

In 1970, Furth and Yoshikawa (1970 Phys. Fluids
13 2593–6) introduced the scalings of adiabatic plasma compression. Basically, if the shape of the external plasma boundary and the aspect ratio are preserved during the compression, then the density, kinetic pressure, beta and current scale respectively as

n
∼

C
3

,

p
∼

C
5

,

B
∼

C
2

,

β
∼
C

,

I
t

∼
C

, where C is the linear compression ratio, that is, the ratio between initial and final major radii. In this work, we show analytically, by expanding the Grad–Shafranov equation in terms of C, that the deviation to the Furth–Yoshikawa scaling is related to the Shafranov shift that arises when beta increases at large compression ratios. There is an obvious effect of the Shafranov shift because the axis is moved to a region with larger volume element, and an indirect effect, associated to the relation between flux and radius. The latter effect adds to the first, and is of the same order of magnitude. The result is that the pressure increases less than the C
5 scaling, which can have a significant impact on the fusion power achieved at maximum compression. The analytical results are backed up by equilibrium simulations carried out with the CHEASE code. Equilibria are obtained for different values of C, with conservation of the total fluxes, q profile, and entropy of the plasma. The agreement of the theory and simulations is very good when the boundary of the plasma is circular and the aspect ratio small. When the aspect ratio is close to 1, and/or the boundary not circular, the analytical result gives the gist of the reduction of compression. Finally, a pressure anisotropy

(

p
⊥

−

p
∥

)

/

p

approximately equal to the increase in normalized Shafranov shift is predicted.
Enhanced photodetector performance of SnO2/NiO heterojunction via Au incorporation
Authors: Athira M , Shafna K K Fathima , Angappane S
Published: March 2023

Heterojunctions are known to have trap states and defects that are detrimental to the light responses, especially slowing down the rise and decay time. To address these issues in the charge transfer process, SnO2/NiO heterojunction was modified by incorporating Au at the surface and interface of different devices. The rectifying SnO2/NiO diode showed self-powered photodetector (SPD) characteristics when illuminated by 365 nm light and the responsivity obtained was 3 µA W−1. The 5 nm Au surface decorated SnO2/NiO diode showed the highest rectification ratio, 42.8 and the 2 nm Au decorated device showed 10.6 µA photocurrent generation. The 2 and 5 nm thick Au surface decoration resulted in the formation of nano-Schottky junctions with NiO. The embedding of Au at the interface of the SnO2/NiO diode showed a decrease in diode rectification. Two methods are used for Au incorporation at the interface; glancing angle deposition and electron beam evaporation followed by annealing. Unlike the glancing angle deposited Au film, the larger Au nanoparticles(NPs) formed by electron beam evaporation and annealing, and when embedded at SnO2/NiO interface, generated 9.6 µA of photocurrent and dark currents were lowered by one order. The modified diode characteristics were studied using impedance spectroscopy. The junction capacitance and time constant of Au incorporated devices were found to be much lower than that of bare SnO2/NiO heterojunction, leading to an improved response time and SPD performance. The responsivity, rise time, detectivity, and ON/Off ratio calculated for the device SnO2/NiO with Au NPs at the interface were 3.1 mA W−1, 1.6 s, 1.8 × 1010 Jones, and 2.6 × 103 respectively, best among all the devices. The heterojunction PDs with Au incorporation are a potential way to address the surface and interface effects at the nanoscale, thereby improving the device performance.
Scattering asymmetry in in-situ Mie polarimetry diagnostic of nanodust clouds
Authors: Kobus Julia , Petersen Andreas , Kirchschlager Florian , Rehbehn Nils , Greiner Franko , Wolf Sebastian
Published: March 2023

Imaging Mie polarimetry is key to determining spatially resolved information about the properties, i.e. refractive index and grain size, of particle clouds, such as during the growth process in reactive particle producing plasmas. Asymmetries in the intensity maps of the different Stokes parameters resulting from the anisotropic scattering of polarized laser light complicate the analysis and require the use of radiative transfer (RT) simulations. We use RT simulations to investigate the asymmetric scattering behavior based on a model of a typical reactive argon-acetylene plasma. We address possible misinterpretations and explore the potential for analyzing particle properties. We find that the asymmetric pattern of the intensity distributions is highly dependent on the refractive index, providing the potential to determine the refractive index and grain size at any time during the growth process.
Nonuniform magnetic domain-wall synapses enabled by population coding
Authors: Qiao Ya , Zhang Yajun , Yuan Zhe
Published: March 2023

Traditional artificial intelligence implemented in software is usually executed on accurate digital computers. Nevertheless, the nanoscale devices for the implementation of neuromorphic computing may not be ideally identical, and the performance is reduced by nonuniform devices. In biological brains, information is usually encoded by a cluster of neurons such that the variability of nerve cells does not influence the accuracy of human cognition and movement. Here, we introduce the population encoding strategy in neuromorphic computing and demonstrate that this strategy can overcome the problems caused by nonuniform devices. Using magnetic memristor device based on current-induced domain-wall motion as an example, we show that imperfect storage devices can be applied in a hardware network to perform principal component analysis (PCA), and the accuracy of unsupervised classification is comparable to that of conventional PCA using ideally accurate synaptic weights. Our results pave the way for hardware implementation of neuromorphic computing and lower the criteria for the uniformity of nanoscale devices.
Electrical transport mechanism and magnetoresistive behavior of trilayer La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/γ-Fe2O3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (FM/FIM/FM) manganites
Authors: Narwat Pooja , Choudhary R J , Mishra A
Published: March 2023

The magnetization, electrical transport, and magnetoresistance (MR) behavior of Pulsed Laser Deposited polycrystalline tri-layer La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO)/γ-Fe2O3/LSMO film and single layer LSMO film on Si (100) substrates are investigated in the temperature range of 5 K–300 K. A magnetic anomaly appears in the magnetization {M(T)} and resistivity {ρ(T)} characterizations of the trilayer film at around 100 K, which is quite robust and is present even at 7 T of the applied magnetic field. The trilayer sample exhibits metal to insulator (MIT) transition at 210 K. The transport behavior of both the films is analysed in the context of nearest-neighbour small polaron hopping model (SPH), Mott variable range hopping (VRH) mechanism as well as thermal activation (TA) model in different temperature ranges for both the films under study. The correlated polarons or less mobile bipolarons exist in the metallic regime of the trilayer sample due to the presence of magnetic inhomogeneities. The low temperature resistivity upturn is observed in LSMO film, which is attributed to the spin fluctuations (Mn3+–O–Mn4+) due to thermal energy. The trilayer sample exhibits a large negative MR of (∼45%) at low temperature (5 K). It manifests consistent negative CMR effect across the whole temperature range of 5 K–210 K (MIT). The improved MR behavior of the trilayer sample as compared to the LSMO film is due to enhanced polycrystalline character of the trilayer film owing to higher grain boundary density and spin dependent scattering at both the interfaces of LSMO/γ-Fe2O3/LSMO structure.
Cosmological information in skew spectra of biased tracers in redshift space
Authors: Hou Jiamin , Moradinezhad Dizgah Azadeh , Hahn ChangHoon , Massara Elena
Published: March 2023

Extracting the non-Gaussian information encoded in the higher-order clustering statistics of the large-scale structure is key to fully realizing the potential of upcoming galaxy surveys. We investigate the information content of the redshift-space weighted skew spectra of biased tracers as efficient estimators for 3-point clustering statistics. The skew spectra are constructed by correlating the observed galaxy field with an appropriately-weighted square of it. We perform numerical Fisher forecasts using two synthetic datasets: the halo catalogs from the Quijote N-body simulations and the galaxy catalogs from the Molino suite. The latter serves to understand the effect of marginalization over a more complex matter-tracer biasing relation. Compared to the power spectrum multipoles, we show that the skew spectra substantially improve the constraints on six parameters of the νΛCDM model, {Ω
m
, Ω
b
, h, ns
, σ8
, Mν
}. Imposing a small-scale cutoff of kmax
= 0.25 Mpc-1
h, the improvements in parameter constraints from skew spectra alone range from 23% to 62% for the Quijote halos and from 32% to 71% for the Molino galaxies. Compared to the previous analysis of the bispectrum monopole on the same data and using the same range of scales, the skew spectra of Quijote halos provide competitive constraints. At the same time, the skew spectra outperform the bispectrum monopole for all cosmological parameters for the Molino catalogs. This may result from additional anisotropic information, particularly enhanced in the Molino sample, that is captured by the skew spectra but not by the bispectrum monopole. Our stability analysis of the numerical derivatives shows comparable convergence rates for the power spectrum and the skew spectra, indicating potential underestimation of parameter uncertainties by at most 30%.
Pulsars as candidates of LHAASO sources J2226+6057, J1908+0621, and J1825-1326: The leptonic origin*
Authors: Chang Zhe , Kuang Yu-Ting , Zhang Xukun , Zhou Jing-Zhi
Published: March 2023

Recently, from 12 γ-ray Galactic sources, the LHAASO has detected ultrahigh-energy photons up to 1.4 PeV. The γ-ray spectra of the sources J2226+6057, J1908+0621, and J1825-1326 and the suggested origin pulsars near the sources have been published. In our previous work, we studied the hadronic γ-ray spectra of the sources J2226+6057, J1908+0621, and J1825-1326 in terms of the Hertzian dipole model of pulsars. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of the leptonic origin of the γ-ray. We use the Hertzian dipole model to describe the pulsars around the sources. The electrons around the pulsars can be accelerated to PeV by the electromagnetic fields of pulsars. Under the assumption that the initial electrons are uniformly distributed in a spherical shell between

and

m around the pulsar, we obtain the energy distribution of electrons. The leptonic γ-ray spectra can be calculated through inverse Compton scattering processes. The leptonic γ-ray can roughly conform to the observation of LHAASO.
Input–output modelling for household activity-level environmental footprints: a systematic literature review
Authors: Madsen Sofia Topcu , Weidema Bo Pedersen
Published: March 2023

Input–output analyses are increasingly used to estimate consumption-based environmental footprints. The potential of estimates of social, economic, and ecosystem consequences of lifestyle interventions can be improved by detailing the complex way that final demand arises from patterns of household activities, i.e. from how households choose to use their time. We perform a systematic literature review by searching three scientific databases and using backward citation snowballing to clarify how input–output models have been used to analyse household activity patterns. We discuss the prospects of the used methods for estimating environmental footprints associated with households’ time uses in activities. We identified 48 relevant studies, each contributing with motivations and methods that are important for household activity-level environmental footprint accounting. When linked with the market economy and environmentally extended, input–output tables detailing the use of time and money across household types provide a clear picture of the connections between the economy, the social sphere, and the environment. Realistic expenditure and time-use data structures quantify the production and consumption activities that occur in households and the associated household inequalities in time use and expenditure patterns. Household activity-level environmental footprints differ notably across household activities. The reviewed studies provide the foundation for detailed and complete environmental footprint data at the household activity level to support policy decisions targeting everyday life. The current research on the topic is patchy with only one study modelling multiple countries and only one country being modelled across years. The research needs to be harmonised and scaled up to allow for comprehensive analyses. Ideally, future modelling should cover more countries with continuous data series and harmonised data collection and analysis methods.
The change of ecosystem resilience and its response to economic factors in Yulin, China
Authors: Liu Xiaoping , Li Zhanbin , Wang Tian , Cheng Shengdong , Zheng Xing , Jia Lu , Liu Beilei , Li Jiajia , Miao Ziyao
Published: March 2023

Ecosystem resilience at a regional scale is an important indicator and component of ecological health assessment. Ecosystem resilience refers to the self-regulating and restoring capacity of an ecosystem to restore itself to its initial state after deviation from the equilibrium state due to disturbances. In this study, Fragstats and ArcGIS software were used to calculate various indicators of ecosystem resilience, then a model of ecosystem resilience was used to evaluate and analyze the characteristics of ecosystem resilience in 12 counties of Yulin Prefecture, China. The ecosystem resilience–economy responses were discussed using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis accordingly. The results suggested that ecosystem resilience in Yulin increased steadily during 1995–2015, with the self-regulating and self-restoring capacity strengthened over time. The study also found that the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, fiscal expenditure and gross investment in fixed assets were significantly and positively correlated with ecosystem resilience, with correlation coefficients of 0.716 (p = 0.000 < 0.01), 0.589 (p = 0.002 < 0.01) and 0.411 (p = 0.046 < 0.05), respectively. The proportion of primary industry were negatively correlated with ecosystem resilience, with correlation coefficients of −0.445 (p = 0.029 < 0.05). The research revealed the development and changes of ecological resilience in Yulin and the response to the social economy. The findings provided support for ecological health diagnosis and decision-making concerning sustainable development in the study area and beyond.
Abnormal grain growth of 68Cu–16Al–16Zn alloys for elastocaloric cooling via cyclical heat treatments
Authors: Kawarada Yuya , Aimi Akihisa , Santos Abimael , Nakata Gentaro , Takeuchi Ichiro , Fujimoto Kenjiro
Published: March 2023

Cu-based superelastic shape memory alloys are promising for low-stress elastocaloric cooling. We have synthesized bulk alloys of 68Cu–16Al–16Zn under different conditions in order to promote its grain growth and enhance its elastocaloric properties. High-temperature x-ray diffraction of untreated 68Cu–16Al–16Zn alloy showed that the phase boundary between the α + β mixed phases and the high temperature phase (β phase) was between 973 K and 1023 K. Based on this result, the 68Cu–16Al–16Zn alloy was heated and cooled in a furnace repeatedly between 773 K and 1173 K. The maximum grain size after heat treatment of the ingot rolled to 67% reached 11.1 mm. The latent heat of the martensitic transformation after grain growth was 6.3 J g−1, which is higher than the previously reported value for the compound. The stress–strain curve of 68Cu–16Al–16Zn rolled to 67% rolling with cyclical heat treatments showed a maximum stress of 106 MPa at 4.5% strain, with adiabatic temperature change of 5.9 K in heating during stress loading and 5.6 K in cooling in stress removal. Furthermore, no fatigue in the stress–strain behavior was observed up to at least 60 000 mechanical cycles at 2% strain.
Temperature-mediated structural evolution of vapor–phase deposited cyclosiloxane polymer thin films for enhanced mechanical properties and thermal conductivity
Authors: Du Weiwei , Tu Jing , Qiu Mingjun , Zhou Shangyu , Luo Yingwu , Ong Wee-Liat , Zhao Junjie
Published: March 2023

Polymer-derived ceramic (PDC) thin films are promising wear-resistant coatings for protecting metals and carbon–carbon composites from corrosion and oxidation. However, the high pyrolysis temperature hinders the applications on substrate materials with low melting points. We report a new synthesis route for PDC coatings using initiated chemical vapor deposited poly(1,3,5-trivinyl-1,3,5-trimethylcyclotrisiloxane) (pV3D3) as the precursor. We investigated the changes in siloxane moieties and the network topology, and proposed a three-stage mechanism for the thermal annealing process. The rise of the connectivity number for the structures obtained at increased annealing temperatures was found with strong correlation to the enhanced mechanical properties and thermal conductivity. Our PDC films obtained via annealing at 850 °C exhibit at least 14.6% higher hardness than prior reports for PDCs synthesized below 1100 °C. Furthermore, thermal conductivity up to 1.02 W (mK)−1 was achieved at the annealing temperature as low as 700 °C, which is on the same order of magnitude as PDCs obtained above 1100 °C. Using minimum thermal conductivity models, we found that the thermal transport is dominated by diffusons in the films below the percolation of rigidity, while ultra-short mean-free path phonons contribute to the thermal conductivity of the films above the percolation threshold. The findings of this work provide new insights for the development of wear-resistant and thermally conductive PDC thin films for durable protection coatings.
Relational Turbulence Theory
Authors: Theiss Jennifer A.
Published: March 2023

Transitions are pivotal junctures in close relationships that have the potential to transform relational roles and disrupt interpersonal routines in ways that contribute to upheaval and turmoil for relationship partners. Relational turbulence theory identifies the mechanisms and processes that account for challenging relational circumstances emerging during relationship transitions. This framework was initially articulated as a model that was applied to relationships at moderate levels of intimacy when couples transition from casual to serious involvement. The model asserted that relational uncertainty and interference from partners are heightened during this transition and intensify emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactivity to relationship events, creating a climate of turbulence in the relationship. As research on the relational turbulence model continued to evolve, scholars moved beyond transitions to intimacy within dating relationships and began to apply the model’s logic to a wide range of transitions across various types of relationships.

The theorists sought to clarify and refine the theoretical mechanisms underlying the associations that had been documented in empirical tests of the model and advanced relational turbulence theory. The theory advances axioms around five core processes that occur in relationships during transitions. First, the theory proposes that relational uncertainty corresponds with biased cognitive appraisals due to its deleterious effects on message processing, and that interference and facilitation from partners are associated with emotional reactivity due to the arousal that is generated by interrupted routines. Second, the theory articulates the processes underlying associations between emotions, cognitions, and the engagement and valence of communication behavior during interpersonal episodes. Third, the theory explains how repeated interpersonal episodes marked by polarized emotions, cognitions, and communication accumulate over time and coalesce into a global sense of the relationship as turbulent. Fourth, the theory illuminates how relational turbulence affects various personal, relational, and social processes due to restricted relational construal levels and disrupted dyadic synchrony under these relationship conditions. Finally, the theory highlights the potential for reciprocal effects between features of communication episodes and the relationship mechanisms that create conditions for turbulence. The theory continues to evolve and be thoroughly tested through a variety of methods and measures.
Health Problems in the European Alps Under Climate Change
Authors: Weitensfelder Lisbeth , Hutter Hans-Peter , Lemmerer Kathrin , Poteser Michael , Wallner Peter , Moshammer Hanns
Published: March 2023

The Alpine region in Central Europe and its populations in principle face the same types of threats to their health due to climate change as those in other parts of the world. But special geographical and climatic aspects of that region warrant closer and special examination of the connections between health and climate change in the Alps. These include small-scale variation, in some instances steep mountain slopes, and, above all, a larger-than-average increase in near-surface temperatures.

To that end, there are main pathways between climate change and health: “Direct effects” describe rather short-term health effects of extreme weather events. Such events have occurred in the past, and therefore ample epidemiological evidence is available for the assessment of their impact. With climate change, such extreme events are predicted to change in frequency and intensity. “Indirect effects” refer to a more complex pathway where long-term changes of various natural and anthropogenic systems in reaction or adaptation to climate change exert adverse or sometimes also beneficial impacts on health. Such systems include ecosystems in which, for example, the prevalence of disease vectors or the allergenicity of pollen will change. But agriculture and forestry or the built environment are also affected by climate change and in turn affect the health of people. “Distant effects” are also rather indirect in nature. But in this pathway, changes due to climate change in other parts of the world affect the health in the Alpine region. Increasing migration into the Alpine region and changing migration patterns are important examples of this pathway.

In some instances, most importantly regarding mental health, there is still a need for more studies focusing on the Alpine environments. But apart from these especially understudied topics, as the climate crisis evolves, there is generally a need for continuous research on the health effects of climate change and the potential of health promotion to create co-benefits.
Virtual Teams and Digital Collaboration
Authors: Antoni Conny H.
Published: March 2023

Collaborating in teams by using various digital information and communication technologies (ICTs) to perform interdependent tasks and achieve common goals relevant for one’s organization is increasingly the new normal. Such more or less virtual teams—which can be all human or human-agent teams (HATs) (i.e., including autonomous software agents with artificial intelligence)—are complex dynamic open socio-digital systems embedded in an organizational, economical, and societal context. How and to what degree team members use ICTs to perform their tasks and to manage situational demands influence team processes and emergent states, such as transactive memory systems and team mental models, and thus team effectiveness. Research on input-mediator-output-input models of teamwork has shown that these processes are reciprocal, influencing team development over time. Research on virtual team effectiveness shows negative effects of virtual teams on team functioning and effectiveness primarily when short-term laboratory teams are studied, whereas no or lower effects were found for long-term organizational teams. These results have practical and theoretical implications, such as to support the launch of virtual teams by team-building interventions and trainings and to prefer longitudinal and field studies to examine processes and outcomes of virtual human teams as well as HATs.
Pain and Its Modulation
Authors: Keller Asaf
Published: March 2023

Sensory perceptions are inherently subjective, being influenced by factors such as expectation, attention, affect, and past experiences. Nowhere is this more commonly experienced than with the perception of pain, whose perceived intensity and emotional impact can fluctuate rapidly. The perception of pain in response to the same nociceptive signal can also vary substantially between individuals. Pain is not only a sensory experience. It also involves profound affective and cognitive dimensions, reflecting the activation of and interactions among multiple brain regions. The modulation of pain perception by such interactions has been most extensively characterized in the context of the “descending pain modulatory system.” This system includes a variety of pathways that directly or indirectly modulate the activity of neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, the second-order neurons that receive inputs directly from nociceptors. Less understood are the interactions among brain regions that modulate the affective and cognitive aspects of pain perception. Emerging data suggest that certain pain conditions result from dysfunction in pain modulation, suggesting that targeting these dysfunctions might have therapeutic value. Some therapies that are thought to target pain modulation pathways—such as cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and placebo analgesia—are safer and less expensive than pharmacologic or surgical approaches, further emphasizing the importance of understanding these modulatory mechanisms. Understanding the mechanisms through which pain modulation functions may also illuminate fundamental mechanisms of perception and consciousness.
Critical Policy Analysis in Education
Authors: O'Connor Kate , Rudolph Sophie
Published: March 2023

Critical policy analysis has emerged as a prominent tradition of research in the field of education. Beginning in the 1980s in response to the failings of more traditional forms of policy analysis, this work typically examines the kinds of discourses and power relations that may be at play through the construction and function of policy. It is critical in orientation and interested in the social, cultural, and political context of policy as well as how analyzing policy may reveal opportunities for social change and reform. In contrast to traditional approaches which take policy problems as given, research in this tradition interrogates how discourse, language, and text set the context for how policy problems and solutions are conceptualized and how and why particular issues come to be framed as objects of concern. Critical policy analysis encompasses a range of different methodological approaches rather than a single method, with the approach taken dependent on the nature of the policy under analysis, the site of its production, the purpose of the research, and the positionality of the researcher. Four particularly prominent and generative approaches to critical policy analysis in educational research include (a) analysis of how policy is formed and operates across local and global contexts; (b) the What’s the Problem Represented to Be? approach; (c) research on networks and mobilities; and (d) research drawing on Indigenous Critical Discourse Analysis. Each of these approaches offers insights for understanding problems of inequality and power in education and their origins and reproduction within and in relation to policy.
International Insertion: A Non-Western Contribution to International Relations
Authors: Chagas-Bastos Fabrício
Published: March 2023

International insertion is a concept that comes from non-Western intellectual origins and can help individuals understand how peripheral and semi-peripheral countries behave in world politics, and their interests, core values, and strategies. International insertion also expands the knowledge to characterize how agency spaces are created by peripheral countries. Insertion is a necessary step to those countries attempting to transition from the condition of one who seeks to be recognized as part of, to one who is admitted as possessing and capable of seeking status and acting within political, economic, and military global hierarchies. In a nutshell, insertion means being recognized by the small group of gatekeeping states as a relevant part of the specific social networks that constitute the global hierarchy. The conceptualization of international insertion allows a robust middle-range explanation that considers multiple dimensions (political, economic, and military) of the national and international structural and contextual aspects these actors must translate to navigate world politics.
Resilience and Early States in Southern Africa
Authors: Manyanga Munyaradzi
Published: March 2023

Several states developed in southern Africa between the 9th and the 18th century ce. Some of these states include Mapela, Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe, Toutswe, and Khami. The foundation of these states was agriculture and other local branches of the economy, like mining, local and regional trade, hunting, and crafts production. Because of the agricultural foundation of these states, environmental and climatic variables are always considered important in their development and collapse. Despite repeated episodes of climate change and variability, environmental deterioration, and even political upheaval, these early states of southern Africa demonstrate longevity and spatial growth through time in various regions. The oversimplistic correlation of favorable climatic and environmental conditions with growth of states and adverse climatic conditions and environmental deterioration with their demise has been questioned. Rather, it has been suggested that precolonial sociopolitical systems adapted to environmental and climatic changes. This process created new forms that archaeologists often interpret as denoting collapse. Changes in material culture, new spatial configurations, expansion into new territories, changing livelihood strategies, and new innovations in food production, processing, and storage, among other things, all point to the adaptive strategies that mitigated against adverse conditions. The resilience of the socioecological system allowed societies to absorb changes, adapt, and reorganize. Thus, what has been perceived as collapse is rather a transition to a different way of life.
Central African Copper
Authors: Nikis Nicolas
Published: March 2023

Copper, considered a “red gold,” had a major place in the political economy of Central Africa over the past two millennia. Copper was a rare resource. Its ore was only accessible in a few scattered locations in Central Africa, especially the Copperbelt in southeast Central Africa and the Niari basin in the south of Republic of Congo. Until the massive imports of European alloys beginning in the 16th century, only unalloyed and leaded copper objects were produced and used in Central Africa. The first instance of copper smelting in the region is dated around the 5th century ad, much later than for iron, and it has been mainly used over time as a means of exchange, for jewelry, and as material for artworks and decoration of objects. Different techniques have been used over time and space to produce the metal and manufacture the objects, some of them closely related to iron metallurgy. Smelting took place close to the deposits, and diverse processes relating to sociohistorical factors have been identified. Ingots, produced on the smelting sites, were one of the preferred forms for exchange, acquiring in some cases symbolic and/or monetary value. Manufacturing objects could take place far from the smelting place. Because copper and brass can easily be recycled, metal regularly changed shape to fit local needs and tastes.

From the late 1st millennium ad, copper has been exchanged over increasingly long distances in regional networks and, eventually, traded to the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coasts. Rising polities, such as the Kongo Kingdom in the 15th century, would have benefited from access to this resource. More broadly, copper was regularly associated with the expression of power and wealth but was also accessible to a large number of people. In addition to the economic value of copper, metalworking and the figure of the smith were closely associated with power. Copper’s physical properties such as color and brightness were also important in its choice as a material for artworks as a way to support and enhance the role of the object.
Sheng Yen
Authors: Yu Jimmy
Published: March 2023

Narratives about important religious figures exist in a context, which often determines the portrayal of life events and activities in indirect and sometimes complex ways. These forms of persuasion come to us already theorized and theologized. It is important to read them carefully, contextualizing when they were written, paying particular attention to the purpose of how events and activities are presented with what primary sources and secondary studies. In describing the life and thought of the late Buddhist cleric Venerable Sheng Yen (1931–2009), arguably one of the most respected Chinese Buddhist masters of the 20th century, I use two autobiographies and a selection of secondary scholarship on modern Chinese history to counter his autobiographical narratives, highlighting the actual historical contingencies that might have shaped him and his vision for creating a modern form of Chan Buddhism. These contingencies include the trauma of natural disasters that displaced his family when he was born; the political instability of a war-torn China that shaped his boyhood; the tribulations of Japanese colonization that he witnessed; the volatile sociopolitical realities of the Communist takeover of China from which he was forced to escape; the industrial boom that impacted Taiwanese society and the mushrooming of local popular cultic traditions to which he responded with his creation of an orthodox Han Chinese Buddhism; and the socioreligious trajectories of different expressions of Buddhism that Sheng Yen was experiencing in China, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. These events created in Sheng Yen a perpetual sense of crisis mentality; they also inspired his doctrinal and practice innovations and the establishment of a new lineage of Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
The Life and Works of Longchenpa
Authors: Butters Albion M.
Published: March 2023

Longchen Rabjam (Klong chen rab ’byams pa, 1308–1363/1364) is regarded as one of the most important figures in the Nyingma (Rnying ma) school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is especially renowned for his writings on Dzogchen (Rdzogs chen), or the Great Perfection, and his revelations and codification of the various Nyingtik (Snying thig) or Seminal Essence cycles, penned in a clear, direct, and often poetic style. Longchenpa also wrote in depth on Buddhist philosophy, in particular exploring the nature of the two truths through a Madhyamaka lens, and the soteriological significance of the respective paths in the Buddhist tradition, from Sūtrayāna to Mantrayāna. His overall oeuvre, from which hundreds of texts survive, evidences a practical effort to provide students and readers with a wide range of entry points to awakening, depending on their respective inclination and ability. Longchenpa has historically been respected as both a scholar and a yogi, accorded by tradition with the rare title of Omniscient One (Kun mkhyen). He began his studies at an early age, studied with the great masters of his time at Samye (Bsam yas) and Sangpu Neutok (Gsang phu ne’u thog), and received ascetic tutelage from his guru Kumārādza (1266–1343). Through focus on the Vima Nyingtik (Bi ma snying thig) and Khandro Nyingtik (Mkha’ ’gro snying thig) cycles, receiving visions and discovering treasure texts (gter ma), his connection to his previous reincarnation as Pema Ledrel Tsal (Padma las ’brel rtsal, 1291–1315) was revealed. Even though the political tumult of 14th-century Tibet forced Longchenpa to leave for Bhutan, he was able to continue to write and build monasteries. Longchenpa returned home for the final years of his life, which were alternately spent in retreat or giving teachings to large audiences seeking wisdom from the famous master. Over the centuries, the majority of his literary corpus was preserved, and due to the attention of later Nyingma lamas such as Jigme Lingpa (’Jigs med gling pa, 1730–1798) and Mipam (Mi pham, 1846–1912), his legacy was ensured. The timeless writings of Longchenpa comprise a rich treasure for Tibetan scholars and Buddhist practitioners alike.
Islamic Bioethics: Institutionalization of Bioethical Deliberations
Authors: Sing Manfred
Published: March 2023

The continuous institutionalization of Islamic bioethics is visible in both a growing amount of literature and an increasing number of experts and committees that deal with ethical and social questions in medicine and the life sciences. Muslim and non-Muslim practitioners in the field like to claim that the growing attention for these issues has already turned Islamic bioethics into a separate discipline. Islamic bioethical deliberations obviously form a conglomeration of different methodological and theoretical approaches, it seems also justified to see Islamic bioethics as a multidimensional inquiry cutting across different disciplines. From this viewpoint, the establishment of Islamic bioethics as an institutionalized field of practice, research, reflection, and teaching remains a continuing challenge.
Yiddish
Authors: Schäfer Lea
Published: March 2023

The Yiddish language is directly linked to the culture and destiny of the Jewish population of Central and Eastern Europe. It originated as the everyday language of the Jewish population in the German-speaking lands around the Middle Ages and underwent a series of developments until the Shoah, which took a particularly large toll on the Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jewish population. Today, Yiddish is spoken as a mother tongue almost exclusively in ultra-Orthodox communities, where it is now exposed to entirely new influences and is, thus, far from being a dead language.

After an introductory sketch, information on the geographical distribution and number of speakers as well as key historical developments are briefly summarized. Particularly important are the descriptions of the various sociolinguistic situations and the source situation. This is followed by a description of various (failed) attempts at standardization, as well as the geographical distribution and surveys of the dialects. The following section describes the status of Yiddish in the early 21st century, which overlaps with the sociolinguistic situation of Orthodox Yiddish. Finally, the linguistic features of modern Eastern Yiddish (dialects, standard, and Orthodox) are presented. In this context, linguistic levels and structures in which Yiddish differs from other (standard) Germanic languages are also discussed. Since Yiddish, as a language derived from Middle High German, is particularly close to German varieties, the differences and similarities between the two languages are particularly emphasized.
Tense, Aspect, and Mood in Germanic
Authors: Weber Thilo
Published: March 2023

Tense, aspect, and mood are grammatical categories concerned with different notional facets of the event or situation conveyed by a given clause. They are prototypically expressed by the verbal system. Tense can be defined as a category that relates points or intervals in time to one another; in a most basic model, those include the time of the event or situation referred to and the speech time. The former may precede the latter (“past”), follow it (“future”), or be simultaneous with it (or at least overlap with it; “present”). Aspect is concerned with the internal temporal constituency of the event or situation, which may be viewed as a single whole (“perfective”) or with particular reference to its internal structure (“imperfective”), including its being ongoing at a certain point in time (“progressive”). Mood, in a narrow, morphological sense, refers to the inflectional realization of modality, with modality encompassing a large and varying set of sub-concepts such as possibility, necessity, probability, obligation, permission, ability, and volition. In the domain of tense, all Germanic languages make a distinction between non-past and past. In most languages, the opposition can be expressed inflectionally, namely, by the present and preterite (indicative). All modern languages also have a periphrastic perfect as well as periphrastic forms that can be used to refer to future events. Aspect is characteristically absent as a morphological category across the entire family, but most, if not all, modern languages have periphrastic forms for the expression of aspectual categories such as progressiveness. Regarding mood, Germanic languages are commonly described as distinguishing up to three such form paradigms, namely, indicative, imperative, and a third one referred to here as subjunctive. Morphologically distinct subjunctive forms are, however, more typical of earlier stages of Germanic than they are of most present-day languages.
Working Toward a Gold Standard: The Severity of Ethanol Withdrawal Scale (SEWS) Versus the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Scale (CIWA-Ar)
Authors: Beresford Thomas P , Ronan Patrick J , Taub Julie , Learned Brenda , Mi Zhibao , Anderson Mel
Published: March 2023

Aim

Proving the Severity of Ethanol Withdrawal Scale (SEWS) significantly reduces Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome (AWS) treatment Time on Medication Protocol (TOMP).

Method

Head-to-head Quality Assurance outcome compared separate cohorts of SEWS or Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar) data using Student’s t and Wilcoxon tests.

Results

SEWS-driven treatment (n = 244) reduced TOMP to 2.2 days versus 3.4 days for CIWA-Ar (n = 137); P < 0.0001.

Conclusion

The SEWS is the superior measure of AWS symptoms.
Spontaneous variations in arousal modulate subsequent visual processing and local field potential dynamics in the ferret during quiet wakefulness
Authors: Klaver Lianne M F , Brinkhof Lotte P , Sikkens Tom , Casado-Román Lorena , Williams Alex G , van Mourik-Donga Laura , Mejías Jorge F , Pennartz Cyriel M A , Bosman Conrado A
Published: March 2023

Behavioral states affect neuronal responses throughout the cortex and influence visual processing. Quiet wakefulness (QW) is a behavioral state during which subjects are quiescent but awake and connected to the environment. Here, we examined the effects of pre-stimulus arousal variability on post-stimulus neural activity in the primary visual cortex and posterior parietal cortex in awake ferrets, using pupil diameter as an indicator of arousal. We observed that the power of stimuli-induced alpha (8–12 Hz) decreases when the arousal level increases. The peak of alpha power shifts depending on arousal. High arousal increases inter- and intra-areal coherence. Using a simplified model of laminar circuits, we show that this connectivity pattern is compatible with feedback signals targeting infragranular layers in area posterior parietal cortex and supragranular layers in V1. During high arousal, neurons in V1 displayed higher firing rates at their preferred orientations. Broad-spiking cells in V1 are entrained to high-frequency oscillations (>80 Hz), whereas narrow-spiking neurons are phase-locked to low- (12–18 Hz) and high-frequency (>80 Hz) rhythms. These results indicate that the variability and sensitivity of post-stimulus cortical responses and coherence depend on the pre-stimulus behavioral state and account for the neuronal response variability observed during repeated stimulation.
A Phase 2b, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-arm, Multicenter Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Tesnatilimab in Patients with Moderately to Severely Active Crohn’s Disease
Authors: Allez Matthieu , Sands Bruce E , Feagan Brian G , D’Haens Geert , De Hertogh Gert , Randall Charles W , Zou Bin , Johanns Jewel , O’Brien Christopher , Curran Mark , Rebuck Rory , Wang Mei-Lun , Sabins Nina , Baker Thomas , Kobayashi Taku
Published: March 2023

Background and Aims

Tesnatilimab, a monoclonal antibody targeting NKG2D, was evaluated in Crohn’s disease [CD] patients who had failed or were intolerant to biologic or conventional therapy.

Methods

TRIDENT was a phase 2b, two-part, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm, multicenter study. In Part 1 [proof of concept], 145 patients who were biologic intolerant or refractory [Bio-IR] or had not failed biologic therapy [Bio-NF] were randomised in a 1:1 ratio to placebo subcutaneously [SC] or tesnatilimab 400 mg SC. In Part 2 [dose ranging], 243 Bio-IR and Bio-NF patients were randomised in a 1:1:1:1:1 ratio to placebo, tesnatilimab [50 mg, 150 mg, 400 mg], or intravenous infusion of ustekinumab ~6 mg/kg at Week 0 and 90 mg SC at Weeks 8 and 16. The primary endpoint was mean change from baseline in Crohn’s Disease Activity Index [CDAI] at Week 8 [Part 1] and Week 12 [Part 2]. Clinical and endoscopic remission/response were evaluated. Efficacy analyses were also assessed by NKG2D and MICB single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] status [SNP-positive means positive in at least one of two SNPs]. Safety events were summarised.

Results

In Part 1, mean change from baseline in CDAI score was significantly greater with tesnatilimab vs placebo at Week 8 [-103.6 vs -60.0; p < 0.01]. In Part 2, no dose-response signal was detected. Mean changes from baseline in CDAI at Week 12 were -93.2, -72.2, and -84.3 for low, middle, and high doses of tesnatilimab, respectively, vs -59.2 for placebo and -148.8 for ustekinumab. Similar reductions from baseline in CDAI score were observed in patients receiving tesnatilimab, regardless of SNP status. Clinical remission rates were greater with tesnatilimab than placebo in Parts 1 and 2, whereas endoscopic response rates were greater with tesnatilimab only in Part 1. No unexpected safety events occurred.

Conclusions

Tesnatilimab was well tolerated. The efficacy of tesnatilimab in patients with CD was significant for the primary endpoint in Part 1; however, no dose-response signal was detected for the primary endpoint in Part 2. Based on these inconsistent findings, tesnatilimab was not considered an effective treatment for patients with CD and no further development is planned.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier

NCT02877134