bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-performance IN738 superalloy derived from turbine blade waste for efficient ethanol, ethylene glycol, and urea electrooxidation
Authors: Hefnawy Mahmoud A. , Medany Shymaa S. , El-Sherif Rabab M. , El-Bagoury Nader , Fadlallah Sahar A.
Published: March 2023

In this work, IN738 superalloy used previously in gas turbines was recycled and used as a working electrode for the electrooxidation of different fuels, namely ethylene glycol, ethanol, and urea. The electrocatalytic efficiency of the electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance. Several kinetics parameters like diffusion coefficient, Tafel slope, rate constant, and activation energy were calculated. The modified electrode was characterized as received using XRD, SEM, and EDAX to elucidate the crystal structure and surface morphology before and after electrochemical oxidation. The anodic current densities of electrochemical oxidation of ethanol, ethylene glycol, and urea were 29, 17, and 12 mA.cm−2, respectively, in an alkaline solution at a potential of 0.6 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The kinetic parameters like diffusion coefficients for ethanol, ethylene glycol, and urea were found to be 1.5 $$\times$$
×
10–6, 1.038 $$\times$$
×
10–6, and 0.64 $$\times$$
×
10–6 cm2 s−1, respectively. The charge transfer resistances were estimated for electrooxidation of different fuels by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Graphical Abstract
“Gamma Irradiation Synthesis of Carboxymethyl Chitosan-Nanoclay Hydrogel for the Removal of Cr(VI) and Pb(II) from Aqueous Media”
Authors: El-Sayed Abdel-Raouf Manar , Kamal Rasha S. , Hegazy Dalia E. , Sayed Asmaa
Published: March 2023

Hydrogel composites comprised of N,O carboxymethyl chitosan crosslinked with different weight ratios of acrylic acid and fabricated with nanoclay particle were prepared via gamma irradiation at 25 kGy irradiation dose. The prepared composites were coded as CsAA1Cl, CsAA2Cl and CsAA3Cl based on the weight ratio of acrylic acid to the chitosan derivative. The claimed hydrogels were characterized by FTIR, TGA and XRD. The TGA data implied that the incorporation of clay nanoparticles enhanced the thermal stability of the composites; the decomposition temperature increased up to 500 °C for CsAA3Cl. Three AFM outcomes were used to compare the surface features of the samples; topography, height and surface roughness. The topography data reveals that the nanoclay particles incorporated in CsAA3Cl are intercalated and exfoliated. Then, the optimized sorbent (CsAA3Cl) was investigated as green sorbents for chromium (VI) and lead (II). The data revealed that CsAA3Cl displayed maximum removal performance towards both lead and chromium with removal efficiencies 125 mg/g and 205 mg/g respectively at the optimum application conditions within 90 min only. Also, it was found that the optimum pH value was 9 for chromium and 8 for lead. The data proved that the adsorption of both cations followed pseudo-first order kinetic model. The prepared composites showed acceptable metal uptake capacity at three successive cycles.

Graphical Abstract
Mini-αA-Crystallin Stifled Melittin-Induced Haemolysis and Lymphocyte Lysis
Authors: Tender Tenzin , Rahangdale Rakesh Ravishankar , Shaik Mohammad Fayaz , Nampoothiri Madhavan , Sharma Krishna , Hariharapura Raghu Chandrashekar
Published: March 2023

Melittin, the most potent pharmacological ingredient of honey bee venom, induces haemolysis, lymphocyte lysis, long-term pain, localised inflammation, and hyperalgesia. In this study, efforts were made to subdue the melittin’s ill effects using a chaperone peptide called ‘mini-αA-crystallin’ (MAC) derived from eye lens αA-crystallin. Haemolytic test on human red blood cells, percentage viability, and DNA diffusion assay on Human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBLs) were performed with melittin in the presence or absence of MAC. Propidium iodide and Annexin V-FITC dual staining were performed to analyse quantitative levels of necrotic and apoptotic induction by melittin in the presence or absence of MAC on HPBLs using a flow cytometer. A computational study to find out the interactions between MAC and melittin was undertaken by modelling the structure of MAC using a PEP-FOLD server. The result showed that MAC inhibited melittin-induced lysis in nucleated (lymphocytes) and enucleated (RBC) cells. Flow cytometric analysis revealed a substantial increase in the necrotic and late apoptotic cells after treating HPBLs with melittin (4 µg/ml) for 24 h. Treatment with MAC at a 2:1 molar ratio prevented HPBLs from developing melittin-induced necrosis and late apoptosis. In the docking study, hydrogen, van der Waals, π-π stacking, and salt bridges were observed between the MAC and melittin complex, confirming a strong interaction between them. The MAC-melittin complex was stable during molecular dynamics simulation. These findings may be beneficial in developing a medication for treating severe cases of honeybee stings.
Paternalistic persuasion: are doctors paternalistic when persuading patients, and how does persuasion differ from convincing and recommending?
Authors: Fleisje Anniken
Published: March 2023

In contemporary paternalism literature, persuasion is commonly not considered paternalistic. Moreover, paternalism is typically understood to be problematic either because it is seen as coercive, or because of the insult of the paternalist considering herself superior. In this paper, I argue that doctors who persuade patients act paternalistically. Specifically, I argue that trying to persuade a patient (here understood as aiming for the patient to consent to a certain treatment, although he prefers not to) should be differentiated from trying to convince him (here understood as aiming for the patient to want the treatment) and recommending (the doctor merely providing her professional opinion). These three forms of influence are illustrated by summaries of video-recorded hospital encounters. While convincing and recommending are generally not paternalistic, I argue that persuasion is what I call communicative paternalism and that it is problematic for two reasons. First, the patient’s preferences are dismissed as unimportant. Second, the patient might wind up undergoing treatment against his preferences. This does not mean that persuasion always should be avoided, but it should not be undertaken lightly, and doctors should be aware of the fine line between non-paternalism and paternalism. The fact that my analysis of paternalism differs from traditional accounts does not imply that I deem these to be wrong, but rather that paternalism should be considered as a more multi-faceted concept than previous accounts allow for.
Investigation of morphological, structural and electronic transformation of PVDF and ZnO/rGO/PVDF hybrid membranes
Authors: Omar Amina , Gomaa Islam , Mohamed Omar A. , Magdy Hager , Kalloub Hassan Saeed , Hamza Mohamed H. , Mohamed Tarek M. , Rabee Maisara M. , Tareq Nada , Hesham Haity , Abdallah Tamer , Elhaes Hanan , Ibrahim Medhat A.
Published: March 2023

Synergistic doping of 2-D Material ZnO nanosheets and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), PVDF/ZnO, and PVDF/ZnO/rGO Hybrid membranes simply by solution casting technique for raising electronically favored β-phase ratio. Rietveld refinement X-ray diffraction technique, FTIR, Microscopic investigation, SEM, and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to unravel the atomistic origin of negative piezoelectricity, and increasing reasons for total dipole moment, electrostatic potential and bandgap energy of PVDF hybrid membranes, which arises from the sizeable displacive instability of two-dimensional material coupled with its reduced lattice dimensionality.
Female urethroplasty with dorsal onlay buccal mucosal graft: a single institution experience
Authors: Higgins Margaret M. , Wengryn Derek , Koslov David , Oliver Janine , Flynn Brian J.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Female urethral stricture disease is frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed, with controversy in the literature regarding the definition of strictures and approach to management. The purpose of this study is to report our institutional experience with female urethroplasty and add our experience to the growing body of research.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of patients undergoing female urethroplasty with dorsal onlay BMG at the University of Colorado between March 2015 and December 2021 performed by two surgeons (BF and JO). The primary outcome measure was surgical success, defined as no stricture recurrence. The secondary outcome measure was the incidence of de novo urinary incontinence.

Results

23 patients were included in our data analysis. The median duration of lower urinary tract symptoms prior to urethroplasty was 16 years. 87% had undergone previous dilations. At a median follow-up of 12.2 months (range 1–81 months), four patients required a secondary procedure for obstruction with an overall success rate of 83%. One patient developed de novo stress urinary incontinence and one patient developed urge urinary incontinence. Subgroup analysis was performed comparing the patients that developed stricture recurrence (N = 4) to those that did not (N = 19). Those with stricture recurrence had a longer duration of symptoms and more dilations prior to urethroplasty.

Conclusion

Female urethroplasty with BMG is effective at treating female urethral stricture disease, with excellent outcomes at over a year of follow-up and minimal risk of stress incontinence postoperatively.
Determination of the Modulus of Elasticity by Bending Tests of Specimens with Nonuniform Cross Section
Authors: Gebhardt M. , Steinke H. , Slowik V.
Published: March 2023

Background

Bending tests offer technical advantages when material testing is performed to determine the modulus of elasticity. In biomechanical studies, beam-like cortical bone specimens subjected to flexural loading are usually characterized by nonuniform cross-sectional properties along the beam axis and a comparatively large spatial variation of the local material properties.

Objective

A suitable evaluation method for determining the average modulus of elasticity within the volume of beam-like specimens with nonuniform cross section was to be identified.

Methods

A total of 138 samples of human pelvic cortical bone were extracted and tested under flexural loading. Different methods, all based on the linear-elastic flexural theory of beams, were applied to determine the average modulus of elasticity on the basis of measured deformations, and the results were compared. Some of these methods utilized the measured midspan deflection, and others used the elastic curve obtained by digital image correlation.

Results

The results showed that it was not appropriate to determine the average modulus of elasticity from only the measured midspan deflection. The consideration of deflections at multiple points along the beam axis is recommended.

Conclusions

An evaluation method based on the fitting of the analytically determined elastic curve of the beam with its nonuniform cross-sectional properties to the measured deflections is considered the most appropriate method for determining the average modulus of elasticity of the specimen.
Deliberating a Sustainable Welfare–Work Nexus
Authors: Lee Jayeon , Koch Max , Alkan-Olsson Johanna
Published: March 2023

Very few countries have managed to decouple economic growth from resource use and greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms and at rates to meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement. To achieve this, technological solutions would need to be combined with sufficiency-oriented policies in a postgrowth context. This paper develops policy ideas for a sustainable welfare–work nexus via citizen engagement and examines the level of democratic support for such ideas. Theoretically, it employs “sustainable welfare” to understand welfare and wellbeing within planetary and social limits. The paper first sketches the welfare–work nexus as developed in the postwar circumstances in Western Europe, highlighting that this model was at no point in time ecologically generalizable to the rest of the world, and then briefly reviews the existing debate on sustainable welfare. The empirical analyses start with qualitative data from 11 deliberative forums on sustainable needs satisfaction, with emphasis on policies targeted at respecting the upper and lower boundaries of a “safe and just operating space” for economic and social development. The qualitative data are then triangulated with quantitative data from a representative survey, which was constructed based on the policy suggestions from the forums, hence allowing for an exploration of their popularity in the Swedish population as a whole. We find a considerable gap between the far-reaching policy measures that forum participants consider necessary and the measures that the general public in Sweden are prepared to support, especially when it comes to policies targeting maximum levels of needs satisfaction.
Electron Beam Based Additive Manufacturing of Alloy 247 for Turbine Engine Application: From Research towards Industrialization
Authors: Ramsperger Markus , Eichler Simon
Published: March 2023

In this contribution it will be shown how the metal powder bed fusion technology electron beam melting (EBM) enables a successful crack- and defect-free processing of the non-weldable Ni-based superalloy Alloy 247. Besides a defect-free processing, EBM process capabilities offer unique opportunities to tailor the microstructure according to material requirements for high-temperature applications. It could be demonstrated that EBM material properties are comparable or even better than traditionally casted Alloy 247 material. Tailored polycrystalline and columnar microstructures were achieved by process parameter adoption for solidification control. The EBM as-built microstructure was characterized by conventional metallography techniques and the results were used to define an adopted HIP + heat-treatment cycle which was applied prior to mechanical testing. Thus, corresponding mechanical and microstructural properties in different conditions will be presented and discussed to show EBM material capabilities. As a result, directionally solidified (DS) EBM material can achieve similar creep performance as DS cast material, despite an observed fine-grained “micro-DS” structure in EBM.

Graphical Abstract
Automated design of multi-stage forging sequences for die forging
Authors: Hedicke-Claus Yorck , Kriwall Mareile , Stonis Malte , Behrens Bernd-Arno
Published: March 2023

Forgings are produced in several process steps, the so-called forging sequence. The design of efficient forging sequences is a very complex and iterative development process. In order to automate this process and to reduce the development time, a method is presented here, which automatically generates multi-stage forging sequences for different forging geometries on the basis of the component geometry (STL file). The method was developed for closed die forging. The individual modules of this forging sequence design method (FSD method) as well as the functioning of the algorithm for the generation of the intermediate forms are presented. The method is applied to different forgings with different geometrical characteristics. The generated forging sequences are checked with FE simulations for the quality criteria form filling and freedom from folds. The simulation results show that the developed FSD method provides good approximate solutions for an initial design of forging sequences for closed die forging in a short time.
The origin of human pathogenicity and biological interactions in Chaetothyriales
Authors: Quan Yu , Deng Shuwen , Prenafeta-Boldủ Francesc X. , Mayer Veronika E. , Muggia Lucia , Cometto Agnese , Vicente Vania A. , da Silva Nickolas Menezes , Grisolia Maria Eduarda , Song Yinggai , Ahmed Sarah A. , Niu Xueke , de Souza Lima Bruna Jacomel Favoreto , Feng Peiying , Vitale Roxana G. , Teixeira Marcus , Sudhadham Montarop , de Azevedo Conceicao Pedrozo e Silva , Bocca Anamelia , Haase Gerhard , Selbmann Laura , Shi Dongmei , Kang Yingqian , de Hoog Sybren
Published: March 2023

Fungi in the order Chaetothyriales are renowned for their ability to cause human infections. Nevertheless, they are not regarded as primary pathogens, but rather as opportunists with a natural habitat in the environment. Extremotolerance is a major trend in the order, but quite different from black yeasts in Capnodiales which focus on endurance, an important additional parameter is advancing toxin management. In the ancestral ecology of rock colonization, the association with metabolite-producing lichens is significant. Ant-association, dealing with pheromones and repellents, is another mainstay in the order. The phylogenetically derived family, Herpotrichiellaceae, shows dual ecology in monoaromatic hydrocarbon assimilation and the ability to cause disease in humans and cold-blooded vertebrates. In this study, data on ecology, phylogeny, and genomics were collected and analyzed in order to support this hypothesis on the evolutionary route of the species of Chaetothyriales. Comparing the ribosomal tree with that of enzymes involved in toluene degradation, a significant expansion of cytochromes is observed and the toluene catabolism is found to be complete in some of the Herpotrichiellaceae. This might enhance human systemic infection. However, since most species have to be traumatically inoculated in order to cause disease, their invasive potential is categorized as opportunism. Only in chromoblastomycosis, true pathogenicity might be surmised. The criterion would be the possible escape of agents of vertebrate disease from the host, enabling dispersal of adapted genotypes to subsequent generations.
Inhibition of Phytophthora cinnamomi mycelial growth with stabilised hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Mannion Laura , Thomas Paul , Walsh Kerry , Balsys Ron , Makiela Sandrine , Bhattarai Surya
Published: March 2023

The efficacy of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was evaluated for the inhibition of mycelial growth of Phytophthora cinnamomi in vitro. Phytophthora cinnamomi infects many crops globally causing root, collar and crown rot, resulting in significant economic losses for producers. Two 30% (w/v) H2O2 products, each stabilised with a different concentration of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) (3% versus 0.003% w/v) were compared to determine the most efficacious H2O2 concentration as well as potential interactive effects of the stabilising compound. Inhibition of P. cinnamomi growth was evaluated by amending potato dextrose agar media (PDA) with a range of concentrations of the test solutions. The biocidal activity of H2O2 was enhanced by a higher concentration of HEDP. Concentrations from 6.25 mL/L of the H2O2 product with 3% HEDP provided 100% inhibition of mycelial growth in vitro. Neither the product with 0.003% HEDP, nor HEDP stabiliser without H2O2, achieved comparable inhibition. Our results highlight an opportunity to expand the use of stabilised H2O2 products developed for cleaning of drip irrigation emitters to include the control of Phytophthora spp. and potentially other waterborne plant pathogens.
Reading Mahler
Authors: Niekerk Carl
Published: March 2023

Examines literary, philosophical, and cultural influences on Mahler's thought and work from the standpoint of the composer's position in German-Jewish culture.
A Polite Exchange of Bullets
Authors: Banks Stephen
Published: March 2023

Explores why minor slights to certain kinds of gentlemen led to duels in order for honour to be satisfied, and how such ideas about honour changed over time.
Understanding risk factors and microbial trends implicated in the development of Whipple-related surgical-site infections
Authors: Feng Wendy , Irfan Ahmer , Fleece Molly , Dudeja Vikas , Reddy Sushanth , Hashmi Salila , Rose J. Bart , Lee Rachael A.
Published: March 2023

Objective:

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of risk factors and postoperative complications seen in patients undergoing Whipple procedures in the development of surgical site infections. Our secondary goal was to evaluate whether microbial patterns differed between preoperative antibiotic classes, offering insight into the effectiveness of current practices while promoting antibiotic stewardship.

Design:

We performed a retrospective cohort study comparing patients with and without SSIs.

Setting:

This study was conducted at a tertiary-care center in the southeastern United States.

Participants:

Patients who underwent a Whipple procedure between 2012 and 2021 were acquired from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database.

Results:

Patients with a bleeding disorder reported higher SSI rates (P = .04), whereas patients with a biliary stent reported lower surgical site infection (SSI) rates (P = .02) Those with postoperative complications had higher SSI rates, including delayed gastric emptying (P < .001) and pancreatic fistula (P < .001). Patients with longer operative times were 1.002 times more likely to develop SSIs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.002; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001–1.004; P = .006) whereas surgical indications for malignancy correlated with decreased SSIs risk (aOR, 0.578; 95% CI, 0.386–866) when adjusting for body mass index, surgical indication, and duration of surgical procedure.

Conclusions:

Optimizing preoperative management of modifiable risk factors for patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomies and decreasing operative times may reduce SSI rates and patient and hospital burden. Further research is needed to understand whether stent placement reduces SSI risk in pancreatoduodenectomy.
Droplet evaporation in inert gases
Authors: Zhao Huayong , Nadal François
Published: March 2023

A general mixed kinetic-diffusion boundary condition is formulated to account for the out-of-equilibrium kinetics in the Knudsen layer. The mixed boundary condition is used to investigate the problem of quasi-steady evaporation of a droplet in an infinite domain containing inert gases. The widely adopted local thermodynamic equilibrium assumption is found to be the limiting case of infinitely large kinetic Péclet number

${{Pe}_k}$

, and it introduces significant error for

${{Pe}_k} \leqslant O(10)$

, which corresponds to a typical droplet radius

$a$

of a few micrometres or smaller. When compared with experimental data, solutions based on the mixed boundary condition, which take into account the temperature jump across the Knudsen layer, better predict the time evolution of

$a$

than the classical

$D^2$

-law (i.e.

$a^2 \propto t$

, where

$t$

denotes time). In the slow evaporation limit, an analytical solution is obtained by linearising the full formulation about the equilibrium condition, which shows that the

$D^2$

-law can be recovered only in the large

${{Pe}_k}$

limit. For small

${{Pe}_k}$

, where the process is dominated by kinetics, a linear relation, i.e.

$a \propto t$

, emerges. When the gas phase density approaches the liquid density (e.g. at high-pressure or low-temperature conditions), the increase in the chemical potential of the liquid phase due to the presence of inert gases needs to be accounted for when formulating the mixed boundary condition, an effect largely ignored in the literature so far.
The nonlinear Benjamin–Feir instability – Hamiltonian dynamics, discrete breathers and steady solutions
Authors: Andrade David , Stuhlmeier Raphael
Published: March 2023

We develop a general framework to describe the cubically nonlinear interaction of a degenerate quartet of deep-water gravity waves in one or two spatial dimensions. Starting from the discretised Zakharov equation, and thus without restriction on spectral bandwidth, we derive a planar Hamiltonian system in terms of the dynamic phase and a modal amplitude. This is characterised by two free parameters: the wave action and the mode separation between the carrier and the sidebands. For unidirectional waves, the mode separation serves as a bifurcation parameter, which allows us to fully classify the dynamics. Centres of our system correspond to non-trivial, steady-state nearly resonant degenerate quartets. The existence of saddle-points is connected to the instability of uniform and bichromatic wave trains, generalising the classical picture of the Benjamin–Feir instability. Moreover, heteroclinic orbits are found to correspond to discrete, three-mode breather solutions, including an analogue of the famed Akhmediev breather solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.
School connectedness: Comparison between adolescent students with emotional and behavioural disorders and general education students
Authors: Marsh Robbie J.
Published: March 2023

Adolescents with emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) continue to struggle in the school environment. They may have difficulty connecting to their school environment as their engagement in challenging behaviour may have led to frequent school removal and high rates of school dropout, resulting in a breakdown of their school connectedness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate levels of school connectedness for adolescents with EBD attending self-contained classrooms and compare them to adolescents in general education. The School Connectedness Questionnaire (SCQ), measuring school bonding, school attachment, school engagement, and school climate, was administered to 50 students with EBD and to 50 general education students ( n = 100). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted. The results indicated that of the four domains of school connectedness, students with EBD reported significantly higher levels of school climate. These youth also reported significant differences on four specific items representing three of the four construct domains. The results indicate that adolescents with EBD may experience school differently. Researchers should continue to examine specially designed programs for students with EBD that emphasise explicit behavioural and academic expectations and social and emotional skill development and its impact on school connectedness for adolescents with EBD.
The wellbeing neuro course: a randomised controlled trial of an internet-delivered transdiagnostic psychological intervention for adults with neurological disorders
Authors: Gandy Milena , Heriseanu Andreea I. , Balakumar Tanya , Karin Eyal , Walker Jennie , Hathway Taylor , Bisby Madelyne A. , Scott Amelia J. , Dudeney Joanne , Fisher Alana , Titov Nickolai , Dear Blake F.
Published: March 2023

Background

Mental health and functional difficulties are highly comorbid across neurological disorders, but supportive care options are limited. This randomised controlled trial assessed the efficacy of a novel transdiagnostic internet-delivered psychological intervention for adults with neurological disorders.

Methods

221 participants with a confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, or an acquired brain injury were allocated to either an immediate treatment group (n = 115) or treatment-as-usual waitlist control (n = 106). The intervention, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, was delivered online via the eCentreClinic website. The Course includes six lessons, based on cognitive behavioural therapy, delivered over 10 weeks with support from a psychologist via email and telephone. Primary outcomes were symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and disability (WHODAS 2.0).

Results

215 participants commenced the trial (treatment n = 111; control n = 104) and were included in intention-to-treat analysis. At post-treatment, we observed significant between-group differences in depression (PHQ-9; difference = 3.07 [95% CI 2.04–4.11], g = 0.62), anxiety (GAD-7; difference = 1.87 [0.92–2.81], g = 0.41) and disability (WHODAS 2.0 difference = 3.08 [1.09–5.06], g = 0.31), that favoured treatment (all ps < 0.001). Treatment-related effects were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Findings were achieved with minimal clinician time (average of 95.7 min [s.d. = 59.3] per participant), highlighting the public health potential of this approach to care. No adverse treatment events were reported.

Conclusions

Internet-delivered psychological interventions could be a suitable model of accessible supportive care for patients with neurological disorders.
Natural area visitors’ potential role in preventing pathogen threats to amphibian biodiversity
Authors: Cavasos Kevin , Adhikari Ram K , Poudyal Neelam C , Warwick Alexa R , Gray Matthew J
Published: March 2023

The anthropogenic spread of disease from captive to wild amphibian populations (referred to as spillover) is linked to global amphibian declines. Disinfecting procedures and protocols exist to mitigate pathogen transmission to and within natural areas, but understanding of visitor attitudes and behaviour regarding their adoption is limited. We surveyed visitors in two natural areas in a global amphibian biodiversity hotspot to assess their attitudes regarding pathogen spread in such areas and analysed the factors influencing their behavioural intentions to take specific actions to prevent pathogen spillover. Visitors’ willingness to take action was influenced by their attitudes, behavioural control and trust in wildlife/land managers, whereas socio-demographic characteristics were less influential. These findings help us to understand visitor behaviour with respect to amphibian biosecurity in natural areas and inform enhanced biosecurity measures and strategic messaging to reduce pathogen spillover.
A True Copy? Documents and the Production of Legality in the Bombay Inam Commission
Authors: Vendell Dominic
Published: March 2023

This essay examines the role of Indian-language documentation in the production of legality in colonial western India, focusing on the workings of the Bombay Inam Commission (1852-1863). It situates legal validation of claims to tax-free land revenue within the broader process of securing, organizing, classifying, and registering Marathi- and Persian-language documents. Combating the effects of rain, dirt, and pests on old state records often sold as “waste paper,” the Inam Commission deployed material interventions to secure a legal archive for verifying individual claims to property. While such evidence weighed heavily in the evaluation of the testimony and corroborating documents of an individual claimant’s case-file, questions of writing also shaped the legal reasoning of the Commission. Inquiries about any given document’s conformity to or deviation from conventional style figured prominently in judgments about its authenticity. The scribe Sayyid Usman’s investigation in 1856 of a date in a Persian document attributed to the Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan struggled to establish the parameters of conventional style against the plurality of entangled regimes of property. I argue that a material approach to writing allows us to better understand the imperfect and dispersed production of legal truth in imperial settings.
Habitat severity characteristics structure soil communities at regional and local spatial scales along the Antarctica Peninsula
Authors: Ball Becky A. , Convey Peter , Feeser Kelli L. , Nielsen Uffe N. , Van Horn David
Published: March 2023

Antarctic soils provide an excellent setting to test biogeographical patterns across spatial and environmental scales given their relatively simple communities and the dominance of physical factors that create strong environmental gradients. Additional urgency is given by the fact that their unique terrestrial communities are the subject of conservation efforts in a rapidly changing environment. We investigated relationships of soil community assembly and alpha and beta diversity with climatic and environmental parameters across regional and local scales in Maritime Antarctica. We sampled from a regional gradient of sites that differ in habitat severity, ranging from relatively favourable to harsher physicochemical conditions. At the regional scale, bacterial community characteristics and microarthropod abundance varied along this severity gradient, but most measures of fungal communities did not. Microarthropod and microbial communities differed in which soil and climate parameters were most influential, and the specific parameters that influenced each taxon differed across broad and fine spatial scales. This suggests that conservation efforts will need to focus on a large variety of habitat characteristics to successfully encompass diversity across taxa. Because beta diversity was the result of species turnover, conservation efforts also cannot focus on only the most biodiverse sites to effectively preserve all aspects of biodiversity.
Examining the psychobiological response to acute social stress across clinical stages and symptom trajectories in the early psychosis continuum
Authors: Shah Jai L. , Paquin Vincent , McIlwaine Sarah V. , Malla Ashok K. , Joober Ridha , Pruessner Marita
Published: March 2023

The stress-vulnerability model has been repeatedly highlighted in relation to the risk, onset and course of psychosis, and has been independently studied in clinical high-risk (CHR) and first-episode psychosis (FEP) populations. Notable in this literature, however, is that there are few studies directly comparing markers of stress response across progressive stages of illness. Here we examined the psychobiological response to the Trier Social Stress Test in 28 CHR (mean age 19.1) and 61 FEP (age 23.0) patients, in order to understand the stage(s) or trajectories in which differences in subjective stress or physiological response occur. The overall clinical sample had greater perceived stress and blunted cortisol (FEP + CHR, n = 89, age 21.7) compared with healthy controls (n = 45, age 22.9). Additional analyses demonstrated elevated heart rate and systolic blood pressure in FEP compared with CHR, but there were no further differences in physiological parameters (cortisol, heart rate, or blood pressure) between stage- or trajectory-based groups. Together, this suggests that individual stress response markers may differentially emerge at particular stages en route to psychosis – and demonstrates how stage-based analyses can shed light on the emergence and evolution of neurobiological changes in mental illness.
The meditating role of sleep in the longitudinal associations between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms: A cross-lagged panel analysis
Authors: Bartlett Gillian R. , Magson Natasha M. , Richardson Cele E. , Rapee Ronald M. , Fardouly Jasmine , Oar Ella L.
Published: March 2023

Adolescence is a time of heightened vulnerability for both peer victimization (PV) and internalizing symptoms. While the positive association between them is well established, there is little understanding of the mechanisms underpinning this relationship. To address this gap, the current study aimed to investigate sleep hygiene and school night sleep duration as individual and sequential mediators of the relationship between PV and both depressive and social anxiety symptoms during pre- to mid-adolescence. The study drew upon a community sample of 528 Australian youth aged 10–12 years at baseline (Mage = 11.19, SD = .55; 51.1% boys) and data were collected over five annual measurement occasions. Direct and indirect longitudinal and bidirectional associations were examined using cross-lagged panel analysis. There was no evidence of sequential mediation through both sleep hygiene and sleep duration to depression and social anxiety. Instead, the findings show that sleep hygiene mediated the prospective association between PV and both depressive and social anxiety symptoms, and between PV and sleep duration. Overall, sleep hygiene represents a modifiable transdiagnostic factor that can be targeted to break the cycle of PV, inadequate sleep, and internalizing symptoms.
Building an Empire and Bringing About a Famine: The Allied Economic Blockade of Spain during the Second World War (1939–1945)
Authors: del Arco Blanco Miguel Ángel
Published: March 2023

This article focuses on the Francoist ‘New State's’ foreign policy as a means of explaining the failure in food supplies which led to ‘Franco's famine’ in the early 1940s. It contends that eschewing strict neutrality in favour of pro-Axis policies after the outbreak of the Second World War contributed to creating the famine. Faced with Spain's Germanophile stance, first Britain, and later the United States, took a series of measures aimed at preventing any form of Spanish participation in the war. Most significant among these was the strictly managed economic blockade of Spain, which exacerbated problems of basic supply that had already been created by the dictatorship's policy of autarky. The result was the aggravation of famine conditions. The article will further demonstrate that the dictatorship was perfectly aware of the blockade's effect on the population and the suffering it caused.
SMITH AT 300: A VIOLENT FIT OF LAZINESS
Authors: Skwire Sarah
Published: March 2023

The works of Adam Smith are filled with quotable moments. The pin factory. The poor man’s son. The invisible hand. The butcher, the brewer, and the baker. The dog and the philosopher. The impartial spectator. The man of system and his chessboard. And our propensity to truck, barter, and exchange. All of these are so well known and so often quoted that I’ve had editors ask me just to refer to them in passing rather than quoting them in full.
The Construction of Coffee Qualities: Geo-economics Crossroads between China and Vietnam
Authors: Fortunel Frédéric , Hu Ying , Le Duc Niêm
Published: March 2023

This paper undertakes a comparative study of two rural mountainous areas participating in global agricultural markets while using, as an interpretative grid, the development of the quality of the products and spaces. We draw on contemporary analysis at the interface of food and agriculture systems through the example of coffee cultivation and consumption in two neighbouring countries: China and Vietnam. The purpose is to understand why these two provinces with similar historical dynamics have two radically different productions of coffee. While China produces Arabica coffee in limited volumes, Vietnam has over the past few decades become the world's second largest producer of Robusta coffee in response to the growing appetite for coffee in Asia. This paper adopts a multidimensional analysis of the quality of coffee based on the cultivation of the plant, the collective construction of quality, and the consumption of the beverage.
The Study on the Global Evolution of Energetic Electron Precipitation During Geomagnetic Storm Based on Deep Learning Algorithm
Authors: Chen Zhou , Tian Hang , Li Haimeng , Tang Rongxin , Ouyang Zhihai , Deng Xiaohua
Published: March 2023

The energetic electron precipitation (EEP) plays important role in the magnetosphere‐ionosphere‐thermosphere system. It can lead to the decrease of ring current energy densities, the enhancement of electron density in the lower ionosphere, and the destruction of the ozone layer. In the study, using the Energetic Electron Precipitation flux Deep Neural Networks (EPFN) model, the global dynamic evolution of EEP is reconstructed. It suggests that the model can better capture the variation of global EEP during geomagnetic activity. With that, the morphological evolution of EEP and associated potential mechanisms during different phases of geomagnetic storm are analyzed based on the EPFN model. The model provides a good way to understand the loss processes of ring current electrons during geomagnetic storm.
Complex 3‐D Surface Deformation in the 1971 San Fernando, California Earthquake Reveals Static and Dynamic Controls on Off‐Fault Deformation
Authors: Gaudreau É. , Hollingsworth J. , Nissen E. , Funning G. J.
Published: March 2023

The shallow 1971 MW6.6 San Fernando, California earthquake involved a complex rupture process on an immature thrust fault with a non‐planar geometry, and is notable for having a higher component of left‐lateral surface slip than expected from seismic source models. We extract its 3‐D coseismic surface displacement field from aerial stereo photographs and document the amount and width of the vertical and fault trace‐parallel components of distributed deformation along strike. The results confirm the significant left‐lateral surface offsets, suggesting a slip vector rotation at shallow depths. Comparing our offsets against field measurements of fault slip, we observe that most of the offset was accommodated in the damage zone, with off‐fault deformation averaging 69% in both the fault trace‐parallel and vertical components. However, the magnitude and width of off‐fault deformation behave differently between the vertical and fault trace‐parallel components, which, along with the rotation in rake near the surface, can be explained by dynamic rupture effects.
Uppermost Mantle Seismic Pn‐Velocity in Continental China and Its Tectonic Implications
Authors: Ma Jiayu , Sun Li , Wang Weilai , Wu Jianping , Wang Xiaoxin , Wen Lianxing
Published: March 2023

We construct a high‐resolution Pn‐velocity model in continental China through a new tomographic scheme simultaneously inverting event epicenter location and Pn‐velocity and accurately accounting for the Pn propagation effects of irregular crustal thickness variation. The inversion integrates a combined data set of 32,427 absolute Pn travel times and 62,431 interstation Pn differential travel times manually picked from the recordings of 2,989 stations in and around continental China, yielding a model of spatial resolutions ranging from 0.75° × 0.75°–3° × 3°. Major Pn‐velocity features revealed by the model and the tectonic processes we attribute to include: (a) high Pn‐velocities beneath major cratonic blocks and the southern Tibetan Plateau attributed to low temperatures of cratons, (b) low Pn‐velocities beneath the eastern North China craton around the Tan‐Lu fault and the central South China block attributed to high temperatures and low‐Mg# () peridotites in response to the Mesozoic‐Cenozoic subduction of the Pacific plate, and beneath the Trans‐North China orogen, most regions of the Tibetan blocks and the central Tianshan orogen attributed to high temperatures after multiple tectono‐thermal events in response to the Mesozoic‐Cenozoic subduction of the Pacific plate, the Triassic convergence of the North China, Yangtze, and northern Tibetan blocks and the Cenozoic India‐Eurasia collision, and (c) intermediate Pn‐velocities beneath the marginal regions of the Ordos block and Micang‐Daba region attributed to possible extrusion of hot asthenospheric flow from the Tibetan Plateau in response to far‐field effects of the India‐Eurasia collision.
Kilometer‐Scale Simulations of Trade‐Wind Cumulus Capture Processes of Mesoscale Organization
Authors: Saffin Leo , Lock Adrian , Tomassini Lorenzo , Blyth Alan , Böing Steven , Denby Leif , Marsham John
Published: March 2023

The EUREC4A (Elucidating the role of clouds–circulation coupling in climate) and ATOMIC (Atlantic Tradewind Ocean‐Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign) joint field campaign gathered observations to better understand the links between trade‐wind cumulus clouds, their organization, and larger scales, a large source of uncertainty in climate projections. A recent large‐eddy simulation study showed a cloud transition that occurred during this field campaign, where small shallow clouds developed into larger clouds with detrainment layers, was caused by an increase in mesoscale organization generated by a dynamical feedback in mesoscale vertical velocities. We show that kilometer‐scale simulations with the Met Office's Unified Model reproduce this increase in mesoscale organization and the process generating it, despite being much lower resolution. The timing of development is associated with large‐scale convergence. Sensitivity tests with a shorter spin‐up time, to reduce initial organization, still have the same timing of development and sensitivity tests with cold pools suppressed show only a small effect on mesoscale organization. Mesoscale organization and clouds are sensitive to resolution, with higher resolution simulations producing weaker organization and less cloud, which affects changes in net radiation. The clouds also have substantial differences to observations. Therefore, while kilometer‐scale simulations can be useful for understanding processes of mesoscale organization and links with large scales, including responses to climate change, simulations will still suffer from significant errors and uncertainties in radiative budgets.
3D Evolution of Detachment Fault Systems in Necking Domains: Insights From the Klakk Fault Complex and the Frøya High, Mid‐Norwegian Rifted Margin
Authors: Gresseth J. L. S. , Osmundsen P. T. , Péron‐Pinvidic G.
Published: March 2023

Detachment fault systems typically record displacements in the order of 10s of kilometers. The principles that control the growth of smaller magnitude normal faults are not fully applicable to the evolution of detachment fault systems. We use interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic reflection data from the mid‐Norwegian rifted margin to investigate how the structural evolution of a detachment fault interacted with the effects of isostatic footwall rollback to produce complex 3D geometries and control the configuration of associated supradetachment basins. We further investigate the effects of lateral interaction and linkage of extensional detachment faults on the necking domain configuration. In our study area, the domain‐bounding Klakk Fault Complex demonstrates how successive incision may induce a complex structural relief in response to faulting and fault plane folding. We interpret the previously proposed metamorphic core complex within its footwall as an extension‐parallel turtleback‐structure. The now eroded turtleback is flanked by a major supradetachment basin, connecting two main basin segments. We attribute footwall‐ and turtleback exhumation to Middle Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous rifting. The study area further demonstrates how detachment fault geometries can change during rifting and lead to the formation of younger, successively incising fault splays. Lateral linkage between the original detachment fault plane and these fault splays enables displacement along a detachment fault system consisting of fault segments generated at different stages in time. Implicitly, detachment faults are complex 3D systems that change configuration during their evolution, perpetually controlling associated basin formation, footwall configuration, subsidence and uplift patterns.
Complex Organic Ices Discovered in a Star-Forming Cloud
Authors: Cartier Kimberly
Published: March 2023

The presence of complex organic molecules such as methanol, ethanol, and acetaldehyde in a molecular cloud suggests that these and simpler ices might be available to planetary systems right from the start.
Decoding the Secrets of Shifting Sediments
Authors: Wright Clarissa
Published: March 2023

In the small-scale details of grain shape, researchers have found a new way to understand how sediment flows in a river, a process shaping Earth’s landscapes.
The Bering Land Bridge Formed Much Later Than Previously Thought
Authors: Chaisson Clara
Published: March 2023

New research reconstructs the Bering Strait’s flooding history, raising surprising questions about human migration and how ice sheets form.
Mercury Isn’t Alone in Orbit, and Scientists Don’t Know Why
Authors: Japelj Jure
Published: March 2023

A cloud of dust traces the innermost planet’s orbital path. By all accounts, it shouldn’t be there.