bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Beginning?
Authors: Pryce Huw
Published: April 2022

This final chapter outlines the main changes in the nature and scope of Welsh history writing since the 1960s and assesses the impact of those changes on broader understandings of the history of Wales. In important respects the unprecedented quantity and diversity of the historical writing produced in these decades marked a new beginning that sought to recover large swathes of Welsh history excluded or marginalized in previous accounts. Distant origins lost their final vestiges of explanatory power, while the modern period attracted unprecedented attention. Rather than adapting frameworks inherited from medieval and early modern historiography, scholarly writing on Welsh history has been increasingly situated in an international world of professionalized history and sought to address issues of concern to other fields of historical scholarship: women and gender, ethnic minorities, and transnational approaches to Wales’s history are important cases in point. There have also been numerous efforts to cater for public interest in the Welsh past. However, the writing of this period has not marked a complete break with earlier assumptions. New approaches have been used to address old questions, not least the perennial theme of what made the Welsh who they were and are.
War in Europe
Authors: Heuser Beatrice
Published: April 2022

This chapter surveys enduring and recurrent patterns in planned (premeditated) and organized collective violence. These include: raids and massacres; siege warfare; battles; and conducting business or ‘epicheirein’ (the day-to-day activities of armies). Wars have been categorized in a binary way such as major wars versus small wars. The activities in a small war shade into irregular war, criminal activities, and ‘hybrid’ warfare. Some major changes in warfare are identified; concerning the use of cavalry, asymmetric wars, the contribution of gunpowder, the myth of ‘limited’ cabinet wars. Non-technology-driven revolution is illustrated by the French Wars, 1792–1815, and then total war, genocide, and democide are discussed. There is a short examination of the prehistory of genocide, Social Darwinism’s role, and the part played by technology. The nuclear revolution has brought considerations of what constitutes total war and what conventional war, an increasingly ambiguous term as military technology evolves. The chapter ends by looking at change and continuity: ‘new’ wars and recurrent patterns.
Ethical, Political, and Legal Concepts of War
Authors: Heuser Beatrice
Published: April 2022

Apart from military-technical categorizations of war, there are three other main approaches to their categorizations: ethical, political, and legal conceptualizations. Ethical conceptualization of war includes war as evil or war as condonable as a lesser evil. But they include also the idea that war can be good, especially if commanded by God taking the form of jihad or crusade. Or it has been described as a tonic beneficial to society against decadence and as promoter of progress. Political conceptualizations of war begin from Plato’s division between polemos and stasis—public versus private or civil war. Greeks and Romans proscribed civil war, but private war was ubiquitous in later centuries. In the modern period: sub-State-level wars were criminalized, while in cases of extremely poor government, in case a State abuses and persecutes its own subjects, justifications have been articulated for tyrannicide insurgency and civil war. Philosophers and theologians have differentiated between wars of necessity and wars of choice. Legal conceptualizations of ‘war’ have involved to include also (intra-State, or asymmetric) ‘armed conflict’ including one or more non-State actors. Jurists have defined war as a legal condition or a state that would be triggered with a declaration of war. In the absence of an independent tribunal that could judge the quarrel between sovereign parties, war was seen as an ordeal to settle the quarrel. But with the introduction of such international courts of justice in the twentieth century, the recourse to war as an instrument of State policy has been outlawed.
Professed Reasons for Going to War and War Aims
Authors: Heuser Beatrice
Published: April 2022

Reasons for going to war and war aims hang together but they are not always identical: the reasons for going to war might have directly related aims – the restitution of stolen goods or territory – but other war aims might emerge, especially if a war drags on. Where should we look for professed reasons? These are listed in war manifestos and other professions of war aims; significantly, multiple grievances were always evoked, challenging any assumption (often found in theories of international relations) that wars can be treated as monocausal. While just war criteria were invoked ubiquitously, we find others creeping in which are less universally recognised as just, for example, the defence of honour, or the accusation against princes that they were aiming to establish a universal monarchy, and the defence of one’s own liberty or sovereignty. Wars were fought to redress an imbalance of power or to extend a State to its ‘natural frontiers’. Even contemporaries thought that some reasons for going to war were merely ‘colourful pretexts’.
Who is the Enemy?
Authors: Heuser Beatrice
Published: April 2022

This chapter looks at whom one considers to be the enemy, and whom one could kill. First is the case of the enemy defined by religion/nation/race. The division of humanity into ‘us’ and ‘them’, the civilised and barbarians, goes back to antiquity and would resonate in international law until the twentieth century, overlapping with ethnic, nationalist and later pseudo-biological ‘racist’ discrimination. Then there were religious divides, with both Christians and Muslims treating those of another religion worse than co-religionists. But worse still was the treatment in store for heretics and apostates seen not merely as misguided but diabolical. Yet the idea that all humans deserve some respect and protection as members of a universal humanity also goes back to antiquity. Secondly the chapter examines the legal status of the enemy. Are civilians enemies? They were initially not spared but enslaved and ruthlessly exploited unless they were useful. Only in early modern times did the custom of sparing enemy civilians become a legal postulate, only to be ignored in the world wars. But how innocent are civilians? What if they support the enemy government actively? Can technology be used sufficiently discriminately to spare civilians?
The Rules and Practice of Warfare
Authors: Heuser Beatrice
Published: April 2022

Attempts to tame Bellona had little impact on the practice of warfare for most of the two or three millennia considered here. Very gradually, from the late Middle Ages or early modern times, ‘regular’ combatants could hope to be kept alive if they were captured by armies of their own faith, but in inter-faith wars prisoners of war were enslaved even into the nineteenth century, as were civilians. Hostages were killed in reprisals. The protection of civilians only gradually became the norm, and even then, there was a strong counter-trend in religious wars and with the growth of nationalism. Heretics, rebels, and insurgents have always been treated particularly brutally. Nationalism has manifested itself in genocide, democide. Population transfers, enslavement, scorched earth tactics and blockades had horrendous effects on civilians, as did mass rape which has been standard practice throughout history and has only recently been recognized as a war crime. The killing of civilians has been excused as collateral damage by military necessity. International law assumes that occupation of territory by a victorious form will be accompanied by good governance, but there is no guarantee of this.
Past and Future
Authors: Heuser Beatrice
Published: April 2022

This chapter reviews the findings of the book and asks how social, economic, technological, and cultural changes globally may affect the future of the West and the future of warfare. It highlights likely continuities but also changes, some of them fundamental, such as the introduction of inanimate but reactive machines in the battle space. It raises again the question of civilian innocence, and other ways in which the classical distinctions in war that we have become used to must be questioned: those between State and non-State actors, legitimate and illegitimate combatants, indeed the line between war and peaceful competition, or the distinction between war and large-scale operations by international criminal organisations. The chapter warns against an excessively binary conceptualization of war which is classically a heritage of Western thought.
All Gone? Change and Persistence in the Impact of Social Cleavages on Voting Behavior in Germany since 1949
Authors: Elff Martin , Roßteutscher Sigrid
Published: April 2022

From the perspective of traditional cleavage voting, the chapter explores the long-term changes in voting behavior that have culminated in the electoral turmoil of the last elections. Looking at the trajectories of the two major parties, Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD), it explores how traditional cleavage voting and the parties’ outreach to new groups of voters explain both the rise and the fall of these parties’ electoral support since 1949. Both parties were at first highly successful in mobilizing their core voter segments, i.e., unionized workers and churchgoing Catholics but also in attracting voters from new social groups. However, this initial success in combing the “old” with the “new” did not persist. A counterfactual simulation shows that it is not the shrinking of core voter groups that brought about the two parties’ electoral decline but their inability to retain these groups’ support.
Do Televised Debates Affect Voting Behavior?
Authors: Maier Jürgen , Maier Michaela , Faas Thorsten
Published: April 2022

Although televised debates between party leaders nowadays are a staple of German electoral campaigns, their behavioral effects are still unclear. Based on quasi-experimental data for the 2009, 2013, and 2017 German federal elections, the chapter demonstrates that debates had significant direct (i.e., through personal exposure) and indirect effects (i.e., through exposure to follow-up communication). Direct effects were most likely for politically low involved voters and predisposed voters who perceived that “their” candidate had lost the debate. Indirect effects affected politically unsophisticated voters and voters who were influenced by personal debate exposure. Debates and post-debate communication were particularly helpful for undecided voters whose shares dropped substantially. Debate exposure benefited the parties participating in a debate, whereas follow-up communication helped parties that were excluded from them.
Constitutional Ratification without Reason
Authors: Lenowitz Jeffrey A.
Published: April 2022

This book focuses on constitutional ratification, the procedure in which a draft constitution is submitted by its creators to the people or their representatives in an up or down vote determining implementation. Ratification is increasingly common and routinely recommended by experts. Nonetheless, it is neither neutral nor inevitable. Constitutions can be made without it and when it is used it has significant effects. This raises the central question of the book: should ratification be recommended? Put another way: is there a reason for treating the procedure as a default for the constitution-making process? Surprisingly, these questions are rarely asked. The procedure’s worth is assumed, not demonstrated, while ratification is generally overlooked in the literature. In fact, this is the first sustained study of ratification. To address these oversights, this book defines ratification and its types, explains the procedure’s effects, conceptual origins, and history, and then concentrates on finding reasons for its use. Specifically, it builds up and analyzes the three most likely normative justifications. These urge the implementation of ratification because the procedure: enables the constituent power to make its constitution; fosters representation during constitution-making; or helps create a legitimate constitution. Ultimately, these justifications are found wanting, leading to the conclusion that ratification lacks a convincing, context-independent justification. Thus, experts should not recommend ratification as a matter of course, practitioners should not reach for it uncritically, and—more generally—one should avoid the blanket application of concepts from democratic theory to extraordinary contexts such as constitution-making.
Ratification beyond (and before) Constitutions
Authors: Lenowitz Jeffrey A.
Published: April 2022

This chapter explores ratification outside of constitution-making, specifically in agency law, international law, and labor law. In each, ratification or its cognates is used to describe a procedure of a similar form. This is no coincidence, the chapter reveals, for all types of ratification descend from a common procedure in the private law of Ancient Rome. The procedure entered early modern agency law, then treaty-making, then written constitution-making, and finally into collective bargaining practices. This chapter describes the history and use of ratification in each of the non-constitutional areas and explains the procedure’s evolving functions. In agency law, ratification serves the purpose of fixing a broken (illegitimate) decision-making process by transforming false agents into real ones. In early treaty law, ratification served as a means of pronouncing judgment on the behavior and credentials of ambassador agents. In current treaty law, ratification serves as the site or a site of sovereign decision-making. And, in collective bargaining settings, ratification is thought both to add to the legitimacy of a contract and give the union a strategic advantage in negotiations. In later chapters, these functions help generate potential justifications for constitutional ratification.
Ignorance and the Constituent Power
Authors: Lenowitz Jeffrey A.
Published: April 2022

This chapter finds that the Berkshire Constitutionalists’ unique site justification is unpersuasive because of voter ignorance. According to this justification, a ratification referendum should be implemented because it serves as the sole site of constituent power, meaning that it uniquely enables the people to create a constitution and make it their own. However, a ratification referendum can only play such a role if individual voters are able to make a meaningful choice on the constitution, i.e., a choice based on a basic understanding of the document, its implications, and available alternatives. Unfortunately, one should expect the average voter, for no fault of their own, to be too uninformed to make such a choice, and therefore the unique site justification fails. This chapter backs up this claim by appealing to the voter ignorance literature and extrapolating its implications for constitution-making. The remainder of the chapter clarifies this finding by considering and rebutting three objections: that the standard of meaningful choice is too high even for framers; that citizen ratifiers can overcome ignorance by relying on information shortcuts and other voting heuristics; and that targeted education campaigns can sufficiently inform voters. The chapter concludes by arguing that constituent power cannot be used to justify ratification, and suggesting that the concept more generally is too unspecific to assist in ex ante constitution-making design.
Representation through Accountability
Authors: Lenowitz Jeffrey A.
Published: April 2022

This chapter investigates the representation justification of ratification, the claim that ratification should be implemented because it helps foster desirable representation within the constitution-making process. First, the chapter defines the concept of political representation and explains its purported role in constitution-making. Next, it argues that ratification can only play a role in representation by serving as an accountability mechanism, meaning it would be responsible for giving constituents control over their framers and allowing them to assert their presence in the constitution-making process. However, the chapter goes on to show that ratification cannot provide accountability because of the problem of double duty. This arises whenever there is a divergence between how a ratifier evaluates their representative framer and the draft constitution. The representation justification therefore fails. This chapter ends by addressing several objections to this conclusion and questioning whether the concept of representation is appropriate for the constitution-making process more generally.
Small Populations and Genetic Drift
Authors: Allendorf Fred W. , Funk W. Chris , Aitken Sally N. , Byrne Margaret , Luikart Gordon
Published: April 2022

All populations are finite in size so that genetic drift will occur in all natural and managed populations. Genetic drift causes both changes in allele frequencies and the loss of genetic variation. Loss of heterozygosity and loss of alleles are t^ghe two primary measures of the loss of genetic variation in populations. Matings between related individuals (i.e., inbreeding) is more common in small populations, and this will lead to inbreeding depression in small populations. Understanding the effects of genetic drift is especially important for conservation because loss of genetic variation and inbreeding depression can reduce the probability of population persistence.
Conservation Units
Authors: Allendorf Fred W. , Funk W. Chris , Aitken Sally N. , Byrne Margaret , Luikart Gordon
Published: April 2022

In this chapter, we discuss the importance of and methods for delineating conservation units, including species and intraspecific units (e.g., evolutionarily significant units and management units). It is essential to conserve all levels of biodiversity, including genes, populations, species, and ecosystems, for effective biodiversity conservation. Phylogenies—evolutionary trees that depict the patterns and timing of branching events in the evolutionary history of taxa—are an essential concept and tool for delineating species. Genetic and genomic data also play a key role in defining populations and the relationships among individuals and populations within species. Genetic relationships can be depicted using a variety of population- or individual-based analyses. Phenotypic and environmental data should be integrated with genetic and genomic data for robust inference of conservation units.
What 21st century medicine should be—history, vision, implementation, and opportunities
Authors: Hood Leroy , Price Nathan D. , Evans Simon J.
Published: April 2022

P4 medicine will employ longitudinal, high-dimensional analyses of individuals, integrating molecular, digital, electronic health record, and self-monitoring data. This will classify patients, diseases, and drugs, and continually convert data into knowledge through iterative hypothesis testing to inform systems approaches to both wellness and disease. Two preliminary trials have been carried out to validate this approach, one involving 100 individuals over nine months in 2014 and a second recruiting 5,000 individuals over four years from 2015 until 2019. These trials (i) validated scientific (quantitative) wellness, using personal, high-dimensional data to improve one’s wellness, and (ii) demonstrated the power of longitudinal data clouds to bring fundamental new insights into wellness and disease. These led to a vision of 21st century n = 1 medicine which optimizes the health trajectories of each individual. Each health trajectory has three states: (1) a wellness state that will be extended and optimized through scientific wellness and healthy ageing; (2) a wellness-to-disease transition state where early biomarkers will be identified and used to design therapies employing the identification of the earliest disease-perturbed networks to reverse disease before it manifests as a clinical entity; and (3) a progressive disease state for which physicians and scientists will use data-driven systems approaches to find therapies that ameliorate or reverse disease. This chapter discusses the promotion of a million person genome/phenome project with a major healthcare system to initiate the implementation of 21st century medicine in the US healthcare system. The challenges and opportunities associated with the realization of 21st century medicine are also discussed.
Genomics and precision medicine
Authors: Moazam Farhat
Published: April 2022

Increasing knowledge of the human genome is providing useful insights into genetic contributions to human illnesses and the management of certain diseases. Some within scientific communities suggests the need for radical transformation of the ‘traditional’ understanding of human health and illness into genomics-based systems of precision medicine resting on large genetic banks, ‘big data’ and data clouds, and pharmacogenomics. This will require a radical shift in the focus and trajectory of biomedical research and standards of care in medicine around the world. Those contesting this view note compelling scientific evidence that the health of populations is related to social determinants rather than to genetic make-up of individuals. In these discussions there is a paucity of voices from developing countries, which are home to two-thirds of the world’s inhabitants. This chapter offers perspectives of a physician from the trenches in Pakistan, a low- to middle-income country. It highlights the need for attention to the implications of personalized medicine and genomics-based research and medical practice within global contexts rather than narrow parochial interests. I discuss the ethical challenges faced at professional, national, and global levels related to fairness, equity, justice, and solidarity in healthcare when balancing rights of individuals versus duties and responsibilities to society. In a world with limited resources, increasing inequalities and expanding North–South power differentials, precision medicine raises troubling questions about the ethos of healthcare professions, the trajectory of scientific research, and who will be in the saddle when these decisions are made.
Personalization, individuation, and the ethos of precision medicine
Authors: Barilan Yechiel Michael
Published: April 2022

This chapter explicates key elements in the ethos of personalized medicine by tracing its conceptual and historical background. It distinguishes between individuation, identification, and personalization, and draws on modes of individuation from other contexts, such as identification numbers, screening tests, and ‘scientific management’ in industry. The allure of personalized medicine comes from close metaphorical association with medieval natural law on one hand and pragmatic utilitarianism on the other. This attractive coalition may be misleading because personalized medicine is founded on individuation rather than personalization; it also contains elements that risk undermining the person as an autonomous agent in society. This may happen at several levels. Society might treat persons from the perspectives of a medicalized and risk-oriented method of individuation. Second, the technologies of personalized medicine and its commitment to ‘efficiency’ might influence people’s notions of wellbeing and the good life, rather than merely serve them. Third, the expected long list of preventive and therapeutic personalized interventions might overwhelm the capacity of people to manage their healthcare responsibly.
Gender and personalized medicine
Authors: Legato Marianne J.
Published: April 2022

Almost immediately after the announcement that the human genome had been decoded, those of us working to delineate the impact of biological sex on physiology and the experience of disease were asked repeatedly why the sex of the patient mattered if we were able to characterize an individual’s genome. This was a question based on the traditional and simplistic assumption that gene = function. In fact, as genomic research progressed, it quickly became evident that the phenotype depends not only on the DNA alphabet, but also on how gene activity is regulated by sexually dimorphic epigenetic modifications. Thus, it is clear that personalized medicine does not make biological sex irrelevant, but reflects and reinforces its essential role in shaping individual physiology. In defining the moral and ethical responsibilities of the physician/scientist, this is a crucially important concept. When we identify genomic elements which are demonstrably sex-specific, fashioning gender-specific therapy will inevitably follow. It is equally important for those involved in changing genomic structure/function to be cognizant of the fact that their intervention might have significantly different consequences depending on the sex of the subject. Reports of such interventions rarely if ever comment on this consideration.
Potential challenges to doctor–patient trust posed by personalized medicine
Authors: Cohen Shlomo
Published: April 2022

To maximize the great expected benefits of personalized medicine, we need to be vigilant about its potential drawbacks. One relevant dimension in this respect, which has not received attention in the literature, involves the doctor–patient relationship. Specifically, this chapter examines potential challenges to the relationship of trust between doctor and patient that a thoroughgoing reality of personalized medicine may bring about. Four aspects of clinical trust are examined and analysed: (i) patient trust in the doctor’s wisdom; (ii) trust as a function of a good rapport between doctor and patient; (iii) trust related to confidentiality; and (iv) trust that the patient’s wellbeing is the doctor’s highest priority.
CRISPR—a challenge for national and international regulation
Authors: Nicol Dianne
Published: April 2022

The law and other forms of regulation are important tools in ensuring that the benefits of precision medicines are enjoyed by all society, and that scientific risks and ethical and social concerns associated with these new forms of medicine are appropriately addressed. Though the law appears at times monolithic, it is not permanently set in stone. Nor should it be seen as a single homogeneous mass; rather, there are many diverse components—a ‘regulatory soup’. In the context of innovative health technologies, each new advance is likely to be accompanied by new ethical and social debates, demanding appropriate regulatory responses. This chapter canvasses these issues through the lens of genome editing, which is destined to be the most personalized and precise form of modern medicine. It offers much hope in the treatment of disease, but opens the door to modifications of the human genome that can be passed on to future generations. Currently the law relating to these matters ranges from outright prohibition to less restrictive approaches. There are calls for better and more coordinated regulatory responses, including by leading proponents of the science of genome editing, but finding a global solution is not easy. In the meantime, the regulatory challenges associated with bringing somatic cell genome editing into mainstream clinical practice need more attention. In particular, there needs to be greater focus on the role of law in ensuring distributive justice.
The advent of automated medicine? The values and meanings of precision
Authors: Prainsack Barbara
Published: April 2022

Current visions of precision medicine are contributing to an increasing polarization within healthcare: boutique-style personalized medicine could be available for the select few who can afford to pay for the interpretation of their health data by humans, while the rest of the population will be expected to resort to automated medicine for most of their health concerns. This scenario should be avoided. Expanding the goals of precision medicine to include ‘subjective’ personal outcomes as well as social outcomes that are measured and (also financially) rewarded alongside clinical outcomes would be a step in this process. At the same time, the realization of just access to healthcare, and the improvement of social determinants, is a necessary precondition for precision medicine to benefit societies.
Getting Started on Time-Resolved Molecular Spectroscopy
Authors: Cina Jeffrey A.
Published: April 2022

This textbook details the basic theory of ultrafast molecular spectroscopy starting from time-dependent quantum mechanical perturbation theory in Hilbert space. The emphasis is on the dynamics of nuclear and electronic motion initiated and monitored by femtosecond laser pulses that underlies nonlinear optical signal formation and interpretation. Topics include short-pulse optical absorption, the molecular adiabatic approximation, transient-absorption spectroscopy, vibrational adiabaticity during conformational change, femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy, multi-dimensional electronic spectroscopy and wave-packet interferometry, and two-dimensional wave-packet interferometry of electronic excitation-transfer systems. Numerous exercises embedded in the text explore and expand upon the physical concepts encountered in this important research field.
Generation of Continental Alkalic Mafic Melts by Tholeiitic Melt–Mush Reactions: a New Perspective from Contrasting Mafic Cumulates and Dikes in Central Tibet
Authors: Wang Jun , Wang Qiang , Zeng Ji-Peng , Ou Quan , Dan Wei , Yang Alexandra Yang , Chen Yi-Wei , Wei Gangjian
Published: April 2022

Alkalic basalts from continental regions have been widely used to fingerprint chemically and lithologically distinct components in the mantle. However, superimposed on mantle source effects are the effects of intra-crustal magma differentiation, which may be underestimated when exclusively considering fractional crystallization (FC) in melt-rich magma chambers. Here we present extensive mineralogical and geochemical data for mafic cumulates and dolerite dikes from central Tibet to demonstrate that tholeiitic magma differentiation occurred in crystal-rich mushes and melt-filled fractures. The mafic cumulates provide a snapshot of the percolation of water-poor (<0.9 wt% H2O), oxide-undersaturated, tholeiitic melts through slightly hotter mushes (50–60% crystals) with a framework of primitive olivine ± plagioclase crystals. The highly corroded olivines indicate that thermo-chemical disequilibrium between the later percolating melts and pre-existing crystal framework triggered melt–mush reactions in an open system. High-temperature (>1060°C) reactions were accompanied by a decreasing melt mass, causing the initial tholeiitic melts to evolve into alkalic mafic melts during slow cooling. This process involved the dissolution and reprecipitation of olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene as well as the late crystallization of high-TiO2 (up to 3.4 wt%) clinopyroxene and kaersutite. In contrast, the same tholeiitic magmas (i.e. dolerite dikes) that intruded the cold country rocks along fractures produced silica-rich residual melts saturated in Fe–Ti oxides and sodic plagioclase by FC during rapid cooling. The residual melt was always in equilibrium with the instantaneous crystal during closed-system FC, so there was no reaction between the interstitial melt and adjacent crystal even after a high degree of crystallization. Alkalic mafic melts that can be formed by melt–mush reactions exhibit strong enrichment of incompatible element contents (e.g. Ti and alkali and rare earth elements) and ratios (e.g. Ce/Y), but little Si enrichment and Mg depletion, compared with the parental tholeiitic magma, which cannot be reproduced by simple FC. We argue that tholeiitic melt–mush reactions at mid- to lower-crustal pressures (≥0.5 GPa) are a new mechanism for the generation of interstitial alkalic mafic melts in continental mush reservoirs. Continental alkalic basalts could be produced by this mechanism if such interstitial melts were concentrated into melt lenses by compaction and then transported rapidly upward to the surface by focused flow.
Race, Crime, and the Public’s Sentencing Preferences
Authors: Doherty David , Dowling Conor M , Miller Michael G , Tuma Michelle D
Published: April 2022

We report findings from a conjoint experiment where respondents indicated what they viewed as an appropriate sentence for a series of hypothetical individuals convicted of federal crimes. The experiment signaled the race of the defendant by using distinctively “Black” and “white” names, allowing us to assess whether Americans are more punitive toward purportedly Black defendants. We also consider whether signals of the defendant’s race condition the effects of the crime and various defendant characteristics. Surprisingly, the direct effect of our signal of defendants’ purported race is null. We present evidence that this null finding is a product of offsetting tendencies: respondents who view persistent racial inequalities as the product of both past and ongoing institutional factors prescribed lengthier sentences for white defendants; those who discount these explanations prescribed lengthier sentences for Black defendants.1 We find only scattered evidence that the signal of defendants’ race moderates the effects of other characteristics of the crime and defendant. Our approach and findings not only offer insights into how racial attitudes shape perceptions regarding what constitutes just punishment for crimes in the contemporary United States, but also demonstrate a novel approach to studying this domain and point to an array of promising avenues for future research.
Surface carboxylation of iron oxide nanoparticles brings reduced macrophage inflammatory response through inhibiting macrophage autophagy
Authors: Deng Di , Fu Shengxiang , Cai Zhongyuan , Fu Xiaomin , Jin Rongrong , Ai Hua
Published: April 2022

Macrophage autophagy is a common biological response triggered by nanomaterials, which is closely related to the regulation of inflammation. Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles have been used for study of autophagy response due to their broad biomedical applications. However, few reports have focused on how to regulate the macrophage autophagy response induced by SPIO nanoparticles. In this study, SPIO nanoparticles grafted with carboxyl groups were synthesized and for the comparison of macrophage autophagy with unmodified nanoparticles. The study on the correlation between autophagy and inflammation induced by the two kinds of SPIO nanoparticles was also included, and the one that grafted with carboxyl groups shows a reduction of autophagy and thereby caused a milder inflammatory response. We proposed that the increased amount of albumin adsorption on the surface of carboxylated SPIO nanoparticles, a protein previously proven to attenuate autophagy, can be considered an important reason for reducing autophagy and inflammation. In general, the carboxyl modification of SPIO nanoparticles has been demonstrated to reduce inflammation by inhibiting macrophage autophagy, which may provide some insights for the design of nanomaterials in the future.
Constructing a highly bioactive tendon-regenerative scaffold by surface modification of tissue-specific stem cell-derived extracellular matrix
Authors: Ning Liang-Ju , Cui Jing , He Shu-Kun , Hu Ruo-Nan , Yao Xuan , Zhang Yi , Ding Wei , Zhang Yan-Jing , Luo Jing-Cong , Qin Ting-Wu
Published: April 2022

Developing highly bioactive scaffold materials to promote stem cell migration, proliferation and tissue-specific differentiation is a crucial requirement in current tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Our previous work has demonstrated that the decellularized tendon slices (DTSs) are able to promote stem cell proliferation and tenogenic differentiation in vitro and show certain pro-regenerative capacity for rotator cuff tendon regeneration in vivo. In this study, we present a strategy to further improve the bioactivity of the DTSs for constructing a novel highly bioactive tendon-regenerative scaffold by surface modification of tendon-specific stem cell-derived extracellular matrix (tECM), which is expected to greatly enhance the capacity of scaffold material in regulating stem cell behavior, including migration, proliferation and tenogenic differentiation. We prove that the modification of tECM could change the highly aligned surface topographical cues of the DTSs, retain the surface stiffness of the DTSs and significantly increase the content of multiple ECM components in the tECM-DTSs. As a result, the tECM-DTSs dramatically enhance the migration, proliferation as well as tenogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived stem cells compared with the DTSs. Collectively, this strategy would provide a new way for constructing ECM-based biomaterials with enhanced bioactivity for in situ tendon regeneration applications.
The cortical and subcortical correlates of face pareidolia in the macaque brain
Authors: Taubert Jessica , Wardle Susan G , Tardiff Clarissa T , Koele Elissa A , Kumar Susheel , Messinger Adam , Ungerleider Leslie G
Published: April 2022

Face detection is a foundational social skill for primates. This vital function is thought to be supported by specialized neural mechanisms; however, although several face-selective regions have been identified in both humans and nonhuman primates, there is no consensus about which region(s) are involved in face detection. Here, we used naturally occurring errors of face detection (i.e. objects with illusory facial features referred to as examples of ‘face pareidolia’) to identify regions of the macaque brain implicated in face detection. Using whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging to test awake rhesus macaques, we discovered that a subset of face-selective patches in the inferior temporal cortex, on the lower lateral edge of the superior temporal sulcus, and the amygdala respond more to objects with illusory facial features than matched non-face objects. Multivariate analyses of the data revealed differences in the representation of illusory faces across the functionally defined regions of interest. These differences suggest that the cortical and subcortical face-selective regions contribute uniquely to the detection of facial features. We conclude that face detection is supported by a multiplexed system in the primate brain.
Chancellors as civil lawyers—and the equitable notion of “fraud”
Authors: Lupoi Maurizio
Published: April 2022

Professor Lupoi traces equity’s origins back to Rome’s ius commune. He explains that Chancellors were doctors in civil law. Until Henry VIII’s breach with Rome, Chancellors were also Bishops. Their cultural and spiritual anchors were very distinct from those dispensing justice in common law courts. In the course of the fourteenth century common law courts surrendered their discretionary powers and disavowed any reliance on conscience and opted for rigor juris. Equitable doctrines, enacted by Chancellors and Masters who knew only Roman and canon law, prevented unconscientious exercise of a plaintiff’s rights at law. Professor Lupoi explains the similarity between “fraus” in Roman law and “fraud” in English equity and that whilst France, Germany and other countries of continental Europe squandered the Roman law inheritance, English equity holds the torch for Roman principles.
Transcriptome and metabolome changes in Chinese cedar during cold acclimation reveal the roles of flavonoids in needle discoloration and cold resistance
Authors: Zhang Yingting , Yang Liwei , Hu Hailiang , Yang Junjie , Cui Jiebing , Wei Guangqian , Xu Jin
Published: April 2022

Cryptomeria fortunei growth and development are usually affected by low temperatures. Despite the evergreen nature of this species, most needles turn yellowish-brown in cold winters. The underlying discoloration mechanisms that cause this phenomenon in response to cold acclimation remain poorly understood. Here, we measured the pigment content and ultrastructure of normal wild-type (Wt) and evergreen mutant (GM) C. fortunei needles and performed integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to explore potential discoloration mechanisms. The results showed that the needle chlorophyll content of these two genotypes decreased in winter. Wt needles showed greater decrease in the chlorophyll content and local destruction of chloroplast ultrastructure and contained larger amounts of flavonoids than GM needles, as shown by metabolomics analysis. We subsequently identified key differentially expressed genes in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway and observed significantly upregulated flavonol synthase expression in Wt needles compared with GM needles that significantly increased the anthoxanthin (flavones and flavonols) content, which is likely a key factor underlying the difference in needle color between these two genotypes. Therefore, flavonoid metabolism may play important roles in the cold resistance and needle discoloration of C. fortunei, and our results provide an excellent foundation for the molecular mechanism of C. fortunei in response to cold stress.
Virulence and Reproductive Fitness of Meloidogyne paranaensis Field Populations in Coffee Genotypes
Authors: Shigueoka Luciana Harumi , de Batista Fonseca Inês Cristina , Sera Gustavo Hiroshi , Sera Tumoru , Aleandro da Silva Santino , Dorigo Orazília França , Machado Andressa Cristina Zamboni
Published: April 2022

The aim of this study was to characterize Meloidogyne paranaensis populations collected from infested coffee crops. Methodologies used to characterize the 11 studied populations from municipalities in Paraná and Minas Gerais States involved the morphological analysis of perineal patterns, biochemical analysis by isozyme electrophoresis, sequencing of internal transcribes spacer 1 (ITS-1) and D2/D3 ribosomal DNA (rDNA) regions, reproductive fitness, and virulence characterization in coffee genotypes. Morphological evaluations showed the existence of variation between populations, although the majority of them showed typical perineal patterns. The biochemical identification was based on α-esterase isozyme analyses and resulted in the appearance of three distinct profiles: P1 (typical), P2 (atypical), and a nondescribed profile, P2b. BLAST of the ITS-1 and D2/D3 rDNA regions indicated homology (>95%) with other sequences deposited in GenBank. For reproductive fitness and virulence characterization, 13 coffee genotypes (5 Coffea arabica and 8 C. canephora) were inoculated with 11 M. paranaensis populations. Variation in the reproductive fitness of populations was observed for cultivar Mundo Novo, a genotype without resistance genes, and variation in the virulence of populations was observed in genotypes carrying resistance genes. Three populations exhibited virulence combined with high reproductive fitness, while one showed virulence with low reproductive fitness. Some hosts were resistant to 11 populations, while one of the hosts was resistant to only one population, indicating the presence of different resistance genes. Nevertheless, no relationship was observed between the origin of population and their variations in perineal patterns, esterase profiles, phylogeny, or reproductive fitness in coffee genotypes, or between the different characterizations, although differences were observed within each characteristic.
Predictors of Adjustment to Living with an Ostomy: Results of a Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Dellafiore Federica , Manara Duilio F. , Arrigoni Cristina , Baroni Irene , Di Pasquale Cristina , Nania Tiziana , Caruso Rosario , Villa Giulia
Published: April 2022

Objective

To describe predictors of adjustment to living with an ostomy among Italian adults with an enterostomy or a colostomy.

Methods

A multicenter, cross-sectional design was performed, sampling 403 patients with an ostomy in three different outpatient clinics of northern Italy between April 2018 and December 2020. Data were collected by stoma therapists in ambulatory settings using the Italian version of the Ostomy Adjustment Inventory-23 and patient medical records.

Results

Acceptance was lower among women, patients who underwent emergency surgery, those with a urostomy, and those with a body mass index of less than or equal to 25 kg/m2. Negative feelings were associated with higher body mass index, colostomies, shorter length of time of living with an ostomy, and emergency ostomy creation.

Conclusions

Being young and having a high level of education are protective against psychosocial problems and help promote acceptance and social engagement. The findings of this study help identify patients who are likely to be more vulnerable and need greater support through specific educational and motivational interventions.
Social Support, Social Isolation, and Burnout: Cross-Sectional Study of U.S. Residents Exploring Associations With Individual, Interpersonal, Program, and Work-Related Factors
Authors: Leep Hunderfund Andrea N. , West Colin P. , Rackley Sandra J. , Dozois Eric J. , Moeschler Susan M. , Vaa Stelling Brianna E. , Winters Richard C. , Satele Daniel V. , Dyrbye Liselotte N.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

To examine associations of social support and social isolation with burnout, program satisfaction, and organization satisfaction among a large population of U.S. residents and fellows and to identify correlates of social support and social isolation.

Method

All residents and fellows enrolled in graduate medical education programs at Mayo Clinic sites were surveyed in February 2019. Survey items measured social support (emotional and tangible), social isolation, burnout, program satisfaction, and organization satisfaction. Factors of potential relevance to social support were collected (via the survey, institutional administrative records, and interviews with program coordinators and/or program directors) and categorized as individual, interpersonal, program, or work-related factors (duty hours, call burden, elective time, vacation days used before survey administration, required away rotations, etc.). Multivariable regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships between variables.

Results

Of 1,146 residents surveyed, 762 (66%) from 58 programs responded. In adjusted models, higher emotional and tangible support were associated with lower odds of burnout and higher odds of program and organization satisfaction, while higher social isolation scores were associated with higher odds of burnout and lower odds of program satisfaction and organization satisfaction. Independent predictors of social support and/or social isolation included age, gender, relationship status, parental status, postgraduate year, site, ratings of the program leadership team, ratings of faculty relationships and faculty professional behaviors, satisfaction with autonomy, and vacation days used before survey administration.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that social support and social isolation are strongly related to burnout and satisfaction among residents and fellows. Personal and professional relationships, satisfaction with autonomy, and vacation days are independently associated with social support and/or social isolation, whereas most program and work-related factors are not. Additional studies are needed to determine if social support interventions targeting these factors can improve well-being and enhance satisfaction with training.