bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From Food Security to Nutrition Security for All
Authors: Lele Uma , Goswami Sambuddha
Published: November 2021

Malnutrition, in all its forms, is a critical global public health problem. Food production and consumption patterns are also the largest challenges to planetary boundaries. Transformative change is needed in research, information and outreach, political commitment, and financial and institutional capacity to achieve sustainable and equitable food systems. Change, to date, has been incremental, not transformative; however, it is essential to significantly improve outcomes, an issue which will be a central theme of the United Nations’ Food Systems Summit 2021 and the intensive discussions leading up to it. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have powered the recent food security and nutrition discourse. And yet, SDG2 (zero hunger) is not broad enough; it does not pay enough attention to the growing incidence of obesity, as do the World Health Assembly targets for 2025. Furthermore, the interrelationships of the sub-targets of SDG2 are anything but straightforward. Growth in agricultural productivity does not necessarily increase incomes of small farmers, and productivity growth does not always assure improved nutrition. Increased income does not necessarily lead to improved nutrition. This also applies to the relationship of SDG2 to several other of the 16 SDGs. Increasingly, the concept of multidimensional poverty (MDP) has received attention in explaining food security and nutrition. MDP is substantially higher than income poverty, particularly among children. In addition, the chapter examines the relationship of gender inequality and nutrition, gender and obesity, nutrition transition, and the roles of changing lifestyles, food systems, and modern food chains.
Financing for Sustainable Structural Transformation
Authors: Lele Uma , Goswami Sambuddha
Published: November 2021

Official development assistance (ODA) and domestic expenditures of developing countries on food and agriculture are often too small, relative to needs or for stimulating private investment. ODA and expenditures are suboptimally allocated mostly to subsidies, with little to public goods, such as agricultural education, research, and extension. Learning and evaluation of impacts need to improve and expand to meet complex challenges facing farmers. The multisectoral nature of agriculture means that agricultural financing must consist of multiple components, with resources that are public, private (household), and private (external to household), coming from six categories: public—domestic and international; private—domestic and international; and household—savings and remittances. Information on “traditional” ODA for agriculture is more available than for “nontraditional” ODA: for example, from emerging countries, including China’s growing involvement in Southern countries, private investments in value chains, land purchases, and private philanthropy. Aside from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), few philanthropists report aid to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development–Development Assistance Committee (OECD–DAC). BMGF’s Aid Transparency Index (ATI) rating improved only from “very poor” (18.1 percent) in 2013 to “fair” (47.3 percent) in 2018. The 2020 ATI reported significant improvement in aid donors’ overall transparency, but less in impact of aid projects. New themes, including nutrition and the environment, pose challenges to estimating sources of resource flows in support of adaptation of agriculture. We show that, even though available aid has increased since 2020, resources are very small relative to needs and the extent of advocacy.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Authors: Lele Uma , Goswami Sambuddha
Published: November 2021

This chapter explores the evolving roles of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and its reforms from the 2007 Independent External Evaluation until the arrival of Director-General Qu Dongyu. The chapter outlines how FAO’s adoption of a strategic framework and matrix management enabled it to meet the goals it has adopted for itself, toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG2 (zero hunger). It is a substantially expanded but necessary agenda. FAO has made considerable progress in its vision and strategy and laid the groundwork with a framework to be accountable for results. The chapter identifies four issues for FAO going forward. The first is the old debate on the balance between FAO’s normative, public goods function and the embrace of SDGs to help member countries advance them. Second, matrix management is a challenge that is by no means unique to FAO. Third, a big challenge is increasing resources in the context of FAO’s assessed contributions. Finally, the chapter makes a case for establishing FAO as a center of excellence to achieve a transformative, sustainable food system and to address its global public goods and SDGs functions, supported by predictable funds to be accorded to FAO, well beyond its current level of assessed and voluntary contributions, with expected transparency in the use of resources.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development
Authors: Lele Uma , Baldwin Brian C.
Published: November 2021

The International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD’s) vision for the post-2015 rural world is one in which extreme rural poverty is eliminated through inclusive and sustainable agriculture and rural development, and in which poor rural people and communities, including those who live in remote areas, are empowered to build prosperous and sustainable livelihoods. IFAD is focused on rural people at the bottom of the pyramid, women, and marginalized people. External evaluations have shown that IFAD, a small and agile organization, has been effective in addressing its declared mission. Its dilemma going forward is whether to assist poor people in only poor countries, or even in low middle-income countries and middle-income countries, as it has done in the past. An assessment is needed of whether the current paradigm of average per capita country income is sufficiently robust to support IFAD’s mandate, particularly in countries with acute per capita income inequality. Demonstrating impacts has been a challenge, but then IFAD is not alone in that regard. A vigorous program of impact assessments is underway but generalizing beyond findings of individual impact evaluations has been a challenge. The Eleventh Replenishment (IFAD11, 2019–21) may barely reach US$1.1 billion of the US$1.2 billion replenishment target over a three-year period. The ongoing IFAD12 Replenishment (2022–4) needs to exceed that to secure IFAD’s financial future, including market-based borrowing at rates that MICs will find expedient to borrow at for rural development programs where, traditionally, highly concessional and/or grant funding has been available.
Solidification and Refining
Authors: Engh Thorvald Abel , Sigworth Geoffrey K. , Kvithyld Anne
Published: November 2021

Solidification involves a phase change from liquid to solid. Most impurities have a lower solubility in solid than in the liquid phase. Consequently, solidification presents an opportunity to refine or purify metals. The redistribution of impurities during freezing (called segregation) also has a considerable influence on the properties of the solidified casting. This chapter deals primarily with three subjects: removal of impurities during solidification; transferral of unwanted elements to parts of the casting where they do not harm the finished product; and grain refinement, where a nucleant is added to achieve a small (refined) grain structure. The segregation coefficient is defined. The mass transfer coefficient of impurities from solid to liquid is considered and used to model macrosegregation. Two important industrial processes are described in detail: the refining of silicon for solar cells, and the grain refinement of aluminium.
Recycling
Authors: Engh Thorvald Abel , Sigworth Geoffrey K. , Kvithyld Anne
Published: November 2021

Metals recycling and its key features is defined. Important principles and strategies are considered. Scrap, its sources and characteristics and variation, is investigated in some detail, highlighted with some examples. The unit processes in recycling—collection, shredding, sorting, pretreatment, blending, and processing of final residues—are described. How selecting methods in various process routes impact the recycling is an important message. Three examples of recycling are discussed in detail: magnesium, dross, and batteries. Limits and opportunities are commented on at the end.
Metalinguistic acts in fiction
Authors: Wieland Nellie
Published: November 2021

This chapter identifies and explains several primary functions of the fictional use of metalinguistic devices and considers some difficult cases. Among the more interesting functions are those that directly and indirectly report speech and thoughts from inside and outside the fictional world, and those that structure storytelling as characters perform secondary narrative roles, change narrative pace, and shift perspective. In particular, the chapter argues that when real persons are quoted in a storyworld they are ‘storified’ as near-real fictions. In cases of the misquotation of real persons, near-real fictions and near-real quotations must adequately exploit resemblances between the real and the fictional. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the similarities between fictional and nonfictional uses of metalinguistic acts. Both kinds of acts must be psychologically compelling, structure and inform interpretations of the world, import common ground, and permit secondary narration; but only in fictional contexts can the original and reporting contexts merge. This analysis is brought to bear on our understanding of imagination and make-believe.
Methods for Analyzing Parliamentary Debates
Authors: Goplerud Max
Published: November 2021

This chapter provides an overview of popular and recent methods for analyzing the text of legislative debates. It splits commonly used methods into three types: methods that analyze the volume of activity by members, ones that create measures of latent concepts, and ones that analyze the content of speeches. After providing an overview of popular methods as well as guidance to applied researchers, each section concludes by discussing a handful of recent papers that provide some important methodological innovations that may be useful in other domains. It concludes by discussing the small-but-growing literature on making causal inferences when using text.
Estonia
Authors: Sikk Allan , Vinkel Priit
Published: November 2021

In this chapter, we analyze the speechmaking among Estonian MPs between 2011 and 2019. We find that those holding parliamentary office in committees and party groups enjoy privileged floor access and are more active speakers than regular MPs. Opposition backbenchers, enjoying more freedom or eager to make their mark, participate more actively in parliamentary debates than their governing party colleagues. We also find that members of the coveted EU Affairs Committee, as well as MPs from smaller parties and those with a higher personal electoral appeal (based on preference votes), speak more actively. The impact of gender, age, and legislative experience on speech activism is less clear.
France
Authors: Alke Lennard , Brouard Sylvain , Rozenberg Olivier
Published: November 2021

French plenary debates are considered in the literature to present an intermediary case where individual members have access to the floor while being under the control of frontbenchers. This chapter confirms the assessment regarding the parliamentary rules. However, it shows that debates tend to be dominated by holders of key institutionalized positions. The results should be related to the somewhat contradictory incentives provided by the electoral rules: a single-member district system on the one hand that may incentivize to cultivate a personal vote. On the other hand, it is a dominating presidential election that gives a determining national feature to parliamentary elections. The paper also questions the view that the politics of parliamentary debates is mainly driven by electoral logic, showing that concerns of efficiency also matter in a talking parliament such as the French one.
Mexico
Authors: Magar Eric
Published: November 2021

This chapter describes the institutions of legislative debate in the Mexican Cámara de Diputados and assesses predictors of floor participation. Multiple regression models are fit on more than 23,000 speeches between 2006 and 2020. They show that majority party members get privileged floor access, in both the number of speeches delivered and their word length, even after accounting for larger parties having more potential speakers. Other status indicators, such as committee chairs, party leaders, and seniority, have more modest but also positive effects in debate. Women speak more than men. And the removal of single-term limits in 2018, which tend to personalize elections, associate with a significant surge in floor participation.
Sweden
Authors: Baumann Markus , Bäck Hanna , Carroll Royce
Published: November 2021

The Swedish Riksdag is often regarded as an ideal type for Scandinavian or Nordic parliamentarism. This relates to institutional features and party cohesion, but more often so to descriptive representation in terms of gender—an aspect where Sweden’s parliament has consistently occupied the top position among European parliaments during the last decades. However, and despite an unlikely-case-character, previous research has shown that gender biases exist in Nordic parliaments and the Riksdag in particular. This chapter follows this research and evaluates how gender and seniority determine legislators’ opportunities to speak in plenary debates. Our results show that the gender biases found in previous research persist to date and extend further to the past. Furthermore, low seniority amplifies the effect of gender; junior female legislators have the slimmest chances to speak in plenary debates.
United States
Authors: Gelman David , Goplerud Max
Published: November 2021

This chapter analyzes the trends in speaking behavior in the United States Congress from 1921 to 2010 in the House and Senate. We find that key determinants of political behavior from the existing American and comparative literature (seniority, committee leader, party leadership, ideological extremism, and majority party membership) correspond to more floor speeches by members. Senators deliver more speeches per member than their counterparts in the House, although the determinants of activity are broadly similar. Splitting the results by historical period and examining the relationship by the polarization of the chamber show that the effects of certain variables have changed considerably over time. In the House, in particular, the effects of committee leader, extremism, and majority party status have increased over time while the effect of seniority has noticeably decreased in the post-Gingrich period.
Field and laboratory analysis for non-invasive wildlife and habitat health assessment and conservation
Authors: Knott Cheryl D. , Scott Amy M. , O’Connell Caitlin A. , Susanto Tri Wahyu , Kane Erin E.
Published: November 2021

Laboratory methods are increasingly being used in remote field camps, or during mobile field surveys, to aid in wildlife conservation. This chapter explains how field laboratories have allowed for technological advances in sample preparation and preservation, and for both low and high-tech on-site analysis. It highlights how field samples can be used for health and physiological analyses, including measuring the nutritional content of plant foods, assessing hormones, C-peptide, and ketones from urine, examining faecal parasites, and using genetic techniques to determine individual identity, relatedness, and population genetic diversity. We explain how measurements of physiology and health promise to greatly improve our understanding of the relationship between disease prevalence in wild animals and anthropogenic disturbances. The authors’ research with critically endangered wild orangutans in Indonesia provides an illustrative case study, using field laboratories for rapid analysis of orangutan health status, such as assessing indicators of energy balance from urine and parasite prevalence from faeces. In addition, the chapter shows how new information can be gained from field-collected samples by taking advantage of technological advances in laboratory methodology and equipment to determine the nutrient content of foods, measure steroid hormones, and C-peptide and reveal genetic relationships. Understanding how these variables impact wildlife health and viability provides a critical tool for species conservation and helps make long-term research sustainable, provides capacity building opportunities, and forges relationships with local partners. Continued technological advances in the near future should bring more capability into field laboratories, providing data to aid conservation that is easier to obtain and more accessible.
The future of technology in conservation
Authors: Mulero-Pázmány Margarita
Published: November 2021

This final chapter discusses how conservation technology might evolve in the near future. The first section provides a global overview of the current scope of conservation technology. The second section focuses on the current limitations of conservation technology and describes advances that may help to overcome these constraints. The chapter will then discuss technological trends such as robotics and virtual reality, which are not yet widely used in conservation but offer promise in addressing current conservation challenges. Examples of integrating different technologies—with and without human intervention—in conservation research and management are given. Finally, the barriers to integrating technology into conservation and propose solutions to overcome them are covered.
The Problem of the Prior in Criminal Trials
Authors: Dahlman Christian , Kolflaath Eivind
Published: November 2021

This chapter addresses a classical challenge to the Bayesian approach. It examines different ways of setting the prior probability of the prosecutor’s hypothesis in a criminal trial, in particular, the classical Bayesian solution of setting the prior at 1/N, where N is the number of possible perpetrators in the geographical area where the crime was committed. The authors argue that this solution is at odds with the presumption of innocence, and that other proposals are also problematic, either theoretically or in practice. According to the authors, a presumed prior determined ex lege is less problematic than other solutions, and the problem of the prior can be avoided by a reconceptualization of the standard of proof.
Paradoxes of Proof
Authors: Spottswood Mark
Published: November 2021

This chapter offers a review of scholarship concerning the proof paradoxes along with some critical comments of my own. Particular attention is given to problems of naked statistical evidence and the conjunction paradox, along with some thoughts on the discursive dilemma as applied to jury voting. For the sake of clarity, I try to separate what is known concerning human intuitions concerning these puzzles, how they are treated by existing law (to the extent they are noticed at all), and which results might be best from a normative perspective.
The Problem with Naked Statistical Evidence
Authors: Dahlman Christian , Pundik Amit
Published: November 2021

There has been much debate over the value of naked statistical evidence (NSE). However, while most scholars agree that it is problematic to base a verdict on NSE, they disagree on why it is problematic, pointing to different characteristics of NSE as the root of the problem. In the last decade, the debate has been energized by publications that propose a number of new approaches. This chapter joins the most recent debates on NSE—in particular, the objections to naked statistics based upon sensitivity, normalcy, incentives for lawful conduct, and free will. The authors argue that the problem of NSE is not an epistemic one, as some assume, but is actually a moral problem.
Tinkering with Method as We Go
Authors: Sergi Viviane , Bonneau Claudine
Published: November 2021

This chapter presents the qualitative method we developed to document a phenomenon that we have called ‘working out loud’ (WOL) on social media. Working out loud is a mundane practice where workers of all kinds communicate something about their daily experience of doing their work and being at work. This character makes WOL simultaneously widespread and difficult to grasp and, with little prior knowledge of people’s sharing behaviour, our investigation started in a very open fashion. Because only the general contours of the practice labelled ‘working out loud’ were known, our methodological approach had to be devised and regularly adjusted in order to explore the phenomenon. The chapter discusses the approach that we elaborated as the collection of digital traces necessary to flesh out the concept of WOL progressed. This also makes visible the backstage work involved in data collection and analysis.
We don’t know what we don’t know
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: November 2021

For thousands of years, healthcare was held back because we couldn’t see and didn’t understand the germs making us ill. Today, healthcare is being held back because we don’t see computer bugs, and we don’t understand the risks caused by them.
Fatal overdose
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: November 2021

Denise Melanson died after a calculation error that led to a drug overdose. What can we learn from the incident?
Side effects and scandals
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: November 2021

We accept that medical interventions like drugs and X rays have side-effects. It makes a lot of sense to think of digital healthcare as having side-effects too, and therefore it should be evaluated and regulated as carefully.
The scale of the problem
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: November 2021

We don’t know how many people are dying or being harmed from errors in healthcare, let alone those caused by digital errors. What are the facts, and what can we do about it?
Living happily ever after
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: November 2021

There’s a future world where digital healthcare works, and works well. Here’s how to get there.
Good reading
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: November 2021

This book isn’t the end of the story about digital healthcare, problems and solutions. This list of recommended reading gives lots of suggestions to take your thinking further.
Perspectives on the Development and Significance of Tort Litigation against Multinational Parent Companies
Authors: Meeran Richard
Published: November 2021

Richard Meeran explains the genesis of tort-based multinational human rights litigation in the United Kingdom, including some striking features, events, and judgments in original cases of Connelly v. Rio Tinto, Ngcobo v. Thor Chemical, and Lubbe v. Cape plc cases and their impact on the development of English law relating parent company liability leading to the precedents in the Chandler v. Cape, Vedanta, and Okpabi v. Shell cases. He offers insights on strategic litigation from these and other multinational cases. He outlines the key legal, procedural, and practical barriers to justice for victims, with particular emphasis on forum non conveniens, funding litigation, and the interrelationship of the barriers in deterring victims’ lawyers. He considers the concurrent development and integration of multinational human rights litigation and business and human rights including in the UN Guiding Principles. He outlines the potential for cross-border collaboration between lawyers to pursue cases in multinational host States.
General Provisions
Authors: Law European
Published: November 2021

This chapter discusses the general provisions concerning the operation of the European Rules of Civil Procedure. It defines the scope of these Rules, limiting their application to domestic and cross-border civil and commercial disputes. It does so by reference to the definition of such disputes that is commonly accepted throughout Europe. The chapter then looks at the overarching procedural duties that are imposed upon the court, parties, and their lawyers. The most significant of these duties are the duty of co-operation, which is understood in these Rules to be of fundamental importance to the effective and proper administration of justice, and the general principle of proportionality in dispute resolution, which has itself become an increasingly important procedural principle across Europe since the start of the 21st century. Finally, the chapter articulates and, in some cases, gives concrete effect to the fundamental procedural principles that are inherent in the right to fair trial.
Case Management
Authors: Law European
Published: November 2021

This chapter details the provisions on case management under the European Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 47 provides that ‘parties must present their claims, defences, factual allegations and offers of evidence as early and completely as possible and as appropriate to the careful conduct of litigation in order to secure procedural expedition’. In general, responsibility for the efficient and speedy resolution of disputes is shared between the court and parties. Rule 48 concerns the court control of proceedings. Meanwhile, Rule 49 sets out the court's general duty of active case management, which is part of the principle of co-operation. All European jurisdictions' procedural codes employ court orders or court directions as a means of communication between the court and parties in order to facilitate effective case management as provided in Rules 48 and 49. The process of rendering court orders under Rule 50 is intended to ensure that management under these Rules is carried out effectively and with sufficient respect for the parties' right to be heard.
Access to Information and Evidence
Authors: Law European
Published: November 2021

This chapter explores the provision and testing of evidence, which is central to civil procedure. Effective access to information and evidence are basic tools that ensure access to justice is a real rather than a merely theoretical right. There is a great deal of variety across European jurisdictions in respect of the approach taken to evidence-taking, and particularly to access to relevant information. This is a consequence of a variety of factors: the distinction between the civil law/common law; legal history; and procedural culture, and particularly the distribution of roles between the court, judiciary, and parties. This divergence in approaches to evidence may be the source of difficulties in cross-border litigation. The chapter identifies the common core of the law of evidence and the best, or more convenient, rules, including those related to the management of evidence, in use in European jurisdictions. To do so, it looks at the ALI/UNIDROIT Principles, the IBA Rules of Evidence and of legal instruments addressing the issue of evidence and access to information within the European Union.
Means of Review
Authors: Law European
Published: November 2021

This chapter examines appeals and other types of recourse, including extraordinary motion for review. The ability to appeal from or otherwise challenge judgments is a well-established feature amongst procedural systems, albeit it is, in principle, not recognised by the European Court of Human Rights as falling within the ambit of the right to fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The present European Rules of Civil Procedure adopt the approach that there is a right to appeal, albeit one that may only be exercised with the permission of the appellate court according to special provisions with respect to access and scope. In this way the appellate process, and the right to appeal, provides an effective balance between the principles of finality in litigation, accuracy in decision-making, expedition, and proportionality. Principle 27 of the ALI/UNIDROIT Principles addresses the necessity of keeping the right balance between diverging aspects of the rule of law as follows: ‘(2) The scope of appellate review should ordinarily be limited to claims and defenses addressed in first-instance proceeding. (3) The appellate court may in the interest of justice consider new facts and evidence’.
Children’s Material Culture
Authors: Swift Ellen , Stoner Jo , Pudsey April
Published: November 2021

This chapter explores the material culture of children in the Petrie collection, and what these items can reveal about children’s experience, agency, and concerns in the Roman and late Roman periods of Egypt. It considers informal spheres of everyday life for children: the family, peer relationships, play, and religion, asking how children themselves would have had some agency in shaping their perspectives of the world around them. The chapter considers the designed and functional properties of wooden and ceramic dolls, within a framework of dolls in earlier periods of Egyptian history and across the Roman world more broadly. It asks of these, and other objects of children’s cultures, how they held the capacity to be played and interacted with in a range of ways, individually or with peers, that were more nuanced than their designed use in socializing children in different social groups. The chapter examines ceramic boats, wooden pull-along horses, and animal figurines. The chapter also studies the commonplace figure of Harpokrates, the child-protector deity, as represented on small objects, and his familiarity with children.
Atomic Structure and Isotopes
Authors: Oriakhi Christopher O.
Published: November 2021

Atomic Structure and Isotopes covers the fundamentals of the atomic theory of matter. Dalton’s atomic theory is summarized along with the laws derived from it. The basic structure of the atom is reviewed with emphasis on calculations involving atomic number and mass number. The concepts of isotopes and relative atomic masses are presented from a quantitative viewpoint.
The Mole and Avogadro’s Number
Authors: Oriakhi Christopher O.
Published: November 2021

Measuring Chemical Quantities: The Mole introduces the mole as the chemist’s unit for the amount of substance and discusses its relationship with Avogadro’s number of chemical entities including atoms, ions, molecules and formula units. Calculations demonstrate the use of the mole to convert between mass and the number of chemical entities.
Chemical Equations
Authors: Oriakhi Christopher O.
Published: November 2021

Chemical Equations introduces the ideas of writing and balancing chemical equations in terms of the amounts of reactants and products involved. Types of chemical reactions are covered to help students understand how to write a variety of chemical equations. General rules for writing and balancing chemical equations are provided.
Gas Laws
Authors: Oriakhi Christopher O.
Published: November 2021

Gas Laws summarizes the general laws that describe how the volume of a gas changes in response to changes in pressure (P), temperature (T in Kelvin) or the number of moles (n). The ideal gas law, which combines Boyle’s law, Charles’s law and Avogadro’s law, is presented, with explanations of using it to solve gas-law problems. Mathematical rearrangements of the ideal gas law to determine density and molar mass are described along with the use of Dalton’s law of partial pressures to find the pressure of each gas in a mixture. Finally the chapter presents ideal gas law and reaction stoichiometry, Graham’s law of effusion, and basic notions of real gases and their deviation from the ideal gas laws.
Chemical Equilibrium
Authors: Oriakhi Christopher O.
Published: November 2021

Chemical Equilibrium reviews the principles of equilibrium in systems of gases and liquids, starting with the concepts of reversible and irreversible reactions and dynamic equilibrium. The equilibrium constant (K) and reaction quotient (Q) are described, and comparison of K and Q is used to determine the direction in which a reaction must proceed to reach equilibrium. Calculations involving K in terms of concentration and pressure are presented. The relationship between the magnitude of K, the equilibrium position and the concentrations of reactants and products is discussed for both homogeneous and heterogeneous equilibria. The chapter ends with a qualitative treatment of equilibrium based on Le Chatelier’s principle, as well as how changes in reaction conditions can disturb a chemical equilibrium and how the chemical reaction responds to those changes.
Radioactivity and Nuclear Reactions
Authors: Oriakhi Christopher O.
Published: November 2021

Radioactivity and Nuclear Reactions gives an overview of nuclear chemistry with emphasis on radioactive decay, binding energy and nuclear stability. Modes of radioactive decay are discussed, along with writing and balancing nuclear equations. Decay modes covered include alpha emission, beta emission, gamma emission, positron emission, and electron capture, along with a summary of how each type of decay process affects the parent radioisotope and determines the daughter isotope formed. Nuclear transmutation induced by changes in the nuclei is discussed. The chapter covers the kinetics of radioactive decay including the relationship between the half-lives of radioisotopes and radioisotopic dating. The chapter concludes with a quantitative coverage of the energy of nuclear reactions including the interconversion of mass and energy via the mass defect.
Border Crossings
Authors: Mugglestone Lynda
Published: November 2021

This chapter examines Andrew Clark’s exploration of language and language barriers in war-time use, and the border crossings that words often revealed. French, Belgian, Russian, Indian English, and German (among others) all attracted his attention. As he explored, articles and advertisements in the British press appeared in Flemish or French, directly addressing the shifting constitution of the Home Front in the wake of war. Clark’s interest in Indian English is richly documented. French, in particular, claimed a topical currency, infusing trench slang (and reported speech) alongside popular reportage. In contrast, distinctive forms of logophobia with reference to German as the language of the enemy generated a set of highly divisive language tactics in which linguistic and moral inversion were intentionally aligned.
Conflict and cohesion within parties
Authors: Webb Paul , Bale Tim
Published: November 2021

This chapter explores a number of key questions relating to intra-party cohesion and conflict in Britain. To what extent do parliamentary backbenchers influence the development of government policy? How factionalized are British political parties? And what bearing does intra-party politics have on matters of cross-party cooperation and realignment? We discuss conceptual distinctions between factions, tendencies, and single-issue alliances, before going on to identify the main attitudinal clusters within the major parties’ extra-parliamentary memberships and parliamentary groups today. The chapter further identifies the most significant intra-party groups that exist inside parliament and among the parties’ grassroots.
The Vicissitudes of War
Authors: Harris Randy Allen
Published: November 2021

This chapter charts the battles around the central notions of the Generative/Interpretive Semantics dispute: the existence of Deep Structure (rejected by Generative Semantics, redefined by Interpretive Semantics), the Katz-Postal Principle (rejected by both, in different ways), the notion of grammaticality (distended by Generative Semantics into contingencies and gradations, then rejected; retained by Interpretive Semantics). It also examines the rhetorical maneuvers around George Lakoff’s proposal of global rules (embraced as unfortunately inevitable by Generative Semantics, terminologically rejected but methodologically embraced by Interpretive Semantics). The chapter also documents some of the direct firefights and skirmishes across the Transformational Grammar battlefield, which left Generative Semantics in a position of clear ascendancy.
Chomsky Agonistes
Authors: Harris Randy Allen
Published: November 2021

This chapter provides an overview of Noam Chomsky’s current linguistic framework, the Minimalist Program, and the evolutionary milieu in which it is now mostly plied, including the linguistic implications of FOXP2, often called “the language gene” in popular media. The chapter also tackles the most touchy and slippery psychobiographical issue in the field of linguistics over the course of Chomsky’s lengthy and influential career: his rhetorical tactics, especially in connection with the truth. Chomsky has been widely accused of dishonesty, misrepresentation, and, in George Lakoff’s terms “fighting dirty,” as well as being venerated and defended just as widely. I examine that claim with respect to yet another Chomskyan tempest, the dispute over Daniel Everett’s claim that the language Pirahã does not exhibit recursion, a property that seems to be required by Chomsky's Universal Grammar, and through a close reading of an exchange over the existence of grammatical rules with philosopher and early Chomsky supporter, John Searle. Finally, it sifts through Chomsky’s record and the current state of the field to speculate about Chomsky’s legacy.
Introduction
Authors: Huber Franz
Published: November 2021

This book is the first of two volumes on belief and counterfactuals. It consists of six of a total of eleven chapters. The introductory chapter 1 gives an overview of all eleven chapters, as well as its unifying methodological approach: means-end philosophy.
Belief First
Authors: Huber Franz
Published: November 2021

This chapter first discusses which agents this book focuses on and which ends they are assumed to have. Then it briefly describes how this relates to conditional belief and belief revision.
The Associations Between Sleep Disturbance, Psychological Dysfunction, Pain Intensity, and Pain Interference in Children with Chronic Pain
Authors: Solé Ester , Sharma Saurab , Ferreira-Valente Alexandra , Pathak Anupa , Sánchez-Rodríguez Elisabet , Jensen Mark P , Miró Jordi
Published: November 2021

Objectives

This study aimed to better understand the associations between both sleep disturbance and psychological dysfunction (i.e., anxiety and depressive symptoms, and anger), and pain intensity and pain interference, in a sample of children with chronic pain.

Design

Cross-sectional design.

Methods

Three hundred and forty-two children with chronic pain (8–18 years) completed measures assessing pain intensity, pain interference, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and anger. Regression analyses examined the direct, interaction (with sex), and mediation effects of sleep quality and psychological dysfunction on pain intensity and interference.

Results

Sleep disturbance was significantly associated with both pain intensity and pain interference. However, measures of psychological dysfunction were associated significantly only with pain interference. Sex did not moderate these associations. The measures of psychological dysfunction mediated the associations between sleep disturbance and pain interference but not those between sleep disturbance and pain intensity.

Conclusions

The results confirmed significant cross-sectional associations between both sleep disturbance and psychological dysfunction and pain outcomes in children with chronic pain. Future research to test for causal associations is warranted.
Regulatory Agencies and Private Damages in the EU: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice
Authors: Cherednychenko Olha O
Published: November 2021

Regulatory agencies have traditionally been concerned with deterring unlawful conduct in the public interest. This article explores the emerging role of agencies in securing compensation for individuals in mass damage situations resulting from violations of EU private law. It identifies three main models of the relationship between administrative enforcement and private law remedies, notably damages, within the agencies’ operation: (1) separation, (2) complementarity, and (3) integration. These models reflect elements of the current legislative and agency practices in a variety of jurisdictions across different areas of EU private law and provide an analytical framework for assessing such practices in terms of their potential to reconcile the pursuit of the public interest with a concern to ensure justice between private parties. The analysis points to the need to systematically rethink the prevailing regulatory theory concerning the tasks of regulatory agencies along the lines of a holistic approach to deterrence and compensation.
Use of Sodium Hydroxide DNA Extraction Methods for Nested PCR Detection of Bretziella fagacearum in the Sapwood of Oak Species in Minnesota
Authors: Moore Melanie J. , Juzwik Jennifer , Saiapina Olga , Ahmed Snober , Yang Anna , Abbas Abdennour
Published: November 2021

Oak wilt caused by Bretziella fagacearum is an important disease of Quercus spp.; however, its diagnosis may be confused with damage resulting from other diseases, insects, or abiotic factors. Laboratory diagnosis is important in such situations and when disease control action is desired. PCR tests can provide accurate lab diagnosis within 2 days. Two variations of a simple DNA extraction protocol using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were compared with that of the proprietary protocol of a commercially available kit (CK) for nested PCR to detect the pathogen in oak sapwood. High frequencies of pathogen detection (98 to 100% of 48 branch segments assayed) were found for northern pin oak using the two NaOH-based and the CK methods. Detection rates were similar but lower for bur oak (ranged from 58 to 79%) and white oak (ranged from 54 to 71%) regardless of DNA extraction method. Using our alternative DNA extraction protocols may reduce total time and cost of B. fagacearum detection in PCR-based diagnosis and other downstream applications.
The Importin FgPse1 Is Required for Vegetative Development, Virulence, and Deoxynivalenol Production by Interacting with the Nuclear Polyadenylated RNA-Binding Protein FgNab2 in Fusarium graminearum
Authors: Zhang Lixin , Sun Kewei , Li Yiqing , Ma Tianling , Zhang Yu , Yin Yanni , Zhang Shuai , Shao Wenyong
Published: November 2021

Karyopherins are involved in transport through nuclear pore complexes. Karyopherins are necessary for nuclear import and export pathways and bind to their cargos. Polyadenylation of messenger RNA (mRNA) is necessary for various biological processes, regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. Until now, the association of karyopherin with mRNA polyadenylation has been less understood in plant pathogenic fungi. In our study, we focused on the biological functions of the karyopherin FgPse1 in Fusarium graminearum. The results showed that FgPse1 is involved in mycelial growth, asexual reproduction, virulence, and deoxynivalenol (DON) production. Co-immunoprecipitation and bimolecular fluorescence complementation showed that FgPse1 interacts with the nuclear polyadenylated RNA-binding protein FgNab2. Moreover, a fluorescence localization assay indicated that FgPse1 is necessary for the nuclear import of FgNab2. The nuclear import of FgNab2 regulates the expression of FgTri4, FgTri5, and FgTri6, which are essential for DON production. Thus, ΔFgPse1 and ΔFgNab2 showed consistent defects in DON production. In summary, our data indicated that FgPse1 is necessary for mycelial growth, virulence, and DON production, interacting with FgNab2 in F. graminearum. These results contribute to our understanding of the functions of importins in phytopathogenic fungi.
Compliance of the fish outflow tract is altered by thermal acclimation through connective tissue remodelling
Authors: Keen Adam N. , Mackrill John J. , Gardner Peter , Shiels Holly A.
Published: November 2021

To protect the gill capillaries from high systolic pulse pressure, the fish heart contains a compliant non-contractile chamber called the bulbus arteriosus which is part of the outflow tract (OFT) which extends from the ventricle to the ventral aorta. Thermal acclimation alters the form and function of the fish atria and ventricle to ensure appropriate cardiac output at different temperatures, but its impact on the OFT is unknown. Here we usedex vivopressure–volume curves to demonstrate remodelling of passive stiffness in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) bulbus arteriosus following more than eight weeks of thermal acclimation to 5, 10 and 18°C. We then combined novel, non-biased Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with classic histological staining to show that changes in compliance were achieved by changes in tissue collagen-to-elastin ratio.In situgelatin zymography and SDS-PAGE zymography revealed that collagen remodelling was underpinned, at least in part, by changes in activity and abundance of collagen degrading matrix metalloproteinases. Collectively, we provide the first indication of bulbus arteriosus thermal remodelling in a fish and suggest this remodelling ensures optimal blood flow and blood pressure in the OFT during temperature change.
MicroRNAs affect GPCR and Ion channel genes needed for influenza replication
Authors: Orr-Burks Nichole , Murray Jackelyn , Todd Kyle V. , Bakre Abhijeet , Tripp Ralph A.
Published: November 2021

Influenza virus causes seasonal epidemics and sporadic pandemics resulting in morbidity, mortality, and economic losses worldwide. Understanding how to regulate influenza virus replication is important for developing vaccine and therapeutic strategies. Identifying microRNAs (miRs) that affect host genes used by influenza virus for replication can support an antiviral strategy. In this study, G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and ion channel (IC) host genes in human alveolar epithelial (A549) cells used by influenza virus for replication (Orr-Burks et al., 2021) were examined as miR target genes following A/CA/04/09- or B/Yamagata/16/1988 replication. Thirty-three miRs were predicted to target GPCR or IC genes and their miR mimics were evaluated for their ability to decrease influenza virus replication. Paired miR inhibitors were used as an ancillary measure to confirm or not the antiviral effects of a miR mimic. Fifteen miRs lowered influenza virus replication and four miRs were found to reduce replication irrespective of virus strain and type differences. These findings provide evidence for novel miR disease intervention strategies for influenza viruses.
The extracellular β-glucosidase BGL2 has two variants with different molecular sizes and hydrolytic activities in the stipe or pilei of Coprinopsis cinerea
Authors: Dai Rujuan , Yang Mingmei , Zhao Jing , Liu Xiao , Zhou Yajun , Kang Liqin , Zhang Wenming , Lyu Linna , Yuan Sheng , Liu Zhonghua
Published: November 2021

Two variants of extracellular β-glucosidase (BGL2) were purified from the stipe and pilei of Coprinopsis cinerea. In the stipe, BGL2 was a monomeric protein with an apparent molecular mass of approximately 220 kDa, representing a mature full-length peptide of BGL2. However, in the pilei, the apparent molecular mass of BGL2 was only approximately 120 kDa, consisting of the 60 kDa N-terminal fragment and 55 kDa C-terminal fragment. The hydrolytic activities of BGL2 purified from the pilei were higher than those of BGL2 purified from the stipe. No mRNA splice variants of bgl2 were detected. Therefore, the different variants of BGL2 in the stipe and pilei were not formed by differential RNA splicing. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that full-length BGL2 could be cleaved by endogenous proteases from pilei or commercial trypsin at a similar site to form an oligomeric protein consisting of the N-terminal fragment and C-terminal fragment similar to BGL2 from pilei. The hydrolytic activity of BGL2 increased after cleavage by those proteases in vitro. We conclude that the 120 kDa variant of BGL2 in the pilei of C. cinerea is formed by posttranslational proteolytic cleavage. Posttranslational proteolytic cleavage is an efficient way to regulate the activity of BGL2 to adapt to the needs of different physiological functions in the elongation stipe and expansion pilei of C. cinerea.