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John Pocock and the jealousy of trade
Get PDFAt the end of The Machiavellian Moment, J. G. A. Pocock was unclear about what happened to the classical republican/civic humanist tradition. Significantly, he did not make the anticipated point, following Hannah Arendt, who he drew upon at the end of the book, concerning the decline of civic virtue and the need for its reassertion. In subsequent work Pocock published little on the nineteenth century, but he continued to be obsessed by the fate of civic humanism, especially in his self-reflective final writings, published or written between 2014 and his death in 2023. Especially in his unpublished Academic Reminiscences, he tackled the question of how The Machiavellian Moment ought to have ended. Commenting upon his own work from The Ancient Constitution to the sixth and last volume of his Barbarism and Religion series, Barbarism: Triumph in the West (2015), Pocock emphasised the relationship between his own work and the jealousy of trade, the commitment of national governments to the pursuit of markets and the defeat of rivals economically. Jealousy of trade, as a historical force which had altered world politics, was associated most especially with the scholarship of István Hont, whose perspectives on political thought Pocock found to be dovetailing increasingly with his own.Peer reviewe
Thermal expansion of lithiated silicon (Li13Si4 and Li7Si3) anodes : a powder neutron diffraction study
No full textFunding: This work was supported by AWE. Neutron beamtime at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (RB 1910457) source was provided by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The authors would like to thank the EPSRC Light Element Analysis Facility Grant EP/T019298/1 and the EPSRC Strategic Equipment Resource Grant EP/R023751/1 for funding the scanning electron microscopy facilities at the University of St Andrews.Whilst at room temperature structural changes on lithiation of the silicon electrode are hard to study due to formation of amorphous phases, at high temperatures, used in thermal batteries, clear phase changes linked to voltage plateaux are observed. Here we report results from a galvanostatic discharge of a FeS2/LiCl–KCl/Li13Si4 cell at 500 °C. The cell discharge showed a flat voltage plateau between Li13Si4 and Li7Si3 which indicates that both phases are in equilibrium and are line phases. In situ powder neutron diffraction study of two lithiated phases of silicon, Li13Si4 and Li7Si3, was performed. The two phases were heated from room temperature to 500 °C. This showed the phases did not become amorphous and did not undergo phase changes, with both phases being remarkably stable. The variation with temperature of the unit cell parameters was linear. The volumetric thermal expansion coefficient of Li13Si4 is 99.3 × 10−6 °C−1 and Li7Si3 is 106 × 10−6 °C−1. The volumetric thermal expansion of the two phases is significantly larger than that of silicon and closer to the thermal expansion of lithium metal. Thus, the LixSi electrode is mechanically closer to lithium than to silicon, and it can be considered as silicon clusters embedded within the lithium array rather than the silicon lattice hosting lithium.Peer reviewe
Through the eyes of dragons
No full textThis is the first six chapters of a novel in progress. As a result, some ideas introduced here will not be fully explored or explained until later in the novel. Because this story is set in the United States and features a quintessentially American post-secondary education experience, I have chosen to maintain American spelling and grammar throughout
Sustainable palm fruit harvesting as a pathway to conserve Amazon peatland forests
Get PDFFunding: We thank the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grant number 5349; ‘MonANPeru: Monitoring Protected Areas in Peru to Increase Forest Resilience to Climate Change’ to T.R.B. and O.L.P.) for funding a Masters by Research scholarship to C.G.H.P. at the University of Leeds and subsequent time for manuscript preparation, fieldwork by C.G.H.P. for this study in 2019 and establishment and re-measurement of forest plots in the palm swamps of Loreto during 2017–2019. Data collection was also funded by the BOSQUES research group of IIAP (led by D.d.C.T.), the projects ‘Protecting biodiversity and livelihoods in the wetlands of Peruvian Amazonia’ (agreement no. 220-2018-FONDECYT, to J.d.A.-P., E.N.H.C. and K.H.R.), which was funded through the Newton-Paulet Fund by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (UK) and CONCYTEC (Peru) and delivered by the British Council, and ‘ARBOLES: A trait-based understanding of LATAM forest biodiversity and resilience’ (agreement no. 001-2019-FONDECYT; to E.N.H.C.), which was supported by CONCYTEC, the Newton Fund, the Embajada Británica Lima and NERC. Data analysis and writing was also supported by the project ‘Novel approaches to understand the state of biodiversity and support livelihoods: the distribution and degradation levels of Mauritia flexuosa stands in Amazonia’ (grant agreement 41469429; to T.R.B. and D.d.C.T.), which was funded through the Newton-Paulet Fund by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (UK) and CONCYTEC (Peru) and delivered by the British Council. E.N.H.C. also acknowledges support from a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (NE/V018760/1).Sustainable management of intact tropical peatlands is crucial for climate change mitigation, for biodiversity conservation and to support the livelihoods of local communities. Here, we explore whether sustainable fruit harvesting from Mauritia flexuosa palms could support these linked goals by increasing fruit production and incomes across the 2.8 million hectares of the most carbon-dense ecosystem in Amazonia: the lowland peatlands of northeastern Peru. M. flexuosa is dioecious, and fruits are typically harvested by felling female palms; the proportion of female palms therefore provides a good indicator of the health of a stand. Across 93 widely distributed sites, we found that the proportion of female palms increases with travel time to the urban market, and overall, fruit harvesting has halved the current potential production and income from this resource. However, significantly more female palms are found where fruit are harvested by climbing. We estimate that region-wide uptake of climbing could eventually increase potential fruit production by 51% and increase its gross value to US$62 ± 28.2 million yr–1. These findings demonstrate the high cost of unsustainable resource extraction in Neotropical forests and outline a practical path to conserve and sustainably exploit one of the most carbon-rich landscapes on the planet.Peer reviewe
Assessing the effects of a 660 nm diode laser on crustacean eyes
Get PDFFunding: This research was partially funded by the EU Horizon Programme EveryFish project under grant agreement No. 101059892 (https://everyfish.eu/). James Rimmer and Rhys Hague were funded through this project. Mark James received no funding.Sustainable management of crustacean fisheries requires accurate and timely data for population modelling, but many stocks are data deficient. To address this challenge, a novel device using Class 3R 660 nm diode lasers and Artificial Intelligence algorithms for automated data collection is under development. Whilst the safe use of Class 3R lasers is prescribed for the human eye, equivalent knowledge is required to ensure that lasers of this Class can be used without causing ocular damage to crustaceans. Some countries recognise crustaceans as sentient, thus ocular impacts that could compromise welfare and impair the subsequent survival of sampled specimens could be deemed unacceptable. This study investigates the impact of a prototype laser scanning system on the compound eyes of the white-legged prawn, Litopenaeus vannamei. Histological analysis in a controlled laboratory revealed a correlation between laser exposure and markers of ocular tissue damage, suggesting potential cumulative effects associated with repeated exposure. However, there was indication of pre-existing, underlying baseline alterations in some markers, possibly associated with senescence. Further, observations indicated minimal immediate behavioural effects following single scans, though care is warranted in extrapolating these findings to natural populations and different species under commercial conditions. In an operational context, specimens would only be subjected to a single exposure with a conveyor speed four times faster than that used experimentally, which equates to ~0.05 mW total laser energy. The estimated exposure for a single scan used experimentally was ~0.19 mW. At this level, there is no clear evidence of ocular tissue damage. However, fewer than five repeated exposures at the 6.7 cm/s conveyor speed used experimentally, may result in observable changes in some ocular tissue underscoring the need for cautious protocol development. This research highlights potential biological markers for evaluating photothermal damage in crustacean eyes, which could be used in future studies covering a broader range of commercially significant species.Peer reviewe
Enhanced diagnosis of thyroid diseases through advanced machine learning methodologies
Get PDFThyroid disease is a health concern related to the thyroid gland, which is vital for controlling the metabolism of the human body. Predominantly affecting women in their fourth or fifth decades of life, thyroid disease can result in physical and mental issues. This research focuses on improving the diagnostic process by creating a classification model that utilises various machine learning models and a deeplearning model to categorise three types of thyroid disease conditions. This research developed an automated system capable of classifying three thyroid conditions using five machine learning models and a deep learning model. Resampling techniques, such as SMOTE oversampling and Random undersampling, are utilised to correct the issue of class imbalance in the dataset. Finally, a web-based application is developed utilising the most effective model, GBC, which facilitates easy classification of thyroid diseases. The experimental analysis showed that the Gradient Boosting Classifier (GBC), using oversampling techniques, achieved the highest level of performance in classifying thyroid diseases, obtaining an accuracy and F1-Score of 99.76%. This study demonstrated that TSH was the most indicative biomarker for thyroid disease classification. The experimental results proved that the Gradient Boosting Classifier (GBC) utilising the oversampling technique achieved a superior performance compared to other classifier models, with an accuracy and F1-Score of 99.76%. This research presented insights that can assist healthcare practitioners in promptly diagnosing thyroid diseases.Peer reviewe
Why protest when it is not working? : The complexities of efficacy in the current Palestine solidarity protests
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United as one? : Personal and social identity threats differentially predict cooperation and prejudice toward minorities
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre grant 2018/30/M/HS6/00298 awarded to the first author, and by Grant PID2022.141182NB.I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 ERDF/EU and awarded to the second author. Additionally, the third author was supported by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) and also by a Polish Social Psychological Society (PSPS) Young Researchers Grant (Study 2).Global threats are often identified as triggers of intergroup conflict. However, personal vs. social identity threats can differently shape intergroup relations–enhancing or decreasing cooperation and prejudice. We tested the idea that appraisals of different types of threat (to personal vs. social identity motives) shape specific representations of intergroup relations (as one-group recategorization or separate-group coalition), which have opposing implications for modern prejudice toward ethnic minorities. In four studies (N = 2,772) performed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found evidence that personal threats were negatively associated with modern prejudice and this relation was mediated by preferences for separate group-representations, whereas social identity threats were positively associated with modern prejudice and mediated by preferences for one group representations.Peer reviewe
Characteristics of green loan users and the green policy mix
Get PDFFunding: This study is financially supported by Nomura School of Advanced Management and the JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP16H02027J and 20H01517.We analyse the usage of government-sponsored green loans under a feed-in-tariffs scheme and document a positive link with borrower financial health. Green loan users have better credit ratings, higher sales growth, and lower leverage. The link remains stable in face of significantly changing conditions for green investments and heightened policy uncertainty. Green loan users exhibit better ex-post performance and lower default probability. Results are in line with the notion that the screening undertaken by the lender matters for efficient green loan provision and highlight the important role of public loan programs in the green policy mix.Peer reviewe
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