This essay shows how the United States racialized refugees through photography. American policy makers and news media have deployed photography as a definitive tool in characterizing Haitian “economic migrants” as “bad” refugees in opposition to “good” or “model” refugees from Vietnam. A cluster of black bodies on an unseaworthy boat came to represent an economic and hygienic threat, unlike the Vietnamese who are political victims of an oppressive communist regime. To critique our optical framework regulated by the Cold War racial politics, this essay historicizes how refugees were produced by American warfare and militarism. In the United States, war making, race making, and refugee making are mutually constitutive.

Thanks to the rich findings of Swiss archaeological practice, Tacitus’ narrative for the violent encounter between the Vitellian army and the Helvetians in 69 c.e. (Hist. 1.67–9) can fruitfully be embedded in different material contexts from the late first century b.c.e. and the early first century c.e. (funerary practice, numismatic finds, military architecture, consumption, social relations). The resulting picture is that of the Helvetian civitas as a political community endowed with autonomy and state-like capacities within the Roman empire: militaria are the index of local militarism rather than auxiliary service. This model might be applied more widely within the western provinces and the Roman empire in general.

Second language (L2) pronunciation research has measured speech comprehensibility by asking listeners to assess L2 learners’ speaking performance with rating scales. While some studies have provided validity evidence for these rating scales, few studies have examined the extent to which those scales effectively distinguish among L2 speakers. To fill this gap, the present study examines the 9-point scale used in Saito et al. (2020: Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 9–25.) and the 100-point scale in Huensch and Nagle (2023: Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(2), 571–585.) from a Rasch measurement perspective and showcases post hoc score category collapsing as a potential countermeasure against suboptimal rating scale functioning. Findings suggested that different score categories represented the same ability level and were therefore interchangeable. Collapsing these score categories yielded shorter but more functional scales without compromising the psychometric qualities of the original scales. These findings suggest that researchers need to empirically refine their scale lengths rather than uncritically following their conventional measurement practices.

A general asymptotic theory is established for sample cross moments of nonstationary time series, allowing for long-range dependence and local unit roots. The theory provides a substantial extension of earlier results on nonparametric regression that include near-cointegrated nonparametric regression as well as spurious nonparametric regression. Many new models are covered by the limit theory, among which are functional coefficient regressions in which both regressors and the functional covariate are nonstationary. Simulations show finite sample performance matching well with the asymptotic theory and having broad relevance to applications, while revealing how dual nonstationarity in regressors and covariates raises sensitivity to bandwidth choice and the impact of dimensionality in nonparametric regression. An empirical example is provided involving climate data regression to assess Earth’s climate sensitivity to CO$_2$, where nonstationarity is a prominent feature of both the regressors and covariates in the model. To our knowledge, this application is the first nonparametric empirical analysis to assess potential nonlinear impacts of CO$_2$ on Earth’s climate while allowing for nonstationarity in both the regressors and covariates.

Lepidopteran stemborers are among the most destructive pests of maize, sorghum, and sugarcane in Africa. Yet, data on their species composition and host range in Rwanda remain limited. This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of stemborer diversity, seasonal dynamics, and altitudinal distribution across eastern (low altitude), central (mid-altitude), and northern (high altitude) Rwanda. Surveys were conducted during both the rainy (maize growing) and dry seasons of 2023–2024, targeting infested maize fields and surrounding wild vegetation. A total of 2691 stemborer individuals were recovered from nine host plants, with 1474 (54.8%) from wild and fodder vegetation and 1217 (45.2%) from maize plantations. Species richness was highest in the mid-altitude zone, while overall abundance peaked at low altitudes. Busseola fusca was the most abundant in the high-altitude zone, Chilo partellus in the low altitude, and Sesamia spp. was concentrated in the mid-altitude. Seasonal variation significantly influenced population dynamic, with the highest abundance (1251; 46.4%) recorded during the dry season. Notably, Pennisetum purpureum (Napier grass) hosted 1156 (42.9%) of all specimens, highlighting its role as a key refugium during maize off-seasons. These findings underscore the ecological importance of wild vegetation in sustaining stemborer populations and suggest that wild vegetation, altitudinal, and seasonal factors must be considered in designing integrated lepidopteran stemborer pest management strategies.

In a series of detective novels published between 1957 and 1969 Chester Himes portrayed diverse individuals struggling for survival, wealth, and status in a fictionalized postwar Harlem, combining what Richard Wright called a “bio-social” perspective with an antiracist aesthetics that falsified simplistic racial categories. In this essay, I trace Himes’s renderings of bodily difference and transformation, highlighting features neglected by contemporaries such as Ellison and Baldwin as well as more recent critics and readers who frame Himes’s writings as protests against anti-Black violence. I conclude that Himes’s Harlem novels did not simply reflect violent realities of African American lives but instead exhibited unresolved conflicts between antiracist imperatives, namely a recognition of individual complexities on the one hand, and organized struggle against racially discriminatory institutions and practices on the other.

In alignment with the vision for the future of the European Union (EU) put forth by the European Green Deal in 2020, and EU efforts to tackle global deforestation and forest degradation, the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) was adopted in June 2023. The EUDR is designed specifically as a unilateral, yet transnational, intervention to limit access to the EU market or the exports from the EU of seven key forest-risk commodities whenever they are linked with deforestation, forest degradation, or illegality. Drawing on decolonial and critical food systems scholarship, this article critically examines the EU’s position in combating global deforestation and forest degradation by positioning the EUDR in historically shaped and unequally constructed agri-food chains. Whereas the EU’s plan to decrease deforestation and forest degradation linked with its substantive consumption of products from the global south is an innovative step from the point of view of transnational governance of environmental degradation, we find that the historical amnesia, the emphasis on global trade, and the push for ‘green value chains’ fail to address the root causes of deforestation. Moreover, we contend that the EU legislator overlooked the potential of using transnational governance to rethink agri-food systems, including by promoting re-regionalization in the name of food sovereignty and the right to food.

In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu announces that he would be the happiest of mortals if he could help men cure themselves of their prejudices. Though he demands that we understand prejudice’s role in his work, scholars have not excavated his whole strategy regarding it. Preliminary investigations have concluded that he sought to destroy prejudices because he had a high estimation of popular reason. This article argues that, while he does seek to eliminate prejudices that support despotism, he also encourages salutary ones for liberty. His whole strategy regarding prejudices shows that his use of them reflects a modest assessment of reason. By demonstrating that two of his well-known strategies for political reform—reinterpreting Christianity and encouraging commerce—concern salutary prejudices, this article reveals the centrality of prejudices to his political project overall.

The RNCP/NIAID recommends the creation of a North American Biodosimetry Assessment Networking Group (BANG) by developing a blueprint for integrating the relevant national capabilities to provide emergency biodosimetry assistance in civilian populations following a radiological or nuclear incident. The goals of BANG are to: 1) establish a collaborative network (public/private partnership) and engage its membership to address emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, 2) promote strategic relationships between network members to encourage resource sharing, 3) engage with stakeholders to utilize recommended tools and support training exercises, and 4) advance bioinformatics and machine learning approaches to integrate and utilize the network data for managing emergency situations.

To be adequately prepared for large-scale radiological or nuclear incidents, a coordinated network among well-trained, commercial, hospital, and/or academic laboratories is a critical factor for providing rapid exposure assessments. Interactive and productive collaborations between North American laboratories will improve the capabilities of the network by offering a wider range of complementary biological and physical techniques. BANG would connect community service providers with various biodosimetry capabilities, and enable members to discuss best practices, common goals, emergency planning/ training, and sharing of resources, to increase the nation’s resiliency before, during, and after a radiological public health emergency.

This paper presents a wideband dual-polarized microstrip patch antenna with a dual-layer design to meet the requirements of high isolation for in-band full-duplex (IBFD) communication systems. The antenna improves upon the traditional square patch with four Γ-shaped probe-fed by ingeniously extending the metal strips of the Γ-shaped probes to form a cross-shaped structure, thereby exciting multiple independently tunable resonant modes. A circular ring slot is etched at the feed point to optimize the antenna impedance matching. Finally, a middle-layer circular patch is added to optimize the high-frequency impedance matching without changing the profile. By combining differential feeding technology, the antenna maintains a low-profile characteristic of 0.086λL (where λL denotes the free-space wavelength at the lowest operating frequency) while achieving dual-polarized operation and high port isolation (≥42 dB), along with an impedance bandwidth of 71.5% (4.06–8.58 GHz) that surpasses most existing designs. The measured antenna realized peak gain is 8.2 dBi, with cross-polarization suppression ≤−20 dB and stable radiation pattern characteristics across the operating frequency band. This design provides a compact antenna solution with high isolation, broadband, dual polarization, and low cost for IBFD applications.

The quarantine pest, Opisina arenosella Walker, poses a significant threat to 34 palm plant species, including economically vital coconut trees. Its adaptability and rapid spread raise concerns about global tree invasion and potential economic and environmental impacts. Utilising advanced sequencing technology, this study aims to analyse O. arenosella mitochondrial genome, comparing it with three Lepidoptera families to explore its phylogenetic status. The complete mitochondrial genome (15,389 bp) was sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq platform, with tRNA genes validated using tRNAScan-SE and MITOS WebServer. Comparative analysis involved 13 protein-coding genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, comparing them with outgroup species like Agapanthia amurensis. The results revealed that O. arenosella genome’s nucleotide composition is 39.24% A, 41.33% T, 12.02% C, and 7.41% G. The phylogenetic tree was constructed using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Interestingly, in the BI analysis, (O. arenosella + Ripeacma umbellate) clustered together with ((Promalactis suzukiella + Promalactis odaiensis) + (Stathmopoda auriferella + Casmara patrona)), forming a clade with high node support, while ML lacked high node support. Additionally, both methods indicated a monophyletic clade with high node support for Comparmustilia, Oberthueria, Pseudandraca, and Andraca. This research provides valuable mitochondrial genome data, contributing to phylogenetics and taxonomy studies, establishing a foundation for future research in this field.

Most theories of sentence structure acknowledge predicates, yet what one understands a predicate to be can vary significantly from one theory to the next, and from one grammarian to the next. This article surveys how the predicate notion is understood in semantics, syntax, and grammar studies quite generally. It scrutinizes the various predicate concepts, and then argues in favor of one particular understanding of predicates in syntax, one that is especially congruent with a dependency grammar (DG) approach to sentence structures. Predicates are catenae, the catena being a concrete unit of syntactic analysis. The catena-based approach to predicates is motivated in three areas: in terms of the synthetic vs. analytic realizations of meaning, in terms of entailment patterns, and in terms of pronoun resolution. The catena-based approach makes insightful generalizations in these areas possible.

Greater consumption of red meat has been linked to a higher risk of mortality and chronic diseases, including diabetes. We aim to examine the associations between total, processed, and unprocessed red meat intake and diabetes, and to evaluate the substitution effects of other protein sources for red meat on diabetes. This population-based cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2016. Diabetes was defined as being diagnosed by a physician or other health professional, having a fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL or higher, an HbA1c level of 6.5% or higher, or the use of antidiabetic drugs. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted. The study included 34,737 adult participants (mean (SD) age of 45.8 (17.5) years) from NHANES 2003-2016. After adjusting for major confounders, compared to the first quintile, higher intakes of total, processed, and unprocessed red meat were positively associated with higher odds of diabetes, with adjusted odds ratios of 1.49 (95% CI, 1.22-1.81), 1.47 (95% CI, 1.17-1.84), and 1.24 (95% CI, 1.06-1.44), respectively (P- trend for all < 0. 001). In this nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, participants in the highest quintiles of total, processed, and unprocessed red meat intake had higher odds of diabetes than those in the lowest quintile. Substituting 1 serving/day of dietary protein from foods of plant origin (including nuts, seeds, legumes, and soy) for total, processed, or unprocessed red meat was associated with 9% to 14% lower odds of diabetes.

Assessing the size of twins at birth using charts developed for singletons may over diagnose small for gestational age in this sub-population. The study aimed to produce international, twin-specific, newborn size normative charts by gestational age and sex. This longitudinal observational study in eight geographically diverse settings prospectively collected data between May 2009 and August 2013 from healthy pregnant women and their newborn twins. The participants were enrolled as part of the INTERGROWTH-21st study, and recruited based on World Health Organization recommendations for evaluation of anthropometric measures. All the women met, in addition to the underlying population characteristics of low perinatal risk, strict individual criteria for a population at low risk of impaired fetal growth. Newborn weight, length and head circumference measures were collected independently in duplicate by two trained anthropometrists within 12 hours of birth using identical equipment and protocols at all sites. From 1034 multiple pregnancies, after exclusions of condition such as smoking, high maternal BMI, and congenital malformations, the final sample was 864 twin newborns. Most of the twins were below the 50th centile of the INTERGROWTH-21st standards for singletons. We present international newborn size normative charts for twins using the same methodological approach adopted to construct the singleton standards.