Archaeological research on palaces and architectural spaces related to power factions allow a better understanding of the social dynamics of political economies. Several types of palaces appear in Mesoamerica according to distinct forms of sociopolitical organization. For Tlaxcallan, a Late Postclassic (A.D. 1250/1300–1519) geopolitical state-level polity with a highly collective government, the existence of palaces has been questioned. We reconsider the existence of palaces in Tlaxcallan through the contextual analysis of an architectural complex (CA-2) of Tepeticpac, one of the sectors of the conurbated area. We evaluate the functionality of CA-2 as a palace by examining the processes of occupation and abandonment of the building in relation to its architectural and stratigraphic sequence and the type of associated artifacts. The comparison between archaeological and historical data indicate that Tlaxcallans probably had palaces, but they were less ostentatious compared to others found in societies with more centralized governments.

This essay offers an introduction to Hegel's philosophy of sound as elaborated in the 1830 Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences in Basic Outline. The first section begins with essential context for interpreting the a priori status of nature and sound in Hegel's Philosophy of Nature. Next, I develop a general account of the Aristotelian character of Hegel's ‘Physics’, and a commentary on the categories of specific gravity and cohesion leading up to sound (and heat) in the ‘Physics of Particular Individuality’. The second section provides an exegetical portrait of Hegel's metaphysics of sound. I first reconstruct Hegel's ontology of sound from the subsection on ‘Sound’ (Der Klang), and then outline his theory of auditory perception. The third section compares Hegel's philosophy of sound to leading views in contemporary philosophy of sound. I argue that Hegel offers a hylomorphic version of a located event theory of sound, which I suggest is more phenomenologically adequate than the modern acoustic view, and more metaphysically consistent than other distal event theories of sound.

The rate of adult severe obesity has been continually rising in the USA. While improving diet quality has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, few studies have explored the differences in diet quality among adults with overweight and obesity by different weight statuses along with socio-demographic factors and physical activity using data from a nationally representative survey in the USA. The main goal of the study is to assess the diet quality of adults with overweight and obesity by examining differences in the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) scores, using data from the 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Among 6746 adults with overweight and obesity (aged ≥ 20 years), severe obesity was prevalent (27 %), particularly among females, non-Hispanic Blacks and those with lower education and income. Compared to adults with overweight, adults with severe obesity had lower HEI-2015 total scores as well as component scores for total fruits, whole fruits, greens and beans, refined grains, sodium and saturated fats. Among adults with overweight and obesity, non-Hispanic Blacks had lower diet quality than non-Hispanic Asians; females had better diet quality than males; older adults had better diet quality than younger adults; adults with a college degree and above had better diet quality than those with less than a high school degree. Socio-demographic differences in diet quality and weight status should be considered in future obesity interventions to reduce adult severe obesity in the USA.

Two new free-living marine nematode species of genus Tripyloides were discovered in intertidal sediments along Rudong coast of the Yellow Sea and on Qi′ao Island of the South China Sea, respectively. They are described here as Tripyloides conicus sp. nov. and Tripyloides boucheri sp. nov. T. conicus sp. nov. is characterized by outer labial setae two-segments, amphideal fovea circular, buccal cavity with four chambers and with a distinct tooth at the bottom, spicules slender and straight, gubernaculum kidney-like with two lateral denticles at distal end, tail sexual dimorphism (elongated conical in males, conico-cylindrical in females). T. boucheri sp. nov. is characterized by body size small, outer labial setae stout, two-segments, amphidial fovea small, circular, narrow conical buccal cavity without distinct tooth, male with papilliform precloacal supplements, spicules slender, gubernaculum with two lateral denticles at distal end, tail conico-cylindrical and not swollen terminally. An updated dichotomous key for fifteen species of the genus is also given.

We show that the total variation mixing time is not quasi-isometry invariant, even for Cayley graphs. Namely, we construct a sequence of pairs of Cayley graphs with maps between them that twist the metric in a bounded way, while the ratio of the two mixing times goes to infinity. The Cayley graphs serving as an example have unbounded degrees. For non-transitive graphs, we construct bounded degree graphs for which the mixing time from the worst starting point for one graph is asymptotically smaller than the mixing time from the best starting point of the random walk on a network obtained by increasing some of the edge weights from 1 to $1+o(1)$.

Population connectivity has a fundamental role in metapopulation dynamics with important implications for population persistence in space and time. Oceanic islands, such as Easter Island (EI) and the Salas & Gómez Island (SG), are ideal for the study of population connectivity because they are separated by 415 km and isolated from other islands in the Pacific Ocean by >2000 km. Considering that the dispersal process could play a critical role in the persistence of their populations, we evaluated the connectivity pattern of the endemic gastropod Monetaria caputdraconis between EI and SG using population genetics and biophysical modelling. Eleven microsatellite loci did not show differences in the allelic frequency of individuals located in EI and SG, suggesting the presence of one genetic population. Historical reciprocal migration implies that 0.49% of the recruits in EI come from SG and 0.37% in SG come from EI. Considering year-round larval release and a larval development of 2 weeks in the plankton, a Lagrangian experiment based on a regional oceanic simulation indicated a weak population connectivity with a high rate of self-recruitment. Interestingly, self-recruitment showed both monthly and interannual variation ranging from 1 to 45% of returned larvae, with lower values estimated in SG compared to EI. The results suggest that few larvae/individuals arrive at each other's island, possibly due to stochastic events, such as rafting. Overall, our results indicate that both islands maintain population connectivity despite their distance; these findings have implications for designing conservation strategies in this region.

Timely diagnosis of brain death (BD) is critical as it prevents unethical and futile continuation of support of vital organ functions when the patient has passed. Furthermore, it helps with avoiding the unnecessary use of resources and provides early opportunity for precious organ donation. The diagnosis of BD is mainly based on careful neurological assessment of patients with an established underlying diagnosis of neurological catastrophe capable of causing BD.

Ancillary testing, however, is tremendously helpful in situations when the presence of confounders prevents or delays comprehensive neurological assessment. Traditionally, four-vessel digital subtraction angiography and computed tomography angiography have been used for blood flow (BF) examinations of the brain. The lack of BF in the intracranial arteries constitutes conclusive evidence that the brain is dead. However, there is an apparent discrepancy between the BF and sufficient cerebral perfusion; several studies have shown that in 15% of patients with confirmed clinical diagnosis of BD, BF is still preserved. In these patients, cerebral perfusion is significantly impaired. Hence, measurement of cerebral perfusion rather than BF will provide a more precise assessment of the brain function.

In this review article, we discuss a brief history of BD, our understanding of its complex pathophysiology, current Canadian guidelines for the clinical diagnosis of BD, and the ancillary tests-specifically CT perfusion of the brain that help us with the prompt and timely diagnosis of BD.

We show that all values in the interval $[0,{\pi }/{2}]$ can be attained as interior angles between intermediate subalgebras (as introduced by Bakshi and the first named author [‘Lattice of intermediate subalgebras’, J. Lond. Math. Soc. (2) 104(2) (2021), 2082–2127]) of a certain inclusion of simple unital $C^*$-algebras. We also calculate the interior angles between intermediate crossed product subalgebras of any inclusion of crossed product algebras corresponding to any action of a countable discrete group and its subgroups on a unital $C^*$-algebra.

Double-masking may be used to reduce the transmission of a virus. If additionally the masks are compressible, with different permeabilities and behaviour under compression, then it may be possible to design a mask that allows for easy breathing under normal breathing conditions, but is relatively impermeable under coughing or sneezing conditions. Such a mask could be both comfortable to wear and effective. We obtain analytical solutions for the steady-state flow-through behaviour of such a double mask under flow-out conditions. The results show that the reduction in permeability required to produce a relatively impermeable mask under high flux expulsion (sneezing) conditions could be achieved using either a single filter compressible mask or two filters with different poroelastic parameters. The parameters can be more easily adjusted using a double mask. For both single- and double-mask cases, there is an abrupt cut off, whereby through-flux levels reduce from a maximum value to zero as pressure drop levels increase beyond a critical value. Additionally, in the double-mask case, there exists a second steady-state solution for particular parameter ranges. This second solution is unlikely to occur under normal circumstances.

The ‘Mind the Gap’ project has created a toolkit for civil society to hold companies to account for their adverse impacts. The toolkit sets out two distinct but interlinked frameworks: harmful corporate strategies resulting in the avoidance of responsibility for adverse impacts, and civil society counter-strategies to overcome these harmful strategies. Both frameworks capture the unique experiences of the Mind the Gap project’s global consortium partners and civil society actors focused on corporate accountability. The project responds to a need to close governance gaps that arise in the context of the current global economic system. It is only by identifying and understanding harmful corporate strategies that civil society can effectively advocate for corporate accountability and the closure of governance gaps.

This article investigates the use of touch as a tool for engaging prospective next speakers within Indonesian multiparty conversation. We examine the lamination of touch onto questions directed towards specifically targeted recipients. First, we find that questions with touch are deployed when the physical environment complicates the attainment of mutual orientation. Second, when previously targeted recipients have failed to respond to a question, touch is added to follow-up questions that are deployed for pursuing a response. Third, touch is added to questions that are personal or that inquire about potentially delicate matters. This multimodal investigation of conversational turn-taking provides data from Colloquial Indonesian as basis for cross-linguistic comparison. In considering the volume of touches in these data we ask whether cultural and environmental factors might contribute to a haptic modification of ordinary turn-taking procedures. (Turn-taking, touch, multimodality, sociotopography)