Connecting individual robots to form an inter-reconfigurable system with a flexible base size enhances the ability to access and cover areas for cleaning and maintenance tasks. Given that increased configuration complexity expands the search space dimension, an optimal routing solution ensuring efficiency is essential. In this paper, we present an inter-reconfigurable multi-robot system capable of adjusting the bases of its two units, along with an optimal path planning approach for confined spaces based on a modified informed rapidly-exploring random tree algorithm by a greedy set (RIRRT*). We validate the navigation of the proposed inter-reconfigurable platform using RIRRT* for four informed dimensional search spaces as a case study in both simulated and real-world environments. The proposed path planning method for the inter-reconfigurable system outperformed conventional strategies, achieving significant reduction in both execution time and energy utilization.

Drawing on newspaper articles and oral histories, this paper provides an initial sketch of some of the issues at stake within the Ga community in Accra, focusing on the founding of the Ga Shifimo Kpee, a nationalist movement founded at the heart of the first President Kwame Nkrumah’s new capital and the seat of his own power in the new country. Rather than providing a definitive account of the Shifimo Kpee, this article highlights the ways in which foundational published accounts have sometimes inhibited a richer understanding of this period and analyzes primary sources to point to new avenues of interrogation.

This section highlights and provides details of a range of key sources and databases that were either central to or provide further material on the issues explored in the papers in this special themed section. Building on the analysis of the UK and South Korea’s policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and its integration with the key concepts of critical human security and state capacity the section is organised around the following themes: Critical human security, vulnerability and the pandemic; State capacity and social infrastructure; Risk governance and systemic risk; Digitalization, public services, and the pandemic; Cities and local social policy; and finally, Data Sources. These additional resources provide some general sources but are otherwise tailored to the social and public policy contexts of the UK and South Korea.

This study aimed to explore combinations of the Brazilian front-of-package nutrition labelling (FoPNL) (high in added sugar, saturated fat or sodium) and/or three specific food additives with cosmetic functions (colourings, flavourings and non-sugar sweeteners) in packaged foods and beverages marketed in Brazil. This approach intends to strengthen the identification of ultra-processed food products (UPFP) by consumers through the information available on their labels. A cross-sectional study was carried out using data from the list of ingredients and the nutrition facts panel on labels of processed foods and UPFP available in Brazilian supermarkets between April and July 2017, totalling 8436 food items assessed, of which 84·0 % were UPFP. Of the total, 62·7 % of the UPFP would have the FoPNL and 65·1 %, 37·9 % and 12·9 % had flavouring, colouring and non-sugar sweeteners, respectively. Combining criteria for the FoPNL with any one of the three cosmetic additives analysed, 45·9 % of the UPFP were identified, and when considering the presence of the FoPNL, flavouring, colouring or non-sugar sweeteners, the identification increased to 89·9 %. Results showed that the current FoPNL in Brazil does not facilitate the identification of UPFP. In this sense, labels that indicate the presence of food additives with cosmetic functions (which are UPFP markers) could be a public health strategy to reduce the consumption of UPFP. Currently, food labelling regulations in Brazil are not aligned with Brazilian Dietary Guidelines recommendations.

The Vietnamese Communist Party adopted a rigid Maoist-model to foment class struggle to eradicate all traces of ‘feudalism’ and ‘capitalism’ across the northern countryside during the 1950s. The mass campaign began in late 1952 then ended abruptly in late 1956 due to the violent chaos it unleashed. A growing body of critical scholarship exists on this campaign; however, the importance of the final step in the campaign's model remains largely overlooked — namely, the ‘reorganisation’ of local Party cells, the goal of which was to extend Party control, especially in areas only recently liberated from French colonial rule. Lengthy, detailed, and confessional in nature, the reports present not only the mobilisation team's achievements, but also include extensive discussions of the failures arising from the team's efforts to assess, purify, and then consolidate the cells. The analysis focuses the ‘story-telling devices’ the report authors used to frame these outcomes. The findings contribute not only to the critical historiography of the tumultuous period, but also the emerging sub-field of failure studies.

People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) commonly describe cognitive decline later in the day, but few studies have evaluated this perception’s validity. In a consecutive sample of 791 pwMS, this study evaluated whether time-of-testing predicted Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS raw scores, accounting for age, sex, educational years, disease duration, disability and disease-modifying therapy use. The mean age was 43.76 years (SD = 11.30), 76.74% were female and most had mild disability. Later time-of-testing independently predicted reduced Judgment of Line Orientation scores (p < 0.01), but not other cognitive variables. In pwMS, there is a diurnal decline in visuospatial cognitive test performance.

Pregnancy and lactation change women’s body composition (BC), but few longitudinal studies have investigated postpartum BC trajectories. We aimed to investigate maternal and infant predictors of maternal body fat (BF), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) and BMI trajectories during lactation. Longitudinal study with 234 Brazilian mother–infant dyads followed at 1·0–3·49, 3·5–5·99 and 6·0–8·5 months postpartum. Maternal BC was estimated using bioelectrical impedance at all follow-up points. Longitudinal mixed–effects models with interaction terms with time (weeks postpartum) were employed. FFM declined significantly over weeks postpartum (β = −0·02 kg; 95 % CI –0·03, −0·01). Pre-pregnancy overweight women experienced an increase in all body components (BF: β = 4·91 %, 95 % CI 3·79, 6·04; FM: β = 6·46 kg, 95 % CI 5·26, 7·67; FFM: β = 3·72 kg, 95 % CI 2·80, 4·65) and BMI (β = 4·51 kg/m2, 95 % CI 3·91, 5·12). Multiparous women showed BMI increases (β = 0·76 kg/m2, 95 % CI 0·11, 1·41), and those who delivered by caesarean had FFM (β = 1·87 kg, 95 % CI 0·67, 3·07) and BMI (β = 1·39 kg/m2, 95 % CI 0·61, 2·18) increases. Women who birthed girls had reductions in FM (β = −1·24 kg, 95 % CI –2·41, −0·07) and FFM (β = −0·93 kg, 95 % CI –1·84, −0·01). Interactions occurred between maternal age ≥ 30 years, higher family income, multiparity and infant sex for BC and BMI trajectories. Maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, family income, mode of delivery and infant sex predict maternal BC and BMI trajectories.

There is no consensus on how to infer welfare from inconsistent choices. We argue that theorists must be explicit about the values they endorse to characterize individual welfare. After formalizing a set of values and their relationship with context-independent choices, we review the literature and discuss the advantages and drawbacks of each approach. We demonstrate that defining welfare a priori may violate normative individualism, arguably the most desirable value to maintain. To uphold this value while addressing individuals’ errors, we propose a weaker version of consumer sovereignty, which we label ‘consumer autonomy’.

We evaluated quality characteristics of cardiac point-of-care ultrasound performed in our paediatric cardiac ICU. Of 47 included patients, diagnostic imaging was feasible in a high percentage of patients with good image quality. Intensivist interpretations of images were highly specific for dichotomised abnormal findings when compared to interpretation from a cardiologist with expertise in imaging but challenges in accurately assessing depressed ventricular function and the risk of discrepant interpretations exist even amongst frequent users with extensive training and experience. These findings may serve as a template for continued development of cardiac point-of-care ultrasound in a high-impact clinical environment.

While the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques offers great promise to society, there is growing public concern about AI's impact on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.1 As a consequence, many international organizations have developed legal frameworks for AI governance. These began with the Universal Guidelines for AI (2018), the OECD AI Principles (2019), later adopted by the G20 nations, the UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics, and most notably, the EU Artificial Act, a comprehensive framework for the regulation of AI.

Aorto–left ventricular tunnel is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly characterised by an extracardiac channel connecting the ascending aorta directly to the left ventricle. Surgical repair in neonates poses significant challenges due to the diminutive size and close proximity of critical structures such as the aortic valve and coronary ostia. We report the case of a neonate with an aorto–left ventricular tunnel, mild left ventricular dysfunction, and mild aortic insufficiency who underwent successful surgical repair on the sixth day of life. Following cardiopulmonary bypass initiation and cardioplegic arrest, the ascending aorta was transected for direct visualisation. A 5-mm 0° rigid endoscope was employed intraoperatively, providing high-resolution magnification of the aortic valve, right coronary artery, and tunnel anatomy. The tunnel was closed using an autologous pericardial patch, ensuring preservation of the coronary ostium and aortic valve integrity. Postoperative echocardiography demonstrated good left ventricular function, trivial aortic insufficiency, and no residual shunt. The use of rigid endoscopy significantly enhanced the safety and precision of the repair by allowing accurate anatomical delineation and facilitating patch placement. This case highlights the importance of detailed visualisation in neonatal aorto–left ventricular tunnel repair and underscores the utility of rigid endoscopic technology in complex congenital heart surgery. Endoscopic assistance not only aids intraoperative decision-making but also serves as a valuable tool for surgical education and postoperative review.

We derive new cases of conjectures of Rubin and of Burns–Kurihara–Sano concerning derivatives of Dirichlet L-series at $s = 0$ in p-elementary abelian extensions of number fields for arbitrary prime numbers p. In naturally arising examples of such extensions one therefore obtains annihilators of class groups from S-truncated Dirichlet L-series for ‘large-enough’ sets of places S.

Many legal rules and principles may govern constitutional amendment. Observance of these rules and principles is an elementary focus point for the study of constitutional change. But constitutions do not exist solely in a legal reality. They are a cornerstone of the body politic in which they are adopted. Studying constitutional amendments through the lens of their legitimacy requires more than merely assessing their legality. However, distinguishing legitimacy from legality raises the question of whether an illegal amendment can still be considered legitimate, and conversely, whether a legal amendment can still be deemed illegitimate. Through a case study of constitutional overhauls in Belgium in the post-war period, I explore how these two possibilities manifest in practice, demonstrating that at crucial occasions in a state's history, amendments deemed illegal may be legitimised, and technically legal amendments may face criticism regarding their legitimacy.