L’année 2024 est marquée à la fois par la passivité de la pratique conventionnelle du Canada et l’hyperactivité de sa pratique contentieuse. L’apurement de l’arriéré des réclamations fondées sur le régime de règlement des différends entre investisseurs et États (RDIE) de l’Accord de libre-échange nord-américain entre le gouvernement du Canada, le gouvernement des États-Unis et le gouvernement du Mexique (ALÉNA) se poursuit.1 De nombreuses sentences sont aussi rendues dans des affaires portées par des investisseurs canadiens à l’étranger, des sociétés minières pour l’essentiel. Ces affaires permettent de tester les innovations juridiques visant à renforcer le droit de légiférer de l’État dans les traités plus récents du Canada. Une première sentence très attendue sur la question hautement controversée de la portée temporelle du régime transitoire de RDIE de l’Accord entre le Canada, les États-Unis et le Mexique (ACÉUM)2 est rendue dans l’affaire TC Energy et TransCanada c États-Unis (II)3 et se solde en faveur de l’État. La controverse sur la portée temporelle de ce régime transitoire fait l’objet d’une analyse détaillée dans la chronique cette année. Un tour d’horizon des principaux autres faits marquants de 2024 est d’abord effectué en ce qui concerne la pratique conventionnelle et la pratique contentieuse du Canada.

Since the setting for Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 4 has been misinterpreted by commentators and historians, a review of the evidence for the toponym Dryopis is warranted. The narrative logic of the account demands that it be set in Ambracia, but most have interpreted Dryopis as the area near Mt Oeta. A close review of the first lines show that Antoninus’ account is indeed set in Ambracia, which was also called Dryopis.

We consider two-person zero-sum semi-Markov games with incomplete reward information on one side under the expected discount criterion. First, we prove that the value function exists and satisfies the Shapley equation. From the Shapley equation, we construct an optimal policy for the informed player. Second, to show the existence of an optimal policy for the uninformed player, we introduce an auxiliary dual game and establish the relationship between the primal game and the dual game. By this relationship, we also prove the existence of the value function of the dual game, and then construct an optimal policy for the uninformed player in the primal game. Finally, we develop two iterative algorithms to compute $\varepsilon$-optimal policies for the informed player and the uninformed player, respectively.

A random variable $\xi$ has a light-tailed distribution (for short, is light-tailed) if it possesses a finite exponential moment, ${\mathbb{E}} \, {\exp}{(\lambda \xi)} <\infty$ for some $\lambda >0$, and has a heavy-tailed distribution (is heavy-tailed) if ${\mathbb{E}} \, {\exp}{(\lambda\xi)} = \infty$ for all $\lambda>0$. Leipus et al. (2023 AIMS Math. 8, 13066–13072) presented a particular example of a light-tailed random variable that is the minimum of two independent heavy-tailed random variables. We show that this phenomenon is universal: any light-tailed random variable with right-unbounded support may be represented as the minimum of two independent heavy-tailed random variables. Moreover, a more general fact holds: these two independent random variables may have as heavy-tailed distributions as we wish. Further, we extend the latter result to the minimum of any finite number of independent random variables. We also comment on possible generalizations of our result to the case of dependent random variables.

It is a privilege to write a preface to this Symposium on Canada before International Courts and Tribunals, which includes many stimulating and insightful contributions. In this preface, I go back to the beginning and focus on Canada’s first cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and before international arbitral tribunals.

For any integer k and any positive integer n, let $\sigma _k(n)=\sum _{d\mid n}d^k$. For any prime p and any positive integer m, let $\nu _p(m)$ be the largest integer $\alpha $ such that $p^\alpha \mid m$ and let $\lceil x\rceil $ denote the least integer not less than x. In 2021, Amdeberhan et al. [‘Arithmetic properties of the sum of divisors’, J. Number Theory 223 (2021), 325–349] proved that $\nu _2(\sigma _1(n))\le \lceil \log _2n\rceil $ for any positive integer n and that $\nu _p(\sigma _1(n))\le \lceil \log _pn\rceil $ for any odd prime p if n satisfies some conditions. Recently, Zhao and Chen [‘p-adic valuation of the sum of divisors’, Front. Math. 20(4) (2025), 795–827] proved this unconditionally. We generalise these results to all k: for any prime p, any n and any $k\ge 2$, $\nu _p(\sigma _k(n))\le \lceil k\log _p n\rceil .$ Let $p^\star $ be an odd prime. We also prove that there are an integer $k\ge 2$ and a prime q satisfying $\nu _{p^\star }(\sigma _k(q))=\lceil k\log _{p^\star }q\rceil $ if and only if $p^\star $ is a Fermat prime.

Drawing from an interpretivist framework, this paper proposes Black Embodied Political Subjectivity (BEPS) as a conceptual framework that foregrounds the body, affect, and historical memory as critical to political subjectivity. BEPS draws on Black political thought to challenge dominant epistemologies that prioritize disembodied rationality and abstract ideological commitments over lived, felt, and corporeal political experiences. Rather than treating the body as an inert vessel or secondary site of politics, BEPS argues that the body is central to the ways Black people negotiate, contest, and reconstitute power in lived political contexts.

The present account describes a new species of alpheid shrimp, Alpheus madhusoodanai sp. nov., belonging to the brevirostris group, collected from the Cochin estuary, the south west coast of India. This represents the first species of alpheid shrimps described from the estuary. The morphological and molecular characteristics of the new species are compared with those of its closely related congeners. The newly described species is separated from its morphological congener A. rapax, by its wider major chela and longer merus of the first cheliped. Molecular data also confirmed the delimitation of A. rapax with A. madhusoodanai sp. nov. Habitat and distribution details are also discussed, highlighting the potential for further taxonomic exploration in the Cochin estuary and the importance in uncovering its hidden biodiversity.

This article explores the use of composition as a methodological tool in ethnomusicology. By reflecting on the creation, rehearsal, and performance of the Suíte Afro-Brasileira—an original piece blending a big band with choir, capoeira, samba, and Candomblé ensembles—the author contends that the knowledge gained through composition parallels that acquired through bi-musicality, the established ethnomusicological practice of learning to perform music for research purposes. The multiple musicalities developed by composer-researchers in cross-cultural projects such as the Suíte Afro-Brasileira result in a form of compositional poly-musicality. This application of composition, however, intensifies the ethical issues of bi-musicality, forcing composer-researchers to rethink representational issues.

Clinical work with people who are seriously unwell and overwhelmed by psychotic functioning can be profoundly rewarding yet uniquely demanding. Beyond visible symptoms lie powerful unconscious forces that affect all involved. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory from Bion, Money-Kyrle, Menzies Lyth and Lucas, this article explores how psychotic processes such as splitting, projection, denial and rationalisation are transmitted to those providing care. Recognising and working with these dynamics not only deepens clinical understanding, enabling meaning to be found in apparently chaotic presentations, but also enhances the capacity to engage therapeutically with distress. Reflective practice, supervision and organisational containment are identified as essential clinical interventions to help clinicians understand the unconscious impact of psychotic processes and to preserve their capacity for thought and compassion.

Recent research has shown that adult learners can rapidly acquire novel words of a foreign language by tracking cross-situational statistics, but learning is substantially reduced when the target words are phonologically similar and contain non-native contrasts. We expand on this research by investigating whether perceptual discrimination training on non-native target contrasts facilitates cross-situational learning of new words (CSWL). Our design combines perceptual training and CSWL to test the transfer of perceptual gains to lexical learning—an approach that integrates methods from L2 speech and statistical learning. In two studies, we tested English-native and Portuguese-native speakers’ learning of 24 Portuguese pseudowords via a CSWL task. In Study 1, we examined baseline learning in both language groups without prior training. In Study 2, English-native speakers were assigned to one of three conditions: phonetic training with an AX discrimination task, phonetic training with an oddity discrimination task, or no phonetic training prior to the CSWL task. Results confirmed that adults can learn non-native words from cross-situational statistics, and that phonological overlap between words decreases learning. Perceptual training improved the discrimination of target contrasts, but this did not transfer to statistical learning of words that contain these contrasts. These findings suggest that phonetic training alone may not be sufficient for vocabulary acquisition, suggesting the need for instructional approaches that integrate phonetic training with more explicit teaching methods or meaning-based practice.

Oats (Avena sativa L.) are cultivated worldwide for food and feed. Recently, there has been a growing interest in oats in South Korea owing to their nutritional and feed value. To support efficient breeding and genetic resource management, this study evaluated seven agronomic traits of 506 Avena accessions collected globally with two Korean oat varieties as standards. Seven agronomic traits – days to heading (DTH), plant height (PH), plant type, dehulling characteristics, 1,000-grain weight (TGW), seed length, and seed width (SW) – were evaluated over two to three years under Korean spring conditions. An augmented design was employed due to a lack of seeds and the field, and environmental bias was adjusted using Best Linear Unbiased Predictions. Statistical analyses revealed a strong positive correlation between TGW and SW and a moderate positive correlation between PH and DTH. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified that the first two principal components (PCs) explained 66.88% of the total variance, and that PC1 and PC2 were highly correlated with grain characteristics. K-prototype clustering analysis classified the 506 oat genetic resources into four distinct clusters based on the results of PCA, rather than their geographical origins. Cluster analysis indicated that Clusters 1 and 3 have potential for forage oat breeding, particularly in fodder use, whereas Clusters 2 and 4 may be valuable for grain-use oat breeding in South Korea. This study provides a comprehensive phenotypic assessment of oat germplasm obtained globally under Korean spring conditions and provides a useful foundation for germplasm management, cultivar development, and future genetic research.

Increased consumption of pulses can support healthy and sustainable diets; however, consumption of pulses in Western populations is low. Adolescents are an often overlooked yet important target group as they develop attitudes and behaviours that influence food choices into adulthood. To understand patterns of consumption, this study aimed to analyse characteristics and consumption patterns of Australian adolescents who consume pulses. Secondary analysis of the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey data from 2011–2012 was carried out to identify adolescent (12–17 years, n 1007, nationally representative of n 101 130) pulse consumers, compare their nutritional and demographic characteristics with non-consumers and describe frequency, types and amounts of pulses consumed. Consumption of pulses amongst adolescents is low, with only 6 % of adolescents (48 % males) reporting consumption of pulses. Pulse consumption was associated with healthier weight and diet characteristics. After adjusting for age, sex and socio-economic index, overweight or obese adolescents were less likely to consume pulses than adolescents of a healthy weight or underweight (OR = 0·82; 95 % CI 0·69, 0·99; P = 0·043). Adolescent pulse consumers reported consuming more vegetables, dietary fibre and Fe and less discretionary foods, saturated fat and added sugars than non-consumers. Baked beans were the most commonly consumed type of pulses, followed by pulses as an ingredient in a vegetarian meal such as dahl. Future strategies are recommended to promote the consumption of pulses amongst adolescents due to the low consumption level, with consideration of familiar and appealing dishes to support adolescents in achieving healthier and sustainable diets.