In a time of mass global e-waste production, a re-evaluation of re-purposing and recycling practices feels particularly relevant not only in life but also in art-making processes, especially in temporarily mounted installations, both sonic and visual. What is junk and what is useful material? Can the use of salvaged materials also encourage creativity and innovation? This paper, weaving in theoretical frameworks from sound studies, media archaeology and eco-sonic aesthetics, suggests that using mismatched ‘garbage’ loudspeakers and unconventional loudspeaker arrays can offer sound artists creative opportunities for the exploration of new aural spaces and spatial and timbral possibilities, through the formation of sounding sculptures. Examining Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded sound and art installation Waste Whisperer (2023) as a case study, which involved a bespoke 40 loudspeaker set-up of salvaged ‘trash’, the article also explores the work of artists such as Benoit Maubrey, John Wynne and Nor Tijan Firdaus, who use discarded e-waste as their primary sculptural materials, as well as Paul Rogers’ research around the concept of ‘sonic junk’. In addition, the concepts of transparency and ‘realism’ in the audio medium are discussed, positing critical reflections on prevailing techno-utopian narratives in contemporary audio communities around ‘matching’ loudspeakers and spatialisation conventions.

In soundscape composition, environmental sounds form a ‘language’ that highlights the voices of the environment for everyone’s contemplation. Ideally, they create an atmosphere and space of listening that allow us to grapple with and perceive more deeply the ecological imbalances, social inequalities, cultural gaps, and political issues in which we find ourselves. With the help of compositional examples, the author traces ways in which soundscape compositions can be a forum for ‘speaking back’ in protest, making oppositional voices heard while simultaneously exploring artistic-poetic expressions for a deeper listening engagement with the sonic complexity of environmental sounds and the meanings they carry within them. Furthermore, the author considers whether and how a soundscape composition can be a relationship-builder between environment and listener: can it be an agent for listening to the land, to the natural world, in ways that make urgent and necessary changes of human behaviour possible?

Let $p$ be a prime, let $1 \le t \lt d \lt p$ be integers, and let $S$ be a non-empty subset of $\mathbb{F}_p$. We establish that if a polynomial $P:\mathbb{F}_p^n \to \mathbb{F}_p$ with degree $d$ is such that the image $P(S^n)$ does not contain the full image $A(\mathbb{F}_p)$ of any non-constant polynomial $A: \mathbb{F}_p \to \mathbb{F}_p$ with degree at most $t$, then $P$ coincides on $S^n$ with a polynomial that in particular has bounded degree-$\lfloor d/(t+1) \rfloor$-rank in the sense of Green and Tao. Similarly, we prove that if the assumption holds even for $t=d$, then $P$ coincides on $S^n$ with a polynomial determined by a bounded number of coordinates.

Some may dismiss the prospect of a decolonial transnational surrogacy as a contradiction in terms. After all, there is a parasitic takeover and expansion of the foetus into the host’s body; and the labor is often extracted by those in the Global North from those in the Global South on exploitative terms. However, I claim that a decolonial surrogacy is not necessarily a misnomer nor unimaginable. To either ban surrogacy entirely or allow it fully under the current system falls into the trap of discussing binaries within limited frameworks that decolonialism seeks to resist. I argue that, if there is to be a decolonial surrogacy, it entails a different system altogether. As such, I present a “tripartite-hybrid” model to decolonize surrogacy: an expanded relational unit, basic services, and targeting multiple norm-based hierarchies. While requiring fundamental changes to current conceptions of family and to broader social structures, the proposals together are ways to deal with the “ontological difference” (limki 2018) in surrogacy and to meet decolonial feminist aims. If, and only if, these requirements are met, is a decolonial surrogacy possible.

We show that, under certain conditions, a strongly continuous semigroup admits an almost surely frequently hypercyclic random vector defined as a stochastic integral in Fréchet spaces with respect to the Brownian motion. Two criteria are given. We will apply the second criterion to three examples: translation semigroups on spaces of integrable functions, the exponential of weighted shifts, and the translation operators on the space of entire functions. This last example, with a stochastic approach, seems to be new in the literature. Some other examples are given.

We define a notion of conditional inaccessibility of a decision between two actions represented by two utility functions defined in a finite probability space, where the decision is based on the order of the expected values of the two utility functions: a decision making Agent preferring the action with the higher expected utility. The conditional inaccessibility expresses that the decision cannot be obtained if the expectation values of the utility functions are calculated using the Jeffrey conditional probability defined by a prior and by partial evidence about the probability that determines the decision. Examples of conditionally inaccessible decisions are given, and it is shown that if a conditionally inaccessible decision exists in a probability space, then there exists a continuum number of conditionally inaccessible decisions in that probability space. Open questions and conjectures about the conditional inaccessibility of decisions are formulated. The results are interpreted as showing the crucial role of priors in Bayesian taming of epistemic uncertainties about probabilities that determine decisions based on utility maximizing.

Although democracy is at the core of the U.S.’s self-image, the laws granting civic rights have long been designed to exclude some Americans, highlighting a fundamental tension between the democratic ideal and group interest. Echoing past racial exclusions, contemporary felony disenfranchisement policies and a racially unjust criminal legal system combine to continue to disenfranchise Black Americans disproportionately. Public opinion on these policies presents opportunities for or barriers to reform, so we seek to understand public opposition to ending felony disenfranchisement. Using two recent national surveys from the American National Election Studies, we explore two explanations rooted in the social contexts from which relational civic rights consciousness emerges: one reflecting varied commitments to democratic norms and one rooted in racial threat. Even after controlling for politics, a commitment to democracy is associated with support for allowing those convicted of a felony to vote, while concerns about threats to White privilege are associated with opposition. Critically, the relationship appears conditional: commitments to democracy fail to produce support for voting rights among those who are preoccupied with maintaining White privilege. Implications for people’s support for the legal rights of others, for democracy and for legal change are discussed.

Let $\Omega \in \mathbb C$ be a domain such that $K:= \mathbb C \setminus \Omega $ is compact and non-polar. Let $(q_k)_{k>0}$ be a sequence of polynomials with $n_k$, the degree of $q_k$ satisfying $n_k \to \infty $, and let $(q_k^{(m)})_k$ denote the sequence of mth derivatives. We provide conditions which ensure that the preimages $(q_k^{(m)})^{-1}(\{a\})$ uniformly equidistribute on $\partial \Omega $, as $k \to \infty $, for every $a \in \mathbb C$ and every $m = 0, 1, \ldots .$

This study reports the first record of Caprella moradi Momtazi, Sari & Darvish, 2020 from India. The specimens for this study were collected from Diu and Veraval coast of Gujarat State, India. Caprella moradi can be identified by the presence of four rows of small setae on body surface, curved anterior margin of male gnathopod 2 propodus and unequal size of gills 3 and 4. Caprella moradi can be differentiated from its close congener Caprella danilevskii; Czerniavski, 1868 by these consistent morphological characters. Examination of materials collected from Gujarat and their comparison with published figures indicates that the previous report of C. danilevskii from India actually corresponds to C. moradi.

Dietary patterns are increasingly recognised as crucial factors influencing the progression of metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This study aimed to explore the association between dietary patterns and MASLD risk among adults, using latent class analysis (LCA), to our knowledge, for the first time in this context. This cross-sectional study included 8549 adults from the general population. Dietary intake data were collected using a validated FFQ and analysed with Nutritionist IV software. A 3-step LCA was applied to determine distinct dietary patterns among participants using micro- and macronutrients. Liver fibrosis severity was evaluated using a validated non-invasive marker, FIB-4 Score. Our analysis identified three distinct dietary patterns, each significantly associated with the severity of liver fibrosis. Class 1 (high-volume, high-fibre/mineral-rich pattern) was associated with the lowest risk of liver fibrosis. Compared with Class 1, participants in Class 2 (moderate volume, low-fibre/high-Na/mineral-poor pattern) (OR = 1·24; P = 0·002) and Class 3 (restricted volume, nutrient-depleted pattern) (OR = 1·13; P = 0·027) had significantly higher odds of moderate-to-high liver fibrosis risk. Class-specific regression analysis showed that age and smoking were the most consistent predictors of fibrosis risk across all patterns. Dietary patterns rich in antioxidants, fibre and essential micronutrients appear effective in reducing the risk of liver fibrosis. Further longitudinal studies are required to confirm these findings and determine practical clinical applications.

This paper presents a low-profile on-glass antenna solution for smart building applications that supports both WiFi and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) connectivity and can be integrated with glass doors and windows. As a preliminary step, five architectural glass types were characterized in terms of dielectric properties, leading to the selection of 3 mm clear glass as the optimal antenna substrate. The initial antenna, a rectangular monopole with asymmetric coplanar ground, demonstrated wideband operation from 1.53 to 2.63 GHz, covering the 2.1 GHz NB-IoT and 2.4 GHz WiFi bands, 1.72–3.9 dBi gain, high radiation efficiency, and a bidirectional radiation pattern suitable for coverage on both sides of the glass. To enable applications requiring directional coverage and higher gain, the antenna was combined with a dual-band artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) surface, implemented on a separate 3 mm clear glass substrate. This integration enhanced the forward gain to 7.7–8.4 dBi while suppressing backward radiation, with simulation and measurement results showing good agreement. The proposed AMC-integrated on-glass antenna therefore combines wide bandwidth, high efficiency, and flexible bidirectional or unidirectional operation, making it a strong candidate for next-generation IoT-enabled architectural elements in smart buildings.

Hemiplegia, the paralysis of one side of the body, is a common effect of stroke and provides unique challenges for afflicted individuals, including asymmetric body strength and limited mobility, especially in the sit-to-stand (STS) motion. Reducing weight-bearing asymmetry during STS is important for improving mobility outcomes of hemiplegic patients. To address this concern, a semi-wearable STS assistive robot is proposed to provide assistive force and motion guidance during the STS motion. It is a planar 2-DoF assistive robot attached near the hip, designed to reduce weight-bearing asymmetry and facilitate correct execution of the STS motion by guiding the user along a target STS path and constraining pelvic motion in the frontal plane, controlled using a single worn IMU. The method for generating unique target STS paths and assistive robot design is presented. Experiments on healthy test subjects with the motion of one leg constrained were conducted to determine the changes and correlations in force and motion parameters when using the assistive robot during STS. The assistive robot improved rising STS asymmetry in some test subjects and reduced stabilization weight-bearing asymmetry in all test subjects. Motion data showed that the assistive robot facilitated hip translation and tilt toward the test subjects’ constrained side, while a counter trunk tilt toward the unconstrained side was observed. The results of the experiments suggest that more active control of the hip position and tilt and providing real-time feedback during the STS motion could further improve the function of the robot.