In this work, we propose interconnection structures for substrateless all-silicon dielectric waveguides, a platform for terahertz (THz) hybrid integration that currently relies on traditional tapered interfaces. We demonstrate two dielectric waveguide-to-waveguide interconnect approaches: a truncated termination and a quarter-wave-matched (QWM) slot termination. Both designs maintain a confined coupling point, enabling consistent coupling. Experimental results show maximum interconnection coupling losses of $5\,\mathrm{dB}$ and $2.5\,\mathrm{dB}$ for the truncated and QWM-slot terminations, respectively, across the 220–330 GHz band. The QWM-slot transmission coefficient remains above $-3\,\mathrm{dB}$ with a misalignment tolerance up to $100\,\mu\mathrm{m}$, representing a $2.5\times$ improvement over the truncated design. Offset characterization along three axes reveals smooth decoupling behavior over a 1 mm range, validating the potential for broadband, contactless interconnects between dielectric waveguide interfaces. These results establish a compact THz interconnect concept with substantially relaxed translational alignment tolerances, making it well-suited for deployment in scalable 6G multi-chip arrays and THz sensing modules.

Burning nettle (Urtica urens L.) and common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris L.) are widespread, economically important weeds in horticultural systems. This laboratory and glasshouse study evaluated the effect of temperature, photoperiod, salinity, osmotic stress, and pH on seed germination, and the effect of burial depth on seedling emergence of these species. A significant interaction between temperature and photoperiod showed that germination depended on combined thermal and light cues rather than either factor alone. Urtica urens germinated higher in complete darkness (53%) than in light/dark (3%) across three temperature regimes studied. Germination peaked at 90% at 25/15C in complete darkness, while no germination occurred for this species at 15/5C and 35/25C day/night temperatures. In contrast, S. vulgaris preferred light/dark conditions (52% germination vs 29% in darkness), reaching 96% at 25/15C under day/night conditions. Salinity and osmotic stress inhibited germination of both species in a non-linear, sigmoidal pattern. Urtica urens germination was completely inhibited at ≥200 mM of sodium chloride (NaCl) and at ≤−0.6 MPa osmotic potential. Senecio vulgaris showed greater tolerance, with complete inhibition at ≥250 mM NaCl concentration and at ≤−1.0 MPa osmotic stress. Urtica urens germination peaked at pH 6 (92%) and declined under more acidic and alkaline conditions, while S. vulgaris germinated >97% across all pH levels (4 – 10). Urtica urens showed overall low emergence with 11% from soil surface and <1% when buried at different depths. In contrast, S. vulgaris showed up to 90% and 38% emergence from surface in sand and soil, respectively, but its seeds could not emerge beyond 0.5 cm burial depth. These findings can help refine integrated weed management in baby leaf crops by identifying periods when emergence is most likely, supporting timely stale seedbed or pre-emergence interventions, avoiding unnecessary soil disturbance when conditions favor germination, and prioritizing surface-focused control tactics for S. vulgaris.

We use a series of global models to investigate the linear and nonlinear interactions between shock cells, Kelvin–Helmholtz waves, guided jet modes and other fluctuations in a screeching jet. First, we identify a set of lightly damped global eigenmodes of the Navier–Stokes operator linearised about the mean flow and show that they result from interactions with different shock-cell wavenumbers. Second, we use resolvent analysis to study the linear input–output behaviour of the jet and obtain a time-periodic representation of the screech mode, which compares favourably with experimental data. Third, we use harmonic resolvent analysis to study triadic interactions, including inter-frequency energy transfer, between the screech mode determined from resolvent analysis and other fluctuations in the jet. The components of the optimal harmonic resolvent mode at harmonics of the screech frequency are consistent with experimental observations that have not been previously predicted by global models. Fourth, we leverage a novel bilinear formulation of harmonic resolvent analysis to study the impact of the screech mode’s nonlinear self-interaction on other fluctuations in the jet. We show that the forcing provided by this nonlinear self-interaction of the screech mode, along with its triadic interactions with other frequencies embedded within the harmonic resolvent operator, is sufficient to explain the redistribution of energy to other frequencies and the associated experimental observations. In aggregate, these findings underscore the critical role of triadic and nonlinear interactions in shaping the screech dynamics and offer a promising workflow for studying similar interactions in other flows dominated by periodic motions.

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents present escalating risks across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) amid geopolitical instability, cross-border threats, and evolving non-state actor capabilities. This policy analysis examines why prevailing case-level and ministry-siloed governance is insufficient for population-level CBRN readiness, weighs alternative coordination models, and outlines an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled, centrally coordinated public-health strategy adapted to the region’s heterogeneity and resource constraints. We propose a National Emergency Management Advisory Council to provide statutory inter-ministerial authority and stewardship for a National CBRN Dashboard that delivers decision support, inventory tracking, simulation, and rapid triage. We situate this within existing backgrounds and analyze legal authority, financing, data governance, and feasibility in low-resource settings. While prototype AI models report high accuracy for antidote optimization, agent classification, and triage, we argue these metrics reflect controlled research, not operational readiness, and require external validation, robustness testing, and cybersecurity safeguards. A phased, evidence-graded roadmap is proposed to move MENA CBRN management from reactive to predictive and adaptive models.

Elections are central to the study of politics. When studying parties’ vote shares across districts, scholars are encouraged to use compositional-outcome models in order to test their theories about what factors shape the dynamics of electoral support. Existing compositional modeling approaches incorrectly deal with scenarios in which not all parties compete in every electoral district. Because unobserved factors that affect a party’s decisions to contest a district are likely correlated with its performance in districts where the party fielded candidates, failing to account for partial contestation is likely to result in sample selection bias. Addressing sample selection in a compositional setting is challenging because the outcomes are in log-ratio form, and thus the errors often deviate from normality. To deal with these issues, we introduce a novel maximum likelihood approach which accounts for this type of sample selection and demonstrate through simulations that our method outperforms commonly used solutions, including the conventional Heckman correction. We illustrate the utility of our approach by analyzing the 2017 and 2019 U.K. parliamentary elections in English constituencies.

While first-order ethical norms and prescriptions appear to be universal, the same is not true for second-order ethics and moral philosophies. The contrast between various models of second-order ethics can be usefully explored through a comparative assessment of the ethics of a pre-modern Muslim scholar with those of a modern one. In this article, I critically compare and contrast the views of Khawaja Nasir al-Din Tusi with those of Abdolkarim Soroush.1 The former subscribes to a modified Aristotelian framework enriched by Islamic teachings, whereas the latter has developed a theory that, while also inspired by Islamic teachings, is informed by the views of a number of modern philosophers.

This essay reviews scholarship on mobilization and its various consequences for democracy and autocracy. It highlights how collective action can advance democratization, stall or reverse it, or reinforce authoritarian rule. The review synthesizes key themes in this literature, including organizational foundations, coalitions, diffusion, tactics, and discourse, as well as the long-term implications of mobilization for democratic consolidation and deepening. It also considers how authoritarian leaders and regimes actively mobilize their supporters, in both democratic systems and authoritarian contexts. The essay concludes by outlining directions for future research, emphasizing the need for multi-level approaches that bridge subnational findings and cross-national comparison.

The field of L2 research is going through a shift toward greater openness. However, many widely promoted open research practices, such as replication and preregistration, originated in response to the reproducibility crisis in psychology and map unevenly onto qualitative research. This critical review synthesizes literature from L2 research and neighboring fields to examine open research from a qualitative perspective. We organize the review around five key debates, including replication, preregistration, data sharing, data reuse, and publication policy. Taken together, these debates reveal the complexity of openness in qualitative inquiry and show both points of convergence and tension. We identify an emerging trend from principled resistance to principled engagement in the literature, with transparency standing out as a unifying principle. Building on these insights, we propose the situated-openness framework that serves as a heuristic for qualitative researchers to consider how to practice open scholarship in alignment with their own epistemological and ontological commitments.