Fluidic propulsion based on bladeless fan technology has shown strong potential to generate sufficient thrust for lightweight commuter aircraft. Bladeless fans work by entraining and directing ambient air, a feature that can be harnessed not only for thrust generation but also to augment lift. This research investigates the integration of bladeless fans over aircraft wings through both two-dimensional and three-dimensional computational simulations, supplemented by wind tunnel experiments. Multiple configurations were examined – varying fan height, spanwise and chordwise placement, orientation and the number of fan units – and compared against the aerodynamic performance of a baseline wing. The results demonstrate that leading-edge fan placement outperforms trailing-edge configurations, particularly in the post-stall regime. For 2D cases, a maximum of 71% lift increment in the post-stall region with 25% increase in the stall angle was observed. Additionally, the bladeless fans effectively reshape the flow field over the wing, increasing lift at the cost of higher drag relative to the baseline. For 2D cases, a 50% increase in zero lift drag was observed; however, 39% reduction was also observed in post-stall region. Among all configurations, the triple-bladeless-fanjet arrangement delivered the best performance, with further gains observed when a positive incidence angle was applied to the fans. An increase of 45% in lift coefficient was observed for triple fan configuration. These computational findings were validated through wind tunnel tests on a propeller-driven aircraft model, where the bladeless fan-equipped version exhibited superior aerodynamic performance compared to the baseline.

The habenula, a small brain structure involved in processing aversive stimuli, has been strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. While diminutions in hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex volume have been demonstrated in individuals with a mood disorder, evidence for structural alterations in the habenula remains inconsistent. This set of meta-analyses examines whether individuals with a mood disorder show alterations in habenula volume compared to healthy controls. We conducted six meta-analyses. Two global analyses compared left and right habenula volumes between individuals with a mood disorder (MDD or BD) and healthy controls (HCs), each including 15 samples (left: 1,230 participants; right: 1,236). Four additional analyses compared MDD versus HCs and BD versus HCs for left and right volumes separately. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses tested the habenula segmentation method, medication status, and MRI resolution as moderators. The global meta-analyses pooling MDD and BD data showed small but significant volume reductions in the left (g = −0.1367, p = .0344) and right (g = −0.1562, p = .0409) habenula in mood disorder patients compared to controls. However, these effects did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. After correction, no significant group differences were found in the diagnosis-specific meta-analyses (MDD versus controls; BD versus controls), and no moderator analyses were significant. Current evidence points toward small habenula volume reductions in mood disorders, though findings did not withstand correction for multiple comparisons. Further high-resolution neuroimaging studies are needed to clarify habenula volume alterations in mood disorders.

Owing to their innovative guarantee features, the popularity of variable annuities has gained significant traction as suitable retirement products in recent years. Amongst these guarantees, the guaranteed minimum income benefit (GMIB) stands out as an appealing rider that can be integrated into variable annuity contracts. In this research, we construct a comprehensive modelling framework that encompasses three sources of uncertainty, namely interest risk, mortality risk and investment risk, with the aim of valuing the GMIB. These risk factors are modelled stochastically whilst accounting for the interdependence between interest and mortality risks. The numéraire transformation technique is utilised in our approach, capitalising on the concepts of the forward and endowment-risk-adjusted measures. By considering two distinct settings of the Benefit Base functions, we derive an analytic solution for the GMIB. Our numerical findings demonstrate the superiority of our proposed methodology vis-á-vis the standard Monte Carlo simulation as a benchmark in terms of computational accuracy and efficiency, achieving a remarkable average improvement of 99% computing time reduction compared to the benchmark. Furthermore, we conduct an extensive sensitivity analysis to explore the levels of impact of various model parameters on the value of the GMIB.

This paper analyses the General Court’s judgments of 25 June 2025 (RWE and Uniper) regarding the reviewability of ACER regulatory acts. The General Court endorsed a “hybrid approach,” excluding acts of general application from the jurisdiction of the Board of Appeal and subjecting them solely to judicial review under Article 263(4) TFEU. The study highlights how this interpretation creates significant procedural gaps and bureaucratic burdens for private parties. By contrasting these rulings with the more flexible standing criteria recently adopted by the Court of Justice (e.g., Nicoventures Case), the paper argues that the current framework fragments the EU system of judicial protection and undermines the principle of procedural economy in highly technical sectors.

Despite shifting attitudes towards men taking up unpaid work, there remains a persistent gender gap in informal caregiving for older adults. We investigate how individual gender role attitudes of women and men influence their provision of care to parents and whether this relationship is moderated by the national context. Using data from the Generations and Gender Survey and logistic regressions with country-fixed effects to a sample of nine European countries, we find that individual gender egalitarian views correspond with a significant decreased likelihood of providing care among women, but not with an increased probability among men. While we find some support for the moderating effect of country contexts for women, their role in increasing male involvement in care appears to be limited. Changing behaviours through shifts in individual gender role attitudes alone may not be sufficient to bring about greater gender equality in care for older people.

Forest fires alter soil organic carbon and suppress soil respiration for decades following disturbance. However, uncertainties in model parameterization and sensitivity hinder robust predictions of autotrophic and heterotrophic soil respiration responses. We addressed this challenge using a novel dataset from a fire chronosequence in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada. The dataset included field measurements of total soil respiration at four sites with varying time since fire, supplemented by field measurements of soil temperature at two depths, remote sensing data on aboveground productivity, and soil moisture at two depths. We evaluated a suite of soil respiration models, ranging from exponential $ {Q}_{10} $ formulations to heterotrophic respiration models using Michaelis–Menten kinetics. To estimate parameters efficiently, we (1) derived algebraic expressions for soil respiration components assuming quasi-steady state dynamics and (2) applied a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach for parameter estimation. The resulting parameter estimates revealed which parameters were well-constrained and where uncertainty remained. Modeled respiration agreed with established empirical relationships and highlighted two key findings: (1) all chronosequence sites favored models that explicitly included microbial carbon as a distinct pool, and (2) parameters related to aboveground litter inputs were better constrained than those for root turnover. These results held regardless of soil depth or the form of the autotrophic respiration moisture response. These findings indicate that direct field measurements of litterfall rates would reduce model uncertainty, and that targeted sampling during seasonal transitions (e.g., freeze–thaw periods) would provide critical constraints on microbial activity when respiration dynamics are most variable.

Psychedelics are increasingly described as a new therapeutic approach in a variety of mental disorders including depression. Oral psychedelics such as psilocybin have an acute effect evolving over 6–8 h and are generally given in combination with psychological support. There is debate on the exact role of this support and how and by whom it should be delivered. This has significant implications for real-world implementation in health services post-licensing. In this feature, we discuss these issues and outline a model for psychological support delivery in publicly funded health services such as the National Health Service. We also suggest further research to explore the exact role of support in psilocybin treatment and identify the essential elements to direct service plans for clinical implementation. These steps are important: over recent decades, there have been few new treatments for depression, moreover, psychedelic drugs are appealing to patients, and accumulating data suggest that their efficacy may be long-lasting. However, realistic plans for implementation must be based on high-quality evidence and the needs of the whole patient population. This will ensure that these treatments, if licensed, are available not only for those able to pay but to all on an equitable basis.

Recent studies have shown that fertility was adversely impacted by the Great Recession of 2008 in both developed and developing nations. We look back further in time to explore how the Great Depression of the 1930s affected fertility rates across the United States. Our main results suggest that a one percent increase in state personal income per capita is associated with a 0.17 to 0.25 percent increase in fertility the next year, which is consistent with estimates found during the post-World War II economy in the United States. Thus, we conclude that fertility decisions were indeed pro-cyclical during the 1930s.

This paper investigates the mean flow asymmetry about the meridional plane in crossflow over a 6 : 1 prolate spheroid using high-fidelity numerical simulations. A series of direct numerical simulations are performed at diameter-based Reynolds number $\textit{Re}_{\!D} = 3.0 \times 10^3$ over a range of angles of attack. We identify a critical angle of attack for the onset of mean flow asymmetry between $40^\circ$ and $42^\circ$. In cases where asymmetry eventually develops, the flow initially remains symmetric for an extended period before turbulent fluctuations in the wake perturb the symmetry. As wake turbulence becomes more vigorous at higher Reynolds numbers, this observation suggests a reduced critical angle of attack – an expectation confirmed by simulations at $\textit{Re}_{\!D} = 6.0 \times 10^3$. To investigate the mechanism responsible for the asymmetry, we propose a new measure of mean asymmetry and derive a corresponding transport equation from the Navier–Stokes equations. This formulation identifies the production and destruction terms governing the evolution of asymmetry. Our analysis of the equation reveals that the generation mechanism is primarily inviscid, suggesting that the findings at low Reynolds number may extend to higher Reynolds numbers. Finally, we present spectral analyses of the force and moment histories at $45^\circ$ angle of attack, revealing two dominant frequencies and their physical origin, and quantifying inter-scale interactions by applying amplitude modulation analysis to the force and moment signals.

An adjoint formulation of energetic particle confinement in axisymmetric tokamak geometry is derived and evaluated using a physics-informed neural network (PINN). The PINN estimates the mean escape time of energetic ions by solving an inhomogeneous adjoint of the drift kinetic equation with a Lorentz collision operator, yielding predictions of fast ion loss in tokamak geometry due to direct ion orbit loss and collisional transport. To our knowledge, this is the first time a PINN has been used to solve the drift kinetic equation in tokamak geometry, a challenging problem due to the large time scale separation between the rapid transit time of energetic ions and their slow collisional time scale. It is shown that a careful and intentional design of a PINN is able to learn the mean escape time across the majority of the plasma volume, suggesting a path towards constructing a rapid surrogate for use within a broader optimisation framework.

From the World Bank’s ‘Climate-Smart Mining’ initiative or ‘Resilient and Inclusive Supply-Chain Enhancement’ program to the IMF’s ‘Energy Transition Strategies’, international development institutions have plenty to say about the role of the supply chain in securing critical minerals for green energy technologies.1 This article forms part of a bigger project that examines how the form of the supply chain, in the context of the contemporary energy transition, entrenches the patterns of distribution and accumulation that we often associate with the fossil fuel economy. In this way, I argue that the supply chain contributes to suppressing alternative legal forms of decarbonization.2 Multiple international legal practices and modes of thought are involved in this suppression. In this article, I offer an account of how logistics, as a practice, discipline of supply chain management, and form of governance or jurisdiction contribute to foreclosing possibilities for alternative forms of decarbonization in ways that both implicate international law and point to possibilities for contestation.

This review essay documents research on state courts throughout the last 25 years, tracking many of the important changes affecting state courts. Since State Politics & Policy Quarterly (SPPQ) began publication in 2001, research on state courts has evaluated a diverse range of topics, including traditionally important areas like the decisions of state judges, the effectiveness of elections for promoting accountability, public attitudes toward state courts, and judicial diversity, among other lines of study. In this essay, we describe the continued development of state courts research – noting further refinement to our understanding of state courts and the development of exciting research avenues. We first present an overview of state courts research and then discuss scholarly efforts to explain the emergence of new-style judicial campaigns, as well as the defense of judicial elections that formed within the subdiscipline. From there, we describe the current state of the state courts research and address research areas in need of attention. We note the important contributions of SPPQ to the advancement of the state courts subfield, which has published more than 50 law and courts articles since its founding. By capitalizing on the methodological and substantive advantages that come from comparative inquiry, scholars have successfully addressed many important questions and challenges involving state courts.

This Q&A explores the benefits of and challenges to translating historical scholarship for a legal audience. MAH editorial board member Sarah A. Seo (NYU Law School) asked historian-experts Laura Edwards (Princeton University), Jennifer Mittelstadt (Rutgers University–New Brunswick), collaborators Samuel Erman (University of Michigan Law School) and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal (University of Southern California), as well as Maggie Blackhawk (NYU Law School) and Ned Blackhawk (Yale University) to reflect on their experiences.

This paper examines the regulatory challenges and opportunities surrounding the introduction of autonomous inland shipping in Europe. As regulators navigate this shift, they must strike a balance between innovation, safety, legal certainty and private actors’ interests. Drawing on principles guiding innovation, such as outcome-based, risk-based and adaptive regulation, as well as the precautionary, proportionality and technological neutrality principles, the paper proposes a framework for developing regulatory responses. It also analyses the relevance of EU horizontal digital regulations, including the AI Act and the Data Act, in shaping the governance of autonomous systems in inland waterways. The paper explores how the existing divisions of regulatory competence between European institutions and river commissions may hinder harmonisation, and proposes mechanisms to improve regulatory and judicial coherence in a multilevel governance context.