General Collapse Research Articles

Assessment of molecular modulation by multifrequency electromagnetic pulses to preferably eradicate tumorigenic cells

Physics methods of cancer therapy are extensively used in clinical practice, but they are invasive and often confront undesired side effects. A fully new equipment that allows sustained emission of intense and time-controlled non-ionizing multifrequency electromagnetic pulse (MEMP), has been applied to eukaryotic cells in culture. The equipment discriminates the overall electronegative charge of the cell cultures, and its subsequent proportional emission may thereby become higher and lethal to cancer cells of generally high metabolic activity. In contrast, low tumorigenic cells would be much less affected. We tested the specificity and efficacy of the equipment against a collection of (i) highly tumorigenic cells of human (glioblastoma, cervical carcinoma, and skin) and mouse (colon adenocarcinoma) origin; (ii) cell lines of much lower tumorigenicity (non-human primate kidney and mouse fibroblasts), and (iii) primary porcine macrophages lacking tumorigenicity. Time and intensity control of the MEMP allowed progressive decay of viability fairly correlating to cell tumorigenicity, which was provoked by a proportional alteration of the cytoplasmic membrane permeability, cell cycle arrest at G2, and general collapse of the actin cytoskeleton to the perinuclear region. Correspondingly, these effects drastically inhibited the proliferative capacity of the most tumorigenic cells in clonogenic assays. Moreover, MEMP suppressed in a dose-dependent manner the tumorigenicity of retrovirally transduced luciferase expressing colon adenocarcinoma cells in xenografted immune-competent mice, as determined by tumor growth in a bioluminescence imaging system. Our results support MEMP as an anti-cancer non-invasive physical treatment of substantial specificity for tumorigenic cells with promising therapeutic potential in oncology.

A STUDY ON GENDER DISPARITY AND LITERACY RATE IN RELATION TO POPULATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Murshidabad enjoyed a rich history in terms of trade, industry, agriculture, politics, education, and culture during a protracted span of the ancient and medieval periods. Currently, however, the district stands far behind other regions of the nation in terms of socioeconomic, cultural, and educational characteristics. Murshidabad District's general collapse started with the fall of Nawabi rules during the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Bengali Muslims who had previously held political and socioeconomic sway in the region lost both with the arrival of British administration. This place's population lacks awareness because of the educational system's backwardness. In the district, women participate at a far lower rate than males do, both in terms of economic activity and literacy. Expanding women's access to education is necessary to improve their situation.

Collapse modes and mechanisms of planar multi-story large-span steel frames under fire

This paper investigates the collapse modes and mechanisms for planar multi-story large-span steel frames exposed to fire. Based on a systematic parametric analysis conducted with a wide range of parameters, including structural topological forms, fire scenarios, component sizes, load cases, fire protection levels, section temperature gradients, and wind loads. Eight potential collapse modes are identified: general inward collapse, rebalancing collapse, partial lateral collapse, heated large-span beam-induced inward collapse, restraint failure-induced collapse, overall downward collapse, unheated large-span beam-induced inward collapse, and overall lateral collapse. Simultaneously, by combining typical fire cases, corresponding structural collapse mechanisms are explored to reveal the differences in the failure sequence of locally heated components and the final structural collapse extent for different collapse modes. Furthermore, this study also analyzes the evolution laws of key horizontal and vertical displacements and velocities within the fire area for various modes, highlighting distinctions resulting from diverse collapse mechanisms. Finally, a detailed summary of various collapse modes is provided, involving reasons for inducing structural local collapse, the final extent of progressive collapse, possible areas of occurrence, and potential mode transitions as parameters change.

Surviving the Anthropocene: A Darwinian Guide

The fundamental theory of the survival of life on this planet is Darwinism. Darwinian evolution is about coping with change by changing, using what you have on hand to survive. The fuel for this process is evolutionary potential, which resides in preexisting variation. This preexisting variation allows living systems to move forward into an uncertain future. The biosphere is a complex evolutionary system that generates, stores, and uses its own potential to survive. This makes ecosystems robust, not fragile. That suggests we can use the biosphere without destroying it, but we need some guidelines. Those guidelines are embodied in the Four Laws of Biotics, which tell us how we can interact with the biosphere without endangering ourselves further. We can further improve humanity’s chances of survival as a technological species by (1) implementing the economics of well-being, (2) reducing population density by finding space in rural areas and revitalizing them into circularized economies, (3) regrowing sustainably by creating networks of cooperating circular economies, adding new modules when growth occurs, not consolidating into new densely populated and vulnerable urban centers, and (4) modifying social institutions to be responsive to the desires of the grassroots, even when those desires do not produce the expected outcomes. Darwinian principles provide humanity with a middle ground, a third way, between unattainable utopia and unacceptable apocalypse. We can alter our behavior now according to Darwinian principles, at great expense and difficulty, and extend or even improve upon the current state of the Anthropocene, or we can fail to act on our own behalf, experience a general collapse of technological society, and rebuild using those Darwinian principles to provide a more survivable future.

Internal Barbarism as a Socio-philosophical Problem of Modernity

This work is devoted to the consideration of such a modern problem of the global world order as the growth of internal Barbarism. Based on the concept by N.V.Motroshilova, the authors believe that Barbarism internal to Civilization, in contrast to its external counterpart, is a side result of civilizational development. We can say that each civilization creates its own internal Barbarians, who then contribute to its death. The article also provides a typology of internal Barbarism, which includes such varieties as Midism, destructive countercultural movements, revolutionary movements, social disintegration (understood as aggressive individualism), and digital Barbarism (a decrease in the intellectual and moral level of people under the influence of the transfer of interpersonal communications to the Internet). Some of these types, acting separately, are practically safe for society, but others can lead civilization to political and economic collapse. The older the historical age of a civilized society, the more internal Barbarism grows in it. It can be assumed that in society on the eve of its historical death, all types of internal Barbarism are present, act and complement each other, and the state created on the basis of the political and spiritual principles of such civilization is perceived by all citizens as something external in relation to them. It turns out that fellow citizens are fighting against their own state and against each other, and each of them hopes to get personally some material benefits from general collapse. As an example of manifestation of internal Barbarism in the modern world, the authors consider the drastic African American movement ‘Black Lives Matter’, in the formation and functioning of which all the abovementioned types of internal Barbarism can be traced.

Shock Wave–Induced Dynamic Mechanical Behavior of Calcium Silicate Aluminate Hydrate at the Molecular Scale

Calcium silicate aluminate hydrate (C-A-S-H) is the main hydration product of cement mixed with industrial wastes. The purpose of this study is to understand the dynamic mechanical behavior and structural transformations of molecular-scale C-A-S-H induced by shock waves. Three C-A-S-H models with Al/Si ratios of 0.0, 0.1, and 0.2 are constructed and reactive molecular dynamics simulations are used to perform shock compressions with different shock velocities from 0.1 km/s to 3.6 km/s. The distributions of particle velocity, pressure, and density along the shock direction are calculated using the binning analysis method, allowing Hugoniot pressure-specific volume curves to be derived. The results reveal that shock waves may induce elastic, elastic-plastic, or shock Hugoniot responses in molecular-scale C-A-S-H, depending on the Al/Si ratio and the shock velocity. Below the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL), higher Al/Si ratios cause the elastic wave to propagate farther due to the cross-linking effect of aluminate units. Above the HEL, higher Al/Si ratios give rise to a distinct two-wave structure characteristic comprising a plastic front and an elastic precursor. This characteristic becomes less pronounced as the shock velocity increases. Analysis of the molecular structural transformations of C-A-S-H revealed that the main atomic deformation behavior below the HEL involves a reduction of interatomic distances; above the HEL the main response is a densification of water molecules followed by a general collapse of the layered structure as the shock velocity increases.

Impact of falling debris on reinforced concrete slab

The work is devoted to the analysis of one of the possible limit states, for which the scenario is the collapse of the floor over a remote column, as a result of which a general collapse of the rancake-type collapse occurs. An approximate method of assessing the progressive collapse of a reinforced concrete floor slab of a multi-story building, which will receive an impact from falling fragments of failed structures, is proposed. The technique's underpinning is the dynamic analysis of a simplified module of motion, the form of which is assumed to be similar to that used in the theory of limit equilibrium. It is assumed that the elastic work of the plate has little effect on the final value of the deformation that occurs in the casting in the form of linear plastic hinges. Part of the kinetic energy of the falling debris is transferred to the plate that receives the impact, it is theoretically as in the classical case the completeness of the plastic impact. The resulting differential equation of motion is integrated in a closed form. The use of the proposed technique is demonstrated with the help of an illustrative example.

The GET pathway is a major bottleneck for maintaining proteostasis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A hallmark of aging in a variety of organisms is a breakdown of proteostasis and an ensuing accumulation of protein aggregates and inclusions. However, it is not clear if the proteostasis network suffers from a uniform breakdown during aging or if some distinct components act as bottlenecks especially sensitive to functional decline. Here, we report on a genome-wide, unbiased, screen for single genes in young cells of budding yeast required to keep the proteome aggregate-free under non-stress conditions as a means to identify potential proteostasis bottlenecks. We found that the GET pathway, required for the insertion of tail-anchored (TA) membrane proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum, is such a bottleneck as single mutations in either GET3, GET2 or GET1 caused accumulation of cytosolic Hsp104- and mitochondria-associated aggregates in nearly all cells when growing at 30 °C (non-stress condition). Further, results generated by a second screen identifying proteins aggregating in GET mutants and analyzing the behavior of cytosolic reporters of misfolding, suggest that there is a general collapse in proteostasis in GET mutants that affects other proteins than TA proteins.

Collapse mechanism of narthex part of historical masonry mosques

Historical mosques are important cultural heritages that should be confidently transferred to the future. These structures are damaged due to earthquakes. The minarets, domes and load-carrying walls of historical mosques are the most damaged and studied in the literature. Field observations made after the earthquakes show that; the narthex part of the historical mosques is also very seismic sensitive. However, there is no study in the literature about the collapse mechanisms of these structures/parts. In this study, 3 narthex places with different architectural features were considered. By creating a finite element model of the narthexes, dynamic analyses were carried out under the earthquake records of 1999 Düzce (Bolu) (Mw = 7.1), 2011 Van (Mw = 7.0), 2020 Elazığ (Sivrice) (Mw = 6.8). An evaluation has been done to assess mode shapes, maximum strains, displacements, damage distributions, and failure mechanisms of the narthex parts. As a result of dynamic analyses, the general collapse mechanism of each narthex was revealed. As a result of all analyses, it has been seen that the most seismically sensitive areas of the narthex are stone columns.

Hope, dystopian futures and Covid-19 as the ‘event’ that changed the world (forever?)

Film and series writers have for some time have projected imaginative yet sometimes quite real possible end-of-the-world scenarios. The evolution of blockbuster science-fiction films from the mid-20th century onwards initially generated scenarios related to threats to humanity from alien invasions. Then, towards the 1990s and at the turn of the 21st century, there emerged climate-related catastrophes, impending meteorite or asteroid collisions, bio-attacks as well as the general collapse of politics, law and order and revision of social life on earth into some perpetual violent and hostile land. In the same vein, other possible futuristic apocalypses have also been depicted through the inception of ‘unknown’ and ‘fatal’ viruses which all but wipe out humanity save one brave hero or heroine who takes it upon themselves to rescue the future from the past: somehow, however, averting the crisis and the world is saved. In many of these films, the devastation left on the planet inevitably resets humanity and in the aftermath the dawn of a new future is left in the responsible hands of a few survivors. All the while, only ‘hope’ somehow got them through. Using such portrayals of end-of-world scenarios and dystopian future films and series as possible avenues for our potential trajectory and different conceptions of ‘hope’, this paper speculates about our future in a post-Covid world using aspects of Žižek’s critical discussions on hope and hopelessness (2018) and Tom Moylan’s (2020) concept of the ‘dystopian structure of feeling’.

Cryptocurrencies in the COVID-19 era

The purpose of the article is to describe the state of the financial market during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial environment is facing new questions about the future, one of which concerns the role played by cryptocurrencies in the coming years. In recent years the cryptocurrency market has been experiencing spectacular growth, with more than 5,500 cryptocurrencies now in existence worldwide. They can either be used as safe haven currencies that provide protection against market volatility or as a payment system with the prospect of consolidation. Whatever the case may be, the pandemic circumstances favour the development of these digital assets. The crisis generated by the pandemic has also affected the value of bitcoin, which has been quite volatile. While it seems to be recovering, the near future is uncertain. The uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus health crisis has caused a general collapse in the stock markets. In this context, the authors review the behaviour of bitcoin, with its dips and recoveries, which can occur in a matter of a few hours. The first months of national lockdowns were mainly marked by social issues. When social distancing has become the norm, cryptocurrencies can play a bigger role than they did previously, driving the evolution of money away from cash in the direction of cashless society.

The respiratory and hemodynamic effects of alveolar recruitment in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver resection surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Extensive surgical retraction combined with general anesthesia increase alveolar collapse. The primary aim of our study was to investigate the effect of alveolar recruitment maneuver (ARM) on arterial oxygenation tension (PaO2). The secondary aim was to observe its effect on hemodynamics parameters in hepatic patients during liver resection, to investigate its impact on blood loss, postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC), remnant liver function tests, and on the outcome. Adult patients scheduled for liver resection were randomized into two groups: ARM (n = 21) and control (C) (n = 21). Stepwise ARM was initiated after intubation and was repeated post-retraction. Pressure-control ventilation mode was adjusted to deliver a tidal volume (Vt) of 6 mL/kg and an inspiratory-to-expiratory time (I:E) ratio of 1:2 with an optimal positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) for the ARM group. In the C group, a fixed PEEP (5 cmH2O) was applied. Invasive intra-arterial blood pressure (IBP), central venous pressure (CVP), electrical cardiometry (EC), alanine transaminase (ALT, U/L), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST, U/L) blood levels were monitored. ARM increased PEEP, dynamic compliances, and arterial oxygenation, but reduced ventilator driving pressure compared to group C (P < 0.01). IBP, cardiac output (CO), and stroke volume variation were not affected by the higher PEEP in the ARM group (P > 0.05) but the CVP increased significantly (P = 0.001). Blood loss was not different between the ARM and C groups (1700 (1150-2000) mL vs 1110 (900-2400) mL, respectively and P = 0.57). ARM reduced postoperative oxygen desaturation; however, it did not affect the increase in remnant liver enzymes and was comparable to group C (ALT, P = 0.54, AST, P = 0.41). ARM improved intraoperative lung mechanics and reduced oxygen desaturation episodes in recovery, but not PPC or ICU stay. ARM was tolerated with minimal cardiac and systemic hemodynamic effects.

Architectural style spreads its wings: New Zealand Architecture in the 1880s

The 1880s was a period in New Zealand of economic depression. It caused "unemployment, family distress, ragged children and exploited women workers, general business collapse, a crash in the property market, a ten-year banking crisis, bankruptcies and unstable ministries." But despite this Hodgson identifies this period in New Zealand's architectural history as one when: "Architectural style ... started to spread its wings and this period contains some fine examples of building design which was definitely out of the mainstream."

Wind-induced collapse mechanism and failure criteria of super-large cooling tower based on layered shell element model

Many wind-induced collapse events of super-large cooling tower have been taken place in history. Existing norms are limited within local excessive strength or buckling failure of the tower body, but ignore the follow-up phenomena after the general continuous collapse caused by local damages. Hence, they are difficult to disclose the wind-induced collapse mechanism and failure mechanism of super-large cooling tower. A case study on the world highest (228 m) cooling tower under construction in Northwest China was carried out. Variations of multi-scale wall thickness and reinforcement ratio at different positions of the tower body were considered by the layered shell element modeling method. The wind loads on the cooling tower surface were acquired through a wind tunnel test of pressure measurement on the rigid body. Displacement and internal force responses of the tower body under typical wind speeds were analyzed by combining the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), thus determining the critical wind speed. Three redistribution of internal forces mechanisms during collapse of tower body were extracted based on the stress variation indexes before and after the node failure. Moreover, the development paths of three collapse mechanisms among units with different thicknesses of the tower body were discussed. Finally, the wind-induced failure criteria of super-large cooling tower structure were proposed based on throat deformation of the tower body. Research results demonstrated that the layered shell element model could simulate the full process of collapse of super-large cooling tower effectively and a central damage area from the throat of windward side to the center of tower body was formed. Subsequently, a crack network was formed after diffusion of the damage area along the circumferential and meridian until the complete collapse. Three redistribution mechanisms of internal forces during the collapse of the super-large cooling tower were proposed, including the sliding surface mechanism, rotating hinge mechanism and slipping surface mechanism. The super-large cooling tower structure developed wind-induced failure and collapse when the deformation failure index is δ ≥ 1.5%. It is of great significance to the design and construction of super-large cooling towers.

Land use/cover change analysis in the Mediterranean region: a regional case study of forest evolution in Castelló (Spain) over 50 years

The second half of the 20th century has been characterised by the rural abandonment in several regions of the Mediterranean basin. The general collapse of traditional agriculture and livestock activities brought about an intensive migration movement from inland to coastal areas, which produced a massive forest cover increase in abandoned rural areas. This socioeconomic, spatial and environmental change has led to a situation unknown for centuries in the Mediterranean landscapes. As a consequence, large wildfires have increased enormously in importance in a society with a predominant urban vision over the rest of the territory. Indeed, public opinion considers wildfires as major natural disturbances related to climate change causing at the end deforestation, while its prerequisite, a substantial increase of forest cover due to rural collapse, is less known. This research aimed to deepen the knowledge about forest evolution and its implications after the land abandonment process that started in the second half of the 20th century. The substantive source of information was obtained from a photointerpretation by sampling, using five general land-cover and land-use types and four specific land-cover types over a period of 50 years (1957–2007) in the province of Castelló (Valencian Region, Spain). Results showed that the area dominated by dense forests (shrublands and woodlands) has increased from 17% to 28%, and the area dominated by their transitional land uses after farming abandonment has increased from 8% to 21%. Transition matrices enabled a precise identification of changes among dominant categories over the studied period. Random and systematic transitions between categories have been analysed and a map of forest evolution pathways could be drawn, in which a double alternative path was identified. In the general context of progressive evolution to dense forests in the Mediterranean region, we have also found different evolution rates which may depend on site conditions. Their specific soil and climatic factors should be further analysed in order to improve our understanding of future forest evolution in the Mediterranean region at a local scale. A robust knowledge of these processes will contribute to improve forest management and land-use planning while optimising resilience, carbon storage and the provision of environmental services.

Directivos ante situaciones de crisis. El uso de LinkedIn por parte de la CEO de Metro de Madrid durante la borrasca Filomena / Senior managers in crisis situations. The use of LinkedIn by the CEO of Metro de Madrid during the storm Filomena

In January 2021, the storm Filomena paralysed Spain. One of the most affected cities was Madrid, which suffered a general collapse for several days. Metro de Madrid (underground railway company and one of the most popular public services in the city) continued to provide service to its users. Silvia Roldan (CEO of Metro de Madrid) wrote a daily post on LinkedIn to explain to users what problems they were facing, how they were being solved and how the service was ensured. Metro de Madrid is an underground railway company that was inaugurated in 1919. It extends over 294 kilometres distributed in 302 stations. It employs 7,000 persons. Other data of Metro de Madrid are: 2,400 cars, 8,758 security cameras, 1,263 vending machines, 2,424 tele-indicators, 1,703 escalators, 541 lifts and 5,386 intercoms. "LinkedIn is a social network that has a great attraction, you are addressing a professional audience, which judges you on the basis of the work you do", says the CEO of Metro de Madrid in an interview conducted to illustrate this research. This research is based on two hypotheses: 1) In a crisis context, direct communication between a company's executive and stakeholders reduces uncertainty and helps to restore institutional equilibrium; and 2) It is possible to find a paradigmatic model in this type of communication with specific stakeholders. This research carried out a quantitative and qualitative analysis using a content analysis of Roldan’s posts on LinkedIn during this crisis and an interview with the CEO of Metro de Madrid. This case gives us some lessons in communication as main results. LinkedIn is an optimal platform for crisis communication, especially if we want to transmit moderately long messages, with nuances, aimed at a professional audience willing to listen and dialogue. Roldan’s colloquial and friendly tone used in her posts are justified in this case (Filomena crisis). She is CEO of the company, direct witness of the facts and responsible for the solutions that are implemented. She uses the first-person narrative, which produces closeness and is a good remedy against uncertainty. It complements institutional messages, transmitted through institutional media and channels, which use a more aseptic and formal tone. The use of photographs in the published posts establishes an emotional links between the author of the post and readers. Readers feel like a direct witness of the facts, especially when the photograph is a subjective close-up. LinkedIn, despite not being Metro de Madrid's main communication channel, is a useful and valuable platform for communicating in emergency situations, even in a more personal and less institutional way than other platforms. Perhaps its greatest virtue is to target a professional and specialised audience, which can be proactive in the resolution of an emergency. The use of LinkedIn in emergency situations is still under-researched compared to other social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram. This article is part of the competitive research project: “Crisis and emergency communication in Social Media. Study of its use in Spain and design of information protocols for institutions and media (COMCRISIS - PID2019-109064GB-I00)” granted and funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government.

Compared structure and evolution of the conjugate Demerara and Guinea transform marginal plateaus

The Demerara and Guinea plateaus are conjugate Transform Marginal Plateaus (TMPs) formed at the junction of the Jurassic Central Atlantic Ocean and the Cretaceous Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. We compare their structure and evolution through a combined industrial/academic seismic dataset tied by well data. We show that these TMPs record a complete evolution history from the Jurassic Central Atlantic to the Equatorial Atlantic breakup and seafloor spreading phases. Both plateaus first formed as volcanic margins displaying successive SDR wedges migrating towards the newly forming Central Atlantic domain. In this context, Demerara and Guinea, conjugates of the Bahamas, seem to have formed in relation to plume activity at the southern end of the Central Atlantic domain. Our dataset suggests that the Demerara and Guinea plateaus initially represented two distinct extrusive centres separated by a crustal basement high. Later, during the Cretaceous Equatorial opening phase, both plateaus separated in a transform mode following this discontinuity. Deformation is notably asymmetric during this phase: Aptian to Albian folding, strike-slip, transtensive deformation and complex vertical movements on the Demerara side and only minor deformation on the Guinean side, except on its divergent Sierra Leone termination. The deformation is sealed on both plateaus by a regional upper Albian erosion unconformity. Extensional reactivation occurs on the Guinea side (probably through a general collapse?). To conclude, this study provides new insights into the nature and origin of TMPs and the key tectono-sedimentary archives they may contain to understand the polyphase breakup conditions of Gondwana.

THE “FLU SEASONS” AND THE MISSING DATA: A MATCHED-PAIR ANALYSIS FOR THE PANDEMIC SEASON 2019_2020

The unit cell from the McNemar’s 2x2 Table denotes the week with col (1, 2) and the Public Health Region with Row (1, 2). We calculate the standard normal statistic (z) for A(H1), A(H3), Influenza B. Each one categorical unit is in fact a pair of matched-pair data within its own partial table. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel Test collapses these partial tables to summate these 2n observations in a 2x2 x n contingency table to yield the marginal counts of the McNemar’s test.&#x0D; The open data for Europe/Asia began this SARS-CoV2 pandemic, from week 3 to week 14, with the normal statistic (z) entering into an identical collapse mode. These all assumed the same “V” curve as the general collapse pattern and they rippled together without overlapping. During this period China applied mandatory lockdown and they mandated masks. We should strive to be more evidence-based so that we can convince more of the general public to accept the public health measures to survive.

Fearing fear itself: Crowdsourced longitudinal data on Covid-19-related fear in Sweden.

BackgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects on individual lives and livelihoods as well as on social, health, economic and political systems and structures across the world. This article derives from a unique collaboration between researchers and museums using rapid response crowdsourcing to document contemporary life among the general public during the pandemic crisis in Sweden.Methods and findingsWe use qualitative analysis to explore the narrative crowdsourced submissions of the same 88 individuals at two timepoints, during the 1st and 2nd pandemic waves, about what they most fear in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, and how their descriptions changed over time. In this self-selected group, we found that aspects they most feared generally concerned responses to the pandemic on a societal level, rather than to the Covid-19 disease itself or other health-related issues. The most salient fears included a broad array of societal issues, including general societal collapse and fears about effects on social and political interactions among people with resulting impact on political order. Notably strong support for the Swedish pandemic response was expressed, despite both national and international criticism.ConclusionsThis analysis fills a notable gap in research literature that lacks subjective and detailed investigation of experiences of the general public, despite recognition of the widespread effects of Covid-19 and its’ management strategies. Findings address controversy about the role of experts in formulating and communicating strategy, as well as implications of human responses to existential threats. Based on this analysis, we call for broader focus on societal issues related to this existential threat and the responses to it.

Incremento della delinquenza minorile ed emergenza educativa nell’Italia del secondo dopoguerra (1945-1955)

In this contribution we combine the “education in emergencies” concept with a historiographical perspective, investigating the increase in juvenile delinquency in Italy following the end of the Second World War that resulted from the loosening of family ties and the decline in the parental monitoring of children, as well as from malnutrition, overcrowded living conditions in poor quality housing and the general collapse of public morality. This worrying situation immediately attracted the attention of the public authorities, who tried to remedy it either through repressive interventions – with the establishment of Juvenile Police Offices and the activity of the Juvenile Courts – or through educational and caregiving interventions aimed at the recovery of young offenders and their reintegration into school, such as those promoted by the Board of Education, the National Centre or Social Prevention and Defence, the National League for the Moral Protection of Children and the numerous spontaneous committees of various political leanings that sprang up all over Italy.