Historical perspective in technological advances in lithium-ion battery development

From first responders to outcome modulators: The evolving paradigm of neutrophils in ischemic stroke and thrombolysis.

School funding and racist causality: historical and QuantCrit perspectives

This article explores the theoretical foundations and historical perspectives of fiscal policy, emphasizing its role in economic stabilization and the management of economic cycles. It traces the evolution of economic ideas, from classical orthodoxy, focused on strict budgetary balance and limited state intervention, to the Keynesian revolution, which positioned fiscal policy as a strategic tool for influencing aggregate demand. The article also examines the main instruments of fiscal policy, including public spending, taxation, and debt, while detailing their effectiveness and limitations in various economic contexts. Finally, particular attention is given to automatic stabilizers and fiscal approaches specific to developing countries, highlighting the importance of balanced management to achieve sustainable growth and macroeconomic stability.

How can a fetus with half of the antigens from a paternal source not be immunologically rejected? There is evidence that not only does the state of pregnancy fail to preclude invasion of cellular immune cells into uterine tissue, but, in fact, by progesterone (P) blocking the biogenic comma after dopamine, and a lower case t for this: it should read dopamine. This allows a greater infiltration of leukocytes. This invasion seems to be needed to aid in the creation of thinwalled spiral arteries for nutrient exchange between mother and fetus. Related to the speed of the development of these spiral arteries, it is not likely that the main mechanism involves neovascularization, since this is a slow genomic process which would operate by activation of nuclear progesterone receptors (nPRs). Instead, remodeling of the already pre-existing thick-walled uterine arteries by autoimmune mechanisms is more likely. Could the fetal placental unit somehow preclude these cellular immune cells from invading the fetal placental unit? These cells do, in fact infiltrate the fetal placental microenvironment composed of 70% natural killer cells, 20% macrophages, and 10% cytotoxic T-cells. Evidence does exist that one of the main ways of preventing immune rejection of the fetus is by P activating rapid acting membrane (m) PRs to produce immunomodulatory proteins e.g., the progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF) and the progesterone receptor membrane component-1 protein (PGRMC-1). PIBF, for example, eventually suppresses natural killer cell cytotoxicity by stabilizing perforin granules and granzymes. Understanding these mechanisms has led to a scientifically based treatment regimen to achieve a successful pregnancy.

There is evidence that the development of spiral arteries from early luteal phase to the end of pregnancy are predominately formed not from neovascularization but through autoimmune stripping off of the thick walls on uterine arteries. These spiral arteries require a cell wall only 1 cell thick to allow nutrient exchange between mother and fetus. The invasion of cellular immune cells with 70% natural killer (NK) cells is facilitated by the effect of progesterone (P) in blocking dopamine to allow increased cellular permeability allowing infusion of irritants into pelvic tissue causing an inflammatory effect. These cellular immune cells do permeate the fetal placental microenvironment. Thus, they need to be subsequently suppressed, or they will attack the fetal semi-allograft. One mechanism used to suppress these NK cells, macrophages, and cytotoxic T-cells is by P activating membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs) to make certain immunomodulatory proteins e.g., the progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF) which, in turn, will abrogate the killing action of these cellular immune cells. Thus, supplementing the luteal phase with extra P may correct infertility, and prevent recurrent miscarriage, or preterm delivery. Sometimes if adding P is insufficient to fully negate the killing action of these cellular immune cells, one could treat the patient with a dopamine agonist to try to reduce excessive permeability leading to excessive inflammation.

Sexuality in Crisis: Sodomy and Plague in the Fourteenth-Century English Church

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was the first leukemia to be described in medical literature and remains one of the most well-studied hematologic malignancies. This review traces the historical evolution of CML research, from its first clinical recognition in the mid-19th century to modern molecular diagnostics and targeted therapy. Key milestones include the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome in 1960, identification of the BCR::ABL1 fusion gene in the 1980s, and the subsequent development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The introduction of imatinib in the early 2000s revolutionized CML treatment, transforming a fatal disease into a chronic condition with near-normal life expectancy for most patients. Second- and third-generation TKIs have since been introduced to overcome drug resistance and target specific BCR::ABL1 mutations, such as T315I. Recently, research has focused on mechanisms of TKI resistance, novel signaling pathways, and strategies to achieve treatment-free remission (TFR). Emerging therapies such as vamotinib, KF1601, and combination regimens are being explored. Furthermore, new insights into non-kinase functions of BCR::ABL1 and the role of microRNAs in resistance open additional therapeutic avenues. This review provides a concise overview of CML from a historical and molecular perspective, highlighting diagnostic advances, evolving response criteria, and future directions in treatment.

Antonio de Tornay has been a subject of study in the last decade, in particular his medical work designed to treat the ailments of García Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba. Of the series of texts written for this purpose, the one named Opúsculo de cozinas stands out. It is an ambitious project that completes a consilium and a regimen sanitatis written previously for the same figure. The brief treatise was originally divided into five parts, but only the first one, on the subject of different types of meat, survives. It includes a brief section on the way to carve meat in the French style. The objective of this study is to reconstruct the intellectual figure of Tornay and analyse his work from a medical and a historical perspective. These texts, far from anecdotal, exemplify some fundamental types of Hippocratic-Galenic medicine in the vernacular, aimed at treating specific ailments by adapting them to the needs of the courtly elites.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death that can develop into long-term disability, causing significant healthcare burden. The last decade has shown laudable advancements in disease characterization, but challenges remain in injury prevention and in understanding the link between TBI and chronic neurodegenerative disease. Historically, animal models have been crucial in untangling molecular mechanisms of injury, but difficulties in translation have resulted in a lack of applicable therapies. The ongoing search for treatment has overlooked the potential of animals that experience repeated, high-velocity head impacts as part of their natural behavior. Addressing this gap could improve our understanding of acute and chronic effects of head injury and potential protective mechanisms. TBI, not just for humans is a thematic issue covering an array of topics surrounding brain injury and non-model species. Topics include a paleontological perspective of head-hitting in extinct species, a historic perspective on head-hitting animals and TBI, non-model animals in biomedicine, anatomical descriptions of exotic head-hitters like helmeted hornbills and muskoxen, and a molecular investigation of resilience pathways against brain injury in woodpeckers. Since prehistory, humans have observed animals hitting heads and wondered whether it resulted in brain injury. Using evidence-based approaches rooted in biology, we may better understand our own brain injuries by studying the animals that regularly engage in such behaviors. The untapped potential of non-model species should be recognized and integrated into the field as we continue to search for solutions to the neurodegeneration crisis.

This article explores how white marble, as a material charged with theological resonance and imperial symbolism, was strategically employed in the Palatine Chapel of Aachen to construct a sacred space that conveyed both divine presence and political authority. Drawing on the legacy of Byzantine architecture, especially Hagia Sophia and the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, the study analyzes how Charlemagne’s architects appropriated the aesthetics of Byzantine whiteness to evoke sacred light and imperial legitimacy. White marble, far from being a passive decorative element, functioned as an active agent in the visual theology of the chapel—its luminosity, veining, and tactile qualities embodying metaphysical concepts of purity, the Logos, and divine favor. The article argues that the reuse of spolia and the manipulation of marble surfaces constituted a conscious act of cultural memory, reinforcing Aachen’s identity as a New Jerusalem. By integrating art historical, theological, and phenomenological perspectives, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how material choices in sacred architecture encode religious meaning and support ideological narratives. The interaction of marble and light in Aachen reflects a sensory theology that transcends visuality, engaging the body, memory, and imagination of its beholders.

ABSTRACT Collaboration between teachers and researchers for teaching development, as a form of professional development (PD), occurs at the boundary between their respective practices. Collaboration at the boundary poses challenges arising from differing purposes and contexts that must be addressed to maximise the benefits of such PD. This study examines and characterises the collaborative process through which boundary-specifying objects (BSOs), artefacts serving both practices, are developed through boundary-negotiating objects (BNOs), and artefacts mediate negotiation. Fourteen video-recorded meetings from a year-long teacher–researcher collaboration in mathematics were analysed from a Cultural Historical Activity Theory perspective. Findings indicate that developing BSOs involves three negotiation phases where teachers and researchers negotiate a shared understanding of: (1) conceptual knowledge, (2) how students’ conceptual knowledge can be identified and assessed, and (3) progression in conceptual knowledge. The results identify 16 BNOs and their interactions in these negotiation phases and classify them into three functional types: BNOs for introduction and exchange, BNOs for exploration and extension, and BNOs for visualisation and structure. These functional types appear in a chronological order. The results highlight how BNOs enable teachers and researchers to align perspectives, making professional development more effective. The usability, accessibility, and recursiveness of artefacts are discussed.

ABSTRACT In this article we aim to qualify to what extent secondary teachers are predisposed to implement multiperspectivity in their teaching of Quebec and Canadian history, as well as if and how they relate to a decolonial indigenisation paradigm in education. Drawing on interviews and synthesised profiles which illustrate a variety of postures, five thematic case study analyses have been conducted to describe history teachers’ discourse on including Indigenous perspectives and what is their potential in being decolonial change-agents. We observe teachers are generally willing to address Indigenous perspectives and are generally aware they are not sufficiently represented in their teaching. However, despite a relative development of multiperspectivity, no one declared decolonial practices. We highlight which elements incapacitate and limit teachers regarding this aim, such as how they say they teach, manifest awareness of colonialism, show willingness to include a plurality of historical perspectives, conceive the situatedness of their own perspective and relate to practical considerations such as classroom composition and curricula. Our results point to the need to strengthen the training of history teachers, in terms of predisposition to multiperspectivity, knowledge of Indigenous perspectives and decolonial aims in history teaching.

ABSTRACT This piece explores North Korea’s narrative about the onset of the Korean War, in which Pyongyang portrays itself as a heroic victim repelling the South’s aggression. The article uncovers the roots of this myth, suggesting that it originated not as a premediated fabrication but as an impromptu decision by Kim Il-sung. While the main ‘Southern Aggression’ narrative is top-down, nuanced variations emerge from individuals within DPRK state history institutions. The article also proposes that Western publications, notably I. F. Stone’s, may have influenced deviations in the North Korean account, adding layers to this intriguing historical perspective.

ABSTRACT Evangelical Christians in the U.S. are a unique population with tremendous socio-political influence. While evangelicals have a unique interest in foster care and adoption, little social work scholarship explores intersections between evangelicalism and child welfare. Through an integrative literature review of 11 historical articles discussing evangelical Christianity and child welfare social work, I found the scholarship as a whole tended to emphasize evangelical Christians’ good intentions and deeds, while only limitedly discussing white supremacy, xenophobia, and settler colonialism. In light of these findings, I discuss potential implications and offer three invitations for further exploring this line of inquiry.

Water shapes institutions, communities, and cultural heritage through physical waterways and social relationships with water. Study of this water-community entanglement shows that human activity and climate processes are transforming “water heritage,” including canals, irrigation systems, ponds, and cultural knowledge. On the Colorado Plateau, waterscapes have long supported Indigenous and settler agricultural and water-harvesting practices. A historical perspective demonstrates the central role of water heritage in forming, sustaining, and reshaping communities over time. Drawing primarily on ethnohistoric evidence, this paper traces how community relationships with water have changed since early European arrival in the eighteenth century. We argue that a water heritage framework integrating tangible and intangible elements reveals how water management and social relationships have been historically structured, and continue to structure plateau communities. Using Blanding, Utah, as a case study, we show that despite demographic and social changes, enduring relationships with water continue to shape identity and culture.

BackgroundResearch has emphasized the importance of helping children develop understandings of death that are conceptually healthy accurate and emotionally supportive. Yet, open conversations about death remain stigmatized, particularly with children. Nonetheless, children express curiosity and a desire to discuss and understand death. Adults, however, report having feelings of discomfort and being too unqualified to facilitate these dialogues. Because adults may believe these discussions are unnecessary, there is a need to clarify the depth of children's knowledge of death.Study AimsThis review sought to clarify what children understand about death and how they come to learn about it.ResultsFindings suggest that children develop an understanding of death through several key components across childhood. There are three core dimensions widely agreed upon in the literature: (1) biological cessation, (2) irreversibility, and (3) universality. There are also additional components that remain more actively explored and less consistently established. These include (4) applicability, (5) personal mortality, (6) causality, and (7) noncorporeal continuation. This knowledge may be acquired naturally through cognitive development and can also be shaped by direct exposure (e.g., the death of a loved one or pet) and/or indirect experiences (e.g., media depictions). When learned indirectly and without guidance, there is an increased risk of children formulating inaccurate or distressing attitudes toward death.ImplicationsBuilding on these insights, we offer developmentally adapted approaches for supporting children's understanding of death within pedagogical settings.

ABSTRACT The southeastern Caspian coast, a climate transition zone from subtropical to arid conditions and host to several Ramsar wetlands, is highly sensitive to Caspian sea‐level (CSL) fluctuations and climate change. This study investigates the environmental evolution and resilience of the Gomishan Lagoon by integrating paleoenvironmental archives, instrumental observations, re‐analysis data sets, satellite imagery, and future climate projections. The objectives are to decipher the past CSL changes on lagoon development and to evaluate the capacity of this coastal system for self‐restoration under past CSL fluctuations, assess whether this capacity persists under the current phase of rapid CSL decline, and infer its likely future trajectory. Results indicate that CSL variability over the past century comprised complete rise–fall cycles, with the present decline initiating a renewed phase of lagoon desiccation. A ~2.5 m CSL fall since 1996, coupled with rising air temperatures, has accelerated desiccation of the Gomishan Lagoon. By 2023, the extent of desiccation exceeded that observed in 1978 despite comparable CSL, reflecting enhanced sediment infilling. Sedimentary successions preserve evidence of historical lowstands, including desiccation phases during the Sasanian period of late Antiquity (ca. 400–450 AD), the Medieval Period (~1000 AD), and around 1600 AD, accompanied by progressive seaward displacement of the lagoon during regressive phases. Relict beach ridges and back‐barrier depressions further indicate repeated lagoon formation along the southeastern Caspian coast throughout the Holocene. During highstand periods, lagoon capacity in organic material burial and carbon accumulation increased threefold compared to the lowstand periods. Although projected warming is expected to intensify stress on existing wetlands, the combined geomorphological and sedimentological record suggests that, under natural conditions, new lagoons are likely to form seaward, highlighting the multidcadal adaptability of this coastal system under changing climate and sea‐level conditions.

Locally advanced cervical cancer remains a major global health challenge, with outcomes and access disparities greatest in low-middle income countries. Since the 1999 National Cancer Institute clinical alert endorsing concurrent chemoradiation as standard of care, advances in external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy have improved disease control and toxicity profiles. Whether these advances constitute true treatment de-escalation remains uncertain. This narrative review synthesizes historical milestones and contemporary evidence in definitive radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer, focusing on strategies that may enable de-escalation: refined external beam radiation therapy techniques and volumes, optimized treatment time, systemic therapy, and modernization of brachytherapy. Landmark trials eliminated routine surgery after radiation therapy and established concurrent chemoradiation as the backbone of care. Technologic evolution from 2- to 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy to intensity-modulated radiotherapy/volumetric arc therapy and image-guided adaptive brachytherapy has reduced toxicity while maintaining and even improving control. EMBRACE I/II benchmarked magnetic resonance imaging-guided adaptive brachytherapy and modern external beam radiotherapy, demonstrating high local control with lower severe morbidity and wider adoption of combined intracavitary/interstitial techniques. De-escalation by precision includes selective use of extended-field radiation, abandonment of pelvic sidewall boosts, and simultaneous integrated boost to nodal disease to avoid prolonging overall treatment time. True dose, volume, and time-reducing strategies remain investigational. Current progress reflects optimization and refinement rather than definitive de-escalation of locally advanced cervical cancer radiotherapy. Realizing de-escalation will require improving universal access to state-of-the-art external beam radiation and brachytherapy, rigorously designed trials, and in the future, biologically guided patient selection to deliver less intensive, yet equally curative treatment.

In this study, the authors describe the evolution of the People's Republic of China's global health activities and related policies in Africa from the 1960s through the present and provide field case studies of two African nations-Sierra Leone and Kenya-that have received health aid from China. They then analyze China's use of global health support in Africa as a tool of soft power. The need to understand China's global health activities has intensified, given that Western, particularly U.S., foreign health aid policies are changing, prompting questions about whether China will shift its policies to strengthen its soft power in Africa and away from the decade-old Belt and Road Initiative's overarching Sino-centric trade focus. This analysis of China's health aid history, its current role in African health aid, and its recent reform called for by President Xi Jinping's Global Development Initiative is intended to help U.S. policymakers understand China's decisionmaking and implementation strategy for foreign aid. The analysis of the advantages and weaknesses of China's approaches can offer lessons to both donor countries and African countries that receive global health aid from China. The authors offer policy recommendations for the United States and for African countries.