An unconditional proof of the abelian equivariant Iwasawa main conjecture and applications

Let p be an odd prime. We give an unconditional proof of the equivariant Iwasawa main conjecture for totally real fields for every admissible one-dimensional p-adic Lie extension whose Galois group has an abelian Sylow p-subgroup. Crucially, this result does not depend on the vanishing of any μ-invariant. As applications, we deduce the Coates--Sinnott conjecture away from its 2-primary part and new cases of the equivariant Tamagawa number conjecture for Tate motives

From Production to Consumption in the Assembled Countryside: Colonialisms, Mobilities, and Peripheralization

This chapter critically interrogates the shift from the productive countryside, to economies based on consumption, to consider how peripheries shape and are shaped by global social, political, and economic processes. Using an analytical perspective drawn from assemblage thinking, the chapter decentres European Studies into co-evolutionary socio-economic, cultural, and historical global networks. It shows how peripheries are heavily connected to flows of matter, people, and ideas, drawing links between the settler colonialisms of past epochs, to the neo-colonialisms of the contemporary global economy. In so doing, the chapter highlights how far from being peripheral, peripheries are at the heart of global processes.</p

Energy equity: A rapid evidence review focused on developed economies

Energy is a vital requirement for human life. However, procedural, distributive, and structural inequalities exist in its use, production and distribution. While equity through public health, environment, and education lenses are widely established concepts, ‘energy equity’ has not been clearly defined or conceptualised in the same way. To explore this, we conducted a rapid evidence review of articles containing definitions of energy equity and/or indicators for how energy equity may be measured in developed economy contexts. 18 relevant articles were identified.We find no homogeneous definition of energy equity. Most commonly, energy equity definitions consisted of energy poverty, energy access and energy justice conceptual components. Energy equity indicators were very heterogeneous in focus and measurement. Energy equity was particularly discussed in the context of community energy.There is conceptual overlap between energy equity and other terms such as energy poverty, access and justice. That said, energy equity has a very clear meaning when considering general usage of the word ‘equity’, here recognising differentiated needs. Energy equity could therefore have a particular use in energy research and policy making. There might be scope for energy equity as a holistic and more politically neutral term than energy justice that may be more acceptable to key stakeholders. This work also acts as an identifier of avenues for future research. Among other topics, future examination of public, advocacy group, and political actors' views on and support for various energy concepts, including energy equity and energy justice, is one potential avenue for future exploration.</p

‘We should be colliers’: Coal, contagion, and the Elizabethan theatre

Both colliers and the coals they carried were a familiar feature of life in early modern England. Mined coal and manufactured charcoal fueled a significant proportion of contemporary domestic and industrial activity, including theatrical production. Most early modern players and playwrights almost certainly relied on coal to heat their homes and prepare their meals, as many playgoers would have done. In addition, playhouses and companies are likely to have used coal in various pyrotechnic effects, continuing and adapting methods for the theatrical production of fire that were inherited from medieval works such as the Coventry Corpus Christi cycle, which was itself staged regularly for much of Elizabeth I’s reign. Such practices of consumption and production were far from new, with debates about coal burning and its effects dating back at least to ancient Rome. However, both coal and its purveyors attracted scrutiny in Elizabethan England as a result of wider social developments that generated or exacerbated energy demands and dependencie

Anaemia management with red Blood Cell transfusion to improve post-intensive care disability: protocol for the ABC post-ICU randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAnaemia is prevalent after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge as a consequence of factors such as blood sampling, concurrent inflammation affecting erythropoiesis, and the use of restrictive ICU red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practice during inpatient stay. ICU survivors experience poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Prevalent symptoms include fatigue and weakness, to which anaemia may contribute. There are no trials exploring the effectiveness of treating anaemia with RBC transfusions post-ICU discharge.Methods and analysisThe ABC post-ICU trial is a multicentre prospective, parallel group, randomised trial, with embedded moderation and mediation analysis. Participants are adult ICU survivors with anaemia (haemoglobin (Hb) ≤94g/L) fit for ICU discharge. Patients are randomised to usual care (default Hb transfusion trigger 70% completed SF-36 follow-up.Ethical approvalScotland A Research Ethics Committee (REC; Scotland; 19/SS/0105); Wales REC4 (England, Wales; 19/WA/0276) ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04591574</p

Book review: Jonathan Havercroft, <i>Stanley Cavell's Democratic Perfectionism: Community, Individuality and Post-Truth Politics</i>

Book review of Jonathan Havercroft, Stanley Cavell's Democratic Perfectionism: Community, Individuality and Post-Truth Politics, Cambridge University Press, 2023, 274 pages. Hardback £85/ $110. ISBN: 978100932284</p

Temperature sensitivity, mispricing, and predictable returns

We examine the relation between temperature changes and firm performance using a novel time-varying measure of firm-level temperature sensitivity. We find that firms with higher temperature sensitivity have lower future profitability and riskier corporate policies. These firms are also overpriced and earn lower average future returns, as market participants are slow to correct the mispricing. Nonlocal institutional investors allocate higher portfolio weights to firms with high temperature sensitivity and sell-side equity analyst forecasts are less accurate for these firms. Together, these results suggest that financial markets underreact to information about firm-level temperature sensitivity, which generates predictable patterns in returns. A trading strategy that exploits this mispricing generates an annualized risk-adjusted return of over 4% during the 1968-2020 period.</p

Device-measured sleep characteristics, daily step count, and cardiometabolic health markers: Findings from the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) Consortium

BACKGROUND: Sleep and physical activity (PA) are important lifestyle-related behaviors that impact cardiometabolic health. This study investigated the joint associations of daily step count and sleep patterns (regularity and duration) with cardiometabolic biomarkers in adults. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using pooled data from the Prospective PA, Sitting, and Sleep Consortium, comprising 6 cohorts across Europe and Australia with thigh-worn accelerometry data collected between 2011 and 2021. The sleep regularity index, a metric that quantifies day-to-day sleep consistency, sleep duration (h/d), and steps (per day), was derived from the accelerometer data and categorized based on tertiles and sleep duration guidelines. We used multivariate generalized linear models to examine joint associations of sleep patterns and total daily step count with individual cardiometabolic biomarkers, including body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, triglycerides, HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin), and a composite cardiometabolic health score (mean of the 6 standardized biomarker Z scores). RESULTS: The sample included 11 903 adults with a mean±SD age of 54.7±9.5 years, 54.9% female, a sleep regularity index of 78.7±10.4, and 10 206.4±3442.2 daily steps. Lower PA (84.5 or 7-8 h/d) and high step count (>11 553 steps/d). The combination of low sleep regularity and low daily steps was associated with higher body mass index (2.92 [2.61-3.24] kg/m), waist circumference (8.58 [7.78-9.38] cm), total cholesterol (0.15 [0.07-0.23] mmol/L), and lower HDL levels (0.17 [0.14-0.2] mmol/L), regardless of sleep duration. The combination of short sleep and low step count had the strongest unfavorable associations for body mass index (2.31 [1.98-2.65] kg/m) and waist circumference (7.01 [6.15-7.87] cm). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the potential deleterious associations of irregular or insufficient sleep with cardiometabolic health outcomes may be exaggerated by lower daily PA. Investigation of the prospective joint association of sleep patterns and PA with cardiometabolic health may be warranted.</p

Kicking politics: How football fan communities became arenas for political influence

This paper investigates how political campaigns engaged UK football fan communities on Twitter in the aftermath of the Brexit Referendum (2016–2017). Football fandom, with its strong collective identities and tribal behaviours, offers fertile ground for political influence. Combining social network and content analysis, we examine how political discourse became embedded in football conversations. We show that a wide range of actors—including parties, media, activist groups, and pseudonymous influencers—mobilised support, provoked reactions, and shaped opinion within these communities. Through case studies of hashtag hijacking, embedded activism, and political “megaphones,” we illustrate how campaigns leveraged fan cultures to amplify political messages. Our findings highlight mechanisms of political influence in ostensibly non-political online spaces and point toward the development of a broader framework in future work.</p

Indirect evidence of an early mating advantage in wild cooperatively breeding male banded mongooses

Promiscuous females reduce male reproductive control. Males can attempt to monopolise access to these females, but distractions and sneaky rivals mean extra copulations cannot always be blocked. By mating first, males can obtain a headstart in sperm competition, but this may be negated by sperm storage and cryptic female choice mechanisms. We carry out an indirect rare test of an early mating advantage in a population of free-living wild animals. Using Bayesian GLMM analysis of a long-term life history database spanning 17 years, we show that banded mongoose males who interacted with females in earlier days of oestrus had a higher chance of siring their offspring compared with later rivals. An early mating advantage would intensify initial male-male competition and hence selection for male choice, as any initial mistake identifying preferred mating partners could see paternity lost to rivals.</p