Microbial reduction of clay mineral structural Fe(III) decreases the swelling of nontronite gels, most importantly at intermediate oxidation states (40 to 80 cmol Fe(II) kg−1 clay). The purpose of this study was to establish whether microbial reduction of structural Fe(III) decreased the swelling of other Fe-bearing smectites and to discern the influence that organic compounds of microbial origin (bacterial cells, cell fragments and/or exudates) may have on clay swelling and texture. Structural Fe(III) was reduced by incubating smectite suspensions with either a combination of Pseudomonas bacteria or a mixture of anaerobic bacteria. The influence of organics on clay swelling was estimated on smectites suspended in either organic or inorganic media in the absence of bacteria. The gravimetric water content of the reduced clay gels equilibrated at various applied pressures was recorded as a function of Fe oxidation state. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to determine the influence of bacteria and type of media on the texture of reduced smectite gels. Reduction of structural Fe(III) by bacteria decreased the swelling pressure of all Fe-bearing smectites. Increased clay swelling, due to the presence of organics (organic medium, exudates or cell fragments), was correlated to the total Fe content, the extent of structural Fe reduction, as well as the initial swelling characteristics of the Fe-bearing smectites. High structural Fe(II) contents (>50 cmol Fe(II) kg−1) resulted in increased attractive forces between clay platelets that decreased clay swelling, even in organic medium suspensions. Microbial reduction resulted in increased face-face association of individual clay layers, forming larger and more distinct crystallite subunits than in nonreduced clay gels. But, perhaps more importantly, microbial reduction of structural Fe(III) resulted in an increased association between crystallite subunits and, thus, an overall larger particle size and pore size distribution, due to the interaction of bacteria ceils, cell fragments and organic exudates.

If a flat, horizontal, plate settles onto a flat surface, it is known that the gap $h$ decreases with time $t$ as a power law: $h\sim t^{-1/2}$. We consider what happens if the plate is not initially horizontal, and/or the centre of mass is not symmetrically positioned: does one edge contact the surface in finite time, or does the plate approach the horizontal without making contact? The dynamics of this system is analysed and shown to be remarkably complex. We find that, depending upon the initial position of the plate and the position of the centre of force, the plate might either make contact in finite time or settle progressively without ever making contact. Our results show an excellent agreement between analytical exact solutions, asymptotic solutions and numerical studies of the lubrication equations.

This response to critics gives me the opportunity to develop some aspects of the argument in Authoritarian Liberalism and the Transformation of Modern Europe. I do so by foregrounding the concept of political freedom, articulated by Franz Neumann. Authoritarian liberalism operates by suppressing political freedom and democracy. First making its mark in late Weimar, authoritarian liberalism is constructed in a more passive fashion in the decades after the Second Word War. Although it is contested by social movements in the 1960’s and 70’s, it is ultimately reinforced in the turn to neoliberalism. This reaches its apogee at the Treaty of Maastricht, with the de-politicization of economic and monetary union and the deepening and widening of the European Union. German ordoliberalism, which functions as an ideological support to authoritarian liberalism, is instructive, but is only a part of this story; Germany is at most ‘semi-hegemonic’ in Europe. Authoritarian liberalism operates instead through limiting the constitutional imagination in all member states of the Union. I end with some reflections on Walter Benjamin, whose philosophy of history inspired the cover of the book.

To achieve the elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), sustained and sufficient levels of HCV testing is critical. The purpose of this study was to assess trends in testing and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to diagnose people living with HCV. Data were from 12 primary care clinics in Victoria, Australia, that provide targeted services to people who inject drugs (PWID), alongside general health care. This ecological study spanned 2009–2019 and included analyses of trends in annual numbers of HCV antibody tests among individuals with no previous positive HCV antibody test recorded and annual test yield (positive HCV antibody tests/all HCV antibody tests). Generalised linear models estimated the association between count outcomes (HCV antibody tests and positive HCV antibody tests) and time, and χ2 test assessed the trend in test yield. A total of 44 889 HCV antibody tests were conducted 2009–2019; test numbers increased 6% annually on average [95% confidence interval (CI) 4–9]. Test yield declined from 2009 (21%) to 2019 (9%) (χ2P = <0.01). In more recent years (2013–2019) annual test yield remained relatively stable. Modest increases in HCV antibody testing and stable but high test yield within clinics delivering services to PWID highlights testing strategies are resulting in people are being diagnosed however further increases in the testing of people at risk of HCV or living with HCV may be needed to reach Australia's HCV elimination goals.

Constitutional pluralism is a theory for the post-sovereign European state. This only makes sense historically, emerging out of postwar European reconstruction through the repression of popular sovereignty and restraining of democracy, including through the project of European integration. It became unsettled at Maastricht and evolved from a series of irritants into a full-blown crisis in the recent decade, with sovereignty claims returning both from the bottom-up and the top-down, to the extent that we can legitimately ask whether we are now moving ‘beyond the post-sovereign state’? Constitutional pluralist literature fails to capture this in that evades material issues of democracy and political economy.