The aim of this study was to develop a fermented dairy beverage based on buttermilk, enriched with prebiotic fibre and supplemented with protein, and to evaluate its physicochemical and microbiological properties. Four treatments were formulated: control (T1), inulin (T2), whey protein (T3), and inulin plus whey protein (T4). During 36 days of refrigerated storage, pH, titratable acidity, syneresis, protein content, lactic acid bacteria count, and rheological behaviour were evaluated. Treatments T1 and T2 exhibited minimal differences across all parameters, confirming the feasibility of adding inulin to dairy beverages without altering their characteristics. Treatments T3 and T4 showed significant differences in all parameters except microbial counts, displaying higher pH, titratable acidity, protein content, and viscosity, and lower syneresis, highlighting the influence of protein supplementation on product properties. Overall, the results demonstrated that the use of buttermilk to produce dairy beverages is promising and may lead to a new variety of healthy products for consumption.

The immunomodulatory effects of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. fruit extracts were investigated using Galleria mellonella as an insect immune model. The expression of antimicrobial peptides, hemolin, phenoloxidase genes (PO-I and PO-II), and enzyme activity was measured in response to Candida albicans, silica beads, and Z. jujuba fruit extract. Responses were found to be stimulus- and time-dependent. Gallerimycin and galiomycin, key antimicrobial peptides, exhibited distinct expression patterns, with gallerimycin showing a more pronounced response to pathogens and beads. The Z. jujuba extract stimulated an early but balanced immune activation, likely due to its bioactive compounds. Hemolin expression varied between larvae and haemocytes depending on the type and duration of the challenge, supporting its role in immune recognition and opsonisation. Phenoloxidase activity and gene expression were also enhanced, supporting their role in promoting melanisation processes. Docking analyses suggested that hemolin contributes to phenoloxidase activation by stabilising PO-I and interacting with the phenoloxidase-activating factor-1-like protein (PAP1). The findings suggest that Z. jujuba extract effectively modulates immune responses, promoting enhanced protection while maintaining immune balance. GC-MS analysis revealed multiple bioactive compounds potentially contributing to immune modulation. This study highlights the significant immunomodulatory effects of Z. jujuba fruit extract on the immune system of G. mellonella. The findings suggest its potential as a natural immunostimulant and warrant further investigation of the underlying molecular mechanisms and bioactive components.

Mastitis management in automatic milking systems (AMS) is challenging, as detection of clinical signs relies on sensors. Treatment recommendations for clinical mastitis (CM) advise conducting microbiological cultures of the infected quarter whenever possible to guide therapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the use of a rapid diagnostic mastitis pathogen chromogenic culture test on the CM case duration and the probability of more than one treatment before cure. A total of 106 CM cases from 65 dairy cows housed in a freestall AMS barn were retrospectively analysed: 25 treated according to chromogenic culture results and 81 without pathogen identification. All cases were pre-identified using AMS-derived milk parameters, confirmed through veterinary examination, and followed by weekly veterinary examinations until cure. Generalized mixed linear models were used to assess the association between chromogenic culture use and the outcomes, with confounders included as covariates. The use of a chromogenic culture reduced mastitis case duration by 2.78 ± 1.26 days compared to treatment without chromogenic culture. There was no effect on the likelihood of affected cows receiving more than one treatment for CM. The use of a chromogenic culture reduced CM time-to-cure in an AMS freestall dairy herd.

The concept of mercy is often proposed as an antidote to the punitive excesses of our current criminal justice system. But this concept is typically presented in generalized, abstract terms that seem unworkable as a pragmatic decision strategy. Its religious origins and associations only add to this impression. In fact, however, if the biblical accounts of mercy are interpreted using the narrative strategy that is featured in current scholarship, an eminently practical decision protocol emerges from these accounts. This protocol diverges from the common or popular view of mercy. It omits the demand for contrition or gratitude on the part of the wrongdoer, viewing this as an effort to exercise domination rather than extending mercy, and minimizes compassion on the part of the decision maker due to its tendency to merge into favoritism. Instead, the protocol recommends that the decision maker deal with the wrongdoer on a direct personal level, suppress any emotional responses such as anger or indignation, and consider the collateral consequences of the proposed punishment. The author describes the way the protocol can be derived from leading biblical narratives about mercy, including the expulsion from the garden, the mark of Cain, Christ and the adulteress, and the prodigal son. He expands on this derivation by analyzing the book of Jonah, rejecting the common view that this work is a satire and treating it instead as a profound inquiry into the nature of mercy. He concludes by applying the protocol he has derived to policy level decisions in the criminal justice system, specifically judicial sentencing, administrative parole and the use of restorative justice.

Political scientist Dr. Paula D. McClain is an exemplary scholar who has dedicated much of her career to building diverse and inclusive scholarly communities in tandem with growing political science scholarship. Among Dr. McClain’s most enduring intellectual contributions is her pioneering work, Can We All Get Along? Racial and Ethnic Minorities in American Politics?, coauthored first with Dr. Joseph Stewart, Jr., and later with Dr. Jessica Johnson-Carew. Among the first comprehensive treatments of American racial and ethnic minority group politics, Can We All Get Along? still implores us to ponder a question that remains as critical as it has ever been to global and national politics, as well as to the academy and the discipline of political science, more than 30 years after its publication. The contributions to this special issue are dedicated to honoring the enduring significance of Can We All Get Along? and the extraordinary work and legacy of Dr. Paula McClain.

Food texture influences eating rate (ER), and slower ERs are associated with reduced energy intake within a meal. However, it remains unclear whether this acute effect of ER on intake is sustained over time. We investigated whether texture-based differences in meal ER can have a sustained effect on food and energy intake across 11 consecutive days. In a randomised cross-over feeding trial, Dutch adults (n 20) were randomised to an 11-d ‘fast’ and an 11-d ‘slow’ ER diet, followed by a 17-d washout period before completing the alternate diet-arm. Participants consumed ad libitum breakfast and dinners of which ER was manipulated using food texture and received the same lunch meals on both diets served in regular-sized fixed portions. Diets were matched for served total weight (gram), energy (kcal) and energy density (kcal/gram) and were equivalent for visual volume, meal liking and meal variety. Meal ER on the ‘slow diet’ was on average 32 % slower compared with the ‘fast diet’ (P < 0·01). On days when texture led to significant differences in ER, food intake was reduced by 121 (se 24) g/d (P < 0·001), and this effect did not attenuate over time (P = 0·25). Cumulative food intake was 6 % lower for the slow compared with the fast diet (P < 0·001) with no significant difference in energy intake. On 8 of the 11 test days, meal texture reduced ER and supported a consistent reduction in food intake. Further research should test whether a whole diet approach to lowering ER by modifying meal textures could help to moderate food and energy intakes.

I offer a novel dispositional reply to Derk Pereboom’s four-case manipulation argument. Drawing on recent work in the metaphysics of dispositions, I argue that manipulated agents’ rational abilities are masked—prevented from manifesting as they otherwise would—by neuroscientists’ manipulation. I argue that masking better explains why manipulated agents are not responsible for their actions than causal determinism does, as we ordinarily take masks to explain why agents are not morally responsible for their actions or inaction. Because causal determinism is not a mask, there is a relevant difference between manipulation and causal determinism, and the four-case argument fails.