Recruiting a large number of ground workers is crucial for running effective modern election campaigns. It is unclear if party leaders can influence the quality and quantity of the unpaid rank-and-file workforce as they can with prized nominations for candidates. We analyze a field experiment conducted by an Indian party that randomized recruitment messages reaching 1% of a 13-million-person electorate to join its rank and file. Contrary to concerns that parties can only attract a few poor-quality volunteers, we show that elite efforts can shape the rank and file. In fact, specific strategies can increase the size, enhance the gender and ethnic diversity, and broaden the education and political skills of recruits. Strategies that signal gender inclusiveness have a lasting impact on some dimensions up to 3 years later. Taken together, this article provides the first causal evidence that rank-and-file recruitment is an opportunity for elites to influence long-term party development.

In this research article, response surface methodology (RSM) based optimization of three production parameters namely temperature, time and amount of starter culture of Vechur cow milk yoghurt (VCMY) on the basis of sensory evaluation responses comparing cross-bred cow milk yoghurt (CCMY) as the control is reported. The optimized values of production parameters were 2.15 per cent rate of inoculation, 42°C incubation temperature and 4 h incubation period. The optimized product exhibited significantly lower syneresis, a*, b* values and higher L* values than CCMY. Physico-chemical, microbiological, textural and sensory properties of both VCMY and CCMY during room temperature and refrigerated storage were assessed daily until the onset of spoilage (room temperature) or at five day intervals over a period of 15 d (refrigerated). Both room temperature stored products were graded undesirable by the sensory panel upon one day of storage. Significant reduction was observed in the fat, SNF, total solids, protein and pH content and all the tested colour parameters of the optimized product during refrigerated storage. Total viable counts as well as yeast and mould counts and lactic acid bacteria counts of both VCMY and CCMY progressively increased over the 15 d of storage. Significant reductions were observed in the flavour (P < 0.01), body and texture, colour and appearance and overall acceptability (P < 0.05) scores of both the samples over a period of 15 d. During storage, hardness and adhesiveness values showed an increasing trend whereas the cohesiveness showed a decreasing trend. Storage studies revealed significant differences in the acidity, pH, syneresis, tyrosine value, colour parameters and sensorial attributes of both the yoghurt samples. During the 15 d refrigerated storage period, the VCMY exhibited superior technological attributes to CCMY in terms of lower syneresis %, acidity, microbial population, firmer and less cohesive texture, better flavour, colour and appearance scores. Being the first comprehensive study on the utilization of Vechur cow milk for the preparation of yoghurt, the data generated in the current study would provide a solid base for the exploration of fermentation as a means of value addition of milk of this very rare indigenous cattle breed.

Based on declassified documents from the archives of the Czechoslovak intelligence agency (StB) and the contemporary press, this article delves into the working mechanisms of the Communist secret services in Latin America in the 1960s. Specifically, focusing on the case of the newspaper Época, it deals with the production of articles aimed at discrediting the capitalist states and their publication in the press through local collaborators. The link between the StB and the Uruguayan newspaper, which claimed to be politically and economically independent, was pragmatic and, for a time, helped both parties to achieve their political ends. While the StB managed to obtain a space where it could carry out its operations, Época's motivations were not only ideological but also economic and related to the urgent desire of the non-Communist Left to get funding for its political activities.

This Research Communication set out to (1) evaluate the behaviour and performance of dairy calves raised on pasture individually or in groups, and (2) evaluate the influence of physical enrichment on the behaviour and performance of dairy calves raised in groups on pasture. Although there was no difference in grazing behaviour when housed in groups, calves spent longer eating concentrate, ruminating and drinking water. Additionaly, calves housed individually spend part of their time trying to get close to a neighbouring calf. When available, the brush was the physical enrichment item most used by calves followed by straw-man and ball. Pasture access may allow calves to exhibit their highly motivated natural behaviours such as grazing and rumination. Furthermore, social housing provides dairy calves an opportunity for social bonding. Thus, social housing with free access to pasture areas could be an alternative in tropical regions to the typical individual rearing system used in intensive dairy farming.

In the first part of our editorial introduction to the themed issue ‘Racism and Colonialism in Hegel's Philosophy’ we outlined its rationale and some of its main topics. Here we address some common objections against research of this kind and formulate questions for further research.

The Aswan High Dam was a cornerstone of two overlapping political projects. For Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the dam symbolized a bright future in which the decolonized Egyptian people could finally claim their destinies and triumph over the twin forces of imperialism and nature. The Soviet-assisted megaproject acquired such symbolic importance that Nasser’s security apparatus carefully policed its representations in Egyptian society, culture, and intellectual life. For the USSR, by contrast, the dam symbolized Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s break with the Stalinist past, initiated in his famous February 1956 “secret speech” that criticized Stalin’s draconian repressions, isolationism in international affairs, and neglect of “the East.” Even as it led to economic, scientific technical, and cultural agreements with Afro-Asian states including Egypt, Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization agenda loosened controls over political speech at home, unleashing powerful new political ideas, forces, and artistic trends. This brief essay will explore the overlap between the two projects, asking where they met and diverged and what this means for studies of political, cultural, and environmental history.

This paper reviews two important design choices for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). First, how CBDC intermediaries should be compensated for their services. Second, how payments from traditional banks into CBDC wallets should be cleared. Both of these design choices have important implications for the financial stability of the banking system.

The continuing emergence of new variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could be ameliorated by infection prevention through daily diet. In this study, we examined the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of 10 commercially available dairy products. They did not show any cytotoxicity against VeroE6/transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) cells (CC50 > 4 mg/ml). Importantly, these cells were checked using the cytopathic effect (CPE) assay, and 4 mg/ml dairy products reduced virus-induced CPE by more than 30%. Notably, Icreo akachan milk, an infant formula, showed the highest antiviral activity with an IC50 of 1.4 mg/ml. We assessed the effects of the dairy products on the entry of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus. R1 and Yakult, lactic acid bacterial beverages, inhibited viral entry with IC50 of 2.9 and 3.5 mg/ml, respectively. Collectively, these results indicate that commercially available dairy products moderately inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection and may reduce the incidence of viral infections.

Theory suggests that policy benefits delivered directly by government are most likely to affect the voting behavior of beneficiaries. Nearly every empirical study, however, analyzes a policy or program that meets this criterion. To address this limitation, I compare the electoral impacts of two New Deal-era employment programs—the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA)—which differed primarily in their traceability to government. Though both programs provided employment, the WPA directly hired and paid employees. In contrast, the PWA subsidized private sector employment. Across two datasets, I find that the WPA increased support for the enacting Democratic Party. As expected, however, the PWA had no discernible causal effect on voting patterns. These results offer the strongest evidence to date that whether policy beneficiaries can easily see government as responsible for their benefits shapes the development of mass policy feedback effects.

Few studies have investigated historical pandemics from a public health perspective. This paper offers new perspectives on how legislation was implemented in Norway during the 1918–1920 Influenza pandemic. We argue that despite good intentions, individual interpretations, different knowledge and level of decision-making played an important role in the use of the legislation during this Influenza pandemic. Following the 1918–1920 Influenza pandemic there were significant advancements in public health and the establishment of public health laws in Norway. Given its severity, it was expected an active involvement of health authorities at all levels in decision-making to fight the outbreak through the enforcement of health laws and regulations. This paper explores the implementation of health legislation during this pandemic, offering valuable insights from public health and legislative perspectives. Historical sources reveal a wide array of societal challenges and various levels of medical expertise among health boards across the country. The effectiveness of existing legislation depended heavily on doctors’ knowledge and the abilities of health boards. The article shows that coordinated and well established non-pharmaceutical interventions may be necessary to effectively shield the healthy from the sick during a pandemic produced by a novel pathogen.

The September 2015 military intervention launched in Syria by Vladimir Putin at the invitation of Bashar al-Asad marked Russia’s tangible return to the Middle East and initiated a 180-degree turn in the course of the ongoing war. Four years after the beginning of the Syrian revolution, its repression, and its escalation into war, Moscow’s military involvement became a testing ground for Russian martial strategies, including “nonmilitary” measures and communication strategies. By exploring both textual and visual content posted on social media by Russian war reporters deployed in Syria between September 2015 and January 2020, in this essay I seek to highlight the ties between the embedded narratives around the on-site military intervention for Russian-speaking audiences, and the longstanding Russian Orientalist fascination with the Middle East.

‘Sound, Image and Motion’ (SIM) is a unique interdisciplinary programme in Brazilian higher education, blending visual arts, audiovisual and sound creation. We start with a brief historical overview of avant-garde traditions in Bahia and delve into the university’s principles and guiding plan in order to situate SIM among art courses and its available resources. We explore its flexible curriculum in detail, considering the limitations posed by a new university with scarce resources, and describe the curricular structure to analyse experiences with teaching and constructing an interdisciplinary sound creation qualification within this programme.