Despite a consensus that the Late Hallstatt ‘princely’ burials heralded the emergence of the earliest complex societies in the central Balkans, there is room for nuance. In this article, the ‘princely’ burial horizon is examined in light of the opposition between group-oriented and individualizing societies, while accepting that burials are as much an ideological statement as a reflection of social structure. On this theoretical basis, the author presents a study of two groups of ‘princely’ burials in North Macedonia and Bosnia in relation to contemporary and later burials, and with reference to settlement size in the Late Hallstatt and Classical–Hellenistic period. His analysis reveals that the inequality in burial assemblages of the Late Hallstatt ‘princely’ burial horizon decreases in the mortuary record of the fifth–fourth century bc, whereas the settlement size in the Classical–Early Hellenistic suggests emerging differentiation.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) research relies upon accurate identification of cases when using electronic health record (EHR) data. We developed and validated a multi-component algorithm to identify hospital-associated CDI using EHR data and determined that the tandem of CDI-specific treatment and laboratory testing has 97% accuracy in identifying HA-CDI cases.

This study applies a comprehensive bioecological perspective to address a significant gap in the childhood adversity literature by employing latent profile analysis to examine the impact of diverse combinations of early childhood adversities and protective factors on adolescent psychosocial and behavioral outcomes. Drawing from the United Kingdom’s Millennium Cohort Study (N = 19,444), we identified eight unique profiles of early childhood adversity and protective factors. These profiles provide a nuanced understanding of adversity combinations and allow for differentiation between groups with similar profiles. Latent profile membership was a significant predictor of all adolescent outcome variables, indicating that profiles differed significantly from one another on psychosocial and behavioral outcomes (Wald values ranged from 10.10–623.22; p < .001). Some findings support the cumulative risk model, indicating that exposure to multiple early adversities increases the likelihood of adverse outcomes. However, we also found that specific adversities, such as parental psychopathology, parental alcohol use, and neighborhood deprivation, uniquely impact adolescent outcomes. This study highlights the necessity for tailored interventions and policies to support children with distinct early life experiences, emphasizing the importance of addressing both cumulative and specific adversities at multiple levels to prevent psychosocial and behavioral problems in adolescence.

This article considers the claim that miraculous healings are essential to present-day evangelization. I contrast this perspective with that of the Baroque scholastic theologian John Poinsot. Like his contemporaries, Poinsot is concerned with offering a robust defense of the Christian faith but is rather circumspect with respect to the role that the miraculous should play. I argue that Poinsot’s reasons are not only valid, but the positive framework he develops for defending the articles of the faith helps contemporary evangelists successfully navigate the pitfalls of postmodernity.

Southern Sudan has a low population density, abundant land and tremendous agricultural potential. A large number of domesticated crops are grown in the region in a range of cropping systems. There are also numerous useful wild plant genetic resources. Little collecting work has been done in the region, there are few accessions from southern Sudan stored ex situ and publications on the actual and potential plant genetic resources for agriculture are sparse. The region has been a centre of civil conflict with little respite since independence in 1956. The farmers’ fields and natural environments represent in situ genebanks, which following the cessation of hostilities will become extremely important for the rehabilitation of subsistence agriculture, the promotion of cash crop production and the revitalization of the regional economy. Several wild plant species are highly nutritious and merit the attention of plant scientists. This article describes some of the domesticated, semi-domesticated and wild plant genetic resources of the area, and suggests why these are important for agricultural rehabilitation following implementation of a peace accord.

A proposed crystal structure of lifitegrast Form A has been derived using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional theory techniques. Lifitegrast sesquihydrate Form A crystallizes in space group P21 (#4) with a = 18.2526(4), b = 5.15219(6), c = 30.1962(6) Å, β = 90.8670(19), V = 2839.35(7) Å3, and Z = 4 at 295 K. The crystal structure consists of discrete lifitegrast molecules linked by hydrogen bonds among carboxylic acid groups, carbonyl groups, and water molecules into a three-dimensional framework. The water molecules occur in clusters. Each water molecule acts as a donor in two O–H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and as an acceptor. One water molecule acts as an acceptor in a water–water O–H⋯O hydrogen bond, and all three water molecules are acceptors in C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Each carboxylic acid group acts as a donor in a strong discrete O–H⋯O hydrogen bond; one to a water molecule and the other to a carbonyl group. The amino groups both form N–H⋯O hydrogen bonds to carbonyl groups. The powder pattern has been submitted to ICDD® for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).

Diversity in agronomically important traits of wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides, the progenitor of most cultivated wheats, was examined in l60 genotypes representing 16 populations derived from a wide ecogeographical spectrum of climate, soil and water availability in Israel and Turkey. The analysis included 14 quantitative economic characters including heading date, culm length, biomass, grain yield and its components, and grain protein percentage.

The results led to two major conclusions: (i) agronomically important traits varied genetically: ecogeographic diversity in these traits is dramatically displayed when populations are grown in a relatively standardized environment; and (ii) genetic diversity is revealed not only between, but also within populations. Thus, genotypes excelling in some of these characters were found in several populations.

Ortet selection remains an integral component of cacao breeding programme to develop improved clones and expand the gene pool of available germplasm. This study assessed the population structure of 168 cacao clones developed recently from selected ortets in on-station and on-farm progeny trials in Ghana using 45 SNP markers. Selection of ortets was primarily based on high bean yield, high yield efficiency, adaptability to marginal growing conditions, and low incidence of black pod and cocoa swollen shoot virus diseases. Additionally, 58 SNPs were employed to verify the parentage of 752 bi-clonal seedlings supplied to farmers for commercial plantations. Pairwise multilocus matching based on 45 SNPs showed that the 168 clones were all distinct. Overall, the clones had moderate genetic diversity (He = 0.349 ± 0.022) and shared ancestry with Marañón, Guiana, Contamana, Iquitos, Amelonado, Trinitario, Nanay and Purús based on Bayesian clustering, principal coordinates, and parentage analyses. Parentage analysis of bi-clonal seedlings assigned parent-offspring trios (>80% confidence level) to 65.2% of the farmers' varieties based on breeder's active clone collection. The results of the parentage analysis suggested the existence of mislabelled clones in the seed gardens, necessitating the need for correct clone identification or rogueing. Taken together, this study presents a new group of cacao genetic resources with potential to broaden the gene pool of cacao in cacao improvement programmes. Further, the study conveys evidence of the need for countries with established seed garden systems to constantly monitor the genetic purity of seedlings produced from the seed gardens.

Wild relatives of crop species are known to be sources of genetic diversity that can be used in crop improvement. However, they have not always been studied adequately for the variation that may exist within them, for traits which may have important implications from an evolutionary point of view and their use in breeding programmes. In the present study, a wild groundnut species, Arachis stenosperma, has been studied for variation between accessions collected from different sites in Brazil for morphological and certain nutritional traits, and for disease resistance. Multivariate analysis of 23 characters grouped 18 accessions into two clusters, while one accession, ICG 14927, was distinct from these. However, in protein profile they all appear identical. Hence, the variation appears to have arisen in response to the climatic conditions of their habitat, which has implications for use of these accessions in breeding programmes. The variation in these traits could not be associated with any phytogeographical regions. The dispersal of this species from its centre of origin and diversity to other parts of Brazil appears to be recent and without any identifiable selection pressures having operated.

A set of 68 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were selected from existing databases (including Medicago, soybean, cowpea and peanut) for the purpose of exploiting the transferability of SSRs across species and/or genera within the legume family. Primers were tested for cross-species and cross-genus fragment amplification with an array of 24 different legume accessions. Nearly one-third (30.78%) of the SSR primers screened generated reproducible and cross-genus amplicons. One hundred and seventeen cross-species polymorphic amplicons were identified and could be used as DNA markers. These polymorphic markers are now being used for characterization and evaluation of our collected and donated legume germ- plasm. The transferability of SSRs, mis-/multiple-primings, homologous/heterologous amplifications, single/multiple-amplicons and application of these amplicons as DNA markers are discussed. The transfer of SSR markers across species or across genera can be a very efficient approach for DNA marker development, especially for minor crops.

Panonychus citri is one of the most destructive pests in citrus orchards, exhibiting varying degrees of tolerance to numerous insecticides, such as spirodiclofen. To effectively manage pests, this study explores the response of P. citri to spirodiclofen stress from the perspectives of life history, enzymatic parameters, and reproduction. The effects of two concentrations (LC30 and LC50) of spirodiclofen on the biological parameters of P. citri were evaluated by the life table method. The results showed that the development duration, fecundity, oviposition days, and lifespan were shortened, though the pre-oviposition period of two treatments was prolonged in comparison with the control. A significant decrease was recorded in the net reproductive rate (R0) and the mean generation time (T) for the two treatments. Nevertheless, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and the rate of increase (λ) were not significantly affected in the LC30 treatment, whereas they declined in the LC50 treatment. The enzyme activity assay resulted in higher activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and carboxylesterase (CarE), among the treatments than the control. In contrast, the treatments recorded lower cytochromeP450 (CYP450) and Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities than the control. Furthermore, the study detected that relative mRNA expression of Vitellogenin (Vg) and Vitellogenin receptor (VgR) for two treatments were lower than the control. In summary, two concentrations of spirodiclofen inhibited progeny growth and fecundity of P. citri. Additionally, the results of this study may support further research on tolerance of P. citri in response to spirodiclofen stress.

The crystal structure of decoquinate has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional theory techniques. Decoquinate crystallizes in space group P21/n (#14) with a = 46.8261(5), b = 12.94937(12), c = 7.65745(10) Å, β = 91.972(1), V = 4640.48(7) Å3, and Z = 8 at 295 K. The crystal structure consists of alternating layers of hydrocarbon chains and ring systems along the a-axis. Hydrogen bonds link the ring systems along the b-axis. The rings stack along the c-axis. The two independent decoquinate molecules have very different conformations, one of which is typical and the other has an unusual orientation of the decyl chain with respect to the hydroxyquinoline ring system, facilitating chain packing. The powder pattern has been submitted to the ICDD for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).