The medicinal significance of Phlomis olivieri Benth. and the unknown diversity among its distinct populations prompted the investigation. The primary objective of the study was to analyse the components of essential oils (EOs) derived from the above-ground parts of 10 wild populations of P. olivieri Benth. (Lamiaceae) originating from different regions of the Iranian plateau. The EOs were subjected to analysis using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In total, 20 compounds were identified in the oils, with a relatively high content variation. The major components of the EO were (E)-caryophyllene (2.51–54.48%), germacrene D (6.25–53.51%), spathulenol (4.38–23.41%), bicyclogermacrene (3.97–16.41%), α-pinene (0.07–11.32%), caryophyllene oxide (0.28–9.57%) and germacrene B (2.21–9.13%). To assess chemical variability, the EO components were categorized using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), which revealed two main clusters. HCA of the EO data revealed two main clusters, and principal component analysis corroborated this grouping. Identifying compounds such as isospathulenol, (2E)-2-dodecen-1-ol and undecanal in this species for the first time adds to its chemical profile. Furthermore, the discovery of a substantial presence of (E)-caryophyllene and germacrene D in select populations underscores the high chemical diversity among these populations.

This article reflects on the first 10 years of the Southwest Workshop for Mixed Methods Research (SWMMR), which was created to foster methodological pluralism and rigor in political science and related fields. Since its founding, SWMMR has helped to develop mixed methods research while prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and mentorship. The article highlights the annual workshop’s role in building an intellectual community while supporting early-career scholars, women, and those from underrepresented backgrounds. We also document SWMMR’s contributions to certain methodological debates through sustaining a supportive space for collaborative growth in political science.

Why do some countries cooperate in international negotiations while others do not? This paper examines how regime type and trade relationships jointly shape cooperation among states. While prior research claims that democracies are inherently more cooperative and that trade fosters collaboration, we argue that neither factor alone sufficiently explains patterns of cooperation. Drawing on 1,567 documents submitted by World Trade Organization (WTO) members during the Doha Round negotiations (2000–2012), we analyse cooperation between country pairs (dyads) using hurdle models to assess both the likelihood and extent of cooperation. We find that democracies are not uniformly more cooperative but become so only when high levels of trade interdependence exist. Similarly, democracies also cooperate with authoritarian regimes when intensive trade relationships are present. These results challenge the assumption that democratic governance naturally generates cooperation, showing instead that economic incentives play a decisive role. The study advances understanding of international cooperation in complex multilateral negotiation settings.

We study two continuous-time, time-inconsistent problems for an individual who purchases life annuities and invests her wealth in a risky asset under the mean-variance criterion. In the first problem, the buyer may only purchase life annuities at a bounded, continuous rate, while in the second problem, the buyer may purchase any amount of life annuity income at any time, which results in a singular control problem. We find the individual’s time-consistent equilibrium control strategies explicitly for the two life-annuity problems by solving the corresponding extended Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman systems of equations. We also discuss the effects of parameters on the equilibrium strategies of the two life-annuity problems.

The modulational instability of weakly nonlinear capillary-gravity waves (CGWs) on the surface of infinitely deep water with uniform vorticity background shear is examined. Assuming a narrow band of waves, the fourth-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NSE) is derived from Zakharov’s integral equation (ZIE). The analysis is restricted to one horizontal dimension, parallel to the direction along the wave propagation to take advantage of a formulation using potential flow theory. It is to be noted that the dominant new effect introduced to the fourth order is the wave-induced mean flow response. The key point of this paper is that the present fourth-order analysis shows considerable deviation in the stability properties of CGWs from the third-order analysis and gives better results consistent with the exact results. It is found that the growth rate of instability increases for negative vorticity and decreases for positive vorticity, and the effect of capillarity is to reduce the growth rate of instability. Additionally, the effect of vorticity on the Peregrine breather, which can be considered as a prototype for freak waves, is investigated.

The crystal structure of racemic afoxolaner has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional theory techniques. Afoxolaner crystallizes in space group P21/a (#14) with a = 9.6014(6), b = 14.0100(11), c = 39.477(10) Å, β = 94.389(7)°, V = 5,294.7(17) Å3, and Z = 8 at 298 K. The crystal structure consists of layers of molecules parallel to the ab-plane. The boundaries of the layers are rich in halogens. Within the layers, there is parallel stacking of rings along both the a- and b-axes. Two classical N–H···O hydrogen bonds link the two independent molecules into dimers. The powder pattern has been submitted to the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD®) for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).

The purpose of this study was to identify promising areas for improving the constitutionalization of the principle of gender equality in Kazakhstan, drawing on the practices of European countries. Using formal-logical, system-structural, comparative-legal and modelling methods, it analyses legal development, regulatory interaction and future directions. The study identified the specific features of constitutional regulation of equality of rights and freedoms of men and women in Kazakhstan and European countries, emphasizing that eliminating discrimination is a core value of democratic systems. Embedding such principles in constitutional law promotes progressive social change. The study highlights that achieving true gender equality requires transforming traditional views of men’s and women’s roles in society. Without this shift, imbalances and unclear expectations persist. Examining successful practices in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal and Lithuania, the study suggests practical ways to adapt these approaches to Kazakhstan’s legal framework. It recommends establishing a dedicated coordinating body to oversee gender equality and implementing targeted programmes with clear priorities and strategies to support gender mainstreaming.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder characterized by insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, and increased adipose tissue. The very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has been suggested to reduce obesity risks in PCOS. This study aimed to update the evidence on effects of the very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet in women with PCOS. Searches were conducted in electronic databases for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) addressing the research question. The values for the meta-analysis were presented as weighted mean difference (WMD). Twelve studies were included in the qualitative analysis and eleven in the quantitative analysis. Significant reductions were observed in anthropometric outcomes: weight [WMD: -9.57 kg; p < 0.0001], waist circumference [WMD: -7.75 cm; p < 0.0009], fat body mass [WMD: -7.44 kg; p = 0.0008], body mass index [WMD: -3.45 kg/m2; p < 0.0001] and waist-to-hip ratio [WMD: -0.02; p < 0.0034]. Hormonal improvements included free testosterone [WMD: -0.31 ng/dL; p < 0.0001], total testosterone [WMD: -7.21 ng/dL; p<0.0001], sex hormone binding globulin [WMD: 15.22 nmol/L; p =0.0035], luteinizing hormone (LH) [WMD: -3.97 U/L; p =0.0008], and LH/FSH ratio [WMD: -1.04; p =0.0053], but not for follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels [WMD: 1.23 mUI/mL; p =0.12]. Significant changes in metabolic markers were seen in blood glucose [WMD: -9.65 mg/dL; p =0.0031], insulin [WMD: -2.41 mg/dL; p =0.0387], homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance [WMD: -2.46; p =0.0123], and triglycerides [WMD: -29.95 mg/dL; p =0.0188]. VLCKD shows significant benefits in managing body composition, reducing hyperandrogenism, balancing sex hormones, and improving glucose metabolism in PCOS.

What kinds of reports does the Church of England produce? Some are technical (e.g., annual reports, financial statements, etc.); others are more practical (e.g., safeguarding, ministry); whilst others are doctrinal or ecclesiological (e.g., ARCIC, a report from the Doctrine Commission, such as The Mystery of Salvation, 1995, etc.). Others are hybrid in character, taking issues and concerns (e.g., leadership, vocations, etc.) as pragmatic problems to be resolved and to which a theological gloss is added. This paper focuses on the nature of these hybrid-type reports as exemplars of consecrated pragmatism. In so doing, the ethos of the reports traces the trajectory of the Church of England as it continues to shed its theological capacities and dissolve in a culture of ecclesial managerialism, ontologised bureaucracy and frantic ecclesionomics. The paper offers ‘a report on knowledge’ and questions the nature and purpose of the writings that the Church of England publishes on a range of doctrinal and practical theological arenas.

This article examines local credit markets and debt networks in Austria during the eighteenth century. Since professional financial institutions were inaccessible to the wider population, orphans who had inherited were a source of credit alongside kin or local institutions. Reasons for borrowing included investments, taxes or deferred payments. Events in the life-course, such as marriage and inheritance, could trigger debt relations, which were thus closely intertwined with other social relations and structured by legal practice. Guardians were appointed to administer the inheritance of children who had lost one or both of their parents, to invest it profitably and to prevent misuse by their (step-)parents or local authorities. They were often relatives or local dignitaries whose personal networks were crucial in allocating capital, and wealthy orphans could extend credit to a large number of people. Using a sample of mortgage deeds and guardianship accounts, we examine the practices of guardianship and local credit, such as the reasons for lending and borrowing, the investment strategies of guardians and the conditions and securitization of credit within and outside kinship and in varying familial constellations. In addition, we look at the position of different groups within local credit networks using social network analysis.

This article shows how the integral ecology of Laudato Si’ expands the concept of the common good to include the natural world through recognition of and solidarity with human good. It makes this argument in dialogue with the Catholic social thought of M. Shawn Copeland on the problem of the common good in the human community and the manner in which the praxis of solidarity works to resist bias and promote authentic encounter. First, Copeland’s approach, as developing Bernard Lonergan and in dialogue with Charles Taylor, introduces the question of authentic expansion of common good to the others of history. Second, integral ecology expands the problem of the common good to both human and nonhuman others, affirming the interrelated good of human and ecological systems, and recognizing the interrelated agency that contributes to the emergence of value for common good.

Haskap, Lonicera caerulea Linnaeus (Caprifoliceae), is an emerging crop in Nova Scotia, Canada, that relies on cross-pollination for fruit production. In 2016 and 2017, we assessed the activity of honey bees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), in haskap orchards and compared this with native bumble bees, Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), while also documenting the early season wild bee community and potential of nesting boxes to support cavity-nesting bees. We found that haskap orchards in southern Nova Scotia support a diverse pollinator community. Andrena (Hymenoptera: Adrenidae) spp., A. mellifera, Bombus spp., and Lasioglossum spp. (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) comprised more than 75% of individuals captured in pan traps, but only A. mellifera and Bombus spp. were frequently observed on haskap blossoms. Honey bees and bumble bees deposited equal amounts of pollen on haskap stigmas, but bumble bees visited threefold more flowers per minute and visited both flowers of the haskap inflorescence more than twice as often as honey bees. Uptake of cavity-nesting bees into nesting boxes was relatively poor, and as many parasites (mostly Sapygidae) were collected from nesting boxes as bees. These results suggest honey bees and bumble bees are the best pollinators for haskap production in Nova Scotia.

Since its establishment in 1979, the Women’s Caucus of the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) has served an important networking, mentoring and advocacy role for women political scientists. While small and informal in its early days, over time the Caucus has become increasingly more formalized and structured in the support it provides to women within the discipline. Drawing on CPSA documents, scholarship on women in the discipline and interviews with several caucus participants, this article identifies the factors leading to the establishment of the CPSA’s Women’s Caucus and traces its development and history over the past five decades. It identifies four distinct periods within the Caucus’s history (1970–1979, 1980–1992, 1993–2005 and 2006 to the present) and argues that as women’s role in the academy has changed, the Caucus has taken on a wider range of priorities and tasks, reflecting the changing composition of the discipline.

Regarding proofs for the existence of God, two things are well known of St John Henry Newman. First, he was chary about aspects of the Christian Evidences, a great accumulation of Christian apologetics in which Paley’s writings occupied a central place. Second, that he favoured an argument from conscience as ‘a proof common to all, to high and low’. This paper examines what might have been behind Newman’s convictions. It argues that metaphysical and epistemological emphases of early modern philosophy had semantic repercussions for ‘standard’ apologetics such as St Thomas’ Five Ways. In a new social imaginary, they suffer distortion and lose vitality as they begin to be reprogrammed to operate according to modern epistemological canons. Similarly, Paleyan arguments from design as they appear in the Christian Evidences were built on an evidential standard perhaps notionally compelling but in reality false to how a person really comes to conviction about belief in God. In the end, this paper argues that there is an odd kinship between Newman’s argument from conscience and St Thomas’ Five Ways, if these latter are read in their intended medieval light rather than in a modern light.