The Đurđevac Sands constitute a wide area of small-scale dune relief in the Podravina (NE Croatia), located along the central part of the southern Drava River valley. Even though it has been the subject of earlier investigations, the timing and characteristics of aeolian activity and pedogenesis remain unclear. In this study, field investigations and laboratory methods are combined to gather information on past aeolian systems in the southern part of the Pannonian Basin. The results indicate that weak soil formation during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial stabilized the dunes after the first episode of aeolian activity that took place since ca. 18 ka. The source material for dune building is thought to be fluvial sand from the Drava River, which was blown from exposed terraces. During the Younger Dryas and/or Early Holocene, a new phase of aeolian activity is recorded, with material showing stronger evidence of weathering compared to the underlying aeolian material. Finally, during the Mid and/or Late Holocene, dunes were overbuilt once again with fresh unweathered sand. In general, these new findings obtained from the Đurđevac Sands area correlate rather well with other regions in the Pannonian Basin, in terms of the timing and characteristics of soil formation and aeolian activity.

This manuscript documents the Presidential Address of Jan Janoušek as the incoming President of the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC) 2025–2028.

The Levine–Tristram signature admits a µ-variable extension for µ-component links: it was first defined as an integer-valued function on $(S^1\setminus\{1\})^\mu$, and recently extended to the full torus $\mathbb{T}^\mu$. The aim of the present article is to study and use this extended signature. Firstly, we show that it is constant on the connected components of the complement of the zero locus of some renormalized Alexander polynomial. Then, we prove that the extended signature is a concordance invariant on an explicit dense subset of $\mathbb{T}^\mu$. Finally, as an application, we present an infinite family of three-component links with the following property: these links are not concordant to their mirror image, a fact that can be detected neither by the non-extended signatures, nor by the multivariable Alexander polynomial, nor by the Milnor triple linking number.

For Pierre Hadot, inventor of ‘Philosophy as a Way of Life’ (PWL), scholasticism, of which Aquinas is usually seen as the arch-representative, was not only the opposite of PWL but the agent of its destruction. I argue that Hadot’s view of Aquinas results from confusing ‘philosophy’ in the broad sense, which is how it needs to be understood in relation to PWL, with ‘philosophy’ in the narrower sense that it had for Aquinas himself. When Aquinas’s life and work is examined with this distinction in mind, he is seen to be as much an exponent of PWL as the medieval and modern thinkers (Boethius of Dacia, Dante, Montaigne, Kant, Nietzsche) usually cited by Hadot and his followers. This conclusion puts into doubt the historical narrative proposed by exponents of PWL. But some of Hadot’s own remarks leave room for a restricted version of PWL, stripped of its historical narrative and suggestions about the content of a philosophical life. This pure methodological Philosophy as a Way of Life, MPWL, does not make the unsustainable claims of PWL and helps to show how analytical, historical and more broadly philosophical approaches to Aquinas can be brought together.

Recent work by Michael O. Hardimon and Quayshawn Spencer defends a minimalist (or deflationary) biological realism about race. Their approach has two distinct features. First, unlike revisionist biological race, minimalist biological races are a conception of race that correspond to our ordinary race concepts. Second, unlike hereditarian or essentialist accounts, minimalist biological races are not claimed to be robustly explanatory. This paper argues against their account of the biological genuineness of race. I argue the minimalist biological conception of race lacks the explanatory constraints of genuine biological kinds. Rather, minimalist biological races are gerrymandered kinds.

Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) are immune-mediated peripheral nerve disorders. Treatment typically involves immunoglobulin therapy, with both intravenous (IVIG) and subcutaneous (SCIG) routes being used. Although multiple studies have determined that these therapies are effective and comparable, a comprehensive assessment of quality of life (QoL) has not been systematically reviewed. This review aims to evaluate QoL in patients with MMN and CIDP who are treated with SCIG, including those who have made the transition from IVIG to SCIG. We conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases for studies that measured QoL outcomes in MMN and CIDP patients receiving SCIG. The primary outcome was the change in QoL scores as measured by validated tools compared with baseline values collected during IVIG treatment. Secondary outcomes included adverse effects, treatment satisfaction and functional status. Our review suggests that SCIG may offer comparable QoL outcomes to IVIG with potential benefits in self-administration and reduced systemic adverse effects. This review provides evidence-based insights into the comparative effectiveness of SCIG and IVIG in improving QoL for MMN and CIDP patients. Future research should aim to standardize QoL assessment tools and include larger, long-term studies to better capture the nuanced benefits of SCIG.

Statistical criteria of fairness, though controversial, bring attention to the multiobjective nature of many predictive modelling problems. In this paper, I consider how epistemic and non-epistemic values impact the design of machine learning algorithms that optimize for more than one normative goal. I focus on a major design choice between biased search strategies that directly incorporate priorities for various objectives into an optimization procedure, and unbiased search strategies that do not. I argue that both reliably generate Pareto optimal solutions such that various other values are relevant to making a rational choice between them.

Given an automorphism ϕ of a group G, the map $(g,h) \mapsto gh\phi(g)^{-1}$, defines a left action of G on itself, whose orbits are called the ϕ-twisted conjugacy classes. In this paper, we consider two interesting aspects of this action for mapping class groups, namely, the existence of a dense orbit and the count of orbits. Generalising the idea of the Rokhlin property, a topological group is said to exhibit the twisted Rokhlin property if, for each automorphism ϕ of the group, there exists a ϕ-twisted conjugacy class that is dense in the group. We provide a complete classification of connected orientable infinite-type surfaces without boundaries whose mapping class groups possess the twisted Rokhlin property. Additionally, we prove that the mapping class groups of the remaining surfaces do not admit any dense ϕ-twisted conjugacy class for any automorphism ϕ. This supplements the recent work of Lanier and Vlamis on the Rokhlin property of big mapping class groups. Regarding the count of twisted conjugacy classes, we prove that the number of ϕ-twisted conjugacy classes is infinite for each automorphism ϕ of the mapping class group of a connected orientable infinite-type surface without boundary.

Climate change increasingly threatens human development, economic resilience and labour market stability. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed firms (2007–2021), this study quantifies the employment impacts of extreme temperatures. A one-standard-deviation increase in exposure reduces employment by 0.07 per cent, equivalent to an average loss of 0.0054 workers per firm and 4.36 jobs across the sample. Extreme heat has a stronger effect than cold, with temperature bin analysis showing an average loss of 0.191 workers per firm and 15.565 jobs overall. Mechanism analyses indicate that extreme temperatures heighten operational risks and financial constraints, reducing labour demand. Internal and external buffers are identified: higher wages mitigate employment losses, government subsidies provide external support, while robot adoption and supply chain concentration show limited moderating effects. Heterogeneity analyses reveal greater vulnerabilities in underdeveloped, resource-dependent and climate-sensitive regions. Results emphasize the need for climate-adaptive policies to protect employment amid rising environmental risks.

This study examines how entrepreneurs balance between short-term operational continuity and long-term development amid a polycrisis comprising economic volatility, geopolitical disruption, and regulatory instability. Using survey data from 150 entrepreneurs and four case studies, it develops the Integrated Entrepreneurial Resilience and Growth model, which theorizes resilience through three interlinked mechanisms: improvizational action, institutional workarounds, and strategic reconfiguration. Findings reveal that entrepreneurs employ dual temporal strategies, improvising for immediate survival while planning for future growth. Additionally, ecosystem engagement with accelerators, mentors, and investors enhances resilience by providing resources, knowledge, and legitimacy. The study advances a dynamic and embedded understanding of resilience by linking internal adaptive capacities with external institutional support. It bridges dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial ecosystem perspectives to explain how entrepreneurs navigate overlapping crises. The study presents a novel framework for resilience under continuous structural disruptions, offering insights for policymakers and program designers seeking to support entrepreneurship in volatile contexts.

Wars make states, but the conclusion of conflict is critical for the trajectory of state-building that follows. At the end of World War II, both conservatives and progressives in the United States recognized the potential for ongoing statist development fueled by the wartime introduction of mass taxation and the expansion of regulatory intervention into the lives of citizens and the activities of firms. Entrenched traditions of anti-statism in American politics resurfaced forcefully only to encounter the new threats of a nuclear-capable Soviet Union and the onset of what came to be known as the Cold War. This conjuncture both reoriented and fractured trajectories of state development, leading to reliance on mechanisms – capitation, categorical eligibility, regulation of organizations, and limited duration – that enabled expansive federal intervention in the form of funds attached to rules but minimized the construction of new bureaucratic organization. These governing practices are evident in both the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (the G.I. Bill) and the European Recovery Act of 1948 (the Marshall Plan). The result was the development of a powerful postwar state that was deeply marked by anti-statist politics, a configuration that shaped future waves of both policy expansion and openings for renewed efforts to constrain the capacity of the American state.

Equity returns follow a pronounced V-shape pattern around the onset of recessions. They sharply drop into negative territory just before business cycle peaks and then strongly recover as the recession unfolds. Recessions are typically preceded by a flat yield curve. Probit models relying on the term spread as a predictor therefore time the beginning of recessions well. We show that model-implied recession probabilities based on the term spread strongly improve equity premium prediction in- and out-of-sample and outperform several benchmark predictors. Correcting for a structural break in the mean of the term spread in 1982 further strengthens the forecast performance.

While critical literature sought to expand the agenda of a reflexive approach to democratic peace, it does not explain how reflexivity can be carried to the public, particularly in times of public deception, and what practical tools theorists hold, qua public intellectuals, to advance this objective. This article argues that classical realism, Hans Morgenthau’s work in particular, can amend this lacuna. Morgenthau’s signpost of ‘interest defined in terms of power’ arms critical scholars with an important tool to retain the premises of Kantian democratic peace; that is, it helps preserve an open public sphere where the public can deliberate the nation’s fundamental interests and values spatio-temporally, and offer democratic control. The significance of this contribution is twofold: first, public reflexivity is key in times of deception because in these times scholars who seek to influence elites find themselves in the paradoxical position of renouncing reflexivity or risking irrelevance. Second, in the absence of an open public sphere where social solidarity and meaning can be formed spatio-temporally, deception feeds into an environment of mistrust and alienation that renders democracy ripe for demagogues.

We investigated the response of experienced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis physicians to patient-based evidence pertaining to health communication. Fifteen expert amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) physicians participated in an in-person focus group. Focusing on clinical feasibility and first-hand experience, participants discussed recommendations from people with ALS and caregivers for improving communication. Data were qualitatively analyzed using conventional content analysis. Findings demonstrated shared and differing perspectives, and communication challenges. Findings suggest a difference in perspective centered on how to achieve the shared goal of patient-centered communication. We discuss asymmetry between healthcare professional perspectives and patient-based evidence, and opportunities for alignment that will advance effective health communication.

Using model-free skewness measures that exploit the asymmetry in semivariances and option data from the over-the-counter currency market, we find that buying currencies with a high skewness risk premium (SRP) and selling currencies with a low SRP generates high returns and a Sharpe ratio. Asset pricing tests—which control for omitted variables and measurement errors—show that a SRP factor enters the currency pricing kernel and is central to the pricing of risks inherent in a broad currency cross section of 60 portfolio excess returns. These results imply that skewness risk is a strong and priced source of currency risk.