A large body of literature has examined perceptual training, especially using the high variability phonetic training (HVPT) technique, where multiple talkers are included in the training set to help learners develop more accurate additional (second) language (L2) speech sound categories. Yet, most experimental studies focus on relatively short-term gains using a pre-post–delayed design, providing limited insight into longer-term training effects and how the timing of training might regulate its effectiveness. To begin addressing this gap, we implemented HVPT at two contextually relevant windows of opportunity during a university study program. Thirty-six first (native) language Spanish students participated in this study. Students were randomly assigned to two groups. One group (G1) received training at the beginning of their study program, which coincided with the onset of intensive L2 exposure; the second group (G2) received training in the second year, while enrolled in an English phonetics and phonology course. Both groups completed four HVPT sessions (identification tasks) focusing on a set of challenging L2 English vowels (/iː ɪ æ ʌ ɜː e ɒ ɔː/). Perception was measured at four testing times (in years 1 and 2, before and after HVPT) with identification tasks. The results showed that HVPT had a positive impact regardless of the timing of its implementation. However, students also improved outside of training, which suggests that intensive language study can facilitate some perceptual learning.

Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a well-recognised condition often involving a complex interplay of biopsychosocial factors. Although awareness of FND among the general population and clinical staff has increased and improved over recent years, challenges remain for the sufferers across multiple areas. This reflective piece explores these challenges using a relational understanding. The model of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is used to examine some of the dynamics and concepts at play in FND.

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) face significant challenges in their application due to their aggregation, poor dispersion and high hydrophilicity, which limit their integration into polymer matrices. This study introduces a novel functionalization strategy for Algerian HNTs, targeting their inner and outer surfaces with triethoxy(octyl)silane (OTES) for silanization and caffeic acid (CA) for lumen loading. Comprehensive characterization techniques were used to analyse pristine and OTES-modified HNTs (O-HNTs) and CA-loaded HNTs (CA-HNTs) to evaluate the impacts of both selective agents, which successfully altered the structural, textural, chemical, morphological and thermal HNTs properties. The crystalline structure and changes in crystallite size following surface modification were determined using X-ray diffraction analysis. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis showed that the surface area of O-HNTs increased to 74 m2 g–1 compared to 54 m2 g–1 for HNTs, whereas CA-HNTs experienced a surface area decrease to 42 m2 g–1 owing to pore obstruction, with the pore sizes shifting to 10–12 nm for O-HNTs and to 16 nm for CA-HNTs. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence confirmed effective surface modification through the achievement of successful chemical bonding and a shift in the elemental composition. Morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy revealed considerable morphological changes in both treatments, and thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the thermal stability of HNTs modified with CA was improved, with a higher decomposition peak at 520°C. These modifications effectively improved the dispersion, thermal stability and compatibility of the HNTs, highlighting the potential of the modified Algerian HNTs as promising green nanofillers in polymer nanocomposite applications, such as active packaging and thermal insulation coatings.

Human computers and micro-observers were scientific workers who performed calculations or reduced and analysed data before the advent of electronic computers. They were a staple of big science during the 19th and early to mid 20th century. Despite their prevalence within big science their epistemic roles remain unexamined by philosophy of science. This paper investigates the epistemic roles of the human computers at the Harvard College Observatory 1880-1920 and of micro-observers at the Bristol Nuclear Research Group 1935-1955. This paper argues that the instrumentalisation of human computers and micro-observers has negative epistemic consequences for the methodology of science.

This article examines the reasons for the widespread use of sea loans in financing Spain’s transatlantic commerce before the 1780s, and for their subsequent decline. Although never in the hands of a company with monopoly rights, Spain’s colonial trade was heavily regulated before 1778. The system reduced market risk and unpredictability by operating through a single Spanish port, keeping the colonies undersupplied, and lowering the frequency of the exchanges to allow for silver accumulation in Spanish America. This afforded significant, though volatile, profit margins. Such conditions fostered the use of the sea loan because the instrument enabled the lender to reap greater returns by charging higher-than-standard interest rates while avoiding usury laws. In contrast, the 1778 free-trade regulations increased competition and unpredictability, narrowing profit margins. Trade expanded, and “marine interest” rates dropped, precipitating the end of the sea loan as the hallmark credit instrument of the Spanish colonial trade.

Employee perceptions of organizational politics are mostly negative and lead to negative consequences. Social capital is an intangible asset based on social relationships; in organizations it can be either personal or intra-organizational. This study aims to determine whether employees who perceive their workplace as political can benefit from social capital and how doing so affects their performance. A qualitative pilot study refined variables and hypotheses, and two rounds of quantitative surveys were subsequently conducted 4 months apart, with 907 and 762 participants. The analysis demonstrated that intra-organizational social capital mediated the connection between personal social capital and employee performance and moderated the relationship between perceived organizational politics and employee performance, hence mitigating the negative effect of perceived organizational politics. Consequently, according to the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) theory, intra-organizational social capital serves as a job resource that can reduce the aversion effect of perceived organizational politics as a job demand.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative validity of food and nutrient intakes estimated by a brief-type diet history questionnaire for Japanese children and adolescents (BDHQ15y) designed to assess habitual dietary intake during the previous month. A total of 432 boys and 412 girls aged 6–17 years from thirty-two prefectures in Japan completed the BDHQ15y and subsequently provided 8-day weighed dietary records (DR) on two non-consecutive days over four seasons for comparison. Among the intakes of forty-four nutrients and thirty-one food groups adjusted for energy intake using the density model, the BDHQ15y showed percentage differences in median intake of less than 10 % compared with the DR for nineteen nutrients in both sexes, as well as for eleven and seven food groups in boys and girls, respectively, indicating good agreement for key nutrients and food groups, including protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, grains, vegetables, dairy products and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). The median values (25th–75th percentiles) of Spearman’s correlation coefficients in boys and girls were 0·33 (0·28–0·38) and 0·28 (0·23–0·35) for nutrients, respectively, and 0·36 (0·29–0·42) and 0·29 (0·24–0·36) for food groups, respectively. Bland–Altman plots showed wide limits of agreement, with overestimation at higher intakes for most nutrients and food groups, except SSB. In conclusion, the BDHQ15y shows promise for large-scale dietary monitoring, particularly for estimating group-level intakes of key nutrients and food groups. However, its limited ability to rank individual intakes and the variability in individual-level assessments necessitate cautious interpretation and application.

Drought, salt and low-temperature stress significantly reduce the germination rate of cotton seeds. Additionally, the seed composition of seeds, including protein, oil and gossypol, are also closely linked to germination performance. This study assessed the seed composition of 120 cotton genotypes and their ability to germinate under drought, salt, and low-temperature stress, and compared with under standard conditions (control). Stress resistance during the germination stage was comprehensively evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA), which categorized the genotypes into three groups: 35 high-stress tolerance, 74 medium-stress tolerance and 11 medium sensitivity. Subordinate function analysis revealed that the comprehensive resistance D values of the 120 genotypes ranged from 0.20 to 1.12. Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between seed oil content and germination under drought and salt stress (R = −0.27** and R = −0.24**). Additionally, germination under drought and salt stress were positively correlated (R = 0.58***). SNP_A07_90682411-based Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers identified that AA-type genotypes had significantly higher D values for comprehensive stress tolerance, drought resistance and salt resistance at the germination stage compared to GG-type genotypes (P = 0.0003, P = 0.010, and P = 0.0004, respectively). This study identified highly resistant and sensitive genotypes to various abiotic stresses, during germination and demonstrated that the ability of the newly developed KASP molecular markers effectively differentiate comprehensive germination performance under stress. These findings provide valuable references for understanding stress tolerance mechanisms during germination and breeding stress-tolerant cotton varieties.

Anhedonia is a common and impairing symptom of psychopathology that predicts negative outcomes and may undermine peer relationships. Anhedonia comprises both trait (stable, time-invariant) and state (dynamic, time-varying) components. Relative to trait anhedonia, state anhedonia may be more strongly related to proximal risk for deleterious outcomes. Yet, associations between state anhedonia and daily-life socio-affective experiences in adolescence are not well understood. Thus, the present study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine within-person associations between state anhedonia and the quantity and quality of daily-life peer interactions among a sample of adolescents enriched for suicidality risk, a population at high risk for anhedonic and peer problems. Participants included 102 adolescents assigned female at birth (ages 12–18; M[SD] = 15.34[1.50]; 67.6% at elevated risk for suicidality). State anhedonia, as well as being with peers, connectedness with peers, and positive affect with peers, was measured three times per day for 10 days via EMA (n = 30 prompts). Multilevel models demonstrated that within-person fluctuations in state anhedonia relate to reduced odds of being with peers, as well as decreased connectedness and positive affect with peers. Findings suggest that dynamic changes in state anhedonia are related to both the quantity and quality of peer experiences among adolescents.

This paper examines whether the democratic shortcomings of Restoration Spain influenced the expansion of education spending. Specifically, we discuss how electoral outcomes conditioned the allocation of primary education investment across provinces from 1902 to 1922. Our results show that voting for minority parties and the extensive political patronage at the provincial level hindered public primary schooling outlays. We argue that the government punished “rebellious” provinces to preserve the regime, and that education was not well suited to support patron–client relationships. We also show that these effects diminished after World War I, as government control over electoral outcomes declined. Accordingly, by the end of the period, political voice gained a more salient role.

In what sense can human beings be conceived of as social beings? I argue that sociality is not merely an attribute of the species to which we belong; rather, the way in which we belong to our own life-form is itself socially mediated. To bring this other sense of sociality into view, the article (I) distinguishes the logical sociality of all living beings from the material sociality of social animals and the political sociality of self-conscious social animals. (II) The political sociality characterizing human beings requires a complex second-personal articulation through which alone we can exist as members of our life-form and determine its content. (III) Constituted in this way, the human form of life is characterized by a particularly open and at the same time precarious character. (IV) Against this background, forms of objective spirit are necessary which grant us a generalized recognition and relieve us from the contingency of particular second-personal recognitions, without abandoning the openness of the sociality of the human form of life. This double requirement has led to paradoxical institutions in modern society which strive to protect and ensure the sociality of the human form of life precisely by naturalizing and individualizing our access to it.

The oldest civilisation on the face of the Earth can be traced to India, home to the largest democracy of our times. Fast forward five millenia, a young nation at 78 places the aortic cross clamp most of others on a per diem basis. Somewhere in between, Donald Nixon Ross, who has been interred in this great Hall of Fame [1] opined that “it is rare to know of surgeons who can perform an operation better and often, seamless than its namesake, and among the few there are, Sampath Kumar is one”. It gives us great pleasure to introduce at the time of his induction in the Paediatric Cardiology Hall of Fame, one of finest humans our profession is privileged to have – Professor Arkalgud Sampath Kumar. Kumar has earned the peerage accorded to few surgeons in our milieu for his lifelong commitment to patientcare, teaching, research and innovation – making him the definition of a quadruple threat in academic surgery. Coming from Professor Anderson, we deem it an honor to present this character-sketch of this gentleman surgeon and mentor, who has the rare distinction of expanding the horizons of paediatric cardiovascular surgical care in the public, private and philanthropic institutions, among others through this encomium.

The ability of news media to report on events and opinions that are critical of the executive branch of government is central to media freedom and a marker of meaningful democratization. Existing indices use scoring criteria or expert surveys to develop country year measures of media criticism. In this article, we introduce a computationally inexpensive and fully open-source method for estimating media criticism from news articles using à la carte (ALC) word embeddings. We validate our approach using Arabic-language news media published during the Arab Spring. An applied example demonstrates how our technique generates credible estimates of changes in media criticism after a democratic transition is ended by a military coup. Experiments demonstrate the method works even with sparse data. Analyses of synthetic news media demonstrate that the method extends to multiple languages. Our approach points to new possibilities in the monitoring of media freedom within authoritarian and democratizing settings.