Host specificity in symbionts is a key factor driving their phylogenetic diversification. However, since the host utilization of symbionts can be influenced by environmental heterogeneity and the presence of potential hosts, a careful evaluation is necessary to clearly determine the host specificity. Stylochoplana parasitica is an acotylean flatworm that inhabits the mantle groove of the intertidal chiton Liolophura japonica around Japan. The Stylochoplana flatworms, including this species, are suggested to have evolved host specificity that has influenced their phylogenetic divergence. In this study, host specificity was examined based on field and laboratory observations. A field survey revealed that S. parasitica was exclusively found on L. japonica and not on the sympatric chiton Acanthochitona defilippii. A laboratory experiment confirmed that S. parasitica selectively attached to L. japonica, with significantly fewer individuals attaching to A. defilippii. These results suggest that the host specificity of S. parasitica is not shaped by environmental factors, but is likely the result of host adaptation. This study emphasizes the importance of combining field surveys and laboratory experiments in evaluating host specificity.

In recent years, there has been a skyrocketing success of global histories of states and regions that have not been the traditional foci of global history. Since 2017, a series of volumes has appeared on the global history of Sicily, Catalonia, Spain, Portugal and Hungary, among others. In this article, we offer some cautionary tales and challenges; we explore emerging directions in the field, as well as its potential limitations, and advocate for a dynamic approach, which allows us to see how East-Central and Southern European societies played a crucial if not always glorious part at specific historical turning points and eras, be it in the first era of globalisation before 1914, during the First and Second World Wars or in the Cold War. In the absence of the Southern and East-Central European perspective, the global history of colonialism, decolonisation or modern warfare is at best incomplete; at worst, skewed.

This article examines the interdependent relationship between the state, law, and market in early modern China. Focusing on usury statutes, it analyzes how the Chinese state in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries employed its legal framework to regulate a burgeoning money economy. The study underscores the critical role of law as an instrument of statecraft, essential for sustaining market functionality and social stability. Law’s multifaceted nature—encompassing legislation, specialist interpretations, adjudication, legal education, professional manuals, and popular knowledge—challenges the simplistic view of Confucian values as inherently anti-commerce. Instead, it shows how these values supported the uniformity and practicality of legal interpretations and judicial decisions. Moreover, the Chinese case points to a broader analytical framework with cross-cultural relevance: economic justice and market efficiency are not inherently opposed but can be mutually reinforcing when grounded in a shared set of values and legal regulations.

A cast copper-alloy male figurine with a circular socket projecting from its head was discovered by a metal-detectorist in West Keal, Lincolnshire, and recorded via the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) before inclusion in Britannia’s 2020 roundup. Conservation by the finder revealed further decorative details, particularly on the tunic. This contribution examines these embellishments, their stylistic affinities and implications for dating. The identification of the figure as a servant opens discussion on the luxurious domestic settings of Roman Lincolnshire and high-status sites.

This paper aims at a re-appraisal of the relationship between ordoliberalism and early European integration. This will be pursued through a reconceptualisation of the ordoliberal framework – with an emphasis on correcting its misperception as an exclusively German tradition and its re-constitution within a transnational neoliberal framework. Moving beyond nation-centric historiography and building on research of transnational epistemic communities, this paper will examine the role of the neoliberal framework as a mutually shared approach towards markets and regulatory institutions that animated key architects of European integration. Those responsible for designing integration did not meet and negotiate as representatives of particular national interests or nationally distinct political economies. They shared common perspectives and goals framed within a specific liberal orientation with particular views about the economy, the state and the legal/institutional framework necessary for embedding the market orientation of European integration, best captured by the transnational neoliberal framework.

The Bohai coast loess deposits hold significant value for understanding climate and sea-level changes. This review analyzes stratigraphic and chronological data and arrives at three main conclusions. (1) Liaodong Peninsula loess is 10–25 m thick, primarily distributed in nearshore bay areas with NW slope aspect. In the Shandong Peninsula coastal zone, thickness measures 5–15 m, showing NW aspect in Penglai but southward in Yantai. Thickness variations correlate with sedimentation rates and underlying terrain gradient, while slope aspects indicate sediment sources and topographic controls. (2) Loess along the Bohai coast rapidly accumulated during 22–31 ka and 61–68 ka, lasting longer (18–70 ka) in the Shandong Peninsula coastal area and the Miaodao Archipelago due to Yellow River input. Around 150 ka, regional differences emerged (e.g., loess in the Shandong Peninsula coastal area and the Miaodao Archipelago experienced rapid deposition at 148–175 ka). Liaodong Peninsula ages before 125 ka are underestimated, likely due to inaccurate quartz dating. (3) The paleosols mainly developed during 4–15 ka, 75–85 ka, 90–100 ka, and 125–130 ka. The Shandong Peninsula coastal area and Miaodao Archipelago show more layers and greater thickness of paleosols compared with the Liaodong Peninsula, which is related to the differences in hydroclimate conditions and loess grain size.

Delayed reward discounting (DRD), the tendency to prefer smaller rewards available immediately relative to larger rewards available after a delay, is associated with numerous health outcomes across the lifespan. Emerging literature points to the central role of early environments, specifically factors reflecting harshness (including lack of resources) and unpredictability (exposure to instability and stressful events) in the development of DRD. Yet, existing research uses disparate indicators of environmental risk and often draws on small samples resulting in conflicting findings, making comparisons across studies challenging. The current systematic review examined environmental factors that may place youth at greatest risk for heightened DRD and subsequent negative health outcomes. Search results identified 28 articles reflecting 20 unique samples. Additionally, meta-analyses were conducted to examine overall effects for the two most commonly examined environmental predictors (family income and family history of substance use disorder). Results suggest small-to-medium associations of environmental risk with DRD, with smaller associations observed for more distal predictors of harshness (e.g., family income) and larger associations among more proximal indicators of environmental instability (e.g., harsh parenting and parental pathology). Findings highlight the role of environmental factors on DRD development and may inform future interventions.

This study examined whether childhood adversity, specifically threat-related adversity, was associated with within-person changes in the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal cortisol slope (DCS), and whether these changes predicted increased depressive symptoms during adolescence. We also explored sex differences. In total, 283 first-year secondary school students in Belgium (M = 12.48 years; SD = 0.39; 42.8% female) participated in six assessments over 2.5 years. Childhood adversity (psychological, physical, and sexual victimization) reported at the first three waves was averaged. CAR and DCS latent residual change scores were derived from salivary cortisol samples collected during waves 1 and 3. Depressive symptom changes were assessed in linear growth curve models using self-reports from waves 3 to 6. The childhood adversity × sex interaction significantly predicted CAR and DCS changes, indicating a blunted CAR across waves for victimized boys, and a blunted DCS for victimized girls. Childhood adversity predicted the depressive symptoms intercept. No other predictors were associated with the depressive symptoms intercept, and none were linked to the depressive symptoms slope. Thus, childhood adversity may be linked to changes in diurnal cortisol patterns that differ by sex. Evidence for diurnal cortisol changes as a pathway to increased depressive symptoms remains inconclusive.

The insurrection and its aftermath remain salient to contemporary American Politics. Existing scholarship has shown the insurrection was fueled by an effort to return Donald Trump to power while also protesting the decline of the non-Hispanic white population. Scholars also discuss the impact of continuous division across partisan and ideological lines. We are interested in exploring if these divisions are visible across attitudes of non-Hispanic white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American/Pacific Islander respondents in a nationally representative survey. We explore the following research question. Does the impact of partisanship, ideology, and attitudes toward Trump’s responsibility affect the attitudes of respondents from various racial and ethnic groups? We use the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS) to complete our analyses. We contribute to the existing literature by examining whether partisanship, ideology, and attitudes toward Trump lead to potential differences across race and ethnicity. We find that respondents across all racial and ethnic groups share similar evaluations of the insurrection, the president’s role, and the rioters, particularly when they hold identical partisan and ideological views and identify the president as the cause of the insurrection.

Making a living from music is an endeavour fraught with challenges associated with building a career in a rapidly changing, digitalised world and a labour market characterised by intermittency and the need for diversification. It is difficult to achieve a sustainable career that provides sufficient income to make music one’s primary occupation. As a result, many musicians explore different opportunities beyond performance to make ends meet. This article focuses on artists working in jazz and other popular genres on Barcelona’s music scene, with the aim of analysing how contemporary musicians in these genres combine artistic and professional activities. Using a qualitative methodology, including semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the study examines musicians who have attained relative stability and recognition. It identifies three key profiles of the professional musician (the ‘musician-teacher’, the ‘musician-composer’, the ‘musician-performer’) and reveals how these roles often overlap and contribute to the complex multiactivity of artistic careers.

Intersectionality is increasingly being operationalized as part of gender mainstreaming efforts across national and multilateral contexts. One prominent example can be located in Sweden’s 2015 institutional commitment to centering future gender equality policy in an intersectional analysis. This article explores the complexities of institutionalizing intersectionality in Swedish gender equality policy processes, drawing on the situated insights of public sector gender experts and Afro-Swedish feminist activists and politicians. Key findings include the prevalence of additive interpretations of intersectionality that privilege gender, limitations in statistical practices, and uneven commitments to intersectional policymaking across different institutional contexts. Recommendations for enhancing intersectional policymaking include the incorporation of ‘Equity Data’ and qualitative insights through structured dialogues with intersectionally marginalized communities. Ultimately, this article emphasizes the necessity of centering the voices of both institutional insiders and intersectionally marginalized stakeholders to address the shortcomings of intersectional practice to enhance its transformative potential in Sweden.

We analysed the composition, richness, diversity, abundance, and spatial and seasonal structure of zooplankton microcrustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda) in a marginal lake of the Paranapanema River to assess how these organisms are affected by the expansion of macrophyte cover during the dry season. The community was monitored through quarterly collections, during the dry and rainy seasons, at nine sampling stations. We expected that (1) microcrustacean richness is higher during the rainy season due to the expansion of aquatic habitats and (2) the presence of macrophytes increases the richness and abundance of microcrustaceans by providing shelter and greater environmental stability. During the study, 31 microcrustacean taxa were recorded, displaying a clear seasonal distribution pattern. A clear seasonal distribution pattern was observed. Cladocera richness was highest during the dry season, which coincided with extensive macrophyte cover. In contrast, Copepoda abundance peaked during the rainy season, when macrophytes were absent. Macrophyte presence influenced abundance and diversity, with distinct taxonomic responses between the groups. The results suggest that seasonality and habitat heterogeneity are key factors in structuring the community in tropical lakes. These findings indicate that macrophytes play an important role in modulating the microcrustacean community, affecting structure, dynamics of abundance, and diversity. The interaction between seasonality and emergent aquatic vegetation is crucial for understanding the dynamics of marginal aquatic systems.

This study assesses the applicability of the Cambridge Crime Harm Index (CCHI) in Brazil by comparing traditional hot-spot analysis based on crime counts with harm-spot analysis based on the severity of crimes. Using police data from Belo Horizonte and Minas Gerais, the research applied the CCHI by weighting occurrences according to minimum legal penalties established in Brazilian law. The findings revealed substantial spatial reconfigurations when adopting harm spots instead of simple frequency-based mapping. The harm-based approach identified critical points that were overlooked by conventional methods and reclassified spatial priorities in the sample sectors. These results demonstrate that severity weighting provides a more accurate representation of the impact of crime, supporting more equitable and effective policing strategies. The study contributes to the advancement of evidence-based public security policies in Brazil and offers new perspectives on the application of harm-based crime analysis in countries with complex legal systems and high crime rates.