Globally, numerous infertile couples have been assisted by extensive research on mammalian fertilization and the rapid development of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). However, 5%–15% of the couples that are selected for in vitro fertilization (IVF) experience a total fertilization failure (TFF), where no zygotes develop despite oocytes and semen parameters appear to be normal. Notably, an essential early event in fertilization is the binding of spermatozoa to the oocyte’s external envelope, which followed by the spermatozoa-oocyte fusion. Meanwhile, oocyte activation is a crucial cellular process necessary to block polyspermy and start the development of the zygote. Improper membrane fusion of gametes has been demonstrated to be one of the mechanisms of TFF. Moreover, considering the large amount of research on sperm proteins in recent years, thus in this review, we characterize the role and molecular mechanisms of sperm proteins in the three key processes of gamete adhesion and fusion and oocyte activation, which would provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of sperm proteins in fertilization in mammals and a favourable reference for future studies in assisted reproduction due to FF.

This article seeks to challenge existing understandings of good work. It does so through a critical exploration of recognitive and craft conceptions of work, which are among the richest and most philosophically nuanced of extant accounts. The recognitive view emphasises work’s recognitive value through the social esteem derived from making a valuable social contribution. But by making recognition foundational, it is unable to appreciate the irreducible ethical significance of the objective quality of one’s work activity. The ‘craft ideal,’ by contrast, promises to provide a powerful basis for understanding the importance of rich, rewarding, and morally educative activities, but is undermined by a laudable but misdirected egalitarian impulse which prevents it from being able to properly distinguish good from bad work. One underlying aim of our discussion is to provoke deeper reflection from business ethicists regarding what we might want from an account of good work.

The focus of this paper is a first-century pseudepigraphic treatise titled On Human Nature, preserved by Stobaeus and attributed to the Pythagorean Aesara. Whether the treatise is to be ascribed to a woman philosopher named Aesara or the Pythagorean man Aresas is a point of controversy. In what follows, we gloss over the question of the identity and gender of the author and turn to the philosophical content of the treatise. In the surviving fragment, Aesara analyses the structure of the human soul and the relationships among its parts. The human soul becomes a model of law and justice for both the city and the household. Thus, On Human Nature revisits well-known Platonic doctrines, such as the city-soul analogy, the tripartition of the soul and the definition of justice as harmony, providing novel insights into their political implications. In what follows, we argue that Aesara constructs an original psychological theory by supplementing Plato’s tripartite conception of the soul in the Republic with aspects from later dialogues. Specifically, Aesara employs the Laws to stress the political implications of the tripartition and the leading role of νοῦς, and the Timaeus to explain our psychological reactions through physiological phenomena.

The Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a civil society organization that was created in 1985 to advance women's substantive equality. Political science scholarship in the early 2000s focused significant attention on LEAF—unanimously characterizing the organization as among the most successful groups involved in legal mobilization in the post-Charter era. However, we know very little about the organization's advocacy outside of the courts. To address this limitation, we provide an analysis of all the advocacy-related activities undertaken by LEAF between 1985 and 2022. The findings illustrate that beginning approximately in 2006, LEAF diversified its “collective action repertoire” to undertake more political mobilization, while also dedicating greater attention to issue areas such as Indigenous rights. Our study challenges the judicial-centric approach adopted in previous studies of LEAF and underscores the importance of studying advocacy through a longitudinal lens and with approaches that account for the dynamism of civil society.

In Western diets, high consumption of meat and dairy products, known to be rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile), and valine (Val), as well as BCAAs supplementation itself, may have unforeseen consequences on sperm quality. In addition, bodybuilders are increasingly resorting to BCAA supplementation to build-up their muscle mass. This study aimed to assess the effect of dietary BCAAs, provided alone or in combination, on semen parameters, apoptotic gene expression, and blood amino acid (AA) profiles. To address this question and determine whether these different BCAAs have a distinct impact on sperm quality and testicular homeostasis, fifty NMRI mature male mice were exposed or not to BCAAs supplementations (control diet: CTR; CTR + Leu supplementation; CTR + Ile supplementation; CTR + Val supplementation; CTR + all three BCAA supplementation). Only valine supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in sperm concentration and viability. In addition, only valine supplementation was associated with a dramatic increase in sperm immotility. The Bax/Bcl2 ratio, an indicator of apoptosis, was found to be significantly higher in the testes of BCAA-supplemented animals when compared with the other groups. Caspase3 expression was also significantly higher in the testes of BCAA-supplemented and Val-supplemented animals. There were no significant differences in plasma AA profiles between groups. Thus, amongst BCAAs, valine supplementation appears to carry the greatest effect on sperm functional parameters and testicular apoptotic status.

Martha C. Nussbaum’s Frontiers of Justice was a ground-breaking work of political philosophy, and had particular influence in the field of animal ethics.1 By arguing that animals ought to be considered recipients of justice, and not just of moral concern, her book helped to launch the so-called ‘political turn in animal ethics’. The political turn accepts familiar claims in animal ethics about the moral status of animals, but extends them in at least two ways.2 First, the political turn does not just see our obligations towards animals as a matter of personal morality but claims that we also have duties of justice that demand enforcement by—and transformation of—our collective institutions. Second, the political turn asks us not only to change our collective institutions, but to also reframe our understanding of the communities that they are designed to serve. We must recognize—and formally acknowledge—that our communities are ‘multispecies’ and comprised of nonhuman animal members.

This report describes a 41-year-old female with left isomerism, interrupted inferior caval vein with azygos continuation, dextrocardia, and repaired tetralogy of Fallot, who underwent percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation using the Venus P-valve system. Due to anatomical constraints, left jugular venous access was utilised. A Venus P-valve (30 by 25 mm) was successfully implanted in the right ventricular outflow tract using a simplified, one-curve trajectory directly on its delivery system without a delivery sheath. Contrast injections during valve implantation were not possible, and the pre-implanted duct occluder was our anatomical landmarks. This case highlights the adaptability of the Venus P-valve and the importance of individualised procedural strategies in addressing anatomical challenges and achieving optimal outcomes.

This article surveys spatial music and sonic art influenced by the traditional Japanese concept of ma – translated as space, interval, or pause – against the cultural backdrop of Shintoism and Zen Buddhism. Works by Jōji Yuasa, Midori Takada, Michael Fowler, Akiko Hatakeyama, Kaija Saariaho and Jim Franklin created in conscious engagement with ma are analysed with respect to diverse manifestations of ma in Japanese arts and social sciences, including theatre, poetry, painting, rock garden, shakuhachi and psychotherapy. Jean-Baptiste Barrière provided the Max patch for Saariaho’s Only the Sound Remains (2015) for this survey. I propose a framework of six interlinking dimensions of ma – temporal, physical, musical, semantic, therapeutic and spiritual – for discussing creative approaches to ma, alongside their resonance with Hisamatsu Shin’ichi’s seven interconnected characteristics of Zen art: Asymmetry, Simplicity, Austere Sublimity/Lofty Dryness, Naturalness, Subtle Profundity/Deep Reserve, Freedom from Attachment and Tranquility. The aim is first to examine how each composer uses different techniques, technologies and systems to engage with specific dimensions of ma. Second, to illuminate possible futures of exploring these dimensions in spatial music and sonic art through three methods: Inspiration, Transmediation and Expansion.

I develop a strategy of resisting oppression that is directed toward expanding the agency of other oppressed agents and is thus unhampered by some forms of internalized oppression. Using Simone de Beauvoir’s argument that freedom is intersubjective, I motivate intersubjective agency expansion which holds that even if internalized oppression has compromised the ability to resist for one’s own sake, oppressed agents can still marshal resistant agency on behalf of others. A secondary upshot of this strategy is that it may help repair some harms of internalized oppression. On this view, both resistance and repair are not solitary acts, but collective efforts. I first motivate the concept of ambiguous agency based on Beauvoir’s discussion of ambiguity and Qrescent Mali Mason’s concept of intersectional ambiguity. Specifically, I argue for the ambiguity between self-regarding and other-regarding forms of agency and hold that internalized oppression may harm the former but not necessarily the latter. I then develop the strategy of intersubjective agency expansion and its two forms: symbolic and direct agency expansion. Finally, I argue that a secondary upshot of this strategy is the repair of internalized oppression, and that this ought to count as a form of resistance to oppression.

Research shows that attractive women may face disadvantages in male-dominated contexts or those stereotypically associated with masculinity, because they tend to be ascribed more stereotypically feminine character traits and capabilities. This is known as the “beauty is beastly effect.” However, its impact on political elections remains largely unexamined. This study investigates whether such an effect exists for female candidates in Germany, where political competition is male-dominated and rewards stereotypically masculine traits. Using a comprehensive data set from the 2005 to 2021 federal elections, we empirically test for interactions between gender and physical attractiveness. Despite extensive multilevel analyses, no evidence was found for the “beauty is beastly effect” in this context. Nevertheless, positive main effects suggest female candidates may still face disadvantages. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.