Plasminogen is an inactive protease in milk, which can be activated to plasmin. Whole milk contains fat and in response to lipase activity, free fatty acids are released. Free fatty acids are not known to act as an activator for plasminogen. The aim of this study was to determine whether commercial bovine plasminogen could be activated to plasmin by commercial free fatty acids present in milk, and also to determine if plasminogen activators to plasmin are present in abnormal milk using milk agar plates and the Merck protease assay. Fatty acids and activators present in abnormal milk had the ability to activate plasminogen to plasmin, which could, after weeks, harm milk protein stability during extended storage time (ultra-high temperature milk). The milk agar plate technique containing plasminogen could detect plasmin activators present in abnormal milk. This can act as an indicator of high-risk milk being used within the ultra-high temperature milk industry.

Neonatal pulmonary artery thromboembolism is a rare, life-threatening condition associated with diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Early diagnosis and intervention are critical to mitigate high morbidity and mortality. Our case underscores the importance of considering neonatal pulmonary artery thromboembolism in the differential diagnosis of a full-term neonate with unexplained acute respiratory distress and highlights a successful management approach in the absence of formal guidelines.

We show that, under certain assumptions, strongly finitary enriched monads are given by discrete enriched Lawvere theories. On the other hand, monads given by discrete enriched Lawvere theories preserve surjections.

This paper presents a novel artificial intelligence-based autopilot control system designed for the Cessna Citation X (CCX) aircraft longitudinal motion during cruise. In this control methodology, the unknown aircraft dynamics in the state-space representations of each vertical speed (VS) mode and altitude hold (AH) mode were approximated by two multiplayer fuzzy recurrent neural networks (MFRNNs) trained online using a novel approach based on particle swarm optimisation and backpropagation algorithms. These MFRNNs were used with two sliding mode controllers to guarantee the robustness of both VS and AH modes. In addition, a novel fuzzy logic-based transition algorithm was proposed to efficiently switch the controller between these autopilot modes. The performance of the controllers was evaluated with a nonlinear simulation platform developed for the CCX based on data from a Level D research aircraft flight simulator certified by the FAA. The system stability and robustness were proved by the Lyapunov theorem. The simulation, tested under 925 flight conditions, demonstrated the controllers exceptional tracking capability in a variety of uncertainties, including turbulent and non-turbulent flight scenarios. In addition, the design ensured that the smoothness of the control input signals was maintained in order to preserve the mechanical integrity of the elevator actuation system.

Contemplative practices offer a promising lens for thinking about how people navigate change, vulnerability, and the emotional texture of later life. This article examines how such practices extend ideas of healthy aging, drawing on interviews and focus groups (n = 24) from an 8-week mind–body course. Participants reported strong satisfaction with the course, noting improvements in physical and mental health, and a notable shift towards greater kindness, openness, and curiosity towards themselves and others. Aiming to understand the key elements of contemplative training, our analysis identified three notable themes: learning to be with emotionally challenging experiences; normalizing change and vulnerability; and the ongoing development of a toolkit. Participants also reported a heightened ability to cope with challenges, make intentional life choices, and foster a positive attitude. From a gerontological perspective, the program offered helpful resources for adapting to change and embracing vulnerability as fundamental components of healthy aging. We also suggest the value of a life course perspective, which enables us to imagine contemplative practice as a form of training for aging well.

At the outbreak of the First World War the Hallé Orchestra was entering a new phase. The retirement of Hans Richter as its Principal Conductor in 1911 had led to the appointment the following year of Michael Balling, a German who, like Richter, was associated with the Bayreuth circle. Although Balling had clear ideas as to the direction in which he wished to take the orchestra, the declaration of war against Germany in 1914 made his continued tenure impractical. Although the outbreak of war in 1914 initially appeared a major blow to the orchestra’s fortunes, the engagement during the war years of a number of interim conductors, not least Sir Thomas Beecham, ultimately enabled the Hallé’s programming to expand beyond its hitherto rather German-heavy repertoire. It also provided openings for women, previously unrepresented in the orchestra, to take the places of absent male players, thereby setting a precedent would ultimately to lead to women being offered permanent contracts. Sources in the Hallé Orchestra’s own archives and those at Manchester Central Library shed light on the issues faced by the Hallé Concerts Society in maintaining the orchestra’s important contribution to the musical life of Manchester during the war years.

This work aims to clarify the absolute chronology of the construction phases of the St. Peter and Paul Rotunda at Budeč, focusing on the erection of the rotunda and the tower. Fifteen mortar samples were taken from various structural parts, two of which also contained remnants of charcoal. The mortar samples were mechanically treated to extract a purified calcitic binder that was dated by radiocarbon analysis. The effectiveness of the sample pretreatment methodology was assessed by means of cathodoluminescence microscopy. Thin sections of mortars were characterized by polarized light microscopy. The petrographic characterization allowed for the samples to be grouped according to their binder, aggregate, and structure. This was compared with the evaluation of the calibrated dates, expected chronology known from legends, as well as with formal and stylistic analyses of the structure. The radiocarbon dating distinguished the different construction phases well, and the accuracy and reliability of the dating is discussed. The presence of silts and clays probably led to geogenic carbon contamination of the samples from the foundations, as the obtained dates are older than expected. These dating results were thus regarded as inconclusive. However, the samples from the vaulted dome of the rotunda did not show any anomalies, and the calibrated date period obtained was regarded as relevant and thus successfully dated. The dating based on the legends also fits the determined interval.

Eudaimonist virtue ethicists from Aristotle to contemporary Neo-Aristotelians have held (1) that human flourishing (eudaimonia) is the ultimate ethically justifying end of action and (2) that human flourishing consists in the exercise of virtues of character. This paper has two goals. First, I argue for separating these two commitments and distinguishing eudaimonism in general from its common virtue-ethical interpretation. To do so, I clarify the justificatory structure of eudaimonism. Second, I object to the conjunction of these two views, eudaimonism and the character virtue conception of flourishing. On the eudaimonist assumption that flourishing is the sole ultimate justificatory end of ethical action, whatever flourishing consists in must be a plausible ultimate end that does not require further justification. But character-virtuous activity is not a plausible ultimate end. The moral and prudential activities that exercise character virtues like justice, courage, and moderation characteristically aim to produce or distribute instrumental benefits which must serve, and be justified by, other ends in turn.

Las antiguas élites mayas jugaban a la pelota. Esta acción y las actividades asociadas se enfatizan para complementar las interpretaciones simbólicas de estudios anteriores. Basándose en la teoría de conjuntos, se discute cómo las interacciones recurrentes y causales institucionalizaron el juego de pelota. Los análisis multiescalares y multidimensionales permiten estudiar las relaciones parasociales, asimétricas y co-constitutivas entre los jugadores, el público y la cancha. En el este de las tierras bajas mayas, se encuentra el centro de Tzikin Tzakan, donde se documentaron dos canchas de juego de pelota. Debajo de la parte de las superficies originales de la cancha oeste, se encontraron varias capas de lascas de pedernal. Su presencia infiere la furia y el dolor que ocurría durante el juego de pelota. Los nobles jugaban sabiendo que sufrirían y hasta podrían fallecer. Se documentó un basurero que probablemente refleja las fiestas asociadas al juego y que apunta al rol del público en crear y gozar un espectáculo. Comparadas con 50 canchas cercanas, las canchas de juego de pelota de Tzikin Tzakan destacan por su orientación, su forma y sus dimensiones. Sus características regionalmente únicas y localmente compartidas ejemplifican el juego de pelota como una totalidad emergente.

Strategic science skeptics criticize scientific claims solely to promote non-epistemic goals. I will analyze and debunk a philosophically neglected argument exploited by strategic science skeptics: the argument from disagreement. The core of this argument is that one should lower one’s confidence in a scientific claim when having learned that there is a scientific disagreement about this claim. I will develop a (Bayesian) Justificatory Account of Multiple Testimony to provide a normative characterization of how learning about agreements and disagreements is connected to confirming and disconfirming scientific claims. I will use this account to debunk the argument from disagreement.

This article is about state responsibility and its unique interaction with environmental law. While remedies in the main are reparative in nature, the ‘guarantees of non-repetition’ are qualitatively distinct, intended to prevent recurrence of a breach and, as such, this remedy brings added value to environmental law. Utilizing the Montara oil spill as a conceptual testing ground, this article argues that the future-oriented guarantees of non-repetition create an untapped opportunity for an injured state. Benefiting from the leverage attached to receiving guarantees of non-repetition, an injured state may evoke the International Law Commission’s Articles on Prevention of Transboundary Harm to negotiate future prevention and, where it sees fit, to seek to institutionalize future oversight by various joint-monitoring mechanisms, going so far as to call for a bilateral intergovernmental organization.

In this paper we argue for a surprising similarity between the kinds of roles notation plays in music and in mathematics. We argue that in both cases the notation is doing more than merely documenting something that we have an independent grip on – either a musical performance/composition or a mathematical structure. In both instances, the notation can lead to new innovations, it can help in abstracting away from distracting details and it can facilitate explanations. In light of these functions, we argue that both musical and mathematical notations serve as models of the intended targets: musical and mathematical structures. Seen in this light, developing, and reflecting upon, notation is central to both musical and mathematical practice and is deserving of greater philosophical attention.

This study examines English-Korean hybrid neologisms as a dynamic feature of youth language in contemporary Korea. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates linguistic analysis with survey data from university students, it investigates how hybrid expressions such as gatsaeng ‘God-life’ and juchabilleon ‘parking villain’ are formed through derivation, compounding, blending, pseudo-affixation, wordplay, and semantic duplication. These hybrids creatively embed English lexical elements within Korean grammatical and discursive structures, reflecting both linguistic innovation and cultural localization. Survey findings reveal that such hybrid expressions are widely used in casual conversation and digital spaces, often without conscious awareness of their hybrid nature – indicating lexical normalization. While participants only moderately associated hybrids with global or cultural identity, they valued them for their brevity, relatability, and ability to foster peer connection in fast-paced, media-rich environments. Some hybrids, such as noepisyeol ‘brain + official’, also function as tools for humor, irony and social critique. Overall, the study argues that English-Korean hybrid vocabulary serves not only as a site of linguistic creativity but also as a sociocultural marker. By blending global English with local communicative practices, Korean youth use hybrid terms to construct identity, reinforce group belonging, and engage with increasingly digitalized cultural spaces. These findings contribute to broader discussions on language change, identity and media influence in non-English-dominant contexts.

For a complete discrete valuation field K, we show that one may always glue a separated formal algebraic space $\mathfrak {X}$ over $\mathcal {O}_K$ to a separated algebraic space U over K along an open immersion of rigid spaces $j\colon \mathfrak {X}^{\mathrm {rig}}\to U^{\mathrm {an}}$, producing a separated algebraic space X over $\mathcal {O}_K$. This process gives rise to an equivalence between such ‘gluing triples’ $(U,\mathfrak {X},j)$ and separated algebraic spaces X over $\mathcal {O}_K$, which one might interpret as a version of the Beauville–Laszlo theorem for algebraic spaces rather than coherent sheaves. Moreover, an analogous equivalence exists over any excellent base. Examples due to Matsumoto imply that the result of such a gluing might be a genuine algebraic space (not a scheme) even if U and the special fibre of $\mathfrak {X}$ are projective. The proof is a combination of the Nagata compactification theorem for algebraic spaces and of Artin’s contraction theorem. We give multiple examples and applications of this idea.