This article explores the strategic (mis)use of historical memory by populist political actors, focusing on George Simion, leader of the Romanian radical-right party Alliance for the Unity of Romanians. Through a detailed case study of the Valea Uzului Cemetery controversy, the research examines how populist movements construct and disseminate exclusionary historical narratives to mobilize affective publics, reinforce nationalistic ideologies, and generate political support. Drawing on qualitative analysis of Facebook comments and posts, the study investigates how memory is weaponized to polarize public opinion and elevate a simplified, antagonistic vision of history. The Valea Uzului case exemplifies how war cemeteries and commemorative practices can be transformed into symbolic battlegrounds for political gain. The digital environment serves as a key vector for radicalization, emotional amplification, and narrative reinforcement. Ultimately, this research highlights the critical role of memory in populist politics and the power of social media in shaping historical perception. It calls for further comparative investigation into how such mnemonic strategies impact democratic processes, interethnic relations, and the broader politics of remembrance in contemporary Europe.

The Pinel Sanatorium, the brainchild of Doctor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva, a leading figure in Brazilian psychiatry, was inaugurated in 1929 in São Paulo as a private institution. It operated until 1944, during which time it recorded approximately 4,500 hospitalisations. In 30 psychiatric records, in addition to the usual clinical records, such as the Psychiatric Examination – in which the doctor records the elements he deems essential for identifying the mental illness from different sources of information, such as those provided by family members – attachments were found containing letters and short texts written by the inpatients. Addressed to different people, these letters, which were retained and evaluated by the doctors, played a central role in assessing the psychiatric conditions of the inmates. However, by being considered historical sources that reveal the ‘point of view’ of the mad, these documents are fundamental to the development of innovative approaches in the field of the history of madness and psychiatry. Based on the articulation between the context in which these records were produced, the social markers of difference that constitute the subjects, as well as the emotions expressed by the people who wrote them, the article sets out to answer two questions: (1) How the emotions expressed – both by the inmates and by their loved ones – were interpreted by psychiatrists and used to formulate diagnoses, and to define treatments and prognoses; (2) What meanings these emotions took on for the inmates themselves, in other words, how they put their experiences and subjectivities on display.

We prove new results about comparing the efficiency of general state space Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms that randomly select a possibly different reversible method at each step (previously known only for finite state spaces). We also provide new, simpler, more accessible proofs of key results, and analyse numerous examples. We provide a full proof of the formula for the asymptotic variance for real-valued functionals on $\varphi$-irreducible reversible Markov chains, first introduced by Kipnis and Varadhan (1986, Commun. Math. Phys. 104, 1–19). Given two Markov kernels P and Q with stationary measure $\pi$, we say that the Markov kernel P efficiency-dominates the Markov kernel Q if the asymptotic variance with respect to P is at most the asymptotic variance with respect to Q for every real-valued functional $f\in L^2(\pi)$. Assuming only a basic background in functional analysis, we prove that for two reversible Markov kernels P and Q, P efficiency-dominates Q if and only if the operator $\mathcal{Q}-\mathcal{P}$, where $\mathcal{P}$ is the operator on $L^2(\pi)$ that maps $f\mapsto\int f(y)P(\cdot,\mathrm{d}y)$ and similarly for $\mathcal{Q}$, is positive on $L^2(\pi)$, i.e. $\langle f,\left(\mathcal{Q}-\mathcal{P}\right)f\rangle\geq0$ for every $f\in L^2(\pi)$ (previous proofs for general state spaces use technical results from monotone operator function theory). We use this result to show that under mild conditions, sandwich variants of data augmentation algorithms efficiency-dominate the original algorithm. We also provide other easy-to-check sufficient conditions for efficiency dominance, some of which are generalized from the finite state space case. We also provide a proof based on that of Tierney (1998, Ann. Appl. Prob. 8, 1–9) that Peskun dominance is a sufficient condition for efficiency dominance for reversible kernels. Using these results, we show that Markov kernels formed by random selection of other ‘component’ Markov kernels will always efficiency-dominate another Markov kernel formed in this way, as long as the component kernels of the former efficiency-dominate those of the latter. These results on the efficiency dominance of combining component kernels generalizes the results on the efficiency dominance of combined chains introduced by Neal and Rosenthal (2024, J. Appl. Prob. 62, 188–208) from finite state spaces to general state spaces.

Digital entrepreneurship has attracted growing scholarly attention for its potential to alleviate poverty. Drawing on imprinting theory, this study examines how digital entrepreneurs’ past poverty experience shapes their poverty reduction outcomes. Using two waves of survey data from over 200 digital entrepreneurial ventures in rural China, we find that entrepreneurs’ past poverty experience exerts a significant positive effect on poverty reduction outcomes, and this relationship is mediated by the development of firms’ digital capabilities. Furthermore, resource constraints strengthen the imprinting–capability pathway, thereby amplifying the indirect effect of poverty experience on poverty reduction outcomes. This study deepens our understanding of the micro-level mechanisms through which digital entrepreneurship contributes to poverty alleviation, and provides a more nuanced framework for exploring the intersection of personal history and entrepreneurial outcomes in poverty reduction. It also advances imprinting theory by introducing a process-oriented perspective that highlights capability formation as a critical pathway through which early-life adversity is transformed into entrepreneurial outcomes.

The precise characterization of the mesoporous mineral matrix of a geopolymer is greatly complicated by its amorphous nature. No conventional characterization technique allows for its direct investigation. We propose here the use of alternative current impedance spectroscopy (AC-IS; generally called ‘complex impedance spectroscopy’) as an indirect method for probing geopolymers via their ionic conduction properties. Our study of ∼50 K-geopolymer pellets using AC-IS has made it possible to better describe the mesoporosity of alkali-activated materials. The latter were prepared by partial substitution of metakaolin by argillite, and these were then subjected to heat treatment up to 900°C and exposed for a long time to high or low relative humidity. The metakaolin substitution rate along with post-synthesis temperature and storage conditions were the variables that allowed us to track the phenomenon of charge transport via mesoporosity. Refining the impedance spectra over a range of temperatures, using simple and robust models, provided a set of values for the activation energies and diffusion coefficients. The results confirmed the open and ‘through-hole’ nature of the porosity, the localization of K+ cations in the interstitial liquid and their diffusion through the amorphous ceramic matrix during heat treatment, as well as the possible resumption of long-term alkaline activation for poorly reactive aluminosilicate sources.

This paper concerns the difficulty of avoiding an additive version of the Very Repugnant Conclusion. An impossibility theorem is provided which shows that we cannot avoid this version of the Repugnant Conclusion even if we deny the Mere Addition Principle and closely related principles which place limits on the badness of adding happy people, such as “Dominance Addition” and additive “Non-Sadism” conditions. I argue that the impossibility theorem shows that the additive version of the Very Repugnant Conclusion cannot reasonably be avoided by population-ethical means alone. One must instead either deny structural conditions such as acyclicity, adopt a radically unorthodox fixed-population axiology, or accept this version of the Very Repugnant Conclusion.

In previous work [4] we introduced and examined the class of betweenness algebras. In the current article we study a larger class of algebras with binary operators of possibility and sufficiency, the weak mixed algebras. Furthermore, we develop a system of logic with two binary modalities, sound and complete with respect to the class of frames closely related to the aforementioned algebras, and we prove an embedding theorem which solves an open problem from [4].

Afforestation and forest restoration have been central to emerging global strategies for climate change mitigation. Based on a framed field experiment (FFE) conducted in the Uttara Kannada region in Karnataka, India, this study investigates whether monetary incentives could effectively promote afforestation and what the likely distributional consequences are. The FFE set-up was designed to provide respondents with choices on planting native or commercial trees in their village common forest. The native trees were associated with higher risk of survival compared to commercial trees. They also provided a mix of monetary and non-monetary benefits which differed across three variations in the experimental design. We find that monetary payments for planting native species worked better when combined with non-monetary benefits. Also, private tenurial rights mediated responses to monetary incentives. The results highlight how heterogeneous interests within the community could play an important role in determining effectiveness and distributional outcomes of afforestation policy.

Obesity represents a major global public health concern. Body fat percentage (BF%) is a key indicator for assessing adiposity and provides a more precise estimation of obesity-related health risks compared to the traditional body mass index (BMI). Accumulating evidence suggests that BF% is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. However, most genetic studies on BF% have been conducted in European and American population, with limited data available from Chinese cohorts. To address this gap, a classical twin study was conducted using data from the Qingdao Twin Registry in China to estimate the heritability of BF% adjusted for age, sex, and BMI. This study included Han Chinese twins registered in the Qingdao Twin Registry. This study included 344 middle and old-aged Chinese twin pairs (217 monozygotic and 127 dizygotic). comprising 327 males and 361 females. The median age of participants was 50 (interquartile range [IQR]:12) years, with BF% of 27.6 (11.4) %. Model fitting indicated that the best-fitting model was AE model. The additive genetic effect (A) accounted for 54% (95% CI [44, 59) of the total variance, while unique environmental effect (E) contributed 46% (95% CI [37, 56]). In conclusion, this twin-based study provides robust evidence for a moderate genetic contribution (heritability = 54%) to BF% in a middle- and old-aged Qingdao population.

The study offers a comparative view of the rituals associated with dying, death, and funerals of the Central European Habsburgs in the early modern period. The authors first attempt to place the topic within the historiographical framework of current research. They also pay attention to the heuristic basis on which the phenomenon can be studied. Further on in the text, they gradually reveal the course of the Habsburgs’ illnesses immediately preceding their deaths, the rituals associated with the different lengths of time the dying spent on their deathbeds, their deaths, autopsies, funerals, and subsequent mourning ceremonies, including the dissemination of information about the deaths of Central European Habsburgs to various parts of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire, and other European countries. The study concludes with a reflection on the representation of imperial majesty in the allegorical language of mourning ceremonies.