This article argues for a metapoetic reading of the Talos episode in Apollonius of Rhodes, in which Medea symbolically annihilates Theocritus’ Polyphemus, the bucolic hero who had found a pharmakon to cure lovesickness. The distinctive phrases λεπτὸς ὑμήν ‘a thin membrane’ and σύριγξ αἱματόεσσα ‘a blood-filled vein’ are metapoetic signals: ‘a refined Callimachean marriage song’ and ‘bloody pan-pipes’, evoking Theocritus. The Cyclops’s peaceful response to romantic disappointment is well attested in other Hellenistic poems with medical overtones. The Talos episode engages these with other medical and Homeric allusions to contrast Medea’s outward destructive use of the Muses’ sciences with Polyphemus’ inward healing use.

Despite the existing evidence of effective strategies to reduce mental health risks at a reasonable cost, their adoption is still not easy for health professionals, especially in low-resource settings. Barriers and facilitators identification is then relevant for the adoption of evidence-based interventions in mental health care. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between barriers, facilitators and the implementation strategies to face them, related to the adoption of mhGAP Intervention Guide in primary care Mexican staff. A sample of 125 health professionals participated, after accrediting an online booster course, by answering the Facilitators and Barriers for mhGAP Adoption Questionnaire about the implementation of the mhGAP Intervention Guide, the implementation strategies to face those barriers and the adoption dimensions of frequency, usefulness and effectiveness of the mhGAP core components. The results revealed that Material was the most frequent facilitator for the implementation of mhGAP program, Application issues were the main barrier to its implementation and the most frequent implementation strategies reported were Assumed the barrier and Tailor the intervention, which was reported as the most effective strategy for achieving successful implementation outcomes. Barriers are discussed as important triggers for the adoption and adaptation of evidence-based practice.

This article brings critical human rights scholarship into the intersex sphere to unearth the potential limitations of the growing deployment of human rights to improve the health care experiences of intersex people. It traces the changing tactics of intersex activist groups and identifies three tendencies – reformism, coerciveness and juridification – that may be brought by the intersex movement and international agencies embracing human rights as the vernacular. This article argues that the dominance of the human rights approach, while allowing the intersex struggle to gain legitimacy, visibility and recognition, risks fuelling a depoliticised framework of remedicalisation and increased penality. It deflects attention from the endeavour of interrogating the social and cultural foundations rendering intersex variances a deviant form of embodiment.

This paper studies an optimal reinsurance problem for a utility-maximizing insurer, subject to the reinsurer’s endogenous default and background risk. An endogenous default occurs when the insurer’s contractual indemnity exceeds the reinsurer’s available reserve, which is random due to the background risk. We obtain an analytical solution to the optimal contract for two types of reinsurance contracts, differentiated by whether their indemnity functions depend on the reinsurer’s background risk. The results shed light on the joint effect of the reinsurer’s default and background risk on the insurer’s reinsurance demand.

Drill-seeded rice (DSR) offers several agronomic and environmental advantages over conventional puddled transplanted rice (PTR), including labor and water savings, reduced cultivation costs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these benefits, weed control remains a major bottleneck in the widespread adoption of DSR. Imidazolinone-resistant rice (IMI-rice), which allows the use of imidazolinone herbicides, has the potential to overcome weed control challenges in DSR and can therefore facilitate the transition from PTR to DSR. However, limited information exists on the effectiveness of IMI herbicide-based weed control programs in drill-seeded IMI-rice in northwestern India. Field experiments were conducted in Karnal, India, from 2020 through 2023 growing seasons to (1) evaluate the timing and rates of IMI herbicides for effective weed control in IMI-rice under DSR conditions, and (2) assess the potential carryover effects of IMI herbicides on succeeding crops. Results showed that sequential postemergence (POST) applications of imazethapyr—early-POST followed by (fb) late-POST at either 100 fb 150 or 125 fb 125 g ai ha-1 effectively reduced biomass by 83 to 100% for key weed species, including barnyardgrass, crowfootgrass, and Chinese sprangletop, compared to weedy check, and provided yields similar to weed-free treatment. These sequential POST treatments were consistently more effective than conventional herbicide program of oxadiargyl as preemergence (PRE) fb bispyribac-sodium as POST. Sequentially PRE fb POST applications of imazethapyr were relatively less effective in controlling weeds and minimizing yield losses compared to sequential POST applications. However, in the second and third years, oxadiargyl 90 g ai ha-1 as PRE fb imazethapyr 100 g ai ha-1 as POST achieved comparable weed control efficiency to the sequential POST applications of imazethapyr (125 fb 125 g ai ha-1). No visual phytotoxicity was observed on the succeeding crops of wheat, mustard, chickpea, lentil, and corn from any of the herbicide treatments applied in IMI-rice.

What does the institutionalisation of a protest movement into an opposition party in an electoral autocracy mean for its members? This article examines this question by analysing the conversion of People Power, a political pressure group in Uganda, into the National Unity Platform (NUP), focusing on the dilemmas of organisation, strategy and identity. NUP sought to broaden and institutionalise People Power’s activities to be seen as a credible party capable of holding state power. Simultaneously, its initial political weight was closely tied to the defiant, extra-parliamentary energy of the grassroots – a resource the party needed to preserve. These tensions were intensified by Uganda’s authoritarian context, where state repression and demobilisation intersected with uneven access to resources and patronage, producing frictions between privileged actors and grassroots members. The paper shows how these dilemmas generated frustrations among bottom-up constituencies and highlights the importance of examining intra-party processes from a grassroots perspective.

Modern translators and commentators have uniformly taken the phrase καὶ τιμωμένων ἀντετιμᾶτο in Max. Tyr. Or. 3.2 as a reference to Socrates’ reported proposal of a counter-penalty as depicted in the second speech of Plato’s Apology. This article suggests an alternative interpretation rooted in both the surrounding context of Or. 3 and an analysis of Greek forensic vocabulary and usage. The latter analysis also serves to cast doubt on the claim, common in discussions of Athenian law, that ἀντιτιμᾶσθαι served as the technical term for making a counter-penalty proposal.

The depth of a subgroup H of a finite group G is a positive integer defined with respect to the inclusion of the corresponding complex group algebras $\mathbb {C}H \subseteq \mathbb {C}G$. This notion was originally introduced by Boltje, Danz and Külshammer in 2011, and it has been the subject of numerous papers in recent years. In this paper, we study the depth of core-free subgroups, which allows us to apply powerful computational and probabilistic techniques that were originally designed for studying bases for permutation groups. We use these methods to prove a wide range of new results on the depth of subgroups of almost simple groups, significantly extending the scope of earlier work in this direction. For example, we establish best possible bounds on the depth of irreducible subgroups of classical groups and primitive subgroups of symmetric groups. And with the exception of a handful of open cases involving the Baby Monster, we calculate the exact depth of every subgroup of every almost simple sporadic group. We also present a number of open problems and conjectures.

Pleasure is widely thought to have intrinsic value. However, this thesis has been threatened by the argument that pleasure is a mental state that essentially involves the subject’s conative attitudes. Its value, then, would be subjective. Though the existing version of the argument can be resisted by simply rejecting the attitudinal theories of pleasure on which it is based, I will develop a new and more general version based on the reasonable hypothesis that the phenomenal character of pleasure is reducible to a physical or functional property. If this new version is convincing, then the most promising way to secure the intrinsicality of the value of pleasure and to escape all versions of the subjectivity argument might be to embrace a non-reductionist account of pleasure and its value.

Let $S_k$ denote the space of cusp forms of weight k and level one. For $0\leq t\leq k-2$ and primitive Dirichlet character $\chi $ mod D, we introduce twisted periods $r_{t,\chi }$ on $S_k$. We show that for a fixed natural number n, if k is sufficiently large relative to n and D, then any n periods with the same twist but different indices are linearly independent. We also prove that if k is sufficiently large relative to $D,$ then any n periods with the same index but different twists mod D are linearly independent. These results are achieved by studying the trace of the products and Rankin–Cohen brackets of Eisenstein series of level D with nebentypus. Moreover, we give two applications of our method. First, we prove certain identities that evaluate convolution sums of twisted divisor functions. Second, we show that Maeda’s conjecture implies a non-vanishing result on twisted central L-values of normalized Hecke eigenforms.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have proliferated to protect marine ecosystems and manage unsustainable fishing, but their outcomes vary by economic and governance contexts. Drawing on a panel dataset spanning 1995–2021 and employing the Pressure–State–Response framework, this study analyses how MPA coverage is associated with overexploited fish stocks and examines Official Development Assistance (ODA). Results show MPAs in high-income countries are associated with lower overexploited catch rates, reflecting robust governance. In low-income nations, however, limited capacity is often linked to ‘paper parks’ with negligible impact. Multi-purpose ODA – supporting sustainability goals – appears more effective than single-purpose ODA and is associated with better conservation outcomes. Integrating MPAs with fisheries management, supported by international assistance for enforcement, appears important for bridging disparities in effectiveness. By highlighting the interplay among economic conditions, governance and funding, this study offers higher-level insights into factors that shape MPA effectiveness, contributing to broader policy discussions on marine conservation.

Since the 1920s, the workers’ movement has been crucial in linking international communism with colonial liberation. From the 1950s, communist trade unions and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) played a key role in this process. The WFTU forged ties with Afro-Asian unions to challenge Western powers with an anti-imperialist platform. Decolonization opened new opportunities for European workers in their anti-capitalist struggle, prompting unions such as the French Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) and Italian Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL) to build relationships with unions in newly independent African nations. Their focus was mainly on North and West Africa, where socialist movements emerged during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The CGT and the CGIL established solid links with trade unions in Guinea, Mali, and Ghana. Their views, shaped by their affiliations with the French and Italian communist parties, were not consistently aligned. The CGT maintained a Eurocentric approach to African socialism, while the CGIL, aligned with the PCI, supported a “staged” revolution in Africa, where the working class did not occupy a position of leadership. The CGIL and PCI emphasized the role of peasants and workers in building socialism through a “social revolution” that could strengthen the socialist bloc. These differences created tensions in African trade unions and the FSM, leading to the marginalization of the CGIL’s approach. Nonetheless, Italian unionists gained support from African unions and joined the CGT in mediating for workers in Guinea, Mali, and Ghana.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex psychiatric disorder. While existing studies have revealed abnormalities in brain structure and function associated with OCD, there is a paucity of research integrating these two aspects, and the transcriptional patterns underlying these abnormalities remain unclear. This study is a multiscale, exploratory investigation designed to generate hypotheses rather than to test causal mechanisms. We aimed to investigate aberrations in brain structure–function coupling (SFC) in OCD patients and, by integrating gene expression profiles and neurotransmitter maps, to explore the potential molecular and genetic bases of these changes. We recruited 100 medication-free OCD patients and 90 healthy controls, and employed multimodal imaging techniques to systematically analyze abnormalities in static SFC in OCD patients. Subsequently, we conducted transcriptomic analysis to identify genes associated with SFC abnormalities and performed spatial correlation analysis with neurotransmitter atlases to investigate potential links between SFC dysregulation and transcriptional patterns. Our findings demonstrated that OCD patients exhibit significant SFC abnormalities in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ). These SFC abnormalities are significantly associated with 2,421 gene expression profiles and the serotonin neurotransmitter system. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that these aberrant genes are primarily involved in key biological processes, such as brain development, synaptic signaling, cell projection development, and regulation of neuronal processes. By integrating multimodal imaging, transcriptomic, and neurotransmitter data, this study provides multiscale evidence for the potential molecular basis of SFC abnormalities in the rTPJ of OCD patients, offering preliminary insights into a possible pathological pathway of OCD.

Many believe that relationships can make a constitutive difference to the moral status of paternalistic treatment. For example, it is often assumed that it’s easier to justify paternalizing a spouse than a stranger. But although this thought is widespread, there exists no detailed account of how relationships could mitigate paternalistic complaints. The aim of this paper is to develop an account of this phenomenon, drawing on the work of Margaret Gilbert and the notion of joint commitments. According to the resulting view, close relations can constitutively mitigate paternalistic complaints by rendering paternalistic interference consistent with the will of the paternalized agent.

Studying exoplanetary atmospheres offers critical insights into chemical compositions, temperature profiles, cloud formations and atmospheric dynamics. Carbon monoxide (CO), an important molecule in biology and astronomy, exhibits distinct spectral features and could be considered a potential biosignature. This work compares the spectral bands of gases emitted by Roseovarius sp. (obtained from the Atacama desert) and theoretical model atmospheres simulating early Earth analogs. We obtained Raman and infrared spectra of the bacteria. Theoretical model atmospheres of early Earth analogs were generated for comparative spectral analysis. The spectra of Roseovarius sp. revealed distinct vibrational modes, including CO at 5.01 $\mu $m (1996 cm−1) which is considered in the context of other biogenic gases in the metabolism of Roseovarius sp. Ultracool dwarf stars, especially those of spectral type M7 and later, are prime targets for observing habitable exoplanets due to their small radii. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and extremely large telescopes (ELTs) will enable the spectroscopic characterization of Earth-like planets orbiting M-dwarfs. Future studies using the JWST sensitivity models PandExo could estimate the number of transits needed to detect CO/CO2 in rocky exoplanet atmospheres, enhancing our understanding of CO detectability.