En este artículo, estudiamos qué factores individuales y contextuales explican la confianza en los sindicatos latinoamericanos. Utilizando datos de Latinobarómetro (2018–2020), mostramos que la confianza en los sindicatos es mayor entre personas de clase trabajadora y clase media asalariada, así como entre quienes se identifican con la izquierda y confían más en las instituciones políticas. A nivel contextual, la confianza es mayor en países neo-desarrollistas (por ejemplo, Brasil y Uruguay) y menor en países capitalistas tercerizados (por ejemplo, México y países centroamericanos). Contrario a nuestra hipótesis, también encontramos que la confianza en los sindicatos es alta en Chile (un país liberal-rentista con sindicatos débiles) y baja en algunos países redistributivo-rentistas (Venezuela) y neo-desarrollistas (Argentina). Para explicar estos resultados, analizamos cómo la confianza en los sindicatos depende de aspectos contextuales como la informalidad laboral, el desempleo, la inflación, el poder de los partidos de izquierda y el nivel de movilización social.

The interface of science and law is a territory frequently occupied by policymakers. In facilitating this interface, epistemic communities have become significant influencers in policymaking, especially at the European Union (EU) level, as a result of its complex multilevel governance system. In this article we assess the quality and nature of interactions between epistemic communities and EU stakeholders on the Horizon-funded project ‘PrecisionTox’, by deploying the concept of epistemic communities developed by Haas, as well as the learning modes of epistemic communities as presented and adapted by Dunlop. The overarching goal of PrecisionTox is to advance the safety assessment of chemicals by establishing a new, cost-effective testing paradigm built from evolutionary theory, which entails reduction, replacement, and refinement of mammalian testing (the 3Rs). The study shows that EU-funded projects can provide an excellent platform for building epistemic communities and forging alliances with EU policymakers, especially when novel technologies may be unlocked and socialized. This study also explores the early interaction of policymakers with epistemic communities through different forms of learning to better understand the complexities surrounding these new technologies in order to set an agenda for policy interventions.

Excavation at the site of Bhagatrav yielded four layers of cultural deposits: the lowermost being the Sorath Harappan, the upper two are medieval, and layer three caps the Sorath Harappan layer. A horn-deity painted dish was found in a stratified context at the lowest level. The medieval deposit includes turquoise glazed and celadon wares, followed by an abundance of Monochrome Glazed Ware, which is otherwise known as Khambhat ware. The date of the Sorath Harappan layer of the site, the time and space of the horn-deity motif in the Harappan world, and the date of Khambhat ware have long been subjects of discussion. With the help of a series of absolute dating (radiocarbon and luminescence), this paper attempts to place the site, horn-deity motif, and the Khambhat ware in the cultural chronology of Gujarat.

The innermost region of the Milky Way harbors the central molecular zone (CMZ). This region contains a large amount of molecular gas but a poor star formation rate considering the densities achieved by the gas in this region. We used the arepo code to perform a hydrodynamic and star formation simulation of the galaxy, where a Ferrers bar was adiabatically introduced. During the stage of bar imposition, the bar strength excites density waves close to the inner Lindblad resonance guiding material towards the inner galaxy, driving the formation of a ring that we qualitatively associate with the CMZ. During the simulation, we identified that the ring passes three main phases, namely: formation, instability, and quasi-stationary stages. During the whole evolution, and particularly in the quasi-stationary stage, we observe that the ring is associated with the x2 family of periodic orbits. Additionally, we found that most of the star formation occurs during the ring formation stage, while it drastically decreases in the instability stage. Finally, we found that when the gas has settled in a stable x2 orbit, the star formation takes place mostly after the dense gas passes the apocentre, triggering the conveyor-belt mechanism described in previous studies.

Despite 30 years of research on economic inequality, the question of whether government ideology affects inequality remains unresolved. As rising inequality poses a major challenge to contemporary democracies, we ask: (when) do parties matter regarding inequality? Our systematic analysis finds that research is divided, with a tendency toward a pessimistic “no.” We decipher the factors that account for this split in theoretically predictable ways. We assess the roles played by the type of inequality, the time horizon, and the impact of policy channels. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of 393 TSCS-regression findings show how the type of inequality and a neglect of top incomes, a focus on short- rather than long-term effects, and the inclusion of policy channels that absorb the effects of parties strongly codetermine the results. Effects septuple depending on how these factors are combined. We draw three lessons that, when combined, foster a shift toward a more optimistic perspective on the latitude of politics.

Halloysite nanotubes (often abbreviated as HNTs) are technologically important owing to their unique structural and morphological features. Some of these features pre-exist in the naturally hydrated halloysite-(10 Å) parent clay mineral; others may develop during its dehydration towards halloysite-(7 Å). This is the first infrared spectroscopic study of the transition to halloysite-(7 Å), which, in combination with X-ray diffraction (XRD), aimed at advancing the structural description of the process. Three cylindrical and two polygonal halloysite-(10 Å) samples, in both their H- and D-forms, were measured by attenuated total reflectance (ATR), non-invasively and in situ, following step-wise equilibration from 70% relative humidity (RH) to <10% RH and back to 70% RH at ambient temperature. This approach allowed for recording the spectrum of the dehydrating (but not rehydrating) interlayer in the νO–D range, without interference from the inner νOH groups, or from the inner-surface νOH of anhydrous interlayers already present in the parent material. Besides the well-known ‘hole’ H2O species, a new type of H2O-decorated defect was detected at frequencies normally dominated by the inner νOH. This defect is linked to the microenvironment created by the detachment between layer packets and forming ‘crevices’ or ‘slits’ upon dehydration. In addition, the study of the νSi–O spectrum demonstrated that the dehydration of halloysite-(10 Å) leads to the parallel formation of localized, ordered, kaolinite-like domains co-existing with regions of accumulated disorder. The as-produced halloysite-(7 Å) had a non-ideal, open structure that resisted rehydration because the kaolinite-like domains do not rehydrate and act as permanent cross-links.

Nitrogen (N) is the most significant nutrient affecting crop growth and development for all types of crops, except legumes. The goal of this study was to optimize the N level for cotton grown in a semi-arid environment to enhance growth and development, determine N status, and increase seed cotton yield and biomass. Two independent field experiments each three years in duration were conducted, from 2007 to 2009 (Exp.-I) and 2018 to 2020 (Exp.-II). Experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The N treatments in Exp.-I were comprised of 0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 and 240 kg N/ha, while treatments in Exp.-II were comprised of 0, 70, 140, 210 and 280 kg N/ha. A wide range of data sets for cotton traits were recorded, including canopy height, leaf area index, the N status of the leaf and stem, seed cotton yield and time-series biomass data. The higher N rates 240 and 280 kg N/ha performed better for all these traits. However, the highest leaf N contents were recorded for 210 kg N/ha. Based on these results, it is suggested that under semi-arid conditions, slightly higher rates than optimum or recommended N rates could be applied as a strategy by cotton growers for a higher seed cotton yield. The findings of this study may also increase profitability in other cotton-growing areas that have similar weather conditions.

Democratic electoral systems characteristically take a Count-and-Report Approach to enfranchised citizens’ failure to turn out in political elections: The number of non-votes is counted and publicly reported, but non-votes are given no effect in the allocation of political offices. We morally assess this model in the context of legislative elections, and argue that it is pro tanto less desirable than another, counterfactual model which we label Proportional Non-Voter Sortition. This model provides that citizens’ non-votes shall be legislatively represented by legislators who are selected by lot from the non-voting part of the demos, and whose share of seats is proportional to the aggregate rate of non-voting in the legislative election. Our assessment of the two models specifically turns on the claim that a democracy’s legislature should reflect the full diversity of political views that exists within its demos (legislative inclusivity), and it offers two reasons to expect that Proportional Non-Voter Sortition serves legislative inclusivity better than the Count-and-Report Approach: 1) Proportional Non-Voter Sortition uniquely incentivizes political parties to integrate non-voter views into their political agendas and mobilisation activities; and 2) Proportional Non-Voter Sortition additionally enables the legislative articulation and advocacy of non-voter views by placing people in the legislature who are descriptively representative of non-voters. Through our discussion of different models for the post-electoral management of non-votes, we contribute to a body of normative democratic theorizing about citizens’ non-voting, but raise a distinct question that so far has remained unexplored.

Perceptualism is a prominent theory analyzing emotions as perceptual experiences of value. A long-standing challenge to perceptualism says that emotions cannot be perceptual because they are subject to normative assessments in terms of reasons and rationality, while perceptual experiences are not. I defend perceptualism from this charge. My argument begins by distinguishing two forms of normative assessment: fundamental and non-fundamental. Perceptualism is compatible with the latter (i.e., non-fundamental reasons and rationality); even sensory experiences are so assessable. I next argue that emotions are only non-fundamentally assessable. Following this argument, I outline a perceptualist-friendly theory of emotions as non-fundamentally normatively assessable.

Text is a major medium of contemporary interpersonal communication but is difficult for social scientists to study unless they have significant resources or the skills to build their own research platform. In this paper, we introduce a cloud-based software solution to this problem: ReChat, an online research platform for conducting experimental and observational studies of live text conversations. We demonstrate ReChat by applying it to a specific phenomenon of interest to political scientists: conversations among co-partisans. We present results from two studies, focusing on (1) self-selection factors that make chat participants systematically unrepresentative and (2) a pre-registered analysis of loquaciousness that finds a significant association between speakers’ ideological extremity and the amount they write in the chat. We conclude by discussing practical implications and advice for future practitioners of chat studies.

Nypa fruticans Wurmb is both a relic plant and a true mangrove. In China, wild populations are distributed only on Hainan Island and face significant challenges in regeneration from seedlings. This study explored the underlying causes of recruitment limitation by examining seed morphological traits from three distinct populations (Haikou, Wenchang and Wanning) and analysing seed germination and seedling growth characteristics under varying conditions. The key findings are as follows: fruiting and seed-setting rates for N. fruticans were notably low, standing at only 21 and 40%, respectively. The Wanning population exhibited significantly higher rates compared to the other two populations. Under natural conditions, the germination and seedling emergence rates were also modest, at 36.58 and 22.99%, respectively. The germination and emergence rates of the Wanning population were significantly greater than those of the Haikou and Wenchang populations. Meanwhile, seeds from a single population did not differ in germination rates among three in situ N. fruticans habitats, but seedling emergence rates differed significantly. Optimal conditions for seed germination involved a light intensity of 60%, a salinity of 5‰ and a flooding time of 8 h/day. In natural settings, these three environmental factors fall short of the ideal conditions. The study underscores that light, salinity and flooding are primary factors contributing to the limitations in N. fruticans seedling recruitment. In addition to advocating increased investment in scientific research and technology to address seed source issues, we recommend heightened efforts in habitat restoration, in situ conservation and the optimization of relocation and field return strategies to bolster N. fruticans populations.

Young stellar objects (YSOs) are protostars that exhibit bipolar outflows fed by accretion disks. Theories of the transition between disk and outflow often involve a complex magnetic field structure thought to be created by the disk coiling field lines at the jet base; however, due to limited resolution, these theories cannot be confirmed with observation and thus may benefit from laboratory astrophysics studies. We create a dynamically similar laboratory system by driving a $\sim$1 MA current pulse with a 200 ns rise through a $\approx$2 mm-tall Al cylindrical wire array mounted to a three-dimensional (3-D)-printed, stainless steel scaffolding. This system creates a plasma that converges on the centre axis and ejects cm-scale bipolar outflows. Depending on the chosen 3-D-printed load path, the system may be designed to push the ablated plasma flow radially inwards or off-axis to make rotation. In this paper, we present results from the simplest iteration of the load which generates radially converging streams that launch non-rotating jets. The temperature, velocity and density of the radial inflows and axial outflows are characterized using interferometry, gated optical and ultraviolet imaging, and Thomson scattering diagnostics. We show that experimental measurements of the Reynolds number and sonic Mach number in three different stages of the experiment scale favourably to the observed properties of YSO jets with $Re\sim 10^5\unicode{x2013}10^9$ and $M\sim 1\unicode{x2013}10$, while our magnetic Reynolds number of $Re_M\sim 1\unicode{x2013}15$ indicates that the magnetic field diffuses out of our plasma over multiple hydrodynamical time scales. We compare our results with 3-D numerical simulations in the PERSEUS extended magnetohydrodynamics code.