The effects of negative triangularity (NT) on boundary plasma turbulence in double-null (DN) configurations are investigated using global, nonlinear, three-dimensional, flux-driven two-fluid simulations. Negative triangularity plasmas exhibit suppressed interchange-driven instabilities, resulting in enhanced confinement and lower fluctuation levels compared with positive triangularity (PT) plasmas. This reduction in interchange instability is associated with the weakening of curvature effects in the unfavourable region, caused by the stretching of magnetic field lines at the outer midplane. The magnetic disconnection between the turbulent low-field side and the quiescent high-field side results in most of the heat flux reaching the DN outer targets. In NT plasmas, the power load on the outer target is reduced, while it increases on the inner target, indicating a reduced in–out power asymmetry compared with PT plasmas. Furthermore, the analysis of power load asymmetry between the upper and lower targets shows that the absolute magnitude of up–down power asymmetry is mitigated in NT plasmas, mainly due to the reduced total power crossing the separatrix. The reduction of interchange instabilities in NT plasmas also affects the blob dynamics. A three-dimensional blob analysis reveals that NT plasmas feature smaller blob sizes and slower propagation velocities. Finally, an analytical scaling law for blob size and velocity that includes plasma shaping effects is derived based on the two-region model and is found to qualitatively capture the trends observed in nonlinear simulations.

Sea-level projections are highly anticipated outcomes of climate model simulations, relevant for coastal management worldwide. Ideally, any model simulation needs to be validated against observations, but this is impossible for the most recent sets of future climate model simulations, which start near to the present day (2020). Here, we compare satellite observations of regional sea-level change against projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report for total sea-level change and its individual components over their overlapping period, from 2007–2022. We first test and compare three different methods to reduce the internal variability in the observations, which hampers the comparison with models, in particular for shorter time periods. While all three methods reduce the internal variability, we find the low-frequency component analysis (LFCA) removes most of the internal variability. We find that the regional projections are in good agreement with the LFCA-filtered observations, for 96% of ocean area within the 90% confidence interval. For the total sea level and sterodynamic component, the projections both under- and overestimate the observations, depending on the region. For mass-driven sea-level change, the regional projections tend to overestimate the observations. Our analysis gives confidence in sea-level projections for the instrumental era.

The degradation of isoprene – a prevalent volatile organic compound (VOC) – in soil has primarily been attributed as a microbial process, but chemical degradation may also play a role. Separating simultaneous abiotic and biotic degradation pathways under representative conditions has been a technical challenge, leaving the fate of surface and subsurface isoprene inputs from the atmosphere, litter roots, and microbes to the soil uncertain. Here, we investigated the real-time dynamics of belowground isoprene degradation by introducing isoprene into the subsurface through an artificial root and tracking its fate along with primary gas-phase oxidation products via in situ soil gas probes and online high-resolution proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Isoprene additions generated oxidation products from known NO- and •OH-initiated pathways, revealing chemical degradation as an active loss pathway for isoprene in soil. Over time, isoprene concentrations plummeted relative to an inert tracer despite continuous and repeated isoprene addition, revealing a lasting up-regulation of microbial isoprene degradation that ultimately outcompeted the chemical sink. We verified the presence of putative bacterial isoprene-degrading genes in the soil by quantitative PCR of isoA and identified microbial groups that increased in abundance in response to isoprene availability using 16S amplicon sequencing. Overall, our results show for the first time the relevance of chemical degradation pathways to isoprene in soil and the capacity and dynamics of the soil microbiome to respond using community memory to increased isoprene availability. Soil is a dynamic oxidative and adaptive environment beneath our feet that may play additional roles in the biosphere–atmosphere exchange of isoprene, and by extension other VOCs, beyond what was previously expected.

This study examines when and how second language (L2) learners begin to exhibit sensitivity to key factors influencing the choice between the English double object and prepositional object constructions. While previous research has shown that such choices in native speakers are influenced by such factors as animacy, pronominality and verb bias, little is known about the developmental timing of these effects in L2 production. Using 5,785 dative constructions from a large-scale learner corpus, we analyzed how these variables interact with learners’ proficiency levels across 23 verbs. We found that learners showed systematic sensitivity to all of these factors, including statistical verb bias derived from a native speaker corpus (Corpus of Contemporary American English), at much earlier stages than previously suggested. These results suggest that learners may possess a cognitive bias that maps preexisting conceptual structures onto linguistic constructions, reflecting more than mere statistical learning.

It has already been three years since millions of Ukrainians found refuge in other countries. In our longitudinal research, we examine in what way the main news websites in Poland and Czechia portray Ukrainian refugees and through that how they contribute to their social construction as a group deserving or undeserving of societal and public policy support. Data were collected from platform X, focusing on the accounts of the five most popular news websites in each country. In 2022, we expanded CARIN to CARIN+A, highlighting assistance as a booster (Zogata-Kusz, Öbrink Hobzová, and Cekiera, 2023). Now, examining the period between February 24, 2023, and July 31, 2024, we formulate a hypothesis of dimension content modification, i.e. the meaning of deservingness dimensions change over time for the same target group. Both countries exhibited similar themes and narratives. This was most visible in the attitude and reciprocity, although identity was also important. While at the beginning of the invasion the question of deservingness tied to who they are, later how they behave became crucial. Additionally, we observed normalisation of the situation, without compassion fatigue. Longitudinal media analysis is rare but crucial for countering xenophobia and nationalism.

This study examines overlooked or underexplored fragments from Rufus of Ephesus’ On Melancholy, as cited in Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī’s seminal medical work, The Comprehensive Book (Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb). Through an analysis of Arabic texts and Latin translations, we present two previously unexamined fragments and one of doubtful authenticity which reference Rufus’ understanding of melancholy. Preserved across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts, these fragments illuminate the transmission of ancient Graeco-Roman medical knowledge into the Islamic Golden Age and Renaissance Europe. Arabic texts are compared with corresponding Latin editions to verify their authenticity and trace their historical transmission.

The Askey–Wilson algebras illustrate the bispectral property of orthogonal polynomials in the Askey scheme. The universal Askey–Wilson algebra $\triangle _q$ is a central extension of the Askey–Wilson algebras associated with the most general orthogonal polynomials in the Askey scheme. The Verma $\triangle _q$-modules are a family of infinite-dimensional $\triangle _q$-modules with marginal weights. Under the condition that q is not a root of unity, it was shown that every finite-dimensional irreducible $\triangle _q$-module has a marginal weight and is isomorphic to a quotient of a Verma $\triangle _q$-module. Assume that q is a root of unity. We prove that every finite-dimensional irreducible $\triangle _q$-module with a marginal weight is isomorphic to a quotient of a Verma $\triangle _q$-module. More precisely, two natural families of finite-dimensional quotients of Verma $\triangle _q$-modules contain all finite-dimensional irreducible $\triangle _q$-modules with marginal weights up to isomorphism. Furthermore, we classify the finite-dimensional irreducible $\triangle _q$-modules with marginal weights up to isomorphism.

Opiate smuggling has found increasing scholarly attention. Legal distribution however remains largely a blind spot. Against this background, I follow in this article some of the traces it has left in Switzerland. I ask not only how it was regulated, but also where the drugs came from and how and by whom they were sold. In the first section, I examine the trade in the opium-based panacea theriac in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At that time, pharmacists were increasingly successful in claiming the exclusive right to sell remedies. When powerful industrial opiates gradually replaced the early modern artisanal goods in the nineteenth century, it was they who benefited most. As I argue in the second section, this line of business came under pressure when the use of opiates increasingly faced criticism in the last third of the century. However, as I show in the third section, legal provisions were only reluctantly enforced and followed. A fundamental shift only occurred in the 1960s when, in the context of the cold war, the Americanisation of international crime control and the “war on drugs” led to a repressive turn in law enforcement.

This article examines field experiences across archaeological sectors and demographics through the results of a survey aimed at understanding how the culture of toughness is manifest in archaeological fieldwork through the prevalence of discrimination and pressure to accept inappropriate behaviors and to push oneself physically, mentally, and emotionally. We selected these particular behaviors as they demonstrate ways in which archaeologists perceive expectations and how individuals prove they can endure, that they are tough enough. Our survey data demonstrate that women, noncisgendered, and entry-level archaeologists are the most vulnerable to negative experiences, that the pressure to push beyond one’s limits is universal, and that discrimination and harassment are factors increasingly considered by women as they decide whether to continue in the profession. We argue that many of these rules and social conditions are created and maintained inconspicuously through performative informality which is linked to the discipline’s culture of toughness. Through analysis of our quantitative survey results, we discuss how archaeology’s work culture shapes experiences in the industry and examine avenues for reform to promote equity in archaeology.

Taiwanese politics is often characterized as being dominated by two camps: the “blue” camp, which supports the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the “green” camp, which supports the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). However, a substantial portion of the electorate identifies as independent, representing one of the largest but least studied groups in Taiwan’s political landscape. This study examines how independent voters differed from partisan voters in their responses to one of the most defining political moments in recent years, the legislative reform, and the subsequent Bluebird movement, one of the largest social protests in Taiwan since 2014. Drawing on two waves of original survey data, we find that independents were more likely to adopt the KMT’s framing of the protests and related legislative reforms. However, independent voters had greater support than blue camp supporters for democratic practices, despite their alignment over the Bluebird movement. These findings advance understanding of Taiwan’s electoral blocs, the dynamics of movement–party relations and the contours of democratic support among its citizens.

The present three-wave longitudinal study tested two transdiagnostic mediators – anger and racism-related vigilance – of the link between racism and internalizing and externalizing problems. At Wave 1, the sample included 344 Mexican-origin adolescents (Mage = 13.5 years; 51.7% male, 45.9% female; 2.3% non-binary) residing in the Midwestern United States. Data across the three waves were collected from April 2021 through October 2024. The study examined how both direct and vicarious racism were related to internalizing and externalizing problems over time. Results from latent growth curve mediation analyses indicated that outward anger expression was a significant mediator; both direct and vicarious racism at Wave 1 were significantly associated with higher levels of anger at Wave 2, which in turn, were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 3. Racism-related vigilance was a significant mediator of the association between vicarious racism and internalizing problems only, according to results from post hoc sensitivity analyses. Implications for future theory, research, and clinical practice are discussed to help mitigate the effects of racism in new migration contexts for this vulnerable population.

Scholars have proposed integrating deliberative democracy processes and new technologies within party structures to address the legitimacy crisis of political parties. However, for established political groups, this is not an easy road to take. The paper delves into these issues by presenting the case study of Agorà Democratiche within the Italian Democratic Party (PD), the major center-left party in Italy. Agorà aimed to engage party members and like-minded citizens in shaping the party’s agenda through deliberative assemblies. This adoption by Agorà introduced a new form of political participation that led thousands of citizens to voice their opinions. However, it encountered several challenges. The paper argues that democratic innovations do not always yield the desired outcomes for political parties. Participatory and deliberative processes might be hard to implement in established political groups that are accustomed to old political schemas. More specifically, I pinpoint four main obstacles encountered by Agorà Democratiche: the ‘culture of verticality’ within the party, an unfavorable external context, the lack of institutionalization of the programme, and the ambiguous role played by technology. If not handled carefully, new technologies and deliberative processes can worsen the existing crisis within political parties by falling short of expectations and further undermining the organization’s credibility.

In ion adsorption rare earth element (REE) deposits, REE are adsorbed onto clay minerals. Previous experimental studies indicate that adsorption depends on the chemical and physical properties of the clay and on the pH and salinity of the solution. This work presents adsorption experiments using two natural, purified kaolins with contrasting particle sizes exposed to different ligands at low and high ionic strengths (I) and at different pH levels to assess their influence on the adsorption of REE onto kaolinite. The results reveal that: (1) REE adsorption is rapid; (2) water/dilute nitric acid experiments gave optimum adsorption; (3) high-I NaCl, Na2SO4 and NaHCO3 demonstrated the least adsorption; (4) REE and yttrium are more adsorbed onto kaolinite in water/dilute nitric acid at lower pH, but adsorption is higher at higher pH when NaCl is present; (5) high I allowed less adsorption; and (6) scandium and thorium are more effectively adsorbed than REE and yttrium. The data suggest inhibition of adsorption by complex ion formation in solution at high I, and in the presence of strongly binding ligands (Cl–, SO42–, CO32–). Adsorption induces no REE fraction for low-I solutions in nitric acid, whereas enhanced chloride complex formation for light REE results in the preferential adsorption of heavy REE. sulphate inhibits adsorption, and carbonate at low I inhibits light REE adsorption relative to heavy REE, whereas at high I kaolinite may dissolve. Low-crystallinity, weathering-derived kaolinite demonstrates an order of magnitude more adsorption than processed, hydrothermal kaolin as a result of its increased surface area and adsorption sites.

This study introduces a mission-centric design optimisation framework for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enhance mission performance across diverse operational scenarios. The proposed framework integrates multidisciplinary design optimisation with a wargaming-based simulation environment and leverages deep neural network-based surrogate models to balance key performance metrics, such as aerodynamic efficiency, radar cross section, structural weight and payload capacity. By incorporating automated task assignment, path planning and a probabilistic combat model, the framework evaluates UAV configurations in multi-domain, multi-asset scenarios. The algorithm identifies optimal solutions that maximise mission success while managing trade-offs among survivability, lethality and cost. Simulation results illustrate the framework’s functionality through representative mission scenarios, highlighting how design variables can influence operational effectiveness relative to baseline configurations. Furthermore, the modular design approach enables rapid UAV reconfiguration for evolving mission needs, offering scalable and adaptable solutions. These findings highlight the importance of integrating mission simulation tools with advanced optimisation techniques to address challenges in dynamic, high-threat environments, providing a robust methodology for UAV and fleet design.

On the Dual View, absolute and comparative welfare provide moral reasons to make individuals well off and better off. Given that dual reason-giving force, what reason does welfare provide overall? I explore two approaches. The Collective Approach first aggregates the absolute and comparative reasons separately before combining them at the collective level. However, it implies that, if an individual gains or loses enough welfare, we have reasons to create an unhappy rather than another happy individual. The Individual Approach combines the absolute and comparative reasons for each individual before aggregating across all individuals. It avoids the objection if comparative reasons mitigate but don’t outweigh absolute reasons. That, however, implies hypersensitivity and contradicts the prioritarian idea. We could also restrict comparative reasons, but only on pain of effectively abandoning the Dual View. Or we accept one half of the objection and adopt an asymmetry for comparative welfare to avoid the other half.

Studies on authorship in archaeology have revealed inequalities that influence interpretations of archaeological narratives. Like other countries with rich archaeological heritage, Guatemala has drawn a diverse pool of researchers for decades, owing to its renowned Maya heritage. This study examines how gender and nationality shape knowledge production in Guatemalan archaeology. We analyze publication trends in Guatemala’s most prominent publication venue, the memoirs of the annual archaeology symposium, and two international journals: Latin American Antiquity and Estudios de Cultura Maya. We also incorporate alumni data from Guatemalan universities and responses from an exploratory survey of 103 local archaeologists regarding occupations, identities, and perceptions of inequalities. Our study reveals that although Guatemalan archaeology has been characterized by relative gender parity, the dissemination of academic knowledge has been predominantly led by men, even during periods when there have been more female professional archaeologists. These disparities likely stem from several factors, including occupational variations, traditional gender-role expectations, and institutional barriers. While men have traditionally led the dissemination of academic knowledge, women have achieved leadership in other domains. This study highlights the current state of diversity in Guatemalan archaeology and serves as a first step toward building a more inclusive archaeological community.

Non-profits require highly motivated and professional employees to fulfill their potential to contribute to community development and well-being. But what motivates jobseekers to seek employment in non-profits over governmental organizations, and what makes non-profits more attractive than governmental organizations? Leveraging positive religious and spiritual development and self-determination theories, we theorize that spiritual and religious individuals are more likely to prefer working for non-profits over governmental organizations. This preference occurs because religious and spiritual individuals have stronger traits of self-sacrifice and compassion that motivate them to take a job that offers more non-material incentives than material incentives, leading to a preference for non-profits over governmental organizations. The serial mediation model identifies how compassion and self-sacrifice mediate the effects of spiritual intelligence and religiosity on job motivation; while job motivation mediates the effect of self-sacrifice and compassion on career preference and sector attractiveness. We validate our serial mediation-based conceptual framework based on responses from 306 job seekers in India. The results support our hypotheses, where individuals high on spirituality and religiosity prefer working in non-profits over governmental sector, owing to higher compassion, and self-sacrificing tendencies.