The travelling wave with the peaked profile is usually considered as a limit in the family of travelling waves with the smooth profiles. We study the linear and nonlinear stability of the peaked travelling wave by using a local model for shallow water waves, which is an extended version of the Hunter–Saxton equation. The evolution problem is well-defined in the function space $H^1_{\rm per} \cap W^{1,\infty}$, where we derive the linearised equations of motion and study the nonlinear evolution of co-periodic perturbations to the peaked periodic wave by using the method of characteristics. Within the linearised equations, we prove the spectral instability of the peaked travelling wave from the spectrum of the linearised operator in a Hilbert space, which completely covers the closed vertical strip with a specific half-width. Within the nonlinear equations, we prove the nonlinear instability of the peaked travelling wave by showing that the gradient of perturbations grows at the wave peak. By using numerical approximations of the smooth travelling waves and the spectrum of their associated linearised operator, we show that the spectral instability of the peaked travelling wave cannot be obtained as a limit in the family of the spectrally stable smooth travelling waves.

Large-scale disasters, particularly when handled poorly, often spark popular outrage and threaten an autocrat’s hold on power. Autocrats frequently employ blame-shifting strategies to redirect public anger and weather these storms. We examine whether blame shifting after a large-scale disaster helps or hurts an autocrat’s popularity through a mixed-methods research design in the electoral autocracy of Turkey in April–July 2023, following the February 2023 earthquakes. An online survey experiment (n = 3,839) identifies the effects of blaming the aftermath of the earthquakes on the opposition, a force majeure, private construction companies, or a government minister, while focus groups explore the mechanisms behind these effects. We find that blaming the opposition or a force majeure leads to a backlash, especially among those more able to critically evaluate information. Focus groups reveal that these backlash effects are driven by voters’ dismay at electoral opportunism and the incumbent’s polarizing language following a large-scale disaster.

Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type (ST) 36 is a rare sequence type in Sweden. During August–November 2024, 100 cases of Salmonella Typhimurium ST36 were reported nationwide. The highest proportions of cases were observed among individuals aged 0–10 years (17%) and 41–50 years (20%), with females representing 65% of the total cases. Microbiological analysis of the S. Typhimurium ST36 isolates identified nine clusters and five individual strains clustering within 53 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. A matched case–control study found cases to be associated with the consumption of alfalfa sprouts (adjusted odds ratio = 8.94, 95% CI: 2.96–27.1). Trace-back investigation identified seeds used by two alfalfa sprout producers in Sweden as the likely source of the outbreak, although microbiological analysis of sprouted alfalfa seeds from the producers did not detect Salmonella. However, continued international investigations further implicated seeds sourced from the same origin, supporting that alfalfa seeds were the ultimate source of the Swedish outbreak. Our investigation and findings indicate that alfalfa sprouts may contain Salmonella and thus pose a health risk to consumers. We emphasize the need for primary producers of alfalfa seeds and sprouts to identify and prevent possible contamination points.

An avenue for the progress of areal linguistics in South America is the investigation of the geographical distribution of specific features, such as the expression of sociative causation. Sociative causation is a particular type of causation where the causer not only makes the causee do an action but also participates in it (Shibatani & Pardeshi, 2002). Guillaume & Rose (2010) hypothesize that dedicated sociative causative markers are an areal feature of South America, in particular western South America. The aim of the present paper is to reassess the spatial distribution of these markers based on a large worldwide sample of 325 languages. The results show that dedicated sociative causative markers are significantly more frequent in South America compared to the rest of the world.

By considering real-life cases of epistemic reparations (Lackey 2022), such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in Canada, I identify and characterize a form of epistemic injustice that I call “collective amnesia.” I distinguish this phenomenon from other recognized forms of epistemic injustice and argue that collective amnesia specifically leads to primary and secondary epistemic harms in the form of distorted representations of a community’s past, preventing an even broader epistemic community from gaining adequate knowledge of its past and present identities. More precisely, I argue that collective amnesia arises as an interplay of negative hermeneutical injustices, whereby conceptual tools are lacking (Fricker, 2007), and “positive” hermeneutical injustices, whereby the positive presence of distorting and oppressive concepts defeats or prevents the application of more adequate concepts or narratives (Falbo, 2022). In addition, I address and respond to four objections. The first two objections allow me to identify two necessary conditions under which instances of collective forgetting are morally relevant and thus may count as instances of collective amnesia as an epistemic injustice: they must be partly agential, whether on the part of individuals or structures, and due to hermeneutical marginalization. The last two objections enable me to precisely define the scope of this epistemic injustice.

‡Between 2020 and 2022, China’s digital platform sector underwent a substantial regulatory shift, marking a clear departure from the previously lenient approach toward digital platform firms. While much of the existing research has focused on external factors—such as the unchecked growth of tech giants, the Chinese Communist Party’s goal of “common prosperity,” and the U.S.–China rivalry—this paper highlights internal institutional changes that facilitated this regulatory transformation. Specifically, it explores how the 2018 bureaucratic restructuring within China’s regulatory apparatus fostered “domain-specific centralization,” concentrating regulatory power within agencies overseeing key domains such as financial regulation, antitrust, and data security. It argues that such centralization reduced regulatory overlaps and gaps, allowing the state to control major digital platforms more directly. Using case studies of Ant Group’s suspended initial public offering, Alibaba’s antitrust fine, and Didi’s data security investigation, this paper shows how variations in centralization across domains shaped regulatory outcomes. The findings provide new insights into China’s evolving regulatory governance and offer broader implications for the relationship between the state and business in the digital economy.

This study examined how word identification is influenced by interword spacing and morphological complexity in Thai, a script without interword spacing. While previous research supported the facilitative effect of interword spacing on Thai word identification, they did not account for the potential effects of the words’ morphological structure. The challenge of word identification becomes more pronounced when readers have to identify compound words (e.g., bathroom) when reading sentences without interword spacing. In an eye-tracking experiment that manipulated interword spacing (unspaced, spaced) and noun type (bimorphemic compound, monomorphemic) in Thai sentences, we confirmed previous findings that interword spacing has a facilitative effect on word identification, as evidenced by shorter first fixation duration, gaze duration and total fixation time. Furthermore, we observed an interaction effect indicating that interword spacing had a larger facilitative effect on the identification of compounds compared to monomorphemic words. Our results also revealed that the morphological structure of Thai words can influence saccadic movements, e.g., the first fixation landing position was closer to the beginning of compounds than to simple words. We suggest that the orthography-language interface, a language-specific feature, should be considered a major component in eye movement models of reading.

An experimental study of the equation of state for metallic powders under impact loading was carried out at a high-energy laser facility. A laser-ablatable micro-target was obtained to satisfy the laser equation of state for experimental study, and the precise characterization of the initial density was realized. The technique boosts the pressure of copper powder to 1400 GPa. The data consistency can effectively distinguish the data trends under different initial densities (~4.05 and 4.50 g/cm3). Experimental data can effectively distinguish the differences between the high-pressure Thomas–Fermi model and the Thomas–Fermi–Kirzhnits model, providing strong support for the WEOS-Pα model of the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, which is more in line with the actual state description of the material. This experimental technique can be extended to study the high-pressure physical properties of other powder particles.

We investigated how the presence of linguistic labels, their iconicity and mode of presentation (cued vs not cued) affect non-linguistic cognitive processing, focussing on the learning and visual discrimination of new categories. Novel species of aliens that mimicked natural categories were paired with iconic labels, non-iconic labels or no labels across two tasks. In the Training task participants learnt to categorise the aliens, with results showing that both labels and iconicity improved categorisation. We then used a Match to Sample task to test how these variables affect rapid visual discrimination. Results showed that the presence of labels, their iconicity and label cueing all lead to more rapid and accurate visual discrimination of newly acquired categories. We argue that this is due to iconicity exaggerating sensory expectations provided by linguistic labels, made more readily accessible by cueing. We also examine the possible implications of our results for the discussion about language evolution.

The research of many decades by behavioral economists and psychologists has shown that the standard rationality axioms do not describe how individuals actually behave in many circumstances. Nevertheless, behavioral economists still argue for the normative character of the axioms: they describe how individuals should behave. Violations of the axioms are red flags for some type of pathology. This article argues that the history of the axiomatic approach in economics does not lend support to the normative case. Furthermore, it is argued analytically that the rationality axioms are vacuous. The attribution of irrationality to behavior can only be accomplished by reference of a more inclusive idea of rationality. The axioms are too thin and misleading. They do not have policy significance.

Low take-up of government services continues to challenge public investments in social services. Behaviorally informed interventions, so-called nudges, can overcome barriers that keep eligible individuals from accessing services. We report results from a pre-registered randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test email-based interventions to increase the take-up of publicly funded employment services in British Columbia, Canada. Our RCT design distinguishes between getting people ‘to-the-door’ (awareness and interest) and ‘through-the-door’ (enrollment). We find that emails with concise information that route individuals directly to online enrollment are most effective. The best-performing interventions more than doubled enrollment within 14 days, relative to a control group that received no communication. Using machine learning identify subgroups within the population who benefit most from our interventions. Yet despite these positive effects on take-up, we find that converting expressions of interest into enrollments remains a challenge. To increase take-up, policymakers must identify the nature of the challenge: getting people to-the-door or through-the-door. We also contribute to current debates about the quality of public service delivery.

Consistent with many countries in the region, the Republic of Guatemala likely has a high level of mental health need. However, with high poverty rates and workforce deficits, Guatemala faces challenges in providing accessible mental healthcare across the nation. We describe examples of interventions that have been developed to reduce this mental health gap by addressing the existing barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Within this country profile, we identify further opportunities, such as future mental health legislation, to improve access to services across the human lifespan, especially for at-risk and underserved communities.