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Previous research on the underpinnings of support for conspiracy theories has explored the role of both generalized trust and political trust, but scholars have yet to explore whether both generalized and political anxiety are related to support for conspiracy theories. While studies have shown that general measures of anxiety predict support for conspiracy theories, researchers have not yet devoted much attention to understanding whether feelings of political anxiety are also related to conspiracy theory endorsement. Using data from an original survey fielded in 2023 that includes a measure of generalized anxiety and an eight-item measure that specifically captures political anxiety, we find that political anxiety is not related to conspiracy theory support, and that generalized anxiety is weakly related to conspiracy theory support. Thus, although there are good reasons to be concerned about the ill effects of political anxiety, it does not appear to be strongly related to conspiracy theory endorsement.
Dehydration, assessed by urine and blood evaluation, is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). The association between water deficit, as determined by a dietary assessment, and CKD prevalence is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify this association among adults in the USA. This cross-sectional study included the data of 9332 participants aged 18 years or older from the 2009–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Water turnover was calculated using an equation developed by the International Doubly Labelled Water Database Group. Total water intake was assessed by 24-h dietary recall on ≥ 1 d. Water deficit was defined as the ratio of water intake to water turnover. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min/1·73 m2, calculated by the 2021 CKD Epidemiology formula. OR for CKD prevalence were calculated using multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models. The mean daily water intake, turnover and deficit were 2799 ml, 3290 ml and –15 %, respectively. CKD prevalence was 6·3 %. After adjusting for lifestyle and urine and serum osmolality, the fourth water deficit quartile was inversely associated with CKD prevalence when compared with the first quartile (OR, 0·71; 95 % CI, 0·51, 0·98). In the spline analysis, the water deficit at which the OR for CKD prevalence plateaued was approximately –30 % to 0 %. Water deficit had an L-shaped association with CKD prevalence independent of urine and serum osmolality, highlighting the importance of assessing water intake relative to dietary needs. These findings may assist the development of water requirements.
We use particle-based simulation to study the rheology of dense suspensions comprising mixtures of small colloids and larger grains subject to contact, lubrication and Brownian forces. These suspensions exhibit shear thinning at low shear rates and shear thickening at high shear rates. By systematically varying the volume fraction of the two species, we demonstrate a monotonic increase in viscosity when grains are added to colloids, but, conversely, a non-monotonic response in both the viscosity and shear-thickening onset when colloids are added to grains. Both effects are most prominent at intermediate shear rates where diffusion and convection play similar roles in the dynamics. We rationalise these results by measuring the maximum flowable volume fraction as functions of the Péclet number and composition, showing that in extreme cases increasing the solids content can disrupt grain contacts and thus allow a jammed suspension to flow. These results establish a constitutive description for the rheology of bidisperse suspensions across the colloidal-to-granular transition, with implications for flow prediction and control in multicomponent particulate systems.
Authenticity has been a central concept in sociolinguistics and in the study of literary representations of dialect. This article examines the ideology of dialect authenticity in the context of literary fiction from the point of view of language users. Two Finnish reading groups comprising members with different dialect backgrounds read one Finnish novel, in which the Far Northern dialects of Finnish are represented in a partly unconventional manner. Thematic analysis was applied to two video-recorded reading group discussions to investigate how the groups discuss the novel’s dialect representation and its (in)authenticity. The analysis revealed that instead of adhering to a static and essentialist ideal of authenticity, the readers overlooked the unconventional representation of literary dialect and viewed authenticity as a dynamic process. The study contributes to theoretical discussions on dialect authenticity and employs an experimental approach to exploring language ideologies through reading groups.
This article explores the patriotic war bonds of the Second Polish Republic, which were sold both domestically and to the diaspora in the United States, during Poland’s border conflicts of 1918–21. It reveals how government and grassroots initiatives converged to mobilise diverse constituencies in Poland, including ethnic minorities, women and the poor. In the United States, these efforts were also marked by tensions between patriotism and professionalism in fundraising for a nationalist cause. It finds commonalities between the Polish war bonds and those of the Great War, in particular the US Liberty Loans. However, for Poland, the article argues, the bonds were not merely financial instruments but also vehicles through which the Second Polish Republic performed its newfound sovereignty, seeking popular recognition at home and abroad.
This article deals with the class of existentially closed models of fields with a distinguished submodule (over a fixed subring). In the positive characteristic case, this class is elementary and was investigated by the first-named author. Here we study this class in Robinson’s logic, meaning the category of existentially closed models with embeddings following Haykazyan and Kirby, and prove that in this context this class is NSOP$_1$ and TP$_2$.
Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), defined as worry about cancer progression or return, is a common concern among patients and survivors. This study aims to identify factors influencing the onset of FCR and to evaluate its impact on emotional distress and quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing systemic cancer treatment.
Methods
A sample of 175 patients undergoing systemic cancer treatment completed self-report questionnaires assessing socio-demographics, clinical factors and fear of cancer recurrence, anxiety, depression and QoL (FCRI, HADS, EORTC-QLQ-C30).
Results
Data analysis using linear and generalized linear models revealed that FCR is inversely associated with QoL and positively correlated with anxiety and depression. These associations were independent of socio-demographic and clinical variables, with anxiety and depression fully mediating the FCR-QoL relationship. Gender and time since diagnosis emerged as significant predictors, with an increase in FCR at 12 months post-diagnosis.
Significance of the results
Our results indicate that FCR, anxiety and depression linked, are present after several months post-diagnosis, suggesting that FCR tends to intensify over time. These findings carry important psychological implications, highlighting the need to support patients in recognizing and managing their fear and emotional distress. Implementing a psychoeducational counseling approximately six months after diagnosis – engaging oncologists, psycho-oncologists, and patients within a “stepped-care” framework – may be effective in mitigating FCR and its emotional consequences.
Poikilothermic and short-lived drifter species such as zooplankton are highly responsive to climate-driven changes and frontal systems in the Southern Ocean. To understand these changes, ongoing assessment of zooplankton is essential. Changes in abundance, biomass and species composition of zooplankton in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean were assessed during the austral summer of 2022/2023 using a ring net that was towed obliquely from an average depth of 200 m to the surface. Thirty-six zooplankton taxa were identified at seven stations, with copepods constituting 64% of the population across 23 species. Zooplankton abundance and biomass were higher in Transect 2 (60–64°S) compared to Transect 1 (50–54°S). A cluster analysis revealed four zooplankton community groups. Notably, the distribution patterns of non-copepod taxa appeared to be influenced by diel vertical migration behaviour, which was closely tied to seasonal dynamics and the timing of sampling. This study improves our understanding of how different oceanographical fronts and behavioural patterns shape zooplankton communities in the Southern Ocean, emphasizing the need for improved sampling to include smaller zooplankton species and to better resolve temporal dynamics.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibits significant heterogeneity in treatment responses, necessitating multiple pharmacological trials to achieve therapeutic success. Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing has emerged as a promising tool to personalize antidepressant (AD) treatments, though its clinical utility remains controversial.
Methods
This study assessed the efficacy of PGx-guided treatment in improving clinical outcomes among 287 MDD patients within the PANDORA trial, a prospective randomized, participant- and rater-blinded, controlled trial conducted in Italy. A total of 268 adults with moderate-to-severe MDD were randomized into Treated as Usual (TAU) or Treated with Genetic Test Guide (TGTG). Patients were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory, MINI-ICF-APP for psychosocial functioning, and the UKU Side Effects Rating Scale, at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks.
Results
Both groups demonstrated significant symptom improvement over the 12-week period. No significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of response and remission rates, measured by HAM-D17 and BDI-II, at weeks 8 and 12. Notably, in the BDI-II symptom cluster analysis, significant differences were found only in neurovegetative symptoms, with TGTG patients showing greater improvement at the 4-week and 8-week follow-up visits. Among patients with severe baseline symptoms, those in the TGTG group exhibited greater symptom reduction and higher response rates at week 8.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that while PGx testing did not significantly improve overall treatment efficacy in MDD compared to TAU, it may offer benefits in managing patients with severe symptoms and specific symptom domains.
In ADHD a common obstacle of academic success is impaired reading comprehension. Impaired comprehension in ADHD is accompanied by altered eye movements during reading as well as more general eye movement deficits associated with non-verbal stimuli. This suggests that the reading deficits do not cause the eye movement impairment. Instead, eye movements might contribute to reading comprehension difficulties.
Methods:
We tested whether minimizing the need for eye movements during reading aids comprehension. We measured reading comprehension in a sample of undergraduate students with and without ADHD. Students read short paragraphs using normal text reading with all words fully visible (FULL), PACED reading that preserved text layout with one word at a time appearing at its usual location in the text, and reading with minimal eye movements in which one word at a time appeared in the center of the screen in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP).
Results:
ADHD participants performed better in the RSVP condition relative to the other two reading conditions that required eye movements, and they benefited from the RSVP condition requiring minimal eye movements by almost 13% relative to neurotypical controls, who showed comprehension difficulties using the RSVP mode.
Conclusions:
Minimizing eye movement boosted reading comprehension in the ADHD suggesting that eye movements are implicated in reading processes in ADHD, an interference that can be avoided in the RSVP reading condition. Future work should explore the possibility of RSVP as a reading aid in ADHD adults and potentially school-aged children.
Violent variability, such as flaring activity, of planet-hosting stars is known to strongly affect prebiotic processes on their planets; therefore, its role in such processes is being extensively studied nowadays. On the contrary, the role of regular variability, such as variability of pulsating stars, has yet been unexplored. In this article, we investigate how large-amplitude variability of pulsating stars may affect the prebiotic evolution on their planets. We show that the RR Lyr type variables are particularly relevant because their lightcurves possess amplitudes, periods, and time profiles that are potentially most suitable to drive prebiotic reactions.
This review aims to highlight some of the key bioactive functionalities that a range of components in milk can potentially make to reduce risks to health at key life stages. Such functionalities cannot be adequately explained by traditional estimates of nutrient supply. The benefits of gangliosides from the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) for neonatal neurodevelopment are examined along with milk proteins for growth stimulation of children via the proteins’ ability to stimulate insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Exosomes in bovine milk and their miRNA are bioavailable, with an animal study indicating that placenta development and embryo survival were both enhanced. Concerning bone health, the unique characteristics of the casein micelle for supplying Ca, P and Mg to the GI tract were considered. The so-called dairy food matrix and the hypotensive effect of some peptides from milk proteins may be compensatory factors for SFA regarding CVD risk. The recent rise in use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for adiposity reduction and improving glycaemic control is noted alongside evidence that milk proteins can stimulate GLP-1 synthesis potentially reducing GLP-1 receptor agonist need in high milk protein consumers. Other functionality included the ability of whey proteins to stimulate synthesis of skeletal muscle protein, crucial for bone protection and glycaemic control and the role of milk/Ca for reducing colorectal cancer risk. Perhaps the most exciting functionality is that of polar phospholipids in the MFGM potentially improving cognition and reducing the risk of dementia in the elderly. Clearly more human studies are needed.
We use negative durability shocks from vehicle discontinuations to study asset-backed lending and income-based lending (IBL) in auto finance. Discontinuations lead to increased down payments, higher loan-to-value ratios, and larger post-default personal recoveries. These results all indicate that economically disadvantaged consumers are relatively more reliant on unsecured IBL, in stark contrast to corporate financing patterns. Vehicle recoveries on discontinued cars are lower for borrowers who purchase after discontinuations, implying that depreciation is partially borrower-dependent. Our findings suggest that lower-income borrowers, in particular, benefit from technologies that facilitate IBL, such as income monitoring.
The long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) are beneficial for health. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of worldwide dietary recommendations for LC n-3PUFA across life-stages for general healthy populations from technical and scientific documents (TSD) that underpin food based dietary guidelines (FBDG) or TSD from expert groups. Using the Food and Agriculture Organization global online repository of FBDG and structured Google searches, forty-two TSD were identified for inclusion. Seventy-one percent of TSD included quantitative dietary intake recommendations which varied widely across life-stages with gaps for some groups, 62% included health messages related to LC n-3PUFA consumption, 33% discussed supplementation and 29% gave guidance on high intakes. The most frequently recommended intakes for adults were 250 mg/day EPA + DHA and 250 mg/day EPA + DHA plus an additional 100–200 mg/day DHA in pregnancy. This overview is useful for nutrition science, medical, industry and consumer communities since it identifies the recommendations available and the gaps of interest to national or international groups wishing to set dietary intake recommendations for LC n-3PUFA. Low dietary intake of LC n-3PUFA from seafood is a risk factor for suboptimal health. Intake recommendations can be challenging to achieve. Most countries for which data are available show that LC n-3PUFA intakes fail to meet recommended targets, highlighting the need for accessible, innovative, sustainable alternative EPA + DHA sources e.g. bio-enriched foods and supplements to support higher population intakes, LC n-3PUFA status and health benefits.
This study examines the elicited production of Spanish infinitives versus gerunds among Spanish/English bilingual children and adolescents in the United States. We focus on three contexts: infinitives in subject position, infinitives with the phrasal verb parar de (“to stop doing something”), and infinitives with the prepositional verb parar a (“to stop to do something”). Results showed that children and adolescents produced fewer infinitives than their Spanish-dominant parents in subject position and with parar de, often overextending the gerund. By contrast, all groups performed more accurately with parar a, where English and Spanish align structurally. Language dominance and Spanish experience significantly predicted more target-like infinitive use, while chronological age and English dominance were associated with increased gerund overextension. These findings support the Bilingual Alignment Hypothesis, showing that heritage Spanish morphosyntactic development is gradual and context-sensitive, with greater accuracy in areas of crosslinguistic convergence.
Use-wear analysis is rarely conducted for ground stone axes (GSAs) from West Africa. Here, the results of use-wear analysis of 50 GSAs from Akwanga and other parts of Central Nigeria are discussed, contributing to our understanding of their functional attributes.
With this paper, we aim to bring the history of the rural landscapes and communities of the ancient (‘Classical’) Mediterranean back into the limelight, drawing attention to their contributions to and pivotal roles within the multifaceted structural transformations of the Mediterranean in the first millennium bce. To do so, we focus on two case studies from one particular region that looms large amongst those heavily exploited by ancient colonial powers: the island of Sardinia. In chronological terms, our focus is on the so-called Punic and Roman periods, roughly spanning between the fifth century bce and the fifth century ce. Long overlooked, if not outright dismissed, in conventional accounts of the ancient Mediterranean, the rural communities of Punic-Roman Sardinia were not only vital economic producers, but also formed large and culturally distinct social groups. They actively maintained their own traditions, ways of living and practices in the face of the ruling classes’ disruptive initiatives. Their actions to shape their identity and history resonate closely with the theory of the ‘history of subaltern groups’ formulated in Antonio Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks, particularly Notebook 25. We draw upon a semiotic understanding of Gramsci’s notion of subalternity to strengthen archaeology’s ability to foreground the materiality of those communities unaccounted for by history. Our goal is to discuss comparatively the material signs of rural life of Punic and Roman-period Sardinia, to outline an alternative decolonial perspective on the island and to consider its implications for the wider ancient Mediterranean.
The presence of insects in hospital environments poses a potential risk for the dissemination of pathogenic bacteria, including multidrug-resistant species. Despite strict sanitation protocols, some arthropod populations persist in less regulated areas, potentially acting as mechanical vectors of bacterial contamination.
Objectives:
This study aimed to analyze the bacterial diversity associated with insects collected in hospital settings and assess their potential role in spreading pathogens relevant to public health.
Methods:
A descriptive observational approach was employed to identify and classify bacterial taxa associated with hospital-collected insects. High-throughput sequencing was used for taxonomic classification at the phylum, family, and genus levels.
Results:
Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum, additionally we found families such as Moraxellaceae and Mycobacteriaceae, known to include clinically relevant species. The genera Acinetobacter and Mycobacterium were particularly abundant in some samples, raising concerns about their potential role in nosocomial infections. Other identified bacteria included Pseudomonas, Escherichia, and Shigella, albeit at lower frequencies. The persistence of these bacteria in hospital environments suggests that insects may contribute to their dissemination.
Conclusions:
The findings highlight the need for enhanced arthropod control measures in healthcare facilities as part of routine biosecurity protocols. The presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria associated with hospital-dwelling insects reinforces their role in pathogen transmission, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive vector management strategies to mitigate nosocomial infection risks.