The knowledge of the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) approach implies Health in All Policies and thorough cultural and social transformations, as well as whole-of-government, whole-of-society policies and governance to address health inequities. Nonetheless, this article argues that in the currently dominant rational decision-making model in health policymaking, these policy implications from the knowledge of the SDH approach would lead to an intrinsic contradiction with the logic of modern bureaucracy based on the legal authority as suggested by Max Weber. Using two examples of social determinants of health — universal health coverage and housing issues — this article demonstrates the potential of the polis model proposed by Deborah Stone to take advantage of the knowledge of the SDH approach to pursue structural policy interventions.

This methodological study investigated how the distribution of training sessions—massed, equal spacing, and expanding spacing—affects L2 phonetic learning, focusing on Mandarin-speaking learners’ perception of the English /ɛ/–/æ/ contrast. While most previous phonetic training studies have used massed schedules, the current quasi-experimental design revealed that both types of spaced practice significantly outperformed massed practice in terms of immediate gains and long-term retention. Effect sizes in the spaced groups were approximately double those of the massed group. No significant differences emerged between equal and expanding spacing. These findings suggest that distributed practice—regardless of spacing type—can enhance both the magnitude and durability of L2 phonetic learning. Crucially, this study makes it possible to revisit past findings based on massed training paradigms and to consider whether adopting alternative timing schedules could unlock greater learning potential—for instance, by doubling the size and durability of training effects through the use of spaced conditions.

Several studies have been published studying association between parental low birth weight (BW) and neonatal outcomes of their children. To date no systematic review and meta-analysis (SRM) has been published to quantify the impact of maternal and paternal BW on outcomes in the next generation. The aim of this SRM was to analyse the association between parental BW and anthropometric and metabolic outcomes in their children.

Electronic databases were searched for studies documenting BW of parents and children with neonatal outcomes. Primary outcome was to evaluate impact of parental BW on occurrence of LBW in children. Secondary outcomes were to assess impact of parental BW on occurrence of macrosomia, small for gestational age (SGA), preterm labour/delivery, and burden of non-communicable disease in later life.

We screened 54,961 articles, data from 14 studies (320,515 parent–child pairs), which fulfilled all criteria, were analysed. Maternal LBW was associated with higher chances of neonatal LBW [odds ratio (OR)1.95 (95% CI:1.56–2.46); P < 0.01; I2 = 91%], neonatal SGA [OR 2.29(95% CI:1.72–3.05); P < 0.01; I2 = 37%], lower chances of neonatal macrosomia [OR 0.50 (95% CI:0.39–0.65); P < 0.01; I2 = 35%] and had no impact on preterm labour/delivery [OR1.20(95% CI:0.67–2.16); P = 0.53; I2 = 88%]. Maternal macrosomia was associated with higher neonatal macrosomia [OR 2.66 (95% CI:2.44–3.16); P < 0.01; I2 = 48%], lower SGA [OR 0.40(95% CI:0.29–0.53); P < 0.01; I2 = 0%] and preterm labour/delivery [OR 0.77 (95% CI:0.63–0.94); P < 0.01; I2 = 4%]. Paternal but not maternal LBW was predictor of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in adulthood.

Maternal LBW is an important predictor of LBW and SGA in neonates. Maternal macrosomia is an important predictor of neonatal macrosomia; is protective against SGA and preterm labour/childbirth. Neonatal size of parents is reflected in neonatal size of their children.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists was established in 1971 with psychiatric training as its core business. Drawing on a feature written by a former president in 2000, this editorial is a reflection on how his predictions played out in the real-life practice of psychiatry and the suggested way forward.

Political parties in Europe are undergoing profound transformations, with many abandoning traditional brands. This study analyzes party names as indicators of ideological and organizational change, combining an original content analysis across 28 European countries (1945–2023) with two conjoint survey experiments. We find that “nonparty” names have become the majority, reflecting a shift away from ideology toward alternative forms of identification. While movement names appear in wavelike patterns linked to protest cycles, such as after the 2008 Great Recession, nonclassical names are especially prevalent among new, opposition, and right-wing parties. However, a paradox emerges: despite their growing adoption, nonclassical names do not easily yield the anticipated electoral benefits, as new parties seem to gain little from abandoning classical naming conventions. By tracing long-term naming trends and integrating survey-based experimental evidence, we advance debates on party transformation, political branding, and the evolving interplay between electoral and movement politics in contemporary democracies.

Medical prescriptions from ancient Mesopotamia occasionally provide instructions for patients to seek out the sanctuaries of deities in order to gain good fortune. Though these statements have been discussed since the 1960s, their exact function in the healing process remains unclear. The recent discovery of additional related symptom descriptions provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the function of seeking out places of worship in ancient medical therapy. This article collects and examines relevant prescriptions to contextualise and incorporate them properly into our reconstruction of medicine in the first millennium B.C.E. By analysing the terminology employed, particularly the word aširtu, referring to a place of worship, as well as the phrase dumqu/damiqtu amāru “to see good fortune”, indicating that seeking out places of worship could alter a patient’s fortune, the paper proposes that such instructions were intended to circumvent inauspicious days for healing. Alternatively, the visits may have granted the patient auspicious omens for diagnostic-prognostic purposes. Finally, the article discusses the context of the individual manuscripts to assign the practice of their contents to the two primary medical professions, namely the asû and āšipu.

In this article, we evaluate (a) which major life events (MLEs) in the personal domain (relocation, new friendship, romantic relationship, marriage, parenthood, and grandparenthood) impact on perceived linguistic change among 309 Austrians, and (b) which quantitatively and qualitatively captured individual differences affect this relationship. Bayesian regression modeling revealed that age at the time of the MLE and proficiency in (non)standard varieties were particularly predictive of individual-level perceived linguistic change, as were psychological factors such as event-related characteristics and psychological resilience. Qualitative analyses focusing on whether individuals reported an MLE-related strengthened orientation towards vernacularity or standard language illustrated that individual-level perceived linguistic change was mediated by a complex constellation of MLE-resultant changes in social networks and socioaffective factors.*

Preserving viable infective stages of chicken ascarids under laboratory conditions facilitates the maintenance of characterized nematode strains for research purposes. We investigated the survivability of Ascaridia galli eggs exposed to low temperatures and the cryoprotectant dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Two egg developmental stages (unembryonated or fully embryonated) were stored at 4°C, –20°, or –80°C in sterile water or with 5% and 10% DMSO for 1, 2, 4, or 8 weeks. Egg survival was assessed by morphology following post-storage incubation in 0.1 N H2SO4 at 26°C for unembryonated eggs or with a viability dye exclusion test of hatched larvae for the embryonated eggs. The results revealed that neither DMSO nor the hardy chitinous eggshell protected eggs from freezing damage, and not a single egg survived even for 1 week of storage at –20° or –80°C. DMSO at 10% significantly reduced (P < 0.0001) overall egg survival and embryonation capacity with increasing storage time at 4°C compared to water alone. For both egg developmental stages, egg survival was maintained in 5% DMSO at a rate similar to that in water alone. Unembryonated A. galli eggs survived refrigeration better than embryonated eggs with larval viability declining linearly at almost a double rate in the latter (9.75%/week) compared to the former (5.64 %/week). We conclude that DMSO is unlikely to provide cryoprotection for A. galli eggs and also causes concentration-dependent toxicity with increasing exposure time. Furthermore, survival during refrigeration is better for unembryonated than embryonated eggs.

This article furthers our understanding of commercial fishing on the lower Tiber during the Republic and Principate, arguing for a robust industry in the center of Rome. Literary references to the lupus fish and a fishing site “between the bridges” direct attention to the area of the river around the Cloaca Maxima and Tiber Island. Situating intensive fishing there requires reconciliation with other commercial uses of the river, a common-pool resource shared by users with divergent and competing needs. Epigraphic evidence offers insight into professional associations and attendant relationships that were leveraged in favor of the interests of both fishermen and barge operators. I contend that two separate navigation zones existed, to the north and to the south of Tiber Island, and that transport barges venturing inland from Ostia did not navigate beyond Rome’s southern wharves. This system enabled fishing and barge traffic to coexist, protecting numerous interests and allowing for the unimpeded transportation of goods.

The results of the taxonomic, taphonomic, and paleoecological analyses of Late Pleistocene micromammals from the Salto de Piedra paleontological locality are presented in this paper. Our results support the conclusion that the microfaunal remains were mainly accumulated by diurnal raptors in areas close to where the remains were deposited, as there is no evidence of transport. Taxonomically, the recovered micromammals include rodents currently inhabiting the Humid Pampa (Calomys cf. C. musculinus-laucha, Ctenomys sp., and Reithrodon auritus) and species that became extinct during the Late Pleistocene (Microcavia cf. M. robusta) and Holocene (Galea tixiensis). Additionally, remains of the Patagonian marsupial Lestodelphys halli and the amphibious sigmodontine Holochilus brasiliensis were identified. These analyses, along with the paleoecological and malacological studies at Salto de Piedra, confirm a trend toward increased humidity, consistent with the paleoenvironmental evidence documented for the region at the end of the Pleistocene. This study of the central Humid Pampa based on this small mammal record is of particular interest for interpreting the paleoenvironmental and paleoecological scenario, coinciding with the arrival of the first humans in the area and the extinction of the megafauna.

In 2004, Herzog, Hibi, and Zheng proved that a quadratic monomial ideal has a linear resolution if and only if all its powers have a linear resolution. We study a generalization of this result for square-free monomial ideals arising from facet ideals of a simplicial tree. We give a complete characterization of simplicial trees for which all powers of their facet ideal have a linear resolution. We compute the regularity of t-path ideals of rooted trees. In addition, we study the regularity of powers of t-path ideals of rooted trees. We pose a regularity upper bound conjecture for facet ideals of simplicial trees, which is as follows: if $\Delta $ is a d-dimensional simplicial tree connected in codimension one, then reg$(I(\Delta )^s) \leq (d+1)(s-1)~+$ reg$(I(\Delta ))$ for all $s \geq 1$. We prove this conjecture for some special classes of simplicial trees.

This study aims to illuminate the underlying mechanisms of sentence processing in L2 speakers. The phenomenon of interest in the study is the passive structure, which prior research has shown can be challenging for both L1 speakers and L2 speakers to process compared to active structures. Using a visual-world eye-tracking paradigm, this study investigates whether L1-English speakers and L1-Cantonese L2-English speakers employ a morphological cue within the verb to process English actives and passives, and if so, specifically when these cues are integrated into their processing. The results from a growth curve analysis and a divergence point analysis show that the L2-English speakers were slower than the L1-English speakers, but did use the morphological cue to process both actives and passives, even though this cue is absent in their L1 Cantonese. These results suggest that, despite differences in processing speed, the mechanisms underlying L1 and L2 processing are similar.

This paper presents excavation results from Nyabusora, northern Tanzania, conducted by M. Posnansky and W.W. Bishop (1959) and M. Posnansky (1961). Only preliminary reports have previously been published. It synthesises the site’s history, incorporating previously unpublished analyses and information from Posnansky’s original field notes, and presents new 2014 field survey results and new archival research. Nyabusora holds particular significance as the only Early to Middle Stone Age (ESA/MSA) site in the region to have yielded both lithic and faunal remains, which gain new relevance in light of recent developments in ESA/MSA archaeology in eastern Africa. Nyabusora’s ‘Sangoan’ lithic assemblage is now largely decontextualised and associated finds have been lost, so this study presents the only available lithic and faunal analyses, alongside interpretations of the stratigraphic sequence and site. Such stratified assemblages are exceptionally rare and are generally attributed to the Middle Pleistocene. This research enhances understanding of Plio-Pleistocene landscape evolution in the Kagera River and western Lake Victoria-Nyanza Basin. It contributes important new data on ESA/MSA lithic variability and, via ongoing investigations by Basell within the Kagera catchment, offers huge potential for clarifying Middle Pleistocene palaeoenvironments.

Demand currently greatly outweighs supply in teenage mental health, with statutory services and the third sector struggling to cope with the number of referrals. There is increasing interest in the possibility of using schools to provide mental health interventions. This pilot study looked at the feasibility of developing a version of an existing evidence-based transdiagnostic large-class didactic approach widely used in NHS adult services – ‘Stress Control’ – for use with teenagers as a universal early intervention/prevention approach taught by teachers within the Personal and Social Education (PSE) curriculum in a high school in a highly deprived area. PSE teachers were trained, over five hours, to deliver each of the eight sessions in single weekly periods. Measures of anxiety and depression (RCADS) and wellbeing (WEMBWS) were administered at pre- and post-intervention and at 9-month follow-up. Results suggest that teachers reported few problems in delivering the approach, seen as relevant by pupils and showed significant reduction in anxiety and depression and significant gains in wellbeing at post-intervention. These gains were maintained at 9-month follow-up. There appears to be potential in this model. One of its strengths appears to be the positive collaboration between the psychologist, teachers and pupils, which resulted in changes being made to the original model. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are given.

We introduce a natural weighted enumeration of lattice points in a polytope, and give a Brion-type formula for the corresponding generating function. The weighting has combinatorial significance, and its generating function may be viewed as a generalization of the Rogers–Szegő polynomials. It also arises from the geometry of the toric arc scheme associated to the normal fan of the polytope. We show that the asymptotic behaviour of thecoefficients at $q=1$ is Gaussian.

In this paper we are concerned with susceptible–infected–removed (SIR) epidemics with vertex-dependent recovery and infection rates on complete graphs. We show that the hydrodynamic limit of our model is driven by a nonlinear function-valued ordinary differential equation consistent with a mean-field analysis. We further show that the fluctuation of our process is driven by a generalized Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. A key step in the proofs of the main results is to show that states of different vertices are approximately independent as the population $N\rightarrow+\infty$.