In his new book Beyond the Law’s Reach? Shmuel Nili shows how affluent democracies have become entangled with violent autocratic regimes and brutal international cartels, and have thereby become complicit in serious global injustices. This essay asks who bears responsibility for this complicity. It argues that citizens of affluent democratic societies often share responsibility for their own government’s unjust entanglements and explores the conditions under which this holds true. It focuses in particular on the challenge posed by relatively “obscure” injustices, which even well-informed citizens cannot be expected to know about. In addressing these cases, this essay outlines a theory of civic obligation that can help explain when citizens have a duty to take action against government injustice and clarify how much they can be expected to know about their representatives’ wrongdoing.

Chronic otitis and mastoiditis are inflammatory processes that can lead to deafness and disability if left untreated, especially in the pre-antibiotic era and in fishing communities with high exposure to infection. This study describes lesions on temporal bones found in Tzintzuntzan, a prehispanic city located near Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, in western Mexico. A multidisciplinary team analyzed a sample (N = 96) of temporal bones using morphoscopic analysis, multidetector CT scanning, and 2D and 3D virtual reconstruction. All evaluations were double-blinded using a previously standardized process and a validated questionnaire. The combination of multiple methodologies and a multidisciplinary team of evaluators improved the likelihood of classifying lesions. Nearly one-third of the lesions (31.25%) are compatible with the diagnoses of chronic otitis and mastoiditis. The frequency of these lesions is high in fishing communities such as in the city of Tzintzuntzan, possibly leading to significant hearing impairment among the population and affecting individuals’ abilities to perform essential aquatic activities.

The production, trade, and consumption of meat products and their movement around the planet were essential to the development of global markets during the first wave of globalization. This article analyzes the main changes in the ownership structure and profile of the beef industry in South America from the late nineteenth century until 1930 and how this process was reflected in certain macroeconomic variables. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the drivers of success of the meat-producing regions of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, and Patagonia (both the Argentine and Chilean sides), and also examined the failure cases of Venezuela and the Colombian Caribbean.

We study a queueing system with a fixed number of parallel service stations of infinite servers, each having a dedicated arrival process, and one flexible arrival stream that is routed to one of the service stations according to a ‘weighted’ shortest queue policy. We consider the model with general arrival processes and general service time distributions. Assuming that the dedicated arrival rates are of order n and the flexible arrival rate is of order $\sqrt{n}$, we show that the diffusion-scaled queueing processes converge to a stochastic Volterra integral equation with ‘ranks’ driven by a continuous Gaussian process. It reduces to the limiting diffusion with a discontinuous drift in the Markovian setting.

New discoveries prompt reinterpretations of one of the most enigmatic echinoderm classes, the Cyclocystoidea. Exceptionally well-preserved cyclocystoids have been discovered in the Upper Ordovician (Katian) Kirkfield and Verulam formations in the Lake Simcoe region of southern Ontario, Canada. Four different cyclocystoid taxa are present, including Cyclocystoides cf. C. scammaphoris, Nicholsodiscus cf. N. anticostiensis, Zygocycloides marstoni, and Brechincycloides stanhynei new genus new species. These specimens reveal that the central disk of cyclocystoids consists largely of perforate extraxial plates and that the ever-present sutural pores are epispires surrounded by annular plates that may or may not be in lateral contact with each other. The specimens of B. stanhynei n. gen. n. sp. are significant because they are the first cyclocystoid fossils to reveal that the hydropore/gonopore and periproct are positioned on the aboral side of the central disk. The suggestively complex marginal ring, previously of undetermined origin, represents articulated floor plates in a circular arrangement supporting a circumferential water vascular system. Furthermore, the marginal ring reveals growth zones that correspond to axes of pentaradial symmetry. In the new interpretation, cupules are tube foot basins, and channels through the marginal ossicles can be explained best in the context of the axial origin as floor plates accompanied by a cover plate system. Application of the Extraxial–Axial Theory (EAT) compels a revised understanding of key anatomies comparable with other early radial echinoderms. We document evidence for cyclocystoid orientation in life with epispires facing upward and the tube foot basins in the floor plates directed towards the substrate. The new family Brechincycloididae is proposed for all cyclocystoids whose apomorphy consists of a flat, attenuated shelf tapering away from the proximal side of each floor plate.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/605fdf27-b38b-4d41-824b-d10b139f90f5

This study introduces the novel concept of the justice/participation paradox to post-conflict peace and justice literature. The 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) formalised a solution to the peace-versus-justice dilemma: allocating congressional seats to FARC while ensuring legal accountability through the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). In the JEP, perpetrators receive alternative sanctions instead of prison, provided they fully disclose the truth about their crimes, without inhibiting political participation. This has given rise to a new paradox: the ‘justice/participation paradox’ of promoting a political project in one arena while confessing crimes in another. The article analyses the performativity of confession vis-à-vis political participation, based on 38 interviews, participant observation, and 35 hours of video recording. It finds that former FARC members use the JEP to confess and show remorse while asserting political authority. Their dual role complicates continued political engagement, especially as guaranteed congressional seats expire and JEP sanctions must be fulfilled. Based on these findings, the article underscores the importance of recognising time and grass-roots political participation in future peace processes.

This article aims to highlight the tragic consequences of excessive corporal punishment in Ghana and contribute to global discussions on the prevention and reform of related policies. Through a media surveillance study, 25 child homicides associated with corporal punishment were identified in Ghana between 2007 and 2024. These cases were analysed using criminological methods. The findings revealed that four of the deaths occurred in school settings, while 21 took place in domestic environments. Public reactions to these fatalities were consistently swift and overwhelmingly negative. The victims ranged in age from 18 months to 20 years old. Among the perpetrators, stepmothers were disproportionately represented. Methods of punishment included physical striking with hands, sticks, canes and shoes. In school settings, infractions leading to punishment included classroom disturbances, disruptions during school worship, and poor academic performance on tests and homework. At home, infractions ranged from a toddler’s delayed ability to walk, self-defecation, failure to clean up vomit and alleged theft of money to the loss of money entrusted to a child during an errand. While the majority of cases reported the apprehension of perpetrators by law enforcement, the media did not provide information regarding the dispositions and judicial outcomes of these cases. A summary of each homicide is provided to highlight the essential elements of the crime.

In the United Kingdom (UK), the population of the very old (TVO) aged 85 and over has increased by 186% between 1981 and 2021(1). As life expectancy rises, ensuring optimal nutrition in TVO becomes essential to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases(2).

The Newcastle 85+ study is a cohort of 793 participants which aimed to assess the spectrum of health in TVO(3). Dietary intake data were collected using two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. The study presented here aimed to characterise the dietary intake of TVO using the NOVA food classification system. Foods were classified into four NOVA categories: 1) unprocessed/minimally processed foods, 2) processed culinary ingredients, 3) processed foods, and 4) ultra-processed foods (UPF) and were categorised into tertiles based on percentage energy consumed as UPF. Macronutrient intakes between tertiles of UPF consumption were examined using Analysis of Variance.

The average daily total energy intake (TE) was 1681.8 kcal (SD = 512.8) and 26.3% of TE came from NOVA 1, 6.86% from NOVA 2, 15.2% from NOVA 3 and 51.7% from NOVA 4 (UPF). Among macronutrient contributions from UPF of TE, carbohydrates contributed 57.3% (SD = 10.2), protein contributed 12.5% (SD = 3.4), and fat contributed to 32.0% (SD = 8.9). The average fibre intake from UPF was 48.6% of the mean total fibre intake (SD = 3.5).

Significant differences in macronutrient intake were shown across tertiles of UPF intake of TE. Energy intake declined across tertiles but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.081), with means of 1730.1 kcal, 1684.2 kcal, and 1630.9 kcal in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tertiles, respectively. Carbohydrate intake as percentage of TE was significantly higher in the highest UPF tertile (50.2%) compared to the lowest (45.6%, p < 0.001). Conversely, protein contribution to TE showed the greatest decline across tertiles (14.8%, p < 0.001). Similarly, fat intake decreased significantly across tertiles (36%, p < 0.05). Fibre intake was significantly lower in the highest tertile when expressed as grams per day (p < 0.05).

Foods from the UPF group which contributed the highest amount of percentage TE from carbohydrates, was white bread (17.4%), wholemeal bread (11.5%), and breakfast cereals (9.7%). Protein sources included white bread (13.3%), bacon and ham (11.3%), and wholemeal bread (10.7%), while fat intake was dominated by fat spreads (10.3%), sweet biscuits (7.6%), and pies and pastries (7.2%).

These findings show the potential reliance on UPF as sources of dietary energy and fibre to the diet of 85 year olds. These outcomes reflect a distinct dietary profile compared to cohorts of adults aged 18 and over.

The Neolithic of the northeastern Iranian Plateau is defined basically by the materials recovered from the twin mounds of Sang-e Chakhmaq, the West Mound and the East Mound. The radiocarbon dates from these mounds span almost two thousand years, from around 7000 BCE to the last centuries of the sixth millennium BCE, with a chronological hiatus between ca. 6700–6200 BCE. Recent excavations at a proto-ceramic Neolithic site, Rouyan, in the vicinity of Sang-e Chakhmaq, provided occupational evidence, augmented by a series of Radiocarbon dates, which fill in the long-standing temporal hiatus of the Neolithic of the region. Both 14C dates and archaeological evidence from this excavation suggests that Rouyan was founded simultaneously with the West Mound of Sang-e Chakhmaq, but its occupation continued without discontinuity into the fifth millennium BCE. The excavation also yielded a small ceramic assemblage from the earliest deposits of the site, indicating the site’s first settlers were familiar with this technology as early as ca. 7000 BCE.

This paper critiques the ‘Trolley Problem’ tradition in moral philosophy as simplistically reductive and dangerous in its applications. Beginning with Philippa Foot’s abortion arguments and evolving through Judith Thomson’s and Robert Nozick’s work, trolleyology abstracts moral decisions from social context, masking a politics of extreme individualism. This decontextualized approach, masquerading as objective moral science, has pernicious real-world consequences. The paper traces how trolleyology has influenced ‘Revisionist’ Just War theory, which reduces collective political conflict to individual self-defense scenarios. This reductive framework has helped justify contemporary drone warfare and targeted killing by treating complex military decisions as simple moral calculations. I argue that genuine ethical thought requires engagement with social context, relationships, and political complexity rather than abstract thought experiments.

Prolonged food oral processing and slower eating rates are linked to reduced food intake in both younger and older adults(1). Oral processing behaviours are influenced by food texture(2) and in younger adults it has been shown that harder textures are consumed with smaller bites, longer chewing duration and slower eating rates than softer textures(3). Older adults often experience ageing-related changes which affect their eating abilities, and yet the influence of food texture on their oral processing behaviour is under-researched.

This study compared oral processing characteristics, perception of sensory and functional properties, and expected satiation (viewing a 100g portion) in response to different food texture samples across three age groups(4): 18-35 years, (N=19), 70-74 years (N=21) and 75+ years (N=29). Specifically, participants consumed 40 g of a “softer/easier” and a “harder/more challenging” to eat version of two foods: potato and beef. The food samples were mashed potatoes (MP), roast potatoes (RP), minced beef (MB) and roast beef (RB). Consumption was video recorded for behavioural annotation, and analysed for oral processing characteristics (bites, chews, swallows, eating rate, chewing duration). Participants rated each sample for liking, sensory and functional properties and expected satiation. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to compare the three age groups, with post hoc tests identifying group differences.

The results showed that within all age groups, the “softer/easier” foods (MP, MB) required less oral processing than the “harder/more challenging” foods (RP, RB) respectively, and scored lower on sensory attributes, such as dryness and hardness, and higher on the functional attribute of easiness to eat (all p<0.05). When compared to young adults (18-35 years), the 75+ years’ group consumed RB with a slower eating rate [Δ Mean (SD): 5.7 (1.9) g/min, p=0.01), more chews [99 (32), p=0.008) and a longer chewing duration [63.1 (21.8) s, p=0.014). The older adults’ groups (70-74 and 75+ years) consumed RP with more bites and rated expected satiation for RP and MB significantly higher than the young adults (p<0.05). Sensory and liking ratings did not differ across age groups.

These findings demonstrate significant variability in oral processing behaviours across different food textures and age groups. Further research is needed to confirm that these age-related differences in oral processing remain when consuming a meal, and to understand whether these differences influence food intake and satiety. As current research in older adults’ eating abilities and behaviours is limited, these results can provide useful ground for designing appropriate dietary interventions and food products that could improve older adults’ food and nutrient intakes.

In this article, we present the first results from radiocarbon dating of the Kirakle-Tobe settlement located in the central part of the Volga River Delta, southern Russia. Archaeological artifacts and 14C measurements on charcoal indicate three stages of settlement development on the Kirakle-Tobe knoll. The oldest 14C age corresponds to the Late Sarmatian period—early 4th century CE. The abundance of archaeological artifacts associated with the 6th–8th centuries CE indicates a long period of occupation. The youngest 14C age presumably corresponds to the Khazarian period (9th century CE). These results suggest dynamic human activity in the central part of the Volga River Delta during the Great Migration Period. These initial results can be used to verify the impact of fluctuations in the Caspian Sea level on the Volga River Delta during the Great Migration Period.

Archaeoastronomical studies accomplished in recent decades have revealed that the important civic and ceremonial buildings in the Maya area and elsewhere in Mesoamerica were oriented on astronomical grounds. The dates recorded by solar orientations, which prevail, and the intervening intervals composed easily manageable observational calendars that facilitated the planning of agricultural and related ceremonial activities in the yearly cycle. Here we argue that the orientations of several major buildings we measured at the archaeological site of El Palmar, Campeche, Mexico, either in the field or on visualizations of the lidar-derived relief model, reflect the same principles because they belong to widespread solar alignment groups previously identified in the Maya Lowlands. We also present ethnographic and ethnohistorical evidence that supports our interpretations. In addition, our results show that the orientations of more than a hundred minor structures in a broader area of El Palmar conform to those of major buildings, indicating that even less important structures reproduced, although approximately, the astronomically functional alignments. Along with several other Mesoamerican sites and areas where such emulations have been observed, the case of El Palmar demonstrates that the astronomically and cosmologically significant directions materialized in the built environment allow us to understand some prominent aspects of pre-Hispanic cultural landscapes.