Recent publications
Pisauridae are a global and heterogeneous assemblage of spider genera with diverse morphologies and lifestyles. So far, the monophyly of Pisauridae and the inclusion of fishing spiders ( Dolomedes ) in this family have not been thoroughly tested. Here, we amend the systematics and classification of these lineages within a UCE phylogenomic framework and through a detailed morphological reappraisal. For estimations of their evolutionary age, we perform and compare outcomes from two divergence estimation approaches, an a posteriori likelihood, and an a priori Bayesian. Phylogenies reject the monophyly of both Pisauridae and Dolomedes : (1) Focal Clade I groups true Pisauridae genera including Pisaura ; (2) Focal Clade II contains Blandinia and is sister to Trechaleidae and Lycosidae; (3) Focal Clade III groups Dolomedes , Megadolomedes , and Ornodolomedes , and is sister to Blandinia , Trechaleidae, and Lycosidae. We therefore propose to delimit Pisauridae by removing Dolomedidae rank resurrected (including Dolomedes , Bradystichus , Megadolomedes , Caledomedes , Mangromedes , Ornodolomedes , and Tasmomedes ) and Blandinia incertae sedis . Likelihood and Bayesian time calibration approaches yield comparable divergence estimations: Pisauridae origin is estimated at 29–40 Ma; Blandinia 21–34 Ma; Dolomedidae 10–17 Ma; Dolomedes 9–16 Ma. Reconstructions suggest that the evolution of terrestrial and web‐building lifestyles from semi‐aquatic ancestors in Pisauridae coincided with cooling and drying climates during the mid‐Miocene, but this was not the case in the few recent cases of terrestrialization in Dolomedes species. This historic reconstruction illustrates how climatic changes, or rapid radiation, can drive lifestyle diversification.
This paper explores the management of societal impact in the context of Horizon 2020 (H2020) Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) collaborative projects. Given the increasing demand for societal relevance in European-funded research, this study aims to (a) understand how societal impact is managed and (b1) identify the driving forces and (b2) barriers that influence impact management. By conducting semi-structured interviews with ten project coordinators from different European SSH projects, selected through purposive sampling procedures, the collected qualitative data were analysed using Atlas.ti. The thematic analysis revealed six themes: effective framework, stakeholder involvement; appropriate dissemination, competence, diversity and experienced members, limited post-project impact resources; and ineffective planning. This paper contributes to the discourse on project management by proposing a refined evaluation framework for societal impact that recognises different management strategies and considers the need for strategic planning and resource allocation to achieve sustainable societal impact. Our findings advocate for policies that promote greater transparency and inclusiveness in project evaluation, ultimately aiming to better align research outcomes with European policy priorities and societal challenges.
Alenka Zupančič poses the question of whether current identitarianism jeopardizes the very core of any emancipatory movement—its genuine political dimension. She argues that true political universality does not arise from viewing the social field as a neutral container of competing interests struggling for recognition. Rather, it comes from addressing the antagonism and exclusions that are constitutive of that social space itself. When we truly include what has been excluded and repressed, we no longer find ourselves in the same social space. Zupančič suggests that real emancipatory struggles always involve a short circuit between the universal and the particular, which is what makes them so explosive. As an example, she discusses the Iranian uprising, which she understands as both a feminist and a general struggle for emancipation and political change. She also critiques the perspective of the Western left, which often misses this singular political dimension and dismisses the uprising as yet another example of the ideological triumph of “Western imperialism.”
Fluctuations in timber/treeline have largely been subjected to past climatic changes; but throughout the Holocene humans became one of the leading drivers of these changes. By understanding the reasons for timber/treeline changes, we retraced past climate variability and/or anthropogenic impact on the alpine environment. This study focussed on the sedimentary sequence of the Lake ‘Jezero v Ledvicah’ (Julian Alps, Slovenia), which is currently located at the treeline and covers the last ca. 6200 years. We used mineralogical and geochemical analyses to understand sedimentary changes in the lake and its catchment area. By combining this dataset with palynological data we tracked the causes of vegetation changes with a focus on human impact. Geological analyses indicate slow continuous and undisturbed sedimentation with a combined biogenic and detrital calcite input throughout the Holocene. High percentage of clay minerals indicate that they were eroded from the catchment bedrock and/or were brought to the catchment indirectly by wind. The palynological results indicate that area around the lake was forested around 6200–4300 cal. BP, with predominant occurrence of coniferous taxa. Infrequent but fairly continuous grazing indicators during this period suggest a human presence in the highlands. By 4300–1100 cal. BP, the human influence in the area increased, resulting in a gradual decrease in tree taxa. Since 1000 cal. BP relatively open landscape developed with increased grazing indicators suggesting a continuous use of highlands.
This study investigates whether low-level audio and video features can explain the variance in multimedia exposure as measured by the Multimedia Advertising Exposure Scale (MMAES). The goal is to understand the role of these features in predicting exposure and explore whether incorporating nonlinear relationships based on interactions can improve modeling. An observational study with young participants (N=287) evaluated exposure to eight video ads. Linear and polynomial regression models were used to predict MMAES scores using low-level features. Results indicated that polynomial models outperformed linear models, capturing complex interactions and providing better predictive accuracy. The best polynomial model explained 34.6% of the variance in MMAES scores, with an MAE of 0.207, and an RMSE of 0.269. Bootstrap analysis confirmed model robustness, showing lower error rates and stable coefficients for polynomial models. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis highlighted key features and their interactions, improving interpretability. These findings underscore the importance of nonlinear relationships in modeling multimedia exposure, with implications for optimizing multimedia advertising strategies.
We report the decisions made by the Assembly of the Group of Phytosociological Nomenclature (GPN) in 2023 on previous recommendations of the Committee for Change and Conservation of Names (CCCN). Further, we discuss eight Requests for a binding decision and nine nomenclatural Proposals. Recommendations on acceptance or rejection of these Proposals are provided. We recommend the conservation of the following names: Mesobromion erecti (Braun-Blanquet et Moor 1938) Zoller 1954, Galio sylvatici-Carpinetum betuliOberdorfer 1957, Lithospermo-Carpinetum betuliOberdorfer 1957, Nanocyperetalia Klika 1935, IsoetetaliaBraun-Blanquet 1936 and Molinio arundinaceae-Quercetum Neuhäusl et Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1967.
Abbreviations: CCCN = Committee for Change and Conservation of Names; GPN = Working Group for Phytosociological Nomenclature; ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature; VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey.
The article addresses the multilingual landscape in Digital Humanities, focusing on understanding its practitioners. We adopt the concept of user profiles from UX design to help create visibility and empathy for the unique needs of multilingual scholars. In a DH2023 workshop, using a dataset of six user profiles, participants examined multilingual DH, exploring the complex interaction between language use, identity, inclusivity, and infrastructure. Only by including multilingual perspectives, we argue, can DH promote diverse knowledge systems towards more supportive infrastructures and a more inclusive scholarly community.
Underestimated and not well covered by academic literature, youth outmigration in small and medium-sized industrial towns and regions is a pressing development issue. As a highly selective process, it is often layered by gender and education, which calls for a better understanding and improved policies to be devised. Drawing on a mixed-method research approach, this article analyses two European case studies. It reveals a lack of integrated and cross-sectoral policymaking and advocates for a broader understanding of the reasons for youth leaving even economically successful industrial towns and regions. Additionally, next to economic factors, the significance of social and cultural aspects in such processes is emphasized.
Autophagy is a highly conserved metabolic process that regulates cellular homeostasis and energy supply by degrading dysfunctional and excess cell constituents and reserve materials into products that are reused in metabolic and biosynthetic pathways. Macroautophagy is the best studied form of autophagy in invertebrates. Starvation is a common stress factor triggering autophagy in overwintering animals. In arachnids, the midgut diverticula cells perform many vital metabolic functions and are therefore critically involved in the response to starvation. Here we studied macroautophagy in three species which apply different modes for overwintering in caves: the harvestmen Gyas annulatus in diapause, Amilenus aurantiacus with ongoing ontogenesis under fasting conditions, and the spider Meta menardi, which feeds opportunistically even in winter. The main goal was to find eventual qualitative and quantitative differences in autophagic processes by inspecting TEM micrographs. In all three species, the rates of midgut epithelial cells with autophagic structures gradually increased during overwintering, but were significantly lower in G. annulatus in the middle and at the end of overwintering than in the other two species, owing to metabolic activity having been more suppressed. Decomposition of mitochondria and glycogen took place in autophagic structures in all three species. Moreover, spherite disintegration in A. aurantiacus and a special form of lipid disintegration through “lipid bubbly structures” in M. menardi indicate the crucial involvment of selective autophagy, while no specific autophagy was observed in G. annulatus. We conclude that autophagic activities support overwintering in different ways in the species studied.
Plant communities are composed of species that differ both in functional traits and evolutionary histories. As species’ functional traits partly result from their individual evolutionary history, we expect the functional diversity of communities to increase with increasing phylogenetic diversity. This expectation has only been tested at local scales and generally for specific growth forms or specific habitat types, for example, grasslands. Here we compare standardized effect sizes for functional and phylogenetic diversity among 1,781,836 vegetation plots using the global sPlot database. In contrast to expectations, we find functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity to be only weakly and negatively correlated, implying a decoupling between these two facets of diversity. While phylogenetic diversity is higher in forests and reflects recent climatic conditions (1981 to 2010), functional diversity tends to reflect recent and past climatic conditions (21,000 years ago). The independent nature of functional and phylogenetic diversity makes it crucial to consider both aspects of diversity when analysing ecosystem functioning and prioritizing conservation efforts.
The paper details the creation of an open access speech corpus for a less-resourced language, covering the diversity in terms of accents, dialects, speech styles and demographic characteristics that exist in the target population. Three primary challenges are identified that impact the time and cost efficiency of such a speech corpus development significantly. These challenges are (1) Managing copyrights, personality rights and personal data protection; (2) Obtaining precise word-by-word transcriptions with segmentation into meaningful segments and annotation of speaker exchanges; (3) Managing the new collaborators needed for field recording and manual transcribing or the correction of transcriptions, along with a strictly-defined workflow and platform for data collection. Several strategies are proposed to address each of these challenges, and the experiences are described from the creation of the Slovenian ARTUR corpus regarding these challenges. The ARTUR corpus comprises 1,000 h of carefully selected recordings, with 880 h accompanied by precise, manually checked or manually created transcriptions. It is freely available in the CLARIN.SI repository under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Part of its data was used to upgrade the Slovenian reference speech corpus GOS.
Bonapartism is a relatively new political concept. It denotes a new type of political power that emerged at the close of the so-called Great French Revolution and then after the defeat of the 1848 revolution in France, to later spread to other European countries. Historical Bonapartism is relevant today for two main reasons. First, the emergence of Bonapartism marked the first time the classical categories of “forms of government” failed to capture the reality of political power. The “forms of government” have never recovered their authority even though we, due to inertia, still use them, while we are at a loss for concepts that define the powers that be. Second, after much maligning of Louis Bonaparte, Marx and Engels ended up describing Bonapartism as “the state power of modern class rule.” As such, Bonapartism does not belong to the past and its historical form may give us clues for understanding our present political predicament.
The Cereal Leaf Beetle (CLB), Oulema melanopus [L.], poses a major threat to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production, worsened by insecticide resistance and changing EU pesticide regulations. In 2023, we conducted laboratory and field trials to evaluate five inert dusts (diatomaceous earth, quartz sand, Ailanthus altissima dust, Norway spruce wood ash, and zeolite) against all CLB life stages. We assessed pest abundance, wheat damage index, wheat yield, and grain quality. In the lab, diatomaceous earth was highly effective (96%–100%), followed by Norway spruce wood ash (70.4%–96.7%). Field efficacy was hampered by wet weather, affecting dust applications, although the positive control was effective except against CLB eggs. By the last sampling date, damage indices for diatomaceous earth, A. altissima dust, and wood ash treatments ranged from 3.87 to 4.12, lower than the negative control (4.75 ± 0.02) but higher than the positive control (2.88 ± 0.35). Wheat yield was consistent across all treatments (∼5 tons), except for the negative control (4.2 ± 0.86 tons) and A. altissima dust (3.9 ± 0.47 tons). Grain quality showed no significant differences. Our study highlights the potential of various inert dusts against CLB, though wet weather limits their field effectiveness, requiring more applications. Further research is needed to develop practical, sustainable CLB management strategies.
This article examines the narrative framework in European Union (EU) research and innovation projects, focusing on symbolic practices and terminology. The analysis includes over five years of ethnographic research, and 20 European projects funded by Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Erasmus+ programs. It explores different ways project actors internalize and reproduce the EU's symbolic power through its policies, particularly the ambiguous concept of “innovation.” Using Bourdieu's theory of practice, the research highlights the way social structures within the “project field” influence dynamics and outcomes, often resulting in a gap between rhetoric and reality. The study also uncovers broader political and social implications of these practices, calling for critical reflection of their impact. In its conclusion, the authors discuss the challenges of maintaining genuine innovation amidst bureaucratic requirements and the EU's symbolic power, advocating for more nuanced and context‐aware project practices.
Related Articles
Kanol, Direnç. 2022. “Narrative Strategies for Emerging Disruptive Technologies: A Case Study of Blockchain for Europe.” Politics & Policy 50(5): 952–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12492 .
Nowlin, Matthew C., Maren Trochmann, and Thomas M. Rabovsky. 2022. “Advocacy Coalitions and Political Control.” Politics & Policy 50(2): 201–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12458 .
Von Malmborg, Fredrik. 2023. “Combining the Advocacy Coalition Framework and Argumentative Discourse Analysis: The Case of the ‘Energy Efficiency First’ Principle in EU Energy and Climate Policy.” Politics & Policy 51(2):222–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12525 .
Iron Formations (IF) are threatened by mining, particularly the Mesovoid Shallow Substratum (MSS), an understudied subterranean environment. We evaluate the spatiotemporal patterns of subterranean fauna in MSS of iron duricrust (canga) in the Iron Quadrangle and Southern Espinhaço Range, southeastern Brazil. Samplings took place between July 2014 and June 2022 using five trap types. We sampled 108,005 individuals, 1,054 morphospecies, and seven phyla, globally the largest dataset on MSS in IF. Arthropoda represented 97% of all invertebrates sampled. We identified 31 troglomorphic organisms, primarily Arthropoda and Platyhelminthes. MSS traps were the most efficient method, capturing 80% of all invertebrates. Morphospecies were more prevalent in each locality than shared among localities. Species replacement was the main processes to spatial differences. Over time, we found a decrease of total dissimilarity and importance of species replacement for troglomorphic organisms. A positive correlation between spatial distance and compositional dissimilarity of invertebrates was found. Iron Quadrangle and Southern Espinhaço Range showed marked differences in the spatiotemporal patterns of subterranean fauna. Brazilian IF are threatened, with their biological significance not fully understood but highly endangered due their limited distribution. Conservation efforts require a comprehensive understanding of both biotic and abiotic factors shaping the entire IF ecosystem.
Karst landforms provide insights into landscape evolution and paleoclimate but are inherently challenging to date. An ancient interval of particularly intense weathering of Western Australian Pleistocene aeolianites is recorded in a spectacular pinnacle karst landscape with associated ferricrete nodules. (U-Th)/He dating of the ferricrete nodules revealed an age of 102.8 + 10.6/−11.4 thousand years, corresponding to marine isotope stage 5c. The (U-Th)/He age thus directly dates the wettest interglacial period in the region over the last 500 thousand years, which was responsible for the dissolution that formed the pinnacles. The reliability of the ferricrete (U-Th)/He age is supported by bounding optically stimulated luminescence and U-Th dates on associated aeolianites and carbonate precipitates, respectively. A (U-Th)/He approach is globally applicable to aeolianites with associated ferricretes, allowing more accurate dating of the environmental changes affecting these lithologies, and temporally constraining rapid Pleistocene climatic oscillations to better contextualize the associated evolution of the biosphere.
The challenges of work-life balance, gender equality in work and family life, and changing social norms‒responsible parenthood and safe and healthy working conditions‒have been widely discussed and addressed in literature, policy documents, and the media for decades. Since the early days of rural studies, the family farm has been widely recognized as a special unit of production, consumption, and lifestyle. However, the lifestyle of family farms, including work-life balance, has received little attention or consideration in policy and academic debates, particularly in Europe. Based on these observations, this paper discusses the results of two consecutive studies on working conditions on farms in Slovenia, with a focus on work-life balance in the case of maternity/parental leave on farms. The first study is based on structured interviews with 60 adult members of family farms of both genders conducted in 2018/2019, and the second study is based on semi-structured interviews with 23 farmers of both genders from different parts of the country, conducted in 2021/2022. The stories of the two groups of research participants are assessed and discussed against the background of the current scholarly debate on work-life balance in farming context and the recently adopted institutional framework for work-life balance in the European Union.
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