The Neurobiology of Trust

Trust is essential for establishing and maintaining cooperative behaviors between individuals and institutions in a wide variety of social, economic, and political contexts. This book explores trust through the lens of neurobiology, focusing on empirical, methodological, and theoretical aspects. Written by a distinguished group of researchers from economics, psychology, human factors, neuroscience, and psychiatry, the chapters shed light on the neurobiological underpinnings of trust as applied in a variety of domains. Researchers and students will discover a refined understanding of trust by delving into the essential topics in this area of study outlined by leading experts.

Die Kriegergräber mit Schwertern des sog. Asiatischen Typs im Mitteldonauraum unter Berücksichtung des Neufundes von Horákov (Mähren, CZ)

The occurrence of foreign, more precisely eastern, cultural elements among local archaeological finds is commonly regarded as a characteristic feature of the cultural-historical development during the Early Migration Period in Central Europe. Such interpretations, which generate many questions and are sometimes accepted with scepticism, have gained some ground, but most of them indisputably demand verification and less strictly defined views. These foreign cultural elements usually represent objects, whose symbolic values made them, part of the new funerary customs connected with changes of social structures during the historical development of barbarian peoples on the Danube. The main attention in this regard is paid to a well-distinguished group of weapon graves, which contained both the so-called eastern weapon types and, on the other hand, clear acculturation traits. Within the group of eastern weapons, which influenced the armament of Danubian warriors, encompassed also various types of double-edged long swords – spathae. A conspicuous type is represented by long swords with relatively narrow blade and a massive iron cross guard, so-called swords of Asian type, which occupy a special position in the Danube region.

Democratic Resilience

Politics in the United States has become increasingly polarized in recent decades. Both political elites and everyday citizens are divided into rival and mutually antagonistic partisan camps, with each camp questioning the political legitimacy and democratic commitments of the other side. Does this polarization pose threats to democracy itself? What can make some democratic institutions resilient in the face of such challenges? Democratic Resilience brings together a distinguished group of specialists to examine how polarization affects the performance of institutional checks and balances as well as the political behavior of voters, civil society actors, and political elites. The volume bridges the conventional divide between institutional and behavioral approaches to the study of American politics and incorporates historical and comparative insights to explain the nature of contemporary challenges to democracy. It also breaks new ground to identify the institutional and societal sources of democratic resilience.

Projective Metric Geometry and Clifford Algebras

Each vector space that is endowed with a quadratic form determines its Clifford algebra. This algebra, in turn, contains a distinguished group, known as the Lipschitz group. We show that only a quotient of this group remains meaningful in the context of projective metric geometry. This quotient of the Lipschitz group can be viewed as a point set in the projective space on the Clifford algebra and, under certain restrictions, leads to an algebraic description of so-called kinematic mappings.

Spectrum of Pediatric Malignancies: An Observational Single Center Study from Western India

Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescent worldwide. The cure rates in low middle-income countries are dismal (20%) in comparison to high income countries (80%). The first move is to assemble precise data on epidemiology of pediatric cancer across the country and its region wide variation. This study attempts to provide spectrum of pediatric malignancies from a tertiary care hospital in the state of Rajasthan, India. A total of 140 cases were studied retrospectively over a period of two years (April 2018-March 2020). Patients, 0-18 years of age that are diagnosed as a case of malignancy were included in this study. The records of these patients were retrieved and analyzed. Patients were stratified in 4 groups; 0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years and 15-18 years. Most of the patients fell in 15-18 year group (35.7%), followed by 5-9 year group (28.5%). Majority of cases, 67.8% were male. The male to female ratio is 2.1:1. Leukemia (40%) was the most common malignancy followed by lymphoma, retinoblastoma and malignant bone tumors. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia comprises majority (35/56) of leukemia. Retinoblastoma was predominant malignancy among <5-year children. In all other groups, leukemia was predominant. This study gauges the trend of pediatric malignancies at one of the largest tertiary care hospitals in Rajasthan, which is important in the planning and evaluation of health strategies. As we lack a dedicated pediatric cancer registry, such epidemiological studies play a significant part for this small but distinguished group of patients.

Primary Posterior Tracheopexy in Esophageal Atresia Decreases Respiratory Tract Infections

Background: Esophageal atresia (EA) is often accompanied by tracheomalacia (TM). TM can lead to severe respiratory complaints requiring invasive treatment. This study aims to evaluate if thoracoscopic primary posterior tracheopexy (PPT) can prevent the potential sequelae of TM in patients with EA.Methods: A cohort study including all consecutive EA patients treated between 2014 and July 2019 at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital was conducted. Two groups were distinguished: (group 1) all EA patients born between January 2014 and December 2016 and (group 2) all EA patients born between January 2017 and July 2019, after introduction of PPT. In the latter group, PPT was performed in EA patients with moderate (33–66%) or severe (67–100%) tracheomalacia, seen during preoperative bronchoscopy. Group differences were assessed using the Fisher's exact test for bivariate variables and the Mann–Whitney U-test for continuous variables.Results: A total of 64 patients were included in this study (28 patients in group 1; 36 patients in group 2). In group 2, PPT was performed in 14 patients. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) requiring antibiotics within the first year of life occurred significantly less in group 2 (61 vs. 25%, p = 0.004). Brief resolved unexplained events (BRUEs) seemed to diminish in group 2 compared to group 1 (39 vs. 19%, p = 0.09).Conclusion: Thoracoscopic primary posterior tracheopexy decreases the number of respiratory tract infections in EA patients. The clinical impact of reducing RTIs combined with the minimal additional operating time and safety of PPT outweighs the risk of overtreatment.

Productivity Enhancement of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) through Optimized Use of Poultry Manure and Mineral Fertilizers under Greenhouse Cultivation

Cucumber, a widely cultivated vegetable, is mostly grown under greenhouse conditions. In recent years, the overuse of inorganic fertilizers for higher yield attainment adversely has affected human health and the environment. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of different nutrient sources (poultry manure (PM) and mineral fertilizer (MF)) on productivity-enhancing parameters of cucumber via univariate and multivariate analyses. Amounts of PM and MF (NPK15:15:15) were added to coco-peat per cubic meter by weight/volume (w/v) ratios as follows: T1 (control), 60 kg PM; T2, 30 kg PM + 3 kg MF; T3, 30 kg PM + 5 kg MF, and T4, 30 kg PM + 7 kg MF. The univariate analysis performed on the collected data illustrated the significant enhancement in growth and productivity for the integrated use of PM and MF. Multivariate analyses (correlation, clustering, and Principal Component Analysis) validated the results of univariate analysis by differentiating treatments into two groups. The three treatments obtained a distinguished group from T1 (Control) and did not show significant differences among each other, with a maximum yield increase by T2 (74.6%). According to these results, T2 could improve cucumber productivity under greenhouse conditions. It can be taken as recommendations for better quality and yield enhancement in future improvement programs and cucumber-related farming communities.

Znaczenie academic resilience w czasach pandemicznych. Diagnoza i możliwości wsparcia uczniów

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of resilience in the educational area, which is defined as an increased probability of success in school, despite experiencing adversities caused by the characteristics of the individual, his living conditions and experiences. The academic resilience construct was used, referring to the convention of the authors of the PISA/OECD study, and placed in the current context of the pandemic threat experience. In order to characterise the students belonging to the academic resilience group, two research questions were formulated: What is the scope of the phenomenon of academic resilience? and What individual and contextual factors are specific to this group of students? The analyses were performed on panel data from a nationwide project “Paths of educational development of young people – post-secondary schools”, in which a number of psychological tools and questionnaires examining the socio-educational functioning of students were used. Comparative analyses of the means for the distinguished group against the three reference groups show similarities and differences of intellectual and social functioning as well as attitudes, relationships, anti-social and anti-school behaviour, and leisure activities. The obtained picture of academic resilient students is not unequivocal, but thanks to the study it acquires a more specific character. Knowledge about these students can allow for the preparation of effective compensation measures in education, support the functioning of children from low-status families, and increase the efficiency of functioning during difficult experiences, such as the recently experienced school closures and the introduction of distance learning.

A technology for prediction of preterm discharge of amniotic fluid

Aim of study. To create a technology for prediction of preterm discharge of amniotic fl uid based on universally accessible methods of laboratory and instrumental evaluation. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of 200 birth cases dated 2018-2021 at the premises of obstetric facilities in Chita and Ufa cities featuring patients admitted to the inpatient unit shortly before term labour (1-2 days). In the course of the study, 2 groups were distinguished: Group 1 included 128 female patients with term discharge of amniotic fluid and Group 2 was constituted by 72 female patients with preterm discharge of amniotic fluid. The groups were comparable in age, anthropomorphic parameters and extragenital pathology. On admission, all women underwent general medical examination and ultrasonography. Statistical processing of the results was performed via the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 25.0 soft ware. Results. The technology for prediction of preterm discharge of amniotic fluid was based on multilayer perceptron learning. The structure of the learning neural network included 5 input neurons: body mass index, fundal height, the total bilirubin level, activated partial thromboplastin time and the amniotic fluid index. Th e percentage of incorrect predictions of the neural network totalled 28.5 %. Conclusion. A complex approach based on integration of universally accessible methods for laboratory and instrumental tests shortly before the labour based on a neural network makes it possible to predict possible preterm discharge of amniotic fl uid with an accuracy of up to 75 %. Application of this technology in clinical practice will make it possible not only to perform timely preparation of the parturient canal but also to reduce the frequency of adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes

Political Populism

Populism represents the greatest political challenge to Western democracies since World War II. The electoral successes of populist parties and actors, Brexit, the presidency of Donald Trump or campaigns against containing the coronavirus pandemic are expressions of this phenomenon, in which the electorate is mobilised against supposed elites. The revised and expanded handbook Political Populism offers a comprehensive theoretical and empirical introduction to the causes and effects of political populism, especially in the democratic systems of Europe, but also in North and South America. It focuses on explaining populism as a consequence of a legitimation crisis of the representative system as well as on the controversies and limitations in the current academic debate. Drawing on political and communication science, the book also offers a comprehensive analysis of the effects of populism on various policy areas, such as environmental, health and economic policy. With contributions by Tjitske Akkerman, Manuel Anselmi, Wolfgang Aschauer, Hans-Georg Betz, Cecilia Biancalana, Paul Blokker, Giuliano Bobba, María Esperanza Casullo, Carlos de la Torre, Paula Diehl, Sarah C. Dingler, Martin Dolezal, Marco Fölsch, Flavia Freidenberg, Sergiu Gherghina, Florian Habersack, Vlastimil Havlík, Kirk A. Hawkins, Reinhard Heinisch, Christina Holtz-Bacha, Robert A. Huber, Gilles Ivaldi, Philip Kitzberger, Benjamin Krämer, Maria Elisabetta Lanzone, Zoe Lefkofridi, Dietmar Loch, Miroslav Mareš, Alfio Mastropaolo, Oscar Mazzoleni, Sergiu Miscoiu, Teun Pauwels, Franca Roncarolo, Saskia Pauline Ruth, Carlo Ruzza, Steven Saxonberg, Christian H. Schimpf, Damir Skenderovic, Sorina Soare, Lone Sorensen, Carlos H. Waisman, Carsten Wegscheider and Sandra Vergari. With a welcome expansion in cases and policy fields, the second edition of Political Populism: Handbook on Concepts, Questions and Strategies for Research brings together scholars from a range of disciplines to reflect on the fundamental challenge populism poses today. This Handbook is essential to every reader who wants to understand where populism comes from, how it manifests and how it influences policies, political actors and the very institutions that make democracy. Theoretically sophisticated, substantiated in its content yet approachable for the interest reader, this Handbook marks an important step in the appreciation of the complexity and consequences of this global phenomenon. Annika Werner, Australian National University Two decades of turbulent political history show that populism is here to stay, and to shape politics for a long time to come. It is considered a serious threat to traditional democratic institutions. That’s why political and communication scientists have massively engaged in studying it, in explaining it, in analyzing its features and implications. Among the several recent scholarly productions, this Handbook is perhaps the best tool put in the hands of all those who want to get a multi-dimensional yet comprehensive understanding of political populism as it is developing in Europe and in the Americas. Definitely a must-have book! Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Università di Milano, Italy This highly readable and detailed Handbook synthetizes a wealth of accumulated and innovative research on contemporary populism in Europe and the Americas. Drawing the insights of a distinguished group of specialists, the volume presents a comprehensive and updated view of the vibrant field of populist studies. Its four sections and thirty-four chapters provide stimulating perspectives on the theory, politics, and communicational dimensions of populism as well on emerging areas of research. A must read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of a phenomenon that is likely to remain an enduring and unsettling presence in the political life of XXI century democracies. Enrique Peruzzotti, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina