Dominant Group Research Articles

[Effect of Thermal Hydrolysis Pretreatment Time on Microbial Community Structure in Sludge Anaerobic Digestion System].

To evaluate the effect of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time on the sludge anaerobic digestion system of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Daxing district, Beijing, the structure and diversity of microbial communities in primary sludge and an activated sludge anaerobic digestion system with different thermal hydrolysis pretreatment times (15 min, 30 min, and 45 min) were analyzed using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the dominant groups of digested sludge were mainly distributed in Firmicutes, Cloacimonadota, Chloroflexi, and Synergistota, with W5 being the most common genus. The sum of relative abundance of the dominant phylum was greater than 60%, and W5 accounted for 20.8%-54.5%, showing a high abundance of a few dominant species. During the anaerobic digestion of thermo-hydrolyzed sludge, the relative abundance of acetogenic methanogens decreased due to high levels of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) concentrations, which suggested that the hydrogenophilic methanogenic pathway was more than that of the acetogenic methanogenic pathway. Correlation analysis showed that the soluble protein and pH of thermo-hydrolyzed sludge, NH4+-N of digested sludge, and thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time were the four main environmental factors affecting microbial community structure, and NH4+-N of digested sludge had the largest negative correlation with methanogens. The thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time was negatively correlated with both the Chao index and Shannon index, so longer thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time was not conducive to microbial flora during anaerobic digestion.

Good Muslims, good citizens? An intersectional approach to Muslims’ everyday (hidden) resistance tactics in Belgium

ABSTRACT This paper explores Muslim participants’ political endeavours, aiming to tackle their marginalization in a secular racialized environment. Drawing on critical race scholarship (Du Bois), resistance studies (de Certeau, Scott) and lived experiences captured by in-depth interviews with Muslims in Belgium, I focus on everyday hidden resistance tactics enacted by my research subjects to challenge the status quo. I find my research participants aiming to counter racialization through everyday (hidden) practices such as reversing the Muslim gaze, modelling their religious behaviour as a form of da’wa and building up a counterpower to achieve recognition as citizen. Second, this study shows the salience of Du Bois’ notion of double consciousness – or Muslim participants seeing themselves through the eyes of the dominant group – shaping subordinate forms of political resistance.

Retaining Generation Z employees in the hotel industry: a time-lag study

Purpose Generation Z (Gen Z) is entering the hotel workforce and will soon become the dominant group. This has called for a better understanding of this workforce’s attitudes and perceptions towards working in the hotel industry. This study aims to examine the effect of organizational socialization on the retention of Chinese Gen Z employees, the mediating role of person–environment fit (P-E fit) and the moderating effect of career commitment. Design/methodology/approach Time-lagged data were collected from 426 Gen Z new employees from 20 upscale hotels at two different times (2 weeks and 12 weeks after the employees entered the hotel). Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, bootstrapping analysis and moderated hierarchical regression analyses were used for data analysis. Findings Organizational socialization positively affects employee retention via person–environment fit. Moreover, career commitment positively moderates the relationship between person–environment fit and employee retention. Practical implications Hotels must view organizational socialization as a long-term investment in Gen Z talent management by offering effective training through diverse methods, creating a collaborative environment and helping them develop career plans to enhance their career commitment. Originality/value This study unpacks the four dimensions of organizational socialization and investigates their differential effects on Gen Z employees’ retention through P-E fit. The moderating role of career commitment is also examined. This study contributes to the growing body of hospitality human resources management research on this new generation of workforce in China.

Responses of plankton community to threshold metal concentrations of cadmium and lead in a mesocosm experiment at Bay of Bengal

Metals are essential at trace levels to aquatic organisms for the function of many physiological and biological processes. But their elevated levels are toxic to the ecosystem and even brings about shifts in the plankton population. Threshold limits such as Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC - 0.6 μg/l of Cd; 2.7 μg/l of Pb), Criterion Continuous Concentration (CCC - 3.0 μg/l of Cd; 4.5 μg/l of Pb) and Criterion Maximum Concentration (CMC - 23 μg/l of Cd; 130 μg/l of Pb) prescribed for Indian coastal waters were used for the study. Short-term mesocosm experiments (96 h) were conducted in coastal waters of Visakhapatnam to evaluate responses of the planktonic community on exposure to threshold concentrations of cadmium and lead for the first time. Four individual experimental bags of 2500 L capacity (Control, PNEC, CCC & CMC) were used for the deployment and ambient water samples were analysed simultaneously to evaluate the impacts of the threshold levels in the natural waters. Chaetoceros sp. were dominant group in the control system whereas, Prorocentrum sp. Ceratium sp. Tintinopsis sp. Chaetoceros sp. and Skeletonema sp. were major groups in the test bags. Throughout the experiment the phytoplankton community did not show any significant differences with increased nutrients and plankton biomass (Chl-a <8.64 mg/m3). Positive response of plankton community was observed in the experimental bags. High abundance of diatoms were observed in PNEC, CCC & CMC bags at 48 h and the abundance decreased with shift in the species at 72–96 h. The catalase activity in phytoplankton (5.99 nmol/min/ml) and the zooplankton (4.77 nmol/min/ml) showed induction after exposure to PNEC. The present mesocosm study is confirmed that short-term exposure to threshold metal concentration did not affects the phytoplankton community structure in PNEC, but CCC and CMC affects the community structure beyond 24 h. The insights from this study will serve as a baseline information and help develop environmental management tools. We believe that long-term mesocosm experiments would unravel metal detoxification mechanisms at the cellular level and metal transfer rate at higher trophic levels in real-world environment.

Benthic foraminiferal community structure and its response to environmental factors revealed using high-throughput sequencing in the Zhoushan Fishing Ground, East China Sea

Benthic foraminifera are excellent tools for monitoring marine environments and reconstructing paleoenvironments. This study investigated the structure and diversity of benthic foraminiferal communities in 20 superficial sediment samples obtained from the Zhoushan Fishing Ground (ZFG) using high-throughput sequencing based on small subunit ribosomal DNA and RNA amplification. The results revealed Rotaliida as the most dominant group, with spatial heterogeneity in foraminiferal distribution. Total benthic foraminiferal communities exhibited higher species richness and diversity compared to active communities. While heavy metal pollution in the ZFG was moderate, areas with elevated concentrations of heavy metals exhibited low diversity and richness in foraminiferal communities. Total foraminiferal community structure was primarily influenced by factors such as water depth and Hg, Pb, Cd, and Zn levels. Notably, Hg levels emerged as a critical factor impacting the structure and diversity of the active foraminiferal community. The dominant species, Operculina, exhibited tolerance toward heavy metal pollution.

India's Muslim Exclusion: Need for an Inclusive Policy

India has made a pledge six decades ago to build an inclusive, plural and secular society which would equitably integrate its religious minorities while respecting their distinct identities and honoring difference. This is particularly true of sour largest minority community, Muslims, who constitute 18.4 per cent of the population and also socially economically and educationally backward. Muslim exclusion can be seen in the form of segregation socially, politically, economically, culturally, educationally in Indian society. The main objective of this article is to study the complexities and nuances of exclusion of Muslims, a dominant minority group in India. It is an exploration of how Muslims, a religious minority in India, are facing exclusion in different spheres of life, namely socio-economic and physical spaces. It offers an account of the fact that Muslims stand on the periphery in social and secular spheres of life and how this is closely related to their identity. Finally suggests for the inclusiveness of the Muslim minorities in the development agenda of the Government.

The true colors of the chameleon: identities of Bosnian youth in the United States

ABSTRACT Developing a stable adult identity is a key process during youth, which unfolds in ongoing interaction between the individual and their environment. For immigrant youth, this process also includes the formation of an ethnic identity, which is complicated by potential differences between the young person's culture of origin and the dominant culture. But we currently know little about the ethnic and self-identification of White immigrant youth in new immigrant destinations in the United States. The case of Bosnian second-generation youth in St. Louis addresses this gap in the literature on ethnic identity and immigrant incorporation. The analysis shows considerable context-specific variation in how Bosnian youth self-identify. The ability to pass as members of the dominant racial group also indicates that the ethnic boundary between Bosnian youth and native St. Louisians is rooted in a set of shared histories and experiences and a resulting sense of knowing that governs within and between group interactions. The discussion section arrays implications for future research.

Vertical differences in carbon metabolic diversity and dominant flora of soil bacterial communities in farmlands

The carbon cycle in soil is significantly influenced by soil microbes. To investigate the vertical distribution of the dominant groups in agricultural soil and the carbon metabolic diversity of soil bacteria, 45 soil samples from the 0 ~ 50 cm soil layer in Hunan tobacco–rice multiple cropping farmland were collected in November 2017, and the carbon diversity of the soil bacterial community, bacterial community composition and soil physical and chemical properties were determined. The results showed that the carbon metabolic capabilities and functional diversity of the soil bacterial community decreased with depth. The three most widely used carbon sources for soil bacteria were carbohydrates, amino acids, and polymers. The dominant bacterial groups in surface soil (such as Chloroflexi, Acidobacteriota, and Bacteroidota) were significantly positively correlated with the carbon metabolism intensity. The alkali-hydrolysable nitrogen content, soil bulk density and carbon–nitrogen ratio were the key soil factors driving the differences in carbon metabolism of the soil bacterial communities in the different soil layers.

Exceptionally preserved shark fossils from Mexico elucidate the long-standing enigma of the Cretaceous elasmobranch Ptychodus.

The fossil fish Ptychodus Agassiz, 1834, characterized by a highly distinctive grinding dentition and an estimated gigantic body size (up to around 10 m), has remained one of the most enigmatic extinct elasmobranchs (i.e. sharks, skates and rays) for nearly two centuries. This widespread Cretaceous taxon is common in Albian to Campanian deposits from almost all continents. However, specimens mostly consist of isolated teeth or more or less complete dentitions, whereas cranial and post-cranial skeletal elements are very rare. Here we describe newly discovered material from the early Late Cretaceous of Mexico, including complete articulated specimens with preserved body outline, which reveals crucial information on the anatomy and systematic position of Ptychodus. Our phylogenetic and ecomorphological analyses indicate that ptychodontids were high-speed (tachypelagic) durophagous lamniforms (mackerel sharks), which occupied a specialized predatory niche previously unknown in fossil and extant elasmobranchs. Our results support the view that lamniforms were ecomorphologically highly diverse and represented the dominant group of sharks in Cretaceous marine ecosystems. Ptychodus may have fed predominantly on nektonic hard-shelled prey items such as ammonites and sea turtles rather than on benthic invertebrates, and its extinction during the Campanian, well before the end-Cretaceous crisis, might have been related to competition with emerging blunt-toothed globidensine and prognathodontine mosasaurs.

Marked on the voice: the visibility experiences of Russian heritage migrants following the war against Ukraine

Abstract Identities fundamental to the self, such as race and gender, can operate through visual markers on the body. Identities related to a person’s heritage, or nationality, can also become visible. However, when physical appearance means that a person can pass as a member of a dominant group, being identified or ‘marked’ as other takes place through language use. In migration contexts, situations where a person’s heritage or nationality is revealed can lead to experiences of vulnerability. This study investigated the experiences of five Russian-speaking women living in Sweden whose migrant backgrounds were not visibly noticeable, up until the point that interaction was initiated. Interviews were carried out in the summer of 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Data was analysed using a double hermeneutic approach. Findings revealed how, following the outbreak of the war, the fear of becoming visible increased. Fears of exposure triggered vigilant behaviours, and an experience of needing to regulate visibility. Results show how the experience of having situational control over visibility could buffer against emotional pain caused by perceptions of negative positionings, and the risk of prejudicial treatment.

Hotspots of the Habitats Directive species in the Carpathians

Knowledge of species distribution is crucial for their protection, and this was our motivation to identify hotspots of the Habitats Directive (HD) species in the Carpathians. As a data source we used reports and species distribution maps submitted by the EU Member States according to the Habitats Directive Article 17 in 2019.The highest HD species richness areas are in the south-eastern part of the Western Carpathians and in the south-west outcrops of the Carpathians at the SK/AT and CZ/AT borders. The south-eastern part of the Western Carpathians is important for all studied species groups, specific patterns of distribution exhibit fish (distribution along big rivers), amphibians (high diversity also in the outer Western Carpathians and Transylvanian Basin) and partially plant species (besides SE Western Carpathians, quite high diversity also in other parts of the Western Carpathians).We analysed the relation between species richness, proportion of species groups, and concentration of rare species. Mammals are the dominant taxonomical group, especially in species-poor grid cells. The proportion of invertebrates increases with increased species richness. The widespread species prevail in species-poor grid cells and their proportion decreases with increasing species richness.We also identified areas with low Natura 2000 coverage, but with high biodiversity or a high number of rare species. These areas have high potential to improve protection of the HD species by designating new Natura 2000 sites or enlarging existing ones.

The Gendered Political Consequences of Racialized Sexual Threats

Narratives of racialized sexual violence—specifically, where a dominant-group woman faces harm by a man outside the dominant group—have long been a staple of American political communication. Past scholarship has examined how these threats prime racial resentment among White Americans; less is known about their gendered effects. I present an original survey experiment comparing racialized sexual threats with racialized threats that are not gendered or sexual. Both evoke racial resentment. Compared with solely racial threats, however, racialized sexual threats also make benevolent sexism salient for a range of democratic outcomes. Moreover, I find distinct effects by respondent race and gender, as men and women of different racial identities are situated differently vis a vis racialized sexual threats. To demonstrate that the gendered/sexualized impact of these appeals extends to real-world campaigns, I conclude with an analysis of candidate support in the 1988 presidential election. The 1988 race saw one of the most notorious examples of racialized sexual threat in modern American politics in the “Willie Horton” ad, aired on behalf of the Bush campaign. Even with the limited measures available in that year, I find that sexism played an important role in shaping Americans’ political views.

Correlation of pre-existing comorbidities with disease severity in individuals infected with SARS-COV-2 virus.

Shortly after the first publication on the new disease called Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), studies on the causal consequences of this disease began to emerge, initially focusing only on transmission methods, and later on its consequences analyzed in terms of gender, age, and the presence of comorbidities. The aim of our research is to determine which comorbidities have the greatest negative impact on the worsening of the disease, namely which comorbidities indicate a predisposition to severe Covid-19, and to understand the gender and age representation of participants and comorbidities. The results of our study show that the dominant gender is male at 54.4% and the age of 65 and older. The most common comorbidities are arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases. The dominant group is recovered participants aged 65 and older, with comorbidities most frequently present in this group. The highest correlation between patients with different severity of the disease was found with cardiovascular diseases, while the coefficient is slightly lower for the relationship between patients with different disease severity and urinary system diseases and hypertension. According to the regression analysis results, we showed that urinary system diseases have the greatest negative impact on the worsening of Covid-19, with the tested coefficient b being statistically significant as it is 0.030 < 0.05. An increase in cardiovascular diseases affects the worsening of Covid-19, with the tested coefficient b being statistically significant as it is 0.030 < 0.05. When it comes to arterial hypertension, it has a small impact on the worsening of Covid-19, but its tested coefficient b is not statistically significant as it is 0.169 > 0.05. The same applies to diabetes mellitus, which also has a small impact on the worsening of Covid-19, but its tested coefficient b is not statistically significant as it is 0.336 > 0.05. Our study has shown that comorbidities such as urinary system diseases and cardiovascular diseases tend to have a negative impact on Covid-19, leading to a poor outcome resulting in death, while diabetes mellitus and hypertension have an impact but without statistical significance.

Hidden Transcripts of the Powerful: Researching the Arts of Domination

This article develops a submerged aspect of James C Scott’s work on ‘hidden transcripts’. Whereas Scott focused predominantly on the hidden transcripts of the powerless, here we propose a research agenda based upon studying hidden transcripts of the powerful. First, we define our terms. Second, we map existing literature, observing that although plenty of research exists into the public transcripts of dominant and subordinate groups, and that Scott initiated a productive research agenda into the hidden transcripts of powerless groups, research into hidden transcripts of powerful actors is lacking. We identify an assumption within this literature that because existing social institutions are already structured in such a way as to reflect and advance the interests of dominant groups, there is no need for separate spaces to foster the consciousness, cohesivness, and mobilisation of the powerful. Third, we ask how social scientists might study the hidden transcripts of the powerful, and what methodological challenges and opportunities such a research programme might present, identifying in particular the promising avenue of studying what we have chosen to call ‘transcripts hidden in plain sight’. Fourth, and finally, we question the epistemological status of these hidden transcripts, focusing on whether they can be used by social researchers as a reliable indicator of the ‘true’ consciousness of the social group that expresses them.

Beyond whiteness: exploring pedagogical aspects of resistance to multicultural education

ABSTRACT Recently, there has been a focus on the experiences of students who belong to society’s dominant groups. One aspect of this focus is on the resistance to multicultural concepts. While some studies have explored cultural identity as a cause of this resistance, more explorations from a social-pedagogical perspective are needed. This qualitative case study examines the resistance to multicultural education expressed by Israeli Jewish undergraduate education students who were enrolled in an academic course on multiculturalism. Using Critical Whiteness Studies as a theoretical lens, the study shows how students from this privileged group oppose multiculturalism through pedagogical aspects of teaching. This approach to resistance highlights the role of social positionality in critiquing this field without directly engaging with its core ideas. Therefore, pedagogy is presented as a crucial concept to be considered.

Uncovering the sources of revolutionary violence: the case of Colombia’s National Front (1958-1964)

ABSTRACT Scholars often explain political violence by highlighting factors such as state weakness. This article shifts the analysis to a focus on state character. More specifically, the article analyses how the growth of revolutionary violence in 1960s Colombia was shaped by the earlier period of the National Front (1958–1964). This earlier period is crucial to understanding the outbreak of revolutionary violence because it gave rise to a project of state reorganization which refashioned the relationship between dominant and subaltern groups. The reorganization of alliances under the National Front helped to significantly reduce inter-party violence, but because of the way in which the form of state was reorganized, the National Front produced new conditions of conflict, which culminated in the growth of revolutionary violence. In making this case it is argued that the birth of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), reflected through the military offensive against Marquetalia in 1964, can only be effectively captured by appreciating how dominant forces implemented a state reorganization project, which produced new dynamics of conflict and ultimately failed to incorporate key subaltern groups.

Navigating Between National Unity and Political Expediency: The Federal Government’s Response to Substate Identity Policy in Nigeria and Canada

What factors shape the federal or national governments’ responses to substate identity policies within deeply diverse federal systems? This article answers this question by analysing the role of the President or Prime Minister as ‘bearers’ of national unity, when confronted with (exclusivist) identity policies that may threaten the inclusion of all citizens, in particular minorities residing in jurisdictions dominated by a dominant (ethnocultural, linguistic or religious) group. The empirical evidence draws on the experiences of Canada and Nigeria, focusing in particular on the tension over secularism and the Muslim veil in Québec public institutions, and the adoption of Sharia by twelve Muslim-majority states in Nigeria. The paper demonstrates that while the need to uphold cultural diversity could explain the federal government’s responses to the identity policies implemented in these regions, the primary driver of the responses was the president and prime minister’s political goal of re-election and retaining power. The paper contributes to the literature by stressing the similarities in the political reflexes and strategies utilized by political actors in managing the tension between the constitutional principles of self-rule and shared rule in two federations that are often thought to be so different and, hence, incomparable.

Temperature Mainly Determined the Seasonal Variations in Soil Faunal Communities in Semiarid Areas

The implementation of the Grain for Green Project has increased vegetation coverage and provided suitable habitats and food resources for soil fauna, thereby promoting the development of soil faunal communities. Studying seasonal variations in soil fauna communities in different vegetation areas can improve our understanding of the mechanisms that drive soil fauna recovery. We selected five typical artificially restored vegetation habitats, including Populus simonii (POS), Pinus tabulaeformis (PIT), Caragana korshinskii (CAK), Stipa bungeana (STB), and Medicago sativa (MES), and one farmland (Zea mays, FAL) habitat on the Loess Plateau. In this study, soil fauna communities and environmental factors were investigated during spring (May), summer (August), and autumn (November). Among the habitats, the STB habitat had the largest seasonal variation in soil faunal density (from 1173 ind·m−2 in May to 10,743 ind·m−2 in August), and the FAL habitat had the smallest (from 2827 ind·m−2 in August to 5550 ind·m−2 in November). Among the restored vegetation habitats, Acarina (44.89–88.56%) had the highest relative abundance of all taxa. The redundancy analysis (RDA) results showed that among the factors driving seasonal variation in soil animal communities, temperature (47.41%) was the most important, followed by precipitation (22.60%). In addition, the dominant groups, Acarina and Collembola, played an influential role in seasonal variations in soil faunal density. Temperature mainly determined the seasonal variations in soil faunal communities. Seasonal factors should be considered when conducting soil fauna research, as they contribute to biodiversity conservation and regional ecological management in the Loess Plateau.

Characterization of Volatile Organic Compounds and Aroma of Eight Bamboo Species Leaves

Bamboo forest healthcare tourism is a practical and sustainable management model that utilizes the medicinal functions of bamboo. However, the mechanism and potential functions of bamboo’s healthcare functions are still unclear. In this study, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are the core factor of bamboo forest healthcare were analyzed. The foliar VOCs of eight bamboo species, including Pleioblastus amarus (Keng) P. C. Keng, Pleioblastus maculatus (McClure) C. D. Chu et C. S. Chao, Pleioblastus juxianensis T. H. Wen, C. Y. Yao et S. Y. Chen, Acidosasa chienouensis (T. H. Wen) C. S. Chao et T. H. Wen, Pseudosasa amabilis (McClure) P. C. Keng ex S. L. Chen et al., Pseudosasa amabilis (McClure) Keng f., Phyllostachys rubromarginata McClure, and Phyllostachys hirtivagina G. H. Lai were qualitatively and semi-quantitatively analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME)–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Screening compounds by aroma vitality value (OAV) determined the key aromas. The results showed that a total of 40 VOCs were identified from the leaves of the eight bamboo species. The compounds with relatively high content were (Z)-3-Hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-Hexen-1-ol, 1-Hexanol, (E, E)-2,4-Hexadienal, Limonene, and so on. The commonality of different bamboo species was that the dominant groups consisted of alcohols and aldehydes. The significant differences in leaf VOCs among species presented classification. Pleioblastus amarus, Acidosasa chienouensis, Pseudosasa amabilis, and Phyllostachys rubromarginata were noticeably clustered together. The aroma of bamboo leaves is a combination of grassy, fruity, and piney notes by 24 VOCs. The key aroma from Pleioblastus amarus is leaf alcohol, which contributes to the grassy scent, while the piney aroma is dominant in Pseudosasa amabilis and Phyllostachys rubromarginata. The study provides a reference value for enriching the chemical information of subtropical bamboo and developing the functional potential of bamboo forest healthcare tourism.

Plato’s Shadows in the Digital Cave: Controlling Cultural Bias in Generative AI

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, like ChatGPT, have the potential to perpetuate and amplify cultural biases embedded in their training data, which are predominantly produced by dominant cultural groups. This paper explores the philosophical and technical challenges of detecting and mitigating cultural bias in generative AI, drawing on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to frame the issue as a problem of limited and distorted representation. We propose a multifaceted approach combining technical interventions, such as data diversification and culturally aware model constraints, with a deeper engagement with the cultural and philosophical dimensions of the problem. Drawing on theories of extended cognition and situated knowledge, we argue that mitigating AI biases requires a reflexive interrogation of the cultural contexts of AI development and a commitment to empowering marginalized voices and perspectives. We claim that controlling cultural bias in generative AI is inseparable from the larger project of promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in AI development and governance. By bridging philosophical reflection with technical innovation, this paper contributes to the growing discourse on responsible and inclusive AI, offering a roadmap for detecting and mitigating cultural biases while grappling with the profound cultural implications of these powerful technologies.