Scientific Study Research Articles

The Forest Multiple: Composing and digitalizing wooded worlds

Designations of forests take hold in policy definitions, land use practices, community initiatives, scientific research, and entrepreneurial endeavors. These multiple forests form as distinct and often competing realities enacted through environmental practices, knowledges, and cosmologies. “The Forest Multiple” special issue explores the question of “what is a forest” to examine the diverse ways that forests materialize and are operationalized in a time of planetary upheaval. With ongoing deforestation and degradation, together with calls for restoration and replanting, forests are positioned as key ecosystems for addressing climate change and biodiversity collapse. Technologies, especially digital tools, are often central to forest restoration and conservation projects, further entrenching distinct logics of datafication, optimization, and efficiency typically oriented toward market objectives, which can collide with diversely inhabited forest forests. In this sense, conserved, cultivated, and expanded forests can vary in composition, purpose, interconnections, and social–cultural value. This special issue revisits and extends key work on multiplicity and pluralism within science and technology studies, geography, and aligned fields to analyze how forests as ecosystems and entities are made, what the consequences of these practices are, how forest worlds come into conflict, and how it could be possible to work toward more just, convivial, and pluralistic environmental relations.

Harnessing Satellite Data Alone for Mapping Global Thermal Anisotropy

AbstractMapping thermal anisotropy across global lands is critical for advancing a wide range of Earth science studies. However, a comprehensive understanding of global thermal anisotropy intensity (TAI) and its governing factors remains missing. We introduce a novel data‐driven methodology to quantify global TAI exclusively using multi‐angle MODIS land surface temperature time series observations. Our analysis reveals distinct seasonal and diurnal TAI patterns, with global mean summertime TAI exceeding 2.9°C. Furthermore, we identify strong associations between TAI and key surface and atmospheric parameters, such as leaf area index and downward shortwave radiation. Our findings advocate for a paradigm shift from model‐based to data‐driven approaches in correcting thermal anisotropy, thereby addressing a critical bottleneck in Earth observation.

Supraspinatus Muscle Length in the Torn Rotator Cuff: Associations with Shoulder Strength and Tear Size.

Supraspinatus Muscle Length in the Torn Rotator Cuff: Associations with Shoulder Strength and Tear Size.

Green synthesis, analysis and characterization of silver nanoparticles loaded on Ginkgo biloba and estimation of their antibacterial activity

A scientific study evaluated the effectiveness of green synthetic nanoparticles containing Ginkgo biloba extract and silver nitrate as an antibacterial agent. The scientists created the green nanoparticles by mixing the plant extract with different amounts of silver nitrate (1 mM, 1.5 mM, 1.75 mM, and 2 mM). The combination changed color from yellowish to brown in 10 minutes, and after an hour, it turned into a dark brown shade. This color change indicates the formation of silver nanoparticles. The researchers observed a distinct surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) band at around 433 nm, which suggests the presence of nanoparticles with a green color. The highest peak intensity of this band is observed at a concentration of 1.75 mM AgNO3. Atomic Force Microscopy is used to analyze the form and size of the green nanoparticles. The findings showed that the nanoparticles' size depended on the silver nitrate concentration. The average diameters are 74.86, 42.70, 36.01 and 39.27 nm for AgNO3 concentrations of 1 mM, 1.5 mM, 1.75 mM, and 2 mM, respectively. The height of the nanoparticles varied based on the concentration of silver nitrate. The heights measured are 46.497 nm, 18.360 nm, 19.233 nm, and 24.293 nm for silver nitrate concentrations of 1 mM, 1.5 mM, 1.75 mM, and 2 mM, respectively. The silver nanoparticles synthesized had a mostly spherical shape. The study tested the efficacy of green synthetic silver nanoparticles against two strains of bacteria: Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. The findings showed that nanoparticles at different doses (1, 1.5, 1.75 and 2 mM) successfully suppressed bacterial growth, resulting in inhibition zones of different sizes. The inhibitory zones for Staphylococcus aureus are measured to be 8 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, and 7 mm at concentrations of 1 mM, 1.5 mM, 1.75 mM and 2 mM, respectively. The inhibitory zones for Pseudomonas aeruginosa are 9 mm, 10 mm, 11 mm, and 9 mm at concentrations of 1 mM, 1.5 mM, 1.75 mM and 2 mM, respectively.

Scientific analysis of shared AB blood type among relics and eucharistic miracles: A reply to Franco Serafini's commentary.

In the recent paper entitled "The relics of Jesus and Eucharistic miracles: scientific analysis of shared AB blood type" the issue was raised that assignment of AB blood type using serological methods with such articles may be difficult due to the shared nature of AB antigens between humans and bacteria. Moreover, it was pointed out that examination of unique polymorphic markers would be required to validate a single source of origin. In a responsive commentary, Serafini has argued that because serological AB techniques have proven useful for certain (unrelated) studies in the past, the validity of such findings with relics is therefore convincing, even though environmental conditions are markedly different. In addition, he makes several assertions regarding the extensive use of control groups that confuse results obtained with relics with those of Eucharistic miracles, which should be considered separately. Serafini's main concern is that excessive scientific prudence will put people off a topic such as the scientific study of Eucharistic miracles. Unfortunately, this viewpoint fails to realize that incautious scientific investigation of such subjects may, in fact, be of much greater harm in the long run. Specific responses to the key points raised in Serafini's commentary are discussed below.

Defining Study Populations in HIV Prevention Implementation Science Studies: A Case Comparison of 3 Ending the HIV Epidemic Projects.

Implementation studies include both recipient populations, who will benefit from the study's evidence-based intervention, and study populations, who will participate in the intervention and contribute data to implementation outcomes. Decision making around inclusion criteria for the study population and whether to include the recipient population have significant implications for study design. We present 3 case studies of HIV prevention implementation studies that feature diverse study populations and describe the decision-making process around defining study populations to share generalizable lessons for the field. We identified recipient and study populations for each study, described decision making regarding inclusion and exclusion criteria, and identified implications for measuring study aims. HIV prevention interventions focus on pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake and HIV testing in settings such as emergency departments, obstetrics/gynecology clinical practices, and free HIV testing sites. These studies were designed to inform scale-up of intervention strategies based on effectiveness, affordability, and feasibility. Decisions about whom to include in the study populations were based on context, strategies, and implementation outcomes. We identified important considerations across projects, including study context, strategies, and approaches. These factors can inform decisions around defining study populations to ensure successful measurement of study aims and sustainability of implementation outcomes.

Home Environment Matters: Predicting TIMSS Math Success in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a large-scale international assessment that measures students’ achievement in mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth-grade levels. Coordinated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), TIMSS is conducted every four years. The 2023 assessment represented the eighth cycle of TIMSS, collecting data from 64 participating countries. This exploratory study examines the influence of several key factors—gender, home learning resources, experiences of bullying, disruptive classroom behavior, and students’ sense of school belonging—on fourth-grade mathematics achievement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research sample included 2,712 students (mean age: 10.2 years; SD = 0.4; 1,388 girls and 1,324 boys). Results showed that home learning resources were the most important predictor of mathematics achievement, emphasizing the essential role that home educational conditions play in student academic outcomes. The observed difference between boys and girls in mathematics scores was minimal. Both bullying and disruptive behavior were found to have a statistically significant negative impact on mathematics performance, whereas the effect of students’ sense of school belonging did not reach statistical significance. Home learning resources proved to be the most decisive variable in forecasting mathematics achievement among fourth-grade students in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reinforcing the value of home-based educational support in fostering academic progress. These results suggest the necessity for educational policies and interventions that ensure fair access to learning resources within the home environment. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings and outlines potential avenues for future research and educational practice.

JPS Uberoi: A beacon for science and technology studies (STS)

JPS Uberoi: A beacon for science and technology studies (STS)

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К АНАЛИЗУ И ОЦЕНКЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ИННОВАЦИОННОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ СИСТЕМ

Based on the results of the scientific research, methodological approaches to the analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of innovative development of economic systems have been improved. In modern market conditions, enterprises producing various types of products cannot always maintain their market positions and their market share, so the topical issue is profit growth and improving product quality and production efficiency. One of the important factors for better functioning of enterprises is the introduction of new types of products or technologies, an established process for introducing innovations and general innovative development. Therefore, it is necessary to study the impact systems of various factors on the level of their modern development, based on the results of a deep scientific study of the methods, lead their efforts to the digital path of development of methods for analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of innovative development and using economic and mathematical tools to ensure their stability. That is why, as a result of studying many methodological approaches to the analysis and assessment of the effectiveness of innovative development of economic systems, the authors developed a graphical model of the interrelations of subsystems using the example of pulp and paper industry enterprises, noted industry features that affect the effectiveness of an enterprise in the industry, noted the division of economic systems into subsystems (production and technological, natural and ecological, socio-economic, organizational and managerial), proposed a model of innovative development of an economic system with a row of the methodological approaches to the analysis and assessment of the effectiveness of the development of economic systems in order to predict their innovative.

Geo Widengren and the Non-Confessional Academic Study of Religions in Sweden

Abstract Geo Widengren (1907–1996), Professor of the History of Religion and Psychology of Religion at Uppsala University from 1940 till 1973, was, like all individuals, a complex and often contradictory person. My focus in this short text is on Widengren’s scientific credo, which stresses that “religion” should be studied like any historical subject and the scholar should therefore not use personal or normative judgements when analyzing the religions of either the past or the present. In other words, the academic and scientific study of religions should be non-confessional. Inspired by biographical studies and microhistory, I have used Widengren as a case for studying the microlevel or individual level. However, to grasp the microhistory, one also needs to zoom out and focus on the larger picture, i.e., social changes and prevailing discourses. By doing so, it becomes clear that Widengren’s academic credo for the study of religions also found resonance in the public discourse when, during the 1950s and 1960s, Sweden adopted a law on the freedom of religion and changed the content of “religion” as a school subject from the study of Christianity to the study of religions in general.

Becoming Religious as an Education of Attention

ABSTRACTA vast literature in the social scientific study of religion demonstrates that religious people are made not born. More specifically, researchers have shown that becoming religious is something that people must learn how to do. Adding to this well‐established focus on the socialization of religious subjects, I argue that becoming religious also involves learning and being taught how to pay attention. Drawing from ethnographic findings on religious conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy as well as other cases, I demonstrate how and to what ends religious embodied practices, material artifacts, and narratives cultivate actors’ attentional habits and capacities. Via this education of attention, aspects of actors’ lived experience become open to the possibility of new religious signification and interpretation. At the same time, what would otherwise be abstract religious meanings are able to take on concrete, perceptible forms, making them more phenomenally realistic and compelling. By paying sociological attention to the education of attention, we gain new insight into how, exactly, religious meanings become implicated in peoples’ lived experiences and self‐understandings.

Science and society in Ireland: examining public trust in scientists against a global background

ABSTRACT Public trust in scientists is vital for navigating complex global challenges, influencing evidence-informed policy, and promoting societal well-being. However, concerns exist about a potential crisis of trust in science, fuelled by misinformation, conspiracy theories, and science-related populism. The Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism (TISP) study investigated public perceptions of scientists across 68 countries. This paper examines the TISP findings for Ireland, focusing on public trust in scientists and the implications for the Irish educational landscape. The study reveals that trust in scientists in Ireland is generally moderate to high, exceeding global averages, but notably lower among younger respondents. Regression analyses show a strong association between trust in scientific methods and overall trust in scientists, highlighting the importance of robust science education with a strong emphasis on science communication. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses reveals a strong expectation that scientists should embody professionalism, integrity, and continuous self-improvement. These findings suggest a need for targeted science education and communication efforts in Ireland, emphasising critical thinking skills, understanding of the scientific process, and the ethical responsibilities of scientists. Promoting transparency, dialogue, and public participation in scientific endeavours will help foster a more robust and trusting relationship between science and society in Ireland.

Vladimir Vysotsky’s image in Russian documentary and fiction cinema: peculiarities of genre formation and historical memory

The article aims to determine the place and role of Russian cinema in the commemorative practice of historical memory of the poet, musician and actor Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky in the social and urban space of the country. Comparative-historical, problem-chronological, observational and descriptive methods, as well as theoretical methods (analysis and synthesis, content analysis, analogy) are used to analyze the commemoration of historical memory. The research is based on the historical-situational principle and interdisciplinary approach. For detailed analysis, documentary cinema as a phenomenon is divided by the author into two components: fact – as a historical phenomenon and image – as a subjective commemorative construction. Documentary films are considered as a «screen embodiment of time» in the context of the historical narrative of V.S. Vysotsky’s life and activity. The prerequisites for the emergence and development of the documentary genre about V.S. Vysotsky’s life and activity are determined. The chronological framework of the emergence of this phenomenon is established. On the basis of the analysis of genre classifications of non-fiction films a set of theses on the basis of which the documentary film about V.S. Vysotsky is formed is revealed and characterized. Twenty documentaries are used as the source base of the article, which allowed us to reconstruct the main scripts of non-fiction films about V.S. Vysotsky, to determine their specifics and distinctive features on the basis of specific examples. Documentary film festivals are considered as a constituent part of commemorative practice in the context of the documentary genre of films about V.S. Vysotsky. Several elements of biographical myth in fiction cinema are highlighted. The ways of reconstructing V.S. Vysotsky’s image in fiction and non-fiction cinema are established. This problematic has not been subjected to a special systematic study in historical science before. The results obtained in the course of the work reveal the importance of cinema as an effective tool for preserving the historical memory of V.S. Vysotsky in the mass consciousness of the Russian people.

Influence of aggressive media content: Reasons for the emergence and measures of counteraction.

The article presents the results of a scientific and practical study on the reasons for the emergence of aggressive modern media content. The authors reveal issues regarding the classification of the types of aggressive content. The characteristics of the main forms of modern aggressive media content, as well as the specifics of the information and psychological impact of aggressive content on the perception of the target audience are presented. The article discusses the measures of counteraction and gatekeeping of content containing aggressive elements.

Mitochondria in cancer: a comprehensive review, bibliometric analysis, and future perspectives

IntroductionMitochondria are essential organelles for many aspects of cellular homeostasis. They play an indispensable role in the development and progression of diseases, particularly cancer which is a major cause of death worldwide. We analyzed the scientific research output on mitochondria and cancer via PubMed and Web of Science over the period 1990–2023.MethodsBibliometric analysis was performed by extracting data linking mitochondria to cancer pathogenesis over the period 1990–2023 from the PubMed database which has a precise and specific search engine. Only articles and reviews were considered. Since PubMed does not support analyses by countries or institutions, we utilized InCites, an analytical tool developed and marketed by Clarivate Analytics. We also used the VOSviewer software developed by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (Bibliometric Department of Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands), which enables us to graphically represent links between countries, authors or keywords in cluster form. Finally, we used iCite, a tool developed by the NIH (USA) to access a dashboard of bibliometrics for papers associated with a portfolio. This module can therefore be used to measure whether the research carried out is still basic, translational or clinical.ResultsIn total, 169,555 publications were identified in PubMed relating to ‘mitochondria’, of which 34,949 (20.61%) concerned ‘mitochondria’ and ‘dysfunction’ and 22,406 (13.21%) regarded ‘mitochondria’ and ‘cancer’. Hence, not all mitochondrial dysfunctions may lead to cancer or enhance its progression. Qualitatively, the disciplines of journals were classified into 166 categories among which cancer specialty accounts for only 4.7% of publications. Quantitatively, our analysis showed that cancer/neoplasms in the liver (2569 articles) were placed in the first position. USA occupied the first position among countries contributing the highest number of publications (5695 articles), whereas Egypt came in the thirty-eight position with 84 publications (0.46%). Importantly, USA is the first-ranked country having both the top 1% and 10% impact indicators with 207 and 1459 articles, respectively. By crossing the query ‘liver neoplasms’ (155,678) with the query ‘mitochondria’ (169,555), we identified 1336 articles in PubMed over the study period. Among these publications, research areas were classified into 65 categories with the highest percentage of documents included in biochemistry and molecular biology (28.92%), followed by oncology (23.31%).ConclusionsThis study underscores the crucial yet underrepresented role of mitochondria in cancer research. Despite their significance in cancer pathogenesis, the proportion of related publications remains relatively low. Our findings highlight the need for further research to deepen our understanding of mitochondrial mechanisms in cancer, which could pave the way for new therapeutic strategies.Graphical

Sustainability Challenges in Kazakhstan’s River Systems: Assessing Climate-Induced Hydrological Changes

Global and regional climate change and their water-related impacts are a key component in future development scenarios to guide sustainable water management. Climatic changes may lead to an undesirable redistribution of water supplies and potentially harmful extremities in river flows throughout the year. If we add to this the uneven spatial distribution of water resources in Kazakhstan, the importance of assessment of the intra-annual distribution of river flows under historical and present climatic conditions becomes evident. The presented scientific study analyzes decadal regional trends from 1985 to 2022 in the intra-annual distribution of river runoff in selected catchments in Kazakhstan, including Buktyrma River, Zhabay River, and Ulken-Kobda River. The river basins were selected to cover diverse regions in terms of geographical features and hydrological conditions, significantly affected by climate change. We applied statistical analysis methods using multiyear values of mean monthly and mean annual river flows, mean monthly air temperatures, and mean monthly precipitation. To analyze the intra-annual distribution of annual river flow in the context of climate change, a computational method was used, in which the actual current river flow (modern river flow taking into account non-stationarity of climatic changes) was compared with the conditionally natural flow obtained by modeling and corresponding to the natural regime of the river. The long-term dynamics of flow-forming factors and runoff parameters with regard to phases of different water content (25%, 50%, and 75%) were considered. Statistical analysis of seasonal changes in water content of modeled and actual river flow, taking into account climatic non-stationarity, allowed us to identify significant trends of flow redistribution within the year: indicating a decrease in the volume of spring floods, an increase in winter flow and increase in seasonal variability, especially for the Ulken Kobda River. It appears that atmospheric circulation significantly affects annual and seasonal variations of water availability. The shift in western circulation type (W) contributes to increased average annual river flow, while the shift in eastern circulation type (E) is associated with amplification of extreme flood-type events. The results obtained are important for adapting sustainable water management practices under a changing climate, helping to anticipate the availability of water resources and allowing pro-active measures to mitigate hydrological extremes.

Enhance Vision-Language Alignment with Noise

With the advancement of pre-trained vision-language (VL) models, enhancing the alignment between visual and linguistic modalities in downstream tasks has emerged as a critical challenge. Different from existing fine-tuning methods that add extra modules to these two modalities, we investigate whether the frozen model can be fine-tuned by customized noise. Our approach is motivated by the scientific study of beneficial noise, namely Positive-incentive Noise (Pi-noise) , which quantitatively analyzes the impact of noise. It therefore implies a new scheme to learn beneficial noise distribution that can be employed to fine-tune VL models. Focusing on few-shot classification tasks based on CLIP, we reformulate the inference process of CLIP and apply variational inference, demonstrating how to generate Pi-noise towards visual and linguistic modalities. Then, we propose Positive-incentive Noise Injector (PiNI), which can fine-tune CLIP via injecting noise into both visual and text encoders. Since the proposed method can learn the distribution of beneficial noise, we can obtain more diverse embeddings of vision and language to better align these two modalities for specific downstream tasks within limited computational resources. We evaluate different noise incorporation approaches and network architectures of PiNI. The evaluation across 11 datasets demonstrates its effectiveness.

Capaciting Cis-Women for Heterosexuality: Uncrystallized Knowledge within Vaginal Repair Clinic

ABSTRACT In gynaecology, women with non-penetrative vaginas are the target of vaginal lengthening techniques, such as the use of vaginal dilators and vaginoplasty, aimed at repairing their body's availability to participate in the 'coital imperative'. (Jackson 1984). This article looks at the treatment of women with Rokitansky syndrome - one of these physical variants – through a qualitative analysis of interviews with gynaecologists, as part of a wider study of Spanish intersex clinics (2013–2021). Do gynaecologists ignore the relationship between corrective techniques and feminisation? Do they always think of it as a health problem? I problematise these questions in order to address the formation of knowledge in action, outside of the dualism of 'knowing/not knowing' something. Drawing on feminist contributions from Science and Technology Studies and Crip theory, I explore the dynamics of crystallisation and decrystallisation of knowledge about vaginal repair among professionals. This approach shows how gynaecologists are involved in creating ontologies about women that focus on vaginal penetration as a marker of sexual difference and heterosexuality. This analysis is useful for rethinking the epistemological question of 'repair' and imagining what other repairs we need to transform the contemporary contexts of ableist sexism in which we live.

Which Students are Exposed to Teachers of Color?

ABSTRACT Research finds many benefits of exposure to teachers of Color, especially for students of Color. However, teachers of Color are underrepresented and unevenly distributed resulting in unequal access to these benefits. We descriptively examine the rate at which cohorts of 3rd to 8th grade students in Tennessee are assigned to teachers of different racial/ethnic identities. We also investigate how school-level factors predict exposure to teachers of Color and same-race teachers. We find a sizeable group of students never have a teacher of Color in a tested subject (i.e. English/language arts, math, science, and social studies) from 3rd to 8th grade and large variation in exposure across regions, districts, and schools. While essentially all White students and most Black students have at least one same-race teacher, very few Hispanic and Asian students do. We find evidence that the presence of Black administrators makes exposure to Black teachers more likely. We also find that schools may strategically assign students within schools to increase student matching to same-race teachers, a pattern even more pronounced for Black students in schools with Black administrators.

Africa's Unfinished Democratic Journey: My Modest Part

My life is roughly divided into three parts. The first part covers my formative years: birth a few years before Ghana's independence, elementary education in a tiny rural village, secondary school in a nearby town, and undergraduate studies at the University of Ghana, where my interest in politics and public affairs was nurtured. The second part concerns the expansion of my intellectual horizons. It begins with my doctoral studies in political science at the University of California, Davis. It continues with my return to Ghana in the mid-1980s, when it was under military rule, to teach, research, and write about African politics from inside the continent. It ends with my relocation to Washington, DC, where I was exposed to the world of think tanks. Part three deals with my return to Ghana in the late 1990s. I spent the time observing and documenting Africa's democratic transitions in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I also played a key role in the moment through two nonstate research and advocacy institutions—the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and Afrobarometer.