Original Theory Research Articles

Conservation agriculture measures as a strategy to create sustainable social and psychological changes in agricultural communities

The main aim of this study was to investigate the potential of encouraging intention to use conservation agriculture technologies to create sustainable social and psychological changes in agricultural communities. The study was carried out using a cross-sectional survey using 384 Iranian landowner farmers as the sample. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Furthermore, its validity and reliability were evaluated using different quantitative and qualitative indices. The results revealed that the basic variables of Theory of Planned Behavior including attitude towards conservation agriculture (ACA), subjective norms of conservation agriculture (SNCA), and perceived behavioral control on conservation agriculture (PBCCA) positively and significantly affected the intention towards application of conservation agriculture technologies and practices (IACATP). Comparison of the original and extended versions of Theory of Planned Behavior showed that the inclusion of the variables perceived risk conventional agriculture (PRCA), knowledge about conservation agriculture (KCA), level of education, farm size, and income level in the original Theory of Planned Behavior could increase its explanatory power from 66.4% to 77.3%. This result was one of the most important contributions of the present study that can be considered a turning point for social change interventions in rural and agricultural communities. The study also led to new insights into the mechanisms of encouraging IACATP and social-psychological changes in agricultural communities. These innovative insights can be used by different users such as governmental policy-makers, technology developers, social change interventionists, environmental decision-makers, and researchers.

Theory of bunched beam transverse Schottky signals with stationary rf system and high-order chromaticity

Theory of bunched beam transverse Schottky signals with stationary rf system and high-order chromaticity

Abstract 4117594: Fetal Synthetic Glucocorticoid (sGC) Exposure Results in Later Life Cardiac Dysfunction and Ventricular Remodeling in Male Baboon Offspring

The “theory of developmental origins of health and disease” posits that stress in critical developmental periods will program life-course health and may affect cardiovascular (CV) health. Mothers at risk for premature delivery receive synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) to enhance fetal lung maturation and manage fetal respiratory distress, but sGC exposure is linked to long-term CV dysfunction in offspring. Four groups of male baboons were studied: sGC exposed in utero at middle age (sGC-MA, 13.8±0.2Y), older sGC exposed in utero (sGC-O, 17.1±0.4Y), middle age unexposed (CTR-MA, 13.5±0.6Y), and older, unexposed baboons (CTR-O, 17.4±0.4Y). Gated, breath-hold, cine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 3 Tesla (Siemens TIM Trio) to assess left ventricular (LV) function and myocardial strain, analyzed using cvi42® software. Mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complex activity was analyzed using LV tissue from sGC-O and CTR-O euthanized baboons. Protein quantification was used to measure mitochondrial function and RNA-seq assessed differential gene expression and gene ontology (GO) enrichment. Unpaired t-tests were used. Data are reported as mean ± SD. Stroke volume and ejection fraction were similar in the elderly groups (4 sGC-O, 8 CTR-O). However, higher end-systolic and end-diastolic sphericity indexes (SI) and shorter LV axis lengths indicated remodeling. Also, global longitudinal and radial strains were reduced (both p<0.04) in sGC-O vs. CTR-O. Reduced LV cardiac output (p=0.005) was found in 5 sGC-MA animals vs 4 sGC-O animals, but not in 5 CTR-MA vs 8 CTR-O. In sGC-MA vs sGC-O, but not CTR-MA vs CTR-O, significant increases in SI (p=0.001), radial strain (p=0.02), and longitudinal (p=0.03) strain were found, but LV axis length (p=0.03) was reduced. LV mitochondrial analysis in 4 sGC-O vs 4 CTR-O myocardial samples revealed 33.5% less ETC activity (p=0.002) and 19.8% less complex I expression (p=0.048) in sGC. LV RNA-seq identified 63 upregulated and 20 downregulated genes in the sGC-O samples. GO pathway enrichment included changes in heart contraction, wounding responses, and leukocyte regulation pathways. These findings indicate that fetal sGC exposure developmentally programs offspring with LV remodeling and long-term cardiac and gene expression changes in male baboons, the closest available experimental nonhuman primate species to man. Future studies on females will probe sexual dimorphism in developmental programming.

BLESSED MARCELINA DAROWSKA – A NOTABLE EXAMPLE OF POLISH MYSTICISM OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Blessed Marcelina Darowska (1827–1911), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, stands out from the numerous Polish mystics of the 19th century primarily because of her rich experience of mystical life and the original theory of mysticism (mystology) contained in her writings. She left a two-volume ascetic-mystical treatise, spiritual notes (“Diary”), many letters to spiritual directors and some sisters, as well as texts of retreats that she preached to students and various people. She created her own mystical language.As an outstanding representative of 19th-century Polish mysticism, she stands out from other trends in mystical life, including: healthy patriotism, Marian piety with particular emphasis on the title of Mary Queen of Poland, apostolate in the education of girls and women, and the development of various forms of folk piety that strengthen National identity.It had a wide impact on Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian society, mainly through educational institutions for girls. She also maintained active contacts, including: with Saint archbishop Józef Bilczewski, Saint archbishop Szczęsny Feliński and other outstanding personalities of the spiritual and social life of those times.

Co-present mobile phone use as an expectancy violation: revisiting ‘phubbing’ in two lab-based experiments

ABSTRACT Two lab-based experiments (N = 81 and N = 74) examined effects of co-present mobile phone use (frequently conceptualized as ‘phubbing’) on how individuals experience social interactions. The first experiment was modeled after the original Expectancy Violation Theory experiment by Burgoon and Le Poire (1993). Results showed that phubbing predicted perceptions of expectancy violation. These perceptions mediated the association between phubbing and several indicators of both impression formation as well as interpersonal attraction. The second experiment showed that more intensive phubbing led to poorer ratings of the confederate’s attentiveness, conversation quality, and perceived relationship quality than less intensive phubbing. Together, the two experiments support that phubbing, especially when it is more intensive, can harm relational outcomes.

Why is therapeutic exercise the best treatment for knee osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee joints (KJ) has a high social significance and is therefore a relevant pathology for scientific research. The authors have proposed an original hydraulic theory for the pathogenesis of OA in KJ. This approach is based on the notion of primary mechanical damage to the internal ligamentous structures and synovial membrane accompanied by posttraumatic edema, synovial hypervolemia, and hypertension. The authors demonstrated that regular physical activity at all stages of the disease is pathogenetically justified and allows the patient to improve lymphatic and venous outflow and thus resist increasing fibrosis. Improved arterial blood flow will reduce tissue hypoxia. Any type of symptom-modifying therapy can be harmful because it reduces the protective role of pain reflexes in protecting the KJ from excessive loads, leading to injury. The necessity of maintaining a walking speed of more than 4.3 km/h with an increase in cadence is emphasized from the perspective of reducing static stress during walking and extending life expectancy.

EXAMINING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND DIVERSION IN THE INDONESIAN JUVENILE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AS LEGAL SETTLEMENT:BASED ON THE DIGNIFIED JUSTICE THEORY

The legal issue underlying the writing of this research article is the existence of a legal vacuum (rechtsvacuum). The legal vacuum or lacunae referred to is the lack of legal theory (meta-theory) and philosophical theory (meta-meta theory). By legal vacuum (lacunae) in terms of meta-theory and meta-meta theory, refers to the absence of a legal theory or jurisprudence that is truly original or authentic to Indonesia. There is still no original or authentic Indonesian legal theory or jurisprudence that explains, justifies, or provides scientific justification, in the sense of providing a theoretical basis for dogmatics that explain the norms, rules, or legal regulations governing the practice of law, specifically in the resolution of criminal cases involving juveniles as perpetrators of criminal acts.The statement that no theory or jurisprudence is truly original to Indonesia, as mentioned above, means that no theory or jurisprudence exists that is not a derivative or adapted from other systems. It should be emphasized here that this research is not motivated by an anti-Western sentiment. The research adopts a normative juridical approach with a philosophical perspective. The research finds that the Dignified Justice Theorycan be used to fill the legal vacuum needed to explain and justify restorative justice and diversion in the resolution of juvenile criminal cases in Indonesia. The Dignified Justice Theory can provide a theoretical and philosophical foundation for restorative justice and diversion by understanding that both restorative justice and diversion are derivative norms originating from Pancasila, the ultimate source of all legal sources in the Pancasila Legal System.

Transcriptome analysis of the allotetraploids of the Dilatata group of Paspalum (Poaceae): effects of diploidization on the expression of defensin and Snakin/GASA genes.

Plant Snakin/GASA and defensin peptides are cysteine-rich molecules with a wide range of biological functions. They are included within the large family of plant antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), characterized by their structural stability, broad spectrum of activity, and diverse mechanisms of action. The Dilatata group of Paspalum includes five allotetraploids that share an equivalent genomic formula IIJJ. From RNA-seq data of seedling tissues, we performed an in silico characterization of the defensin and Snakin/GASA genes in these species and diploids with a II and JJ genome formula and studied the evolutionary consequences of polyploidy on the expression of the two AMPs families. A total of 107 defensins (distributed in eight groups) and 145 Snakin/GASA (grouped in three subfamilies) genes were identified. Deletions, duplications and/or gene silencing seem to have mediated the evolution of these genes in the allotetraploid species. In defensin genes, the IIJJ allopolyploids retained the I subgenome defensin copies in some of the identified groups supporting the closeness of their nuclear genome with the I subgenome species. In both AMPs families, orthologous genes in tetraploids exhibit higher similarity to each other than with diploids. This data supports the theory of a single origin for the allotetraploids. Several copies of both defensin and Snakin/GASA genes were detected in the five polyploids which could have arisen due to duplication events occurring independently during the diploidization processes in the allotetraploid taxa.

From Geometry of Hamiltonian Dynamics to Topology of Phase Transitions: A Review.

In this review work, we outline a conceptual path that, starting from the numerical investigation of the transition between weak chaos and strong chaos in Hamiltonian systems with many degrees of freedom, comes to highlight how, at the basis of equilibrium phase transitions, there must be major changes in the topology of submanifolds of the phase space of Hamiltonian systems that describe systems that exhibit phase transitions. In fact, the numerical investigation of Hamiltonian flows of a large number of degrees of freedom that undergo a thermodynamic phase transition has revealed peculiar dynamical signatures detected through the energy dependence of the largest Lyapunov exponent, that is, of the degree of chaoticity of the dynamics at the phase transition point. The geometrization of Hamiltonian flows in terms of geodesic flows on suitably defined Riemannian manifolds, used to explain the origin of deterministic chaos, combined with the investigation of the dynamical counterpart of phase transitions unveils peculiar geometrical changes of the mechanical manifolds in correspondence to the peculiar dynamical changes at the phase transition point. Then, it turns out that these peculiar geometrical changes are the effect of deeper topological changes of the configuration space hypersurfaces ∑v=VN-1(v) as well as of the manifolds {Mv=VN-1((-∞,v])}v∈R bounded by the ∑v. In other words, denoting by vc the critical value of the average potential energy density at which the phase transition takes place, the members of the family {∑v}v<vc are not diffeomorphic to those of the family {∑v}v>vc; additionally, the members of the family {Mv}v>vc are not diffeomorphic to those of {Mv}v>vc. The topological theory of the deep origin of phase transitions allows a unifying framework to tackle phase transitions that may or may not be due to a symmetry-breaking phenomenon (that is, with or without an order parameter) and to finite/small N systems.

Auschwitz and Hiroshima: Günther Anders

Abstract Widely translated into several Western languages (with the exception of English), Günther Anders (1902–92) has, in the last two decades, attained the status of a classic figure within twentieth-century critical thought, close to Herbert Marcuse and the Frankfurt School without ever becoming one of its members. This article analyses his intellectual trajectory and his body of work, which includes many articles, essays, short stories, and even a novel. It focuses on his Jewish roots, which made him a paradigmatic representative of the ‘non-Jewish Jew’: a Jew confronted with antisemitism, an internationalist standing before the Jewish tradition. The crucial premises of his original theory, the author emphasises, were Auschwitz and Hiroshima, the extermination of European Jewry, and the atomic bomb. Set out in his most ambitious work, The Outdatedness of Human Beings (Volume 1, 1956; Volume 2, 1980), Anders’ thought appears as a kind of dialectical sublation, from a Marxist perspective, of Heidegger’s philosophy of technique (where technique has replaced human beings as the subject of history), articulated with a radical criticism of Heidegger’s political ontology.

Perceptions of workplace friendships and how they have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic

Self-determination theory explains how well-being is achieved by engaging in particular behaviours. A friend in the workplace brings feelings of relatedness, autonomy and competence. Contemporary research suggests that enforced social distancing, homeworking, or hybrid working practices brought about by Covid-19, changed friendship dynamics in the workplace. A qualitative method using semi-structured interviews was conducted to explore the research question ‘Perceptions of workplace friendship and how they have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic’. Four female participants were interviewed with transcripts analysed using Thematic Analysis. Implications from the study serve to strengthen many original theories, confirming that robust research has been conducted into the area of workplace friendship. This research project went further to investigate how perceptions of workplace friendship have changed since Covid-19. Results suggest a higher level of emotional support was reciprocated between workplace friends during the pressure of working through Covid-19. Physical proximity was reported as essential in sustaining friendship links. Some friendships were difficult to continue due to social distancing or enforced separation through homeworking, the ensuing tension left many feeling uncomfortable.

An idea that refuses to die. Rise, fall and resurgence of “housing class”

In 1967, John Rex and Robert Moore published an influential book on ethnic housing inequality in Birmingham, titled Race, Community and Conflict. The book presented a theory about classes formed in the housing market, inspired by a particular reading of Max Weber’s ideas about class. The basic idea of the housing class is that people’s relation to the means of housing is a class-forming factor that is not reducible to their relation to the means of production. This paper presents the original housing class theory and its revision by Peter Saunders, property class theory, and criticisms of the two theories. Since the 1980s, both theories have disappeared from housing research. In the 2020s, the basic idea of the housing class was revived in Lisa Adkins’ and her co-authors’ asset class theory. This paper discusses the history of the idea of the housing class and its contemporary relevance. It also raises questions about the conceptualization of class and housing inequality.

Emergency Labor Constitutionalism and Emergency Regulations

Abstract Drawing on the intersection of the theory of the regulatory state, labor regulation theory of the legal origin, and the literature on emergency constitutionalism, the article introduces the notion of labor emergency constitutionalism, within the welfare emergency regulatory state. While focusing on the novel issue of emergency constitutionalism within the labor market, the article presents two variants for labor emergency constitutionalism and the development of different roles of the courts. The article explores the jurisdiction of Israel and Britain, presenting two distinct approaches to constitutionalism. Based on the problems invoked by both models, the article presents a suggested new model.

Presentation of a case of a dermoid cyst with a rare location

Dermoid cysts are choristoma that accumulate normal embryonic tissue in abnormal locations, making up 3% to 5% of congenital orbit conditions. They are found in various parts of the body, including the head and neck, frontal, periorbital, scalp, cervical, and nasoethmoidal regions. Nasoethmoidal dermoid cysts can compromise deep structures and may extend intracranially, with a frequency of 1% to 45%. They are usually diagnosed in the first 3 years of life, but some may go undetected until adulthood. Two theories explain the origin of nasal dermoids: the cranial origin theory and the superficial inclusion theory. Nasal dermoids can be pale, flesh-colored, pearly, or erythematous and may be accompanied by congenital anomalies. Different diagnoses include epidermal cysts, gliomas, meningoencephaloceles, tumors of vascular origin, fibromas, neurofibromas, osteomas, and lipomas. Imaging evaluations are necessary for diagnosis, determining the degree of involvement of neighboring structures, rule out associated malformations, and establish potential intracranial extension. The only curative treatment for nasoethmoidal dermoid cysts is surgical removal, as untreated lesions can cause nasal deformities, recurrent infections, and intracranial extension.

A Will to Win: The Role of the Public in Taiwan’s Defensive Military Outlook

Public support is a critical factor in the outcome of interstate conflicts, yet, how it operates, interacts with hard power, or influences the overall military outlook remains surprisingly undertheorized. Public support has been particularly salient for such states as Finland and Ukraine that have faced opponents of vastly greater military size, capability, and sophistication. This paper advances an original theory on the strategic utility of public support for conflict through an analysis of the case of Taiwan, a potential current flashpoint for a great power war. This paper assesses trends in Taiwanese public support for resisting a Chinese invasion over time, identifies a major upswing in the public’s willingness to fight, and argues that further coordination by state and societal actors could deter a Chinese attack or at least greatly increase the costs of an invasion and the likelihood of failure.

Европейская культурная традиция и мы: идеи М.К. Петрова

The subject of the article is the main problems of the European cultural tradition, considered by M.K. Petrov, and the questions of its specificity and continuity in the historical development from ancient philosophy to experimental sci­ence raised by him. The historical and philosophical context of his formation of the original theory of types of cultures is reconstructed. The rejection of He­gelian panlogism and the position on the universality of a linear development that is uniform for all cultures raises the question of the internal sources of cul­tural development. The article shows that Petrov is looking for answers on the paths of linguistics and the hypothesis of linguistic relativity. Turning to ancient philosophy allows Petrov to reconstruct the intellectual events caused by the emergence of language as a human invention, which broke ties with the former world of stable meanings and opened up the space for the emancipa­tion of the word and the desacralization of knowledge. In this context, the article examines a number of controversial issues about the biocode and sociocode, the name and sign that allowed them to remain the center of an extra-biological system of social coding, and about the diversity of cultures in a polycentric world. Questions are raised about the correlation of Petrov’s positions and mo­dern cultural anthropology

Theory of Origin, Administration and Decline of the Great Vijayanagar Kingdom in South Asia

The Vijayanagar Empire is one of the most prominent and well-known empires of South Asia. The empire had arisen in the times of the Delhi Sultanate and sustained for more than a period of three Centuries. It saw four dynasties and its share wars and conflicts with neighboring Muslim forces. Vijayanagar Empire also had an admirable administration system, in the sense that it is counted as highly centralized, just and elaborate. This research paper seeks to examine the administrative and political structure of the Vijayanagar Empire and various nuances related to the same. In this research explores various facets of Vijayanagar’s grand history by critically examining various historical interpretations, including nationalist, colonial, and postcolonial perspectives. The approach seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the complex factors that influenced its ascent and subsequent decline. It seeks to examine the view foreign travelers like Ibn Batuta, Fernao Nuniz and Dominigos Paes and accounts of prominent historians Ferishta that lived during the time of Vijayanagar like to the modern Scholars like Robert Sewell and Nilakanta Sastri in order to present comprehensive historiographical understanding on the Vijaynagar empire. The Vijayanagara Empire’s profound and enduring impact on the historical and cultural milieu of South India has left an indelible imprint across various domains, including art, architecture, literature, and societal practices. Through a meticulous examination of the ascendance and decline of this ancient civilization, one can glean invaluable insights into the intricate processes underpinning the formation and disintegration of polities in premodern South Asian contexts This research paper uses a variety of sources to shed light on the administrative and political conditions of the Vijayanagar Empire. It also sheds light on the changes in State Structure across the four dynasties, the impact of the administrative system on Justice, the impact of religion on State Politics and finally, the political factors that ultimately led to the end of the Greatest South Indian Empire in the Country.

THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE SAPROPHYTIC THEORY OF CANCER

The aim of the work was to justify the theoretical and practical aspects of the saprophytic theory of cancer. In the medical section of the book “The Realities of Life”, published in 2009, I described this theory for the first time with some elements of theoretical and practical justification among all the theories of cancer origin. The saprophytic theory of cancer, the theory of the occurrence of cancerous tumors can be of great importance. In this theory the main importance in the initiation of carcinogenesis in the human body have saprophytic bacteria that live with us constantly. The saprophytic theory, as an etiological cause of cancer, may be important in the development of cancerous tumors. There is a significant amount of scientific research and clearly established facts that confirm the infectious origin, whether bacterial or viral, of a cancerous tumor. Cancer can be caused by a type of saprophyte that is practically unaffected by antibiotics. A microorganism that can cause cancerous disease, has the property of reducing the human antifungal immunity, has both the properties of a virus and a bacterium. It is possible that this virus, which settled in bacterium, combined its pathogenic properties for humans. Bacterium at the same time with virus, merging into one organism, into one unit, can contribute to the development of cancer. There is an opinion that the high temperature of the human body sometimes kills cancer cells. Microorganisms are the first step of the oncogenic process, they start it, cause it to appear, and in the future they may not participate in its development. It is likely that only at the first stage of cancer occurrence, we need to kill the microorganisms that are the cause of the cancer. Or we need to find a potential human enemy and create a universal vaccine against it, which will protect the human organism from cancer. Vaccine is not against cancer, but against a microorganism that causes cancer, releasing carcinogenic substances that start the cancer process in organs and tissues.

Concordance Theory: A Retrospective on the Creation of New Civil–Military Relations Theory

This piece is part of the 50th Anniversary Armed Forces &amp; Society (AF&amp;S) special issue. I am honored to be a part of this selection of essays. I am grateful to my colleagues at AF&amp;S for their expertise and intellectual insights over the years since my original Concordance theory article—“Civil–Military Relations Reconsidered: A Theory of Concordance”—was published in 1995. Any comments made here that reflect on the current state of the academy and my experience with it over the years are in no way directed at AF&amp;S and the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society (IUS-AF&amp;S). Both AF&amp;S and IUS have been extremely supportive of my work and the scholarship of many students, researchers, and academics around the world. I have been proud to be a part of both the journal and the organization that supports the study of civil–military relations. My Concordance theory and its evolution have only benefited because of my affiliation with AF&amp;S and IUS.

Force, inertia and motion from Aristotle to nowadays didactics

This study delves into the historical development of the core principles of dynamics, namely the interplay between forces and motion. We explore the intricate and nonlinear transition from the Aristotelian framework, which held sway for eighteen centuries, to the Newtonian paradigm. We posit that the complexity of this transition largely stems from what we perceive as an inadequate understanding of force. Our focus lies particularly on the seminal contributions of Galileo and the subsequent remarkable advancements made by Newton. However, we also note that, somewhat surprisingly, the transition does not conclude with Newton himself. What is commonly known as Newtonian dynamics in modern textbooks diverges significantly from the original theory outlined in the Principia, and we endeavour to elucidate these disparities. In the concluding sections, we scrutinise the implications of these concepts for contemporary teaching methodologies. Specifically, we delve into various interpretations of the Principle of Inertia, the Second Law, and their interrelationship, pinpointing what we perceive as weak points in current didactic approaches and proffering some suggestions for effectively imparting these concepts.