Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine (OSM) research plays a central role in advancing musculoskeletal healthcare. Although previous bibliometric studies have evaluated regional and continental trends, a detailed and standardised assessment of Italy's long-term contribution remains limited. This study aimed to comprehensively analyse Italy's OSM research output, impact, and publishing landscape from 1996 to 2024 using harmonised SCImago indicators. A descriptive bibliometric analysis was conducted using data retrieved from the SCImago Journal & Country Rank database, derived from Scopus-indexed sources. Publications classified under the "Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine" category (code 2732) and affiliated with Italy were identified. Annual and cumulative document counts, total citations, self-citations, H-index, and citations per publication (CPP) were extracted. Multinational publications were assigned to Italy based on author affiliation. All data were independently collected and cross-validated by two reviewers. Citation indicators were recalculated to ensure internal consistency. Italy's annual OSM output increased from 356 publications in 1996 to 1711 in 2024, corresponding to a 4.8-fold growth and a cumulative total of 22,129 documents. In 2024, Italy ranked ninth globally and fourth in Western Europe, accounting for 9.55% of worldwide output. Impact indicators were substantial, with an H-index of 211, 1845 citations in 2024, and a cumulative CPP exceeding 22, based on more than 504,000 citations. Eleven Italian journals covered all SJR quartiles, led by the Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (Q1, H-index 57). Italy demonstrates sustained growth and high international visibility in OSM research. The application of transparent and standardised bibliometric methods strengthens the reliability of these findings and supports their relevance for research policy and strategic planning in European musculoskeletal science.

• existence of barren plateaux is one of the challenges in the practical use of variational quantum classifiers; • a noise-based mechanism that shifts training data during optimization, helping escape barren plateaux, is proposed; • the approach is tested with a variational quantum classifier modeling BET index changes using other indices from Europe and the United States; • simulations use the Pennylane framework. The barren plateaux phenomenon has been identified as a significant challenge for variational quantum algorithms, particularly for classification tasks. In this article, we propose a novel approach to mitigating this problem for variational quantum classifiers during the optimization phase. The noisy optimization mechanism shifts the training data by adding a small amount of uniform noise, thereby inducing changes in the parameters being searched. The effectiveness of the method is evaluated using real financial data, modeling the evolution of the BET index in relation to well-known indices from neighboring Central and Eastern European countries, as well as from Western Europe and the United States. The results demonstrate that this approach significantly improves upon the corresponding baseline quantum classifier and provides results comparable to those of established classical methods.

Elucidating the use of rhinoceros teeth by Neanderthals: Between experiments and the fossil record.

The health of nations has improved at an unprecedented rate since the start of the 20th century, following a series of waves of mortality declines. While the timing and intensity of these waves have been documented, the factors influencing their emergence and diffusion are still debated. This article examines the creation and adoption of health-enhancing technologies since the early stages of the epidemiological transition around 1900. We estimate health frontiers, as originally done by Preston (1975), to infer how health-enhancing knowledge develops and diffuses across countries. Our results show that the creation of health-enhancing innovation has been strongly income biased since 1900. Up to 1920, upward shifts in the health frontiers happened almost exclusively at high levels of income. After that and until 2000, we find evidence that health frontiers moved up at low levels of income with a delay of about 20-40 years, relative to upward shifts at high income levels. We also show that education does not confound our findings because factors other than income are also associated with life expectancy increases. Finally, we perform a growth accounting exercise suggesting that Western Europe and its Offshoots have mostly reached high health levels by pushing up the knowledge frontier, while the experience of the rest of the world is much more varied.

Abstract We perform a global assessment of dryness and wetness conditions using an ensemble of observational, satellite-informed, and reanalysis-based soil moisture datasets [soil moisture (SM) Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (SM GLEAM ), SM ERA5-LAND , and SM MERRA-2 ] and drought indices [Palmer drought severity index (PDSI CRU ) and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI CRU )]. Over the short term (1982–2023), four or more products consistently identify drying trends in western North America, South America, the Mediterranean, Europe, central Asia, and southern Australia. Wetting trends appear in southern and southeastern Asia, the Sahel, and parts of southern sub-Saharan Africa, while disagreements across products are most evident in central Africa, parts of South America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The year 2023 ranks among the driest on record since 1982: driest in PDSI CRU and SM ERA5-LAND , second driest in SM GLEAM and SPEI CRU , and eighth in SM MERRA-2 . A longer-term analysis using PDSI CRU from 1903 to 2023 estimates that 2023 was the most severe and spatially extensive drought year in over a century, affecting more than 27% of the global reporting land area. Moreover, the 2021–23 period marks the longest consecutive stretch of extreme drought conditions globally since the early twentieth century. The global patterns of droughts over 2021–23 align with long-term drying trends, consistent with the broader influence of anthropogenic climate change on global hydroclimate. Despite the presence of long-term wetting trends, the wetness of the past decades has not produced events of comparable magnitude to those in the mid-twentieth century, a time that remains unmatched in both the severity and extent of wet extremes. Significance Statement On a global scale, the years 2021–23 have seen some of the most widespread and severe drought conditions in over a century. By analyzing five major datasets that characterize changes in soil moisture conditions, we find that 2023 was the driest year on record in over 120 years and that 2021–23 was the driest 3-yr period over the same time interval. We show that these recent twenty-first-century extremes are consistent with long-term drying trends and highlight a broad intensification of hydroclimate extremes across much of the globe. While previous work has emphasized regional drought events over shorter intervals, this study uses multiple datasets in a global framework to provide strong evidence that anthropogenic climate change is a key driver of an intensifying global pattern of more widespread and severe drought.

Micronutrients are vital for human health. Wheat is a major staple crop and a significant source of minerals and B-vitamins. The impact of multifactorial climate change on their content remains largely unknown, introducing uncertainty to human nutrition and well-being. Here, we used an Ecotron to evaluate micronutrient levels in European winter wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Asory) under historical and projected climate conditions, incorporating gradients of atmospheric CO2, temperature, precipitation, and light intensity representative of ongoing climate change in Western Europe. Our findings indicate that future climates will strongly diminish multiple minerals and B-vitamins in grains, thereby posing a significant challenge for global public health.

ABSTRACT Following COVID-19, discrimination and violence against individuals of Asian descent have been reported across the US and Western Europe. While these behaviors appear to suggest a desire to avoid being infected given the association between Asians and the origins of COVID-19, attacks against these individuals would be counterintuitive to such motivation as close contact is involved and would ironically increase the chances of infection. As studies have yet to address this contradiction, we sought to uncover the actual motives behind the antagonism displayed against Asians during the pandemic. Guided by principles of pathogen avoidance and intergroup behaviors, our findings revealed that both pathogen avoidance and anger predicted discriminatory behaviors against individuals of Asian descent, where anger was a stronger predictor than pathogen avoidance. More importantly, our findings showed that anger, but not pathogen avoidance, predicted aggressive discrimination.

The article examines the process of the institutionalization of fashion in a large Russian city. This work is based on a theoretical analysis of the main approaches to the phenomenon of fashion in general and the aspect of institutionalization in particular. The paper also presents the results of the author’s empirical research based on a qualitative methodology using the in-depth interview method. Two levels of fashion institution agents were interviewed: producers (creators) and intermediaries (distributors). The data obtained as a result of the study allow us to conclude that in Russia the institutionalization of fashion is at the initial stage of its development at both the federal and local levels, unlike in Western European countries, where fashion has already been definitively formed as a social institution. A sign of the initial stage of fashion in Russia is the absence of a special governing body (Council) that forms and coordinates the activities of the fashion institute. The function of the obsolescence of things does not work as strongly in the fashionable space of Russia compared to the space of Western countries, and the function of fashion consumption in a large Russian city is associated with essential and reasonable consumption. Fashion in Russia, in general, and in a large Russian city, in particular, is not developed in many areas, including, for example, marketing. In addition, there are many problems, including a lack of personnel and materials, which make it more expensive to produce clothes and create related elements of image composition.

ABSTRACT A novel Merbecovirus, designated Cam-2023, has been identified in Pipistrellus pipistrellus in France through non-invasive surveillance. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that Cam-2023 belongs to a Merbecovirus clade previously associated with ACE2 usage in closely related viruses detected in the Netherlands and Russia. While the receptor usage of Cam-2023 remains to be functionally validated, sequence similarities within the Spike protein, particularly the receptor-binding domain, suggest a putative association with a Merbecovirus clade previously associated with ACE2 usage. This discovery broadens the known host diversity of this lineage and extends its geographical range to Western Europe. Our findings highlight the importance of continuous surveillance in European bat populations to better characterize the distribution and zoonotic potential of such high-risk coronaviruses.

Background: Professional identity formation (PIF) and wellbeing are increasingly being recognised in postgraduate Family Medicine (FM) education. Role models are central to both, yet traditional learning activities often struggle to implement them effectively. Podcasts offer a flexible medium that may support these goals. This study examines the potential of postgraduate medical education (PGME) podcasts, such as the European Young Family Doctor’s Movement (EYFDM) podcast, to promote PIF and wellbeing. Methods: This mixed-methods study analyses podcast use, role modelling effects, and PIF among young general practitioners (GPs). In 2024, 57 participants, including students, FM trainees, and specialists, completed an online questionnaire with quantitative and qualitative items. Descriptive and analytical statistics were combined with qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz). Sentiment analysis was conducted using artificial intelligence, and triangulation enhanced credibility. Results: Within the trainees and specialists of the study population, most participants (70%; 32/46 SPs) reported regularly using podcasts for PGME, and particularly young female GPs in Western Europe. In our study population, 90% (27/30 SPs) agreed that the podcasts broadened their perspective on professional opportunities in FM. Many participants reported reflections on potential career pathways and PIF. Exposure to role models significantly increased motivation to work in FM (χ2 (1) = 10.7, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Podcasts may help address gaps in affective competency training, including wellbeing and PIF, while integrating easily into busy routines. Findings suggest a positive influence on career attitudes, with role modelling supporting PIF and motivation in FM.

Orthoptera species distribution ranges are dynamically shifting because of climate change. This article documents the expansion of the short-winged grasshopper Pezotettix giornae in Western and Central Europe between 1990 and 2024. Published records from Central Europe (Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic) are supplemented with data from public databases and targeted field surveys, particularly in southeastern Moravia and the Burda Hills region of southern Slovakia. Whereas P. giornae was previously abundant mainly in the Mediterranean reaching northwards into central Hungary, its range has gradually shifted northward over the past 30 years, now reaching central France, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, with single individuals transported to northern France, northern Switzerland, central Germany, and the Netherlands. The increase in abundance and the number of newly recorded localities indicate the dynamic spread of this species despite its inability to fly. This expansion is facilitated by climate warming, the species’ ability to colonize ruderal and successional habitats, and passive dispersal via transportation, particularly along road and railway corridors. The case of P. giornae demonstrates that even brachypterous species with limited dispersal ability can undergo significant range shifts. This trend has important implications for ecological modeling and the prediction of future species distributions and biodiversity conservation strategies in the changing European landscape.

The state of places of detention reflects the civilizational characteristics of the state, and the reform of the prison system under the influence of legal concepts that are not characteristic of society leads to the emergence of syncretic types of penitentiary institutions. The evolution of the Khiva zindans under the influence of the Russian Empire has not yet been studied, including with due regard for the alternative of the British protectorate, the voluntary establishment of which was planned by the Khan of Khiva in 1872. The purpose of this study is, using the example of the zindan-pit located on the territory of the historical and architectural complex of Ichan-Kala (Khiva, Republic of Uzbekistan), to consider the cultural and legal contradictions between the Russian Empire and Khorezm in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, as well as to analyze the process of transformation of the places of detention of the Khanate of Khiva under the influence of the Russian prison reform of 1879, in a comparative context with the Western European legal tradition and British colonial policy. The results of the study showed the similarity of the Khiva zindan-pit to the European oubliettes; however, the medieval inquisitorial practices of Western Europe were not typical of Khorezm. Under the protectorate, the spread of the Prison Reform of 1879 to the Khanate of Khiva led to a combination of Russian and Central Asian penitentiary traditions, with the gradual abandonment of cruel punishments, which led to the transition to a continental legal system that replaced Sharia law during the Soviet period. This happened in a short time, unlike the penal reforms in the colonies of Great Britain, where numerous, sometimes contradictory, acts were created within the framework of the Anglo-Saxon legal system, and the British authorities used the local tradition of cruel punishments to strengthen their influence

Abstract This introduction presents a special issue of Populism dedicated to the Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia, or FdI). Under Giorgia Meloni’s leadership, the party secured a dominant position in the Italian government following the 2022 elections. The introduction argues that FdI’s constitutive and dynamic ambivalence – simultaneously rooted in a fascist legacy and embedded within an established Western European democracy – cannot be adequately captured by static and univocal labels. The five collected articles address open issues in the literature by applying populism as a malleable ideological, rhetorical, and communicative tool across dimensions of gender and leadership, organizational dynamics, constitutional and legal strategies, chameleonic institutionalization, and discursive ambivalence in EU elections. The introduction also reflects on the normative implications of party labeling, emphasizing that such labeling may be a component of normalization strategies employed by political actors, as in the case of FdI.

This article examines how highly qualified migrants (HQM) in Denmark experience belonging and not-belonging and argues that these experiences reveal everyday processes of class-making in one of Europe’s least stratified societies. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of distinction and capital, and theories of cultural Othering, microaggressions and symbolic boundaries, the article explores how migration status and perceived proximity to ‘Danishness’ shape social position beyond income or education. The study uses thematic analysis combined with ideal-typical clustering to analyse narrative interviews with 20 university-educated migrants in Denmark. All HQM experienced non-belonging, but in two distinct ways: ‘Brick wall’ migrants are typically racialized individuals of non-EU or Eastern European origin. They reported overt racism, structural barriers, invisibilization and acute isolation. ‘Glass wall’ migrants are typically white Western Europeans. They described subtle exclusion through cultural distinction, ‘almost belonging’ and a double bind in which relative privilege as ‘good migrants’ coexists with marginalization. The article contributes by theorizing class as co-constituted by migration and Otherness, introducing the brick wall/glass wall typology, and especially by refining the concept of national capital as an extension of Bourdieusian theory. Danishness operates as an ‘infinite’ and shifting symbolic boundary that structures inclusion and exclusion.

ABSTRACT Pontastacus leptodactylus is a freshwater crayfish native to the Ponto‐Caspian region, with a distribution across Eastern Europe and Western Asia. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the biology, culture development, and prospects for sustainable aquaculture of P. leptodactylus . Commercial exploitation of P. leptodactylus has a long history in Western Europe and the Ponto‐Caspian region and has relied primarily on capture fisheries. Türkiye served as the principal exporter to international markets until the 1985 outbreak of crayfish plague ( Aphanomyces astaci ), which precipitated widespread stock collapses. In contrast, aquaculture development remained limited for decades and has only recently gained momentum, particularly, in China. Following the first identification of P. leptodactylus in China in 2021, interest in its culture has increased, with pilot‐scale farming trials and localized hatchery activities reported across several provinces. However, production remains limited in scale, and these developments are best regarded as early‐stage or proof‐of‐concept initiatives rather than established commercial aquaculture. Accordingly, this review provides an integrated appraisal of culture practices, including broodstock management, artificial incubation, juvenile feeding, stocking strategies, grow‐out systems, and health and biosecurity protocols. It further synthesizes market dynamics, value‐chain development, and welfare considerations alongside performance benchmarks. Key constraints such as the lack of species‐specific feeds, limited tools for cannibalism mitigation, and the absence of selective breeding programs are identified as major barriers to sustainable scale‐up. This review offers a framework to guide future research, management decisions, and aquaculture development for the sustainable utilization of P. leptodactylus .

ABSTRACT The 5th century in Western Europe was turbulent, marked by warfare and large migrations of people. While the experiences of each group varied, responses can be divided into three categories: continuity, disruption and transition. This period is somewhat neglected in the history of hydrology because of the lack of technological developments. However, this paper examines adaptations to the loss of engineering knowledge and employs evidence from the writer Sidonius Apollinaris, combined with that from archaeological discoveries. Although much of value vanished, recycling and privatization were the most interesting adjustments observed in water usage. Aqueducts slowly faded into disuse due to the lack of engineers, while bathing gradually shifted away from the ancient Roman public tradition. Cisterns and wells became more common due to necessity and defensibility. Recycling and reuse of materials involved transformation of villas and water facilities into agricultural settlements, churches, and artisanal spaces.

Reconsidering early Yersinia pestis ecology: Enteric origins, gene loss, and a human-mediated reservoir hypothesis.

This study presents a series of archival images held by the Buzău County Museum, which capture unprecedented and unique aspects of the private life of Alexandru Marghiloman (1854–1925), a prominent representative of Romania’s social, economic, and political elite. It further examines the significance of visual sources in researching the historical legacy of a political figure and in elucidating the developmental trajectories of human groups and individuals who occupy diametrically opposed positions within the social hierarchy. In the initial section, historical information concerning Alexandru Marghiloman and his family is provided to acquaint the reader with the contextual framework of the era and to establish an adequate background on the subject, who is later depicted in the images. Several photographs illustrate the Marghiloman Ensemble in the municipality of Buzău, thereby reflecting the propriet or’s status and resources, the period during which the structure was built and occupied, and the prevailing socio-cultural mentality at the close of the nineteenth century and the onset of the twentieth century. This architectural ensemble serves as an example of Western European typologies within Romania. The study also highlights Alexandru Marghiloman’s passion for horse racing and for breeding pure English racehorses. In the concluding section, photographs from the estates at Fundeni -Zărnești (Buzău County) and Putineiu in the former Vlașca County (now part of Giurgiu County) are presented, recording the visit of Alexandru Marghiloman and clos e friends during the wheat harvest period. The author accentuates the contrast between the lush urban landscape and the rural p lain, as well as the disparity between the grand, elegant, and extravagant landowner and the simple, landless peasant of modest mea ns.

ABSTRACT Democratic backsliding is on the rise globally, prompting renewed attention to the strategies through which democracies resist authoritarian encroachments. One form of resistance involves the transition of protest movements into the electoral arena, in the form of so-called “movement parties.” While widely studied in Western Europe, this new party form has received little attention in Eastern European countries where governing elites are fundamentally undermining democracy. This article investigates two movement parties that have emerged in Central and Eastern European countries experiencing democratic backsliding – Momentum in Hungary and USR in Romania – and their impact on the quality of democracy. Focusing on their interaction with media institutions – key arenas both for contesting and enabling democratic erosion – the study draws on semi-structured interviews with party representatives and journalists, party materials and press coverage. The findings show that both parties challenged entrenched elites and introduced new ethical standards, yet their ability to institutionalize democratic gains and counter democratic erosion has been severely limited by media capture and persistent power asymmetries. By analysing the interplay between movement parties and traditional media institutions, the article offers new insights into the constraints and possibilities for democratic innovation under hybrid and democratically declining regimes.

In the announced article, the author continues to examine the history of education and enlightenment in Europe from the times of ancient Greece and Rome to the present day. With this publication, the author tries to draw attention to such a topic as the Intellectual Renaissance and the emergence of Universities in Europe during the "High" Middle Ages (12th–13th centuries). The article attempts to address the following questions: 1) to highlight the features of the Intellectual Renaissance of the 12th century; 2) to reveal the importance of Paris in inheriting the ancient heritage for Europe; 3) to show the place and role of Chartres and the Chartres spirit of scholarship in European intellectual life; 4) to present the role of the monastery in Sito and the Cistercians in the intellectual "fermentation" of the time; 5) to highlight the teaching activities and scientific views of Pierre Abelard, the first European intellectual-professor without a university degree; 6) to reveal the scholastic method of knowing God, the world, and man; 7) tell about the emergence of the artisan-intellectual and his workshop (workshop); 8) describe the founding of the first university corporations in Europe in the 12th – 13th centuries – Bologna, Paris, Oxford and other cities; 9) tell about the higher school of philosophy and law in Constantinople (Pandidakterion); 10) describe the state of education and enlightenment in Russia in the 12th–13th centuries. The university, which emerged in the 12th – 13th centuries as a guild corporation of masters and their students – “universitas magistrorum et scholarum” with its own law and academic freedom, had the right to unhindered movement of professors and students across European countries without borders (“peregrinatio academica”), enjoyed the unhindered right to strike for violation of its corporate rights and freedoms, including the right to freely move to another place of teaching and learning (secesio), had the right “ubique docendi”, according to which a university graduate, awarded the academic title of doctor, could lecture not only at his own, but also at any other university he wished to move to, while the professor lived off the students’ tuition fees and fees for diplomas of academic degrees. Starting from the 12th century, educated people, especially in cities, became a visible sign of medieval Western Europe. The decisive credit for this belonged to the Intellectual Revival and the Universities.