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A marine and salt marsh sediment organic carbon database for European regional seas (EURO-CARBON)
No full textMarine and salt marsh sediments contain large amounts of organic carbon (OC) and are therefore important in the global carbon cycle. Here, we collated previously published and unpublished measurements of sediment OC in marine and salt marsh sediments in European regional seas (EURO-CARBON; available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14905489). To the extent possible the OC data were complemented by variables such as sediment porosity and dry bulk density. The EURO-CARBON dataset holds 61306 individual data entries of sediment OC content from different regions of European regional seas. Around three quarters (76%) were collected in coastal and deep sea bare sediments, 18% from salt marshes, 7% from seagrass habitats, and 0.03% from macroalgal habitats. For all habitats and sediment depth layers the OC content varied between <0.1 and 41.56 % (avg.: 2.47 ± 3.37 %; median: 1.39 %), with the content generally decreasing in the following sequence: salt marsh (5.01 ± 5.96 %; 3.03 %) > seagrass (2.37 ± 5.96 %; 3.03 %) > bare sediment (1.88 ± 2.03 %; 1.20 %). The EURO-CARBON dataset will serve as a basis for future work, and it will be an important resource for researchers, managers, and policymakers working towards protecting sediment OC pools
Evolutionary dynamics of behavioral motivations for cooperation
No full textHuman decision-making is shaped by underlying motivations, which reflect both subjective well-being and fundamental biological needs. Different needs are often prioritized and traded off against one another. Here we develop a theoretical framework to study the evolution of behavioral motivations, encompassing both philanthropic (cooperating after personal needs are met) and aspirational (cooperating to fulfill personal needs) motivations. Our findings show that when the ratio of benefits to costs for cooperation exceeds a critical threshold, individuals initially driven by aspirational motivations can transition to philanthropic motivations with a low reference point for cooperation, resulting in increased cooperation. Furthermore, the critical threshold depends on the structure of the underlying social network, with network modifications capable of reversing the evolutionary trajectory of motivations. Our results reveal the complex interplay between needs, motivations, social networks, and decision-making, offering insights into how evolution shapes not only cooperative behaviors but also the motivations behind them
John Pocock and the jealousy of trade
No full textAt the end of The Machiavellian Moment, J. G. A. Pocock was unclear about what happened to the classical republican/civic humanist tradition. Significantly, he did not make the anticipated point, following Hannah Arendt, who he drew upon at the end of the book, concerning the decline of civic virtue and the need for its reassertion. In subsequent work Pocock published little on the nineteenth century, but he continued to be obsessed by the fate of civic humanism, especially in his self-reflective final writings, published or written between 2014 and his death in 2023. Especially in his unpublished Academic Reminiscences, he tackled the question of how The Machiavellian Moment ought to have ended. Commenting upon his own work from The Ancient Constitution to the sixth and last volume of his Barbarism and Religion series, Barbarism: Triumph in the West (2015), Pocock emphasised the relationship between his own work and the jealousy of trade, the commitment of national governments to the pursuit of markets and the defeat of rivals economically. Jealousy of trade, as a historical force which had altered world politics, was associated most especially with the scholarship of István Hont, whose perspectives on political thought Pocock found to be dovetailing increasingly with his own
A new approach for assessing the radioecological risk associated with the legacy discharge of oil derived natural radioactivity in the UK North Sea
No full textAlthough oil and gas (O&G) derived produced waters and drill cuttings are known to contain enhanced levels of naturally occurring radium-228 (228Ra) and radium-226 (226Ra), most relevant ecological impact assessments have excluded radiological hazards and focus on other important contaminants, such as hydrocarbons and metals. Also, due to restricted access to the delimiting safety zone around operational O&G platforms, the few previous radioecological risk assessment studies have been conducted using seawater samples collected far from the main discharge point and applying default dilution and transfer factors to estimate concentrations of contaminants in biota. In this case study, sediment cores were collected close to a former O&G platform, Northwest Hutton (NWH), that used to be in the UK North Sea (61.11N, 1.31E). The sediment materials were analysed by gamma spectrometry and ICP-MS to confirm the presence of particles enriched in natural radioactivity. Benthic macrofaunal assemblages in the surrounding seabed were also characterised and one of the dominant species was selected for additional nano-hard X-Ray Fluorescence (nano-XRF) imaging to confirm the exposure pathways and refine the radioecological risk assessment using the ERICA tool. This novel approach for estimating dose rates was found to be less conservative than more traditional approaches using the ERICA default concentration ratio for 228Ra and 226Ra. The dose rate estimations were confirmed to be significantly lower than the ERICA screening level of 10μGy/h, in agreement with findings from previous studies.</p
The Turkic inscription at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf
No full textThis article introduces the 18th-century ʿAjemī/Qizilbāsh Turkish inscrip-tion at the Imam ʿAlī shrine to the English-speaking academic world. The poetic inscription was commissioned in 1743 by Nādir Shāh during his invasion of Ottoman Iraq, where he sought to compel the Porte to recognize his Jaʿfarī creed (maẕhab) as a legitimate school of Sunnī jurisprudence, ostensibly in the interests of Islamic unity. It is argued that the inscription formed part of Nādir’s discourse on establishing Islamic unity as a world sovereign. The inscription drew from various pre-Islamic sources of legitimacy to articulate Nādir’s mandate for universal sovereignty. It then fused this mandate with a distinctly ʿAlīd conception of universal caliphal authority that could appeal to both his Jaʿfarī and Ḥanafī followers. Thus, by analyzing the text of the inscription within the political and socioreligious context in which it was created, new insights are offered on the purpose of the inscription, the role it played in Ottoman–Iranian peace negotiations, and Nādirid political and religious legitimacy. Finally, a complete translation and a transcription are appended herein
Self-directed and prosocial wound care, snare removal, and hygiene behaviors amongst the Budongo chimpanzees
No full textUnderstanding the cognitive and social foundations of healthcare behaviors in humans requires examining their evolutionary precursors in our closest living relatives. Investigating self-directed and other-directed healthcare in chimpanzees provides crucial insights into the origins of medicinal knowledge, identification of specific medicinal resources used for health maintenance, and the emergence of prosocial healthcare capacities. Here we document and analyze both previously reported and newly observed instances of self-directed and other-directed wound care, snare removal, and putatively medicinal hygiene behaviors in the Sonso and Waibira chimpanzee communities of the Budongo Forest in Uganda. Reports of these behaviors come from archival records collected from over thirty years of observation at the Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS), videos recorded by researchers at the site, and all-occurrence behavioral data collected over two 4-month periods of direct observation. We describe self-directed wound care behaviors such as wound licking, leaf-dabbing, pressing fingers to wounds, and the application of chewed plant material to wounds, as well as a successful self-directed snare removal. We also document self-directed hygiene behaviors including postcoital genital leaf wiping and post-defecation leaf wiping. For the first time in Budongo, we report the presence of prosocial wound care, adding to similar observations documented at other chimpanzee field sites. We present cases of individuals licking, finger pressing, and applying chewed plant material to the wounds of others. We also establish the presence of prosocial postcoital hygiene behaviors, specifically postcoital leaf wiping. Lastly, we report an additional unpublished case of prosocial snare removal. The presence of prosocial-care behaviors between both kin and non-kin individuals at Budongo adds another site to the growing list of locations where such behaviors have been documented, suggesting prosocial healthcare is more widespread across chimpanzee populations than previously recognized
Why do protestors use disruptive, confrontational tactics? New research shows they’re not just a last resort
No full textTerrorism:understand the path of “lone wolves” to prevent new attacks
No full textSanté mentale défaillante, radicalisation sur les réseaux sociaux, sentiment d’injustice… Des individus isolés ont multiplié les attentats ces dernières décennies, faisant de nombreuses victimes. Comment répondre et parvenir à endiguer cette menace