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Between the devil and the deep blue sea: German narratives of Europapolitik
No full text1945 is often referred to as ‘Stunde Null’ (zero hour) in Germany. It was clear after the shaming and destructive Nazi experience that historical narratives were redundant, and a new narrative had to be found (Legro 2005). This was in marked contrast to other states such as the United Kingdom who evolved, rather than fundamentally rewrote, their national narrative. Germany’s post-1949 narrative on European policy was forged as a rejection of Germany’s recent historical experience and was designed to fit the circumstances of what was initially a divided Germany. As such, it has shown great, though not total consistency. Successive (west) German governments crafted a narrative of German membership of the European Union (EU), underpinned by a conducive political and economic context which witnessed German economic recovery and the achievement of German unity in 1990.<br/
The role of mathematical vocabulary in the development of mathematical skills for Spanish-speaking students
No full textDoes mathematical vocabulary predict the change in students’ performance on mathematical tasks from one academic year to the next? Chilean Spanish-speaking students (N = 87) completed measures of mathematical vocabulary, mathematical skills (i.e., arithmetic fluency, calculation, and applied problems), receptive vocabulary, and working memory in Grade 2 (T1, Mage = 7:11 years:months, SD = 0:5, 46% girls). One year later (T2) they completed the same mathematical measures. Concurrent relations were found between mathematical vocabulary and the three mathematical skills at both time points. Together, general and mathematical vocabulary at T1 explained significant unique variance in the change in applied problems and calculation from T1 to T2. For calculation however, only mathematical vocabulary predicted significant unique variance in the change from T1 to T2. Change in arithmetic fluency was only predicted by working memory. These results address the roles of general and mathematical vocabulary in students’ mathematical development in elementary school
Engaging young people with ecocritical analysis of language in the media
No full textMedia reports that focus on human interaction with the natural world stimulate debate about how our behaviour impacts on the sustainability of life on Earth. Activists for change highlight crisis scenarios; and media reports, across all platforms, carry the news. Media studies courses that focused on traditional news now expand to address modern short-form or visual media that many young people consume. This chapter focuses on how individuals can be equipped to engage critically with eco-based news. In that context we explore what an eco-literate citizen should know and be able to do. The principles that underpin a pedagogical framework are highlighted, and examples from teachers’ classroom experience illustrate how pupils might be introduced to critical analysis of eco-news in cross-curricular settings. The importance and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration are discussed
Hybrid CNN–GRU–XGBoost framework for optimized coronary artery disease diagnosis and risk stratification
No full textCoronary artery disease (CAD) remains a leading driver of cardiovascular mortality, requiring diagnostic systems that deliver high discrimination, stability under class imbalance, and reproducible deployment. This work presents a hybrid pipeline that integrates convolutional encoders for localized feature interactions, gated recurrent units (GRUs) for conditional dependency modeling over ordered clinical attributes, and an extreme gradient-boosted tree classifier (XTree) for nonlinear decision refinement and feature-level attribution. The data pathway applies strict train-split isolation with source-aware quantile imputation, proximal denoising, robust trimmed standardization, stratified partitioning that preserves class and source distributions, and manifold-conformal minority augmentation to improve boundary coverage without leakage. Evaluation on the UCI Heart Disease cohort (Cleveland, Long Beach V, Switzerland, Hungary; p=14 attributes) used an 80/20 holdout and standard metrics. The proposed CNN–GRU–XTree attained 96.03% accuracy, 94.70% precision, 97.66% sensitivity, 96.17% F1, and 94.35% specificity. Relative to the strongest non-proposed baseline (CNN–LSTM–XTree: 95.63% accuracy, 94.70% precision, 96.90% sensitivity, 95.80% F1, 94.47% specificity), gains reached ＋0.40 percentage points (pp) in accuracy, ＋0.76 pp in sensitivity, and ＋0.37 pp in F1, with parity in precision and a negligible specificity delta (−0.12 pp). Against CNN–GRU–RF (95.24%/94.70%/96.15%/95.42%/94.18%), improvements were ＋0.79 pp accuracy, ＋1.51 pp sensitivity, ＋0.75 pp F1, and ＋0.17 pp specificity. Case-based simulations (600 min each) probed model behavior under clinically distinct conditions. In severe, unequivocal CAD, sensitivity remained ≥97% with specificity >93%; in low-risk asymptomatic profiles, specificity remained ≥95% with precision ≥93%; in borderline phenotypes with overlapping risk markers, F1 exceeded 94% while maintaining balanced error profiles.</p
Microplastic contamination in water and organs of Deveximentum insidiator (Ponyfish) from a potential fishing zone off Mangalore, southeastern Arabian Sea
No full textThis study investigates microplastic (MP) contamination in Deveximentum insidiator (pony fish or silverbellies), a commercially important species in the Indo-West Pacific, with samples collected from a Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) in the Southeastern Arabian Sea on February 20, 2024. A total of 51 fish specimens and corresponding water column samples were analyzed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of MPs. The results revealed an average of 28.21 ± 17.73 MPs per individual and 2.97 ± 3.02 MPs per litre of water. Organ-specific accumulation showed the highest MP load in the gut (31.8 %), followed by the muscle (25.71 %), gills (23.83 %), and gonads (18.62 %). In fish, fibres dominated (99.32 %), while fragments (52.10 %) were most abundant in water. MPs in fish were predominantly 11-100 μm in size, indicating bioaccumulation potential, whereas larger MPs (1000-3000 μm) were more common in water (37.81 %). Polypropylene was the major polymer detected in both fish and water samples. Potential human health risks were assessed through estimates of MP intake via fish consumption. Adults may ingest approximately 20.57 MPs/day (7505 MPs/year), and children 9.80 MPs/day (3577 MPs/year). Risk assessment indices indicated low ecological risk (PLI: fish = 2.41, water = 1.55-2.27), but moderate toxicity risk based on the Polymer Hazard Index (PHI: fish = 9.68; water = 10.89). This study provides the first documented evidence of MP presence in D. insidiator in this region, highlighting the species' exposure to MPs and the associated potential health risks for seafood consumers. These findings underscore the need for species-specific assessments to inform marine conservation strategies food safety management in Potential Fishing Zones
The influence of plantation forest legacy on blanket bog hydrology
No full textHuman activities in headwater blanket bogs can lead to downstream flooding due to changes in land cover; however, the effects of the geographic distribution of these land cover modifications, especially the role of legacy of plantation forestry on hydrological regime, remains poorly characterized. Therefore, the focus of this research is to estimate the impact of legacy of plantation forestry on streamflow in small (21 ha) blanket bog catchment of Ireland. A network of groundwater monitoring and hydro-meteorological stations were installed to collect high-resolution (15 min to 1 h) hydro-meteorological and groundwater level data. Generalized Multistep Dynamic (GMD) TOPMODEL was calibrated using high resolution (1 m × 1 m) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hydro-meteorological data in intact blanket bog watershed. The calibrated model was validated before simulating in degraded (legacy of plantation forestry) catchment. The effect of legacy of plantation forestry on streamflow was examined by comparing observed and simulated streamflow series at various timescales (monthly, seasonal, and yearly). The results indicated that streamflow increased by 106 % annually due to legacy of plantation forestry, with the highest monthly increase recorded in February (275 %) and the lowest in September (16 %) when compared to intact blanket bog. Seasonal analysis revealed an increase in streamflow attributed to legacy of plantation forestry, with the highest increase observed in winter (237 %) and the lowest in summer (24 %). Minimal interception losses, reduced evapotranspiration, and compact bog contribute to elevated runoff relative to undisturbed conditions. The results of this study assist water managers, stakeholders, and policymakers in facilitating effective planning and decision-making
Dacarbazine-loaded bilayer dissolving microneedle array patch for localized delivery in cutaneous melanoma
No full textMelanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer that accounts for only ~ 1% of all skin cancer cases but is responsible for most skin cancer-related deaths. Despite advances in systemic therapies, localized treatment options remain limited. Dacarbazine (DCB), the only FDA-approved chemotherapeutic agent for melanoma, is administered intravenously and is associated with systemic toxicity, poor patient compliance, and nonspecific drug distribution. This study presents a bilayer dissolving microneedle array patch (dMAP) for localized, minimally invasive delivery of DCB to the skin, offering a potential alternative for treating cutaneous melanoma. The tip-casting gel formulation was optimized to ensure sharp, defect-free MAP tips with uniform drug distribution. The optimized bilayer dMAP exhibited strong mechanical properties (< 10% needle deformation) and effective insertion capability, reaching approximately 390 µm in depth within the Parafilm® M model. Ex vivo evaluations using full-thickness neonatal porcine skin demonstrated the complete dissolution of bilayer dMAP tips within 60 min and effective pore formation, as confirmed by methylene blue staining. In ex vivo setup, the bilayer dMAP formulation demonstrated 3.93-fold increase in permeability and a 3.02-fold increase in DCB deposition compared with those of the suspension. Furthermore, bilayer dMAP maintained complete drug stability over 8 days at room temperature under light-protected conditions, whereas free DCB showed approximately 7.5% degradation in aqueous media over the same duration. Therefore, bilayer dMAP provides a stable, minimally invasive, and efficient platform for localized drug delivery to the skin, highlighting its potential as a promising alternative to conventional topical formulations for the treatment of cutaneous melanoma.</p
Multicharged zwitterions form superior antifouling interfaces
No full textThe long-term prevention of unwanted protein and microbial accumulation on surfaces, including medical devices, remains a significant and largely unresolved challenge. Decades of research into antifouling surfaces have suggested that addressing this issue will require a sustained approach focused on incremental advances in chemical design. The creation of highly hydrophilic surfaces has long been recognized as a key strategy, initially pursued through polyethylene glycol-functionalized coatings. More recently, zwitterionic groups have emerged as effective antifouling moieties. However, the limited chemical diversity of zwitterion-forming chemical entities has constrained further progress. In this study, an alternative approach to enhancing surface hydrophilicity is presented by employing multicharged zwitterionic molecules (MZWs), which increase the density of charged hydrophilic groups per monomer unit. Surfaces functionalized with MZWs exhibited 40–45% lower protein adsorption compared to benchmark single zwitterionic molecules. Remarkably, the synthesized MZWs spontaneously assemble into vesicular aggregates (130–170 nm) without the need for additives or any form of external force. These findings strongly support further exploration of MZW-functionalization as a novel strategy to enhance antifouling performance, while remaining readily adaptable via minor modifications to existing synthetic routes used for the incorporation of conventional zwitterions into polymers, self-assembled monolayers, hydrogels, and nanocarriers.<br/