For decades, psychologists and criminologists have demonstrated a causal link between frustration and aggressive behaviors. However, the relevance of the theoretical model of frustration-aggression to sexual assault has not been definitively demonstrated and the possible association between sexual frustration and sexual assault has yet to be empirically tested on a broad scale. In this study based on a large national sample of French higher education students (N = 54,437), we hypothesized that sexual frustration would be associated with perpetration of sexual assault. Results confirmed an association between self-reported sexual frustration and sexual violence toward persons of the opposite sex, even after accounting for hostility towards the opposite sex (i.e., misogyny, misandry). Among men, sexual frustration was associated with higher odds of self-reported attempted sexual assaults (OR = 1.46) and completed sexual assaults (OR = 1.53). Among women, sexual frustration was similarly associated with higher odds of self-reported attempted sexual assaults (OR = 1.49) and completed sexual assaults (OR = 1.94). However, effects sizes confirmed that predicting which individuals attempted or committed sexual assault requires knowing far more than their level of sexual frustration. Overall, our results support the relevance of the frustration-aggression framework in the domain of sexual violence and we discuss the importance of using a large sample to detect such effects.
Climate change is intensifying drought stress in temperate forests, but its effects on tree reproduction, central to forest regeneration and migration capability, remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze 221 time series of beech (Fagus sylvatica) seed production across Europe to test whether drought reduces seed output. We isolate drought exposure during the flowering, pollination, and seed maturation phases of reproduction, and test for legacy effects on future reproduction. Seed production was not impaired by summer drought, and dry spring conditions were associated with increased output, likely via enhanced pollen dispersal. Thus, once initiated, beech reproduction is not reduced by drought, with no suppression of reproduction the following year. Reproduction was not reduced at the driest sites during exceptional European summer droughts in 2003, 2018, and 2022. Considered alongside prior evidence that drought suppresses forest growth and elevates mortality, these findings indicate that vital rates can respond in opposite directions to the same stressor. Such contrasts may sustain forest reproduction during heat-drought events yet shift demographic balance toward higher mortality and turnover as climatic extremes intensify.
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Impairment of working memory (WM), which relies on distributed cortical and subcortical structures, including cerebello-striatal pathways, is a core contributor to functional decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Because the striatum is affected early in dementia, whereas the cerebellum remains relatively preserved, the cerebellum may offer support for maintaining striatal function in neurodegenerative diseases. To evaluate whether sequential cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and striatal transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) enhances WM in patients with MCI, especially those with early striatal degeneration, like MCI with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB). This randomized, quadruple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial was conducted from August 2023 to October 2024 at 1 site in Switzerland and 1 in Czech Republic. Participants included individuals with MCI-LB or amnestic MCI (aMCI) and age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Three pseudorandomized single stimulation sessions: (1) cerebellar TMS followed by striatal tTIS, (2) control TMS followed by striatal tTIS, and (3) an active control combining control TMS with control striatal tTIS. The primary outcomes were changes in accuracy and correct answer reaction times in a visual WM task with varying memory loads and distractors. Modulators included resting-state functional connectivity and gray-matter volume in WM-related regions. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the main effects of stimulation condition on accuracy and reaction times. Forty-one patients with MCI, including 21 with MCI-LB (16 female [76%]; mean [SD] age, 71.05 [6.84] years) and 20 with aMCI (11 female [55%]; mean [SD] age, 72.30 [7.50] years), and 20 HCs (10 female [50%]; mean [SD] age, 69.5 [4.42] years) were analyzed. In patients with MCI-LB, cerebellar TMS plus striatal tTIS increased accuracy in distractor trials compared with the active control (control TMS plus control tTIS, P < .001; d = -0.77) and striatal tTIS alone (control TMS plus striatal tTIS, P = .004; d = -0.60). Greater accuracy gains were associated with lower putaminal connectivity (r = -0.66; P = .03). In patients with aMCI, cerebellar volumes showed associations with task performance in both distractor trials (cerebellar TMS plus striatal tTIS, R2 = 0.27; P = .02) and high-load trials (control TMS plus striatal tTIS, R2 = 0.24; P = .03), and larger volumes were associated with faster responses; however, significant behavioral differences between active and control stimulation conditions were not observed. No serious adverse events occurred. Synergistic dual-target cerebellar TMS and striatal tTIS improved WM in MCI-LB, particularly in patients with lower striatal connectivity, suggesting dual-targeted neuromodulation as a potential therapeutic avenue in neurodegenerative disorders. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07090681.
The (NRG1)-ERBB4 signaling pathway has been identified to be pathophysiologically meaningful for cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. The in the 1960s approved mineralocorticoid antagonist spironolactone has been shown to be effective to modulate (NRG1)-ERBB4 signaling in preclinical and animal models. Thus, a proof-of-concept drug repurposing trial in patients with schizophrenia was justified. We conducted a multi-site proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. 90 patients with schizophrenia were randomized to a three-week trial of two different spironolactone dosages (100 mg or 200 mg) or placebo. The primary endpoint was predefined as change in working memory performance after three weeks of treatment. A naturalistic follow-up was performed nine weeks after the end of intervention. The trial was registered at the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry platform ( http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=EUCTR2014-001968-35-DE ). Despite large numerical improvements in working memory functions, particularly in the spironolactone 200 mg group, the pre-specified analyses do not demonstrate significant superiority of either intervention over placebo. However, post-hoc sensitivity analyses suggest a significant advantage of spironolactone for the primary endpoint. Safety measures show that both interventions are well tolerated. This finding suggests a potential positive effect of spironolactone on working memory in people with schizophrenia and the good safety outcomes may justify further trials with longer intervention periods or higher spironolactone dosages. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia frequently experience cognitive deficits, including challenges related to everyday memory and attention. We evaluated whether spironolactone, a drug available since the 1960s and today used to treat heart failure is effective in treating cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia. For that, we conducted a placebo-controlled clinical trial where participants received either 100 mg or 200 mg spironolactone or placebo for three weeks. Before and after this intervention, we tested cognition. We were able to show that our intervention with spironolactone has the potential to improve cognition in people with schizophrenia. Further trials are needed before this intervention can be offered as part of the clinical routine.
This article provides a systematic synthesis of contemporary elite sociology through the analytical lens of change and stability. We distinguish between two types of change: change within elites, referring to transformations in elite composition, circulation, or internal characteristics; and change by elites, designating processes whereby elites reshape broader social structures, norms, or inequalities. Through a systematic review of 164 empirical articles published in leading sociology journals between 2000 and 2024, we demonstrate that contemporary elite sociology engages extensively with temporal perspectives, though in asymmetric ways. By systematically examining combinations of elite types and research topics, we reveal systematic patterns: studies addressing nationality emphasize evolution and shifting configurations, while research on kinship and class more frequently examines continuity and reproduction. Crucially, we find that broader social change associated with elites is predominantly portrayed as an unintentional consequence rather than the result of deliberate strategic action. Based on these findings, we outline four directions for future research: reversing the temporal lens to investigate understudied dynamics; situating elite processes along a temporal spectrum that captures both continuity and transformation; examining the degree of intentionality in elites as agents of change; and integrating forward-looking perspectives to understand how elites imagine and actively shape trajectories. This synthesis advances elite sociology by revealing how temporal perspectives fundamentally structure our understanding of power relations and by identifying critical gaps in how we conceptualize elites' relationship to social transformation.
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Mast-seeding trees can vary seed output by orders of magnitude among years, but it remains unclear whether high seed production reduces per-seed investment, as predicted by fixed-budget allocation models. We quantified individual seed production with seed mass in European beech across 2792 trees and 123 populations spanning the species' range and quantified seed protein and lipid content in 35 populations. Seed mass increased with seed production, with seeds from high-seeding years being 14% heavier than those from low-seeding years, providing no evidence for a seed size-number trade-off and instead supporting variable reproductive allocation. By contrast, protein content decreased by 31% with increasing seed production, whereas lipid content increased (by 14%), indicating that nitrogen becomes constraining at high reproductive output while carbon-based provisioning is maintained. Climate further structured provisioning: seed mass and protein content were the lowest at climatic range margins, being 28% and 32% lower, respectively, than at the center of the climatic range. European beech can increase seed output without reducing per-seed biomass, but that nitrogen limitation and climatic constraints may strengthen regeneration bottlenecks at both trailing and leading margins, especially as climate warming intensifies.
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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants ubiquitous in anthropogenically impacted soils, where they represent a chronic source of ecological risk for soil-dwelling organisms. Although total soil PAH concentrations constitute the primary diagnostic tool in contaminated site management, the derivation of ecologically meaningful alert values has been hampered by the predominance of acute and median-effect endpoints in available ecotoxicological datasets. The present study addresses this gap by developing chronic Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs) for five priority PAHs, Benzo[a]pyrene, Fluoranthene, Fluorene, Phenanthrene, and Pyrene, in terrestrial soil, based exclusively on sublethal endpoints (EC10, EC20, LOEC, NOEC) compiled from a systematic literature search across major ecotoxicological databases and peer-reviewed journals. A total of 43 chronic toxicity values were retained after applying a strict hierarchical selection protocol prioritising the most ecologically relevant endpoints, the longest exposure durations, and the most sensitive responses across plants, soil invertebrates, and micro-organisms. Five candidate statistical distributions were fitted by maximum likelihood for each PAH and final hazardous concentration estimates were derived using a model-averaging approach weighted by AIC, providing more robust uncertainty characterisation than single-model selection. HC5 values ranged from 0.57 mg kg-1 (Pyrene) to 7.12 mg kg-1 (Fluoranthene), while HC50 values spanned from 13.71 to 64.00 mg kg-1, reflecting substantial interspecific variability in PAH sensitivity across the soil community. The wide confidence intervals observed for several PAHs highlight the critical need for additional chronic terrestrial ecotoxicological data. The derived thresholds are proposed as first-tier screening values within a tiered ecological risk assessment framework, intended to guide targeted ecotoxicological testing, prioritise site diagnosis, and support remediation decision-making for PAH-contaminated soils, complementing rather than replacing bioavailability-based assessment approaches.
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Physical exercise is an effective treatment for depression, yet little is known about the temporal dynamics of symptom improvement during exercise interventions. In this randomized controlled trial, 64 adults with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were allocated to a 10-week supervised Nordic walking (NW) program (n = 48) or a non-active control condition (n = 16). The NW group completed two weekly training sessions at moderate intensity (65-75% HRmax). Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline, mid-intervention (Week 5), and post-intervention (Week 10) using the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Primary analyses examined Group × Time effects on symptom severity. Secondary analyses explored (via a Group × Depression intensity × Time ANOVA) whether baseline depression intensity moderated treatment response. A significant Group × Time interaction indicated greater reductions in depressive symptoms in the NW group compared with controls. Symptom improvement was most pronounced during the first half of intervention (Hedges's g = -0.98), with smaller changes thereafter (Hedges's g = -0.40 from mid- to post-intervention). In addition, a significant Group × Depression intensity × Time interaction suggests that participants with severe baseline depression experienced larger and more rapid improvement than those with moderate symptoms in the first five weeks. Supervised Nordic walking was found to be associated with substantial reductions in depressive symptoms within five weeks, particularly among individuals with severe depression. Implications of our findings and study's limitations are discussed.
Fibrinogen is the first coagulation factor to drop during severe hemorrhage, making it an early biomarker for assessing bleeding severity. To evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the Tsmart FIB Batrox©, a novel point-of-care test using batroxobin, a snake venom-derived enzyme insensitive to heparins and direct thrombin inhibitors, performed on the LabPad Evolution analyzer. The assay delivers results in less than 4 min from citrated whole blood, addressing unmet needs in emergency settings. This study included 121 residual citrated (0.109 mol/L) samples collected for routine coagulation testing. Fibrinogen levels measured by the Tsmart FIB Batrox© assay were compared against the Clauss method (gold standard), performed in the central laboratory using the same samples. The Tsmart FIB Batrox© demonstrated excellent correlation with the Clauss assay (r = 0.94), particularly in the clinically critical range for severe bleeding. Bland-Altman analysis revealed negligible bias. No interference from hematocrit variations or anticoagulants was observed. At fibrinogen cut-offs of 1.0 g/L and 2.0 g/L, it exhibited high diagnostic accuracy (area under the ROC curve values of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). Precision testing confirmed excellent repeatability and reproducibility, with coefficients of variation <10% across all ranges. The Tsmart FIB Batrox© system enables rapid and accurate fibrinogen measurement from a single drop of citrated whole blood, even at the lowest detectable concentrations. Its strong correlation with the Clauss method, high diagnostic accuracy, and POC feasibility make it a valuable tool for real-time decision-making in hemorrhage management.
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Specialisation into different ecological niches is assumed as an important driver of speciation in sympatry. Here, we focused on male-male competition fuelling population divergence, without assuming any ecological specialisation. We investigated how antagonistic interactions between males can promote divergent evolution of timings of reproductive activities during the day, as observed in some closely related insect species living in sympatry. We used a multilocus, comprehensive stochastic model to investigate the evolution of (1) the timing of reproductive activity as a quantitative trait and (2) neutral loci that may generate genetic incompatibilities among divergent individuals. We specifically explored how male-male competition for female access can generate negative frequency-dependence on the timing of reproductive activities and fuel population divergence. Our simulations in finite populations highlight the strong effect of male-male competition and operational sex-ratio on the evolution of divergent temporal niches. They also show how genetic incompatibilities promote the differentiation among populations with divergent temporal niches, but may also impair their coexistence. Our model therefore highlights male-male competition as an important factor shaping the evolution of diel niches, that may fuel sympatric speciation.