Paramilitaries, parochialism, and peace: The moral foundations and personality traits of SlovenskíBranci

Paramilitary organizations have increasingly become a cause for concern among policy makers and the media in recent years, in part because the former are often seen as a potential threat to peace (or at least to the status quo of the current political systems) in the countries in which they emerge. Organizations such as the Oathkeepers and 3 Percenters (also known as III%ers) in the United States have grown significantly in the last two decades, while paramilitary organizations playing a key role in both offensive and defensive actions in Crimea and the Donbas Region have become a focus of discussion in the Russian war on Ukraine. Although they have not always garnered as much attention, paramilitary organizations in Central and Eastern Europe have a long history. While most are relatively inactive, others play a wide variety of active roles, sometimes even running operations in parallel with a state’s official armed forces (e.g., the PMO serving the state in Poland, or the Night Wolves helping Russia capture Crimea). Despite the increase in the number and activity of these paramilitary organizations, little is known about the personal, social, moral, and psychological background of the individuals who join them. After reviewing the history and ideology of the largest paramilitary organization in the Slovak Republic, this article presents and discusses the results of a survey administered to the group. This survey used different measures of personality, morality, and identity, as well as information about respondents’ personal background, family history, socio-economic status, and political ideology. We find significant relationships between certain individual personality traits and the importance of certain moral foundations among members of these organizations in relation to their broader social community.publishedVersio

Post-supernatural cultures : There and back again

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A Generative Model of the Mutual Escalation of Anxiety Between Religious Groups

We propose a generative agent-based model of the emergence and escalation of xenophobic anxiety in which individuals from two different religious groups encounter various hazards within an artificial society. The architecture of the model is informed by several empirically validated theories about the role of religion in intergroup conflict. Our results identify some of the conditions and mechanisms that engender the intensification of anxiety within and between religious groups. We define mutually escalating xenophobic anxiety as the increase of the average level of anxiety of the agents in both groups overtime. Trace validation techniques show that the most common conditions under which longer periods of mutually escalating xenophobic anxiety occur are those in which the difference in the size of the groups is not too large and the agents experience social and contagion hazards at a level of intensity that meets or exceeds their thresholds for those hazards. Under these conditions agents will encounter out-group members more regularly, and perceive them as threats, generating mutually escalating xenophobic anxiety. The model\u27s capacity to grow the macro-level emergence of this phenomenon from micro-level agent behaviors and interactions provides the foundation for future work in this domain

Laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy and myomectomy for uterine prolapse: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>A large number of hysterectomies are carried out for uterine prolapse, menorrhagia and other symptomatic but benign gynaecological conditions, which has increased interest in new approaches to treat these disorders. These new procedures are less invasive and offer reduced risk and faster recovery.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Sacrohysteropexy can be carried out instead of vaginal hysterectomy in the treatment of uterine prolapse. It involves using a synthetic mesh to suspend the uterus to the sacrum; this maintains durable anatomic restoration, normal vaginal axis and sexual function. A laparoscopic approach has major advantages over the abdominal route including shorter recovery time and less adhesion formation. We describe a laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy in a 55-year-old Caucasian British woman that was technically difficult. An intramural uterine fibroid was encroaching just above the uterosacral ligament making mesh positioning impossible. This was removed and the procedure completed successfully.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Posterior wall fibroid is not a contraindication for laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy. This procedure has increasingly become an effective treatment of uterine prolapse in women who have no indication for hysterectomy.</p

Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) and their applications [forthcoming]

Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) and Their Application

Green Pathways for the Enzymatic Synthesis of Furan-Based Polyesters and Polyamides

The attention towards the utilization of sustainable feedstocks for polymer synthesis has grown exponentially in recent years. One of the spotlighted monomers derived from renewable resources is 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), one of the most promising bio-based monomers, due to its resemblance to petroleum-based terephthalic acid. Very interesting synthetic routes using this monomer have been reported in the last two decades. Combining the use of bio-based monomers and non-toxic chemicals via enzymatic polymerizations can lead to a robust and favorable approach towards a greener technology of bio-based polymer production. In this chapter, a brief introduction to FDCA-based monomers and enzymatic polymerizations is given, particularly focusing on furan-based polymers and their polymerization. In addition, an outline of the recent developments in the field of enzymatic polymerizations is discussed. </p

Increasing cognitive inhibition with a difficult prior task:implications for mathematical thinking

Dual-process theories posit two distinct types of cognitive processing: Type 1, which does not use working memory making it fast and automatic, and Type 2, which does use working memory making it slow and effortful. Mathematics often relies on the inhibition of pervasive Type 1 processing to apply new skills or knowledge that require Type 2 processing. In two studies, we demonstrate that giving participants a difficult task (Raven’s Matrices) before a task that requires the inhibition of intuitive responses (the Cognitive Reflection Test) significantly improves performance. Our findings suggest that encountering a difficult task that requires Type 2 processing before completing a task that requires inhibition of Type 1 processing may encourage an enduring ‘Type 2’ mindset, whereby participants are more likely to spontaneously use Type 2 processing for a period of time. Implications for mathematics education are discussed