Self-transcendence facilitates meaning-making and flow: Evidence from a pilot experimental study

We review the psychological theory of flow and focus on the notion of the autotelic personality, arguing that self-transcendence (understood within the existential tradition of Frankl and Längle as the individual’s ability to establish inner relationships with values) can be viewed as a personality disposition conducive to flow experience. The study aimed to investigate the effects of situational task meaning and dispositional self-transcendence on productivity and flow experience. We present a pilot quasi-experimental study conducted in a student sample (N = 82) Students were asked to work in small-group settings on a creative task, which consisted in finding solutions to a social problem. Each group was randomly assigned to an instruction presenting the problem as happening either in a distant country (low-meaning) or in their home country (high-meaning condition). The outcome variables were measures of flow, perceived meaning of the task, and satisfaction with time spent working. The solutions generated by the students were rated by three experts. The experimental manipulation had a main effect on the quality of the resulting solutions, but not on the subjective experience of the participants. A number of significant interaction effects were found, indicating that the associations of self-transcendence with experiential outcomes tended to be linear under the low-meaning condition, but curvilinear under the high-meaning condition. The findings suggest that self-transcendence is particularly beneficial to flow in situations with unclear meaning, but very high levels of self-transcendence may hinder flow in highly meaningful situations. Overall, the findings suggest that self-transcendence can be considered as a disposition of the autotelic personality

Physicochemical Properties of Road Dust in Moscow

Road dust is a composite substance formed due to wear of different components of transport infrastructure and motor vehicles. In 2017, 214 road dust samples were collected in Moscow to analyze pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and organic carbon (Cоrg) content that controls the ability of dust to fix pollutants. The road dust was dominated by sand and silt size particles (the share of PM10 particles varies from 2.3% to 39%) and had alkaline pH (6.4–8.1), high EC (33–712 μS/cm) and Cоrg (0.17–6.7%). The road dust is alkalinized by detergents and particles formed by abrasion of roadways and blown out from construction sites. A three-fold excess of the EC over the background values (dust in parks) is mainly due to the use of the de-icing agents and roadway maintenance. But the concentration of Cоrg in the Moscow’s road dust is on average 2 times lower compared to the background values; the increased content of Cоrg in the courtyards is associated with the application of organic fertilizers. The most significant factor that determines the physicochemical properties of the dust was the type of a road. The dust on large roads including the Third Ring Road had higher pH (7.0–8.0) and EC (98–712 μS/ cm); it contained higher proportions of the fine particle-size fractions compared to other roads. The Cоrg content in the road dust was minimum on Moscow’s major radial highways due to the insignificant contribution of soil particles. The spatial trends in variability of the physicochemical properties of the dust in Moscow were not evident as they were to a large extent masked by other factors: proximity to industrial zones and large forest parks, differences in the de-icing agents used, unequal frequencies of road cleaning, and the various contribution of soil particles that vary in composition and genesis in different parts of Moscow

Magma Chemistry and Tectonic Controls of Volcanic Activity in the Southern Ural Area during Early Carboniferous Time

Early Carboniferous (359.3–323.4 Ma) volcanic complexes are widespread in the Southern Ural tectonic province, a fragment of the western (in present-day coordinates) segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Here, the Lower Carboniferous sequences crop out within the following N–S-trending tectonic zones (from west to east): Magnitogorsk, Ui River, East Ural, Transural, and Valeryanovka. We describe and discuss the geology and geochemistry of the Early Carboniferous volcanic complexes on the basis of published and newly obtained data, with implications for paleo-tectonic models. The western zones are dominated by bimodal rhyolite-basalt series, with the basalts relatively enriched in Ti and Zr but depleted in Nb. The volcanics of the Valeryanovka zone belong to the typically evolved calc-alkaline series, with the derivatives depleted in Ti and Nb. Almost all of the selected groups of volcanics bear geochemical signatures transitional between those of subduction-related and intraplate igneous rocks. The relative enrichment of the volcanics of the East Ural and Transural Zones may be interpreted as a result of a contribution from asthenospheric mantle and/or from subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The volcanics of the Valeryanovka zone reveal features common to subduction-related series of the Andean type. The data obtained allow us to compare the Early Carboniferous geodynamic settings in the western zones with the modern setting of the Northeastern Pacific, whereas the geodynamic setting of the Valeryanovka zone resembles that at the western margin of South America

Adsorption of rare earth elements using bio-based sorbents

Rare earth elements (REEs) have recently received significant attention due to their irreplaceable industrial application for the number of crucial advanced technologies in production of permanent magnets, batteries, luminescence lamps, lasers and other electronic and electrical goods. These technologies have been strongly affecting present consumption of REEs as well as looking for alternative sources, that would guarantee their sufficient supply for the future demand. This study investigates one of the possible and widely employed techniques for the efficient and at the same time, environmentally friendly recovery of REEs by adsorption using bio-based adsorbents. Overall, three bio-sorbents with different composition (residual biomass originated from agriculture and bio-refineries) were examined to study removal efficiency of the 7 most commonly used REEs in mixed aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out at the room temperature, varying the pH value (pH=1,54; 4,24) and different initial concentration of REEs to determine optimum condition for their recovery. Results revealed that removal efficiency for most of the REEs was much higher at pH=4,24 and reached 70-100% for the minimal concentrations and 30-40 % at maximal initial concentrations respectively. Adsorbent containing residual biomass and chitosan showed to be the most effective bio-sorbent for recovery of most of the REEs. In order to describe and fit the obtained data Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms models were employed

The Diversity of Parasitoids and Their Role in the Control of the Siberian Moth, <i>Dendrolimus sibiricus</i> (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), a Major Coniferous Pest in Northern Asia

The Siberian moth, Dendrolimus sibiricus Tschetv., 1908 (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) is a conifer pest that causes unprecedented forest mortality in Northern Asia, leading to enormous ecological and economic losses. This is the first study summarizing data on the parasitoid diversity and parasitism of this pest over the last 118 years (1905–2022). Based on 860 specimens of freshly reared and archival parasitoids, 16 species from two orders (Hymenoptera and Diptera) were identified morphologically and/or with the use of DNA barcoding. For all of them, data on distribution and hosts and images of parasitoid adults are provided. Among them, the braconid species, Meteorus versicolor (Wesmael, 1835), was documented as a parasitoid of D. sibiricus for the first time. The eastern Palaearctic form, Aleiodes esenbeckii (Hartig, 1838) dendrolimi (Matsumura, 1926), status nov., was resurrected from synonymy as a valid subspecies, and a key for its differentiation from the western Palaearctic subspecies Aleiodes esenbeckii ssp. esenbecki is provided. DNA barcodes of 11 parasitoid species from Siberia, i.e., nine hymenopterans and two dipterans, represented novel records and can be used for accurate molecular genetic identification of species. An exhaustive checklist of parasitoids accounting for 93 species associated with D. sibirisus in northern Asia was compiled. Finally, the literature and original data on parasitism in D. sibiricus populations for the last 83 years (1940–2022) were analysed taking into account the pest population dynamics (i.e., growth, outbreak, decline, and depression phases). A gradual time-lagged increase in egg and pupal parasitism in D. sibiricus populations was detected, with a peak in the pest decline phase. According to long-term observations, the following species are able to cause significant mortality of D. sibiricus in Northern Asia: the hymenopteran egg parasitoids Telenomus tetratomus and Ooencyrtus pinicolus; the larval parasitoids Aleiodes esenbeckii sp. dendrolimi, Cotesia spp., and Glyptapanteles liparidis; and the dipteran pupal parasitoids Masicera sphingivora, Tachina sp., and Blepharipa sp. Their potential should be further explored in order to develop biocontrol programs for this important forest pest

L’Europe orientale, 1650-1730. Crises, conflits et renouveau

Vers 1650, la Russie prend résolument position sur l’échiquier européen, où elle revendique le statut d’empire, à égalité avec celui des Habsbourg. C’est chose faite, ou à peu près, en 1730, au terme d’un long processus où jeu diplomatique, conflits armés, échanges culturels avec l’Occident et violentes révoltes à l’intérieur coexistent ou se succèdent. C’est cet ensemble d’événements, vus tantôt du côté de la Moscovie, tantôt du côté de ses voisins, qu’éclairent les articles réunis dans ce volume. Ils le font avant tout en s’attaquant aux stéréotypes, à l’aide parfois de sources inattendues, voire inconnues des spécialistes, comme les lettres de l’hetman cosaque Dorošenko au grand-vizir de la Sublime Porte ou l’unique exemplaire d’un pénitentiel prévu pour la confession du tsar. Russes xénophobes ? Peut-être, mais ce n’est pas ce qui ressort de la correspondance entre un marchand anglais et son professeur de russe. Nobles serviles ? Mais presque tous les auteurs de « projets », en 1730, rêvent d’une constitution analogue à celle de la Pologne-Lituanie. Les streltsy insurgés défendent-ils la Vieille Foi ou réclament-ils, plus prosaïquement, leur solde ? Sur un point tout au moins le succès de Pierre le Grand est indéniable : l’isolement de l’ancienne Russie appartient désormais au passé