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With data from 33 nations, we illustrate the differences between cultures that are tight (have many strong norms and a low tolerance of deviant behavior) versus loose (have weak social norms and a high tolerance of deviant behavior). Tightness-looseness is part of a complex, loosely integrated multilevel system that comprises distal ecological and historical threats (e.g., high population density, resource scarcity, a history of territorial conflict, and disease and environmental threats), broad versus narrow socialization in societal institutions (e.g., autocracy, media regulations), the strength of everyday recurring situations, and micro-level psychological affordances (e.g., prevention self-guides, high regulatory strength, need for structure). This research advances knowledge that can foster cross-cultural understanding in a world of increasing global interdependence and has implications for modeling cultural change.

This study is about what matters: predicting when microfinance institutions might fail, especially in places where financial stability is closely linked to economic inclusion. The challenge? Creating something practical and usable. The Adjusted Gross Granular Model (ARGM) model comes here. It combines clever techniques, such as granular computing and machine learning, to handle messy and imbalanced data, ensuring that the model is not just a theoretical concept but a practical tool that can be used in the real world.Data from 56 financial institutions in Peru was analyzed over almost a decade (2014–2023). The results were quite promising. The model detected risks with nearly 90% accuracy in detecting failures and was right more than 95% of the time in identifying safe institutions. But what does this mean in practice? It was tested and flagged six institutions (20% of the total) as high risk. This tool’s impact on emerging markets would be very significant. Financial regulators could act in advance with this model, potentially preventing financial disasters. This is not just a theoretical exercise but a practical solution to a pressing problem in these markets, where every failure has domino effects on small businesses and clients in local communities, who may see their life savings affected and lost due to the failure of these institutions. Ultimately, this research is not just about a machine learning model or using statistics to evaluate results. It is about giving regulators and supervisors of financial institutions a tool they can rely on to help them take action before it is too late when microfinance institutions get into bad financial shape and to make immediate decisions in the event of a possible collapse.

Objective: To investigate validity and reliability of a new measure of case complexity, the Oxford Case Complexity Assessment Measure (OCCAM). Design: Data collection on inpatients and outpatients attending for rehabilitation. In subsets, repeat assessments were undertaken two weeks apart, by clinicians unaware of initial data, and on admission and on discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Setting: Specialist neurological rehabilitation service. Subjects: Patients receiving rehabilitation after acute onset disability. Interventions: Assessment by clinical staff as part of routine care. Measures: OCCAM, the INTERMED, Rehabilitation Complexity Scale – Extended (RCS-E), clinical judgement of complexity (0–10 numerical rating scale), length of stay and discharge destination (for inpatients). Results: For the OCCAM, the Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.69 and item-total correlations were moderate to high except for pathology and time. The correlation coefficients with OCCAM were: INTERMED (ρ = 0.694), RCS-E (ρ = 0.736), and team judgement (ρ = 0.796). Inter-rater agreement was excellent (Weighted κ = 0.95). Correlation between admission and discharge scores was ρ = 0.917. Test–retest agreement was good (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.86). Higher mean admission scores were associated with prolonged stays (38.6 ± 12.2 versus 32.9 ± 13.7, P = 0.04) and failure to return home (48.0 ± 13.7 versus mean 32.1 ± 10.7, P < 0.001). The optimal cut-off of OCCAM to detect patients not discharged home was ≥ 34, with corresponding sensitivity and specificity of 84.6% and 62.8%, respectively. Conclusions: This preliminary evidence suggests that the OCCAM may measure case complexity reliably, and may predict rehabilitation resource used and outcome. Further research is warranted.

Many medicinal plants species from European -such as Artemisia absinthium, Equisetum arvense, Lamium album, Malva sylvestris, Morus nigra, Passiflora incarnata, Frangula purshiana, and Salix alba - as well as Latin American traditions -such as Libidibia ferrea, Bidens pilosa, Casearia sylvestris, Costus spicatus, Monteverdia ilicifolia, Persea americana, Schinus terebinthifolia, Solidago chilensis , Syzygium cumini, Handroanthus impetiginosus, and Vernonanthura phosphorica- are shortlisted by the Brazilian National Health System for future clinical use. However, they lack many data on their action upon some key ADME targets. In this study, we assess non-toxic concentrations (up to100 μg/ml) of their infusions for in vitro ability to modulate CYP3A4 mRNA gene expression and intracellular glutathione levels in HepG2 cells, as well as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) activity in vincristine-resistant Caco-2 cells (Caco-2 VCR). We further investigated the activation of human pregnane X receptor (hPXR) in transiently co-transfected HeLa cells and the inhibition of Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in HepG2 cells. Our results demonstrate L. ferrea, C. sylvestris , M. ilicifolia, P. americana, S. terebinthifolia, S. cumini, V. phosphorica, E. arvense, P. incarnata, F. purshiana, and S. alba can significantly increase CYP3A4 mRNA gene expression in HepG2 cells. Only F. purshiana shown to do so likely via hPXR activation. P-gp activity was affected by L. ferrea, F. purshiana, S. terebinthifolia, and S. cumini . Total intracellular glutathione levels were significantly depleted by exposure to all extracts except S. alba and S. cumini This was accompanied by a lower GGT activity in the case of C. spicatus, P. americana, S. alba, and S. terebinthifolia , whilst L. ferrea , P. incarnata and F. purshiana increased it. Surprisingly, S. cumini aqueous extract drastically decreased GGT activity (−48%, p < 0.01). In conclusion, this preclinical study shows that the administration of some of these herbal medicines causes in vitro disturbances to key drug metabolism mechanisms. We recommend active pharmacovigilance for Libidibia ferrea (Mart.) L. P. Queiroz, Frangula purshiana Cooper, Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi, and Salix alba L. which were able to alter all targets in our preclinical study.

Abstract The integrated management of water resources is a requirement for environmental preservation and economic development, with the removal of nutrients being one of the main drawbacks. In this work, the efficiency of a bacterial consortium (Ecobacter WP) made up of eight bacterial strains of the genus Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus cereus, Arthrobacter sp., Acinetobacter paraffineus, Corynebacterium sp., and Streptomyces globisporus was evaluated in the removal of nitrogen compounds in domestic wastewater in a plug flow system, in the extended aeration and bioaugmentation (FLAEBI). To promote the nitrification and denitrification processes, three doses were tested to establish the optimal concentration of the bacterial consortium on a laboratory scale and its subsequent application in an outdoor wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The evaluation period was 15 days for each treatment in the laboratory and WWTP. The parameters monitored both at laboratory and outdoor were pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonium, nitrites, and nitrates. The results indicated that the optimal concentration of the consortium was 30 mg L−1, with a removal of 92% of nitrate at the laboratory and 62% outdoor. Such a difference is attributed to the different operation residence times and the volume that caused different concentration gradients. The consortium studied can be used to promote nitrification and denitrification processes that intervene in the removal of nitrogenous compounds in plants with similar operating conditions, without investment in restructuring or design modification of the WWTP.

Management of different types of partnerships plays a decisive role in company performance. Complex business ventures, such as those created to serve low-income populations, usually include both cross- and same-sector partnerships. However, the initial diversity featured in these alliance portfolios diminishes as companies take their ventures up to scale. This article develops theoretical propositions about the evolution and configuration patterns of portfolios that include both cross- and same-sector partnerships. Two longitudinal case studies serve to illustrate the theoretical framework developed for alliance portfolios that include both types of partnerships. Companies that create such portfolios adopt partnership strategies that follow paths also identified in the evolution of portfolios only made up of partnerships with other private firms: i.e., an evolution from adapting to shaping and exploiting strategies.

Construction and operation of ground astrophysical facilities can be affected by adverse weather conditions. Some weather risks are obvious, but still there are times when an unforeseen event distorts the perception of how relevant a climate-related risk is. On the other hand, adverse weather conditions can delay or entirely halt the construction project of an astronomical facility. The impact of weather risks becomes stronger if the facility is built at a site far from urban areas, where maintenance activities and hardware availability become more challenging. This paper aims at proposing a procedure to analyze the impact of environmental risks for an astronomical facility. This procedure is illustrated with a case study: El Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory (ORM). ORM hosts a number of large scale instruments for astrophysics research, which will significantly increase during this decade. We analyze in this paper the environmental conditions affecting the useful lifetime of Cherenkov Telescopes installed at the ORM. After a detailed analysis, we conclude that the risks of strongest magnitude are connected to wild fires. This conclusion diverges from the current risk perception, which is strongly influenced by the recent Cumbre Vieja Eruption event.

We evaluated the leishmanicidal activity of commercially available 5α-cholest-7-en-3β-ol [5α-chol], (+)-4-cholesten-3-one [(+)-4-chol] and the equimolar mixture of the two of them in promastigotes and amastigotes of two different strains of Leishmania mexicana (LCL) and (DCL). The leishmanicidal effectiveness of these sterols was determined by promastigote growth-kinetic experiments and promastigote viability using the propidium iodide staining procedure. The proliferation test was performed using the CFSE (5-Carboxyfluorescein N-succinimidyl ester) staining of parasites at different time points. To determine the leishmanicidal effectiveness of these sterols in amastigotes, we evaluated parasite killing inside of macrophages at different time points. The trypan blue exclusion test was used to determine cytotoxicity of sterols in uninfected macrophages. We included in all experiments a control group of parasites treated with 2% DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) and another one treated with the reference drug sodium stibogluconate (Sb). Our results showed that the equimolar mixture at 2000 times lower concentration presented similar leishmanicidal activity as Sb. This mixture was similarly effective at 100 times lower concentration than individual sterols tested separately indicating the existence of a synergistic effect against LCL and DCL parasites. The therapeutic index of the equimolar mixture was 10,000—16,000 times higher than the one recorded by Sb and was not cytotoxic to macrophages. Therefore, the equimolar mixture of 5α-Chol and (+)-4-chol may represent a potential alternative for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Specimens in natural history museums are indispensable for a broad range of ecological and evolutionary research, but research relying on database downloads assumes high identification accuracy. Database inaccuracies, such as erroneous species identification, have the potential to introduce error that could lead to incorrect conclusions. Species identification error may be higher in specious taxonomic groups that can be challenging to identify externally, like North American voles. In this study, I examine types and quantity of identification error within four commonly collected intermontane vole species (Myodes gapperi, Phenacomys intermedius, Microtus ochrogaster, and Microtus pennsylvanicus) in four mammalogy collections: the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates, and the University of New Mexico’s Museum of Southwestern Biology. I examine incorrect identifications and their association with student collectors, field identifications, geographic range inconsistencies, curatorial database errors, and numbering errors. I observed an identification error rate from 2.30 – 6.36% across the four collections. Most of the error was associated with general misidentifications (44.5%) and curatorial errors (20.8%), although error of all types was present in each collection and some misidentified specimens fell into multiple categories (e.g., student identification, field identification and geographic range error all for the same specimen). Among the four species, all showed similar error rates, although Microtus ochrogaster showed the highest rates for both incorrectly identified study skins and skulls. My findings serve as a reference for the analyzed collections, as well as a case study for collections staff at other institutions to locate and resolve similar errors within their own data. Although taxonomic expertise is necessary in many cases, I discuss various ways that collection managers, curators, and collectors can mitigate each type of error.