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This article explores the representation of borders and cosmopolitanism in the film Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings (2012), the fourth title in the Disney fairies franchise. The film tells the story of a world divided into two territories, the Winter Woods and Pixie Hollow. A ban on cross-border mobility prohibits any kind of interaction between the inhabitants of the two worlds. Tinker Bell, the main character in the film, feels the urge to break the law and cross to the other side, where she meets her twin sister and finds out the reason for the ban. Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings is a border film that deals with the processes of border construction and dissolution while also highlighting the potential, and some of the risks, of the dismantling of borders. This article analyses the film's use of different spaces that, in line with the dual nature of borders theorised by, among others, Gloria Anzaldua, work simultaneously as dividing lines and borderlands. Gerard Delanty's concept of cosmopolitan moments is used to analyse the articulation of cross-border relationships in the film.

In this article, I read book 6 of Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene in conversation with native English didactic and behavioral manuals as I explore the relationship between literary genre and Spenserian courtesy. I argue that Spenser uses Virgilian georgic motifs to transcribe into the idiom of literary genre the courtesy texts' argument that nobility requires the labor of self-cultivation in a postlapsarian world.

Languages employ different strategies to transmit structural and grammatical information. While, for example, grammatical dependency relationships in sentences are mainly conveyed by the ordering of the words for languages like Mandarin Chinese, or Vietnamese, the word ordering is much less restricted for languages such as Inupiatun or Quechua, as these languages (also) use the internal structure of words (e.g. inflectional morphology) to mark grammatical relationships in a sentence. Based on a quantitative analysis of more than 1,500 unique translations of different books of the Bible in almost 1,200 different languages that are spoken as a native language by approximately 6 billion people (more than 80% of the world population), we present large-scale evidence for a statistical trade-off between the amount of information conveyed by the ordering of words and the amount of information conveyed by internal word structure: languages that rely more strongly on word order information tend to rely less on word structure information and vice versa. Or put differently, if less information is carried within the word, more information has to be spread among words in order to communicate successfully. In addition, we find that-despite differences in the way information is expressed-there is also evidence for a trade-off between different books of the biblical canon that recurs with little variation across languages: the more informative the word order of the book, the less informative its word structure and vice versa. We argue that this might suggest that, on the one hand, languages encode information in very different (but efficient) ways. On the other hand, content-related and stylistic features are statistically encoded in very similar ways.

A prevalent model is that sharp-wave ripples (SWR) arise ‘spontaneously’ in CA3 and propagate recent memory traces outward to the neocortex to facilitate memory consolidation there. Using voltage and extracellular glutamate transient recording over widespread regions of mice dorsal neocortex in relation to CA1 multiunit activity (MUA) and SWR, we find that the largest SWR-related modulation occurs in retrosplenial cortex; however, contrary to the unidirectional hypothesis, neocortical activation exhibited a continuum of activation timings relative to SWRs, varying from leading to lagging. Thus, contrary to the model in which SWRs arise ‘spontaneously’ in the hippocampus, neocortical activation often precedes SWRs and may thus constitute a trigger event in which neocortical information seeds associative reactivation of hippocampal ‘indices’. This timing continuum is consistent with a dynamics in which older, more consolidated memories may in fact initiate the hippocampal-neocortical dialog, whereas reactivation of newer memories may be initiated predominantly in the hippocampus.

Sally Rooney's Normal People has garnered significant acclaim for its poignant portrayal of the bond between two Irish individuals, Marianne and Connell. This article examines the novel's structural and temporal elements to elucidate its significance and foster reader engagement with the narrative. Rooney employs a non-linear storytelling method to intertwine past and current situations, enabling a more profound comprehension of the character's development and the intricacies of human connections. The study explores the impact of temporal manipulation on character relationships and its influence on readers' interpretation of the storyline. The examination highlights tactics such as flashbacks and shifting perspectives to demonstrate the gradual development of Connell and Marianne. These tools provide a valuable understanding of their challenges, incentives, and intricate emotional dynamics. The unorthodox narrative structure defies standard storytelling norms by highlighting themes such as time, memory, and human connections. This analysis reveals viewpoints on Normal People by examining the intersection of narrative construction, temporal dynamics, and character development. The novel emphasizes the importance of flashbacks in revealing prior traumas that influence the protagonist's actions and emotions while using several perspectives to enhance the complexity of the plot. By adopting several viewpoints, readers gain an understanding of the characters' shared experiences, motivations, and the cultural factors that shape their lives. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the narrative structure employed in Normal People, shedding light on its temporal complexities and enhancing reader engagement.

The interplay between nutrition and the microbial communities colonizing the gastrointestinal tract (i.e., gut microbiota) determines juvenile growth trajectory. Nutritional deficiencies trigger developmental delays, and an immature gut microbiota is a hallmark of pathologies related to childhood undernutrition. However, how host-associated bacteria modulate the impact of nutrition on juvenile growth remains elusive. Here, using gnotobiotic Drosophila melanogaster larvae independently associated with Acetobacter pomorum WJL (Ap WJL) and Lactobacillus plantarum NC8 (Lp NC8), 2 model Drosophila-associated bacteria, we performed a large-scale, systematic nutritional screen based on larval growth in 40 different and precisely controlled nutritional environments. We combined these results with genome-based metabolic network reconstruction to define the biosynthetic capacities of Drosophila germ-free (GF) larvae and its 2 bacterial partners. We first established that Ap WJL and Lp NC8 differentially fulfill the nutritional requirements of the ex-GF larvae and parsed such difference down to individual amino acids, vitamins, other micronutrients, and trace metals. We found that Drosophila-associated bacteria not only fortify the host's diet with essential nutrients but, in specific instances, functionally compensate for host auxotrophies by either providing a metabolic intermediate or nutrient derivative to the host or by uptaking, concentrating, and delivering contaminant traces of micronutrients. Our systematic work reveals that beyond the molecular dialogue engaged between the host and its bacterial partners, Drosophila and its associated bacteria establish an integrated nutritional network relying on nutrient provision and utilization.

Background In low-and-middle-income countries community health workers are the core component of the PHC system as they act as a liaison between the communities and the healthcare facilities. Evidence suggests that the services offered by these workers have helped in the decline of maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates and the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. However, the coverage and the overall progress towards achieving the SDG targets is very sluggish. The recent consensus concerning this current pace of progress, is that it relates to financial and human resources constraints. CHWs are overburdened as they are expected to accomplish more although they may not obtain the required support to perform their duties. The health systems of LMICs, have given very little attention to the work environment of CHWs; which has negatively affected CHWs productivity, and quality of services. This debate is intended to explore the potential of mobile phone technology in LMICs for improving CHWs performance and effectiveness. Discussion To improve CHWs productivity, some studies involved the use of mobile phones for data collection and reporting, while other studies used mobile technology for patient to provider communication, patient education, CHWs supervision, and monitoring and evaluation. A wide range of benefits exists for using mobile phones including reduction in CHWs workload, improvement in data collection, reporting and monitoring, provision of quality healthcare services, supportive supervision, better organization of CHWs tasks and improvement in community health outcomes. However, a number of studies suggests that CHWs encounter unique challenges when adopting and using mobile health solutions for health service delivery such as, lack of CHWs training on new mHealth solutions, weak technical support, issues of internet connectivity and other administrative challenges. Future research efforts should be directed to explore health system readiness for adopting sustainable mHealth solutions to improve CHWs workflows in LMICs. Conclusion Future research efforts and policy dialogue should be directed to explore health system readiness for adopting sustainable mHealth solutions to improve CHWs workflows in LMICs.

The book of Revelation contains various literary devices, among which the oxymoron remains one of the least studied. This article is the first to explore this figure of speech in the book of Revelation and provides a precise definition of “oxymoron” as a unique combination of contradictory words whose literal meaning creates a paradoxical tension, enriching the textual meaning and provoking reflection. The study shows that many phrases previously called oxymora are in fact other literary forms, such as paradoxes or metaphorical contrasts, in which the tension results from theological or symbolic opposition rather than from direct lexical contradiction. The article argues that of the thirteen proposed examples, only the phrase “mixed unmixed” wine in Rev 14,10 corresponds to a classic oxymoron, which is used by John to intensify the image of God’s judgment. This article thus contributes to the study of the literary device of “oxymoron” in early Christian literature.