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Intraspecific differentiation and phylogeography of the Damaraland mole-rat Fukomys damarensis reveals rapid colonization of arid savannahs during the late Pleistocene
Sumbera, Radim; Uhrova, Michaela; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Eiseb, Seth J.; Faulkes, Chris G.; Finn, Kyle T.; Lovy, Matej; Phiri, Ketty; Van Daele, Paul A.A.G.; Zikova, Barbora; Mikula, Ondrej (Springer, 2026-01)
The Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) is a cooperatively breeding rodent primarily inhabiting sandy soils of southern Africa. It has the largest distribution of all the species in the genus Fukomys, from northwestern South Africa to Zambia, and from central Namibia across to western Zimbabwe. To the north of the Zambezi River in Zambia, it is replaced by its sister species Micklem’s mole-rat (Fukomys micklemi). Despite a long history of studying the species, phylogeography of F. damarensis remains poorly understood. We analysed its intraspecific genetic structure and past population trends using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences (published as well as acquired from museum and newly collected specimens). Also, we explored major axes of soil and climate variation among localities inhabited by this species. For comparison, we performed the same series of analyses also for F. micklemi. Within F. damarensis, we identified three major matrilineages. They were all found together in the Upper Zambezi – Okavango Delta region, where their habitat characteristics overlap widely with those of F. micklemi. However, one of the matrilineages likely underwent rapid expansion southwards to the sandy soils of Botswana, Namibia and northwestern South Africa. The expansion was tentatively dated to the second half of the last glacial, a period of increasing aridity and formation of sandy soils. This is in sharp contrast to F. micklemi, whose population had been much more stable over the last glacial cycle.
Interrogating the South African garrison state (1930s-1940s) : Oswald Pirow and Jan-Hendrik Hofmeyr
Kirsten, Frederik Fouché (Routledge, 2026)
This article uses a comparative biographical study of Jan-Hendrik Hofmeyr and Oswald Pirow as a foundation to interrogate South Africa of the 1930s and 1940s as a garrison state. It examines Harold Lasswell’s concept of the garrison state, a ‘developmental construct’ regarding the future path that democracies could take in their confrontation with fascism and communism in the mid-twentieth century. Hofmeyr and Pirow are representative of two opposites in the political-intellectual debates of the 1930s and 1940s within white society and both can be seen as guarantors of power. Pirow, a renowned fascist, wanted the creation of a Nazi-like state in South Africa. Hofmeyr, in contrast, espoused a liberal vision. This article is located within new scholarship on South African anti-fascism and the garrison state is cast as one counter-intuitive response to fascism.
Physicochemical, microbiological and sensory evaluation of plant-based meat analogs supplemented with phenolic extracts from olive mill by-products
Nichita , Adina; Sordini, Beatrice; Al-Olayan, Ebtsam; Esposto, Sonia; Costanzi, Egidia; Cenci-Goga, Beniamino Terzo; Popa , Mona Elena; Servili , Maurizio; Veneziani, Gianluca (MDPI, 2025-09-26)
The bioactive properties of a phenolic extract (PE) obtained from olive mill vegetation water (OVW) in powder formulation were utilized to enrich a meat analog composed of lentils and champignon mushrooms. The primary phenolic compounds in this extract were oleacein, verbascoside, and hydroxytyrosol. The effects on the final product were assessed over eight days of storage at 4 °C ± 2 under 12 h of light. The control samples were compared with two meat analogs enriched with ascorbic acid (AA) at 5 g kg−1 and one enriched with PE at 30 g kg−1. The physicochemical parameters (pH, aw, color, texture, and total phenol content), antioxidant activity, microbial assessment, and sensory evaluations of meat analog samples were evaluated at three different time points (T0, T4, T8) during shelf life. The PE-enriched meat analogs maintained a relatively high and stable phenolic concentration throughout their shelf life, significantly enhancing the antioxidant activities of the final product. The addition of PE also influenced the growth of Enterococcus spp., Lactococcus spp., and Lactobacillus spp. during storage. The results of the triangular test indicated perceptible differences between AA and PE meat analogs. Meanwhile, the quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) emphasized notable enhancements in odor and texture characteristics for PE-enriched samples. Plant-based meat analogs can benefit from the effective use of PE (antioxidant and sensory properties), supporting the sustainable reuse of olive oil by-products.
Supply bottlenecks and machine learning forecasting of international stock market volatility
Somani, Dhanashree; Gupta, Rangan; Karmakar, Sayar; Plakandaras, Vasilios (Elsevier, 2025-12)
This study explores the information value of the daily Supply Bottlenecks Index (SBI) – derived from newspaper articles – to forecast daily return volatilities of seven major developed stock markets: China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the US. Volatility is measured using the interquantile range, obtained through an asymmetric slope autoregressive quantile regression model applied to stock returns to estimate conditional quantiles. From this, we derive key distributional moments including skewness, kurtosis, and lower- and upper-tail risks, which are then incorporated into a linear forecasting framework alongside leverage effects. Using Lasso shrinkage techniques to address potential overfitting, we find that the model incorporating higher-order moments outperforms a benchmark model based solely on own- and cross-country volatilities. Notably, the predictive accuracy improves further when supply constraint indicators from all seven countries are included. These results hold important implications for investors as we later highlighted.
Safeguarding microbial biodiversity : microbial conservation specialist group within the species survival commission of the International Union for conservation of nature
Gilbert, Jack A.; Scholz, Amber Hartman; Bello, Maria Gloria Dominguez; Korsten, Lise; Berg, Gabriele; Singh, Brajesh K.; Boetius, Antje; Wang, Fengping; Greening, Chris; Wrighton, Kelly; Bordenstein, Seth R.; Jansson, Janet; Lennon, Jay T.; Souza, Valeria; Allard, Sarah M.; Thomas, Torsten; Cowan, Don A.; Crowther, Thomas W.; Nguyen, Nguyen; Harper, Lucy; Haraoui, Louis-Patrick; Ishaq, Suzanne L.; McFall-Ngai, Margaret; Redford, Kent H.; Peixoto, Raquel (Oxford University Press, 2025-01)
No abstract available.