British Academy

Peptides, particularly SA1-III decapeptide, play a key role in maintaining skin structure by inhibiting collagen degradation. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the combined effects of Definisse™ Revitalise Threads and Definisse [KP1]® Redensifying Cream containing SA1-III for facial rejuvenation. Patients receiving Definisse™ Revitalise Threads were offered Definisse™ Redensifying Cream for one month. Outcomes-including efficacy, safety, and patient satisfaction-were assessed over six months using 3D imaging, clinical evaluation, and the FACE-Q™ questionnaire. Due to the sample size, data were summarised descriptively, with group comparisons using exact Mann-Whitney U tests and paired analyses using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < 0.05). Nineteen individuals underwent treatment with Definisse™ Revitalise Threads (17 females and 2 males, aged 38-72 years); 10 patients used additional Definisse [KP1]® Redensifying Cream while 9 did not. All patients reported significant improvements in skin satisfaction, cheek fullness, and perceived aging, based in FACE-QTM scores before and after treatment. Thread treatment visibly improved facial appearance, but the addition of the peptide-containing cream further enhanced skin quality. Indeed, greater improvements in skin satisfaction were reported by individuals using vs. not using Definisse [KP1]® Redensifying Cream. No adverse events were reported, and the FACE-QTM Adverse Effects scale indicated only mild, transient effects. In this preliminary series with a six-month follow-up, the combination of Definisse Revitalise Threads and Definisse® Redensifying Cream was well-tolerated and showed potential for enhancing facial rejuvenation. These preliminary findings suggest that peptide-based cosmeceuticals may complement aesthetic procedures and support skin health. These preliminary results will be used to generate hypotheses for larger studies with longer follow-up, which are needed to confirm these effects.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1492464.].

Developing students' transversal skills, such as creativity, alongside strong academic foundations, has become an increasing priority for education systems worldwide. However, most existing research on mindsets and achievement has focused on general intelligence growth mindsets or growth mindsets in academic domains, particularly mathematics, leaving the role of mindsets in transversal skill development largely unexplored. This study examines how growth mindset about general intelligence and domain-specific growth mindsets in mathematics, reading, and creativity are associated with achievement in mathematics, reading, and creative problem solving using data from 471,971 students across 64 education systems, drawn from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022. We extend prior research, which has largely focused on general intelligence or mathematics mindsets in single-country contexts, by analyzing multi-domain and cross-national patterns. To address unobserved individual-level confounders, we leverage within-student, between-domain variation in mindsets and achievement, providing a more rigorous assessment of domain-specific associations. We additionally estimated models separately by gender, socioeconomic background, immigrant status, and OECD versus non-OECD systems to examine how associations vary across student and system contexts. Growth mindsets vary systematically across domains, with mathematics showing the lowest prevalence and general intelligence beliefs the highest. Domain-specific growth mindsets are positively associated with domain-congruent achievement in mathematics and reading, but not in creativity. Associations vary by student background, being stronger for girls, advantaged students, and those in OECD countries. Findings suggest that growth mindsets are domain-bound rather than universal, with implications for theory, measurement, and the design of interventions tailored to academic and transversal skill domains.

This essay explores camouflage as a form of strategic metamorphosis that reshapes behaviour, identity and agency rather than merely concealing them. Starting from the myth of Proteus, the sea god who survives by constantly changing shape, it shows how disguise can slip out of control and turn against those who employ it. In Homer, Plato and ancient zoology, metamorphosis is not the expression or transformation of an inner essence but a technique for producing unsettling effects: evading capture, undermining authority, staging playful illusion. This protean logic reappears in animal camouflage, such as that of the octopus, and in early modern courtly dissimulation. It also manifests in contemporary phenomena, including extremist hooligans acting in anonymizing uniforms and the psychological Proteus-effect, where avatars in virtual environments reshape users’ attitudes and behaviour. This essay argues that camouflage is a fundamentally relational and situational force: once set in motion, it generates actions that no single agent fully controls. By combining insights from myth, philosophy, animal behaviour and psychology, this essay offers a framework for rethinking culture not as a linear march towards greater civilisation, but as an intensification of a nature already marked by deception, excess and unstable forms.

Abstract Since 2020, Africa has experienced two severe external economic shocks: the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the war in Ukraine. These events have ushered in what economists call a new era of austerity, which has been called Structural Adjustment 2.0. This article contends that the major cause of the economic distress following the COVID-19 experience was not the disease itself but the policy response. This response was designed for high-income countries with high medical capacity, low housing densities, and existing models of social protection. However, in an African setting, the policy did not follow scientific protocols and quickly moved towards neocolonial tropes where external institutions shaped policy priorities and outcomes to the detriment of African societies. It was soon clear that these policies were of questionable benefit in areas of high-density housing and that they could not feasibly be sustained without enormous hardship. The article provides new data based on research primarily from Angola, Nigeria, and Uganda: it argues that since scholars have largely failed to address the role of the COVID-19 policy response in Africa’s new era of austerity, this negative human and socioeconomic outcome requires rethinking the discursive and conceptual priorities of the discipline of African Studies.

With the continuous growth of world energy demand and the rapid development of energy storage technology, adding energy storage systems to power systems to improve energy utilization efficiency and reduce energy waste caused by sustainable energy volatility will be a common form in the future. Optimizing energy scheduling is the key to improving system efficiency and economy. This paper proposes a wind, PV, thermal and hydrogen energy storage combined power grid system based on hydrogen energy storage technology. By considering constraints such as system power balance, sustainable energy output power, and energy storage system operation balance, a mathematical model is established and solved with the minimum operating cost as the objective function. Finally, the load and sustainable energy potential data of each California region are used to verify the superiority of the system proposed in this paper.

Background: Accurate digital transfer of implant positions is critical for the long-term success of full-arch prosthetic rehabilitation. Photogrammetry remains the benchmark for accuracy, but its high cost and complexity limit clinical adoption. Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven intraoral scanning protocols incorporating real-time library matching and irregular, individually coded scan bodies have been proposed as accessible alternatives to improve accuracy and reproducibility. Methods: This in vitro study evaluated the trueness and precision of a full-arch implant scanning workflow using an AI-assisted real-time library matching system in combination with irregular multi-geometry titanium scan bodies. A high-accuracy structured-light scanner served as the reference standard. Six implant positions (35, 33, 31, 41, 43, 45) were scanned across 20 datasets (n = 120). Mean surface deviations were calculated against the reference STL using CloudCompare v.2.14. and a two-way ANOVA (α = 0.05) in SPSS tested the effects of implant position and scan iteration. Results: The workflow achieved a mean deviation of 13.55 ± 9.70 μm (range 0.77-43.46 μm) across all positions. Anterior sites showed the lowest deviations (e.g., position 31: 3.95 μm; 45: 5.96 μm), while posterior sites exhibited higher deviations (e.g., position 43: 26.15 μm). No mean deviation exceeded 30 μm, and no individual measurement surpassed 45 μm. Implant position significantly affected accuracy (p < 0.001), whereas scan iteration did not (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Within the limitations of this in vitro model, an AI-assisted real-time library matching workflow used in conjunction with irregular multi-geometry scan bodies achieved accuracy levels well within clinically acceptable ranges for full-arch implant impressions. Although comparable to values reported for photogrammetry under laboratory conditions, clinical equivalence should not be assumed. Further in vivo validation is required to confirm performance under routine clinical conditions.

Key digested message Trad wife is shorthand for traditional wife, which is a lifestyle that has gained online traction over the last decade through different social media platforms. Trad wives differ from housewives through their ideology. Trad wives hold strict archetypal gender roles, they support the patriarchy and submit to their husbands. They commodify far-right politics and disseminate sexist and racist rhetoric veiled by images of romantic domestic life. Furthermore, trad wives encourage the inequalities and behaviours which can lead to gender-based violence (GBV), such as condoning the punishment of wives by their husbands and encouraging wives to be subservient to their husbands. They do this through biblical justification. The trad wife movement works against women’s equality and safety and puts women at risk from harm.

The study of oral poetry often involves assumptions that shape its analysis, making it important to distinguish between controversial, empirical, or outdated claims. Several influential approaches to oral poetry are examined. Romantic and evolutionist theories, rooted in 18th and 19th-century European Romanticism, highlight the spontaneous, emotional, and natural aspects of poetry, emphasizing a connection to "primitive" societies. These theories have shaped the perception of oral poetry as a natural, instinctive art form, often linked to rural or unlettered communities. The concept of tradition, where oral literature is passed down through generations, is central to this view. The Finnish historical-geographical approach seeks to trace the origins and journeys of oral narratives, often focusing on content rather than performance or social context. This method has led to a focus on classifying and mapping motifs, which can overshadow the dynamic, local creation and performance of oral works. Sociological approaches raise questions about the role of literature in society, whether it reflects or influences social order. Some view oral literature as supporting the status quo, while others emphasize its potential for social change. Finally, the dichotomy between "primitive" and modern societies, often linked to oral versus literate cultures, is questioned, as many oral traditions exist within societies influenced by literacy. These assumptions, rooted in Romanticism and sociological theory, need re-evaluation for a more nuanced understanding of oral poetry.

Over the last century, the health of aquatic ecosystems around the world has reached critical levels. In the UK, waterways are severely polluted, and yet many wells and springs are still venerated as ‘sacred’. This article presents ‘eco-pilgrimages’ as a sustainability strategy to connect key heritage sites through ecological corridors. This aims, simultaneously, to strengthen biodiversity; to enable immersive historical and ecological education; to contribute to human well-being; and to provide more effective flood amelioration in river catchment areas.