The article explores the relationship between Orthodox religiosity and voting in Russia in 2011–2018. Using the theoretical framework of desecularization from above, which claims that church structures play a key role in the religious renaissance policy, we argue that the rise of the political influence of the ROC (Russian Orthodox Church) may be explained by its capacity for dissemination of traditional values that ultimately results in votes for United Russia and President Vladimir Putin in national elections. This study reveals the emergence of a new area on Russia’s political map—the belt – into Belt, which combines higher levels of Orthodox religiosity and pro-Kremlin voting in national elections. Using multiple empirical strategies we construct an index of religiosity on the regional level and identify the Orthodox Belt regions, test the relationship between Orthodox religiosity and voting in the national elections in 2011–2018, and test the differences in value orientations and electoral support between the Orthodox Belt regions and other ones. Finally, two model regions of the Orthodox Belt—Tambov and Lipetsk—are explored. We conclude that non-Orthodox Belt regions in Russia with higher Orthodox religiosity, conservatism, and loyalty are an emerging trend in Russian political geography.

Cultural factors are influential in the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment efficacy of mental health conditions. Although the literature has advanced substantially towards the development of cultural adaptations of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for various minority cultural groups, research into cultural adaptations of CBT for the Orthodox Jewish community has been scarce. This qualitative study interviewed five CBT therapists about their experiences working with clients from the London Orthodox Jewish community and uncovered several key practical implications for the clinical practice of CBT with this client group. This study indicates that CBT is a culturally appropriate psychological treatment for this client group that accords with Orthodox Jewish teachings and religious beliefs. CBT therapists are encouraged to become familiar with Orthodox Jewish cultural practices and beliefs and adopt a culturally sensitive approach to treatment. Despite the reduced mental health stigma within the community, this study recommends that CBT therapists normalise mental health conditions and therapy with Orthodox Jewish clients. Due to the close-knit nature of the community, it is suggested that CBT therapists display heightened confidentiality with this client group. To overcome the mistrust of their Orthodox Jewish clients, CBT therapists are advised to display cultural sensitivity and genuine respect for the Orthodox Jewish way of life, in addition to building a strong therapeutic alliance. Further qualitative research exploring different perspectives is necessary to produce evidence-based guidelines for the cultural adaptation of CBT for the Orthodox Jewish community.

Plants undergo a series of physiological, biochemical and molecular changes in response to adverse environmental conditions or stresses such as drought, low temperature or high salt. Several genes and their corresponding proteins have been described that may play a role in withstanding water-deficit-related stresses or full desiccation. In particular, sugars and late-embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins have received the most attention. Plant responses to water-deficit and desiccation have been well-characterized at the molecular level; however, pinpointing the precise roles of the gene products in protecting cells under conditions of water deficit remains a challenging task. While few plants are capable of withstanding full desiccation, most seeds undergo this event as a pre-programmed and final stage in their development. These are the so-called ‘orthodox’ seeds. In contrast to seeds of orthodox species, those of recalcitrant species do not acquire desiccation tolerance during their development and are shed from the parent plant at relatively high water contents. The essential components of desiccation tolerance of seeds are likely to involve the ability to effect repair upon subsequent rehydration as well as the ability to accumulate protective substances that limit the amount of damage which otherwise would be caused by water loss. Studies have begun to examine whether the desiccation sensitivity of recalcitrant seeds is at least partially the result of an insufficient accumulation of LEA-type proteins, or whether other factors (including a lack of protective sugars) are more important. This review assesses some of these studies as well as recent research to understand gene and protein function using transgenic host plant systems.

Water contents, desiccation tolerance, respiratory rates and subcellular characteristics of three contrasting seed types were studied during development. Avicennia marina (a tropical wetland species) and Aesculus hippocastanum (a temperate species) produce recalcitrant seeds and Phaseolus vulgaris produces orthodox seeds. During development, A. hippocastanum and P. vulgaris seeds showed a decline in water content and respiration rate with a concomitant increase in desiccation tolerance. These parameters did not change during the development of A. marina seeds once they had become germinable. There was a decrease in the degree of vacuolation and an increase in the deposition of insoluble reserves in A. hippocastanum and P. vulgaris seeds, while A. marina seeds remained highly vacuolated and did not accumulate insoluble reserves. Mitochondria and endomembranes degenerated during the development of A. hippocastanum and P. vulgaris seeds, but remained unchanged in A. marina seeds. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that extensive vacuolation and high metabolic rates contribute to desiccation sensitivity. However, the development of recalcitrant A. hippocastanum seeds is similar to that of orthodox P. vulgaris seeds. These data are in accord with the concept of seed recalcitrance being a consequence of truncated development. The results suggest that there may be three categories of seeds: orthodox seeds which develop desiccation tolerance, seeds which show similar development to orthodox seeds, but are shed before desiccation tolerance is well developed, and seeds which show no developmental trends giving rise to increased tolerance.

Changes in the properties of water in excised embryos were measured during the late stages of grain development in two cultivars of Zizania palustris and a population of the endangered species Z. texana. The relationships between water content and water activity were determined from water sorption isotherms, measured at temperatures between 35 and 5°C and then derived for lower temperatures. The freezing and melting behaviour of water in embryos at different water contents was determined using differential scanning calorimetry. The moisture content of embryos at high water activities decreased with maturation, as did the moisture content at which freezing transitions were not observed. While the temperatures of freezing and melting transitions decreased as the moisture content of embryos decreased, there were no discernible differences among embryos at different developmental stages. The properties of water measured in maturing Zizania embryos approached those for orthodox seeds as determined from the strength of water sorption, the enthalpy of the melting transition and the moisture content at which water is unfreezable. From these data we conclude that the properties of water in recalcitrant Zizania embryos change with development to resemble those of embryos of desiccation-tolerant seeds, but that the seeds never achieve the orthodox condition. The effects of interactions between moisture content and temperature on desiccation damage, freezing damage and germination in Zizania are predicted, based on the physical properties of water reported here and the correspondence of these properties with physiological function reported for other species. The resulting ‘phase diagram’ defines possible combinations of moisture content and temperature for storage under equilibrium conditions.

The seed storage behaviour of Fagus sylvatica and F. crenata was investigated. A large fraction of seeds of both species survived desiccation to about 3% moisture content (MC) (in equilibrium with 10% relative humidity at 20°C). Nevertheless, viability was reduced significantly and progressively by desiccation from 14% to 3% MC. In addition, during subsequent hermetic storage at constant temperatures of 20 to –20°C in F. sylvaticaand 10 to –20°C in F. crenata seeds, viability was lost more rapidly with reduction in MC below about 7.6–11.5% (40–71%relative humidity at 20°C). Thus, Fagus sylvatica and F. crenataexhibited intermediate seed storage behaviour. Survival at –20°C with 7.8–11.5% (F. sylvatica) and 7.6% MC (F. crenata) was comparatively good, with 64–84% of seeds remaining able to germinate normally after 2 years of hermetic storage, although this was neither appreciably better nor worse than at 0–10°C. Optimum seed storage environments, within the range investigated, were provided by combining temperatures of –10 to –20°C with 7.8–11.5% (F. sylvatica) or 7.6–9.5%(F. crenata) MC.

Despite the importance of the palm family, Arecaceae, little has been systematically documented about the seed behaviour of the many species. The post-harvest seed behaviour of Phoenix reclinata, the highly utilized wild date palm species distributed along the eastern seaboard of Africa, is investigated in the present study. While both embryo and endosperm water concentration declined as the seeds of Phoenix reclinata matured, they remained relatively high: this is a characteristic of (but not confined to) non-orthodox seeds. The ultrastructure of embryo cells, and the finding that negligible water uptake was required for the initiation of germination, were in keeping with the possible non-orthodox nature of the seeds. A developmental study revealed that between the acquisition of full germinability and complete pre-shedding maturity, germination performance appeared to be constrained, suggesting the presence of an inhibitor. Pre-treatment by soaking, mechanical or acid scarification had no significant promotory effect on either rate or totality of germination of mature P. reclinata seeds, while use of water transiently at 100°C was highly deleterious. However, germination of partially dehydrated seeds was initiated sooner if they had been soaked or scarified. Mature P. reclinata seeds tolerated dehydration to a mean embryo water concentration of 0.40 g g–1 (dry mass basis; dmb), but at 0.14 g g–1, both rate and totality of germination were adversely affected. However, viability of seeds dehydrated to the mean embryo water concentration 0.40 g g–1 declined during storage for 16 weeks. It is concluded that P. reclinata seeds are non-orthodox, and are best categorized as showing intermediate post-harvest behaviour.

The relationships among water content, relative humidity and temperature were documented in both seeds and excised embryos of Coffea spp. using water sorption isotherms. Isotherms were constructed at 5, 15 and 25°C and calculated for lower temperatures. There were no apparent differences in sorption characteristics among whole seeds of several cultivars of C. arabica and among different species of Coffea. Excised embryos of genetically diverse Coffea germplasm also exhibited similar sorption characteristics, though there were substantial differences observed between embryos and whole seeds. The shape of isotherms of coffee seed tissues was intermediate to the reverse sigmoidal shape observed for orthodox seeds and the monotonic shape observed for desiccation intolerant plant tissues. The heats of sorption calculated for RH ≤ 25% for whole seeds of Coffea spp. were similar to orthodox seeds. In contrast, the heats of sorption calculated in the same RH range for excised embryos were intermediate between those of orthodox and recalcitrant embryos. Our observations are consistent with earlier observations that desiccation sensitivity or poor longevity is linked with low levels of water sorption at relative humidities less than 25%. An explanation for this remains elusive.

There is a substantial literature on the basic physiology and response to desiccation of recalcitrant seeds, but little is known about their ecology and even less of their evolutionary status. It is difficult to assess the response of early land plants to dehydration, but it is likely that desiccation tolerance in vegetative tissue arose concomitantly with the invasion of the land. Similarly, from the fossil record it is not possible to assess the desiccation response of early seeds, and furthermore, it is difficult to see phylogenetic relationships among species producing recalcitrant seeds. A consideration of the available evidence, however, suggests that the first seeds were desiccation-sensitive, but tolerance evolved early and probably a number of times, independently. The desiccation sensitivity and short life span (generally shorter than the interval between flowering) of recalcitrant seeds have implications in terms of regeneration ecology. A long-term soil seed bank as such does not exist; rather the seeds germinate and form a seedling bank. However, there is a wide range in post-shedding physiology among recalcitrant seed species, and although species producing recalcitrant seeds are common in the humid tropics, they do occur in habitats with more marked seasonal variation. Here regeneration strategies may be more specialized.

Recalcitrant seeds are shed moist from the plant and do not survive desiccation to the low moisture contents required for prolonged storage. It has been widely hypothesised that during desiccation of these seeds a stress induced metabolic imbalance develops that leads to free radical mediated damage and viability loss. We investigated this hypothesis in a comparison of two sympatric species of Acer during late seed development and post-harvest desiccation: A. platanoides (Norway maple) has orthodox seeds and A. pseudoplatanus (sycamore) has recalcitrant seeds. In both species, respiration rates declined to similar levels at shedding, and the extent of defences against free radicals appears no less in sycamore than that in Norway maple. During drying there was no evidence for the accumulation of a stable free radical, increased lipid peroxidation or decline in free radical scavenging enzymes in either species. In addition, there was a very similar, large increase in total tocopherol in both species. This increase in sycamore was largely of alpha-tocopherol, whereas in Norway maple the increase was largely from its precursor, gamma-tocopherol. Arguably this suggests a similar mechanism in both species, but increased oxidative stress in sycamore. In general, the results suggest that, although damage resulting in viability loss was clearly taking place, the limitation to desiccation tolerance did not result from inadequate free radical scavenging. Soluble carbohydrates and dehydrin-like proteins were also measured during late seed development and drying in sycamore and Norway maple. The greater concentrations of sucrose, raffinose and stachyose and amounts of dehydrins in the radicles and cotyledons of Norway maple compared with those in sycamore was consistent with greater desiccation tolerance in the former. Sycamore seeds are dormant and at the tolerant end of the continuum of desiccation sensitivity among recalcitrant species, and this may account for their different response to that of the seeds of other more sensitive recalcitrant species studied.

A suite of mechanisms or processes that together have been implicated in the acquisition and maintenance of desiccation tolerance in orthodox seeds is discussed in the context of the behaviour of desiccation-sensitive seeds, and where appropriate, parallels are drawn with the situation in vegetative plant tissues that tolerate dehydration. Factors included are: physical characteristics of cells and intracellular constituents; insoluble reserve accumulation; intracellular de-differentiation; metabolic ‘switching off’; presence, and efficient operation, of antioxidant systems; accumulation of putatively protective substances including LEAs, sucrose and other oligosaccharides, as well as amphipathic molecules; the presence and role of oleosins; and the presence and operation of repair systems during rehydration. The variable response to dehydration shown by desiccation-sensitive seeds is considered in terms of the absence or incomplete expression of this suite of mechanisms or processes.

Three categories of damage are envisaged: (i) reduction in cell volume which can lead to mechanical damage; (ii) aqueous-based degradative processes, probably consequent upon deranged metabolism at intermediate water contents. This is termed ‘metabolism-induced damage’ and its extent will depend upon the metabolic rate and the rate of dehydration; and (iii) the removal of water intimately associated with macromolecular surfaces leading to denaturation: this is referred to as desiccation damage sensu stricto. The effects of drying rate and the maturity status of seeds are considered in relation to the responses to dehydration, leading to the conclusion that the concept of critical water contents on a species basis is inappropriate. Viewing seed postharvest physiology in terms of a continuum of behaviour is considered to be more realistic than attempting precise categorization.

Rapid dehydration of excised embryonic axes (or other explants) from desiccation-sensitive seeds permits retention of viability (in the short term) to water contents approaching the level of non-freezable water. This opens up the possibility of long-term conservation, by cryopreservation techniques, of the genetic resources of species producing non-orthodox seeds.