This study examines the glass ceiling, glass cliff, and glass escalator in terms of their explanatory power, the conceptual frameworks they generate, and the solutions they establish. A comparative critical thematic analysis of 15 high-impact peer-reviewed reveals three patterns. First, metaphors name structural inequalities, but the conclusions and recommendations of the reviewed studies frequently shift the horizon of possible solutions toward individual strategies. This points to the risk of relocating responsibility from institutions to individuals. Second, metaphor-based explanations often rest on an implicit assumption of a “universal woman” and engage with intersectional differences only in limited ways. This limitation stems both from authorial choices and from the simplifying tendencies of metaphorical framing. Third, metaphors do not always operate as substantive explanatory tools; in some texts, they reduce inequality to discursive labels. The study argues that glass metaphors function as selective epistemic apparatuses that make certain inequalities visible while obscuring others and shaping the repertoire of possible solutions. These metaphors reveal distinct organizational logics, including exclusion, risk delegation, and the invisible circulation of rewards. Accordingly, the article calls for a more critical, reflexive, and intersectional approach to the use of metaphors in gender studies.
Urban sprawl is a major spatial transformation process characterized by the unplanned expansion of urban areas into surrounding rural and natural landscapes. As a result, rural areas at the urban fringe are increasingly exposed to pressures driven by population growth, housing demand, and expanding transportation infrastructure, giving rise to hybrid “rurban” landscapes. Managing these areas requires not only monitoring land use change but also identifying zones at risk of transformation before irreversible change occurs.Since the 1980s, Antalya has experienced rapid population growth, tourism-driven economic expansion, and largely uncoordinated development, leading to significant changes in surrounding agricultural and rural landscapes. This study develops a Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing–based spatial analysis framework to systematically identify rural areas under urban sprawl pressure. The approach integrates the direction and intensity of urban expansion with existing rural land use patterns to examine their spatial interactions.Using multi-temporal satellite imagery within a GIS environment, the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban growth were analyzed and rural areas with high susceptibility to urban encroachment were delineated. The results show that the impacts of urban sprawl extend beyond existing built-up areas and are increasingly concentrated in transitional rural zones that remain unurbanized yet are critical for planning.The identified spatial patterns provide a basis for an early warning framework to support the protection of agricultural land and the development of preventive land use policies. Although tested in Antalya, the proposed framework is transferable to regions experiencing similar urbanization dynamics.
Platanus orientalis L. is a traditionally used medicinal tree rich in phenolics and fatty acids, yet systematic studies on its extracts from centuries-old trees remain limited. This study aimed to characterize the phenolic and fatty acid composition and evaluate the functional biological properties supporting phytochemical differentiation of extracts obtained from the leaves, bark, and fruits of ∼400-year-old P. orientalis trees. Maceration (ethanol) and Soxhlet extraction (water, ethanol and hexane) methods were applied. Phenolic compounds were quantified by UHPLC-MS/MS and fatty acids by GC-MS. The antioxidant properties were determined by DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays, as well as total flavonoid content (TFC). Antibacterial activity was tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains (S. aureus, E. faecalis, E. coli, K. pneumoniae) using disk diffusion. Catechin and epicatechin were the dominant phenolics, with ethanol fruit extracts containing up to 126.1 μg g−1 epicatechin. Stearic acid was the most abundant fatty acid (478.71 μg g−1 in hexane leaf extract). Leaf and bark extracts exhibited stronger antioxidant activity (IC50 for DPPH: 109.25 μg mL−1 for ethanol leaf maceration) compared to fruit extracts. Antibacterial activity was more pronounced against Gram-positive bacteria, especially S. aureus.Extracts of P. orientalis, particularly from leaves and bark, exhibited distinct phytochemical profiles associated with plant part and extraction method. Multivariate analysis (PCA and HCA) revealed structured metabolite clustering, indicating coordinated chemical differentiation. These findings suggest the potential relevance of specific metabolite groups for future comparative chemotaxonomic investigations. Rather than emphasizing pharmacological applications, the present study focuses on metabolite distribution patterns and their relevance to biochemical systematics.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of incorporating paraprobiotics derived from Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB12 on the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics and sensory and functional properties of probiotic fermented milk beverages during storage at 4 °C for 30 days. The experimental design utilised two different paraprobiotics applied via two distinct supplementation strategies: addition to the milk prior to fermentation or incorporation immediately after the fermentation process. The fermented milk beverage incorporated with paraprobiotic forms of B. animalis subsp. lactis BB12, prior to incubation, exhibited the highest exopolysaccharide content, reaching 1.64 g/kg on the 15th day of storage. The flow behaviour index, apparent viscosity and coefficient of consistency values of the fermented milk beverages were not influenced by the paraprobiotic and their incorporation sequence. The highest total phenolic content, radical scavenging activity, and antioxidant capacity values were determined to be 21.67 mg GAE/100 g, 220.95 mg TE/kg, and 650.09 mg TEOC/kg, respectively, in the fermented milk beverages with added paraprobiotic forms of B. animalis subsp. lactis BB12 prior to incubation. Regardless of whether paraprobiotics were added or not, the probiotic bacteria count in all fermented milk beverages was ≥ 8 log CFU/g. The fermented milk beverages with added paraprobiotics prior to incubation showed increased antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus NCTC 9946, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25,923, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica DSM 18,522 and Escherichia coli ATCC 35,218. The appearance, taste, texture, and overall acceptability scores of fermented milk beverages ranged between 5.07 and 7.57, 5.07 and 6.86, 4.71 and 7.50, and 4.79 and 7.14, respectively. The presence of paraprobiotics in the fermented milk beverages, regardless of the sequence of their incorporation, improved texture and overall acceptability scores. Our findings suggest that paraprobiotics can be applied for the manufacturing of novel functional/nutraceutical foods in the food industry.
This umbrella review synthesizes evidence from 41 qualitative, meta-analytic, and mixed-method reviews to reveal the effectiveness of FL on cognitive, affective, and interpersonal domains across STEM, Medical and Health Sciences (M&H), and Social Sciences (SS). The results reveal that while flipped learning (FL) demonstrates positive effects on academic achievement in mathematics, science, and English language teaching, evidence for other domanial outcomes across fields remains inconclusive due to several limitations such as study scope, methodology and regional restrictions. Specifically, evidence across fields on other cognitive outcomes including autonomy, conceptual understanding, and higher-order thinking skills has the potential for fostering autonomy, conceptual understanding, and higher-order thinking skills, but the current evidence base is insufficient to definitively confirm these claims. Similarly, FL practices across fields seem conducive to enhancing affective and interpersonal domain outcomes; however, the predominance of qualitative evidence necessitates more quantitative and mixed method research for robust conclusions. Our synthesis also highlights the lack of in-in reporting and exploration of specific mechanisms by which FL cultivates domanial outcomes such as higher order thinking skills, motivation, and collaboration. Moreover, the evidence in the reviews highlights the absence of detailed reporting on the measurement metrics used to assess affective and interpersonal outcomes across fields in the reviews. Researchers should prioritize discipline-specific investigations, explore outcome-related mechanisms, develop standardized metrics, and bridge the gap between theory and practice through the integration of relevant learning theories into the design of FL strategies.
