The Neptune Islands Group and Western Kangaroo Island Marine Parks were declared as part of South Australia’s representative system of Marine protected areas (MPAs) in 2009. Sanctuary zones, located within these MPAs, prohibited commercial fishing in the state’s Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery from 2014. In 2022, dedicated surveys were undertaken both inside and outside two of the sanctuary zones to estimate the relative abundance (catch per unit effort; CPUE) and size of southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii). Survey results were then compared to estimates of abundance obtained from long-term commercial fishery-dependent data within each area. The legal-size CPUE by weight of lobsters was 389% and 411% higher inside sanctuary zones of the Neptune Islands Group and Western Kangaroo Island, respectively, compared to outside, based on survey data. Survey catch rates inside the two sanctuary zones were also considerably higher than historical catch rates estimated from commercial fishing data. Lobsters inside both sanctuary zones were larger than those outside in terms of mean weight compared to historical estimates. However, surveys recorded similar mean size in lobsters both inside and outside the Neptune Islands Group sanctuary zone, indicating a possible spillover effect of MPA protection. The Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery is currently in a biomass rebuilding phase. The results highlight the productivity potential of temperate reef ecosystems within South Australia in terms of southern rock lobster abundances.

Megacities around the world are increasingly confronted with conservation and restoration bottlenecks due to the competing demands of urban expansion and environmental conservation. This study investigates conservation prioritization strategies for balancing biodiversity protection, ecosystem service (ES) supply and landscape connectivity in rapidly urbanizing Beijing. By employing spatially explicit modelling and prioritization scenario techniques, we identify spatially heterogeneous priority zones. We demonstrate that high-value areas for ES supply, particularly carbon storage and water regulation, concentrate primarily in Beijing’s north-western mountainous regions, covering c. 62% of the city’s area. Conversely, critical habitats for threatened species and key connectivity corridors are dispersed, with 22.89% of critical habitats located within urban built-up areas. Gap analysis reveals limited alignment between Beijing’s current ecological security patterns, with only 9.6% coverage of the identified top 10% conservation priority zones, especially within the metropolitan core. The study underscores significant trade-offs among different ecological objectives and multi-criteria conservation strategies. We propose an optimized conservation framework based on zonation analysis to guide targeted landscape planning decisions. This approach provides actionable insights for urban policymakers to achieve comprehensive sustainability, emphasizing the importance of protecting critical ecological areas in both urban and rural landscapes amid ongoing urban expansion.

Heath forests, or known locally as kerangas, in Indonesia and Malaysia form a distinct and understudied ecoregion. We document the distribution and ecological significance of the largest extent of kerangas in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. We mapped 16,586 km2 of kerangas to the nearest one square kilometre across Kalimantan, showing a significant reduction from previous estimates. About 19% of this area exists as a poorly documented mosaic landscape in Central Kalimantan’s Rungan-Kahayan region. Here, peat-based forests transition to heath and dipterocarp forests, making it difficult to reliably classify these forests for conservation planning. Using remote sensing and tree plot data, we identified three forest types—kerangas, low pole, and mixed swamp. Vegetation structure is influenced by soil, topography, and hydrology, while peat depth and elevation affect species diversity. Our findings indicate that these forests are dynamic ecosystems with diverse vegetation communities adapted to peat as well as sandy soils. Lowland heath forests in Rungan-Kahayan exhibits higher tree densities compared to other Bornean heath forests, reflecting unique ecological adaptations to challenging environments. Despite covering just 3% of Kalimantan’s forest area, these ecosystems remain largely unprotected, facing threats from land conversion and fire. Our study highlights the ecological complexity of kerangas and underscores the urgent need for targeted conservation and further research on these forests.

Childless individuals have historically faced stigma with assumptions that they lack an interest in future generations because they do not directly contribute to genetic lineage. Individuals share approximately half of their genes with siblings, 12.5% with first cousins, and 6.25% with first cousins’ children. Norwegian census data (2005−2023), reflecting similar trends to the US, UK, and other European countries, indicates a moderate difference in the number of siblings (Parents: 2.03 [women and men]; Childless: 1.88 [women], 1.94 [men]) and nieces/nephews (Parents: 3.99 [women], 4.03 [men]; Childless: 3.32 [women], 3.42 [men]) for 514,777 women and 532,834 men, respectively. By linking four generations through grandmothers, both childless and childbearing women had a slightly higher number of biological extended family members (Parents: 9.63 cousins with 15.79 children; Childless: 8.66 cousins with 12.22 children). Linking four generations for men, numbers were similar: Parents: 9.68 cousins with 15.91 children, Childless: 8.83 cousins with 12.44 children. Based on the average number of children who are parents, the childless have an average genetic fitness that is 49% of that for parents for the next generation. Both parents and childless individuals have a stake in future generations through their biological extended family.

In recent years, Southern Thailand has witnessed an increase in surface planted with oil palm, driven primarily by smallholders who contribute over 90% of Thailand’s oil palm output. Despite their significant contribution, oil palm smallholders have consistently achieved lower yields compared to agro-industries, and limited research has been conducted to understand the limiting factors, such as management practices. Structured interviews were conducted to gather information about management practices and estimate the fresh fruit bunch yield in a network of 18 plantations in Krabi province, Thailand. A clustering approach, combining principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, was used to characterise the diversity of smallholder management practices. Four clusters of management practices were highlighted, characterised by varying intensities of fertiliser application (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), mechanical versus chemical weeding, and harvest intervals. Notably, the farmers in our study applied less fertiliser, on average, than the recommendations of Thai Good Agricultural Practices. A significant portion of plots in the area (12 out of 18 plots) achieved good yields compared to attainable yields. A clear relationship between management practices and yield could however not be established. The large diversity of oil palm smallholders’ management practices and their performances highlighted in this study need to be better taken into account and understood in order to improve sustainability and foster certification schemes such as Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Overconsumption of unhealthy, discretionary, foods and beverages are associated with an increased risk of weight gain and non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. This cross-sectional study explored preferences for setting goals to reduce discretionary food and beverage consumption. The online survey included items about discretionary food and beverage intake, goal setting preferences to reduce intake, habit strength, personality traits, and demographic characteristics. A total of 2664 Australian adults completed the survey. The sample was mostly female (65.9%), half (52.8%) were aged between 30–49 years, and the median intake of discretionary food and beverages was 4.9 (IQR: 3.6 to 7.2) serves per day. Multinomial logistic regression and ordinal logistic regression models were used to explore demographic and psychological predictors of the helpfulness of long-term and short-term goals, elimination and gradual goals, specific food goals, specific eating occasion and food goals, self-set goals, collaboratively set goals, and assigned goals. The results showed participants with higher habit strength had greater odds of finding short-term (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.06–1.86), gradual (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01–1.29), specific (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.84–1.76), assigned (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.14–1.66) and collaborative goals (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01–1.53) helpful. The results also indicated that age and gender were important predictors of goal setting preferences, particularly for long-term goals, elimination goals, broad goals, and collaborative goals. Interventions to reduce discretionary food and beverage intake are needed and consideration of goal setting preferences could be a novel way to developing more tailored and effective dietary interventions.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health concern in China. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2021, we analyzed trends in age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), prevalence rate (ASPR), mortality rate (ASMR), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for TB from 1990 to 2021. Over this period, HIV-negative TB showed a marked decline in ASIR (AAPC = −2.34%, 95% CI: −2.39, −2.28) and ASMR (AAPC = −0.56%, 95% CI: −0.62, −0.59). Specifically, drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) showed reductions in both ASIR and ASMR, while multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) showed slight decreases. Conversely, extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) exhibited upward trends in both ASIR and ASMR. TB co-infected with HIV (HIV-DS-TB, HIV-MDR-TB, HIV-XDR-TB) showed increasing trends in recent years. The analysis also found an inverse correlation between ASIRs and ASMRs for HIV-negative TB and the Socio-Demographic Index (SDI). Projections from 2022 to 2035 suggest continued increases in ASIR and ASMR for XDR-TB, HIV-DS-TB, HIV-MDR-TB, and HIV-XDR-TB. The rising burden of XDR-TB and HIV-TB co-infections presents ongoing challenges for TB control in China. Targeted prevention and control strategies are urgently needed to mitigate this burden and further reduce TB-related morbidity and mortality.

Haemonchus contortus is a parasitic nematode that causes significant economic losses in ruminant livestock worldwide. In this study, we assessed the global genetic diversity and population structure of H. contortus using mitochondrial COX1 and ribosomal ITS2 sequences retrieved from the NCBI GenBank database. In total, 324 haplotypes of the COX1 and 72 haplotypes of the ITS2 were identified. The haplotype diversity values were all higher than 0.5, and the nucleotide diversity values were higher than 0.005. The Tajima’s D value for COX1 (−1.65634) was higher than that for ITS2 (−2.60400). Fu’s Fs, Fu and Li’s D (FLD), and Fu and Li’s F (FLF) values also showed high negative values, indicating a high probability of future population growth. In addition, the high fixation index (FST) value suggests significant genetic differentiation among populations. The haplotype networks of H. contortus populations based on COX1 sequences revealed clear geographic clustering, whereas ITS2 sequences showed more haplotype admixture across regions. The results of phylogenetic analyses were consistent with the haplotype networks. These findings highlighted that H. contortus populations exhibit significant genetic variation and are undergoing rapid population expansion, with clear genetic differences across geographic regions. This study established critical baseline data for future molecular epidemiology studies, which could guide region-specific parasite surveillance and targeted control strategies, thus helping to mitigate the risk of cross-border parasite transmission and drug resistance.

Nutrition education is crucial for improving nutritional knowledge. This study aims to evaluate the impact of healthy nutrition education on hedonic hunger, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and self-efficacy for healthy eating among early adolescence. This one-group, pre-test-post-test, quasi-experimental study included 202 middle-school students. Data were collected using a researcher-designed survey that included demographic variables, the Children’s Power of Food Scale, the Self-Efficacy for Healthy Eating Scale, the Mediterranean Diet Score and the Brief Nutritional Knowledge Assessment Form. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference and neck circumference) were also taken. After the pre-test, each student received 2 h of healthy nutrition education. A follow-up survey was administered 4 weeks later. The study revealed that most early adolescents exhibited unhealthy dietary habits, such as skipping main meals (15·3 % all the time and 60·2 % occasionally), snacking on sweet treats (33·3 %) and having irregular eating patterns (47·4 %). Additionally, the early adolescents had higher weights, BMI, neck circumferences and heights compared with reference values (P < 0·01). Significant changes were observed post-intervention: lower hedonic hunger scores (beginning: 2·90 (sd 0·68), follow-up: 2·70 (sd 0·76), P < 0·01), decreased self-efficacy for healthy eating (beginning: 5·41 (sd 3·50), follow-up: 4·33 (sd 3·61), P < 0·01) and increased knowledge about healthy nutrition (beginning: 67·23 (sd 14·39), follow-up: 80·00 (sd 17·22), P < 0·01). This study highlighted that healthy nutrition education enhances nutritional knowledge and decreases hedonic dietary tendencies among early adolescents. Continued nutrition education may further improve children’s preferences for healthy foods.

This work analyses the genetic potential of Stevia rebaudiana beyond its sweetening properties, aiming to reassess its conservation and utilization in breeding programmes. This focus is justified by the growing global demand for natural sweeteners and the challenges posed by extreme weather events and diseases affecting crop yield and quality. The relationship between the species’ genetic diversity and its response to biotic and abiotic stresses is explored, as well as the limitations of current conservation and breeding strategies. Findings reveal underutilized genetic resources, limited integration of genomic tools in breeding efforts and a lack of robust in situ conservation initiatives. Genotypic variability has been observed in response to diseases such as Septoria leaf spot, while abiotic factors, including salinity and drought, can significantly influence steviol glycoside content. It is concluded that an integrated approach, combining dynamic conservation, photoperiod‐informed breeding strategies, improvements in seed viability, omics‐based tools and coherent public policies, is essential to ensure crop resilience and genetic sovereignty, especially in regions of origin such as Paraguay. The sustainable use of Stevia’s genetic diversity could foster more sustainable, healthier and fairer production systems.

Using a behavioural intervention to target nutrition during pregnancy may be key in meeting recommendations for healthy eating. The aim was to assess the use of a short-term dietary intake measurement tool (3-day food intake record) to infer long-term habitual dietary intake during pregnancy (using a short-form FFQ). A convenience sample (n 90) between 12- and 18-weeks’ gestation was recruited from a larger randomised controlled trial for cross-sectional analysis. Participants completed a forty-four-item FFQ and 3-day food intake record. Using the participant food intake record, the investigator blindly completed a second frequency questionnaire. The frequency questionnaires were scored using dietary quality scores (DQS) and compared. Aggregate data were evaluated using a Wilcoxon signed rank test, and individual-level data were evaluated using a Bland–Altman plot. No significant difference was observed in the scores (Z = –1·88, P = 0·06), with small effect size (r= 0·19). The Bland–Altman plot showed that comparing the DQS derived from the two different dietary assessments underestimated scores by a mean difference of 0·4 points (95 % limits of agreement: −3·50 to 4·26). The data points were evenly spread suggesting no systematic variation for over- or underestimation of scores. Minimal difference was observed between the functionality of the two assessment instruments. However, the food intake record can be completed by pregnant individuals to estimate short-term nutrient intake and then scored by the investigator to estimate long-term dietary quality. Combining these two instruments may best capture the most accurate representation of dietary habits over time.

Marine organisms account for more than half of the global biodiversity and have proven to be a rich source of pharmacologically active compounds. Turkey has an extensive coastline hosting a diverse marine ecosystem. This paper describes the phytochemical prospection based on chromatographic profiles of extracts, fractions, and sub-fractions from Turkish organisms. In addition, the samples were evaluated for their antioxidant, anticholinesterasic, and antibacterial activities. According to the chromatographic profiles, terpenes were identified in most samples, with the exception of Dictyonella incisa. Alkaloids were detected in Ascidiella aspersa, Eunicella cavolini, Halocynthia papillosa, Limaria hians, Microcosmus polymorphus, and D. incisa. The phenolic carboxylic acids were detected in all the samples, and the results for polyphenols were similar. The extract of P. clavata showed antioxidant activity in both models evaluated, whereas the remaining samples were positive only in the bioautographic assay. With regard to AChE inhibition, D. incisa fraction showed potent activity (%I ˃ 90%), while the sub- fractions were moderate (%I ˃ 45%). In the antibacterial assay, the same samples from D. incisa have shown activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. On the other hand, the present study opens up avenues for future research on D. incisa by aligning alkaloids and neuroprotective effects, taking into account that inhibition of AChE is a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study investigated the effects of replacing maize with enzyme-supplemented Dried Date Fruit Pulp (DDFP) in the diets of broiler chickens. 576-day-old commercial broiler chicks (Arbor Acre Plus) were randomly selected and distributed into 8 treatment groups of 72 birds each. Each treatment was divided into six replicates of 12 birds on a weight-equalisation basis. The treatments consisted of 4 levels of DDFP (0, 100, 200 and 300 g/kg) and 2 levels of enzyme supplementation (with or without). The data obtained were subjected to an Analysis of Variance in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement. Birds fed 300 g/kg DDFP recorded the least weight gain (971 g) and final weight (1013 g) across the treatments at the starter phase, while there were no significant (P > 0.05) differences in the final weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of birds fed with DDFP and maize-based diets at the finisher phase. DDFP inclusion reduced the experimental birds’ feeding cost (NGN/kg) and cost/kg weight gain (NGN/kg WG). Enzyme supplementation increased serum protein and glucose concentrations. Reduced (P < 0.05) EE and CF digestibility coefficients were seen in birds fed 30% DDFP at the finisher phase. Carcass indices, ileal digesta viscosity and caecal total bacteria were not negatively influenced. It was concluded that DDFP could replace up to 200 g/kg maize in broiler chicken diets at the starter phase and up to 300 g/kg at the finisher phase without any deleterious effects on health and performance.