Studies frequently view Black populations as homogenous, disregarding important diversity within this population. Furthermore, nativity can be key to distinguishing health risks among this population. Yet few researchers have examined these distinctions using body roundness index (BRI), a measure of central adiposity. We assessed the relationship between nativity and BRI among non-Hispanic Black people in the United States (US) using cross-sectional data from the 2011–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). BRI was calculated using height, weight, and waist circumference. Nativity was categorized as US-born and foreign-born. Multilinear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between BRI and nativity, controlling for demographic characteristics and Healthy Eating Index scores. The average age and BRI score of participants were 44.74 ± 0.46 and 5.36 ± 0.04, respectively. Among eligible participants (3341), 9.6% were foreign-born (n = 322). In multivariate regression models adjusting for covariates, men had significantly lower BRI scores than women (4.67 ± 0.04 versus 5.96 ± 0.05; β = −1.25; t61 = 24.60; P < 0.0001), and BRI increased with age (β = 0.02; t61 = 9.17; P < 0.0001). US-born Black people had significantly higher BRI scores compared to their foreign-born counterparts (5.40 ± 0.04 versus 5.00 ± 0.09; β = −0.36; t61 = −3.99; P = 0.0002). Results suggest that nativity is associated with central adiposity, with potential implications for cardiometabolic disease risk.

Physical dormancy (PY), resulting from a water-impermeable seed coat, regulates germination timing in many angiosperms, including Dodonaea viscosa L. (Sapindaceae), a woody shrub widely distributed in tropical to warm temperate regions and coastal and inland habitats. Although PY has been previously documented in D. viscosa, the precise anatomical structure acting as the site for water entry, i.e., water gap, during dormancy release remains unclear. This study investigated the water gap’s morphology and function using microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and imbibition assays. It also evaluate the effects of liquid nitrogen (LN₂) freeze–thaw cycles on seed coat integrity, dormancy break, and viability. Seeds possess a distinct hilar slit, which opens in response to hot-water treatment and serves as the exclusive water gap. Imbibition experiments showed that treated seeds (hot water , 10s) increased nearly 100% in mass over seven days, while control seeds absorbed no water. Further, covering the hilar slit with Vaseline restricted water uptake, confirming the absence of water-gap complex. Because the water gap opening was a small circular structure without any lid-like covering, it is classified as Type II. Seeds subjected to one or more liquid nitrogen (LN₂) freeze–thaw cycles experienced extensive seed coat cracking and severe damage to the embryo and cotyledons, leading to reduced viability and little to no germination. These findings demonstrate that while hot-water treatment effectively breaks dormancy, LN₂ exposure causes extensive mechanical injury and is ineffective for dormancy alleviation in D. viscosa. Thus, cryopreservation of some PY should be considered with caution.

In low-prevalence settings, the epidemiological yield of screening strategies for controlling vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) outbreaks has not been fully established. We retrospectively analysed a prolonged VRE outbreak at a 536-bed tertiary-care hospital in Japan from 2010 to 2021 to evaluate sequential screening strategies across epidemic phases and to identify risk factors for VRE acquisition. Hospital-wide, admission-based, antimicrobial exposure-based, passive, and haemodialysis-targeted screening strategies were implemented over time. Screening yields were compared longitudinally, and a retrospective case–control study was performed using data from the initial hospital-wide screening phase. Molecular epidemiology was assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In total, 169 VRE-positive patients were identified, including seven infections and 162 asymptomatic carriers. Hospital-wide screening in the early epidemic phase showed the highest positivity rate (0.91%), whereas targeted strategies consistently yielded lower rates (0.09–0.34%). Haemodialysis, specific oral care practices, and prior exposure to carbapenems, glycopeptides, and piperacillin/tazobactam were independently associated with VRE acquisition. PFGE revealed substantial genetic diversity, suggesting sustained nosocomial transmission with repeated introductions. Early broad-based screening may be epidemiologically efficient in the initial phase of VRE outbreaks in low-prevalence settings, followed by adaptive refinement for long-term control.

Prevailing narratives within the conservation decision-making literature argue conservation professionals should utilize rational, objective methods that do not engage emotion to make decisions. However, as conservation professionals are emotional beings, it is inevitable that emotion will be present during such processes. Perpetuated narratives and limited investigation into the involvement of conservation professionals’ emotion in decision-making processes mean the emotional selves of conservationists continue to be denied and unexplored, potentially hindering transformative change. To trouble these prevalent narratives, I investigate if and how conservationists’ emotion is involved in decision-making and whether external structures influence this involvement. Sixteen conservation professionals took part in this study. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, the diary method and a workshop, and were subjected to a thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that conservationists’ emotion plays three roles within conservation decision-making processes: as a way of knowing, as a (de)motivator, and as a relationship shaper. These roles are not recognized or nurtured, and this is predominantly influenced by organizational culture. These findings indicate the need for conservation organizations to create healthy emotional cultures, to in turn enable professionals to acknowledge, and utilize, the roles of emotion within their work. Additionally, creating organizational cultures that encourage and enable the expression of, engagement with, and reflection on emotion could support conservationists to enact transformative change and transform the field of conservation itself.

Learning is crucial for humans and other animals to acquire knowledge, enhancing survival and reproduction. In particular, individual and social learning allow populations to accumulate knowledge across generations. Here, we examine how stochasticity in the production and social acquisition of knowledge influences the evolution of learning strategies and cumulative knowledge. Using a mathematical model where learning is stochastic, we show that learning stochasticity enhances cumulative knowledge by generating variability in knowledge levels. This allows selection to enhance population knowledge: individuals who acquire more knowledge by chance are more likely to survive and reproduce, and therefore to transmit their knowledge to the next generation. As knowledge accumulates, social learning exemplars tend to possess more of it, favoring greater time investment in social learning. Because social learning provides access to substantially more knowledge when learning is stochastic, selection also favors the evolution of greater investment into learning, at the expense of a fecundity cost. Moreover, when knowledge enhances fecundity but not survival, learning stochasticity favors learning from parents rather than other adults, because learning stochasticity increases uncertainty about exemplar knowledge, making parenthood a cue for possessing fecundity-enhancing knowledge. Finally, when learning occurs predominantly from parents, learning stochasticity itself is favored by selection.

College students (those enrolled in two- and four-year postsecondary institutions) with caregiving responsibilities for children or other dependents face unique challenges balancing academic and caregiving duties. This scoping review aimed to describe the prevalence of food insecurity among United States college student caregivers and their experiences with food insecurity, dietary quality/intake, academic outcomes, and food security programming. A search of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted in four databases: CINAHL, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, EMBASE, and MEDLINE. Identified articles were evaluated against inclusion criteria. Of 162 articles identified, 61 articles met eligibility criteria and underwent data extraction and descriptive analysis. Forty-two articles (69%) reported the prevalence of food insecurity among college student caregivers, with prevalence ranging from 9-79%. Single parents, students of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with multiple dependents had increased food insecurity risk. Thirteen studies examined dietary patterns, finding caregiving students prioritized feeding their children, reduced their own meal sizes, and chose low-cost, low-nutrient foods due to budget constraints. Academic challenges included difficulties in time management and scheduling stress. No studies examined GPA or academic performance. Thirteen studies identified the use of food assistance programs. Food assistance programs were underutilized due to limitations like restricted pantry hours and availability. Housing insecurity frequently co-occurred with food insecurity. Food insecurity disproportionately affects college student caregivers compared to non-caregiving students. Comprehensive programming is needed to support food and nutrition security, including connections to government and university food assistance programs, childcare services, and program modifications to reduce barriers to academic success for caregiving students.

The Fremouw Formation of the Central Transantarctic Mountains preserves the southernmost record of Early to Middle Triassic terrestrial ecosystems that developed in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. Although the well-studied vertebrate fossil assemblage in the lower member of the Fremouw Formation provides a detailed snapshot of subpolar ecosystems immediately following the end-Permian mass extinction, the nature of how long these earliest Triassic communities persisted at the southern extremes of Pangaea is virtually unknown. Importantly, the timing and extent of the major faunal turnover between the lower and upper members of the Fremouw Formation have been obscured by the paucity of fossil specimens historically recovered from the middle member. Here, we describe the first vertebrate assemblage from the middle member of the Fremouw Formation, including occurrences of procolophonids (including Procolophon trigoniceps) and archosauromorphs (including Prolacerta broomi), as well as infilled vertebrate burrow casts referrable to the ichnogenus Reniformichnus. We also summarize and expand on lithostratigraphic shifts between the lower, middle and upper members of the Fremouw Formation. Although the sample size of vertebrate body fossils is small compared to the lower and upper members of the Fremouw Formation, we discuss the evidence for a taphonomic shift between the lower and middle members of the Fremouw Formation that favours preservation of smaller-bodied taxa and individuals in the latter. Together, these preliminary data add crucial context to the persistence of subpolar vertebrate communities in the earliest Mesozoic.