Insect pupae change morphologically (e.g., pigmentation of eyes, wings, setae and legs) during the intrapuparial period. Knowledge on the physiological age of pupae and their emergence are important parameters for the control of agriculturally important Tephritid flies. Traditional methods for determining age require dissecting the puparium, thus killing the specimen. Therefore, non-invasive and more ethical methods to determine physiological age are needed, especially if individual pupae are followed throughout their development. Furthermore, machine learning methods can be employed to detect pupal age, thereby reducing human-bias. Here, we studied the intrapuparial development of the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae), using non-invasive near-infrared (NIR, 850–1100 nm) images. We photographed pupae and subsequently analysed the images with machine learning algorithms. The intrapuparial period lasted between 17 and 19 days at a constant temperature of 26°C, and 75–80% relative humidity. No visible structures were observed between days 1 and 3. The phanerocephalic pupa was observed on day 4. The darkening of the eyes began on day 12. Wing pigmentation occurred on days 13 and 14, and the legs and setae on the thorax became melanized on day 15. A convolutional neural network correctly identified the physiological age range of intrapuparial development stages with an average accuracy of 71.77%. This model using NIR imaging allows the determination of a physiological age range without arresting the development of the pupae, and an estimation of the viability of pupae without waiting for the emergence of the adult.

The taxonomic status of Sphincteristomum Oshmarin, Mamaev & Parukhin, 1961 (sensu lato) and Lobatotrema Manter, 1963 is controversial due to overlap/confusion in distinctive diagnostic characteristics for each genus and morphological/allometric ambiguity among some of their representatives and/or within records of the same species. To address these in-depth, morphological descriptions, molecular characterizations, and species delimitation analyses were conducted using a combination of comparative morphology, molecular phylogeny, multivariate analyses, and host-parasite data. Following a comprehensive review, a refined restricted concept of Sphincteristomum and Lobatotrema is proposed. Representatives of Lobatotrema comprise Lobatotrema aniferum Manter, 1963 (sensu lato) and the morphologically/phylogenetically distinct Lobatotrema droneni n. sp. Representatives of Sphincteristomum (sensu stricto) include Sphincteristomum acollum Oshmarin, Mamaev & Parukhin, 1961, and Sphincteristomum nikolaevi Parukhin, 1970. The taxonomic status of Sphincteristomum mediterraneae Abid-Kachour, Mouffok & Boutiba, 2013 is problematic based on its intermediate taxonomic position between the Megaperinae Manter, 1934 and the Schistorchiinae Yamaguti, 1942. Molecular datasets are employed in an attempt to delineate and interpret more phylogenetic relationships among schistorchiines in light of differences in oral sucker nature, oral sucker shape, and oral sphincter shape. Distributions of schistorchiines in the Indo-West Pacific are discussed. Testes arrangement as a characteristic in this group and glandular components within a muscular oral sucker are presented. We comment on the close phylogenetic relationship between members of the Schistorchiinae and the Megaperinae.

Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy can cause congenital malformations and fetal death. This study aimed to estimate the Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence among pregnant women participating in the 2021 French national perinatal survey and identify associated factors. All women giving birth in France during the study period were invited to participate. Data collected included demographic information, nationality, socio-economic status, education level, and Toxoplasma gondii serological status. Women were classified as seropositive if IgG antibodies were present or if seroconversion occurred during pregnancy. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regression analyses with robust error variance were used to estimate prevalence ratios and identify factors associated with seropositivity. Among 12,612 women, the overall seroprevalence was 25.9%, and 0.22% seroconverted during pregnancy. Seroprevalence increased by 5% with every 5-year age increment and was significantly higher in the French overseas territories of Mayotte (75.0%), La Réunion (35.8%), and French Guiana (33.3%). Seroprevalence was also higher among women with lower educational levels (47.4% for primary education) and those of Sub-Saharan African nationality (52.0%). Geographic and socio-demographic variations may reflect dietary and environmental diversity. Despite declining seroprevalence in France, continued public health efforts, particularly among high-risk populations, remain critical to minimize the impact of congenital toxoplasmosis.

This pilot study evaluated the effect of an online cooking intervention: Up for Cooking. Seventy-three Dutch families participated in four 1.5-hour sessions, before which they received ingredients and intervention materials. Parental questionnaires (pre-post) assessed food literacy skills (planning, selecting and making a healthy meal), knowledge and self-efficacy towards cooking and healthy eating (quantitative). Interviews assessed whether families changed their cooking behaviour at home (qualitative). A Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and inductive thematic coding were used. Thirty-nine parents completed questionnaires and eleven parents participated in interviews. Scores on food literacy items related to selecting and making a healthy meal improved significantly post-intervention. Parents’ knowledge of healthy eating and self-efficacy in cooking with their children also improved significantly. Interviews revealed an increased involvement of children in meal preparation and positive changes in family cooking behaviour. This online cooking intervention is a promising nutrition intervention, but implementation and long-term changes need further exploration.

Changes in waxed dry cheese during the ripening process, over periods of 7 and 30 days, were analysed using near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) and mid-infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR) by attenuated total reflection (ATR). FT-NIR was employed to determine the proximate composition of the cheese (protein, fat, moisture, total solids, and salt content), identifying changes directly associated with the ripening process. FT-MIR data were used to identify spectral bands associated with chemical changes occurring during the cheese maturation. Additionally, chemometric techniques were applied to demonstrate the potential of FT-MIR infrared spectroscopy for cheese differentiation and fingerprint profiling. Subsequently, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) of the FT-MIR spectra was performed, revealing two distinct clusters representing the cheese ripening times. Functional groups related to lipids (–CH2 – and – CH3), proteins (amide bands I and II), and carbohydrates (C–O) were identified, correlating to lipolysis, proteolysis, and lactose catabolism. Infrared spectroscopy in combination with chemometric methods proved to be a robust and reliable tool for monitoring changes during the ripening of waxed dry cheese. The results obtained highlight its usefulness as an alternative approach for the analysis and fingerprinting of traditional Mexican foods, aiming to add value to local products.

Selective feeding by overabundant herbivores can considerably alter plant community composition and structure, often benefiting non-native species. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a dominant herbivore in North America, known for their preference for native plants over unpalatable invasive species. Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.), a widely invasive shrub, is largely avoided by deer, potentially facilitating its competitive advantage against native plants. This study investigates the interactive effects of R. cathartica invasion and deer browsing on native woody plants within a postindustrial urban forest undergoing restoration. Specifically, we employed both a long-term observational tree survey and an experimental shrub study to assess R. cathartica impacts on native trees and shrubs, and to investigate whether R. cathartica presence intensifies deer browsing. For the tree study, we surveyed 10 native tree species planted in areas with varying levels of R. cathartica invasion to assess tree health as a function of R. cathartica and canopy tree cover. For the shrub study, we examined deer and insect herbivory on five deer-resistant native shrubs with and without deer exclusion and R. cathartica removal. We found that increased R. cathartica cover correlated with reduced health in native tree species, a relationship not found between the trees and native canopy tree cover. We also found that all five planted native shrub species experienced considerable browsing, with deer and insect damage intensifying in the presence of R. cathartica. This study highlights the complex interplay between non-native plant invasions and native herbivore activity, demonstrating that R. cathartica indirectly facilitates increased deer herbivory on native species. These findings emphasize the need for integrated forest restoration strategies that address both invasive plant removal and herbivore management to support native species recovery.

The presence of a basal cingulum, fluting, and overall size have been used to differentiate nodosaurid and ankylosaurid teeth for decades. The taxonomic utility of tooth morphology in ankylosaurs, however, has not been quantitatively tested. In addition, new phylogenetic hypotheses recognize four ankylosaur families (Panoplosauridae, Polacanthidae, Struthiosauridae, and Ankylosauridae), rather than the traditional nodosaurid–ankylosaurid dichotomy. Understanding ankylosaur tooth variation could better help identify taxa with ambiguous phylogenetic affinities or allow isolated teeth to test paleoecological questions such as a potential extirpation of mid-Cretaceous ankylosaurids from Laramidia. We analyzed a large sample of ankylosaur teeth using traditional and geometric morphometrics and investigated the utility of size and the presence of a cingulum and fluting for differentiating ankylosaur teeth. Morphometric analyses show that “nodosaurids” had the greatest variation in tooth shape and size. Panoplosauridae and Struthiosauridae account for a large amount of “nodosaurid” variation, whereas basal ankylosaurs, Polacanthidae, and Ankylosauridae share a similar restricted morphospace. Teeth with a crown base length or height over 10 mm are found only in panoplosaurids, struthiosaurids, and Peloroplites, but smaller sizes are found in all clades. A basal cingulum and fluting are associated with Ankylosauridae and Panoplosauridae. Linear discriminant analyses could accurately identify only between 50% and 75% of the teeth in our sample; thus, they should be used in conjunction with size and discrete traits when identifying isolated teeth. With these findings, caution should be used when attempting to use isolated ankylosaur teeth in broader paleoecological questions, and reclassification of museum collections should be undertaken.

Intergenerational justice is the core principle supporting the legacy of benefit toward future generations, including the perpetuation of species and their genetic diversity, as a key component of biospheric sustainability. Thirty percent of Earth’s terrestrial habitats are now undergoing protection, biodiversity hotspots are being targeted, and there is increasing community awareness and engagement in conservation. However, the impending sixth mass extinction threatens to drive many species to extinction in the wild, irrespective of these interventions. Earth’s biosphere is now undergoing terraforming through ecosystem destruction and modification, urbanization, and agriculture. Therefore, transformative cultural, political, and economic incentives are needed to maximize the legacy of the Earth’s biodiversity and biospheric sustainability toward future generations. Reproduction and advanced biotechnologies can perpetuate species and their genetic diversity while also contributing to human and animal health and agricultural production. Advanced reproduction biotechnologies, including genetic engineering and synthetic biology, provide a new horizon for biospheric management, through the de-extinction of ancient species, restoring recently lost species, and maintaining the genetic diversity of extant species through wildlife biobanking. More extensive and inclusive conservation breeding programs and wildlife biobanking resources/facilities are desperately needed to perpetuate more than 3,000 Critically Endangered terrestrial/freshwater species; a goal fully attainable for amphibians and smaller fishes through global inclusion of stakeholders including private caregivers, plausible for freshwater mussels and crayfish, in development for reptiles and birds, and applicable for many mammals. As this capacity develops, many otherwise neglected species that are losing their natural habitat can be perpetuated solely in biobanks, thus enabling the more efficient utilization of resources toward meaningful field conservation primarily through habitat protection. The full potential of reproduction and advanced biotechnologies includes the development of artificial wombs to address the human population crisis and to avoid surrogacy mismatching during species restoration or de-extinction. The use of advanced reproduction biotechnologies for direct human benefit, for species management, and for biospheric sustainability, are subject to evolving ethical and legal frameworks, particularly regarding genetic engineering, transhumanism, and the de-extinction of ancient species.

Human babesiosis is a disease transmitted by the bite of an infected tick or via blood transfusions involving contaminated blood products; in humans, it can lead to severe complications and even death, depending on the clinical history, age and health status of the affected patient. Babesiosis is caused by members of the Babesia spp., protozoan parasites whose life cycle includes sexual reproduction in the arthropod vector and asexual reproduction in the mainly mammalian host. Cases of human babesiosis have been rare, but there are increasing reports of human babesiosis associated with climatic changes affecting the geographical distribution of the parasite and tick vector, enhanced vector–human interactions and improved awareness of the disease in humans. Diagnostics and treatment options for humans are based around discoveries in veterinary research, such as point-of-care testing in cases of bovine babesiosis, and include direct diagnosis by blood smears, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technologies, and indirect diagnosis by ELISA, immunofluorescence tests (IFAT) and fluorescent in situ hybridisation. Treatment involves a combination of drugs such as azithromycin and atovaquone, or clindamycin and quinine, but more effective options are being investigated, including, but not limited to, trans-chalcones and tafenoquine. Improved surveillance, awareness and diagnosis, as well as advanced technologies to interrupt vector–host interactions, are crucial in managing the increased threat posed by this once-neglected disease in humans.

The invasive plant species Japanese hop (Humulus japonicus Sieb. & Zucc.) and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) are increasing in cover in Upper Mississippi River floodplains where they negatively impact native vegetation. This study evaluated novel reforestation methods to rapidly close canopy openings colonized by invasives and reduce their cover at four study sites ranging from southern Wisconsin to southwestern Illinois. Each site contained three replicates of four 20x20m plots comprising four tree planting treatments. These included two using large diameter willow (Salix L.) cuttings planted at different densities, one using container stock of American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides W. Bartram ex Marshall), and a control plot with no planted trees. Half of each planting treatment also received maintenance treatments for invasives control. Results indicated that planting and maintenance had significant effects on tree survival, invasives cover, and plant community diversity. Specifically, trees that received maintenance had higher survival than those that did not, and Salix cuttings had higher survival than container stock. Annual tree height growth was greatest in Salix cuttings planted at the highest density. Invasive species cover declined significantly maintenance treatments and Salix plantings. Change in plant community diversity was greater in maintenance treatments and in Salix plantings, but was still extremely low at the northernmost site. Vegetation patterns were strongly influenced by invasives and reinforced the general inverse relationship between plant community diversity and invasives cover. Overall, results indicated that tree plantings using large Salix cuttings can be an effective method to quickly reforest areas along the Upper Mississippi River that have been colonized by invasive plant species, and that incorporating tree planting maintenance activities in early years can lead to better survival.

Unhealthy diets are a leading cause of preventable ill health. Healthy diets tend to be more expensive than less healthy diets and as such are more likely to be consumed by individuals with a higher income. This review paper discusses the development of the Eatwell Guide, evaluates the affordability of a diet consistent with the Eatwell Guide (‘the Eatwell Guide diet’) and explores how food pricing can be leveraged to encourage and support healthier dietary choices. The Eatwell Guide is the UK’s food-based dietary guidelines. It provides healthy eating advice that is intended to facilitate policy cohesion but is also used as a public-facing health promotion tool. The cost of food has increased and recent estimates suggest that the Eatwell Guide diet is now more expensive than the current average diet. There is strong evidence that subsidies would be effective at increasing the uptake of healthy diets. Monitoring the cost of a healthy diet is important for policy development; however, we should exercise caution when considering how to incorporate costs into food-based dietary guidelines and be mindful of the limitations of the data that could support this.

True bugs (Hemiptera: Acanthosomatidae, Coreidae, and Pentatomidae) include harmful crop pests affecting global agriculture, with different species displaying distinct optimal conditions for development and using different habitats. Over a 2-year period, this research investigates how habitat variation and altitude can influence the species composition of true bugs and their egg parasitoids in South Tyrol (North Italy), unveiling different trends in their population and diversity across habitats: apple orchards, urban areas, and forests. A total of 25 true bug species were sampled. Urban environments hosted the highest bug abundance, predominantly driven by the invasive Halyomorpha halys, while forests showed a higher prevalence of native species such as Pentatoma rufipes and Palomena prasina. Altitude significantly influenced species composition, with H. halys and P. rufipes abundance negatively and positively correlated with altitude, respectively. A total of 12 parasitoid species (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae, and Scelionidae) emerged from the field-collected bug eggs, including the exotic Trissolcus japonicus, predominantly associated with H. halys in urban areas. Native parasitoids exhibited higher parasitism rates on native bug species, indicating co-evolutionary relationships. The results give an insight into the ecological dynamics of local true bug species and their egg parasitoids, and highlight the value of natural and urban areas for conserving both hemipteran and parasitoid species richness and abundance.

Healthy diets are unaffordable for billions of people worldwide, with food prices rising in high-, middle- and low-income nations in recent times. Despite widespread attention to this issue, recent actions taken to inform policy prioritisation and government responses to high food inflation have not been comprehensively synthesised. Our review summarises (i) innovative efforts to monitor national food and healthy diet price, ii) new policy responses adopted by governments to address food inflation and (iii) future research directions to inform new evidence. Evidence synthesis. Global. None. We describe how timely food and beverage pricing data can provide transparency in the food industry and identify key areas for intervention. However, government policies that improve food affordability are often short-lived and lack sustained commitment. Achieving meaningful impact will require long-term, cross-sectoral actions that are led by governments to support food security, healthy diets and resilient sustainable food systems. This will necessitate a better understanding of how the political economy enables (or hinders) policy implementation, including through coherent problem framing, mitigating conflicts of interest in policymaking, working together as coalitions and developing and utilising evidence on the food security and related impacts of food pricing and affordability policies. Diverse actors must be better equipped with robust data platforms and actionable policy solutions that improve the affordability of healthy and sustainable diets, including by lowering food prices and addressing the broader socio-political determinants of food insecurity.

Two Xiphinema species, one new and one known, were found from Bushehr province, southern Iran, and are herein described based on morphological and molecular data. These include Xiphinema pedrami sp. nov. and X. basiri, both belonging to the ‘Xiphinema non-americanum group’. The new dagger nematode is characterised by a body length of 3.54–5.00 mm, a lip region separated from the rest of body by a depression, odontostyle 128–148 μm long, 60–89 μm long odontophore, guiding ring at 107–138 μm from anterior end, female tail rounded to dorsally more convex with small bulge and four juvenile stages. Males have one pair of cloacal and three to five ventromedian single supplements. The new species belongs to morphospecies Xiphinema non-americanum group 5, characterised by having two equally developed female genital branches with uterine differentiation in the form of pseudo-Z-organ along with the rhomboid-shaped crystalloid bodies, and a short, rounded tail ending in a peg. The polytomous identification codes of the new species are A4, B2, C5a5b, D6, E56, F4(5), G23, H2, I34, J5a5b, K3, L2. Morphologically, the new species comes close to several known species (namely, X. andalusiense, X. artemisiae, X. baetica, X. hyrcaniense, X. ingens, X. macroacanthum and X. pseudocoxi) belonging to morphospecies group 5. The morphological differences of the new species and the aforementioned species are discussed. The second recovered species, Xiphinema basiri, belongs to the same group and has a pseudo-Z-organ in the shape of globular bodies close to pars dilatata uterus and short, conical, distinctly digitate tail. Integrative diagnosis was completed using molecular data obtained from partial sequences of the D2-D3 region of 28S rDNA, ITS1 rDNA, 18S rDNA, and COI mtDNA genes.