Since the 1980s, many African countries began to adopt competition laws alongside structural adjustment and trade liberalization measures, selectively borrowing from existing EU and U.S. regimes. Today, in response to global consolidation in digital markets, African governments are embracing sectoral regulatory schemes that have pro-competitive aims but go beyond traditional competition law. The structure and goals of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) are now being reflected in national and regional African frameworks such as the AfCFTA Competition Protocol, South Africa’s Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry, and Kenya’s Competition Amendment Bill. The proliferation of these pro-competitive regimes in the African region even in the face of emerging trade pressure leads to two principal lessons. First, there seems to be an important alignment of interests between the EU and African jurisdictions vis-à-vis tech (U.S.) giants. Second, despite the many limits of African competition authorities’ enforcement capabilities, pro-competitive regimes illustrate a hopeful appetite for an enforcement approach to tech markets that is not antithetic to traditional economic development rationales and yet leaves space for local and regional African values. Even with a regulatory regime formally on the books, however, adding substance to it requires significant implementation work.

Two new species of melitid amphipods are described from brackish waters in Nagasaki and Kagawa Prefectures, Japan: Melita ignis sp. nov. from the Kanahama River, Nagasaki, and Melita latens sp. nov. from the Umayado River, Kagawa. Morphological observation reveals that M. ignis sp. nov. is most similar to M. ogasawaraensis; however, this new species can be distinguished from the latter by the shape of female coxa 6, male mandible, and telson. Melita latens sp. nov. resembles M. shimizui, but differs from M. shimizui by the structures of male gnathopod 2, pereopod 7 merus, and telson. In addition, molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences showed that M. ignis sp. nov. clusters with M. ogasawaraensis, and M. latens sp. nov. is a sister taxon of a clade comprising M. aestuarina, M. choushigawaensi, M. nunomurai, M. okinawaensis, and M. shimizi.

As biodesigners increasingly engage with designing for nature, collaboration with field-based scientists becomes necessary. While collaborations in the laboratory have been widely examined, the formation phase of design–science collaboration remains mostly underexplored. Domains such as marine zoology produce knowledge primarily in situ, under environmental constraints that limit designers’ access to the research site and prevent the kind of embedded, informal knowledge-sharing that often grounds laboratory collaboration. As a case study, an exploratory diagnostic workshop with nine early-career marine zoologists examined these conditions. Structured activities surfaced cognitive capacities, work ecologies, role expectations and structural constraints shaping collaboration. Scientists showed strong integrative thinking but framed design mainly as technical service, while mutual stereotyping obscured shared capacities. The study provides empirical insight into rarely examined field-based research ecologies and suggests that a structured diagnostic workshop during team formation can reveal methodological and epistemic compatibility factors that informal conversations often leave implicit, positioning this phase as a critical site of interdisciplinary practice.

Abelisaurid dinosaurs display a remarkable diversity in cranial ornamentation, which includes several features such as rugosities, pits and grooves on the rostrum and orbital regions, midline knobs, and paired plus sculptured structures across the skull roof. To investigate macroevolutionary patterns that underlie this diversity, we tested the “species recognition” hypothesis using phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results indicate directional and ordered evolutionary patterns in cranial ornamentation that are more consistent with expectations of sexual selection than with the stochastic patterns predicted under the species recognition hypothesis. Moreover, sympatric species exhibited highly divergent ornamentation, and the degree of surface texturing and the development of certain structures (e.g., knobs) increased through ontogeny. These findings suggest that cranial ornamentation in Abelisaurids was influenced by mechanisms of sexual selection, sexual dimorphism, or mutual selection. Evolutionary modeling combined with evidence from the fossil record and phylogenetic correlation analysis reveals that the ornamentation of the rostrum and orbital regions was evolutionarily coupled and became canalized during the Early Cretaceous. In contrast, phylogenetic correlation analyses demonstrated that skull roof ornaments and rostral and orbital ornaments evolved decoupled. Neither discrete ornament traits nor the accumulation of traits over time showed significant associations with body size, indicating that ornament diversification in Abelisauridae was not constrained by allometric trends. During the Late Cretaceous, after refined ecological specialization, the subclades Carnotaurini and Majungasaurinae underwent further elaboration, acquiring features such as a prominent midline knobs, paired structures, and reinforced occipital and cervical regions. These derived morphologies may have facilitated more complex sociosexual behaviors.

This study systematically addresses the design and aerodynamic optimization of tail configurations for bio-inspired flapping-wing robot. Based on a flapping-wing robot prototype, a theoretical model linking tail-size parameters to the pitch static stability margin was established. Six types of tail configurations — arc-shaped tail, triangular-shaped tail, swallow-shaped tail, webbed tail, T-shaped tail, and V-shaped tail — comprising 17 parametrically varied specimens were designed and fabricated. Through a high-precision decoupled wind-tunnel test platform (free stream velocity: 10 m/s, flapping frequency: 2.5 Hz), the three-axis aerodynamic moments (pitch, yaw, roll) under various actuation states were quantitatively measured. The influence of key geometric parameters such as characteristic width, opening angle, and control-surface area on handling and stability was thoroughly investigated. Experimental results show that the T-shaped tail (#53) performs best in pitch control moment and lateral-directional stability margin, with a peak pitch moment of 0.185 N·m — approximately 42 % higher than the baseline configuration — demonstrating the most outstanding overall performance. The V-shaped tail (#62) exhibits excellent lateral-directional control capability under differential actuation, achieving a roll moment of up to 0.106 N·m, albeit with pronounced control coupling effects. This research provides reliable experimental evidence and a theoretical reference for the configuration selection and parameter optimization of tails in flapping-wing robot, offering significant engineering guidance for enhancing flight quality and control effectiveness. In addition, this paper establishes a theoretical framework for preliminary tail size design based on pitch static stability and proposes a parametric design method for multi-configuration tails for flapping-wing robot. The research results not only provide a theoretical basis for tail parameter selection but also offer experimental references for tail configuration optimization and subsequent control-oriented system design.

Anoplocephalidae (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) is a diverse family, with the subfamily Anoplocephalinae comprising 59 genera that primarily parasitize the digestive tract of rodents and birds. Monoecocestus threlkeldi was originally described from the northern vizcacha, Lagidium peruanum, in Junin, Peru, and subsequently reported in cricetids (Holochilus spp.) in Argentina and Bolivia. In the present study, we describe a new species of the genus Monoecocestus parasitizing the southern vizcacha, Lagidium viscacia, based on specimens collected in Puno, Peru, at an elevation of 3932 m a. s. l. A total of 45 specimens of the new species were obtained and processed for morphological and molecular analysis. For molecular analysis, DNA sequences of three markers were generated: the nuclear 18S, 28S, ITS, and mitochondrial cox1. The molecular data were compared with sequences available in GenBank, confirming its inclusion in the genus Monoecocestus. Morphologically, the new species is similar to M. threlkeldi, but it can be distinguished by its smaller body size, scolex, cirrus pouch, and number of proglottides. The description of the new species Monoecocestus viscaciae improves our understanding of the diversity of cestodes in high-altitude Andean ecosystems and provides new insights into host specificity within the genus Lagidium.

Building on Roger Cotterrell’s call to theorise the law of trusts in relation to trust as an all-pervasive sociopolitical phenomenon, we explore the interplay between these two concepts of trust in relation to the rise of neoliberalism. Here, we centre how the ability of offshore trusts to evade tax/regulatory obligations compromises the ability of sovereign states to build institutions that nurture trust. Historicising this dynamic, we turn to how the rise of a post-imperial world of sovereign states in the context of decolonisation and the Cold War prompted elite interest in transnational legal innovations – especially trusts – that could avoid state-led redistribution efforts. Empowered by various crises, such innovations became central to neoliberal globalisation and its erosion of trust in the sovereign state. Focus on these material dynamics provides a new lens for conceptualising the failure of human rights and anti-corruption projects whose state-centric outlook detracts attention from broader transnational forces.

Community engagement is essential to research. Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are frequently consulted to inform recruitment and engagement strategies. In our experience, a gap emerged between CAB recommendations and implementation, largely due to limitations in research infrastructure, funding, and team capacity. Researchers may underappreciate why providing contextual details about studies that relate to resources or constraints, can lead to tailored recommendations. In response, our institutional CAB now incorporates researcher input before and after consultations to clarify programmatic and institutional limitations. This ongoing, bidirectional dialogue supports more pragmatic, tailored recommendations that better align with research team capacity while advancing shared goals.

For most of American history, the American state has been an active agent of racial oppression. As the country democratized, it retained structures and practices of racial authoritarianism and coercion. But in the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, the United States underwent waves of racial democratization. For a brief while during those periods, the American state transformed itself, on balance, into an agent of racial equality. We explain the reasons for this turn and present a theoretical scheme to explain the transformation of the state’s role in American democratization. We show that the construction of a “civil rights state,” a distinctive historical alignment combining national standard-setting and varieties of coercive enforcement, best accounts for these democratizing surges. We further demonstrate that both standard-setting and coercion are essential components of the civil rights state. When they converge, racial democratization is possible; when they do not, racial democratization is less likely.

Let $k\ge 2$ and let X be a subset of the natural numbers that is k-automatic and not eventually periodic. We show that the following dichotomy holds: either all k-automatic subsets are definable in the expansion of Presburger arithmetic in which we adjoin the predicate X, or $(\mathbb {N},+,X)$ has the same definable sets as $(\mathbb {N},+,k^{\mathbb {N}})$.

In human-dominated landscapes, the effectiveness of ecological corridors in connecting wildlife populations depends not only on ecological but also on human factors, particularly on human–wildlife interactions and the acceptance of wildlife by landowners or managers. The Tenorio–Miravalles Biological Corridor in Costa Rica offers a unique opportunity to examine the relationship between local acceptance of the presence of the Endangered Baird’s tapir Tapirus bairdii and movement on private lands and the functionality of ecological corridor connectivity, as tapir sightings are common in the area. Using land-use analysis, we identified low-resistance, least-cost routes that highlight key habitat connectivity pathways. The corridor provides high structural connectivity for tapirs, with critical habitat fragments concentrated in the northern and southern sectors. In-depth interviews with 31 landowners and managers revealed varied levels of acceptance of the tapir’s presence, influenced by perceived costs and benefits, control, affective responses and trust in institutions. Although most respondents expressed positive emotions toward tapirs, their interactions and behaviours regarding tapir presence and movement on private land varied. These diverse responses underscore the range of human actions that can either impede or facilitate the movement of tapirs. Regardless of how well-connected habitats are structurally, ecological corridors in human-dominated landscapes ultimately depend on the management of human–wildlife interactions. A nuanced understanding of these dynamics is essential for developing connectivity and conservation strategies that align with the perspectives of landowners and managers, and promote sustainable coexistence between wildlife and people.

This narrative review examines the development of the infant gut microbiota during the early months of life, highlighting the impact of delivery mode and feeding practices on microbial colonization and overall infant health. The search was conducted using the Virtual Health Library and PubMed databases, with the descriptors “gut microbiota” combined with “breastfeeding” (BF) and “infant formula.” After screening, 18 articles were selected for final analysis. Findings indicate that cesarean section reduces initial gut microbial diversity by 30%–50% and decreases Bifidobacterium colonization, while increasing the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and Clostridium. In contrast, exclusive BF supports a more favorable microbial profile, enriched in bifidobacteria, and contributes to immune system maturation. The literature also highlights the importance of other genera, including Lactobacillus, Veillonella, and Firmicutes, in regulating inflammation, producing short-chain fatty acids, and protecting against pathogens. Supporting vaginal birth and exclusive BF emerges as a key strategy to promote a more resilient and health-promoting gut microbiota during infancy.

We establish new uncertainty bounds for commutators and anti-commutators of observables in both finite- and infinite-dimensional quantum systems. Beginning with a short, elementary proof of Robertson’s standard uncertainty principle, we then derive inequalities whose lower bounds remain nonzero, regardless of the number of observables. The main result is a novel trace inequality comparing the block matrices of commutators and anti-commutators of several observables.

Can survey experiments replicate real-world behavioral intent and behavior? I study a population in rural Bangladesh (N ∼ 1600) along the banks of the Jamuna River, at risk of riverbank erosion and flooding. I compare their responses to questions about hypothetical movement behavior in vignette-experimental natural disaster scenarios (pre-monsoon, May–June 2021) with their migration intentions and actual migration 2–6 months later, following quasi-experimental real-world exposure. My results show that hypothetical as well as actual affectedness and risk shape migration intent and behavior in structurally similar ways, indicating sign-generalization over both treatments and outcomes. However, the vignette experiment approximates actual behavioral intent more closely than behavior, suggesting that real-world intention–behavior gaps can complicate external validity. Given a slim evidence base for generalizability over treatments and outcomes, this study contributes a crucial comparison from a rarely studied developing-country context on what we can learn from survey experiments.