This article examines how the Banū Fahd of Mecca successfully established and maintained a scholarly dynasty specialising in hadith transmission across multiple generations during the Mamluk and early Ottoman periods (eighth/fourteenth–eleventh/seventeenth centuries). Drawing on social reproduction theory, the study analyses the deliberate strategies through which this family transformed itself from judge-merchants into ‘the hadith transmitters of the Hijaz’. The analysis focuses on Taqī al-Dīn Muḥammad (d. 871/1466) as the pivotal figure who systematically forged the family’s scholarly identity through multiple interconnected strategies: intensive early education of children and relatives, strategic exploitation of Mecca’s position as a pilgrimage centre to build networks with visiting scholars, creation of a family library that became a regional resource, development of sophisticated information management tools (indexes, notebooks, summaries), cultivation of excellence in manuscript copying, and elaboration of genealogical claims linking the family to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. These practices were consciously transmitted across several generations, creating a cumulative effect that sustained the family’s reputation into the early eleventh/seventeenth century. The study demonstrates that this scholarly dynasty succeeded not through passive inheritance but through active, systematic cultivation of multiple forms of capital—economic, social, cultural, and symbolic—deployed strategically to reproduce elite status across generations.

Fungal feed additives offer a potential avenue to enhance dairy cattle health and productivity. This narrative review examines and consolidates literature investigating the effects of products containing, or derived from, anaerobic fungi (AF), obligately aerobic filamentous fungi and yeasts. There is a sparsity of research investigating supplemental AF in cattle, but existing literature demonstrates that AF can consistently increase the digestibility of feeds. Anaerobic fungal additives are limited by their oxygen vulnerability, although characterization of the resting stage of their lifecycle would aid in the development of products which could be used on farm. The majority of research investigating aerobic fungi in dairy cattle is based upon their fermentation products. These products often enhance digestibility variables in cattle, which sometimes benefits growth and production. Inconsistent responses, which are attributed to heterogenous product composition and rumen stability, hinder the industry utility of these additives, and further research is required to define the conditions required for efficacy. A large body of research exists examining the effects of active yeast and yeast derivatives in mature cattle and calves. In-depth examination of this research is beyond the scope of this review, but substantial evidence suggests that supplementing dairy cattle with yeast can be advantageous for gut health and development, production and stress tolerance. This review highlights the pathways through which exogenous fungi can enhance dairy production, and that further research is required to define the causes of inconsistent responses from treatments. This will increase the value of fungal additives to the dairy sector.

After the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam (al-ghaybah al-kubrā) in the fourth AH/tenth CE century, the applicability of divinely ordained punishments, ḥudūd, became a subject of theo-juridical controversies between two groups of Shiʿi jurists: pro- and anti-ḥudūd. In the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the establishment of a Shiʿi theocracy, Iranian theocrats supported the pro-ḥudūd Shiʿi jurists, and as a result, ḥudūd punishments were incorporated into the Islamic Penal Code and have been applied by the state ever since. Some Iranian legal reformers, recognizing the challenges in applying ḥudūd punishments, have put forward two politico-juridical mechanisms (zarfiyat): the secondary ruling and the state order. These two mechanisms, the reformers assert, may be used by the Islamic Republic of Iran to suspend ḥudūd punishments. In this article, I examine both the arguments presented by reformers and the objections to these arguments raised by conservative and Shiʿi orthodox-minded jurists. These objections pose doctrinal challenges that impede the utilization of these mechanisms, thus obstructing the suspension of ḥudūd punishments.

In times of crisis, such as pandemics or social injustice, people often talk about the importance of solidarity, standing together for a common cause. However, this term, while powerful, can sometimes leave people out, especially those who do not fit neatly into shared identities or experiences. Our paper examines how the concept of solidarity can unintentionally exclude individuals, obscure power disparities, or even be exploited by political or corporate interests. Rather than abandoning the concept, we suggest adding a new term: convergence. This word captures the idea of people coming together from different backgrounds to work towards shared goals, without needing to be the same or agree on everything. By combining solidarity with convergence, we can build more inclusive, transparent, and dynamic ways of working together in today’s complex world. This shift in language may help us navigate global challenges more fairly and collaboratively.

What it means for a provision to be “incompatible” with Convention rights is crucial in determining whether courts with the power to do so ought to make a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”). A clear understanding of incompatibility is also necessary for the proper operation of statements of compatibility under section 19 HRA. It is crucial for the devolved legislatures whose incompatible legislation is “not law”. And delegated legislation can be struck down, or declared incompatible, by a court for the same reason. Yet the test for determining incompatibility remains unclear and understudied. The lack of clarity threatens both rights protection and dialogue between the different branches, and layers, of the state. This article argues that the test currently favoured sets the bar inappropriately high and that the test must more clearly consider both the potential extent, and the likelihood, of the breach.

As protected areas increasingly compete with other land uses, their ability to generate economic value through tourism has become central to both public acceptance and long-term sustainability. However, the effects of tourism on wildlife remain understudied, particularly in African protected areas. Mole National Park, Ghana’s largest protected area, is critical for both biodiversity conservation and ecotourism. With plans to expand tourism into its less-visited areas, we assessed the impacts of tourism on medium- to large-sized mammals using multiple metrics. Camera traps were deployed across zones with low, medium and high tourism use, recording 24 mammal species over 6,050 trap-days. Although overall species richness and abundance were similar across zones, certain species showed higher relative abundance in high-use areas (e.g. kob Kobus kob, African buffalo Syncerus caffer) and others were more abundant in low-use areas (e.g. western hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus major, African savannah elephant Loxodonta africana). The most consistent effect of higher tourism levels was a shift in daily activity patterns towards more nocturnal behaviour, probably in response to human presence. Olive baboons Papio anubis and common warthogs Phacochoerus africanus, however, maintained peak activity around midday. Juvenile presence was highest in low-tourism zones, suggesting possible reproductive sensitivity to disturbance. These behavioural and demographic responses may have longer-term consequences for population dynamics. Our findings raise concerns about the expansion of tourism into currently undisturbed areas, as wildlife is already responding to existing pressure. We recommend designating no-access zones as wildlife breeding areas, implementing buffer zones based on species activity and educating tourists on responsible wildlife viewing. Finally, we highlight the need for broader research on tourism impacts across conservation landscapes in Africa.

This study reports the first confirmed record of the Red Sea goatfish Parupeneus forsskali in Italian waters. Since November 2024, several individuals have been collected around Lampedusa Island, in the Strait of Sicily. Morphological and meristic examination of one specimen supported its identification, which was further validated through COI barcode sequencing. The reconstruction of relationships among conspecifics revealed a well-supported clade comprising Red Sea and Mediterranean P. forsskali, clearly distinct from Indo-Pacific specimens. The present record contributes to the growing evidence of the species’ westward expansion in the Mediterranean and provides new insights into its distribution, ecological traits, and potential impacts. The findings also highlight the important role of local fishers in the early detection of non-indigenous marine species.

The brittle star Ophiocoma scolopendrina, a dominant species in the polluted intertidal sediments of Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, faces chronic exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), a persistent anthropogenic pollutant known for its toxicity to marine biota. This study provides the first histological evidence of Cd-induced delays in arm regeneration in O. scolopendrina, highlighting its vulnerability as a benthic echinoderm in contaminated ecosystems. Specimens were collected, acclimated, and subjected to arm amputation, with regenerative histology monitored at intervals (24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 35 days, and 42 days post-amputation) under control conditions and Cd exposure (50 µg/l CdCl2). Regeneration followed a typical epimorphic process, involving repair, early regenerative, intermediate regenerative, and advanced regenerative phases, characterized by epidermal migration, re-epithelialization, and formation of a regenerative bud with proliferative cellular accumulations. Cd exposure significantly delayed wound closure (from 24 hours in controls to 72 hours in treated samples), reduced arm length (12 vs. 17.65 mm at 42 days), and redirected resources towards podial development and coelomic expansion rather than axial regrowth. Histological anomalies included disorganized skeletal ossicles and fragile connective tissues, indicative of Cd’s interference with calcium-dependent biomineralization, as further demonstrated by supplementary video evidence of mechanical fragility in regenerated arms, suggesting potential long-term impairment in further regeneration or survival under stress. These findings underscore the ecotoxicological risks of Cd pollution to echinoderm regeneration and ecosystem functions in the Persian Gulf, offering baseline data for biomonitoring and conservation in heavy metal-impacted marine habitats.

The pediatric urgent care setting offers a unique opportunity to enroll pediatric patients and their families to facilitate the study of human immunology. However, it is an underutilized environment for recruiting participants into research studies, most likely driven by a fundamental “conflict of urgency” – the tension between the time-limited nature of acute ambulatory care and the time-intensive requirements of human subjects research. To address this challenge, we implemented a study of infant and maternal immune responses to respiratory tract infection (the MATMilk study) across four Seattle Children’s Hospital Urgent Care (SCHUC) clinics using a novel, two-phase study design, which uncoupled initial clinical contact from enrollment and specimen collection. This approach allowed complete remote participation and minimized disruption to clinical workflows. To date, we have enrolled n = 36 infants and n = 39 mothers and have complete biospecimen sets from n = 30 infants and n = 28 mothers. The cohort is from a broad geographical catchment in the Puget Sound region and is racially and ethnically diverse, reflecting the demographics of the SCHUC patient population. Our scalable, resource-efficient approach provides a model for integrating basic science research into hospital-affiliated pediatric urgent care networks.

Despite growing recognition of the intergenerational effects of maternal mental health, evidence from tea garden communities remains limited. This study assessed the mental health status of working mothers in tea gardens of Moulvibazar, Bangladesh, examined its association with children’s well-being, and explored contextual factors shaping maternal mental health. A convergent cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted. Using a purposive and stratified random sampling technique, the quantitative data were collected from 451 working mothers with at least one child aged 2–7 years. Mothers’ psychological well-being was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 and World Health Organisation–Five scales, while children’s behavioural and emotional well-being was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The qualitative component included 11 key informant interviews and two focus group discussions (FGDs) from Moulvibazar, Bangladesh. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and qualitative data were thematically analysed. A substantial proportion of mothers reported high levels of psychological distress, with 32.4%, 29.9% and 31.7% experiencing moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress, respectively, while 33.9% had poor well-being. Age was significantly associated with stress (p = 0.014) and overall well-being (p = 0.002), whereas no significant association was observed between childcare arrangements and anxiety (p = 0.171). Among children, 87.8% were classified as having abnormal SDQ scores based on maternal report. Addressing maternal mental health through improved working conditions, accessible childcare and targeted mental health interventions is critical for breaking cycles of intergenerational vulnerability.

Conservation biocontrol is crucial for crop pest management, but the impact of agricultural management practices on natural enemies of crop pests is poorly characterised. The timing of crop sowing could impact arthropod communities by altering basal resource availability and quality, manifesting in altered nutrient availability for herbivorous arthropods and cascading impacts on natural enemy fitness and function. This study investigates how the timing of crop sowing impacts arthropod predator nutrition and whether associated differences relate to changes in prey availability. Arthropod predators and their prey were collected from adjacent plots of winter- and spring-sown wheat. The biochemical macronutrient (carbohydrate, lipid and protein) content of predators was determined by colourimetric assays and compared between winter- and spring-sown crops using multivariate models. Predator nutrient contents were compared to prey availability inferred using null network models based on both recent and current prey abundances. The nutrient contents of arthropod predators differed significantly between winter- and spring-sown wheat, driven by differences in carbohydrate content, and prey abundances similarly differed, but neither recent nor current prey availability explained differences in predator nutrition. These findings may indicate that prey quality, rather than identity, changes with the developmental stages of crops sown at different times. The different nutritional states of predators in crops sown at different times may have important implications for the spillover of natural enemies of crop pests between crops.

The assumption that deleted digital information is irretrievably lost remains widespread, yet this belief obscures the continued existence of residual traces within archives, backups, and systems that implement only partial or ‘soft’ deletion. Such remnants, though frequently overlooked, may persist in shaping the operation of artificial intelligence (AI) and therefore warrant critical examination. This article addresses three interrelated questions. First, through what mechanisms do obsolete or concealed data fragments re-enter AI systems and exert influence that manifests as bias or distortion? Second, in what ways might the trajectory of digital information be conceptualised through reference to ecological processes such as decomposition, renewal, and systemic adaptation? Third, what forms of regulatory or procedural innovation – here articulated as a model of ‘digital composting’ – could facilitate the identification, evaluation, and responsible management of residual data? The analysis demonstrates that outdated data frequently function as ‘ghost inputs’. Despite their invisibility, these elements shape the generative capacity of AI, modify the narratives it produces, and subtly recalibrate public discourse as well as shared cultural memory. Their persistence underscores the communicative and social significance of digital traces once presumed to be obsolete. To advance this discussion, the article introduces the concept of a ‘Data Decay Pathway’. This framework offers a novel means of addressing accountability and transparency in digital systems, emphasising that processes of digital decay, much like those observed in natural ecosystems, may serve either to sustain the vitality of collective memory or to propagate forms of distortion and systemic vulnerability.

Based on a semantic verbal fluency task, this study investigated the category internal structure in Chinese-speaking people with aphasia. The results show that the aphasia patients had a similar category internal structure to the healthy controls. For one thing, the patients produced basic-level and subordinate concepts at a similar rate to healthy controls. For another, the top 10 correct responses made by the patients and healthy controls were almost the same. In addition, the sociodemographic factors like age, education and gender did not play a significant role in the category production for the patients, but aphasia severity, type, cognitive functions and working memory strongly affected their category production. Overall, this study shows that the patients’ conceptual system seemed to be somewhat intact since they produced correct responses at a very high rate, like healthy controls and their differences mainly lay in quantity. This suggests that aphasia patients’ main problems may lie in lexical access to their conceptual system.