This article considers the history of Emergency Health Kits established by United Nations agencies and the larger medical non-governmental organizations of the 1980s to analyse the significance of standardized responses in humanitarian emergencies. We argue that, far from being a rigid and immutable response, the kits reflected a (not universally realized) desire to standardize and control both supplies and medical care from international organizations. As such, humanitarian medical practice remained a disputed field in which each object or drug was negotiated at the risk of creating innovation traps. Coming at a time of increasingly global logistics capacities, the Emergency Health Kits became a central feature of a more coordinated global marketplace of humanitarian aid. The kits’ promise to provide rapid transport of emergency supplies to crisis settings across the world was often experienced as a construct, with long delays and logjams in certain regions. Even so, humanitarian organizations were agents of globalization because they imagined a system of centralized production in the Global North and supply to isolated and/or insecure locations across the world.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and inactivated virus vaccination on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in infertile couples. A retrospective case–control study was conducted at the Royan Institute from August 2020 to March 2022. The study included 90 couples in the COVID-19 infection phase and 31 in the vaccination phase. A total of 30 infected but unvaccinated couples were compared to a control group of 60 couples with no COVID-19 infection or vaccination history. Additionally, 31 couples underwent treatment before and after receiving the Sinopharm inactivated vaccine. Key variables analysed included sperm parameters (concentration, motility, progressive motility and morphology), ovarian parameters (antral follicle count, oocyte retrieval), embryological outcomes and pregnancy outcomes. SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly reduced sperm motility (P = 0.02) and progressive motility (P = 0.01) compared to controls. Sperm concentration and morphology showed non-significant declines. Post-vaccination analysis revealed similar but statistically insignificant changes in sperm parameters. Ovarian stimulation parameters and embryological outcomes remained unaffected by both infection and vaccination. Although biochemical, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were lower among the infected group, these differences did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.16, 0.08 and 0.09). SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with impaired sperm progressive motility, which may negatively influence ICSI outcomes. In contrast, vaccination with an inactivated virus does not appear to impact fertility outcomes. These findings provide crucial guidance for physicians and infertile couples managing treatments during and after the pandemic, suggesting the need for extended recovery periods before ART procedures following COVID-19 infection.

Deterministic and stochastic processes are of great importance in influencing the composition of communities. Here, we tested if deterministic and stochastic processes have the same force of influence on functional traits of tiger moth communities. Specifically, we hypothesised that the functional traits of the tribe Arctiini would be more strongly influenced by stochastic processes (associated with spatial variables), given that these moths are primarily diet and habitat generalists within a highly diverse clade. They also exhibit high morphological trait dissimilarity and are capable of occupying a wide range of vegetation habitats. On the other hand, we hypothesised that the functional traits of the tribe Lithosiini would be more influenced by deterministic processes (associated with environmental variables), given that these moths are primarily diet and habitat specialist moths and tend to occur in more specific vegetation types. In agreement with our hypotheses, the functional traits of Arctiini species were better explained by variables related to stochasticity, while the functional traits of Lithosiini were explained by deterministic processes only. Thus, the processes shaping moth distributions across communities may vary according to species’ functional traits and interspecific relationships.

In a normal pregnancy, glucocorticoids (GC), such as cortisol, play an essential role in early heart development. GC concentrations surge in late gestation to facilitate the maturation of fetal systems in preparation for birth. However, pregnancy complications related to stress, lifestyle factors, disease, and commonly used antenatal care treatments (GC therapy and artificial reproductive technology) can lead to prematurely increased GC concentrations that are detrimental to the heart before it is mature enough to benefit. These findings underpin the hypothesis that GC play a double-edged role that benefits normal heart development but is potentially harmful when dysregulated. However, the mechanisms by which both physiological and pathological elevations in GC concentrations influence the fetal cardiometabolic pathways that lead to detrimental long-term cardiovascular outcomes remain unclear. This review will, firstly, describe how cortisol regulates different aspects of cardiac development and, secondly, compare findings from different animal models that have provided mechanistic insight into how excess cortisol/GC during pregnancy impacts cardiac health across the life course.

While Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-mandated Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs are now in place across U.S. skilled nursing facilities, reported high rates of compliance may mask persistent gaps in clinical effectiveness. This review summarizes evidence-based antimicrobial stewardship interventions, their impact, and practical tools to support implementation. Resources from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, other frameworks, and proposed metrics are highlighted to guide effective stewardship in resource-variable nursing home settings.

Mental health symptoms pose a significant vulnerability to stressful life events among currently married women, adversely impacting their overall well-being and quality of life. This study explores the spatial patterns and factors associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms and the co-occurrence of both symptoms among currently married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh. This study utilised data from 13,372 (weighted) currently married women aged 15–49 years in the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2022, which used a cross-sectional design. Multivariable logistic regression models determined the associated factors. Additionally, spatial distribution and hotspot analysis were conducted using ArcGIS version 10.8. The weighted prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety, depressive symptoms and co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive (CAD) symptoms among currently married women of reproductive age was 4.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.8%, 4.5%), 4.8% (95% CI: 4.7%, 5.4%) and 2.2% (95% CI: 2.1%, 2.6%), respectively. Clustering of anxiety symptoms (Moran’s I = 0.063, p < 0.001), depressive symptoms (I = 0.091, p < 0.001) and CAD symptoms (I = 0.082, p < 0.001) were observed, with hotspots in Rangpur, Sylhet and Chittagong regions. Logistics regression analysis shows that currently married women who were living in the Barishal, Khulna, Rangpur and Sylhet regions, who belong to households with a higher wealth index, who experienced high levels of intimate partner violence (IPV), have completed high school, who are sexually inactive and whose husbands are unemployed, were more likely to experience CAD symptoms. Additionally, currently married women of reproductive age, whose age was 25–34 years, who are labourers, whose pregnancies are terminated and who have ≥5 children ever born, are at a higher risk of having anxiety symptoms. Besides, currently married women aged 25–34 years and 35–44 years, who are underweight, were more likely to have depressive symptoms. The findings highlight a significant regional disparity in the burden of anxiety, depressive and CAD symptoms among currently married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh. These findings can help design site-specific programmes and actions for women in the hot spot areas of Rangpur, Sylhet and Chittagong.

There is substantial international variation in recommended vitamin C intake levels. In the United States, the recommendation is 90 mg/day for men and 75 mg/day for women, while in the United Kingdom (UK), the current recommendation – established in 1991 – is only 40 mg/day for adults. This UK level was based on the 1953 Sheffield study, which found that 10 mg/day prevents scurvy, with 40 mg/day chosen as the recommended level for yielding somewhat higher plasma levels. In this commentary, we argue that the UK recommendation overlooked key evidence available at the time. Specifically, at least six controlled trials published before 1991 reported benefits from vitamin C supplementation in participants whose baseline vitamin C intake was already 40 mg/day or higher. One randomized controlled trial, published in 1993, found benefits from vitamin C supplementation even at a baseline intake of about 500 mg/day; however, this trial involved ultramarathon runners, and the findings should not be broadly generalised. Nonetheless, such results challenge the assumption that 40 mg/day is universally adequate to maintain full health. We also highlight that the UK recommendations were narrowly focused on preventing dermatological symptoms of scurvy, despite strong evidence – even at the time – that vitamin C deficiency can also cause cardiac dysfunction and greater morbidity due to respiratory infections. We conclude that the current UK vitamin C recommendation should be re-evaluated in light of controlled trial evidence and broader clinical outcomes.

This article seeks to answer the question of how interbranch organisations (IBOs) can facilitate coordination among agents involved in transactions within agri-food chains. An IBO is a complex entity that establishes relationships among agents operating at different stages of a supply chain. The empirical analysis focuses on the Italian tomato supply chain and adopts a Process-tracing approach. The study is grounded in meso-institutions theory and demonstrates how the meso-institutional nature of the analysed IBO helps explain its role in establishing coordination among agents by performing the functions outlined by the theory. The institutional outcome of this relationship is the adoption of a contractual system that facilitates coordination itself. The contractual system identified provides an example of the articulation between the meso-institutional and micro-institutional levels.

American sloughgrass [Beckmannia syzigachne (Steud.) Fernald] is a troublesome wheat weed. We tested the germination of B. syzigachne seeds under different temperatures with growth chambers (12 h dark/12 h light, 12000 lx), simulating those during the sowing periods of early- (25/15 C), ordinary- (20/10 C), late- (15/5 C), and very late-sown winter wheat (5/0 C). We also tested the accumulated temperatures required for seedling growth to the 2- to 5-leaf stages, using 225 populations collected from wheat fields in eastern China. The average 1000-seed weight of the 225 populations was 1.2 ± 0.01 g. Overall populations tested did not show seed germination after 21 days of treatment (DAT) at 5/0 C or constant 30 C. At 14 DAT with 25/15 C, 20/10 C, and 15/5 C, the mean germination rates were 85.4%, 6.4%, and 0.1%, respectively. These rates increased to 99.9%, 58.6%, and 21.7% at 21 DAT. Populations collected from lower latitude regions germinated significantly faster (P < 0.05) under optimal conditions. Accumulated temperatures required for growing the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th leaf were 139.0 ± 1.0, 127.8 ± 1.0, 115.6 ± 1.0, and 98.9 ± 0.7 C, which showed a significant decreasing trend. The narrower optimal temperature range for B. syzigachne seed germination and higher thermal requirements for early seedling growth constrain its distributions, while the heterogeneous seed germination facilitates its infestations in wheat planting areas in eastern China.

The dating of the qameṣ shift (*/aː/ > [ɔː]) in the Tiberian tradition of Biblical Hebrew has long been a scholarly puzzle. In this article I present possible evidence for this shift in the Greek transcriptions of Origen’s Hexapla, datable to the first half of the third century ce in Palestine. While the evidence is limited both in attested tokens and in grammatical scope, it is suggested that lexical diffusion may account for the gradual spread of this shift, as recorded in different stages of the transmission of Biblical Hebrew.

This study investigates the production, online processing, and offline comprehension of non-canonical structures in Mandarin-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We tested three Mandarin non-canonical structures, which differed in word order, the presence or absence of morphosyntactic cues, and the distance between the displaced element and its trace. Syntactic priming was adopted to elicit production, and a self-paced listening task with picture verification was used to examine online processing and offline comprehension accuracy, among 22 DLD children aged 5 to 9 and 37 age-, SES-, and nonverbal IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children. Results showed a quantitative difference between DLD and TD children across non-canonical structures in production and offline comprehension. In online processing, TD children immediately used different cues when they were available, whereas DLD children relied on the most informative cue within a given structure and context and integrated redundant cues only at a later stage. These findings point toward a complex interaction of representational weakness and domain-general processing constraints whereby DLD children show difficulties in allocating processing resources to integrate multiple linguistic cues.

When it was first introduced, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) had two primary goals of reducing the reliance on custody and increasing uniformity in sentencing practices. Twenty years later, the YCJA has succeeded in dramatically lowering overall rates of youth in custody, but this gain has been selectively experienced by non-Indigenous youth and regional disparities in sentencing practices persist. In this paper, we suggest that the YCJA’s inability to meet its goals is due to overcriminalization by over depth. Using Indigenous youth sentencing as a case study, we argue the YCJA’s layered and sometimes conflicting principles have symptoms of overcriminalization by over depth, including over- and under-inclusiveness, arbitrariness, and confusion in implementation. To more effectively meet the YCJA’s initial goals, we propose legislative streamlining and systemic reforms, including specialized Indigenous youth courts and enhanced community-based resources, as pathways to greater justice.

Social cohesion suffers when people perceive that they live among others who differ from them, even if such people live in homogeneous neighborhoods. This article shows that (1) two individuals who live in equally diverse local contexts may not perceive the same amount of diversity in that context, nor think of the boundaries of their local community in the same way; and (2) when comparing two individuals who live in equally diverse local contexts, the one who thinks they live with more minorities tends, on average, to see lower social cohesion and less collective efficacy among their neighbors. These descriptive results align with a causal framework that distinguishes the objective environment from that of the subjective context. Revealing that perceptions of social reality matter above and beyond the experience of objective context adds evidence to a theory of context effects that involves perceptions as well as experience.

Higher-order uncertainty is uncertainty about what one’s evidence supports. In many cases, a rational reaction to such uncertainty is to engage in inquiring activities like double-checking or redeliberating, with the aim of securing a firmer grasp of the evidence. An attractive idea is to account for the epistemic impact of higher-order uncertainty in terms of these inquiring activities. However, I argue that zetetic accounts along these lines are, at best, incomplete, because they cannot deal satisfactorily with cases in which higher-order uncertainty persists even if further inquiry is not required (cases at the end of inquiry). In this paper, I put forward a more general account of the impact of higher-order uncertainty. On this view, higher-order uncertainty may defeat propositional justification by undermining one’s access to the relevant evidence. Losing access to some evidence often calls for further inquiry. However, when this further inquiring is ineffective, inadvisable, or merely optional, one may be justified to adopt instead revised attitudes that fit one’s limited access to the evidence. This proposal accounts for the impact of higher-order uncertainty at the end of inquiry and offers an appealing explanation of the relations between this type of uncertainty and inquiry.

This paper studies the effect of gender imbalance on assortative matching and household income inequality. Using data across prefectures in China, we show that a higher sex ratio in the marriage market is negatively associated with both assortative marriage and household income inequality. Motivated by empirical evidence, we develop a heterogeneous-agent model to study the mechanism behind the pattern. The quantitative results of the model match the empirical evidence: a higher sex ratio is associated with a lower degree of assortative matching, which leads to a decrease in household income inequality. When we allow men and women to choose their level of education endogenously before entering the marriage market, we find that a higher sex ratio leads to a higher level of education investment among both men and women, with men investing more significantly than women.

Many archaeology graduate students pursue advanced degrees in the hope of undertaking an academic career. Job-listing websites often serve as the first port-of-call for students seeking academic positions. We examined tenure-track job advertisements over the past decade to gain insights into the academic job market for archaeologists. Using data from the community-edited Academic Jobs Wiki for Archaeology, we examined changes in the academic job market over time. We investigated the editing dynamics of the Wiki to understand its users and their biases. We then analyzed the text of 431 job ads posted from 2013 to 2023. Our analysis addresses the question of how archaeological topics, methods, and geographic regions specified in archaeological job ads have shifted over time. We also explored whether the labor burden for applicants has changed over time: do institutions request more information and documents from applicants at the initial stages of application, compared to a decade ago? Finally, we assessed the influence of sociopolitical factors on the changing focus of research topics in the field. We conclude with implications for archaeology students, graduates, and advisors seeking to understand the dynamics of the academic job market and the requirements of employers.