This article investigates the construction of the past in Carolingian Europe by focusing on the ‘Martinelli’, a family of manuscripts that contain texts related to the cult of Martin of Tours (d. 397). The article focuses particularly on the presentation of the writings of Gregory of Tours (d. 594) within these manuscripts. Two codices are used as case studies: Berlin, ms Phillipps 1877 and Paris, BnF, ms Lat. 10848. This analysis sheds new light on when the earliest Martinellus was compiled, the reception of Gregory of Tours and the agency of scribes in shaping conceptions of the past in the Carolingian period.

According to recent research, the get-passive, e.g. get arrested, rather than the be-passive, was arrested, has been increasing in frequency since 1850 (Hundt 2001). While some researchers argue that the two variants remain differentiated by semantic nuances like adversativity and agent animacy (e.g. Quirk et al. 1985: 167–71), others assume they are interchangeable and vary according to social factors (Weiner & Labov 1983). Recent corpus-based studies (Allen 2022; Fehringer 2022) tested linguistic and social factors, finding that both play a role. In this article, we aim to contribute new insights by analyzing get vs be in a large corpus of vernacular English from the late nineteenth to the twentieth century in Ontario, Canada. Using a combination of mixed-effects logistic regression and decision tree analysis, we find significant effects of animacy, explicit agent, adversativity, speaker gender, level of education and year of birth. The results show that the get-passive is increasing in apparent time. Moreover, we discover a prevailing effect of animacy that reveals the nature of the reorganization taking place in the system across the twentieth century. We conclude that get emerged as a change from below but is gradually losing its stigma and continues to advance into the grammar of English.

Cinara cedri is an economically important pest infesting cedars. This study presents the first study of its cold tolerance, providing key parameters for assessing its climatic adaptability and potential invasion risks. The supercooling points (SCPs) of eggs, adults, and first-instar nymphs (hereafter nymphs) were determined, along with lethal low temperatures, and the effects of cold acclimation (ACC) and rapid cold hardening (RCH) on cold tolerance. Results showed that eggs exhibited the strongest supercooling capacity, with a mean SCP of −30.14°C, significantly lower than that of adults (−12.89°C) and nymphs (−14.21°C). Under constant laboratory conditions, active aphids suffered no significant mortality at −5°C, whereas exposure to −7°C and −10°C for 1 and 2 h resulted in substantially higher mortality in nymphs than in adults. The 1– and 2–h lethal temperatures for 50% mortality (LT50) were estimated as −10.28°C and −9.06°C for adults, and −8.00°C and −6.87°C for nymphs, respectively. Both ACC and RCH effectively enhanced cold tolerance; adults and nymphs exhibited markedly stronger cold hardiness in December relative to May, and exposure to 3°C for 2 h significantly reduced adult mortality. Collectively, these results establish an empirical foundation for forecasting population responses to short-term extreme low-temperature events and contribute to understanding the low-temperature biology of this aphid.

To provide a scientific basis for establishing a portion size database for dietary assessment and nutritional education, we determined the portion sizes of commonly consumed food groups among Japanese children and adolescents aged 3–17 years. This study analysed 8-day weighed dietary record data from a nationwide survey conducted between November 2016 and August 2020. Participants were grouped into preschoolers (3–6 years, n=572), elementary school children (7–12 years, n=406) and middle/high school students (13–17 years, n=379). Age- and sex-specific portion sizes of 73 food groups were calculated as weighted averages of median portion sizes of the food items within each group, using the number of consumers for each item as weights. Overall, older participants had larger portion sizes than younger participants, but the magnitude of this difference varied between sexes and food groups. For most food groups, middle/high school students consumed 1.2–1.5 times (29 and 45 food groups for boys and girls, respectively) or 1.6–1.9 times (32 and 18 food groups for boys and girls, respectively) larger portion sizes than preschoolers. Portion sizes among middle/high school students were at least twice as large as those among preschoolers for ten food groups in boys, including staple foods, pork/beef, some vegetables, some beverages and salty snacks, but only for three food groups in girls. In conclusion, these differences in portion sizes according to age, sex and food group should be taken into account when assessing dietary intake and designing nutritional education for portion size control.

Nutrient-stimulated hormone therapies (NuSH) therapies, a key class within obesity management medications, have reshaped obesity and type 2 diabetes care, producing substantial weight loss, improved glycaemic control, and significant cardiometabolic benefits in adults and adolescents. Yet outcomes vary widely, and NuSH therapy-induced changes in appetite, eating behaviour, and gastrointestinal function can compromise nutrient intake, lean mass preservation, and long-term adherence. This review synthesises evidence across nutrition, behavioural science, microbiota research, and metabolic–bariatric surgery (MBS) to outline supportive strategies that optimise clinical outcomes with NuSHs.

Preclinical studies consistently show that NuSH therapies shift gut microbiota toward “lean-associated” profiles, while emerging human findings suggest that baseline microbial signatures may contribute to variability in response and tolerability. However, evidence in humans remains limited, heterogeneous, and underpowered. Across age groups, structured nutritional and behavioural support remains essential to ensure nutrient adequacy, manage side effects, strengthen adherence, and guide sustainable lifestyle change.

Key research priorities include defining behavioural and microbial contributors of treatment response and adherence, evaluating microbiota-targeted adjuncts, and developing scalable, multidisciplinary care models for both adult and paediatric populations. NuSH therapies are powerful tools, but their long-term success depends on integrated, personalised nutrition and behavioural care, with growing opportunity for microbiome-informed approaches.

The rules-based international order faces an existential paradox. Eight decades after its founding, international law has never been more vital to human flourishing, yet it has also never been more imperilled. Developments in recent years such as the invasion of Ukraine and the erosion of the multilateral trading system represent more than institutional failures – they expose critical fault lines that, if left unaddressed, threaten to fracture the foundational architecture of international law. This article explores what these trends reveal about the future of the international rule of law and contends that the way forward requires a spirit of sober optimism – one that neither abandons hope nor ignores hard realities about the existing legal order. It suggests that this approach represents our best hope for securing humanity’s shared future.

The UK food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) are a key public health tool that provides evidence-based recommendations for a healthy diet. However, adherence is low, with less than 0.1% of the UK population meeting all nine recommendations set out in the Eatwell Guide. A population-level shift towards a diet aligned with the FBDG would lower rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases (1). Health professionals, who play a central role in translating dietary guidance into practice, have highlighted limitations in both the FBDG and its communication. This review highlights the views of health professionals in calling for a substantial “shake up” of the Eatwell Guide. It sets out considerations of updating the UK dietary recommendations to include the integration of sustainability alongside nutrition modelling, and a review of supporting tools, resources and communication strategies. Investment from the UK government together with engagement from health professionals and other unbiased stakeholders is needed to develop a government-created and funded central hub of practical and adaptable resources which pulls together efforts from individual health professionals and other organisations to provide practical advice that can be tailored and personalised for individuals and diverse communities. This review summarises the current views of health professionals on the Eatwell Guide, advocating for a comprehensive “shake-up” of the UK FBDG and its communication to improve population’s adherence to dietary patterns that support both human and environmental health.

In 1971, Davies proved that finitely many parallel line segments can be simultaneously fully rotated in an arbitrarily small area. In this paper, we show that an even stronger statement holds: The unit square can be fully rotated in such a way that each initially vertical line segment sweeps a set of small area.

A set in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ is said to have the strong Kakeya property if for any two of its positions, the set can be continuously moved between these two positions in an arbitrarily small volume. We use the above result to show that a wide family of sets in ${\mathbb{R}}^3$, for instance, the lateral surface of a cylinder, have the strong Kakeya property.

Mobility limitations due to chronic musculoskeletal pain are a major contributor to disability in older adults, yet current pharmacological treatments often have limited efficacy and increase the risk of polypharmacy. Omega (ω)-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have demonstrated anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, but are under-consumed among older U.S. adults. Krill oil, a marine-derived source of EPA and DHA with enhanced bioavailability compared to typical fish oils and additional bioactive compounds such as astaxanthin and choline, may offer a promising nutritional intervention. This pilot study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of a 3-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of krill oil supplementation (4 g/day: 1,288 mg EPA+DHA, 0.45 mg astaxanthin, 320 mg choline) versus placebo (mixed vegetable oils) in 40 community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Primary outcomes include feasibility (recruitment, retention, adherence) and acceptability (participant satisfaction). Secondary outcomes include changes in the omega-3 index, ω-6/ω-3 ratio, and inflammation (hs-CRP), as well as exploratory changes in pain intensity and functional interference, and physical function (Short Physical Performance Battery, 6-Minute Walk Test). Findings will inform the design of future fully powered trials that may ultimately contribute to the evidence for omega-3 supplementation as a non-pharmacological strategy to support healthy aging and functional independence in older adults.