The alternation between wet and dry seasons in tropical regions can dramatically affect parasite infection dynamics by influencing larval survival, intermediate-host density, definitive-host foraging behaviour, and host immune function. Freshwater chelonians are excellent models for studying parasite-host ecology. Their longevity, site fidelity, and dietary breadth make them valuable sentinel species for aquatic ecosystem health. Here, we identified the gastrointestinal helminth fauna of scorpion mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides) from Marajó Island and evaluated seasonal effects on parasite community dynamics. We observed a 71% reduction in parasite load during the dry season and substantial compositional shifts, in addition to species-specific responses: Spiroxys figueiredoi exclusively during floods and Nematophila grandis peaking during dry periods. Parasite species with flexible transmission pathways may thrive while specialists decline. Kinosternon scorpioides and its parasites function as sentinels, and monitoring helminth community composition could more accurately track ecosystem health than measuring host abundance alone.

Recent years have seen considerable debate about the shifting contours of international order, regarding whether or not there is a “Western liberal world order” and the power and influence of its illiberal challengers. Indeed, the old certainties of the bipolar international system created by the Cold War are an increasingly distant memory, and the unipolar moment of unchecked US dominance is now seen as an interregnum in the seemingly inevitable move toward a multipolar future for global politics. As a country of major geostrategic importance, Iran often has been a key player in the shifts that have occurred in both regional and global geopolitics over the last hundred years. This includes being an arena for Russian tsarist, Ottoman, and British imperial competition during World War I and later being a founding member of the League of Nations. As an important oil producer and a state that saw itself as a leading postcolonial actor, Iran was also one of the founding members of OPEC and the G77. From its experience of imperial penetration by European powers in the early twentieth century to its emergence as a key Western ally and “regional policeman” in the Cold War era, Iran has had to engage with the shifting interests of global powers and associated notions of international order. These have had a critical influence on the development of modern Iran, shaping its politics, society, and international relations and helping to lay the foundations for opposition to the prevailing norms that governed Iran’s relations with the world up until 1979.

It is known that the condition $|\arg f'(z)|<\pi /2$, $|z|<1$, is not sufficient for an analytic function $f(z)=z+a_2z^2+\cdots $ in $|z|<1$, to be starlike with respect to the origin. We look for the largest $\alpha>0$ such that the condition $|\arg f'(z)|<\alpha \pi /2$ in $|z|<1$ is a sufficient condition for f to be a univalent, starlike, convex, or Bazilevic̆ function.

We prove that the average size of a mixed character sum

\begin{equation*}\sum_{1\leqslant n \leqslant x} \chi(n) e(n\theta) w(n/x)\end{equation*}

$w$

$\sqrt{x}$

$\theta$

$\chi$

$r$

$x\leqslant r$

$o(\sqrt{x})$

$\theta$

If A is in the p-Schatten class on ${\mathbb {R}}^n$, $1\leq p \leq {4n}/{(2n-1)}$, then the quantum translates of A are linearly independent. Moreover, there exists a nonzero operator in the p-Schatten class on ${\mathbb {R}}^n$, $p>{4n}/{(2n-1)}$, whose quantum translates are linearly dependent.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) shows promise for mental healthcare by increasing access to treatment. In this article, we analyse recent evidence on the use of GenAI chatbots as a treatment for common mental disorders. We examine key ethical and methodological considerations and discuss the specific risks for delusions. Adopting a precision psychiatry perspective, we propose that the therapeutic alliance can be improved by tailoring GenAI to mimic a user’s psychological traits, a version of socioaffective alignment.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is a clinically challenging subtype of schizophrenia affecting up to 30% of patients, defined by persistent symptoms despite adequate trials of at least two antipsychotics. This review explores the complex neurobiology of TRS, highlighting the limitations of the dopamine hypothesis and emphasising the roles of glutamatergic, cholinergic and neurodevelopmental mechanisms. It outlines neuroimaging techniques (e.g. positron emission tomography, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy) used to explore neurotransmitter activity and structural brain changes in psychosis, and in TRS in particular, and gives an overview of their findings and utility. It also discusses frameworks like TRRIP and the INTEGRATE algorithm, which aim to facilitate earlier diagnosis and treatment. Integrating neuroimaging into practice may improve diagnosis and clinical outcomes and advance precision medicine approaches; emerging non-dopaminergic treatment options, such as xanomeline–trospium, may offer promising alternatives to standard clozapine treatment for TRS. Future research should prioritise biomarker discovery and the development of novel therapies beyond dopaminergic targets.

Syncope in children is commonly benign, yet rare cardiovascular anomalies may be causative. We present a child with recurrent syncope, ultimately diagnosed with an aorto-right atrial connection. Transcatheter closure was successfully performed with an Amplatzer Duct Occluder II. This case emphasizes considering aorto-atrial connections in pediatric syncope with continuous murmurs and highlights the efficacy of percutaneous closure.

This article explores the complex cultural processes that engineered the production and circulation of British evangelical periodicals in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It draws on a vast collection of missionary archival material from Tahiti to show the patched-together character of evangelical periodicals, constituted by highly mobile texts that connected readers across vast geographic distances. Furthermore, it illustrates how readers responded to periodicals: how they represented the intellectual worlds of the early missionaries and complicated their conceptualizations of home and mission, in particular. The article avoids characterizing periodicals as purely propaganda, instead examining how they worked to extend evangelical networks and how they fit into wider systems of knowledge production. The article makes contributions to the study of religion, media, and the materiality of knowledge, bringing the evangelical knowledge industry into a globalized context that intersected with the mission field.

Wages earned by men are often used as an indicator of the material standard of living (MSoL). However, this indicator relies on several assumptions when used for comparisons across time and space. Considering these assumptions will improve estimates of the MSoL from wages. One necessary assumption is that households in the compared populations relied on the primary income of the male head of household to a comparable degree. I demonstrate that the degree of reliance on the male income was closely associated with the complexity of households within the population. Nuclear households – typical of English-speaking countries – were more reliant on the male income than more complex households found elsewhere. Consequently, estimates based on male wages are less accurate for populations with complex households, likely underestimating their MSoL. While the complexity of households in historical populations is seldom known, it can be predicted using demographic and economic indicators. I conclude that populations at similar stages of industrialization and the demographic transition are the most comparable when using male wages to estimate their MSoL. Further, I use a reductive model to show that a household’s MSoL is determined by the following three factors: time spent on productive work, the market wage for men, and the female/male (F/M) wage ratio. My analysis shows that including the F/M wage ratio does not change the ranking of the MSoL based on male wages. Nonetheless, I argue that there are compelling reasons to expect the wage ratio to be a useful addition when comparing the MSoL of historical populations.