A BioBlitz is a rapid and intensive survey of a specific geographic area that brings together experts and often lay participants to assess biodiversity, typically of macrobiota that are easily observed and identifiable on-site. This concept has become popular across taxonomic fields, attracting interest globally to increase knowledge of local biodiversity. Inspired by the success of the approach, we undertook a ‘ParasiteBlitz’ at an unexplored locality (Stono Preserve, Charleston, South Carolina, USA) to determine its feasibility for parasites, whose assessment of diversity is largely neglected worldwide. We assembled a team of parasitologists with complementary expertise. Over 12 days (3 days in each habitat) in April 2023, we intensively screened fishes and aquatic invertebrates for parasites, and sampled sediment and water for environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding from four aquatic habitats: wetland, freshwater pond, brackish impoundment, and tidal creek. We incorporated assistance from non-parasitologists and students. Details on methodologies and results are provided in individual papers in this Special Collection. Traditional methods revealed the presence of ca. 100 species of seven major metazoan parasite taxa, and the eDNA survey yielded over 1,000 amplicon sequence variants identified as parasites, most with sequences unmatched in GenBank, and resulting in only a few species identified as named species in the one-year post-Blitz timeframe we imposed upon ourselves for identification. Limitations and challenges of the ParasiteBlitz are discussed, and our results support that this approach can be effective for rapid discovery of the dimensions of parasite assemblages in an understudied environment and contribute to parasitology knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate forcing as a tool to construct universal models. In particular, we look at theories of initial segments of the universe and show that any model of a sufficiently rich fragment of those theories can be embedded into a model constructed by forcing. Our results rely on the model-theoretic properties of good ultrafilters, for which we provide a new existence proof on non-necessarily complete Boolean algebras.

This paper focuses on the structurally complete extensions of the system $\mathbf {R}$-mingle ($\mathbf {RM}$). The main theorem demonstrates that the set of all hereditarily structurally complete extensions of $\mathbf {RM}$ is countably infinite and forms an almost-chain, with only one branching element. As a corollary, we show that the set of structurally complete extensions of $\mathbf {RM}$ that are not hereditary is also countably infinite and forms a chain. Using algebraic methods, we provide a complete description of both sets. Furthermore, we offer a characterization of passive structural completeness among the extensions of $\mathbf {RM}$: specifically, we prove that a quasivariety of Sugihara algebras is passively structurally complete if and only if it excludes two specific algebras. As a corollary, we give an additional characterization of quasivarieties of Sugihara algebras that are passively structurally complete but not structurally complete. We close the paper with a characterization of actively structurally complete quasivarieties of Sugihara algebras.

Recent discussions on the future of work emphasize the negative effects of labour-replacing technology on employment and wages. However, original surveys and field research show that Chinese manufacturing workers currently consider themselves the beneficiaries of technological upgrading. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative evidence from two original surveys of over 2,400 workers and 600 companies in the manufacturing sector, interviews with firm managers and workers from 76 companies, and 34 factory visits in 19 cities in southern China. It finds that insofar as labourers experience automation anxiety, local workers are more likely than internal migrant workers to worry about technological displacement and are more pessimistic about their prospects of securing comparable employment after displacement. Owing to the features and consequences of the household registration system, internal migrants have a larger set of acceptable exit options that are no worse than their status quo, contributing to their lower anxiety about automation compared to locals. These findings suggest that automation susceptibility does not directly translate into automation opposition as previously assumed; institutions can shape technological receptiveness among people who face similar threats of automation by altering their exit options.

The fossil record of dinosaurs in Scotland mostly comprises isolated highly fragmentary bones from the Great Estuarine Group in the Inner Hebrides (Bajocian–Bathonian). Here we report the first definite dinosaur body fossil ever found in Scotland (historically), having been discovered in 1973, but not collected until 45 years later. It is the first and most complete partial dinosaur skeleton currently known from Scotland. NMS G.2023.19.1 was recovered from a challenging foreshore location in the Isle of Skye, and transported to harbour in a semi-rigid inflatable boat towed by a motor boat. After manual preparation, micro-CT scanning was carried out, but this did not aid in identification. Among many unidentifiable elements, a neural arch, two ribs and part of the ilium are described herein, and their features indicate that this was a cerapodan or ornithopod dinosaur. Histological thin sections of one of the ribs support this identification, indicating an individual at least eight years of age, growing slowly at the time of death. If ornithopodan, as our data suggest, it could represent the world's oldest body fossil of this clade.

Stephanofilaria is a genus of nematodes that cause ulcerative dermal lesions in large mammals. However, there is a dearth of knowledge on the molecular genetics of Stephanofilaria species infecting critically endangered rhinoceros. This study employed genetic barcoding genes to identify Stephanofilaria species and to determine its genetic diversity and evolution. Phylogenetic analyses on partial genes of the second internal transcribed spacer Ribosomal DNA (ITS-2) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox-1), revealed a 77% and 93% bootstrap support at the Cox-1 and ITS-2 loci respectively to a clade containing previously identified Stephanofilaria species. Morphological examination also confirmed features diagnostic of Stephanofilaria dinniki previously known to infect rhinoceros. Gene diversity of Cox-1 was 0.931 ± 0.030 and 0.579 ± 0.104 for the ITS-2, whereas nucleotide diversity was 0.008 ± 0.002 and 0.00197 ± 0.0016 for the Cox-1 and ITS-2 genes respectively. Neutrality tests (Fu and Li’s D* and Fu and Li’s F*) were significantly negative (p<0.05) at all loci, whereas Tajima D and Fu’s FS were each statistically significant (p<0.05) at the Cox-1 and ITS-2 loci respectively. The high gene diversity, low nucleotide diversity and negative neutrality tests are consistent with positive selection at the Cox-1 gene. Stephanofilaria infection among rhinoceros is currently restricted to highland sanctuaries compared to a widespread distribution in both lowlands and highlands in the 1960s suggesting an adaptation to vectors thriving in cooler highland temperatures. This is the first genetic identification of S. dinniki, in rhinoceros and will aid in diagnosis, treatment, studies, and rhinoceros conservation.

Leaf epicuticular waxes play a crucial role in host selection of Spilosoma obliqua, Amsacta albistriga, Spodoptera litura, and Spilarctia luteum. The leaf epicuticular waxes of groundnut, soybean, mikania, and parthenium indicated the presence of 25 different n-alkanes (C14 to n-C36) and 15 free fatty acids (FFAs) (C12:0 to C22:0). All the chemical analysis and bioassays were conducted by using the standard protocols. The attraction index (AI %) and oviposition preference index (OPI %) of each pest species towards the combined-synthetic-mixtures of respective leaf wax chemicals (4 n-alkanes [n-C16, n-C18, n-C20, n-C22] + 4 FFAs [C14:0, C16:1, C16:0, C20:0]) were more preferred due to respective wax chemicals. The AI (%) and OPI (%) towards the said mixture (C3) of the selected host plants (groundnut > soybean > parthenium > mikania) were in the order of S. obliqua > S. litura > S. luteum > A. albistriga for better survival and growth of their neonates because of the respective amounts of leaf wax chemicals including other phytoconstituents. The said synthetic mixture in respective leaf equivalent amount (µg leaf−1) acted as the most preferred lure to develop baited trap and or groundnut as trap crop for soybean to support integrated pest management of such crops (groundnut and soybean). It also supports the use of such pest species as biocontrol agent for the exotic weeds (mikania and parthenium). This finding promotes sustainable pest and weed management for climate smart agriculture to maintain and sustain quality of our planet in the near future.

What are the characteristics of a political protest that enable it to win public support, and what is the role of the political environment? The literature has argued about the characteristics that induce the public to sympathize with protesters (such as the identity of the protesters, their demands, and their methods), but little research has focused on the role of the political context, which includes the presence of other protests making different (or even opposite) demands, the contrasting identity of the protesters, and protest methods. In the research reported in this study, we focused on two protests that unfolded during 2023–24 in Italy (protests by environmental activists and farmers/livestock raisers) to investigate the impact of protesters' identity on public perceptions of their action's legitimacy, when two protests with contrasting aims but similar methods occur at the same time. We used a pre-registered randomized experimental design that manipulated the sequence in which a sample of respondents was presented with descriptions of protests by both groups. Our findings suggest that the sequence in which protests are presented significantly affect respondents' perceptions. Once primed with the evaluation of the farmers' protests, in fact, they perceive climate activists' actions as more legitimate. Our results suggest that people tend to comparatively evaluate social movements and to adjust their opinions accordingly when exposed to cognitively dissonant information.

The viruses associated with bats have generated significant concern; however, there is limited knowledge regarding the endoparasites that affect these mammals. This study involved the collection of seven nematode specimens (three males and four females) from the intestines of Hipposideros armiger in Shaoguan City, Guangdong, China. Next-generation sequencing was employed to obtain the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome, which was determined to be 14,130 base pairs in length. The mitochondrial genome comprised 12 protein-coding genes, 21 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and an AT-rich non-coding region. Phylogenetic analyses based on mtDNA sequences indicated that the nematode forms a sister clade to Nematodirus, exhibiting only 74% nucleotide identity. In contrast, the nuclear ITS1 gene demonstrated a high degree of nucleotide identity (98.6%–98.8%) with Durettenema guangdongense. Consequently, the parasitic nematode identified from H. armiger is likely to belong to the genus Durettenema and has been designated as Durettenema sp. 888. Furthermore, an epidemiological investigation revealed the presence of the parasitic nematode infections in H. armiger collected from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou Provinces. Given the widespread distribution of H. armiger and their tendency to inhabit areas in close proximity to human dwellings, the influence of parasite prevalence on bat population numbers and potential for human and domestic animal transmission of this pathogen warrants further investigation.

This article looks at a unique form of American rural industrial development in the early 20th century: rural farming machinery companies producing gas-powered washing machines during the off season. Prior scholarship on the washing machine industry in North America has tended to focus on the mass dissemination of electric washing machines into suburban and urban homes, spreading from urban centers to rural fringes. In contrast, this article portrays the rise of washing machines as substantially rural in character. Case studies of three companies in Iowa and rural Ontario challenge our standard understanding of both consumption and production patterns, refocusing on rural technological innovation and capitalism. These machines allowed rural communities to engage with modernity on their own terms, purchasing gas-powered household appliances alongside gas-powered farm equipment.

The emergence of Streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome (STSS) poses a global health challenge after the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 2024, the number of STSS cases in Japan has risen to 977, surpassing the previous year’s total. Streptococcus pyogenes (group A strep) can cause superficial infections as well as more severe conditions, including necrotizing fasciitis and STSS. It mainly spreads through respiratory droplets and open wounds, with overcrowded living conditions and poor sanitation exacerbating transmission. With no definitive treatment currently available, good hygiene and effective clinical management is the key to prevention. Public education on risk factors and preventive measures, as well as disease monitoring and adherence to treatment guidelines is crucial in reducing transmission and preventing the development of complications. The potential for STSS to transform into a global pandemic necessitates international cooperation in taking actions to limit the disease. Improved healthcare infrastructure and proactive public health measures can help mitigate the risk of another global health crisis.