Over the past decade the European Union (EU) has transformed sustainability into a dense matrix of legally binding ESG reporting obligations for companies. Compliance increasingly hinges on firms’ ability to collect and verify thousands of datapoints deep into global supply chains – an exercise that is costly, error-prone and may yield non-comparable results. (Semi-)centralised ESG data-sharing arrangements – shared hubs where suppliers post one or more verified sets of sustainability figures that all their customers can reuse – can restore some efficiency by eliminating duplicate requests and supplying standardised, audit-ready inputs, but this amplifies competition-law risk. Drawing on competition law and policy and recent Dutch banking practice, the paper devises a set of legal “firewalls” and access rules that neutralise collusive potential resulting from the information exchange that takes place while safeguarding smaller market players from exclusion. These safeguards are essential to ensure that ESG data collaboration supports – not hinders – the EU’s Twin Transition towards a green and digital economy.

The aim of this study was to describe how the detection of protozoan and helminth parasites has been affected by the introduction of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and changes in test algorithms. We extracted data about faecal samples tested for parasites (n = 114839) at five Norwegian clinical microbiology laboratories. Samples were classified into prePCR or postPCR depending on whether they were submitted before or after the introduction of PCR, and into diagnostic episodes (n = 99320). The number of diagnostic episodes increased 3.7-fold from prePCR to postPCR. Giardia positive episodes doubled, the positivity rate decreased from 2.0% to 1.3%. Cryptosporidium was hardly detected prePCR and increased to a positivity rate of 1.2%. Entamoeba histolytica was rarely found. Episodes examined for helminths decreased 51%, the number of positive episodes decreased 34%. Samples from immigrants were more likely to be positive for Giardia, E. histolytica, or helminths and less likely to be Cryptosporidium positive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Giardia and helminth-positive episodes decreased. Cryptosporidium-positive episodes remained unchanged. The implementation of multiplex PCR for protozoa led to a doubling of Giardia cases and a better test for Cryptosporidium. Fewer microscopy examinations raise concerns that helminth infections may be overlooked.

Let n be a positive integer, let $0<p\leqslant p'\leqslant \frac 12$, and let $\ell \leqslant pn$ be a nonnegative integer. We prove that if $\mathcal {F},\mathcal {G}\subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ are two families whose cross intersections forbid $\ell $—that is, they satisfy $|A\cap B|\neq \ell $ for every $A\in \mathcal {F}$ and every $B\in \mathcal {G}$ – then, setting $t:= \min \{\ell ,pn-\ell \}$, we have the subgaussian bound

$$\begin{align*}\mu_p(\mathcal{F})\, \mu_{p'}(\mathcal{G}) \leqslant 2\exp\Big( - \frac{t^2}{58^2\,pn}\Big), \end{align*}$$

where $\mu _p$ and $\mu _{p'}$ denote the p-biased and $p'$-biased measures on $\{0,1\}^n$, respectively.

Multicenter clinical trials are essential for evaluating interventions but often face significant challenges in study design, site coordination, participant recruitment, and regulatory compliance. To address these issues, the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences established the Trial Innovation Network (TIN). The TIN offers a scientific consultation process, providing access to clinical trial and disease experts who provide input and recommendations throughout the trial’s duration, at no cost to investigators. This approach aims to improve trial design, accelerate implementation, foster interdisciplinary teamwork, and spur innovations that enhance multicenter trial quality and efficiency. The TIN leverages resources of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, complementing local capabilities at the investigator’s institution. The Initial Consultation process focuses on the study’s scientific premise, design, site development, recruitment and retention strategies, funding feasibility, and other support areas. As of 6/1/2024, the TIN has provided 431 Initial Consultations to increase efficiency and accelerate trial implementation by delivering customized support and tailored recommendations. Across a range of clinical trials, the TIN has developed standardized, streamlined, and adaptable processes. We describe these processes, provide operational metrics, and include a set of lessons learned for consideration by other trial support and innovation networks.

Dating the shear zone activity remains challenging and depends on geochronometer reactivity. We investigate the Forno-Rosarolo Shear Zone (Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Italy), developed in the intermediate-low continental crust under amphibolite-facies conditions. Sheared paragneisses and calc-silicates were dated using in situ U–(Th–)Pb monazite and titanite geochronology. Three monazite generations (MNZI-III) were identified based on microstructural position, internal features, chemical zoning (Th, Y) and isotopic data. Deformation was mainly recorded by MNZII, with high-Y domains yielding Triassic dates (average ages of: 238±8 and 222±8 Ma). Rare, highly fractured or porous MNZIII grains provided younger dates (202±8 to 184±6 Ma). MNZI, abundant in protomylonites, retains regional metamorphism, linking monazite U–Th–Pb data to fabric evolution. Titanite shows different zoning features and chemistry as a function of the surrounding mineral assemblage: (i) strongly zoned grains are mostly associated with silicate-rich layers; (ii) homogeneous grains are generally within the silicate-poor layers. Both types show a decoupling between chemistry, almost completely related to the peak metamorphism, and U–Pb isotopes. Deformation microstructures promoted a total reset of the U–Pb dataset at the beginning of deformation and a subsequent volume diffusion through the grains: the innermost domains of both titanite types provide a Triassic lower intercept age (240±5 Ma) while the rims/tips, locally coinciding with high strained portions, define an alignment of isotopic data with a Jurassic lower intercept age (186±6 Ma). This study highlights how combining monazite and titanite geochronology refines the timing and duration of deformation, particularly in large-scale shear zones involving different lithologies.

This article explores Britain and the Soviet Union’s reciprocal exhibitions in 1961. Using methods from diplomatic and cultural history the article finds that, while typical of the cultural encounters that punctuated moments of Cold War crisis, these exhibitions formed part of a broader British policy of cultural diplomacy. The British state worked closely with the exhibition companies to present subtle propaganda about the British way of life at both displays. Britain’s key propaganda message was that a system of free enterprise was vital to a good political system and economy. However, while the fairs were nominally organised by an independent company many of the company’s directors were part of a network that existed between government, the civil service and business. The government was involved at all stages. A warm attitude was displayed towards the Soviets by many British people when the reciprocal fair opened in London, despite the less positive reception of Soviet consumer goods in the press. The British state sought to limit the Soviets’ propaganda gain. It therefore ensured that it was the trade fair’s organisers rather than communist supporting organisations who received the visit of the world’s first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.

We study a specific practice of predatory lending: Borrowers being rejected and approved in rapid succession by the same lender. We show that in such cases borrower and contract characteristics and ex post performance are consistent with predatory steering. Steered borrowers are associated with groups with lower financial sophistication. They are more likely to enter non-amortizing contracts with high profit margins that are quickly securitized. Steered borrowers default less in boom years when refinancing is easy. However, their performance deteriorates sharply once falling prices trap them in contracts with rising payments, reflecting the long-term costs of predatory lending.

A robust literature on the professional advancement of Chinese officials has paid comparatively little attention to an important elite group: the foreign policy bureaucracy. We introduce original data documenting over 11,000 career assignments of 1,357 senior officials in the foreign ministry from 1949 to 2023 and leverage these data to offer the first systematic analysis of who rises to the top of China’s foreign affairs system. We find that diplomats who spend a greater share of their careers in postings abroad are less likely to be promoted to higher ranks than diplomats who remain at home – and that these patterns persisted even after the professionalization of the foreign affairs bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the analysis finds only mixed evidence that diplomatic performance assists promotion. The data and analysis draw attention to the unique challenges of professional advancement in bureaucracies charged with managing China’s foreign relations.