Nursery crop producers in the southeastern United States use open ponds of captured water for irrigating container-grown plants, often without filtration. Many growers perceive irrigation water as a source of weed seed dispersal, but data on the presence of weed seeds in nursery irrigation ponds are lacking. The presence and diversity of viable weed seeds in irrigation pond water samples from six commercial container nurseries in central and eastern North Carolina were documented in the spring, summer, and late summer for two consecutive years. Irrigation pond water was filtered in 75,708-L increments using a custom-fabricated filtration system. The sample volume was chosen to approximate daily irrigation for 0.405 ha. A total of 216 filtrate samples were collected, six for each location, season, and year. Filtrates were spread on soilless substrate in plastic trays, and seedling emergence was recorded every 7 d for 12 wk. Irrigation samples from all locations, seasons, and years contained viable seeds. A total of 75 different taxa were present in the irrigation filtrates, including 28 weed species common to container nurseries. The average number of seeds collected at each location ranged from 9 to 35 per 75,708-L sample. Averaged across years and locations, there were 12.5, 24.8, and 18.2 germinable seeds per 75,708 L−1 in spring, summer, and late summer collections, respectively. Some common weed species such as eclipta, marsh yellowcress, large crabgrass, flexuous bittercress, and spotted spurge were present in samples from each season’s collections, whereas other species were unique to a single season. Although irrigation water introduced weed seeds, the number of weed seeds was small compared to other potential sources of weed seed dispersal within the nursery environment.

We study the classical relationship between a firm’s investment and q, for which an unobserved persistent shock is an important factor in the investment decision. In our setting, besides the potential measurement problem of q, controlling for the unobserved shock becomes a new challenge. We develop an estimation method that addresses both econometric issues given timing and information set assumptions. Using 16,256 unique public firms in the United States from 1975 to 2021, we find that q remains a significant factor of investment even after controlling for the unobserved shock and measurement error.

Academic statistical consulting centers collaborate and provide statistical support to faculty and graduate students for their research projects. Clients seeking statistical support may face communication and cognitive accessibility barriers that consultants may not be aware of. Many researchers do not disclose their personal circumstances, such as neurodivergent behaviors. Universal Design for Learning is a framework that aims to support individuals regardless of their abilities or learning styles, by providing multiple means of engagement, presentation, and action and expression. Adapting these principles for statistical consulting and taking time to assess specific needs of individuals helps improve the experiences of clients and consultants and leads to high quality statistical support and successful completion of research projects. We propose an organizational framework applicable to statistical consulting environments aligned with accessibility guidelines to improve access and empower clients and consultants. Providing a respectful environment where differences are normalized and welcomed creates a sense of belonging for everyone.

An automorphism of the free group $F_n$ is called pure symmetric if it sends each generator to a conjugate of itself. The group $\mathrm {PSAut}_n$ of all pure symmetric automorphisms and its quotient $\mathrm {PSOut}_n$ by the group of inner automorphisms are called the McCool groups. In this article, we prove that every BNSR-invariant $\Sigma ^m$ of a McCool group is either dense or empty in the character sphere, and we characterize precisely when each situation occurs. Our techniques involve understanding higher generation properties of abelian subgroups of McCool groups, coming from the McCullough–Miller space. We also investigate further properties of the second invariant $\Sigma ^2$ for McCool groups using a general criterion due to Meinert for a character to lie in $\Sigma ^2$.

In sign languages, aspects of event structure have been shown to be systematically reflected in the phonological structure of verb signs, as proposed by the Event Visibility Hypothesis (EVH). This study investigates the relationship between verb semantics and phonology in 119 verbs from Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS). Four Deaf signers evaluated the usability of these verbs in specific contexts to assess event structure, and then their responses were correlated with the phonological structure of the signs. For the majority of signs (N = 109), the semantics of event structure was reflected in their phonological form, mapping to end-state semantics as expected. For a few signs (with inchoativity), phonological forms correlated instead with event onset. Additionally, some signs allowed for argument structure alternations, which have been previously only rarely reported for sign languages. The findings support the claim that event structure is systematically mapped to verb sign phonology using physical properties of articulator motion, and further indicate the need to extend the taxonomy of event/argument structures inventory to encompass the variability across (sign) languages.

This research evaluated the influence of adjuvants on hexazinone efficacy for smut grass control in greenhouse and field conditions. The greenhouse experiment was established in 2023 with two runs, comprising hexazinone (1.12 kg ai ha−1) applied alone or with adjuvants (Grounded, NanoPro, and Sorbyx), and six simulated volumes of rain accumulation (0, 6, 12, 25, 50, and 100 mm). In field trials in 2022 and 2023, hexazinone (1.12 kg ai ha−1) was applied with various adjuvants (BREAK-THRU, Grounded, NanoPro, and Sorbyx) to a nontreated control and to small smut grass at Marianna, Florida, and to giant smut grass at Ona, Florida. In greenhouse experiments, all adjuvants added to hexazinone improved the herbicide’s efficacy, resulting in >78% control at 30 d after treatment (DAT), <50% biomass (% of the nontreated control 30 DAT), and little to no regrowth by 60 DAT. Applying hexazinone without an adjuvant resulted in <70% control at 30 DAT and >52% biomass, and regrowth by 60 DAT. Similarly, adding Grounded, NanoPro, and Sorbyx to hexazinone in field experiments resulted in a reduction in smut grass density of >63% reduction. However, adding BREAK-THRU to hexazinone did not enhance the herbicide’s efficacy. The adjuvants Grounded, NanoPro, and Sorbyx enhanced the effectiveness of hexazinone in both greenhouse and field experiments, indicating their potential for effective smut grass management.

Invasive, non-native plants frequently restructure ecosystems by homogenizing vegetation and altering trophic interactions, but the ecological consequences of invader removal are less predictable. Removal can redistribute light, nutrients, and detrital resources, initiating community reassembly that extends beyond vegetation recovery and may facilitate secondary invasions. We used a single-site invasive-removal field study to examine how management of European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) reshaped vegetation structure, litter accumulation, and faunal communities in a postindustrial forest preserve in western New York State, USA. Across 18 plots representing managed, not-treated, and regrown R. cathartica conditions, we quantified herbaceous vegetation, leaf litter biomass, and the abundance of arthropods, pollinators and small mammals. Rhamnus cathartica removal was associated with a 10-fold increase in herbaceous plant cover and species richness, producing structurally complex understories and higher arthropod and pollinator abundance. However, managed plots also supported 3- to 5-fold higher densities of the invasive European fire ant (Myrmica rubra)—corresponding with increased leaf litter in managed plots. Ant abundance was positively associated with thicker, more persistent litter layers rather than canopy openness, and increasing M. rubra density, in turn, corresponded with reduced pollinator abundance. Detritivore and rodent responses were more closely linked to vegetation structure and litter conditions than to ant abundance.

This commentary is part of a series of responses to Michele Goodwin’s 2025 LSA presidential address.

Effective weed management is critical to the long-term productivity of organic grain cropping systems. The Cornell Organic Cropping Systems Experiment was initiated in 2005 at the Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora, NY, to compare four organic cropping systems that differed primarily in intensity of mechanical weed management and soil nutrient inputs. A 3-yr rotation of corn (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and spelt (Triticum spelta L.)/red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) was grown in all systems. The four systems were characterized by High Fertility (red clover green manure, composted poultry manure, and commercial organic fertilizer to reach recommended fertility levels), Low Fertility (no fertility inputs other than the red clover and starter fertilizer for corn), Enhanced Weed Management (fertility management as in Low Fertility with additional tillage and cultivation and a higher spelt seeding density), and Reduced Tillage (primarily ridge tillage with different green manure crops). The experiment included two crop rotation entry points, enabling two of the three crops in the rotation to be grown every year. Results from the first two rotation cycles show that, in most cases, weed abundance and diversity increased during the transition to organic production, especially in the Reduced Tillage system. Perennial weeds increased in corn and soybean in the Reduced Tillage system in the second rotation cycle, which contributed to its poor performance relative to the three other systems. Our results suggest that increased soil disturbance, including tillage and cultivation in corn and soybean, plays an important role in reducing weed populations, whereas high fertility levels may exacerbate weed problems. These findings underscore the importance of balancing weed and nutrient management in enabling sustainable organic grain crop production.

Understanding how political information is transmitted requires tools that can reliably and scalably capture complex signals in text. While existing studies highlight interest groups as strategic information providers, empirical analysis has been constrained by reliance on expert annotation. Using policy documents released by interest groups, this study shows that fine-tuned large language models (LLMs) outperform lightly trained workers, crowdworkers, and zero-shot LLMs in distinguishing two difficult-to-separate categories: informative signals that help improve political decision-making and associative signals that shape preferences but lack substantive relevance. We further demonstrate that the classifier generalizes out of distribution across two applications. Although the empirical setting is domain-specific, the approach offers a scalable method for expert-driven text coding applicable to other areas of political inquiry.

Recently, there have been several histories of the British Empire written through the lens of a single family. These works – which this review refers to as imperial family biographies – trace the activities, ideas, and/or connections of a group of individuals from the same family, usually spanning more than one generation, as they roved across the time and space of empire. They facilitate an understanding of a networked, informal British Empire, held together by personal bonds and material goods, and an imperial politics shaped by emotions, affections, and identities. Currently, imperial family biographies tend to prioritize asking what families can reveal about empire, rather than what empire can reveal about families; family networks are used as case studies, dictating the bounds of study and illustrating wider imperial themes. This review argues that this genre of history writing is most successful when families are interpreted as imperial agents that drove historical change, rather than merely conduits for individual action or means by which individuals were connected across empire. This can be achieved through a thorough engagement with the historiography on families and through centralizing concepts such as family identity, family culture, family structure, and family function.

This article examines the ethnic and gender quotas that have been applied to Burundi’s Constitutional Court since 2019. It shows that while gender quotas aim to make the court reflective or to remedy past injustices, ethnic quotas serve multiple roles: securing ethnic peace, de-escalating conflict or confirming power balances. Our analysis challenges scepticism about judicial quotas and independence, arguing that quotas do not inherently undermine legal merit, particularly when constitutional values are at stake. However, the position-sharing model poses risks to judicial independence, potentially diminishing court legitimacy. We highlight the complexities of combining ethnic and gender quotas, and we develop a typology of courts with such quotas, categorizing Burundi’s Constitutional Court as a blend of reflective, affirmative action, position-sharing and power-sharing. By examining Burundi’s experience, the article contributes to the debate on judicial quotas in segmented societies and the impact of identity-based representation on constitutional design, post-conflict governance and judicial independence.