Crystal cells in echinoderms have been described in the literature as a type of coelomocyte (immune cell) containing a crystalline structure. Their putative function has been widely ascribed to osmoregulation but this assertion was never robustly tested. In the present paper, a review of crystal cells and crystalline structures provides evidence supporting a different identity and function. First, the same microcrystals can be found either free or encapsulated by a cell membrane (with or without a structure resembling a nucleus). Specifically, they are typically non-encapsulated when found inside tissues of internal organs and encapsulated when free floating in the hydrovascular or perivisceral fluids. Although usually individually packaged, microcrystals were also observed encapsulated in groups of up to four, with or without other particles. Their morphological features, coupled with their chemical and optical properties, match that of microcrystals of uric acid, described in other phyla, including chordates. Two pathways of excretion of these crystallised by-products were evidenced: rejected with sea water out of the respiratory tree and expelled via transrectal coelomoducts among coelomocyte aggregates. Overall, the present synthesis strongly supports that ‘crystal cells’ historically described as a distinct type of coelomocyte in holothuroids are phagocytes that have engulfed uric acid microcrystals generated as waste by metabolic activities.

Political representation is challenged by social acceleration, the rise of populism, and electoral volatility. Politicians’ need for prioritizing time and energy is acute and consequential for democracy. Voters’ preferences constitute one democratically relevant standard for guiding such priorities. However, current research mainly focuses on voters’ preferences for representatives’ personality traits or policy outcomes, which are hard for an individual politician to control. This study provides a conceptual framework for analyzing politicians’ task priority by separating functional legislative tasks from relational representative tasks, and employs this framework in surveys among Danish, German, UK, and US voters. Analyses of open-ended answers, time allocations, and conjoint experiments show that voters assign higher importance to functional tasks compared to relational tasks. The framework offers a new approach to studying political representation in practice, and the results provide guidance for how politicians should prioritize scarce resources for political representation in a high-speed, volatile political context.

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is a globally distributed, difficult to control weed that can cause severe crop yield losses if not properly managed. Clopyralid is a synthetic auxin herbicide widely used to control A. artemisiifolia and other Asteraceae weeds. In 2016, a highly clopyralid-resistant A. artemisiifolia population, which we call AMBEL-40, was reported on a Michigan Christmas tree farm. We investigated the inheritance and potential clopyralid resistance mechanisms in this population using greenhouse dose–response assays; test crosses with a susceptible line—AMBEL-39; and RNA-seq. The ED50 values for AMBEL-40 and AMBEL-39 were 2,110.8 and 74.5 g ha−1, respectively; therefore, the resistant/susceptible ratio is 28.3. Dose–response results with triclopyr, fluoxypyr, 2,4-D, or dicamba demonstrate no multiple or cross-resistance in AMBEL-40. AMBEL-40 and AMBEL-39 crossed F1 generations (M3F1, M3F2, and M1F1) showed increased resistance compared with AMBEL-39, with ED50 values of 1,379.2, 1,134.0, and 542.5 g ha−1. Chi-square tests of three sib-mated F1 to generate F2 generations rejected a single-gene 1:3 model and supported a two-gene 3:13 segregation, consistent with multigenic inheritance. We identified 23 Aux/IAA transcripts containing the degron (IAA protein subdomain) sequence in the published A. artemisiifolia genome; of these, three contained polymorphisms in our RNA-seq data, but none consistently co-segregated with resistance. Differential expression analysis identified 70 genes with 39 upregulated and 31 downregulated in AMBEL-40, including candidates in auxin/ethylene signaling, metabolism, cuticular wax biosynthesis, and stress modulation, supporting a non–target site resistance mechanism. Together, these results indicate that clopyralid resistance in A. artemisiifolia is recessive and multigenic, with potentially altered signaling, metabolism, and uptake as a mechanism of resistance rather than a single Aux/IAA degron mutation.

Melting alpine ice threatens (pre)historic archaeological sites. Current trends suggest loss of ice will continue. Here, we present recent fluctuations in yearly minimum extent from 2017 to 2024 for three central Norwegian ice patches: Storhornet, Elghøa and Lågtangan. We discuss how melting ice affects their archaeological potential and introduce the term ghost patch to describe archaeological ice patch sites no longer containing ice. Future archaeological fieldwork prioritization must account for ice patch to ghost patch transitions. We suggest updated archaeological approaches for a future with less and less ice.

A chemical explosion and fire erupted in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa on December 18, 2023, destroying Guinea’s main fuel depot and resulting in 25 dead and 459 injured. Fifteen of the deaths occurred directly at the explosion site. Firefighters initiated efforts to control the blaze and transported injured, non-ambulatory victims to local hospitals with assistance from the military, Red Cross, and mining companies. Thirteen clinical facilities within an eight-mile radius of the explosion received burn and non-burn victims, with only one of these, Donka National Hospital, capable of handling burn victims. Many less seriously injured victims self-selected where they sought care, although anecdotal information indicates that an unknown number of injured did not seek care or chose to leave the city. The disaster marked the first time stakeholders from various sectors in the Guinean society (from first responders to mining companies) came together in a concerted response. Ranked 179th of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), the disaster rapidly outstripped Guinea’s response and health care capabilities, leaving behind economic shocks affecting livelihoods and the local economy. These experiences underscore the need for improved capabilities and coordination in disaster planning, warning and communication systems, and prehospital and hospital response in developing countries.

Factor analysis models explain dependence among observed variables by a smaller number of unobserved factors. A main challenge in confirmatory factor analysis is determining whether the factor loading matrix is identifiable from the observed covariance matrix. The factor loading matrix captures the linear effects of the factors and, if unrestricted, can only be identified up to an orthogonal transformation of the factors. However, in many applications, the factor loadings exhibit an interesting sparsity pattern that may lead to identifiability up to column signs. We study this phenomenon by connecting sparse confirmatory factor analysis models to bipartite graphs and providing sufficient graphical conditions for identifiability of the factor loading matrix up to column signs. In contrast to previous work, our main contribution, the matching criterion, exploits sparsity by operating locally on the graph structure, thereby improving existing conditions. Our criterion is efficiently decidable in time that is polynomial in the size of the graph, when restricting the search steps to sets of bounded size.

This study presents the integrated results of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope and aDNA analyses, conducted to examine dietary and mobility practices in two mid- to late Byzantine communities in western Anatolia: the coastal cosmopolitan site of Kadıkalesi Anaia and the rural inland settlement of Barcın Höyük. Isotopic data from thirty-eight individuals indicate that both populations primarily consumed terrestrial C₃-based resources. At Kadıkalesi, δ15N values show greater variability, suggesting more differentiated access to animal protein sources, whereas the rural community at Barcın Höyük exhibits isotopic homogeneity, consistent with more uniform dietary practices and an equitable access to food. Kadıkalesi also shows intra-site dietary variation by age and sex, while Barcın is again more homogeneous. At Barcın, aDNA results indicate a predominant local genetic continuity, suggesting a stable population; a single instance of external ancestry is attested by a male individual with affinities to western populations, particularly from eastern Europe, in line with historical military resettlement patterns (stratiotika ktemata). By integrating isotopic and genomic evidence, this study demonstrates how ancestry and mobility shaped dietary habits, offering insights into the interplay of urbanism, mobility, and social organization in the Byzantine period.

The Supreme Court is less constrained than political science has recognized. Motivated justices can dramatically alter politics without deferring to actors in the other branches. Subverting constraints, justices can aggrandize power and impose their irreducible preferences. Using Reconstruction as an example, this article brings new evidence to support the claim that an autonomous Court precipitated the end of Reconstruction. I make three essential arguments: First, the Republican commitment to federal civil rights protection extended longer than is traditionally supposed. Second, the architect of postbellum constitutionalism, Justice Bradley, harbored long-standing fear of Black equality and enfeebled the Reconstruction amendments when neither legal nor political imperatives compelled him to do so. Last, Bradley’s interventions substantially hindered Reconstruction by facilitating the “redemption” of southern state governments. This article employs mixed-methodology, using a difference-in-differences analysis and novel archival data. Contrary to scholarship arguing that the Court simply followed a Republican retreat, the Court dramatically reshaped the political-social development of Reconstruction.

In this retrospective cohort, chronic kidney disease stage III-V (P = .005), history of previous urinary tract infection within 3 months (P < .05), Revised Cardiac Risk Index for preoperative risk ≥2 (P = .002), and percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedure (P < .05) were associated with risks of infections after urological procedures among patients with negative urine culture screening.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in newborn animals is linked to impaired intestinal health, yet the characteristics of their gut microbiota and circulating exosomal miRNAs remain incompletely understood. This study compared the cecal microbiota composition and serum exosomal miRNA profiles to characterize differences between IUGR and normal birth weight (NBW) piglets. Compared to NBW piglets, IUGR piglets displayed significant reductions in body and organ weights (heart, liver, kidney) as well as shorter jejunal and ileal lengths (p < 0.05). Microbial diversity, reflected by the Chao1 and Shannon index, was significantly reduced in IUGR piglets (p < 0.001). Taxonomic analysis revealed decreased abundances of Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, and Fusobacterium (p < 0.05), alongside increased abundances of potential pathogenic taxa, including Proteobacteria, Escherichia-Shigella, and Sutterella (p < 0.05). Moreover, three serum exosomal miRNAs (ssc-miR-16, ssc-miR-19b, and ssc-let-7c) emerged from the analysis as potential key regulators of IUGR. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that ssc-miR-16 and ssc-miR-19b were significantly increased in IUGR piglets, mainly targeting genes involved in cellular signaling, metabolism, and immune regulation, including the mTOR and infection-related pathways. In contrast, ssc-let-7c was significantly downregulated and linked to metabolic processes such as protein digestion and absorption. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that IUGR disrupts intestinal barrier development and microbial homeostasis, while identifying three serum exosomal miRNAs as potential biomarkers and mechanistic contributors to the pathological processes underlying IUGR.

Le 8 juin 2023, le Canada et les Pays-Bas ont saisi la Cour internationale de justice (CIJ) pour des violations de la 1984 Convention contre la torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants attribuées à l’État syrien. À cette situation étatique, souvent décrite comme une zone où le droit et la justice n’avaient pas leur place, se superposent ainsi de premiers efforts pour que l’État rende des comptes. Au-delà de la possibilité dont dispose la Cour internationale de Justice (CIJ), en tant que visage institutionnel de la responsabilité étatique, de réduire ici le “fossé d’impunité,” cette affaire met également en lumière la tension existante entre deux visions opposées du droit international (“universaliste” et “souverainiste”) qui sont appelées à coexister dans le cadre de la lutte contre l’impunité. Bien que cette affaire, s’inscrivant dans une lignée jurisprudentielle favorable à l’élargissement de la fonction judiciaire de la CIJ, confirme la proximité avec le modèle “universaliste” eu égard à l’extension du locus standi devant son prétoire et à l’évolution de son mandat pour embrasser les contextes gouvernés par des violations massives des droits de la personne, il ne faudrait pas en déduire que le paradigme “souverainiste” a été effacé et remplacé.

Glaciers that terminate in the ocean or lakes exhibit unique dynamics that can drive rapid change. These dynamics, governed by many complex and interacting processes, challenge calibration and validation of physics-based models. We take a data-driven approach to quantify the imprint of glacier–ocean interactions on global non-ice sheet glacier ice volumes. Using curated datasets, we build a hierarchy of models that capture the influence of ice shelves and grounded marine termini. We find that tidewater and lake-terminating glaciers are systematically thicker than glaciers ending on land. Summed globally, this effect accounts for about 20% of non–ice-sheet glacier volume. Thicker ice is observed both for glaciers with ice shelves, where buttressing supports upstream ice, and for water-terminating glaciers without shelves. We interpret this result in terms of a simple mechanical model whereby water pressure permits thicker termini than possible in air, consistent with theoretical limits on ice cliff height. Our results highlight how ice–ocean interactions shape the equilibrium geometry of glaciers, offering a large-scale complement to process-based studies of calving and frontal melt. While most global glacier models omit these interactions, our analysis motivates their inclusion in forecasts of glacier change and sea level rise.