International human rights law (IHRL) provides extensive protections for the living, but little in the way of direct protections for the dead. International humanitarian law (IHL) has more detailed protections for the dead, but is only triggered during armed conflicts. At first glance, this seems to create a protection gap for the dead during peacetime. This article explores how the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) creates a connection between IHL, IHRL and transitional justice to fill in this perceived gap in protections for the dead. While the CRPD does not explicitly address the dead, IHL contains several specific rules to guide how dead bodies are to be handled. When read together with the CRPD framework, these rules provide ample guidance on the treatment of individuals with disabilities after death. Some IHL protections of the dead extend temporally beyond the conflict, when transitional justice mechanisms should be in play, although neither the CRPD nor IHL address with any specificity how the five pillars of transitional justice – truth, justice, reparation, memorialization and guarantees of non-recurrence – might apply in relation to IHL rules regarding dead bodies. Nonetheless, Article 11 of the CRPD forges a bidirectional link to IHL protections and obligations supporting transitional justice. Accordingly, there is a legal framework for examining the interrelationships between rules in the CRPD, IHL and human rights law writ large, and for how we think about dead bodies under the various regimes of international law. Each ought to inform the others if the implications of CRPD Article 11 are to be fully realized and the siloing and fragmentation of international law avoided.

The Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) employs unique features of the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) to monitor dozens of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) millisecond pulsars (MSPs), simultaneously in the 300–500 MHz and the 1260–1460 MHz bands. This dual-band approach ensures that any frequency-dependent delays are accurately characterised, significantly improving the timing precision for pulsar observations, which is crucial for pulsar timing arrays. We present details of InPTA’s second data release that involves 7 yr of data on 27 IPTA MSPs. This includes sub-banded times of arrival (ToAs), dispersion measures (DM), and initial timing ephemerides for our MSPs. A part of this dataset, originally released in InPTA’s first data release, is being incorporated into IPTA’s third data release, which is expected to detect and characterise nanohertz gravitational waves (GWs) in the coming years. The entire dataset is reprocessed in this second data release providing some of the highest precision DM estimates so far and interesting solar wind-related DM variations in some pulsars. This is likely to characterise the noise introduced by the dynamic inter-stellar ionised medium much better than the previous release thereby increasing sensitivity to any future GW search.

The current study characterized voice onset time (VOT) and vowel onset fundamental frequency (F0) in the production of three Vietnamese alveolar stops (i.e. /t̪ʰ/, /t/, and /d/) by monolingual Vietnamese children and adults. Eighty Vietnamese children aged 3–7 years and 16 adults aged 22–44 years participated in this study. Unlike speakers of other languages with a three-way voicing contrast, Vietnamese children were able to produce distinct categories for the three Vietnamese stop categories by 3 years of age. However, differences in vowel onset F0 among the three voicing categories were not significant in any age group. These findings enhance our understanding of how Vietnamese children acquire three-way voicing contrast in stop production and offer broader insights into stop consonant acquisition across languages.

In March 1645, a large number of Potiguara people from various regions of north-eastern Brazil gathered in the aldeamento (Indigenous settlements under colonial control or supervision) of Tapesserica on Itamaracá. The primary objectives of the assembly included the establishment of Indigenous câmaras (municipal councils) and deliberations on the law of native freedom. Notably, in this period, some Indigenous people in Brazil were still held as slaves in territories under Dutch jurisdiction. The Tapesserica Assembly produced a remonstrance (‘remonstrantie’), which was delivered to the Dutch government in Recife by the Potiguara. This article scrutinises the Potiguara Assembly, the earliest recorded Indigenous assembly in Brazil, and reconstructs its connections to Indigenous political culture predating the European arrival in Brazil. It explores the Indigenous perspective on the Dutch–Portuguese wars and demonstrates the role of the Potiguara as historical agents, navigating the complexities of conflict and decision-making processes that ultimately shaped their destiny.

A new species of Loimos MacCallum, 1917 is described more than half a century after the last species was described in 1972. The new species was collected from the gills of Rhizoprionodon taylori (Ogilby, 1915) off the Central Queensland coast, Australia, and is the first Loimos species and the first representative of the Loimoinae Price, 1936 known from Oceania. A detailed morphological description and 28S rDNA molecular sequences are provided for the new species. In the molecular phylogeny based on available 28S rDNA sequences for relevant Monocotylidae, the new species grouped together with the only other Loimos sequence available in GenBank, that of the nonugen Loimos sp. from China (OM060238), sister to Loimosina wilsoni Manter, 1944. The estimated genetic divergence between the new species and the nonugen Loimos sp. sequence is low, between 0.0452 and 0.0737, suggesting that the nonugen sequence may represent the new species, or a very closely related congener. Host identity was confirmed by comparing COI sequences with those of known sharks in GenBank. We also provide the first 12S and 16S molecular sequences for this shark species.

In this article, I argue for a “multifunctional account” of political feasibility and against recent attempts by several theorists to defend accounts of political feasibility that reduce feasibility judgments to a single function. According to the view I defend, political feasibility can (and should) serve multiple useful functions in our political deliberative practices. This pluralist and context-dependent approach allows us to retain the insights provided by various monofunctional accounts, while avoiding the limitations of each.

We investigate the evolution of active galactic nucleus jets on kiloparsec-scales due to their interaction with the clumpy interstellar medium (ISM) of the host galaxy and, subsequently, the surrounding circumgalactic environment. Hydrodynamic simulations of this jet–environment interaction are presented for a range of jet kinetic powers, peak densities of the multiphase ISM, and scale radii of the larger-scale environment – characteristic of either a galaxy cluster or poor group. Synthetic radio images are generated by considering the combination of synchrotron radiation from the jet plasma and free-free absorption from the multiphase ISM. We find that jet propagation is slowed by interactions with a few very dense clouds in the host galaxy ISM, producing asymmetries in lobe length and brightness which persist to scales of tens of kpc for poor group environments. The classification of kiloparsec-scale jets is highly dependent on surface brightness sensitivity and resolution. Our simulations of young active sources can appear as restarted sources, showing double-double lobe morphology, high core prominence (CP $\gt 0.1$), and the expected radio spectra for both the inner- and outer-lobe components. We qualitatively reproduce the observed inverse correlation between peak frequency and source size and find that the peak frequency of the integrated radio spectrum depends on ISM density but not the jet power. Spectral turnover in resolved young radio sources therefore provides a new probe of the ISM.

Cattle (Bos spp.) grazing on weed–mixed forage biomass may potentially spread weed seeds, leading to plant invasions across pasturelands. Understanding the possibility and intensity of this spread is crucial for developing effective weed control methods in grazed areas. This research undertook an in vitro experiment to evaluate the germination and survival of five dominant weed species in the southern United States [Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson), yellow foxtail [Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. & Schult.], johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.], field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L.) and pitted morningglory (Ipomoea lacunosa L.)] upon incubation in rumen fluid for eight time periods (0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h). For the 96-h treatment, a full Tilley and Terry procedure was applied after 48 h for stopping fermentation, followed by incubation for another 48 h simulating abomasum digestion. Seed germination, upon incubation, varied significantly among weed species, with I. lacunosa reaching zero germination after only 24 h of incubation, whereas A. palmeri and S. halepense retained up to 3% germination even after 96 h of incubation. The hard seed coats of A. palmeri and S. halepense likely made them highly resistant, whereas the I. lacunosa seed coat became easily permeable and ruptured under rumen fluid incubation. This suggests that cattle grazing can selectively affect seed distribution and invasiveness of weeds in grazed grasslands and rangelands, including the designated invasive and noxious weed species. As grazing is a significant component in animal husbandry, a major economic sector in the U.S. South, our research provides important insights into the potential role of grazing as a dispersal mechanism for some of the troublesome arable weeds in the United States. The results offer opportunities for devising customized feeding and grazing practices combined with timely removal of weeds in grazeable lands at the pre-flowering stage for effective containment of weeds.

We present the first radio–continuum detection of the circumstellar shell around the well-known WN8 type Wolf-Rayet star WR16 at 943.5 MHz using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey. At this frequency, the shell has a measured flux density of 72.2$\pm$7.2 mJy. Using previous Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) measurements at 2.4, 4.8, and 8.64 GHz, as well as the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) observations of the star itself, we determine a spectral index of $\alpha\,=\,+0.74\pm0.02$, indicating thermal emission. We propose that the shell and star both exhibit thermal emission, supported by the its appearance in near-infrared and H$\alpha$ observations. The latest Gaia parallax is used to determine a distance of 2.28$\pm$0.09 kpc. This star is well known for its surrounding circular nebulosity, and using the distance and an angular diameter of $8.^{\prime}42$, we determine the shell size to be 5.57$\pm$0.22 pc. We use the Gaia proper motion (PM) of WR16 to determine peculiar velocities of the star as $V_{\alpha}(pec) =$ –45.3$\pm$5.4 km s$^{-1}$ and $V_{\delta}(pec) =$ 22.8$\pm$4.7 km s$^{-1}$, which indicates that the star is moving in a north-west direction, and translates to a peculiar tangential velocity to be 50.7$\pm$6.9 km s$^{-1}$. We also use these proper motion (PM) to determine the shell’s origin, estimate an age of $\sim 9500\pm 1300$ yr, and determine its average expansion velocity to be $280\pm40$ km s$^{-1}$. This average expansion velocity suggests that the previous transitional phase is a Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) phase, rather than a Red Super Giant (RSG) phase. We also use the measured flux at 943.5 MHz to determine a mass-loss rate of $1.753\times 10^{-5}\,{\rm M}_\odot\,$yr$^{-1}$, and use this to determine a lower-limit on ionising photons of $N_{UV} \gt 1.406\times 10^{47}\,\textit{s}^{-1}$.

In Iceland, sheltered rocky intertidal zones like Breiðafjörður bay are dominated by monospecific stands of Ascophyllum nodosum, providing key habitats for marine organisms. Increasing demand for A. nodosum has led to its commercial exploitation, yet impacts on fish assemblages remain poorly known. Using a novel multi-mesh netting approach, we characterised seasonal patterns in fish composition, abundance, size structure, age, and diet. Additionally, to assess the local effects of seaweed harvesting, commercial harvesting was conducted, with comparisons being made between treatment and control unharvested areas during different seasons. Nine fish species were identified, with Pollachius virens, Myoxocephalus scorpius, and Gadus morhua being the most common. Fish abundance peaked in summer, and declined the following spring, suggesting cohort turnover with juvenile gadoids relying on these habitats as nurseries. P. virens showed increased length through seasons, whereas no trends in length or abundance were observed for M. scorpius. Effects of seaweed harvesting were minimal, although fish diversity was slightly higher and G. morhua significantly larger in control plots. Stomach contents exhibited a greater diversity of prey types in harvested sites, suggesting potential impacts on trophic dynamics. These findings underscore the importance of A. nodosum-dominated habitats as nursery grounds for commercially valuable gadoids and highlight the need for a precautionary approach to seaweed harvesting to maintain ecosystem health.

Arcaded houses forming porticoes are characteristic of many medieval European towns in Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Czechia, Poland, Silesia and Ukraine. They are a unique feature at the border between public and private space, used for commerce, crafts and communication. Taking the arcaded houses of Silesia as a case-study, this article focuses on the legal and urban contexts in which they were constructed and removed. Comparison with the broader European context suggests that the form and appearance of arcaded houses in Silesia follow similar patterns and chronology to those that have been observed in much better-studied regions.

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on labour governance and legal struggles faced by overseas Chinese workers. Drawing on migration studies and legal research, it explores the intersections of state, labour and law in the context of transnational mobility and dispute resolution. Through critical analysis of policy directives and court rulings, the paper highlights the Chinese government’s dual challenge in the wake of the pandemic: maintaining the continuity of overseas business operations to safeguard corporate profitability and China’s international image, while also protecting workers’ rights to uphold social stability. The findings reveal that overseas workers were at times overlooked in central government policy guidelines, despite facing unique legal, spatial and logistical challenges owing to the transnational and trans-jurisdictional nature of their employment. This lack of tailored policy attention has resulted in inconsistencies and disparities in how domestic courts adjudicate their legal claims. Gaps in overseas labour governance during times of crisis underscore the need for clearer legal stipulations and more inclusive judicial protections to address the complexities of transnational labour disputes under “Global China.”

Magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma process, is pivotal in understanding energy conversion and particle acceleration in astrophysical systems. While extensively studied in two-dimensional (2-D) configurations, the dynamics of reconnection in three-dimensional (3-D) systems remains under-explored. In this work, we extend the classical tearing mode instability to three dimensions by introducing a modulation along the otherwise uniform direction in a 2-D equilibrium, given by $g(y)$, mimicking a flux-tube-like configuration. We perform linear stability analysis (both analytically and numerically) and direct numerical simulations to investigate the effects of three-dimensionality. Remarkably, we find that a tearing-like instability arises in three dimensions as well, even without the presence of guide fields. Further, our findings reveal that the 3-D tearing instability exhibits reduced growth rates compared with two dimensions by a factor of $\int g(y)^{1/2} {\rm d}y\,/\int {\rm d}y$, with the dispersion relation maintaining similar scaling characteristics. We show that the modulation introduces spatially varying resistive layer properties, which influence the reconnection dynamics.