Armenia is notable for its wild pear diversity, which includes a large number of globally threatened endemic species. Despite progress in recent studies there still remains, however, a lack of data on the distribution and population sizes of some species, and any threats to them. This information is necessary to assess their conservation status and for the planning and implementation of conservation actions. I present the results of fieldwork in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia on the globally threatened endemic pear species Pyrus daralagezi Mulk., Pyrus hajastana Mulk. and Pyrus gergerana Gladkova. I report new data on distribution, threats and species biology. I inventoried individual trees, discovering five new individuals of P. daralagezi in Herher sanctuary, rediscovering a population of P. hajastana in its locus classicus 52 years after the first record, and finding a new locality for P. gergerana around the village of Artavan. I make recommendations for the further study and conservation of these threatened pear species.

Recent international jurisprudence reveals a tendency to constrain the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (NM) in two principal respects. First, in relation to entitlement, courts have progressively limited the role of natural prolongation, treating it as subordinate to, or loosely applying it alongside, the distance criterion. This interpretation narrows the conditions under which a State may establish rights beyond 200 NM, thereby constraining the substantive scope of entitlement envisaged by Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the practice of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Second, regarding delimitation, judicial bodies have relied on the notion of a single continental shelf to extend the same equitable boundary line used within 200 NM seaward, effectively subordinating the outer shelf to the inner shelf. These developments restrict both the legal and spatial reach of outer continental shelf claims, reshaping the interpretation of the continental shelf beyond 200 NM in ways that appear increasingly difficult to reconcile with the natural prolongation-based framework established under Article 76 UNCLOS.

One of the goals of this paper is to define the most important concepts for the comparative study of the constitutional risk management of the V4 countries. For this purpose, first, it considers the theoretical difficulties of conceptualising emergencies, especially focussing on what kind of response can be given to the widespread view that considers emergencies as a kind of legal “black hole” due to their unpredictability. Then a general definition of “emergency” is discussed which is broad and flexible enough to serve as a basis not only for a comparative study but also for the constitutional discourse of emergencies. Constitutional crisis management as a core concept for such an undertaking is also canvassed. After defining the basic concepts essential for evaluation and comparison, the article outlines the general types of emergency regulatory regimes. The development of effective regulatory systems for emergencies also has to face certain problems that every constitutional polity must solve. Finally, the paper summarises assessment criteria necessary for the evaluation and a comparison of the emergency constitutions of different countries.

The discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin (DPG) method is a Petrov–Galerkin finite element method with test functions designed for obtaining stability. These test functions are computable locally, element by element, and are motivated by optimal test functions which attain the supremum in an inf-sup condition. A profound consequence of the use of nearly optimal test functions is that the DPG method can inherit the stability of the (undiscretized) variational formulation, be it coercive or not. This paper combines a presentation of the fundamentals of the DPG ideas with a review of the ongoing research on theory and applications of the DPG methodology. The scope of the presented theory is restricted to linear problems on Hilbert spaces, but pointers to extensions are provided. Multiple viewpoints to the basic theory are provided. They show that the DPG method is equivalent to a method which minimizes a residual in a dual norm, as well as to a mixed method where one solution component is an approximate error representation function. Being a residual minimization method, the DPG method yields Hermitian positive definite stiffness matrix systems even for non-self-adjoint boundary value problems. Having a built-in error representation, the method has the out-of-the-box feature that it can immediately be used in automatic adaptive algorithms. Contrary to standard Galerkin methods, which are uninformed about test and trial norms, the DPG method must be equipped with a concrete test norm which enters the computations. Of particular interest are variational formulations in which one can tailor the norm to obtain robust stability. Key techniques to rigorously prove convergence of DPG schemes, including construction of Fortin operators, which in the DPG case can be done element by element, are discussed in detail. Pointers to open frontiers are presented.

Scholars almost universally identify “the great multitude that no one could count from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9) as a multi-ethnic gathering of the nations. However, this language could also describe a regathered twelve tribes of Israel taken out from the places where they had been scattered among the nations. Such a referent is plausible because of the widespread belief in the continued existence of the twelve tribes and the persistent hope of their regathering. It can also better account for the vision’s pervasive echoes of the repatriation theme from Israel’s ancestral writings (7:9–17) and the preceding vision’s enumeration of the 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel (7:4–8)—widely understood to be the same group as the innumerable multitude. If this referent is correct, it suggests that the New Jerusalem (21:1–22:5) is also populated by a restored Israel.

This forum engages an emerging discourse around historical reckoning, truth, and reconciliation, asking how these frameworks inform American archaeology and its future. A growing number of archaeologists are now demanding systemic disciplinary transformations that directly address how white supremacy and settler colonialism enact Indigenous dispossession and erasure as well as anti-Blackness, gender discrimination, and ableism. This forum, featuring 10 archaeologists—including a mixture of junior- and senior-level scholars—is organized into thematic dialogues that highlight their different perspectives and experiences within North American cultural heritage management. First, the dialogue interrogates American archaeology’s embeddedness in ethnocentrism and racism. It then looks at different forms of collaboration that actualize anti-colonial critiques and corrections. Next, it compares collaborative methods with broader calls for “un-disciplining” through incorporating non-Western expertise, sensibilities, needs, and interests. In response to systemic forms of racism, colonialism, and neoliberalism within archaeology, the authors discuss how individuals and institutions can work for and with Indigenous and descendant communities to achieve “reclamation,” defined as the assertion of community control over their significant places, ancestors, belongings, and historical narratives. The article concludes with a consideration of how archaeology can be used by communities to ensure their collective futures.

Biological invasions can impact the dynamics of ecological processes. For primates of the genus Callithrix, congeneric introductions and hybridization are one of the greatest threats to native species. Three species of Callithrix have been recorded in Rio Doce State Park in south-east Brazil: the Endangered native buffy-tufted-ear marmoset Callithrix aurita and two introduced marmosets, the Geoffroy’s tufted-ear marmoset Callithrix geoffroyi and the black-pencilled marmoset Callithrix penicillata, but their relative abundance was unknown. We used the call playback method and adapted N-mixture models to estimate the abundance and of these marmosets in relation to canopy cover, tree circumference, tree density, number of lianas and epiphytes per tree, distances to nearest forest edge, road, tourist area and urban area, and detection probability in relation to survey effort, mean daily precipitation and temperature. We recorded 139 individuals (0.12 individuals/ha), all hybrids except for one C. aurita. Marmoset abundance was higher close to the forest edge, possibly as a result of the greater availability of food and shelter there. Detection probability was positively correlated with daily precipitation, most probably because marmosets foraged more actively when humidity was high. The situation in Rio Doce State Park is critical, with high hybridization levels and potential local extinction of C. aurita. We recommend that a management plan to conserve the remaining C. aurita is implemented urgently.

The transition in welfare states from compensatory to service-oriented models also implies a shift of the locus of action from the state to local administrations. Cities in particular seek space within national bounds to devise their own policy solutions targeted to city-specific needs as a more responsive government layer, with the prospect of providing more targeted service provision on the basis of locality and proximity principles. Whether such social innovation potential is met depends on scope conditions, such as the learning environment, the design of the decentralisation and the capacity of cities to scale up smaller projects. In this paper, we trace the policy process around local social investment innovations in Amsterdam across three domains: addressing teacher shortages, combatting energy poverty and integrating the long-term unemployed into the labour market. In each of the domains, Amsterdam emerged as a frontrunner and innovator, instigating broader change. The city is at the frontier of societal change and acts as ‘a stopgap’, filling gaps left by national policy default. Overall, the case of Amsterdam shows the importance in adopting a multi-level perspective in studying new dynamics in welfare state transitions.

We report the rediscovery of two endemic tree species of the genus Myrcia (Myrtaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in 2021–2022. Both Myrcia colpodes and Myrcia rubiginosa were previously known from a small number of specimens collected mostly in the 19th century in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. Living specimens had not been recorded since 1958 and 2005, respectively. We provide here photographic documentation and updated risk assessments for both species, which will be submitted to IUCN for a formal assessment. Our findings illustrate that rare species that have not been collected for long periods can sometimes be found in plain sight in urban forest fragments. We also highlight the importance of protected areas for the conservation of forest trees, in particular rediscovered species. We recommend a number of conservation actions and encourage the Brazilian government, scientific institutions and civil society to acknowledge the importance of these species and to act to safeguard their future.

A Pell–Abel equation is a functional equation of the form $P^{2}-DQ^{2} = 1$, with a given polynomial $D$ free of squares and unknown polynomials $P$ and $Q$. We show that the space of Pell–Abel equations with the degrees of $D$ and of the primitive solution $P$ fixed is a complex manifold. We describe its connected components by an efficiently computable invariant. Moreover, we give various applications of this result, including to torsion pairs on hyperelliptic curves and to Hurwitz spaces, and a description of the connected components of the space of primitive $k$-differentials with a unique zero on genus $2$ Riemann surfaces.

Guaman Poma does not need to be presented as a superhero to highlight his place in history as the author of a codex containing a protest, a proposal, and a history of the Andes. Indeed, the case of Guaman Poma must be understood in its historical context, as it has been studied since its publication in Paris almost a century ago, in 1936. Thanks to rigorous studies by scholars from many countries, we are increasingly learning more about the author and his work, concluding that this is a completely plausible case—a product of the circumstances in which he lived, was formed, and developed over several decades during the consolidation of the colonial regime in the Andes.

The tiger Panthera tigris is an apex predator categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The availability of sufficient prey is a key requirement for its survival. The tiger diet landscape refers to a dynamic ecological picture of the diverse prey species consumed by tigers in a specific region, reflecting the complex relationships between tiger populations and their prey. It can provide information on the tiger’s preferred prey as well as the conservation status of prey species across boundaries. To draw up a road map for the conservation and management of tigers across the Indian subcontinent, where the Bengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris occurs, we identified which prey species make up the majority of the tiger’s diet and answered questions relating to prey density, distribution and conservation status. We reviewed 48 studies published over 30 years (1992–2022) on tiger diet and prey availability. We recorded c. 30 mammalian prey species, with chital Axis axis, sambar Rusa unicolor, wild boar Sus scrofa, Tarai gray langur Semnopithecus hector, northern red muntjac Muntiacus vaginalis and domestic livestock contributing c. 90% of the total relative biomass consumed. Nearly half of the prey species are of conservation concern (categorized as Near-Threatened, Vulnerable or Endangered on the IUCN Red List), and 11 prey species are listed on CITES Appendix I. As part of a sustainable tiger conservation road map, we suggest that the tiger’s major prey species should be incorporated into government protection schemes.

Exploring the minimum wage policy discontinuities at county borders, we find that minimum wage hikes induce industrial firms to pollute more and reduce their abatement efforts. State ownership mitigates these negative effects, suggesting its role in addressing externality. The adverse environmental impacts are attenuated by the staggered increase in pollution discharge fees across provinces. These effects are stronger for firms with higher minimum wage sensitivity, lower market power, and greater financial constraints, and for firms that are the subsidiaries of nonlisted companies. Overall, our findings highlight the unintended environmental consequences of labor market policies.