Reducing methane emissions from livestock is crucial for agricultural sustainability, especially in the dairy sector, which emits high levels of methane. Seaweed-based supplements for livestock, like Asparagopsis taxiformis, offer promise in mitigating emissions from cattle without harming productivity, along with a range of other benefits. Little research to date has been conducted to understand how these supplements are being marketed and sold to dairy farms, and why they are marketed that way: this information can help ensure that these benefits will be realized. This study presents findings from a qualitative analysis of dairy feed suppliers in the Northeast United States, providing insights into their perspectives on seaweed supplements. It explores the differences between organic and conventional feed suppliers, including their perceived benefits and challenges of feeding seaweed. Feed suppliers stated that the benefits of feeding seaweed supplements include micromineral supplementation, reduced somatic cell count, reduced methane emissions, and decreased use of synthetic mineral supplements. Barriers to feeding seaweed include cost, the volume requirements of mills, supply inconsistencies, and a lack of investment from the conventional dairy industry. Feed suppliers also provided insights into what information they need about seaweed supplements to feel comfortable recommending them to their farmer customers, such as more scientific evidence and farmer recommendations. Understanding perceived benefits and barriers lays the foundation for further exploration of supply chain dynamics and stakeholder considerations in promoting sustainable livestock practices.

Zinc supplementation is a critical adjunct therapy for managing acute childhood diarrhoea, particularly in low-income countries (LICs) and lower middle-income countries (LMICs). However, adherence to the recommended zinc regimen remains a major challenge, limiting its effectiveness in real-world settings. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled adherence rates to zinc supplementation for diarrhoea in children under 5 and identify key determinants of adherence. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and CINAHL was conducted between 2000 and 2024. A total of 10 observational studies were included, with pooled adherence of 63.45% (95% CI: 51.62–75.28) for 10 days regimen and 34.58% (95% CI: 7.08–62.09) for 14 days regimen, along with high heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis confirmed robustness of these estimates. Key factors associated with adherence included caregiver education, provider counselling, medication acceptability, and economic constraints related to caregiver buying capacity. Doi plot asymmetry suggested possible publication bias for 10 and 14 days regimen. Overall, adherence to zinc therapy remains sub-optimal, particularly for 14 days regimen compared to 10 days regimen. Targeted interventions addressing behavioural, provider, and formulation related barriers are urgently needed to optimize zinc adherence and improve diarrhoea outcomes globally.

The youth mental health debate is often framed in alarming terms, yet evidence for a recent surge in mental disorder prevalence remains inconclusive. We argue that much of the apparent increase relies on self-report data, and thus may reflect heightened awareness of mental problems in youth themselves. Long-term epidemiological studies indicate relative stability or even decline until the COVID-19 pandemic, after which rates of anxiety and depression rose sharply. At the same time, indicators of youth development – including reduced school drop-out, unemployment, delinquency, and adversity – suggest more positive trajectories than the crisis narrative implies. We call for a shift beyond the disorder–distress dichotomy, recognizing the increased visibility and vocalization of emotional difficulties among adolescents as a positive sign, potentially reflecting adaptive coping rather than pathology. Such reframing will steer novel solutions that focus on promoting well-being and understanding what keeps youth healthy, rather than just treating illness.

We study sequential optimal stopping with partial reversibility. The optimal stopping problem is subject to implementation delay, which is random and exponentially distributed. Once the stopping decision is made, the decision maker can, by incurring a cost, call the decision off and restart the stopping problem. The optimization criterion is to maximize the expected present value of the total payoff. We characterize the value function in terms of a Bellman principle for a wide class of payoff functions and potentially multidimensional strong Markov dynamics. We also analyse the case of linear diffusion dynamics and characterize the value function and the optimal decision rule for a wide class of payoff functions.

For an integer $m>1$, we denote by $P(m)$ the largest prime divisor of m. We improve a result of Stewart [‘On the greatest and least prime factors of ${n!}+1$, II’, Publ. Math. Debrecen 65(3–4) (2004), 461–480] by showing that $\limsup _{n \rightarrow \infty } P({n!}+1)/n \geqslant 1+9\log 2$. More generally, for any nonzero polynomial $f(X)$ with integer coefficients, we show that $\limsup _{n \rightarrow \infty } P({n!}+f(n))/n \geqslant 1+9\log 2$. This improves a result of Luca and Shparlinski [‘Prime divisors of shifted factorials’, Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 37(6) (2005), 809–817]. These improvements stem from an additional combinatorial idea that builds upon the works mentioned above.

In this study, HFRS data were obtained from China CDC and ECDC, while monthly meteorological data and GDP were extracted from the National Bureau of Statistics of China website. Descriptive epidemiology, time series decomposition, and spatial autocorrelation analyses were employed to evaluate HFRS incidence patterns. A spatial panel data model was used to estimate the effects of meteorological and socio-economic variables on HFRS incidence. The average annual incidence rate of HFRS was 0.90/100000 in China, compared to 29.3/100000 in Finland. The incidence level in China was comparable to that in Belgium and the EU/EEA (excluding the UK), the high-incidence age group was 45–64 years, which was similar to Finland and the EU/EEA. HFRS in China exhibited marked seasonality. Three north-eastern provinces, Shaanxi, Shandong, and Jiangxi reported higher incidence rates. After adjusting for spatial individual effects and spatial autocorrelation, HFRS incidence was negatively associated with precipitation during the same period, per capita GDP showed no significant effect on HFRS incidence. Continued surveillance and prevention of HFRS remain necessary in China, particularly in Shaanxi. Additional disease prevention and control efforts should be directed towards individuals aged 45–64 years during the high-risk period from October to December.

We derive faithful inclusions of C*-algebras from a coend-type construction in unitary tensor categories. This gives rise to different potential notions of discreteness for an inclusion in the non-irreducible case and provides a unified framework that encloses the theory of compact quantum group actions. We also provide examples coming from semi-circular systems and from factorization homology. In the irreducible case, we establish conditions under which the C*-discrete and W*-discrete conditions are equivalent.

Nutritional status has been compromised by ongoing war and restrictions on food deliveries in the Gaza Strip. We developed a mathematical model that outputs retrospective estimates and scenario-based projections of acute malnutrition prevalence among children given caloric intake and other factors. We present here the model and its application to the crisis in Gaza. We extended an existing mechanistic model for weight change as a function of energy balance, calibrating it to represent variability in growth curves observed in pre-war Gaza. We simulated open cohorts of children exposed to time-varying caloric intake, infant exclusive breast-feeding prevalence, incidence of infectious disease and coverage of malnutrition treatment, while allowing for adult caloric sacrifice to supplement child intake in times of food scarcity. The model accurately replicates growth standards, pre-war growth patterns and expected parameter dependencies. It suggests that a considerable increase in acute malnutrition occurred in northern Gaza during early 2024. Projections for late 2024 include a serious nutritional emergency if relatively pessimistic assumptions are made about food availability. The model may hold considerable promise for informing decisions in humanitarian response but requires further validation and development.

Agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, and there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture for mitigation purposes. Modern industrial agriculture has been recognized as a significant source of agricultural GHG emissions, whereas the adoption of regenerative organic agriculture has been proposed as a solution with the potential to reduce GHG emissions from agricultural production. However, there is a lack of on-the-ground studies reporting on the climate impacts of organic agriculture. To remedy this, a carbon footprint (CF) analysis was conducted comparing regionally representative organic and conventional arable cropping systems at Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial in Pennsylvania, USA. Two separate modeling approaches were used to construct CFs for three agricultural systems (two organic and one conventional). The baseline CF analyses used an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier 3 model (COMET-Farm) and Tier 2 model (Cool Farm Tool) for comparison purposes. Secondary analyses were conducted on the effects of CO2 emissions from composting manure on CFs. Emission metrics were generally higher (+27%) using the Tier 3 model compared with the Tier 2 model. In the baseline analysis, absolute area-scaled emissions were highest in the conventional system, ranging from 1.25 to 1.72 tons CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1. In comparison, emissions in the organic manure-based system were 25%–37% lower (0.94–1.09 tons CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1), while the organic legume-based system had the lowest emissions, which were 52%–74% lower (0.33–0.83 tons CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1). Yield-scaled emissions of maize in the baseline analyses were highest in the conventional system (0.19–0.26 kg CO2-eq kg−1), followed by the organic manure (0.13–0.16 kg CO2-eq kg−1) and organic legume (0.07–0.17 kg CO2-eq kg−1). Yield-scaled emissions on a feed digestible energy basis were highest in the conventional system (0.014–0.020 kg CO2-eq MJ−1) but were similar between organic manure (0.009–0.010 kg CO2-eq MJ−1) and organic legume (0.006–0.015 kg CO2-eq MJ−1). Including estimates of CO2 emissions due to composting increased emissions for the manure-based organic system substantially (+103%–122%). Our results imply that regenerative organic farming can help mitigate climate change. Future research should focus on more accurately measuring emissions from compost production and other sources of organic fertility, conducting a full life-cycle assessment of these systems, and verifying the results using in-situ field measurements.

Yellow toadflax is an invasive perennial broadleaf weed that negatively affects forage production and wildlife habitat. Few herbicides effectively manage this weed. Glyphosate is a nonselective herbicide that can help manage yellow toadflax but is rarely used in pasture/rangeland because it may injure desirable vegetation. The effectiveness of wiper-applied glyphosate followed by (fb) applications of either chlorsulfuron or picloram was evaluated on yellow toadflax grown in a greenhouse. Glyphosate was applied with a wiper at 0% or 50% diluted concentrate. Chlorsulfuron (26 g ai ha−1) was applied alone or immediately after the wiper application of glyphosate. Picloram (560 g ae ha−1) was applied in a similar manner. At 3 mo after herbicide treatments, estimates of injury to yellow toadflax were greatest with glyphosate, glyphosate fb chlorsulfuron, and glyphosate fb picloram (77% to 86%) compared with chlorsulfuron or picloram applied alone (52% to 56%). The response of subsequently harvested biomass was not different after herbicide treatments. One month after treatment, flowering and regrowth of biomass and root biomass were quantified. Flowering, regrowth, and root biomass demonstrated the greatest (>50%) recovery with wiper-applied glyphosate and wiper-applied glyphosate fb broadcast-applied chlorsulfuron or picloram compared with <50% recovery with broadcast applications of chlorsulfuron or picloram. The results of the experiment suggest that wiper-applied glyphosate fb broadcast applications of chlorsulfuron or picloram can help manage yellow toadflax regrowth compared with single herbicide treatments.

Rural schools in China have long been in a state of underdevelopment. Studies have mainly addressed this issue from the perspective of rural–urban structural inequality, while neglecting the cultural processes that lead to inequality reproduction. Through the lens of cultural production, this study analyses qualitative data gathered in Gongshui county in central China, revealing how rural teachers and parents construct a negative perception of rural schools, evoked by devalued meanings associated with schools’ physical appearance, teaching staff characteristics and academic performance. Influenced by the discourse on rural inferiority, teachers and parents have cultivated a collective identity of becoming “less” rural and adopt strategies to disassociate themselves from rural education and community. Their cultural production of “bad” rural schools perpetuates and reinforces the underdevelopment of rural schools. This study draws attention to the cultural misconceptions surrounding rurality and the cultural processes by which educational inequalities are produced and reproduced in rural areas, both in China and globally.

Erionite is a naturally-occurring zeolite mineral series with a fibrous-asbestiform shape, that has been linked to malignant mesothelioma due to its high biopersistence and respirability. Despite its potential health risks, its occurrence, variability and environmental significance in New Zealand remain poorly understood. This study aims to better understand the occurrence of erionite by investigating its geological settings, crystal chemistry, and morphological variability. A total of 138 samples were initially screened for erionite occurrence, from which three localities were selected for detailed characterisation: Kaipara, Auckland, and Mount Somers, representing erionite-Na, erionite-Ca and erionite-K, respectively. A comprehensive stepwise analytical approach was employed, initially using PXRD and SEM-EDS for phase identification and morphological analysis. Where erionite was identified, further analysis was conducted using TEM-3DED, micro-Raman and EMPA. Results reveal that palaeoenvironmental conditions influence erionite’s crystal habits and composition, occurring as prismatic aggregates, acicular bundles and woolly asbestiform fibres. Many of the fibres met the World Health Organization (WHO) respirability criteria, highlighting potential health risks if airborne. Although bulk concentrations are relatively low, the presence of respirable fibres in both rural and urban settings raises concerns regarding potential environmental exposure during earthworks and construction. This study establishes the link between erionite’s geological setting and morphology. Providing essential data to inform environmental monitoring, land-use planning and risk mitigation in areas where erionite-bearing rocks may be disturbed.

Using new interpretations of oral traditions written in older documents, this article changes the origin of complex societies and larger kingdoms. Showing that the Kingdom of Kongo, presently believed to be the origin of large kingdoms actually achieved it status by conquering an existing kingdom, called Mpemba, the author reassigns both the date and origin point of kingdom level polities there. The author further points to new interpretations of documentary evidence to demonstrate that Mwene Muji and Kulembembe, located to the east and south of Kongo were also early large scale polities at a date as early as Kongo.