Masters athletes tend to have higher intakes of calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc when compared to Australian national population data from similar age groups(1). However, little is known about the diets of New Zealand Olympians as they get older. This study aimed to describe the micronutrient intakes of New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes over the age of 60 years and make comparisons with National Nutrition Survey data. Thirty-three individuals (mean age 76±8 years, n=27 male) who had represented New Zealand at an Olympic or Commonwealth Games participated in this study. Dietary intake was assessed using three 24-h diet recalls. The first recall was conducted face to face in the participant’s home and the second and third were completed over a voice or video call on non-consecutive days following this. All recalls were performed using a multiple-pass technique and entered into FoodWorks dietary analysis software (Version 9, Xyris Software Ltd., Brisbane, Australia). Mean intakes across the three recalls were used to represent the intake of each individual.This study was approved by the University of Otago Ethics Committee (Health; H23/054, April 2023).The mean intakes of iron (males 13.3±5.1 mg, females 9.9±1.9 mg) and zinc (males 10.7±4.0 mg, females 9.6±1.9 mg) in Olympians were similar to those reported in those over 70 y in the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey, but more than 60% of Olympians had intakes below the estimated average requirements for these nutrients. Intakes of calcium (males 1048±474 mg, females 810±139 mg) and selenium (males 66.7±49.1 µg, females 48.4±17.7 µg) were higher in Olympians when compared to the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey data, however 39% and 61% of Olympians still had intakes below the estimated average requirements, respectively. While this group of older New Zealand Olympians did have higher intakes of some nutrients than a representative sample of their peers, a marked number are still at risk of inadequate intakes and may benefit from a nutrition intervention to improve the overall quality and adequacy of their diet.

Reliable population estimates are one of the most elementary needs for the management of wildlife, particularly for introduced ungulates on oceanic islands. We aimed to produce accurate and precise density estimates of Philippine deer (Rusa marianna) and wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on Guam using motion-triggered cameras combined with distance sampling to estimate densities from observations of unmarked animals while accounting for imperfect detection. We used an automated digital data processing pipeline for species recognition and to estimate the distance to detected species. Our density estimates were slightly lower than published estimates, consistent with management to reduce populations. We estimated the number of camera traps needed to obtain a 0.1 coefficient of variation was substantial, requiring > ten-fold increase in camera traps, while estimates with precision of 0.2 or 0.3 were more achievable, requiring doubling to quadrupling the number of camera traps. We provide best practices for establishing and conducting distance sampling with camera trap surveys for density estimation based on lessons learned during this study. Future studies should consider distance sampling with camera traps to efficiently survey and monitor unmarked animals, particularly medium-sized ungulates, in tropical, oceanic island ecosystems.

Sustainable agricultural practices have become increasingly important due to growing environmental concerns and the urgent need to mitigate the climate crisis. Digital agriculture, through advanced data analysis frameworks, holds promise for promoting these practices. Pesticides are a common tool in agricultural pest control, which are key in ensuring food security but also significantly contribute to the climate crisis. To combat this, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) stands as a climate-smart alternative. We propose a causal and explainable framework for enhancing digital agriculture, using pest management and its sustainable alternative, IPM, as a key example to highlight the contributions of causality and explainability. Despite its potential, IPM faces low adoption rates due to farmers’ skepticism about its effectiveness. To address this challenge, we introduce an advanced data analysis framework tailored to enhance IPM adoption. Our framework provides (i) robust pest population predictions across diverse environments with invariant and causal learning, (ii) explainable pest presence predictions using transparent models, (iii) actionable advice through counterfactual explanations for in-season IPM interventions, (iv) field-specific treatment effect estimations, and (v) assessments of the effectiveness of our advice using causal inference. By incorporating these features, our study illustrates the potential of causality and explainability concepts to enhance digital agriculture regarding promoting climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices, focusing on the specific case of pest management. In this case, our framework aims to alleviate skepticism and encourage wider adoption of IPM practices among policymakers, agricultural consultants, and farmers.

Paleoindians buried Spirit Cave Man in a Nevada cave, and archaeologists excavated these remains in 1940. Radiocarbon testing in 1996 dated the burial and associated grave goods as older than 10,700 years. Living just 10 miles from Spirit Cave, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe filed a NAGPRA claim in 1997 requesting the repatriation of the Spirit Cave ancestor they call “The Storyteller.” This claim ignited a 20-year legal dispute that led the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe to make the gut-wrenching decision to permit DNA testing. This article documents a 10,000-year genetic continuity firmly linking Paleoindians at Spirit Cave to the Lovelock culture and that strongly suggests continuities to modern Paiutes living there today with no population replacement. We explore the associated radiocarbon record of these dynamics to understand the syncopated population movements that responded to shifting resource distributions. Resilience theory provides an operational way to understand this extraordinary continuity through key concepts, including tipping points, early warning signals, sunk-cost effects, and loss-of-resilience hypotheses. The Spirit Cave case also underscores the moribund concepts and assumptions underlying a century of Great Basin anthropological study that misread this long-term episode of Indigenous resilience and survivance.

Understanding the complex dynamics of climate patterns under different anthropogenic emissions scenarios is crucial for predicting future environmental conditions and formulating sustainable policies. Using Dynamic Mode Decomposition with control (DMDc), we analyze surface air temperature patterns from climate simulations to elucidate the effects of various climate-forcing agents. This improves upon previous DMD-based methods by including forcing information as a control variable. Our study identifies both common climate patterns, like the North Atlantic Oscillation and El Niño Southern Oscillation, and distinct impacts of aerosol and carbon emissions. We show that these emissions’ effects vary with climate scenarios, particularly under conditions of higher radiative forcing. Our findings confirm DMDc’s utility in climate analysis, highlighting its role in extracting modes of variability from surface air temperature while controlling for emissions contributions and exposing trends in these spatial patterns as forcing scenarios change.

Recent advancements in Earth system science have been marked by the exponential increase in the availability of diverse, multivariate datasets characterised by moderate to high spatio-temporal resolutions. Earth System Data Cubes (ESDCs) have emerged as one suitable solution for transforming this flood of data into a simple yet robust data structure. ESDCs achieve this by organising data into an analysis-ready format aligned with a spatio-temporal grid, facilitating user-friendly analysis and diminishing the need for extensive technical data processing knowledge. Despite these significant benefits, the completion of the entire ESDC life cycle remains a challenging task. Obstacles are not only of a technical nature but also relate to domain-specific problems in Earth system research. There exist barriers to realising the full potential of data collections in light of novel cloud-based technologies, particularly in curating data tailored for specific application domains. These include transforming data to conform to a spatio-temporal grid with minimum distortions and managing complexities such as spatio-temporal autocorrelation issues. Addressing these challenges is pivotal for the effective application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches. Furthermore, adhering to open science principles for data dissemination, reproducibility, visualisation, and reuse is crucial for fostering sustainable research. Overcoming these challenges offers a substantial opportunity to advance data-driven Earth system research, unlocking the full potential of an integrated, multidimensional view of Earth system processes. This is particularly true when such research is coupled with innovative research paradigms and technological progress.

Stew (born Mark Stewart) is a punk rocker and musical theater writer and performer. This profile combines new interviews of Stew with an analysis of his Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange, which was recently revived in the West End, to illuminate how his rock music-inspired persona influences his approach to creating musicals.

The UK Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) demonstrated that a weight loss strategy consisting of: (1) 12 weeks total diet replacement; (2) 4 to 6 weeks food reintroduction; and (3) a longer period of weight loss maintenance, is effective in reducing body weight, improving glycaemic control, and facilitating type 2 diabetes remission(1). The DiRECT protocol is now funded for type 2 diabetes management in the UK(2). Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem in Aotearoa New Zealand(3), but the acceptability and feasibility of the DiRECT intervention in our diverse sociocultural context remains unclear. We conducted a randomised controlled trial of DiRECT within a Māori primary healthcare provider in O¯tepoti Dunedin. Forty participants with diabetes and obesity who wanted to lose weight were randomised to receive the DiRECT intervention or usual care. Both groups received the same level of individualised support from an in-house dietitian. We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with 26 participants after 3 months. Questions explored perspectives and experiences, barriers and facilitators, and future expectations regarding dietary habits and weight loss. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis(4). Participants struggled with weight management prior to the study. Advice from doctors, friends and whānau, and the internet was prolific, yet often impractical or unclear. The DiRECT intervention was mentally and physically challenging, but rapid weight loss and an improved sense of health and wellbeing enhanced motivation. Participants identified strategies which supported adaptation and adherence. Food reintroduction beyond 3 months was an exciting milestone, but the risk of reverting to previous habits was daunting. Participants feared weight regain and felt ongoing guidance was required for a successful transition to a real-food diet. Conversely, usual care participants described a gradual and ongoing process of health-focused dietary modification. While this approach did support behaviour change, a perceived slow rate of weight loss was often frustrating. Across both interventions, self-motivation and whānau support contributed to perceived success, whereas busy lifestyles, social and cultural norms, and financial concerns presented additional challenges. The role of individualised and non-judgemental dietetic support was a central theme across both groups. In addition to nutrition education and practical guidance, the in-house dietitian offered encouragement and promoted self-acceptance among participants. At 3 months, positive shifts in perspectives surrounding food, health, and sense of self were identified, which participants largely attributed to the level of nutrition support received: a new experience for many. The DiRECT protocol appears an acceptable weight loss approach among New Zealanders with diabetes and obesity, but tailored dietetic and behavioural support must be prioritised in its implementation. Future research should examine the broader health benefits associated with providing greater dietetic support and the cost-effectiveness of employing nutrition-trained health professionals within the primary care workforce.

Methods to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes in Aotearoa New Zealand are desperately needed, with obesity one of the greatest predisposing factors for type 2 diabetes as well as heart disease, and certain cancers.1 A recent New Zealand report2 identified several interventions that might benefit people with established diabetes, the most promising being a period of rapid weight loss, followed by supported weight-loss maintenance. Such weight loss has shown to achieve what was previously thought impossible, diabetes remission,3 as well as appreciably reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and prevent diabetes-related chronic kidney disease, retinopathy, nephropathy, and lower limb amputation.2 While the findings from the studies of low energy total meal replacement diets have stimulated great interest, their use in Aotearoa New Zealand has not been considered. The purpose of this primary-care led intervention therefore was to consider the acceptability and efficacy of such a weight loss programme, DiRECT, in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Kāika DiRECT is a 12-month study conducted within a Māori primary healthcare provider in O¯tepoti Dunedin. The DiRECT protocol is three months of total meal replacement for rapid weight loss followed by food reintroduction and a longer period of supported weight loss maintenance. Participants were adults with prediabetes or T2 diabetes and obesity wanting to lose weight. Twenty participants (70% female, age 46 (SD 10), BMI 41 (9), HbA1c 51 (11)) were randomised to receive the DiRECT protocol, twenty more (70% female, age 50 (SD 8), BMI 40 (7), HbA1c 54 (14)) were randomised to receive best practice weight loss support (usual care). All participants had the same number of visits with the in-house Dietitian and free access to the onsite gym. Participants in the control group also received regular grocery vouchers to purchase the foods encouraged by healthy eating guidelines. Recruitment began in February, 2022. After the initial three month study period, DiRECT participants reported consuming 3.0MJ (95% CI 1.2 to 4.8MJ) less energy per day than those in usual care. Mean weight loss was 6kg (2.3-9.6kg) greater for DiRECT participants than usual care participants, while medication use and systolic blood pressure (12mmHg (0-24mmHg)) were lower. Continuous glucose monitoring identified that at baseline, participants on average only spent 10% of the day with a blood glucose reading under 8mmol/L (normoglycaemia). After three months, the usual care group spent on average 48% of the day within the normoglycaemic range, while DiRECT participants spent 78% of the day within the normoglycaemic range. Results at 12 months will enable comment on longer term markers of blood glucose control (HbA1c) and diabetes remission rates, as well as indicate if the body weight, medication, and blood pressure improvements observed at three months are sustained.

I argue that stories are ‘equipment for living’ in two senses: retrospectively, they provide ‘configurational comprehension’ of a temporal sequence of events; prospectively, they offer templates for action. Narrative conceptions of the self appear well poised to leverage these functional roles for stories into an intuitively compelling view of self-construction as self-construal. However, the narrative conception defines selves in terms of the lives they live: a self is the protagonist in a lifelong story. And narrative structure is itself defined by ‘retrospective necessity’: the meaning of events within a story is given by their contribution to that story's ending. Together, this entails that life stories hold selves metaphysically, epistemically, and practically hostage to their ends. Fortunately, narratives are just one species of interpretive frame. I suggest some alternative types of frames, including identity labels and metaphors, that support configurational comprehension, action guidance, and self construction without shackling selves to their lives’ ends.

Sheep and the sea! At first glance there would seem to be very little relation between the ovine species and the realm of Thetis. Certainly it would be gratifying to attempt to justify this somewhat Hemingway-like title by recalling the sheep of Panurge who were forced by their gregarious instincts to throw themselves into the sea, following their leader. I could also allude to the woolly-looking froth that the wind provokes on the crest of gentle Mediterranean waves. But of what value is such imagery? Instead I insist fully on the realism of the title. I really do intend to discuss sheep, young ones and not yet fully mature, and maritime travel. In short, I will show that the origin of the domestic sheep is closely linked to the question of early navigation in the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in its western basin.

Globally, forests are net carbon sinks that partly mitigates anthropogenic climate change. However, there is evidence of increasing weather-induced tree mortality, which needs to be better understood to improve forest management under future climate conditions. Disentangling drivers of tree mortality is challenging because of their interacting behavior over multiple temporal scales. In this study, we take a data-driven approach to the problem. We generate hourly temperate weather data using a stochastic weather generator to simulate 160,000 years of beech, pine, and spruce forest dynamics with a forest gap model. These data are used to train a generative deep learning model (a modified variational autoencoder) to learn representations of three-year-long monthly weather conditions (precipitation, temperature, and solar radiation) in an unsupervised way. We then associate these weather representations with years of high biomass loss in the forests and derive weather prototypes associated with such years. The identified prototype weather conditions are associated with 5–22% higher median biomass loss compared to the median of all samples, depending on the forest type and the prototype. When prototype weather conditions co-occur, these numbers increase to 10–25%. Our research illustrates how generative deep learning can discover compounding weather patterns associated with extreme impacts.

Familiar accounts of the intellectual origins of performance theory downplay the ideas inherited from Durkheimian and Marxian social theory by way of British social anthropology. Structural functionalism as taught by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and the Marx-inflected social anthropology of Max Gluckman are key but underappreciated junctures between classical social theory and performance theory. This lineage helps explain the ongoing tension in performance theory regarding the role embodied communicative action plays in maintaining or altering social order. It also casts new light on the use of the language of “action” and “event” to describe performance phenomena.

Many marine fish species are experiencing population declines, but their extinction risk profiles are largely understudied in comparison to their terrestrial vertebrate counterparts. Selective extinction of marine fish species may result in rapid alteration of the structure and function of ocean ecosystems. In this study, we compiled an ecological trait dataset for 8,185 species of marine ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii) from FishBase and used phylogenetic generalized linear models to examine which ecological traits are associated with increased extinction risk, based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List. We also assessed which threat types may be driving these species toward greater extinction risk and whether threatened species face a greater average number of threat types than non-threatened species. We found that larger body size and/or fishes with life histories involving movement between marine, brackish, and freshwater environments are associated with elevated extinction risk. Commercial harvesting threatens the greatest number of species, followed by pollution, development, and then climate change. We also found that threatened species, on average, face a significantly greater number of threat types than non-threatened species. These results can be used by resource managers to help address the heightened extinction risk patterns we found.