Next-generation X-ray satellite telescopes such as XRISM, NewAthena and Lynx will enable observations of exotic astrophysical sources at unprecedented spectral and spatial resolution. Proper interpretation of these data demands that the accuracy of the models is at least within the uncertainty of the observations. One set of quantities that might not currently meet this requirement is transition energies of various astrophysically relevant ions. Current databases are populated with many untested theoretical calculations. Accurate laboratory benchmarks are required to better understand the coming data. We obtained laboratory spectra of X-ray lines from a silicon plasma at an average spectral resolving power of $\sim$7500 with a spherically bent crystal spectrometer on the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Many of the lines in the data are measured here for the first time. We report measurements of 53 transitions originating from the K-shells of He-like to B-like silicon in the energy range between $\sim$1795 and 1880 eV (6.6–6.9 Å). The lines were identified by qualitative comparison against a full synthetic spectrum calculated with ATOMIC. The average fractional uncertainty (uncertainty/energy) for all reported lines is ${\sim}5.4 \times 10^{-5}$. We compare the measured quantities against transition energies calculated with RATS and FAC as well as those reported in the NIST ASD and XSTAR’s uaDB. Average absolute differences relative to experimentally measured values are 0.20, 0.32, 0.17 and 0.38 eV, respectively. All calculations/databases show good agreement with the experimental values; NIST ASD shows the closest match overall.

A type of signal-interference fourth-order dual-band bandpass filter (BPF) with multiple out-of-band transmission zeros (TZs) is reported. A second-order dual-band BPF block is firstly discussed, which is composed of two microstrip-to-slotline vertical transitions that are back-to-back connected by means of an in-parallel asymmetrical microstrip-line-based closed loop. It exhibits spectrally symmetrical passbands regarding the design frequency fD and three TZs at the inter-band region. Subsequently, by using stepped-impedance-line segments at the longest path of the transversal signal-interference closed loop, its dual-band BPF counterpart with second-order spectrally asymmetrical dual passbands is presented. Next, in order to increase the filter order as well as the number of out-of-band TZs for augmented stopband attenuation, a fourth-order dual-band BPF circuit is conceived. To this aim, two Y-shaped stepped-impedance microstrip stubs are loaded at the input and output ports of the previously devised second-order frequency-symmetrical dual-band BPF block. The RF operational principles of all these dual-band BPFs are detailed through their associated transmission-line-based equivalent circuits. Moreover, for experimental-demonstration purposes, a 1.154-/2.818-GHz two-layer microstrip proof-of-concept prototype of a fourth-order sharp-rejection dual-band BPF is designed, simulated, and characterized. It features inter-band power-rejection levels higher than 28.68 dB and lower-/upper-stopband attenuation levels above 40.92 dB from DC to 4.64 GHz.

The Romans were among the first societies to extensively exploit fish resources, establishing large-scale salting and preservation plants where small pelagic fish were fermented to produce sauces such as garum. Here, the authors demonstrate that, despite being crushed and exposed to acidic conditions, usable DNA can be recovered from ichthyological residues at the bottom of fish-salting vats. At third-century AD Adro Vello (O Grove), Galicia, they confirm the use of European sardines (Sardina pilchardus) and move beyond morphology to explore population range and admixture and reveal the potential of this overlooked archaeological resource.

Child and youth mental health is an international public health and research priority. We are an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral network of UK-based early career researchers (ECRs) with an interest in child and youth mental health research. In this paper, we reflect on ongoing challenges and areas for growth, offering recommendations for key stakeholders in our field, including researchers, institutions and funders. We present a vision from an ECR perspective of what future child and youth mental health research could look like and we explore how the research infrastructure can support ECRs and the wider research field in making this vision a reality. We focus specifically on: (a) embracing complexity; (b) centring diverse voices; and (c) facilitating sustainable research environments and funding systems. We present recommendations for all key partners to consider alongside their local contexts and communities to actively and collaboratively drive progress and transformative change.

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, the first Cuban, Latin American, and person of African descent to travel to space, has experienced a significant evolution in his persona since his historic flight aboard Soyuz 38 in 1980. This article explores three pivotal phases in this transformation: first, his portrayal in the media as a pioneering Cuban cosmonaut, which positioned him among the socialist elite of the Space Age; second, the controversy regarding the identity of the first Black person in space, which brought renewed attention to Tamayo’s achievements; and third, the ongoing reconfiguration of his image through social-media platforms, allowing for broader engagement with diverse audiences. By applying the principles of persona analysis to a multilinguistic set of historical documents and images related to Tamayo, this study illustrates the malleability of his self-fashioning for different audiences and how it has adapted to reflect changing sociopolitical contexts and the evolving landscape of public representation in the digital age.

The article examines the challenges that urban teachers faced in unitary systems, where students of different ages and educational levels shared the same classroom and were taught by a single teacher. It aims to compare these challenges across several cities including Alicante, Badajoz, Cádiz, Canary Islands, Málaga, and Zaragoza to determine common issues within Spain. The study is based on sixteen technical reports from 1916 to 1926 and uses qualitative methods to analyze teachers’ narratives for deeper insights. Additionally, a literature review and quantitative analysis of Spanish statistical sources were conducted. Key findings highlight parental disinterest as a significant cause of school absenteeism. The article concludes by stressing the importance of understanding historical educational contexts in informing current educational policies and practices.

Mental health and substance use are increasingly pressing issues in communities across low-and-middle income countries, including Belize, particularly Toledo, the country’s most rural and resource-limited district. Using community-based participatory research methods, this preliminary mixed methods study (quantitative n = 163; qualitative n = 10) aims to (1) investigate mental health symptoms and substance use patterns in a non-randomized sample of individuals from southern Belize and (2) explore community perspectives on mental health among community stakeholders. Findings show high levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among survey participants, which were supported by qualitative interviews. While low levels of substance use were reported by survey participants, qualitative findings diverged and showed alcohol use to be of significant concern among participants. Our study highlights the critical need for increased research, advocacy, and policy implementation regarding mental health and substance use in Toledo and across Belize. Given the scarcity of mental health resources in Toledo, findings underscore the urgent need for policy interventions that expand access to psychiatric services, integrate community-based mental health approaches, and address socioeconomic drivers of poor mental health outcomes.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide(1). As poor diet quality is a major contributor to CVD burden; dietary intervention is recommended as a first-line approach to CVD prevention and management(2). Personalised nutrition (PN) refers to individualised nutrition care based on genetic, phenotypic, medical, and/or behavioural and lifestyle characteristics(3). Medical nutrition therapy by dietitians shares many of these principles and can be categorised as PN(4). PN may be beneficial in improving CVD risk factors and diet, however, this has not previously been systematically reviewed. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of PN interventions on CVD risk factors and diet in adults at elevated CVD risk. A comprehensive search was conducted in March 2023 across Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases, focusing on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published after 2000 in English. Included studies tested the effect of PN interventions on adults with elevated CVD risk factors (determined by anthropometric measures, clinical indicators, or high overall CVD risk). Risk of bias was assessed using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Criteria checklist. Random-effects meta-analysis were conducted to explore weighted mean differences (WMD) in change or final mean values for studies with comparable data (studies with dietary counselling interventions), for outcomes including blood pressure (BP), blood lipids, and anthropometric measurements. Sixteen articles reporting on 15 unique studies (n = 7676) met inclusion criteria and were extracted. Outcomes of participants (n = 40–564) with CVD risk factors including hyperlipidaemia (n = 5), high blood pressure (n = 3), BMI > 25kg/m2 (n = 1) or multiple factors (n = 7) were reported. Results found potential benefits of PN on systolic blood pressure (SBP) (WMD −1.91 [95% CI −3.51, −0.31] mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (WMD −1.49 [95% CI −2.39, −0.58] mmHg), triglycerides (TG) (WMD −0.18 [95% CI −0.34, −0.03] mmol/L), and dietary intake in individuals at high CVD risk. Results were inconsistent for plasma lipid and anthropometric outcomes. Dietary counselling PN interventions showed promising results on CVD risk factors in individuals at-risk individuals. Further evidence for other personalisation methods and improvements to methodological quality and longer study durations are required in future PN interventions.

Nutritional metabolomics is an emerging objective dietary biomarker method to help characterise dietary intake. Our recent scoping review identified gaps and inconsistencies in both design features and level of detail of reported dietary intervention methods in human feeding studies measuring the metabolome(1) and our cross-over feeding study protocol details dietary information for identification of metabolites that characterise ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ (typical) Australian diets(2). The current study aimed to gain consensus on core diet-related item details (DID) and recommendations for reporting DIDs to inform development of a reporting checklist. The aim of this checklist is to guide researchers on reporting dietary information within human feeding studies measuring the dietary metabolome. A two-stage online Delphi was conducted encompassing 5 survey rounds (February–July 2024). This study is approved by the University of Newcastle’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC; H-2023-0405). Sixty-seven experts were invited across expertise in clinical trial design, feeding study intervention implementation, metabolomics, and/or human biospecimen analyses. Twenty-eight DIDs categorised across five domains underwent consensus development. Stage 1 (2 rounds) gained consensus on a core set of DIDs, including phrasing. Stage 2 (3 rounds) gained consensus on standard reporting recommendations for each DID and acceptance of the final reporting guideline. The research team convened after every round to discuss consensus-driven results. Experts resided from Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Israel, Italy and Denmark. Twenty-five completed stage 1 and n = 22 completed stage 2. After stage 1, two DIDs merged and two new DIDs were identified, totalling 29 core DIDs. At the end of stage 2, round 2, based on expert feedback, all items were organised to determine differing degrees of reporting in the methods section of publications, with additional recommendations collated for other sections, including supplementary files. The reporting guideline (DID-METAB Checklist) was generated and accepted by the expert working group in round 3, with all experts agreeing that relevant journals should include the checklist as a suggested reporting tool for relevant studies or used alongside existing reporting tools. The Delphi process gained consensus on a core set of DIDs, and consolidated expert views on the level of detail required when reporting DIDs in research. The Delphi process generated the reporting guideline (DID-METAB Checklist) which can be implemented independently or as an extension to existing guidelines such as CONSORT (at item 5) or SPIRIT (at item 11) to improve reproducibility and comparability of feeding studies. Endorsement by scientific societies and journals will be key for the dissemination strategy and optimising the utility of the tool to strengthen the evidence base of nutritional metabolomics. The DID-METAB Checklist will be a key tool to advance reporting of diet-related methodologies in metabolomics for both personalised and precision nutrition interventions in clinical practice.

Interest in the consumption of food containing live microbes (LM) as a component of dietary patterns has accelerated, due to potential positive contributions to health and chronic disease risk, including cardiovascular disease (CVD)(1,2). There are different patterns of LM consumption, including through the intake of probiotics or fermented foods or via a broader spectrum of foods that may harbour microbes, such as raw, unpeeled fruits and vegetables(3). To date, no study has quantitatively assessed potential intake of LM in a sample of Australians. The aim was to quantify presence of LM for common foods and beverages consumed in Australia, using the Australian Eating Survey® (AES) and AES-Heart®(4,5 food frequency questionnaires as the dietary assessment tool. Quantification of potential live microbial content (per gram) was conducted in accordance with the methodology outlined by Marco et al.(3). Briefly, foods were assigned to categories with LM ranges defined as low (Low; < 104 CFU/g), medium (Medium; 104–107 CFU/g), or high (High; > 107 CFU/g) for level of live microbes(3). These categories were based on the expected prevalence of viable microorganisms within different food matrices. Specifically, pasteurised food products are characterised as having microbial concentrations Low < 104 CFU/g. In contrast, fresh fruits and vegetables, consumed unpeeled exhibit a microbial range considered medium (Medium; 104–107 CFU/g), while unpasteurised fermented foods and probiotic supplemented foods exhibit significantly higher microbial content (High > 107 CFU/g). Based on this methodology, the estimated quantities of live microbes in 400 foods and beverages (including individual products and mixed dishes) within the AES and AES-Heart®(4,5 FFQs were determined and summarised across 22 food groups using the 2-digit codes from the 2011–2013 AUSNUT database(6). Preliminary results indicate the Low group was the most represented, out of the 400 foods 369 belong to this category. The food groups that represent the highest percentages in the Low group were vegetable products and dishes (13.8%) followed by meat, poultry, and game products and dishes (13.6%). The Medium group was composed by 25 items, with the most representative food groups being fruit products and dishes (48%). In the High group, the representative food groups were dairy and meat substitutes (e.g., soy yoghurt; 66.7%) and milk products and dishes (33.3%). The creation of this database will facilitates new research opportunities to investigate relationships between intake of live microbes and health outcomes, including CVD. Future research into how dietary pattern rich in live microbes related to chronic disease risk factors, such as reduced BMI, blood pressure, plasma lipids and glucose, in the Australian population could offer new insights into risk factor management through LM dietary interventions.

Objective biomarkers of a healthy and typical Australian diet could enhance dietary assessment and provide insight into how adherence to, or deviations from, dietary guidelines impact health. This study aimed to identify and compare plasma and urinary metabolites in healthy Australian adults in response to a healthy and typical dietary pattern. This was an 8-week randomised, cross-over feeding trial(1). After a two-week run-in period, participants were randomly allocated to follow each diet for two weeks, with a minimum two-week washout period in between. The Healthy Australian Diet adhered to the Australian Dietary Guidelines(2), including a balanced intake of the five food groups and meeting Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range targets(3). The Typical Australian Diet was formulated based on apparent consumption patterns in Australia(4). During each feeding phase, all food items were provided to ensure compliance. Both diets included different key indicator foods associated with known metabolites. Comprehensive data collection occurred at four key visits: week 0 (end of run-in; baseline 1), week 2 (post-feeding phase 1), week 4 (end of washout, baseline 2), and week 8 (post-feeding phase 2). Blood samples following a ≥ 8-hour fast were collected by an accredited pathologist, and spot urine samples were self-collected by participants at the morning appointment. Metabolomics data was obtained using Ultra-high Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) through Metabolon Inc.’s (Morrisville, USA) Global Discovery Panel. Metabolite concentrations were log-transformed. Differential changes in metabolites between intervention groups were evaluated using linear mixed-effect models, adjusting for diet sequence, feeding phase, and subject ID as a random variable to account for potential autocorrelation. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted to assess the impact effects of each diet. A total of 34 healthy Australian adults (age 38.4 ± 18.1 years, 53% females) completed all study measures. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, significant differences between TAD and HAD groups were observed for 257 plasma and 91 urine metabolites. Of these, 44 known metabolites consistently differed between dietary pattern groups in both biofluid types (plasma and urine). Several associations between specific food groups and metabolites were identified, including the externally validated metabolites associated with dark chocolate (theobromine), orange juice (proline betaine), and cruciferous vegetables (S-methylcysteine sulfoxide, S-methylcysteine). Consumption of dietary patterns aligned with Australian dietary guidelines had a measurable impact on the short-term human metabolome compared to a typical Australian dietary pattern. While some metabolites are established as biomarkers of specific foods, others may represent novel biomarkers requiring validation in future clinical trials and diverse populations. Further research should explore the relationship between these metabolites, the gut microbiome, and clinical outcomes. Additionally, studies are needed to assess the feasibility of using these biomarkers to evaluate diets in real-world settings.

Emerging research has highlighted a relationship between diet and genetics, suggesting that individuals may benefit more from personalised dietary recommendations based on their genetic risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD)(1,2). This current study aims to: (1) Measure knowledge of genetics among healthcare professionals (HCPs) working in CVD, (2) Identify HCPs’ attitudes to using genetic risk to tailor dietary interventions, and (3) Identify perceived barriers and enablers to implementing genetics to tailor dietary interventions. In a mixed-methods study, Australian HCPs (dietitians and AHPRA registered healthcare professionals) working with people with CVD were invited to complete an anonymous online survey (REDCap) and an optional interview. Recruitment occurred through social media and relevant professional organisations. Survey questions were underpinned by the theoretical domains framework(3) and data was synthesised descriptively. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken via Zoom. Interview responses were analysed using a thematic analysis approach using Braun & Clarke methodology(4). Survey responders (n = 63, 89% female, mean age 42 ± 14 years) were primarily dietitians (83%), with ≥ 10 years of experience (56%) and spent at least 20% of their time working with people with CVD (n = 55, 87%). Approximately half of respondents were aware that genetic testing for CVD exists (n = 36) and always assess family history of CVD (n = 31). Few respondents reported using genetic testing (n = 5, 8%) or felt confident interpreting and using genetic testing (n = 7, 11%) in practice. Respondents were interested in incorporating genetics into their practice to tailor dietary advice (n = 44, 70%). Primary barriers to using genetic testing included financial costs to patients and negative implications for some patients. Almost all respondents agreed genetic testing will allow for more targeted and personalised approaches for prevention and management of CVD (94%). From the interviews (n = 15, 87% female, 43 ± 17 years, 87% dietitian), three themes were identified: (1) ‘On the periphery of care’—HCPs are aware of the role of genetics in health and are interested in knowing more, but it is not yet part of usual practice; (2) ‘A piece of the puzzle’—using genetic testing could be a tool to help personalise, prioritise and motivate participants; and (3) ‘Whose role is it?’—There is uncertainty regarding HCP roles and knowing exactly whose role it is to educate patients. Healthcare professionals are interested in using genetics to tailor dietary advice for CVD, but potential implications for patients need to be considered. Upskilling is required to increase their knowledge and confidence in this area. Further clarity regarding HCP roles in patient education is needed before this can be implemented in practice.