Organic strawberry production using the annual hill system relies predominantly on polyethylene (PE) mulch for weed control. However, although nonbiodegradable PE mulches are allowed to be used in organic production, albeit with restrictions, they pose environmental risks, and disposal can be a problem. We assessed cellulose-based hydromulches (HMs) as a PE mulch substitute in organic strawberry production. HMs made from shredded newsprint, water, guar gum (6% of HM dry mass), and with or without a biochar-based colorant were applied to raised beds, then day-neutral strawberry plants were transplanted. Four HM treatments combining dark (D) or light (L) colored and low (L) 5,800 or high (H) 8,700 kg DW ha−1 rates, were tested against paper mulch (PAP), white-on-black PE mulch, and weedy and weed-free checks at two sites in North Dakota: Absaraka (with a sandy soil, common purslane-dominated) and Fargo (with a clay soil, Venice mallow-dominated). At Fargo, high-rate HMs suppressed weed density as effectively as PE mulch. At Absaraka, HMs reduced weed density less effectively than PE and PAP mulches; low-rate HMs performed poorly compared with high rates (35 and 40 weeds m−2 vs. 4 and 17 weeds m−2), likely because of rainfall after HM application and location-specific differences in the weed communities and soil types. At Absaraka, strawberry yield from the use of HM-DH was greater than PE (272 vs. 144 g plant−1), whereas yield from HM-LH, HM-DL and HM-LL mulches (215, 168 and 141 g plant−1, respectively) were similar to yield with PE mulch. At Fargo, yield for all HMs (287, 223, 211, and 162 g plant−1) did not differ from that of PE (253 g plant−1). Although only high-rate HMs at Fargo suppressed weeds similarly to PE, fruit yield and quality were similar to that of PE with all HMs. Therefore, HMs could be promising sustainable alternatives to PE mulch for use in organic strawberry systems.

Drone technology and digital image analysis have enabled significant advances in precision agriculture, especially in site-specific treatment of weed escapes in crop fields. This study evaluated a pipeline for weed detection in multispectral drone imagery, along with site-specific herbicide application, using a remotely piloted aerial application system (RPAAS) targeting late-season weed escapes in rice with a selective postemergence rice herbicide, florpyrauxifen-benzyl. The efficacy of the RPAAS-based herbicide application with geocoordinates of weed escapes obtained manually or based on image analysis was compared with conventional backpack broadcast spray. The weed species targeted were barnyardgrass, Amazon sprangletop, yellow nutsedge, and hemp sesbania. A Python-based rice–weed detection model was developed using the canopy height model and spectral reflectance of weeds and rice plants. Results indicate that the accuracy of image-based detection for late-season weed escapes in rice was highest for hemp sesbania (95%), followed by Amazon sprangletop (87%) and yellow nutsedge (74%), with barnyardgrass showing the lowest accuracy at 62%. The study found that the backpack broadcast method had the highest efficacy in weed control, followed by the RPAAS method using manually obtained geocoordinates and those based on image analysis. Site-specific herbicide application using RPAAS resulted in a 45% reduction in herbicide compared to the broadcast backpack application. Moreover, the RPAAS site-specific application method for late-season treatment minimized the field area affected by herbicide injury and protected rice grain yields compared to the broadcast method. Overall, the utility of unmanned aerial sprayer–based detection and site-specific treatment of late-season weed escapes in rice has been demonstrated in this research, but further improvements in weed detection efficacy and the accuracy of targeting plants with RPAAS are necessary.

This study examines whether women politicians address violence against women (VAW) more effectively than their male counterparts at the local level in Mexico. Using a regression discontinuity design that leverages close mayoral elections, we find that women mayors reduce some of the most egregious violent crimes committed against women, with estimates suggesting a 64.7% reduction in homicides of women over their 3-year terms. As evidence of potential mechanisms, we find that women mayors actively work to combat VAW, appoint more women to leadership and support roles, and expand specialized services for crime victims. These findings suggest that women’s representation in local politics may be an important factor in advancing women’s safety.

Premised on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory and on the limited effectiveness of antenatal interventions, interventions in the preconception period are being conducted to potentially improve intergenerational health and non-communicable disease burdens. The Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) is an international health research consortium primarily investigating the intergenerational effects of behavioural interventions on obesity via a complex four-phase intervention initiated preconceptionally, through pregnancy, and into early childhood. HeLTI, in partnership with the World Health Organization, aims to generate evidence that will shape health policy focused on preconception as part of a life course approach to population health. It is necessary to ensure that a renewed public health focus on preconception prioritises justice and equity in its framing. This article presents collaborative interdisciplinary work with HeLTI-South Africa. It applies a feminist bioethics methodology, which is empirical, situated, intersectional, and fundamentally concerned with justice, to investigate what South African HeLTI community health workers, or ‘Health Helpers’, who deliver the complex behavioural intervention, think about preconception health and responsibility. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with HeLTI-SA Health Helpers, and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Our findings show that Health Helpers’ perceptions of preconception health and related responsibility were significantly gendered, heteronormative, and concerned with child-bearing intentionality and desires. These themes were inflected with Health Helpers’ perceptions about how attributions of responsibility are shaped by culture, demonstrating the situated nature of epistemologies. Their ideas also highlight how preconception health knowledge can distribute responsibility unjustly. Understanding the contextual impact and relevance of values around responsibility is critical to prospectively design preconception health interventions that promote equity and fairness. This understanding can then be used for effective policy translation, with the goal that public health policy is founded upon contextual responsivity and justice for the public it aims to serve.

Pineapple cultivation is of economic importance for farmers; however, pineapple production can be affected by pests and diseases. Recently, the presence of mealybugs and pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses (PMWaV)-1, -2, and -3 has been reported in the provinces of Satipo and Chanchamayo, in Peru’s central jungle. This study aimed to molecularly identify mealybugs collected from the Hawaiiana cultivar and the MD-2 hybrid in those provinces to determine if they are indeed hosts of the PMWaV-1, -2, and -3. Through amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal genes, the mealybugs were identified as Dysmicoccus brevipes. In the phylogenetic analysis of these D. brevipes, Peruvian isolates were associated with isolates from India, China, Taiwan, and Japan. In addition, our results confirmed the presence of PMWaV-1, -2, and -3 in all mealybug specimens collected from both the Hawaiiana cultivar and the MD-2 hybrid tested, with these PMWaVs showing a 99% sequence identity with others recently reported in Peru. Therefore, D. brevipes is a host and probable vector of PMWaV-1, -2, and -3 for the cultivar Hawaiiana and the hybrid pineapple MD-2 in Satipo and Chanchamayo, Peru. Based on these findings and observations of crop management strategies in these provinces, we recommend integrated management practices to control this pest.

This study concerns prehistoric amber networks in north-eastern Iberia, emphasizing its distinct exchange dynamics compared to other regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Baltic amber dominated assemblages in this area from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, contrasting with the prevalence of Sicilian amber in southern Iberia, or Cretaceous Iberian amber in the northern region. The findings underscore the region’s connection to southern France, with the Pyrenees serving as a cultural conduit, unlike the river Ebro, which acted as a boundary. Here the authors present the results of a Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) analysis of twenty-one amber beads, primarily from collective burials. Eighteen were made of Baltic succinite. Baltic amber may have begun to arrive as early as 3634–3363 cal bc, and continued to be used until the Late Bronze Age. Exceptions included a unique spacer-bead made of gum and two bolus pigments misidentified as amber. The results highlight Iberia’s regional diversity in raw material sourcing and exchange, reflecting distinct sociocultural dynamics and challenging linear narratives of Iberian prehistory.

The Late Iron Age (fourth–first centuries BC) district of Carpetania in the Central Iberian Peninsula is traditionally cast as a marginal territory, where cultural development is primarily attributed to acculturation, diffusionism and imitation. Here, the authors critically re-evaluate published evidence from the site of El Cerrón, Illescas, focusing on a decorated terracotta relief with a ‘Mediterraneanising’ style to argue that the local elite was not a passive actor in history. Instead, the community at El Cerrón actively engaged in the cultural dynamics that shaped not only the Iberian Peninsula but also the wider Mediterranean basin during this crucial period.

Diversifying the simplified landscape of corn and soybeans in the Midwest is an emerging priority in both the public and private sectors to reap a suite of climate, social, agronomic, and economic benefits. However, little research has documented the perspectives of farmers, the primary stakeholders in diversification efforts. This preliminary report uses newly collected survey data (n = 725) from farmers in the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa to provide descriptive statistics and tests to understand what farmers in the region think about agricultural diversification, including their perspectives on its benefits, barriers, and opportunities. For the purposes of the study, we define diversification as extended rotations, perennials, horticulture, grazed livestock, and agroforestry practices. We find that a majority or plurality of farmers in the sample believe that diversified systems are superior to non-diversified systems at achieving a range of environmental, agronomic, and economic goals, although many farmers are still forming opinions. Farmers believe that primarily economic barriers stand in the way of diversification, including the lack of affordable land, low short-term returns on investment, and lack of labor. Farmers identified key opportunities to increase diversification through developing processing capacity for local meat and specialty crops, increasing demand for diversified products, and providing more information on returns on investment of diversified systems. Different interventions, however, may be needed to support farmers who are already diversified compared to non-diversified farmers. Building on these initial results, future studies using these data will develop more detailed analyses and recommendations for policymakers, the private sector, and agricultural organizations to support diversification.

Pregnancy and lactation change women’s body composition (BC), but few longitudinal studies have investigated postpartum BC trajectories. We aimed to investigate maternal and infant predictors of maternal body fat (BF), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) and BMI trajectories during lactation. Longitudinal study with 234 Brazilian mother–infant dyads followed at 1·0–3·49, 3·5–5·99 and 6·0–8·5 months postpartum. Maternal BC was estimated using bioelectrical impedance at all follow-up points. Longitudinal mixed–effects models with interaction terms with time (weeks postpartum) were employed. FFM declined significantly over weeks postpartum (β = −0·02 kg; 95 % CI –0·03, −0·01). Pre-pregnancy overweight women experienced an increase in all body components (BF: β = 4·91 %, 95 % CI 3·79, 6·04; FM: β = 6·46 kg, 95 % CI 5·26, 7·67; FFM: β = 3·72 kg, 95 % CI 2·80, 4·65) and BMI (β = 4·51 kg/m2, 95 % CI 3·91, 5·12). Multiparous women showed BMI increases (β = 0·76 kg/m2, 95 % CI 0·11, 1·41), and those who delivered by caesarean had FFM (β = 1·87 kg, 95 % CI 0·67, 3·07) and BMI (β = 1·39 kg/m2, 95 % CI 0·61, 2·18) increases. Women who birthed girls had reductions in FM (β = −1·24 kg, 95 % CI –2·41, −0·07) and FFM (β = −0·93 kg, 95 % CI –1·84, −0·01). Interactions occurred between maternal age ≥ 30 years, higher family income, multiparity and infant sex for BC and BMI trajectories. Maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, family income, mode of delivery and infant sex predict maternal BC and BMI trajectories.

Recruitment of diverse populations into research studies continues to be a challenge. There remains a gap in knowledge and practice on how to best engage with and recruit diverse populations, specifically among Latinos who account for 11% of research participants nationally. Our study focused on Latinas with pre-cervical and cervical cancer in the Pacific Northwest. Our research team took a multilevel approach to diversify recruitment and enrollment processes, focused on methods within healthcare, community-based, and paid media advertisements. This article shares strategies and lessons learned that helped increase participant diversity, meet enrollment goals, and expand relationships with community-based organizations.