There is limited information on the antibody responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in subjects from developing countries with populations having a high incidence of co-morbidities. Here, we analysed the immunogenicity of homologous schemes using the ChAdOx1-S, Sputnik V, or BNT162b2 vaccines and the effect of a booster dose with ChAdOx1-S in middle-aged adults who were seropositive or seronegative to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein before vaccination. The study was conducted post-vaccination with a follow-up of 4 months for antibody titre using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and pseudovirus (PV) neutralization assays (PNAs). All three vaccines elicited a superior IgG anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) and neutralization response against the Alpha and Delta variants when administered to individuals with a previous infection by SARS-CoV-2. The booster dose spiked the neutralization activity among individuals with and without a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. The ChAdOx1-S vaccine induced weaker antibody responses in infection-naive subjects. A follow-up of 4 months post-vaccination showed a drop in antibody titre, with about 20% of the infection-naive and 100% of SARS-CoV-2 pre-exposed participants with detectable neutralization capacity against Alpha pseudovirus (Alpha-PV) and Delta PV (Delta-PV). Our observations support the use of different vaccines in a country with high seroprevalence at the vaccination time.

Herbicide management information is lacking for recently developed turf-type bahiagrass germplasm. The objective of this study was to evaluate the herbicide tolerance of nine experimental bahiagrass genotypes compared to the industry standard ‘Argentine’. The experimental entries included Argentine and ‘Wilmington’ mutants, and wild-type breeding lines. Plants were grown under greenhouse conditions, and 12 herbicides were applied at 1× and 2× labeled rates. Bentazon, bromoxynil, carfentrazone + 2,4-D + MCPP + dicamba, and carfentrazone were classified as safe. Fluroxypyr, halosulfuron, and triclopyr + clopyralid reduced growth >50% when applied at twice the label rate. Fenoxaprop, sulfentrazone + imazethapyr, and thiencarbazone + iodosulfuron + dicamba reduced growth and caused turfgrass injury above an acceptable threshold (≥20%). In general, the Argentine mutants showed greater herbicide injury compared to the Wilmington mutants. However, metsulfuron exceeded the acceptable injury threshold and stopped growth in all the genotypes, Argentine and genotype WT6 were the least injured by this herbicide. The experimental genotype WT6 consistently showed the greatest herbicide tolerance. Except for one genotype (WT4), the experimental genotypes responded similarly or better than Argentine to the tested herbicides, except for metsulfuron.

There is a long history of exploitation of the South American river turtle Podocnemis expansa. Conservation efforts for this species started in the 1960s but best practices were not established, and population trends and the number of nesting females protected remained unknown. In 2014 we formed a working group to discuss conservation strategies and to compile population data across the species’ range. We analysed the spatial pattern of its abundance in relation to human and natural factors using multiple regression analyses. We found that > 85 conservation programmes are protecting 147,000 nesting females, primarily in Brazil. The top six sites harbour > 100,000 females and should be prioritized for conservation action. Abundance declines with latitude and we found no evidence of human pressure on current turtle abundance patterns. It is presently not possible to estimate the global population trend because the species is not monitored continuously across the Amazon basin. The number of females is increasing at some localities and decreasing at others. However, the current size of the protected population is well below the historical population size estimated from past levels of human consumption, which demonstrates the need for concerted global conservation action. The data and management recommendations compiled here provide the basis for a regional monitoring programme among South American countries.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are statistical tools used to develop continuous predictions of species occurrence. ‘Integrated SDMs’ (ISDMs) are an elaboration of this approach with potential advantages that allow for the dual use of opportunistically collected presence-only data and site-occupancy data from planned surveys. These models also account for survey bias and imperfect detection through the use of a hierarchical modelling framework that separately estimates the species–environment response and detection process. This is particularly helpful for conservation applications and predictions for rare species, where data are often limited and prediction errors may have significant management consequences. Despite this potential importance, ISDMs remain largely untested under a variety of scenarios. We performed an exploration of key modelling decisions and assumptions on an ISDM using the endangered Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) as a test species. We found that site area had the strongest effect on the magnitude of population estimates and underlying intensity surface and was driven by estimates of model intercepts. Selecting a site area that accounted for the individual movements of the species within an average home range led to population estimates that coincided with expert estimates. ISDMs that do not account for the individual movements of species will likely lead to less accurate estimates of species intensity (number of individuals per unit area) and thus overall population estimates. This bias could be severe and highly detrimental to conservation actions if uninformed ISDMs are used to estimate global populations of threatened and data-deficient species, particularly those that lack natural history and movement information. However, the ISDM was consistently the most accurate model compared to other approaches, which demonstrates the importance of this new modelling framework and the ability to combine opportunistic data with systematic survey data. Thus, we recommend researchers use ISDMs with conservative movement information when estimating population sizes of rare and data-deficient species. ISDMs could be improved by using a similar parameterization to spatial capture–recapture models that explicitly incorporate animal movement as a model parameter, which would further remove the need for spatial subsampling prior to implementation.

A subgroup $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}H$ of a finite group $G$ is said to be S-semipermutable in $G$ if $H$ permutes with every Sylow $q$-subgroup of $G$ for all primes $q$ not dividing $|H |$. A finite group $G$ is an MS-group if the maximal subgroups of all the Sylow subgroups of $G$ are S-semipermutable in $G$. The aim of the present paper is to characterise the finite MS-groups.

The T-REX project aims at developing novel readout techniques for Time Projection Chambers in experiments searching for rare events. The enhanced performance of the latest Micromegas readouts in issues like energy resolution, gain stability, homogeneity, material budget, combined with low background techniques, is opening new windows of opportunity for their application in this field. Here we review the latest results regarding the use and prospects of Micromegas readouts in axion physics (CAST and the future helioscope), as well as the R&D carried out within NEXT, to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay.

Based on a 15–20 year long monitoring program of H2O masers and new observations of OH masers discovered 35 years ago, we studied the variability of maser emission in AGB stars over timescales of decades. The H2O maser features in the semi-regular variable stars RX Boo and SV Peg, and of the Mira stars U Her and R Cas, showed strong fluctuations superposed in case of the Mira stars on regular variations due to the pulsation of the stars. The spatial distribution of the emission regions in RX Boo and U Her showed deviations from spherical symmetry, which remained unchanged over >10 years. We conclude that the spatial asymmetry is determined by the underlying asymmetry of the mass loss process. There is no evidence that mass loss rates or the wind geometry in these stars have varied over the last 20 years. In 2005 we re-detected at 1612 MHz the 114 OH/IR stars discovered before 1978, implying an OH maser lifetime of >2800 years (1σ).

Two patients with a history of epistaxis who were both found to have a nasolacrimal duct melanoma are presented. A literature review revealed that no previous cases of primary nasolacrimal duct melanoma have been reported. Current therapeutic modalities are discussed.

We report the occurrence of a high diversity of minute (∼1 μm diameter) organic and siliceous protistan scales in small samples (total volume ∼35 μl) of superficial sediment from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP), north-east Atlantic (4850 m water depth). Many exhibit characters by which they can be identified to species. The organic scales belong to the haptophyte genera Chrysochromulina (8–9 species), Chrysocampanula and Dolichomastix (1 species each). The siliceous scales belong to the chrysophytes Paraphysomonas vestita and Meringosphaera sp. and to the heterotrophic flagellate genus Thaumatomastix (T. dybsoeana, T. formosa, Thaumatomastix sp.). As far as we are aware, this is the first time that non-calcareous protistan scales have been observed in deep-sea sediments (although siliceous skeletal plates and cysts are reported). All scales probably originated from the upper water column and were delivered to the deep-sea floor on rapidly sinking detrital aggregates. However, naked heterotrophic flagellates are known to thrive in abyssal sediment habitats and so the possibility that some scale-bearing protists also live in benthic deep-sea environments cannot be eliminated. Many species identified at the PAP site are common in coastal marine waters around Europe; some occur as far afield as Tasmania and New Zealand. Five Chrysochromulina species are known from central oceanic areas, including parts of the North Atlantic, while another species, C. pringsheimii, is reported from a British freshwater lake. We retrieved ∼15% of the 55 named Chrysochromulina species (∼8% of the estimated total number of species in this diverse group) in the ∼35 μl of abyssal sediment. Because the scales can persist and be identified after cell death, they may provide useful time- and space-averaged information about the distribution of protist species in marine habitats. The long-term fate of the scales on the sea-floor is unknown. It is possible that at least some of the organic scales are preserved as microfossils in deep-sea sediments.

We report the detection of nebular emission lines in the optical and mid-infrared spectra of IRAS 17347–3139, a heavily obscured OH/IR star which may be rapidly evolving from the AGB to the PN stage. The presence of emission lines is interpreted as a clear indication that the ionization of its circumstellar envelope has already started. This source belongs to the rare class of objects known as ‘OHPNe’ displaying both OH maser and radio continuum emission. However, unlike the rest of stars in this class, prominent C-rich dust features are detected in its mid-infrared spectrum, which makes the analysis of this star particularly interesting.