While adapting to future sea-level rise (SLR) and its hazards and impacts is a multidisciplinary challenge, the interaction of scientists across different research fields, and with practitioners, is limited. To stimulate collaboration and develop a common research agenda, a workshop held in June 2024 gathered 22 scientists and policymakers working in the Netherlands. Participants discussed the interacting uncertainties across three different research fields: sea-level projections, hazards and impacts, and adaptation. Here, we present our view on the most important uncertainties within each field and the feasibility of managing and reducing those uncertainties. We find that enhanced collaboration is urgently needed to prioritize uncertainty reductions, manage expectations and increase the relevance of science to adaptation planning. Furthermore, we argue that in the coming decades, significant uncertainties will remain or newly arise in each research field and that rapidly accelerating SLR will remain a possibility. Therefore, we recommend investigating the extent to which early warning systems can help policymakers as a tool to make timely decisions under remaining uncertainties, in both the Netherlands and other coastal areas. Crucially, this will require viewing SLR, its hazards and impacts, and adaptation as a whole.

Over consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with an increased risk of weight gain and dietary related noncommunicable diseases.(1) Consumption of energy drinks (EDs) by children and adolescents is linked to poor health and social outcomes.(2) To address high sugar content in beverages in Ireland, the Sugar Sweetened Drinks Tax (SSDT) was introduced in 2018 and applies to SSBs, including EDs, with a sugar content of 5 g/100 ml or more.(3) SSBs and EDs are also prioritised for sugar reduction in the Irish reformulation strategy.(4)

The aim of this study was to examine the mean analysed sugar (g) content of carbonated SSBs and EDs on the Irish market in 2023 against the Irish SSDT differential rate thresholds. A secondary aim was to determine a 2023 benchmark for the mean labelled caffeine (mg) content of EDs.

A convenience sample of SSBs (n = 67) and EDs (n = 28) were collected from Dublin-based supermarkets in 2023. Samples were sent to the Public Analyst Laboratory, Galway for sugar analysis, using high–performance anion-exchange chromatography/pulsed amperometric detection. The mean, standard deviation (SD), minimum and maximum (min-max) analysed sugar (g) per 100 ml and per suggested serving size were determined and assessed against the SSDT lower rate of 5–7.99 g/100 ml and upper rate of >8 g/100 ml. The mean, SD and min-max labelled caffeine (mg) content per serving of EDs containing caffeine (n = 18) was determined. Statistical analysis was completed using RStudio v4.3.0.

The mean analysed sugar (g) of SSBs (n = 67) and EDs (n = 28) was 4.48 g/100 ml (SD 1.53; min-max 1.6 g–10.7 g) and 6.56 g/100 ml (SD 3.31; min-max 1.5 g–14 g), respectively. In SSBs (n = 54) and EDs (n = 22) that provided a suggested serving size, the mean analysed sugar (g) was 11.17 g per serving (SD 3.75; min-max 4 g–26.75 g) and 25.93 g per serving (SD 18.17; min-max 9.75 g–70 g), respectively. In this sample 31% (n = 21) of SSBs and 50% (n = 14) of EDs had a sugar (g) content above the taxable rate. Of these, 10% (n = 2) of SSBs and 64% (n = 9) of EDs were above the SSDT upper taxable rate. Caffeine containing EDs (n = 18) had a mean labelled caffeine (mg) content of 129.17 mg per serving (SD 39.38; min-max 70 mg–160 mg).

The majority of carbonated SSBs in this sample were below the SSDT lower differential threshold.

However, the majority of EDs had a high sugar content and were liable for SSDT at the higher rate. These findings agree with a 2019 study and show EDs remain high in sugar and caffeine.(5) Given their association with poor health outcomes in children and adolescents, EDs on the Irish market require additional reformulation to meet sugar reduction targets.(2)

De Neys offers a welcome departure from the dual-process accounts that have dominated theorizing about reasoning. However, we see little justification for retaining the distinction between intuition and deliberation. Instead, reasoning can be treated as a case of multiple-cue decision making. Reasoning phenomena can then be explained by decision-making models that supply the processing details missing from De Neys's framework.

The current assays to confirm herbicide resistance can be time- and labor-intensive (dose–response) or require a skill set/technical equipment (genetic sequencing). Stakeholders could benefit from a rapid assay to confirm herbicide-resistant weeds to ensure sustainable crop production. Because protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting herbicides rapidly interfere with chlorophyll production/integrity; we propose a new, rapid assay utilizing spectral reflectance to confirm resistance. Leaf disks were excised from two PPO-inhibiting herbicide-resistant (target-site [TSR] and non–target site [NTSR]) and herbicide-susceptible redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) populations and placed into a 24-well plate containing different concentrations (0 to 10 mM) of fomesafen for 48 h. A multispectral sensor captured images from the red (668 nm), green (560 nm), blue (475 nm), and red edge (717 nm) wavebands after a 48-h incubation period. The green leaf index (GLI) was utilized to determine spectral reflectance ratios of the treated leaf disks. Clear differences of spectral reflectance were observed in the red edge waveband for all populations treated with the 10 mM concentration in the dose–response assays. Differences of spectral reflectance were observed for the NTSR population compared with the TSR and susceptible populations treated with the 10 mM concentration in the green waveband and the GLI in the dose–response assay. Leaf disks from the aforementioned A. retroflexus populations and two additional susceptible populations were subjected to a similar assay with the discriminating concentration (10 mM). Spectral reflectance was different between the PPO-inhibiting herbicide-resistant and herbicide-susceptible populations in the red, blue, and green wavebands. Spectral reflectance was not distinctive between the populations in the red edge waveband and the GLI. The results provide a basis for rapidly (∼48 h) detecting PPO-inhibiting herbicide-resistant A. retroflexus via spectral reflectance. Discrimination between TSR and NTSR populations was possible only in the dose–response assay, but the assay still has utility in distinguishing herbicide-resistant plants from herbicide-susceptible plants.

Complaints of control failures with acetolactate synthase (ALS)- and protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting herbicides on redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) were reported in conventional soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] fields in North Carolina. Greenhouse dose–response assays confirmed that the Camden County and Pasquotank County populations were less sensitive to ALS- and PPO-inhibiting herbicides compared with susceptible A. retroflexus populations, suggesting the evolution of resistance to these herbicides. Sanger sequencing of target genes determined the Camden County population carried a Trp-574-Leu mutation in the ALS gene and an Arg-98-Gly mutation in the PPX2 gene, while the Pasquotank County population carried a His-197-Pro mutation in the ALS gene (first documentation of the mutation in the Amaranthus genus), but no mutation was detected in the PPX2 gene. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assays were developed to enable efficient screening of future control failures in order to limit the spread of these herbicide-resistant populations. In addition, preliminary testing of these assays revealed the three mutations were ubiquitous in the respective populations. These two populations represent the first confirmed cases of PPO-inhibiting herbicide-resistant A. retroflexus in the United States, as well as the first confirmed cases of this particular herbicide-resistance profile in A. retroflexus inhabiting North America. While no mutation was found in the PPX2 gene of the Pasquotank County population, we suggest that this population has evolved resistance to PPO-inhibiting herbicides, but the mechanism of resistance is to be determined.

Glufosinate is an effective postemergence herbicide, and overreliance on this herbicide for weed control is likely to increase and select for glufosinate-resistant weeds. Common assays to confirm herbicide resistance are dose–response and molecular sequencing techniques; both can require significant time, labor, unique technical equipment, and a specialized skillset to perform. As an alternative, we propose an image-based approach that uses a relatively inexpensive multispectral sensor designed for unmanned aerial vehicles to measure and quantify surface reflectance from glufosinate-treated leaf disks. Leaf disks were excised from a glufosinate-resistant and glufosinate-susceptible corn (Zea mays L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] varieties and placed into a 24-well plate containing eight different concentrations (0 to 10 mM) of glufosinate for 48 h. Multispectral images were collected after the 48-h incubation period across five discrete wave bands: blue (475 to 507 nm), green (560 to 587 nm), red (668to 682 nm), red edge (717 to 729 nm), and near infrared (842 to 899 nm). The green leaf index (GLI; a metric to measure chlorophyll content) was utilized to determine relationships between measured reflectance from the tested wave bands from the treated leaf disks and the glufosinate concentration. Clear differences of spectral reflectance were observed between the corn, cotton, and soybean leaf disks of the glufosinate-resistant and glufosinate-susceptible varieties at the 10 mM concentration for select wave bands and GLI. Leaf disks from two additional glufosinate-resistant and glufosinate-susceptible varieties of each crop were subjected to a similar assay with two concentrations: 0 and 10 mM. No differences of spectral reflectance were observed from the corn and soybean varieties in all wave bands and the GLI. The leaf disks of the glufosinate-resistant and glufosinate-susceptible cotton varieties were spectrally distinct in the green, blue, and red-edge wave bands. The results provide a basis for rapidly detecting glufosinate-resistant plants via spectral reflectance. Future research will need to determine the glufosinate concentrations, useful wave bands, and susceptible/resistant thresholds for weeds that evolve resistance.

Understanding edge-localised-mode (ELM)-free high-confinement (H-)mode scenarios is vital for developing practical future demonstration reactor scenarios. An argon-seeded EDA H-mode discharge performed in ASDEX Upgrade is computationally studied in detail for the first time with the gyrokinetic GENE code using experimental profiles and magnetic equilibrium as direct code inputs. Linear scans outline dominant instabilities in the regime and reveal distinct ion- and electron-scale wavenumber growth-rate peaks for two local core and two local pedestal top scenarios. Linear ion-scale growth rates are found to be relatively insensitive to the addition of argon, and collisionality scans demonstrate increased sensitivity in the pedestal top. The addition of an argon impurity profile while keeping the input main ion temperature gradient (ITG) largely unchanged is found to reduce ITG-driven turbulence in the outer core. Nonlinear electromagnetic simulations reveal close agreement with experimentally predicted heat fluxes in the core, outline key sensitivities to electron $\beta$ and background $\boldsymbol{E\times B}$ shearing, and reveal gyrokinetic challenges in analysing the quasicoherent mode. Global electrostatic nonlinear simulations reduce local simulated heat transport overpredictions at the pedestal top. A quasilinear analysis finds that there is good core agreement but poor agreement in the pedestal between linear and nonlinear temperature and density fluctuation cross-phases. Local simulation limitations are elucidated and paths forward for future computation are suggested.

Background: Standard of care treatment for adult intracranial ependymoma patients includes maximal safe surgical resection, while the role for adjuvant radiotherapy remains unclear with existing data from small retrospective series’. Accordingly, we built a multi-institutional cohort to assess the prognostic value of adjuvant radiotherapy and other clinical factors in these patients. Methods: Patients managed for adult intracranial ependymomas from 1968 onwards within the University Health Network in Toronto, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and The Ottawa Hospital were identified. Multivariate models assessing the prognostic value of clinical factors were built using variables with known prognostic value and/or significance in univariate Cox models. Results: Of 122 ependymomas, 71% were infratentorial, 78% grade two, 55% gross/near-totally resected (GTR/NTR), and 65% treated with adjuvant radiotherapy. Multivariate analyses identified GTR/NTR (vs. subtotal resection; HR=0.2, 95%CI=0.1–0.4, p<0.0001) and cranial (HR=0.5, 95%CI=0.2–1.1) or craniospinal (HR=0.2, 95%CI=0.04–0.5) radiotherapy receipt (p=0.01) as independent statistically significant predictors of more favourable PFS. Grade II pathology (vs. grade III; HR=0.2, 95%CI=0.05–0.6, p=0.006) and GTR/NTR (vs. subtotal resection; HR=0.1, 95%CI=0.03–0.3, p=0.0001) were independent statistically significant predictors of better OS. Conclusions: This work confirms the importance of maximal safe resection for adult intracranial ependymomas and establishes that adjuvant radiotherapy improves progression-free survival in these patients.

People with severe mental illness and intellectual disabilities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system worldwide and this is also the case in Ireland. Following Ireland’s ratification of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2018, there has been an increasing emphasis on ensuring access to justice for people with disabilities as in Article 13. For people with mental health and intellectual disabilities, this requires a multi-agency approach and a useful point of intervention may be at the police custody stage. Medicine has a key role to play both in advocacy and in practice. We suggest a functional approach to assessment, in practice, and list key considerations for doctors attending police custody suites. Improved training opportunities and greater resources are needed for general practitioners and psychiatrists who attend police custody suites to help fulfill this role.

Gravitational waves from coalescing neutron stars encode information about nuclear matter at extreme densities, inaccessible by laboratory experiments. The late inspiral is influenced by the presence of tides, which depend on the neutron star equation of state. Neutron star mergers are expected to often produce rapidly rotating remnant neutron stars that emit gravitational waves. These will provide clues to the extremely hot post-merger environment. This signature of nuclear matter in gravitational waves contains most information in the 2–4 kHz frequency band, which is outside of the most sensitive band of current detectors. We present the design concept and science case for a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory (NEMO): a gravitational-wave interferometer optimised to study nuclear physics with merging neutron stars. The concept uses high-circulating laser power, quantum squeezing, and a detector topology specifically designed to achieve the high-frequency sensitivity necessary to probe nuclear matter using gravitational waves. Above 1 kHz, the proposed strain sensitivity is comparable to full third-generation detectors at a fraction of the cost. Such sensitivity changes expected event rates for detection of post-merger remnants from approximately one per few decades with two A+ detectors to a few per year and potentially allow for the first gravitational-wave observations of supernovae, isolated neutron stars, and other exotica.