Multicenter clinical trials are essential for evaluating interventions but often face significant challenges in study design, site coordination, participant recruitment, and regulatory compliance. To address these issues, the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences established the Trial Innovation Network (TIN). The TIN offers a scientific consultation process, providing access to clinical trial and disease experts who provide input and recommendations throughout the trial’s duration, at no cost to investigators. This approach aims to improve trial design, accelerate implementation, foster interdisciplinary teamwork, and spur innovations that enhance multicenter trial quality and efficiency. The TIN leverages resources of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, complementing local capabilities at the investigator’s institution. The Initial Consultation process focuses on the study’s scientific premise, design, site development, recruitment and retention strategies, funding feasibility, and other support areas. As of 6/1/2024, the TIN has provided 431 Initial Consultations to increase efficiency and accelerate trial implementation by delivering customized support and tailored recommendations. Across a range of clinical trials, the TIN has developed standardized, streamlined, and adaptable processes. We describe these processes, provide operational metrics, and include a set of lessons learned for consideration by other trial support and innovation networks.

Rallidae are frequent colonists of oceanic islands and are often susceptible to introduced predators. The Tristan Moorhen Gallinula nesiotis was endemic to Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic and is thought to have gone extinct in the late nineteenth century. The closely related Gough Moorhen G. comeri was introduced to Tristan da Cunha from neighbouring Gough Island in 1956. We report historical records of their spread across Tristan da Cunha and the results of a population survey undertaken in February–March 2024. Gough Moorhens are now found across the entire island wherever there is suitable habitat from sea level to above 900 m elevation. Gough Moorhens prefer fern bush habitat on the Base, the plateau above the steep coastal cliffs. The total population is approximately 41,500 birds (95% confidence interval 24,000–72,000). Our density estimates (3–6 birds/ha) are similar to estimates for Gough Moorhens on Gough Island before the post-2021 population decline and are at the higher end of densities reported for oceanic island rallids, suggesting that the Tristan da Cunha population may be near carrying capacity.

A low-charge Na-montmorillonite (SWy-2) was exchanged with hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium (HDTMA) at levels equal to 20, 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 150 and 200% of the cation exchange capacity (819 mmol(+)/kg) to determine the nature of adsorption and the ionic composition of the clay interlayers. In contrast with earlier work with smaller aliphatic cations, which suggested random interstratification of interlayers occupied by either organic or metallic cations, there was no evidence of cation segregation into homogeneous interlayers. Instead, X-ray analysis indicated that the organic cations assumed two dominant configurations which were roughly equivalent in prevalence at ∼70% coverage of the CEC. Below 70% exchange the organocations existed predominantly in heterogeneous monolayers with Na+, attaining basal spacings of between 1.41 and 1.44 nm which were sensitive to changes in relative humidity. Relative humidity effects indicated that Na+ and HDTMA occupied functionally discrete domains within the interlayer as shown by the free interaction of water and a neutral organic solute, naphthalene, with Na+ and HDTMA, respectively. At greater levels of HDTMA exchange (up to 100% of the CEC), the organocations assumed a predominantly bilayer configuration. Transition to a fully-developed bilayer indicated by a 1.77 nm d-spacing at 100% coverage was gradual, suggesting some interstratification of the monolayers and bilayer configurations between 70 and 100% exchange. Sorption of naphthalene to the organoclays within this range of coverage was well correlated with clay organic carbon content, consistent with relatively unimpeded interlayer access of neutral organic molecules.

This research paper aimed to locate protein modifications caused by treatment of milk and determine if the modification locations were consistent. The majority of milk for consumption is homogenised using pressure and heat, and this causes changes in the location of proteins in the milk as well as protein modifications. To investigate these proteomic changes, raw milk was pasteurised (72°C, 15 s), then, to separate the treatment for homogenisation, heated at these different pressures and temperatures: 45°C without no pressure applied, 45°C with 35 MPa, 80°C without pressure applied and 80°C, with 35 MPa. Proteomic analysis was done after separating the milk into three fractions: whey, casein and cream. Protein modifications in each fraction were examined and we found Maillard products as well as oxidation to be of interest. The proteins were also further identified and characterised to compare protein modification sites and differences in proteins present in the cream resulting from homogenisation and/or pasteurisation. This experiment showed that both heat and pressure during homogenisation can cause increases in protein modifications as a result of oxidation or the Maillard reaction. Total cysteine oxidation and total proline oxidation differed between treatments although this was only significantly different for cysteine. It was observed that protein modifications occurred in the same location in the protein sequence rather than in random locations which we highlighted by examining α-S1-casein, lactadherin and β-lactoglobulin.

Racially and ethnically minoritized populations have been historically excluded and underrepresented in research. This paper will describe best practices in multicultural and multilingual awareness-raising strategies used by the Recruitment Innovation Center to increase minoritized enrollment into clinical trials. The Passive Immunity Trial for Our Nation will be used as a primary example to highlight real-world application of these methods to raise awareness, engage community partners, and recruit diverse study participants.

Gatherings where people are eating and drinking can increase the risk of getting and spreading SARS-CoV-2 among people who are not fully vaccinated; prevention strategies like wearing masks and physical distancing continue to be important for some groups. We conducted an online survey to characterise fall/winter 2020–2021 holiday gatherings, decisions to attend and prevention strategies employed during and before gatherings. We determined associations between practicing prevention strategies, demographics and COVID-19 experience. Among 502 respondents, one-third attended in person holiday gatherings; 73% wore masks and 84% practiced physical distancing, but less did so always (29% and 23%, respectively). Younger adults were 44% more likely to attend gatherings than adults ≥35 years. Younger adults (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) 1.53, 95% CI 1.19–1.97), persons who did not experience COVID-19 themselves or have relatives/close friends experience severe COVID-19 (aPR 1.56, 95% CI 1.18–2.07), and non-Hispanic White persons (aPR 1.57, 95% CI 1.13–2.18) were more likely to not always wear masks in public during the 2 weeks before gatherings. Public health messaging emphasizing consistent application of COVID-19 prevention strategies is important to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Clinical trials continue to face significant challenges in participant recruitment and retention. The Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC), part of the Trial Innovation Network (TIN), has been funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to develop innovative strategies and technologies to enhance participant engagement in all stages of multicenter clinical trials. In collaboration with investigator teams and liaisons at Clinical and Translational Science Award institutions, the RIC is charged with the mission to design, field-test, and refine novel resources in the context of individual clinical trials. These innovations are disseminated via newsletters, publications, a virtual toolbox on the TIN website, and RIC-hosted collaboration webinars. The RIC has designed, implemented, and promised customized recruitment support for 173 studies across many diverse disease areas. This support has incorporated site feasibility assessments, community input sessions, recruitment materials recommendations, social media campaigns, and an array of study-specific suggestions. The RIC’s goal is to evaluate the efficacy of these resources and provide access to all investigating teams, so that more trials can be completed on time, within budget, with diverse participation, and with enough accrual to power statistical analyses and make substantive contributions to the advancement of healthcare.

The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.

Between 2001 and 2017, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh conducted training and research in Belize built around an annual two-week field course, part of the Edinburgh M.Sc. programme in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants, focused on tropical plant identification, botanical-collecting and tropical fieldwork skills. This long-term collaboration in one country has led to additional benefits, most notably capacity building, acquisition of new country records, completion of M.Sc. thesis projects and publication of the findings in journal articles, and continued cooperation. Detailed summaries are provided for the specimens collected by students during the field course or return visits to Belize for M.Sc. thesis projects. Additionally, 15 species not recorded in the national checklist for Belize are reported. The information in this paper highlights the benefits of collaborations between institutions and countries for periods greater than the typical funding cycles of three to five years.

The COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins) project is a large international collaborative effort to analyze individual-level phenotype data from twins in multiple cohorts from different environments. The main objective is to study factors that modify genetic and environmental variation of height, body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and size at birth, and additionally to address other research questions such as long-term consequences of birth size. The project started in 2013 and is open to all twin projects in the world having height and weight measures on twins with information on zygosity. Thus far, 54 twin projects from 24 countries have provided individual-level data. The CODATwins database includes 489,981 twin individuals (228,635 complete twin pairs). Since many twin cohorts have collected longitudinal data, there is a total of 1,049,785 height and weight observations. For many cohorts, we also have information on birth weight and length, own smoking behavior and own or parental education. We found that the heritability estimates of height and BMI systematically changed from infancy to old age. Remarkably, only minor differences in the heritability estimates were found across cultural–geographic regions, measurement time and birth cohort for height and BMI. In addition to genetic epidemiological studies, we looked at associations of height and BMI with education, birth weight and smoking status. Within-family analyses examined differences within same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins in birth size and later development. The CODATwins project demonstrates the feasibility and value of international collaboration to address gene-by-exposure interactions that require large sample sizes and address the effects of different exposures across time, geographical regions and socioeconomic status.

The role that vitamin D plays in pulmonary function remains uncertain. Epidemiological studies reported mixed findings for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)–pulmonary function association. We conducted the largest cross-sectional meta-analysis of the 25(OH)D–pulmonary function association to date, based on nine European ancestry (EA) cohorts (n 22 838) and five African ancestry (AA) cohorts (n 4290) in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Data were analysed using linear models by cohort and ancestry. Effect modification by smoking status (current/former/never) was tested. Results were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Mean serum 25(OH)D was 68 (sd 29) nmol/l for EA and 49 (sd 21) nmol/l for AA. For each 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1) was higher by 1·1 ml in EA (95 % CI 0·9, 1·3; P<0·0001) and 1·8 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·5; P<0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·06), and forced vital capacity (FVC) was higher by 1·3 ml in EA (95 % CI 1·0, 1·6; P<0·0001) and 1·5 ml (95 % CI 0·8, 2·3; P=0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·56). Among EA, the 25(OH)D–FVC association was stronger in smokers: per 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, FVC was higher by 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·3) for current smokers and 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·2, 2·1) for former smokers, compared with 0·8 ml (95 % CI 0·4, 1·2) for never smokers. In summary, the 25(OH)D associations with FEV1 and FVC were positive in both ancestries. In EA, a stronger association was observed for smokers compared with never smokers, which supports the importance of vitamin D in vulnerable populations.

Some 200 ultramafic xenoliths and their basaltic hosts from five French localities were studied. New analyses are presented, which show the five host-rocks to be nepheline- and olivine-normative. Seven bulk analyses of xenoliths from four localities, together with analyses of their constituent diopsides and, for six, of their orthopyroxenes, are also presented. Xenoliths from four occurrences appear to have equilibrated at pressures between about 8 to 18 kb at sub-basaltic solidus temperatures. Suites of xenoliths are chemically different. Histograms were used to determine compositions of depleted and ‘undepleted’ upper mantle. A suite of peridotite xenoliths from the Bult-fontein kimberlite pipe is no less depleted in fusible oxides than xenoliths from two French localities. ‘Undepleted’ upper mantle is very similar to ‘pyrolite’ in composition, except that the latter has much higher TiO2, Na2O, and K2O contents. No xenolith encountered in this work has a bulk composition that could yield more than 12% oceanic tholeiite on partial melting.

Polyminerallic, sulphidic mine wastes were treated with KH2PO4-H2O2 solutions to determine whether the formation of solid phosphate coatings inhibits sulphide oxidation and metal and metalloid mobility. The waste rocks were metal (PbZnCu) and metalloid (AsSb) rich and consisted of major quartz, dickite, illite and sulphide minerals (e.g. galena, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, sphalerite, pyrite, arsenopyrite) as well as minor to trace amounts of pre- and post-mining oxidation products (e.g. oxides, hydroxides, arsenates and sulphates). Scanning electron microscopy observations of the waste material treated with KH2PO4-H2O2 solutions showed that metal, metal-alkali and alkali phosphate precipitates formed and coatings developed on all sulphides (with the exception of tetrahedrite). The abundance of phosphate phases was dependant on the availability of metal and alkali cations in solution. In turn, the release of cations was dependent on the amount of sulphide oxidation induced during the experiment or the presence of soluble oxidation products. Lead and to a lesser degree Cu and Zn phosphate coatings remained stable during H2O2 leaching, preventing acid generation and metal release. In contrast, the lack of phosphate coating on tetrahedrite and arsenopyrite allowed oxidation and leaching of As and Sb to proceed and mobilized As and Sb did not form phosphate phases. As a result, As and Sb displayed the greatest release from the coated waste. Thus, the application of KH2PO4-H2O2 solutions to partly oxidized, polyminerallic mine wastes suppresses sulphide oxidation and is most effective in inhibiting Pb (Cu and Zn) release. However, the technique appears ineffective in preventing metalloid (As, Sb) leaching from tetrahedrite- and arsenopyrite-bearing wastes.

For livestock production systems to play a positive role in global food security, the balance between their benefits and disbenefits to society must be appropriately managed. Based on the evidence provided by field-scale randomised controlled trials around the world, this debate has traditionally centred on the concept of economic-environmental trade-offs, of which existence is theoretically assured when resource allocation is perfect on the farm. Recent research conducted on commercial farms indicates, however, that the economic-environmental nexus is not nearly as straightforward in the real world, with environmental performances of enterprises often positively correlated with their economic profitability. Using high-resolution primary data from the North Wyke Farm Platform, an intensively instrumented farm-scale ruminant research facility located in southwest United Kingdom, this paper proposes a novel, information-driven approach to carry out comprehensive assessments of economic-environmental trade-offs inherent within pasture-based cattle and sheep production systems. The results of a data-mining exercise suggest that a potentially systematic interaction exists between ‘soil health’, ecological surroundings and livestock grazing, whereby a higher level of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock is associated with a better animal performance and less nutrient losses into watercourses, and a higher stocking density with greater botanical diversity and elevated SOC. We contend that a combination of farming system-wide trials and environmental instrumentation provides an ideal setting for enrolling scientifically sound and biologically informative metrics for agricultural sustainability, through which agricultural producers could obtain guidance to manage soils, water, pasture and livestock in an economically and environmentally acceptable manner. Priority areas for future farm-scale research to ensure long-term sustainability are also discussed.

Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990–1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.