Crested floating heart [Nymphoides cristata (Roxb.) Kuntze] is an invasive aquatic plant in the southeastern United States. For clonal plants like N. cristata, clonal diversity may influence response to control tactics and/or evolutionary potential. However, little is known about the diversity of introduced N. cristata. In this study, we used genotyping by sequencing to quantify N. cristata diversity in the southeastern United States and determine how that diversity is distributed across the invaded range. Our results show that at least three distinct genetic lineages of N. cristata are present in the southeastern United States. Geographic distribution of the lineages varied, with one widespread lineage identified across several states and others only found in a single water body. There is also evidence of extensive asexual reproduction, with invaded water bodies often host to a single genetic lineage. The genetic diversity reported in this study likely results from multiple introductions of N. cristata to the southeastern United States and should be considered by managers when assessing control tactics, such as screening for biocontrol agents or herbicide testing. The extent and distribution of genetic diversity should also be considered by researchers studying the potential for invasive spread of N. cristata within the United States or hybridization with native Nymphoides species.

Coastal wetlands are hotspots of carbon sequestration, and their conservation and restoration can help to mitigate climate change. However, there remains uncertainty on when and where coastal wetland restoration can most effectively act as natural climate solutions (NCS). Here, we synthesize current understanding to illustrate the requirements for coastal wetland restoration to benefit climate, and discuss potential paths forward that address key uncertainties impeding implementation. To be effective as NCS, coastal wetland restoration projects will accrue climate cooling benefits that would not occur without management action (additionality), will be implementable (feasibility) and will persist over management-relevant timeframes (permanence). Several issues add uncertainty to understanding if these minimum requirements are met. First, coastal wetlands serve as both a landscape source and sink of carbon for other habitats, increasing uncertainty in additionality. Second, coastal wetlands can potentially migrate outside of project footprints as they respond to sea-level rise, increasing uncertainty in permanence. To address these first two issues, a system-wide approach may be necessary, rather than basing cooling benefits only on changes that occur within project boundaries. Third, the need for NCS to function over management-relevant decadal timescales means methane responses may be necessary to include in coastal wetland restoration planning and monitoring. Finally, there is uncertainty on how much data are required to justify restoration action. We summarize the minimum data required to make a binary decision on whether there is a net cooling benefit from a management action, noting that these data are more readily available than the data required to quantify the magnitude of cooling benefits for carbon crediting purposes. By reducing uncertainty, coastal wetland restoration can be implemented at the scale required to significantly contribute to addressing the current climate crisis.

Mössbauer spectra of 9 glauconite samples from Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary strata in the South Island of New Zealand contain a broad shoulder due to low intensity absorption continuous between 1.0 and 2.5 mm/sec when the absorber is at room temperature; the shoulder is absent, and sharp peaks are apparent in spectra taken with the absorber at 80°K. The data suggest that electron transfer occurs between adjacent Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions at room temperature. The low temperature spectra indicate that all Fe in the glauconites is in octahedral coordination. Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions occur in both eis and trans sites; Fe3+ shows a strong preference for eis sites whereas Fe2+ shows an even stronger preference for trans sites.

The partially variable oxidation state of Fe in glauconite is interpreted in terms of a geochemical model for glauconitization of a degraded or incomplete progenitor phyllosilicate. The model involves exchange of Fe2+ for other cations which temporarily stabilize the progenitor, followed by Fe2+-Fe3+ charge transfer reactions. Each reaction results from the system's tendency towards equilibrium. The model is supported by the observation that artificially leached glauconite increases both its Fe3+ and its Fe2+ content when placed in a solution containing Fe2+ as the only Fe ion present.

Animals under human care are exposed to a potentially large range of both familiar and unfamiliar humans. Human-animal interactions vary across settings, and individuals, with the nature of the interaction being affected by a suite of different intrinsic and extrinsic factors. These interactions can be described as positive, negative or neutral. Across some industries, there has been a move towards the development of technologies to support or replace human interactions with animals. Whilst this has many benefits, there can also be challenges associated with increased technology use. A day-long Animal Welfare Research Network workshop was hosted at Harper Adams University, UK, with the aim of bringing together stakeholders and researchers (n = 38) from the companion, farm and zoo animal fields, to discuss benefits, challenges and limitations of human-animal interactions and machine-animal interactions for animals under human care and create a list of future research priorities. The workshop consisted of four talks from experts within these areas, followed by break-out room discussions. This work is the outcome of that workshop. The key recommendations are that approaches to advancing the scientific discipline of machine-animal interactions in animals under human care should focus on: (1) interdisciplinary collaboration; (2) development of validated methods; (3) incorporation of an animal-centred perspective; (4) a focus on promotion of positive animal welfare states (not just avoidance of negative states); and (5) an exploration of ways that machines can support a reduction in the exposure of animals to negative human-animal interactions to reduce negative, and increase positive, experiences for animals.

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing globally(1). While BMI is commonly used to define obesity, it is unable to differentiate between fat and muscle mass, leading to calls to measure body composition specifically(2). While several tools are available to assess body composition in infancy, it is unclear if they are directly comparable. Among a subset of healthy infants born to mothers participating in a randomised controlled trial of a preconception and antenatal nutritional supplement(3), measurements were made at ages 6 weeks (n = 58) and 6 months (n = 70) using air displacement plethysmography (ADP), whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS). Estimates of percentage fat mass (%FM) were compared using Cohen’s kappa statistic (κ) and Bland-Altman analysis (4,5). There was none to weak agreement when comparing tertiles of %FM (κ = 0.15–0.59). When comparing absolute values, the bias (i.e., mean difference) was smallest when comparing BIS to ADP at 6 weeks (+1.7%). A similar bias was observed at 6 months when comparing DXA to ADP (+1.8%). However, when comparing BIA to DXA at both ages, biases were much larger (+7.6% and +4.7% at 6 weeks and 6 months, respectively). Furthermore, there was wide interindividual variance (limits of agreement [LOA] i.e., ± 1.96 SD) for each comparison. At 6 weeks, LOA ranged from ± 4.8 to ± 6.5% for BIA vs. DXA and BIA vs. ADP, respectively. At 6 months, LOA were even wider, ranging from ± 7.3 to ± 8.1% (DXA vs. ADP and BIA vs. DXA, respectively). Proportional biases were apparent when comparing BIS to the other tools at both ages, with BIS generally overestimating %FM more among infants with low adiposity. In addition to differences according to tool type, within-tool factors impacted body composition estimation. For ADP measurements, the choice of FFM density reference (Fomon vs. Butte) had minimal impact; however, choice of DXA software version (GE Lunar enCORE basic vs. enhanced) and BIS analysis approach (empirical equation vs. mixture theory prediction) led to very different estimates of body composition. In conclusion, when comparing body composition assessment tools in infancy, there was limited agreement between three commonly used tools. Therefore, researchers and clinicians must be cautious when conducting longitudinal analyses or when comparing findings across studies, as estimates are not comparable across tools.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the adoption of online education across all sectors worldwide, which was particularly challenging for disciplines that rely on hands-on learning such as bioarchaeology. Although the impacts of this rapid transition have been well investigated in fields such as anatomy and forensic anthropology, there has been little research into its effects within bioarchaeology. We address this deficit by investigating two common perceptions around online learning from a bioarchaeological perspective: (1) online techniques are inadequate for teaching practical skills, and (2) online learning environments lack a sense of community, thereby negatively affecting learner experiences. To gauge learner perceptions around online practical education in this field, we conducted a qualitative survey of participants in a bioarchaeology masterclass series. Results suggest that students perceive online learning to be as effective for practical training as in-person alternatives and that online learning may engender a sense of community when offered using a collaborative, interactive approach. Based on our results we provide several key recommendations for online education in bioarchaeology, including an active emphasis on social engagement and relationship building, culturally appropriate teaching, and the use of resources to encourage flexibility in learning. A Thai-language abstract is available as Supplemental Text 1.

Marine megafauna occurrence was recorded in the deep-sea region bordering the abyssal plain ~400 km north-west of Luanda, Angola. The survey took place during an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS), prior to drilling exploration activities, with the goal of characterizing the habitat and biodiversity of the region. Offshore shipboard surveys were conducted during September 2018 in water depths ranging from 2350–3850 m. We recorded daytime sightings of marine mammals and sea turtles and at night made audio recordings using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) methods focused on capturing the sounds of vocalizing marine mammals. A variety of species were visually detected, including the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), common dolphin (Delphinus spp.), striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), Atlantic spotted dolphin (S. frontalis), and olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). Acoustic click bouts similar to those made by several odontocete species, possibly including beaked whales, were recorded within the 25–48 kHz range. The humpback whale was the most frequently sighted species, accounting for 56% of mammal sightings, indicating a potential far offshore migratory habitat in this region. Most notably, right whales (probable Eubalaena australis) were visually observed. This is the first confirmed record of right whales in Angolan waters since the early 1900s. As development expands in this offshore region, these data can usefully inform future monitoring and mitigation strategies focused on minimizing impacts to wildlife.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization stressed the importance of daily clinical assessments of infected patients, yet current approaches frequently consider cross-sectional timepoints, cumulative summary measures, or time-to-event analyses. Statistical methods are available that make use of the rich information content of longitudinal assessments. We demonstrate the use of a multistate transition model to assess the dynamic nature of COVID-19-associated critical illness using daily evaluations of COVID-19 patients from 9 academic hospitals. We describe the accessibility and utility of methods that consider the clinical trajectory of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Older adults (≥65 years) are the fastest growing population group. Thus, ensuring nutritional well-being of the ‘over-65s’ to optimise health is critically important. Older adults represent a diverse population – some are fit and healthy, others are frail and many live with chronic conditions. Up to 78% of older Irish adults living independently are overweight or obese. The present paper describes how these issues were accommodated into the development of food-based dietary guidelines for older adults living independently in Ireland. Food-based dietary guidelines previously established for the general adult population served as the basis for developing more specific recommendations appropriate for older adults. Published international reports were used to update nutrient intake goals for older adults, and available Irish data on dietary intakes and nutritional status biomarkers were explored from a population-based study (the National Adult Nutrition Survey; NANS) and two longitudinal cohorts: the Trinity-Ulster and Department of Agriculture (TUDA) and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) studies. Nutrients of public health concern were identified for further examination. While most nutrient intake goals were similar to those for the general adult population, other aspects were identified where nutritional concerns of ageing require more specific food-based dietary guidelines. These include, a more protein-dense diet using high-quality protein foods to preserve muscle mass; weight maintenance in overweight or obese older adults with no health issues and, where weight-loss is required, that lean tissue is preserved; the promotion of fortified foods, particularly as a bioavailable source of B vitamins and the need for vitamin D supplementation.

Diet is a modifiable risk factor for chronic disease and a potential modulator of telomere length (TL). The study aim was to investigate associations between diet quality and TL in Australian adults after a 12-week dietary intervention with an almond-enriched diet (AED). Participants (overweight/obese, 50–80 years) were randomised to an AED (n 62) or isoenergetic nut-free diet (NFD, n 62) for 12 weeks. Diet quality was assessed using a Dietary Guideline Index (DGI), applied to weighed food records, that consists of ten components reflecting adequacy, variety and quality of core food components and discretionary choices within the diet. TL was measured by quantitative PCR in samples of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and whole blood. There were no significant associations between DGI scores and TL at baseline. Diet quality improved with AED and decreased with NFD after 12 weeks (change from baseline AED + 9·8 %, NFD − 14·3 %; P < 0·001). TL increased in neutrophils (+9·6 bp, P = 0·009) and decreased in whole blood, to a trivial extent (–12·1 bp, P = 0·001), and was unchanged in lymphocytes. Changes did not differ between intervention groups. There were no significant relationships between changes in diet quality scores and changes in lymphocyte, neutrophil or whole blood TL. The inclusion of almonds in the diet improved diet quality scores but had no impact on TL mid-age to older Australian adults. Future studies should investigate the impact of more substantial dietary changes over longer periods of time.

A hybrid asymptotic-numerical method is developed to approximate the mean first passage time (MFPT) and the splitting probability for a Brownian particle in a bounded two-dimensional (2D) domain that contains absorbing disks, referred to as “traps”, of asymptotically small radii. In contrast to previous studies that required traps to be spatially well separated, we show how to readily incorporate the effect of a cluster of closely spaced traps by adapting a recently formulated least-squares approach in order to numerically solve certain local problems for the Laplacian near the cluster. We also provide new asymptotic formulae for the MFPT in 2D spatially periodic domains where a trap cluster is centred at the lattice points of an oblique Bravais lattice. Over all such lattices with fixed area for the primitive cell, and for each specific trap set, the average MFPT is smallest for a hexagonal lattice of traps.

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.