In July 2022, a genetically linked and geographically dispersed cluster of 12 cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O103:H2 was detected by the UK Health Security Agency using whole genome sequencing. Review of food history questionnaires identified cheese (particularly an unpasteurized brie-style cheese) and mixed salad leaves as potential vehicles. A case–control study was conducted to investigate exposure to these products. Case food history information was collected by telephone. Controls were recruited using a market research panel and self-completed an online questionnaire. Univariable and multivariable analyses were undertaken using Firth Logistic Regression. Eleven cases and 24 controls were included in the analysis. Consumption of the brie-style cheese of interest was associated with illness (OR 57.5, 95% confidence interval: 3.10–1,060). Concurrently, the production of the brie-style cheese was investigated. Microbiological sample results for the cheese products and implicated dairy herd did not identify the outbreak strain, but did identify the presence of stx genes and STEC, respectively. Together, epidemiological, microbiological, and environmental investigations provided evidence that the brie-style cheese was the vehicle for this outbreak. Production of unpasteurized dairy products was suspended by the business operator, and a review of practices was performed.

Recent research on the organisation and growth of large settlements (both urban and non-urban) has prompted a reassessment of factors driving population aggregation. Systematic aerial and ground survey of the South Caucasus mega-fortress Dmanisis Gora, described here, contributes to the understanding of large fortress settlements in the South Caucasus (c. 1500–500 BC) as part of this wider debate. Substantial defensive walls and stone architecture in the outer settlement contrast with low-intensity occupation, possibly by a seasonally mobile segment of the population. The exceptional size of Dmanisis Gora helps add new dimensions to population aggregation models in Eurasia and beyond.

We estimate the economic value of birding, which is an important ecosystem service produced by bird populations in recreation areas. Our research identifies the link between values and species richness as well as the abundance of the sandhill crane (Grus canadensis), which migrates each year through our study area. Sandhill crane stopovers at state and federal wildlife areas can attract many birders. We estimate this nonmarket value using the zonal travel cost method and data from the eBird project on wildlife areas in Indiana. We compare crane counts based on eBird with those from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). We find important differences depending on whether we use eBird or DNR counts. On average, birders are willing to pay $28 per trip to sites in the study area and less than $1 per trip to see an additional species, while the value of 1000 more cranes is either about $1 or $10 per trip depending on how abundance is measured.

To reconstruct behavioural changes that underpin evolutionary transitions between solitary and eusocial behaviour, we need detailed behavioural information about both solitary and eusocial species. Most behavioural studies of sweat bees have focused on sociality. We addressed the lack of detailed information about solitary species using pinned specimens of Lasioglossum leucozonium (Schrank) and L. zonulum (Smith) from Ontario (2003–2019) and Alberta (2016). We used weekly abundance of trapped bees to evaluate flight phenology (univoltine versus bivoltine), delineating two phases of flight activity, P1 and P2, before and after the first appearance of males, and evaluated female traits related to reproduction (body size, wear, and ovary development). All populations were confirmed to be solitary. The Ontario L. leucozonium and Alberta L. zonulum were univoltine, with P1 and P2 females being similar in size but P2 females more worn and with less-developed ovaries. Ontario L. zonulum were bivoltine, with P2 females being larger, more worn, and having more ovary development than P1 females, a unique pattern among bivoltine sweat bees. Contrasting observations between univoltine and bivoltine populations support the contention that solitary reproduction is not necessarily “simple” and that detailed information is needed to illuminate behavioural changes during bee social evolution.

Pottery vessels played a central role in the processing, storage and transport of animal and plant products by prehistoric and historic peoples with their chemical residues surviving for thousands of years. Accurate radiocarbon dating of archaeological pottery vessels by isolating reliable sources of carbon relating to the use of pots has long been a major challenge, but is now possible using compound-specific radiocarbon analysis of absorbed organic residues preserved in the ceramic fabric of the vessel wall. This method involves the radiocarbon dating of single fatty acids most commonly derived from degraded animal fats. These compounds are extracted from the ceramic matrix and isolated from potentially interfering compounds using preparative capillary gas chromatography. When coupled with lipid biomarker and compound-specific stable carbon isotope analyses, this method enables the palaeodietary and chronological information contained in archaeological lipids preserved in ceramic vessels to be interpreted together. From a practical perspective the methodology is challenging and for successful application must adhere to rigorous protocols. We present here guidelines which include (i) consideration of pottery selection, (ii) technical parameters for the isolation of fatty acids then their 14C dating and calibration, and (iii) case studies selected to illustrate the best use of this method.

Basal channels, which are troughs carved into the undersides of ice shelves by buoyant plumes of water, are modulators of ice-shelf basal melt and structural stability. In this study, we track the evolution of 12 large basal channels beneath ice shelves of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas region in West Antarctica using the Landsat record since its start in the 1970s through 2020. We observe examples of channel growth, interactions with ice-shelf features, and systematic changes in sinuosity that give insight into the life cycles of basal channels. We use the last two decades of the record, combined with contemporary ice-flow velocity datasets, to separate channel-path evolution into components related to advection by ice flow and those controlled by other forcings, such as ocean melt or surface accumulation. Our results show that ice-flow-independent lateral channel migration is overwhelmingly to the left when viewed down-flow, suggesting that it is dominated by Coriolis-influenced ocean melt. By applying a model of channel-path evolution dominantly controlled by ice flow and ocean melt, we show that the majority of channels surveyed exhibit non-steady behavior that serves as a novel proxy for increased ocean forcing in West Antarctica starting at least in the early 1970s.

Obesity is one of the major contributors to the excess mortality seen in people with severe mental illness (SMI) and in low- and middle-income countries people with SMI may be at an even greater risk. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity and overweight in people with SMI and investigate the association of obesity and overweight with sociodemographic variables, other physical comorbidities, and health-risk behaviours. This was a multi-country cross-sectional survey study where data were collected from 3989 adults with SMI from three specialist mental health institutions in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was estimated using Asian BMI thresholds. Multinomial regression models were then used to explore associations between overweight and obesity with various potential determinants. There was a high prevalence of overweight (17·3 %) and obesity (46·2 %). The relative risk of having obesity (compared to normal weight) was double in women (RRR = 2·04) compared with men. Participants who met the WHO recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake had 2·53 (95 % CI: 1·65–3·88) times greater risk of having obesity compared to those not meeting them. Also, the relative risk of having obesity in people with hypertension is 69 % higher than in people without hypertension (RRR = 1·69). In conclusion, obesity is highly prevalent in SMI and associated with chronic disease. The complex relationship between diet and risk of obesity was also highlighted. People with SMI and obesity could benefit from screening for non-communicable diseases, better nutritional education, and context-appropriate lifestyle interventions.

The IntCal family of radiocarbon (14C) calibration curves is based on research spanning more than three decades. The IntCal group have collated the 14C and calendar age data (mostly derived from primary publications with other types of data and meta-data) and, since 2010, made them available for other sorts of analysis through an open-access database. This has ensured transparency in terms of the data used in the construction of the ratified calibration curves. As the IntCal database expands, work is underway to facilitate best practice for new data submissions, make more of the associated metadata available in a structured form, and help those wishing to process the data with programming languages such as R, Python, and MATLAB. The data and metadata are complex because of the range of different types of archives. A restructured interface, based on the “IntChron” open-access data model, includes tools which allow the data to be plotted and compared without the need for export. The intention is to include complementary information which can be used alongside the main 14C series to provide new insights into the global carbon cycle, as well as facilitating access to the data for other research applications. Overall, this work aims to streamline the generation of new calibration curves.

Relatedness within groups is influenced by the mating patterns of founders: the more parents that contribute to a group, the lower the relatedness of their offspring. Xylocopa virginica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a facultatively social bee in which low relatedness is influenced by sequential maternity. We investigated whether multiple paternity, which would occur if egg-laying females mate multiple times, might also contribute to low relatedness among female nestmates. We used two approaches to investigate how frequently females mate polyandrously. First, we used visual observations of mating behaviour to estimate mating frequencies and to evaluate evidence for temporal variation in female receptivity to mates. Second, we used a data set of microsatellite genotypes to evaluate evidence for multiple paternity based on inferred proportions of full and half sisters. Based on visual observations, we inferred a female mating frequency of 1.1 (harmonic mean). Females were more receptive early in their first nestmate provisioning phase and less receptive in their second brood provisioning phase. Based on microsatellite genotypes analysed with COLONY software, we inferred that 5–44% of female sibships included maternal half sisters, implying female mating frequencies between 1.13 and 1.41 (harmonic means). Thus, multiple mating contributes to the low group relatedness found in Xylocopa virginica.

Among nursing home outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with ≥3 breakthrough infections when the predominant severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant circulating was the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) variant, fully vaccinated residents were 28% less likely to be infected than were unvaccinated residents. Once infected, they had approximately half the risk for all-cause hospitalization and all-cause death compared with unvaccinated infected residents.

To understand snow structure and snowmelt timing, information about flows of liquid water within the snowpack is essential. Models can make predictions using explicit representations of physical processes, or through parameterization, but it is difficult to verify simulations. In situ observations generally measure bulk quantities. Where internal snowpack measurements are made, they tend to be destructive and unsuitable for continuous monitoring. Here, we present a novel method for in situ monitoring of water flow in seasonal snow using the electrical self-potential (SP) geophysical method. A prototype geophysical array was installed at Col de Porte (France) in October 2018. Snow hydrological and meteorological observations were also collected. Results for two periods of hydrological interest during winter 2018–19 (a marked period of diurnal melting and refreezing, and a rain-on-snow event) show that the electrical SP method is sensitive to internal water flow. Water flow was detected by SP signals before it was measured in conventional snowmelt lysimeters at the base of the snowpack. This initial feasibility study shows the utility of the SP method as a non-destructive snow sensor. Future development should include combining SP measurements with a high-resolution snow physics model to improve prediction of melt timing.