In 2023 the Supreme Court of Mauritius cited human rights and public health arguments to strike down a colonial-era law criminalizing consensual same-sex sex. The parliament of Singapore recently did the same through legislative means. Are these aberrations or a shifting global consensus? This article documents a remarkable shift international legal shift regarding LGBTQ+ sexuality. Analysis of laws from 194 countries across multiple years demonstrates a clear, ongoing trend toward decriminalization globally. Where most countries criminalized same-sex sexuality in the 1980s, now two-thirds of countries do not criminalize under law. Additionally, 28 criminalizing countries in 2024 demonstrate a de facto policy of non-enforcement, a milestone towards legal change that all of the countries that have fully decriminalized since 2017 have taken. This has important public health effects, with health law lessons for an era of multiple pandemics. But amidst this trend, the reverse is occurring in some countries, with a counter-trend toward deeper, harsher criminalization of LGBTQ+ sexuality. Case studies of Angola, Singapore, India, Botswana, Mauritius, Cook Islands, Gabon, and Antigua and Barbuda show many politically- and legally-viable pathways to decriminalization and highlight actors in the executive, legislative, and judicial arenas of government and civil society engaged in legal change.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) shows spatiotemporal heterogeneity in China. A spatiotemporal filtering model was constructed and applied to HFMD data to explore the underlying spatiotemporal structure of the disease and determine the impact of different spatiotemporal weight matrices on the results. HFMD cases and covariate data in East China were collected between 2009 and 2015. The different spatiotemporal weight matrices formed by Rook, K-nearest neighbour (KNN; K = 1), distance, and second-order spatial weight matrices (SO-SWM) with first-order temporal weight matrices in contemporaneous and lagged forms were decomposed, and spatiotemporal filtering model was constructed by selecting eigenvectors according to MC and the AIC. We used MI, standard deviation of the regression coefficients, and five indices (AIC, BIC, DIC, R2, and MSE) to compare the spatiotemporal filtering model with a Bayesian spatiotemporal model. The eigenvectors effectively removed spatial correlation in the model residuals (Moran’s I < 0.2, p > 0.05). The Bayesian spatiotemporal model’s Rook weight matrix outperformed others. The spatiotemporal filtering model with SO-SWM was superior, as shown by lower AIC (92,029.60), BIC (92,681.20), and MSE (418,022.7) values, and higher R2 (0.56) value. All spatiotemporal contemporaneous structures outperformed the lagged structures. Additionally, eigenvector maps from the Rook and SO-SWM closely resembled incidence patterns of HFMD.

The impact of long-term nocturnal warming on soil aggregate stability and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration was examined in agricultural fields. Employing a passive warming system, the nighttime warming experiment involved two treatments: a control check (CK) and a nighttime warming treatment (WT), spanning the entire growth seasons of wheat from 2013 to 2021. The annual average temperature increase ranged from 0.3 to 1.3°C, with an average increment of 0.71°C over the eight years. Both dry and wet sieving methods showed that nighttime warming reduced the proportion of macroaggregates and increased microaggregates compared to CK, thereby diminishing soil aggregate (SA) stability. While nighttime warming had the potential to elevate the concentrations and contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN), significant effects were only observed in the concentrations and contribution rates of SOC and TN. The C/N ratios across different particle sizes within SA were not significantly affected by nighttime warming. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between the SOC/TN contents and contribution rates and the stability of SA. These results suggest that eight years of nighttime warming could undermine the stability of SA, yet it did not impact the pools of N and C in the agricultural lands of central China.

Objectives/Goals: Objective: To examine whether familial longevity modifies the relationship between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older adults. Goals include assessing the impact of familial longevity on 1) CVD prevalence, 2) CVD incidence, and 3) mortality among individuals with CKD. Methods/Study Population: An observational, longitudinal study. We examined 1,236 Ashkenazi Jewish adults (ages 65–94) from the LonGenity cohort. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was the independent variable, calculated using the CKD-EPI equation 2021. CVD prevalence, incidence, and mortality were our outcomes. CVD was defined as a composite of MI, PCI, CABG, or stroke. Exceptional longevity was defined as living past 95 years, grouping participants into OPEL (offspring of parents with exceptional longevity, n = 576) and OPUS (offspring of parents with usual survival, n = 604). Stratified logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models assessed eGFR’s association with CVD, testing effect modification through eGFR × OPEL interaction terms. Median follow-up was 5.5 years. Results/Anticipated Results: A significant association was observed between eGFR and CVD prevalence in OPUS, but not in OPEL. No significant link was found between eGFR and CVD incidence or mortality in either group. Familial longevity did not modify the association between eGFR and CVD prevalence, nor the composite of CVD incidence and mortality, as the interaction term was nonsignificant. The LonGenity cohort’s health status may have influenced these results due to selection and survivor biases, limiting generalizability. Further research is needed to clarify familial longevity’s role in kidney function and cardiovascular outcomes. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Our findings suggest that kidney function, as measured by eGFR, may be associated differently with cardiovascular risk in those with and without familial longevity. The study highlights potential limits of familial longevity in modifying CVD risk associated with CKD, underscoring the need for tailored CVD prevention strategies.

Little is known about the association between iodine nutrition status and bone health. The present study aimed to explore the connection between iodine nutrition status, bone metabolism parameters, and bone disease (osteopenia and osteoporosis). A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 391, 395, and 421 adults from iodine fortification areas (IFA), iodine adequate areas (IAA), and iodine excess areas (IEA) of China. Iodine nutrition status, bone metabolism parameters and BMD were measured. Our results showed that, in IEA, the urine iodine concentrations (UIC) and serum iodine concentrations (SIC) were significantly higher than in IAA. BMD and Ca2+ levels were significantly different under different iodine nutrition levels and the BMD were negatively correlated with UIC and SIC. Univariate linear regression showed that gender, age, BMI, menopausal status, smoking status, alcohol consumption, UIC, SIC, free thyroxine, TSH, and alkaline phosphatase were associated with BMD. The prevalence of osteopenia was significantly increased in IEA, UIC ≥ 300µg/L and SIC > 90µg/L groups. UIC ≥ 300µg/L and SIC > 90µg/L were risk factors for BMD T value < -1.0 SD. In conclusion, excess iodine can not only lead to changes in bone metabolism parameters and BMD, but is also a risk factor for osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Brown dwarfs are failed stars with very low mass (13 to 75 Jupiter mass), and an effective temperature lower than 2500 K. Their mass range is between Jupiter and red dwarfs. Thus, they play a key role in understanding the gap in the mass function between stars and planets. However, due to their faint nature, previous searches are inevitably limited to the solar neighbourhood (20 pc). To improve our knowledge of the low mass part of the initial stellar mass function and the star formation history of the MilkyWay, it is crucial to find more distant brown dwarfs. Using JamesWebb Space Telescope (JWST) COSMOS-Web data, this study seeks to enhance our comprehension of the physical characteristics of brown dwarfs situated at a distance of kpc scale. The exceptional sensitivity of the JWST enables the detection of brown dwarfs that are up to 100 times more distant than those discovered in the earlier all-sky infrared surveys. The large area coverage of the JWST COSMOS-Web survey allows us to find more distant brown dwarfs than earlier JWST studies with smaller area coverages. To capture prominent water absorption features around 2.7 μm, we apply two colour criteria, F115W – F277W + 1 < F277W – F444W and F277W – F444W > 0.9. We then select point sources by CLASS_STAR, FLUX_RADIUS, and SPREAD_MODEL criteria. Faint sources are visually checked to exclude possibly extended sources. We conduct SED fitting and MCMC simulations to determine their physical properties and associated uncertainties. Our search reveals 25 T-dwarf candidates and 2 Y-dwarf candidates, more than any previous JWST brown dwarf searches. They are located from 0.3 kpc to 4 kpc away from the Earth. The spatial number density of 900-1050 K dwarf is (2.0 ± 0.9) × 10–6 pc–3, 1050–1200 K dwarf is (1.2 ± 0.7) × 10–6 pc–3, and 1200–1350 K dwarf is (4.4 ± 1.3) × 10–6 pc–3. The cumulative number count of our brown dwarf candidates is consistent with the prediction from a standard double exponential model. Three of our brown dwarf candidates were detected by HST, with transverse velocities 12 ± 5 km s–1, 12 ± 4 km s–1, and 17 ± 6 km s–1. Along with earlier studies, the JWST has opened a new window of brown dwarf research in the MilkyWay thick disk and halo.

This paper provides an overview of the current status of ultrafast and ultra-intense lasers with peak powers exceeding 100 TW and examines the research activities in high-energy-density physics within China. Currently, 10 high-intensity lasers with powers over 100 TW are operational, and about 10 additional lasers are being constructed at various institutes and universities. These facilities operate either independently or are combined with one another, thereby offering substantial support for both Chinese and international research and development efforts in high-energy-density physics.

My daughter was born in March during COVID-19. Because of the pandemic, my baby cannot meet her grandparents who live overseas, as Japan has implemented an entry ban for most foreign nationals. It should have been a special time for my family, but now there is no way of knowing when we will be able to see each other again. As a foreigner in Japan and a new mom, it is a very challenging time. All I can do is wait for the Japanese government to lift the travel bans and hope that the COVID crisis will end soon so that I can be with my family again and introduce my daughter to them.

Knowledge of the critical periods of crop–weed competition is crucial for designing weed management strategies in cropping systems. In the Lower Yangtze Valley, China, field experiments were conducted in 2011 and 2012 to study the effect of interference from mixed natural weed populations on cotton growth and yield and to determine the critical period for weed control (CPWC) in direct-seeded cotton. Two treatments were applied: allowing weeds to infest the crop or keeping plots weed-free for increasing periods (0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 20 wk) after crop emergence. The results show that mixed natural weed infestations led to 35- to 55-cm shorter cotton plants with stem diameters 10 to 13 mm smaller throughout the season, fitting well with modified Gompertz and logistic models, respectively. Season-long competition with weeds reduced the number of fruit branches per plant by 65% to 82%, decreasing boll number per plant by 86% to 96% and single boll weight by approximately 24%. Weed-free seed cotton yields ranged from 2,900 to 3,130 kg ha−1, while yield loss increased with the duration of weed infestation, reaching up to 83% to 96% compared with permanent weed-free plots. Modified Gompertz and logistic models were used to analyze the impact of increasing weed control duration and weed interference on relative seed cotton yield (percentage of season-long weed-free cotton), respectively. Based on a 5% yield loss threshold, the CPWC was found to be from 145 to 994 growing degree days (GDD), corresponding to 14 to 85 d after emergence (DAE). These findings emphasize the importance of implementing effective weed control measures from 14 to 85 DAE in the Lower Yangtze Valley to prevent crop losses exceeding a 5% yield loss threshold.

Systematically monitoring the baseline sensitivity of troublesome weeds to herbicides is a crucial step in the early detection of their market lifespan. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is one of the most important herbicides used in rice production throughout the world, and has been used for 5 yr in China. Barnyardgrass is one of the main targeted weed species of florpyrauxifen-benzyl. In total, 114 barnyardgrass populations were collected from rice fields in Jiangsu Province, China, and using whole-plant bioassays they were screened for susceptibility to florpyrauxifen-benzyl. The GR50 values (representing the dose that causes a 50% reduction in fresh weight of aboveground parts) of florpyrauxifen-benzyl for all populations ranged from 1.0 to 34.5 g ai ha−1, with an average of 6.8 g ai ha−1, a baseline sensitivity dose of 3.3 g ai ha−1, and a baseline sensitivity index of 34.5. Twenty-one days after treatment with florpyrauxifen-benzyl at the labeled dose (36 g ai ha−1), 90% of the barnyardgrass populations exhibited >95% reductions in fresh weight of aboveground parts. Compared with the baseline sensitivity dose, 63, 44, and 7 populations had, respectively, no resistance (55%), low resistance (39%), and moderate resistance (6%) to florpyrauxifen-benzyl. Furthermore, the GR50 distribution of barnyardgrass populations did not show a significant correlation with collection location, planting method (direct-seeding or transplanting), or rice species (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica or ssp. japonica) at any of rice fields where seeds had been collected (P > 0.05). In conclusion, florpyrauxifen-benzyl remains effective for barnyardgrass control in rice fields despite serious resistance challenges.

The propagation of multiple ultraintense femtosecond lasers in underdense plasmas is investigated theoretically and numerically. We find that the energy merging effect between two in-phase seed lasers can be improved by using two obliquely incident guiding lasers whose initial phase is $\pi$ and $\pi /2$ ahead of the seed laser. Particle-in-cell simulations show that due to the repulsion and energy transfer of the guiding laser, the peak intensity of the merged light is amplified by more than five times compared to the seed laser. The energy conversion efficiency from all incident lasers to the merged light is up to approximately 60$\%$. The results are useful for many applications, including plasma-based optical amplification, charged particle acceleration and extremely intense magnetic field generation.