In 2020, the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) published consensus labels for the uniform description of normally distributed test results in the field of clinical neuropsychology. These consensus labels were developed in a North American context, but other countries have also struggled with the challenges of harmonizing verbal descriptive labels in neuropsychological reports. A recent effort in Norway has demonstrated that literal translations of the AACN labels do not always work in a different language and culture. Also, verbal labels may not be unequivocally understandable for patients, their significant others, and other healthcare professionals who refer patients for neuropsychological services. In this Commentary, we illustrate the process of coming to uniform descriptions for normally distributed test results for the Dutch language, spoken primarily in the Netherlands, the Flanders part of Belgium, the Dutch Caribbean, and Suriname. We also highlight the hurdles that need to be overcome to establish a global consensus.

Gestational weight gain (GWG) can be defined as the total weight gained throughout pregnancy and is required for healthy fetal growth; however, gaining excessive weight during pregnancy has been linked with several adverse effects. This review aims to consider the evidence on weight management during pregnancy, with a focus on the key challenges surrounding GWG and the practical considerations related to assessing weight changes. It is estimated that nearly 50% of women gain excessive weight during pregnancy; nevertheless, this can be difficult to quantify due to the lack of global consensus on recommended GWG guidelines. Currently, there are no GWG guidelines in the UK and Ireland, as reiterated in the recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, due to the lack of evidence about what the optimal total weight change in pregnancy should be. This is further complicated by the conflicting results of interventions aimed at preventing excessive GWG and their resultant inconsistent effects on adverse pregnancy outcomes. Accurate calculation of GWG requires measurement of pre-pregnancy weight and weight prior to the onset of labour. However, several practical considerations are associated with obtaining these weights, as in practice, estimated or self-recalled weights are often used as an alternate, thereby introducing variability into the measurement of GWG and the potential for inaccuracies in analysis. These limitations highlight the need for a more uniform approach in assessing GWG. The WHO is in the process of developing global GWG standards, and this could potentially establish a uniform gold standard for assessing GWG and reintroduce routine weighing.

Incorporating intangible aspects of prehistoric experience, including sound, has become increasingly important in rock art research, offering a more comprehensive interpretation of the past. Scholars suggest that the acoustic properties of certain rock art sites may have influenced not only artistic creation but also social and ritual practices. This article presents guidelines for recording, digitizing, and analyzing the acoustic features of open and semi-open rock art sites. The proposed protocol integrates two complementary approaches: a sonic exploration to gather subjective (person-centered) data, and experimental impulse response measurements based on room acoustics principles to obtain quantitative acoustic data. Given the lack of standardized methodologies for characterizing the acoustics of such sites, this protocol aims to enhance the reliability, reproducibility, and comparability of future archaeoacoustic research. By establishing a rigorous framework, it contributes to a deeper understanding of how sound shaped past human experiences.

Lipids are essential for child development. Nutritional recommendations are numerous, evolving over time and are often based on expert opinions more than evidence-based medicine. The objective of this review is to critically analyse the evolution of current nutritional recommendations, identify existing knowledge gaps and propose avenues for improvement to optimise infant nutrition and development. A narrative literature review on Pubmed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases (2001–22) was conducted with the keywords: ‘alpha-linolenic acid, arachidonic acid, children, cholesterol, docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, guidelines, infant, long-chain (LC) PUFA, linoleic acid, lipids and dietary intakes, newborn, palmitic acid and toddler’. Among 861 articles identified, 133 were selected. The main current recommendations are issued by the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA), French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) and the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization (FAO-WHO). In infants from 0 to 3 years of age the main challenge is to increase lipid intake while maintaining an optimal omega 6/omega 3 ratio. Current recommendations are focused on polyunsaturated fatty acids, emphasising the intake of linoleic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids without any specific recommendation for arachidonic acid before the age of 6 months. Points of interest, but without any recommendation, are the incorporation of milk fat, cholesterol, monounsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids for infants under 6 months. In conclusion, this article identifies knowledge gaps regarding the structural aspect of lipids and the integration of new categories of lipids in future recommendations to promote the quality of infant formulas.

This review comprehensively examines the current evidence on the dietary management of chronic constipation, and the dietary recommendations presented in clinical guidelines for chronic constipation. Several randomised controlled trials (RCT) have investigated the effect of dietary supplements, foods and drinks in chronic constipation. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of these RCTs have demonstrated that psyllium supplements, specific probiotic supplements, magnesium oxide supplements, kiwifruits, prunes, rye bread and high mineral water content may be effective in the management of constipation. However, despite the plethora of evidence, current clinical guidelines only offer a limited number of dietary recommendations. The most commonly recommended dietary strategy in clinical guidelines is dietary fibre, followed by senna supplements and psyllium supplements. The least commonly recommended dietary strategies are magnesium oxide, Chinese herbal supplements, prunes and high mineral-content water. Several evidence-based dietary strategies are omitted by current clinical guidelines (e.g. kiwifruits), while some strategies that are recommended are not always supported by evidence (e.g. insoluble fibre supplement). Dietary recommendations in clinical guidelines can also be ambiguous, lacking outcome-specific recommendations and information for appropriate implementation. Future RCTs are needed to assess currently under-investigated dietary approaches that are nevertheless commonly recommended, and future clinical guidelines should include dietary recommendations supported by available evidence.

This article examines the recent work of the ILC on ‘Succession of States in Respect of State Responsibility’. While the ILC decided in 2024 to stop working on the topic, the five reports submitted by Special Rapporteur Šturma and the Guidelines provisionally adopted will have a long-lasting impact on state succession scholarship and may influence states in their practice. This article provides a critical analysis of the Guidelines by comparing its content with the Resolution adopted by the Institute of International Law in 2015 on the same issue. It will show that while the solutions which were initially put forward by Special Rapporteur Šturma in his reports followed many of the same features as the Institute’s Resolution, the final version of the Guidelines are significantly different in both content and tone. A major shift occurred when each provision was examined by the Drafting Committee. This is because some ILC members, and many states, rejected any presumption of succession to responsibility. Instead, they favoured the opposite general rule of nonsuccession. As a result, none of the provisions provisionally adopted by the ILC impose any obligations whatsoever on states. They only go so far as to encourage them to reach agreements on matters of succession to responsibility. Ultimately, the Guidelines leave wide open the possibility that a wrong remains unpunished in the context of a succession of states. As such, the Guidelines do little to protect the interests of injured states.

Research on nutraceutical and dietary interventions in psychiatry has grown substantially, but progress is hindered by methodological inconsistencies and limited reporting standards. To address this, the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research presents the first guidelines on clinical trial design, conduct, and reporting for future clinical trials in this area. Recommendations were developed using a Delphi process including eighteen researchers with considerable clinical trial expertise and experience in either methodology, nutraceutical, or dietary interventions in psychiatry. These guidelines provide forty-nine recommendations for clinical trial design and outcomes, five for trial reporting, and seven for future research priorities. The recommendations included in these guidelines are designed to inform both nutraceutical and dietary clinical trial interventions in Nutritional Psychiatry. Common themes include an emphasis on the importance of a multidisciplinary research team and integration of co-design processes into the conduct and design of clinical research, methods to improve transparency and replicability of trial outcomes, and measures to address common biases in nutrition trials. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for future research including examining a greater variety of nutraceutical and dietary interventions, scalable delivery models, effectiveness and implementation studies, and the need to investigate these interventions in the prevention and management of less studied psychiatric conditions (e.g. schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). Recommendations included within these guidelines are intended to improve the rigor and clinical relevance of ongoing and future clinical trials in Nutritional Psychiatry.

One of the goals of open science is to promote the transparency and accessibility of research. Sharing data and materials used in network research is critical to these goals. In this paper, we present recommendations for whether, what, when, and where network data and materials should be shared. We recommend that network data and materials should be shared, but access to or use of shared data and materials may be restricted if necessary to avoid harm or comply with regulations. Researchers should share the network data and materials necessary to reproduce reported results via a publicly accessible repository when an associated manuscript is published. To ensure the adoption of these recommendations, network journals should require sharing, and network associations and academic institutions should reward sharing.