Exposure to multiple languages may support the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) in neurotypical (NT) and autistic children. However, previous research mainly applied group comparisons between monolingual and bilingual children, and the underlying mechanism of the observed difference remains unclear. The present study, therefore, sheds light on the effect of bilingualism on ToM in both NT and autistic children by measuring language experiences with a continuous operationalization. We measure ToM with a behavioral, linguistically simple tablet-based task, allowing inclusive assessment in autistic children. Analyses revealed no difference between monolingual and bilingual NT and autistic children. However, more balanced exposure to different languages within contexts positively predicted first-order false belief understanding in NT children but not autistic children. Mediation analysis showed that the impact in NT children was a direct effect and not mediated via other cognitive skills.

Thematic series were introduced to BJPsych Open by the current Editor-in-Chief to address key topics in psychiatry and mental health, specifically considering the impact on the global burden of diseases with associated treatments, outcomes, policy and research priorities. The increasing submission to BJPsych Open of articles about the psychosocial and mental health impacts of terrorism and collective violence naturally led to this thematic series. This paper introduces the journal’s series of published papers about terrorism and collective violence. While we identify the topics covered by the series and hope to generate conversation, this paper does not report a systematic review of the series. The thematic series consists of 13 articles; 9 were open submissions and 4 were commissioned. They include this review, an editorial concerning research methods and 11 papers reporting how people have responded to terrorist and violent incidents in 4 countries. Including this review, one paper was published in 2020, three in 2022, two in 2023, five in 2024 and two in 2025. The commissioned papers were added to broaden coverage of the Utøya attack on young people in Norway, and the shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019. Our intention was to enable the papers on these two incidents to sit alongside papers already submitted about them and the Manchester Arena bombing as well as articles about attacks in Germany. We begin by introducing the papers and comment in the discussion on a series of topics that we have selected as prominent in the series.

Inequality is a critical global issue, particularly in the United States, where economic disparities are among the most pronounced. Social justice research traditionally studies attitudes towards inequality—perceptions, beliefs, and judgments—using latent variable approaches. Recent scholarship adopts a network perspective, showing that these attitudes are interconnected within inequality belief systems. However, scholars often compare belief systems using split-sample approaches without examining how emotions, such as anger, shape these systems. Moreover, they rarely investigate Converse’s seminal idea that changes in central attitudes can lead to broader shifts in belief systems. Addressing these gaps, we applied a tripartite analytical strategy using U.S. data from the 2019 ISSP Social Inequality module. First, we used a mixed graphical model to demonstrate that inequality belief systems form cohesive small-world networks, with perception of large income inequality and belief in public redistribution as central nodes. Second, a moderated network model revealed that anger towards inequality moderates nearly one-third of network edges, consolidating the belief system by polarizing associations. Third, Ising model simulations showed that changes to central attitudes produce broader shifts across the belief system. This study advances belief system research by introducing innovative methods for comparing structures and testing dynamics of attitude change. It also contributes to social justice research by integrating emotional dynamics and highlighting anger’s role in structuring inequality belief systems.

We study the behaviour of the norm of the resolvent for non-self-adjoint operators of the form $A := -\partial_x + W(x)$, with $W(x) \ge 0$, defined in ${L^2}({\mathbb{R}})$. We provide a sharp estimate for the norm of its resolvent operator, $\| (A - \lambda)^{-1} \|$, as the spectral parameter diverges $(\lambda \to +\infty)$. Furthermore, we describe the C0-semigroup generated by −A and determine its norm. Finally, we discuss the applications of the results to the asymptotic description of pseudospectra of Schrödinger and damped wave operators, and also the optimality of abstract resolvent bounds based on Carleman-type estimates.

This paper puts forward a new interpretation of Deleuzian philosophy for prehistoric archaeology through an examination of the ontology of prehistoric rock art. Whereas Deleuzian philosophy is commonly defined as a relational conception of the real, I argue that one must distinguish between three different ways in which Deleuze’s conception of the real can operate: (1) transcendental empiricism, (2) simulacrum and (3) prehistory. This distinction is dependent upon the different ways in which the realm of virtuality and the realm of actuality can relate to one another. In the case of prehistoric rock art, we are dealing with a non-hierarchical relation between virtual and actual in which there is a simultaneous movement from virtual to actual, and from actual to virtual. This is distinct from a relational conception of the real, which is based on the loss of distinction between virtual and actual. Through an analysis of the cup-and-ring rock art of Neolithic Britain and the cave art of Upper Palaeolithic Europe, I argue that it was in prehistoric rock art and not in modern art that the true ontological condition of art manifested itself.

Given the ongoing global extinction crisis, preserving genetic diversity is critical for long-term ecosystem resilience. A large, openly available DNA barcoding database could support this goal by allowing the identification of ‘genetic hotspots’ for conservation planning. We studied 77 woody species in the Monte Desert, South America’s largest dryland, using ITS2 and rbcLa markers to identify haplotypes for each species. We modified a previously published genetic diversity criterion, which prioritizes uniqueness, to also consider species ubiquity. We then mapped this genetic diversity metric, calculated Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PD) index and overlaid our map with protected areas and permanent plantations. We identified five robust genetic hotspots, three of which coalesced into a central ‘mega-hotspot’. Alarmingly, most hotspots lay outside existing protected areas, and two overlapped with permanent plantations. As expected, high PD did not consistently align with high genetic diversity or species richness, suggesting that in the Monte Desert current protected areas overlook key genetic and PD. Our study highlights the importance of integrating DNA barcoding from understudied geographic regions into conservation plans.

For network meta-analysis (NMA), we usually assume that the treatment arms are independent within each included trial. This assumption is justified for parallel design trials and leads to a property we call consistency of variances for both multi-arm trials and NMA estimates. However, the assumption is violated for trials with correlated arms, for example, split-body trials. For multi-arm trials with correlated arms, the variance of a contrast is not the sum of the arm-based variances, but comes with a correlation term. This may lead to violations of variance consistency, and the inconsistency of variances may even propagate to the NMA estimates. We explain this using a geometric analogy where three-arm trials correspond to triangles and four-arm trials correspond to tetrahedrons. We also investigate which information has to be extracted for a multi-arm trial with correlated arms and provide an algorithm to analyze NMAs including such trials.