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Abstract Background Studying movement patterns of individual animals over time can give insight into how they interact with the environment and optimize foraging strategies. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) undertake long seasonal migrations between feeding areas in polar regions and breeding grounds in tropical areas. During the last decade, several individuals have had up to a 3-month stop-over period around specific fjord-areas in Northern Norway to feed on Norwegian spring-spawning (NSS-) herring (Culpea harengus L.). Their behavioral patterns during this period are not well understood, including why some whales seemingly leave the fjords and then later return within the same season. Methods To investigate whale behavior during this seasonal stopover, we classified humpback whale tracks into five distinct movement modes; ranging, encamped, nomadic, roundtrip and semi-roundtrip. A behavioral change point analysis (BCPA) was used to select homogeneous segments based on persistence velocity. Then, net squared displacement (NSD) over time was modeled to differentiate movement modes. This study also manually identified longer roundtrips away from the fjords that lasted several days and examined movement modes within these. Results Inside the fjord systems, encamped mode was most prevalent in December–January, suggesting the whales were mainly foraging on overwintering NSS-herring in this area. During the same winter seasons, half of the whales left the fjords and then returned. We hypothesize that these trips serve as ‘searching trips’ during which the whales seek better feeding opportunities outside the fjords. If better foraging conditions are not found, they return to the fjords to continue their feeding. The overall most common mode was ranging (54%), particularly seen during the start of their southwards migration and in areas outside the fjord systems, indicating that the whales mainly moved over larger distances in the offshore habitat. Conclusions This study serves as a baseline for future studies investigating both the searching trip theory and humpback whale behavior in general, and confirms that this method could be useful to analyze local scale movement patterns of satellite tagged whales.

Abstract Organismal phenotyping to identify fitness traits is transforming our understanding of adaptive responses and ecological interactions of species within changing environments. Here we present a portable Multi-Taxa Phenotyping (MTP) system that can retrieve a suite of metabolic and photophysiological parameter across light, temperature, and/or chemical gradients, using real time bio-optical (oxygen and chlorophyll a fluorescence) measurements. The MTP system integrates three well-established technologies for the first time: an imaging Pulse Amplitude Modulated (PAM) chlorophyll a fluorometer, custom-designed well plates equipped with optical oxygen sensors, and a thermocycler. We demonstrate the ability of the MTP system to distinguish phenotypic performance characteristics of diverse aquatic taxa spanning corals, mangroves and algae based on metabolic parameters and Photosystem II dynamics, in a high-throughput capacity and accounting for interactions of different environmental gradients on performance. Extracted metrics from the MTP system can not only provide information on the performance of aquatic taxa exposed to differing environmental gradients, but also provide predicted phenotypic responses of key aquatic organisms to environmental change. Further work validating how rapid phenotyping tools such as the MTP system predict phenotypic responses to long term environmental changes in situ are urgently required to best inform how these tools can support management efforts.

Abstract Alternative splicing (AS) contributes to the biological heterogeneity between species, sexes, tissues, and cell types. Many diseases are either caused by alterations in AS or by alterations to AS. Therefore, measuring AS accurately and efficiently is critical for assessing molecular phenotypes, including those associated with disease. Long-read sequencing enables more accurate quantification of differentially spliced isoform expression than short-read sequencing approaches, and third-generation platforms facilitate high-throughput experiments. To assess differences in AS across the cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, and striatum by sex, we generated and analyzed Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long-read RNA sequencing (lrRNA-Seq) C57BL/6J mouse brain cDNA libraries. From > 85 million reads that passed quality control metrics, we calculated differential gene expression (DGE), differential transcript expression (DTE), and differential transcript usage (DTU) across brain regions and by sex. We found significant DGE, DTE, and DTU across brain regions and that the cerebellum had the most differences compared to the other three regions. Additionally, we found region-specific differential splicing between sexes, with the most sex differences in DTU in the cortex and no DTU in the hippocampus. We also report on two distinct patterns of sex DTU we observed, sex-divergent and sex-specific, that could potentially help explain sex differences in the prevalence and prognosis of various neurological and psychiatric disorders in future studies. Finally, we built a Shiny web application for researchers to explore the data further. Our study provides a resource for the community; it underscores the importance of AS in biological heterogeneity and the utility of long-read sequencing to better understand AS in the brain.

Tropical savannas have been increasingly targeted for carbon sequestration by afforestation, assuming large gains in soil organic carbon (SOC) with increasing tree cover. Because savanna SOC is also derived from grasses, this assumption may not reflect real changes in SOC under afforestation. However, the exact contribution of grasses to SOC and the changes in SOC with increasing tree cover remain poorly understood. Here we combine a case study from Kruger National Park, South Africa, with data synthesized from tropical savannas globally to show that grass-derived carbon constitutes more than half of total SOC to a soil depth of 1 m, even in soils directly under trees. The largest SOC concentrations were associated with the largest grass contributions (>70% of total SOC). Across the tropics, SOC concentration was not explained by tree cover. Both SOC gain and loss were observed following increasing tree cover, and on average SOC storage within a 1-m profile only increased by 6% (s.e. = 4%, n = 44). These results underscore the substantial contribution of grasses to SOC and the considerable uncertainty in SOC responses to increasing tree cover across tropical savannas.

Implementation of coral restoration practices within reef management strategies is accelerating globally to support reef resilience and recovery. However, full costs underpinning restoration project feasibility have historically been underreported yet are critical to informing restoration cost-benefit decision-making. Such knowledge is especially lacking for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR), where a coral restoration program led by reef tourism operators, Coral Nurture Program (CNP), was initiated in 2018 (northern GBR) and continues to scale. Here we describe the early outcomes and costs of implementing similar tourism-led asexual coral propagation and outplanting practices in a new region, the Whitsundays (central GBR) through the CNP. Specifically, we detail the local operational and environmental context of CNP Whitsundays, describe the costs of implementation and continuation of restoration activities, as well as evaluate survivorship of coral outplants across three restoration sites for nine months after project establishment (August 2022 to June 2023). Baseline benthic surveys revealed relatively low hard coral cover at restoration sites (ranging from 3.22-8.67%), which significantly differed in benthic composition from coral collection sites (ranging 16.67-38.06%), supporting strong motivation by tourism operators to undertake restoration activities. Mean coral survivorship of coral outplants in fate-tracked plots differed between the three restoration sites after 267 days (ranging 23.33-47.58%), with declines largely driven by coral detachment. Early-stage cost-effectiveness (costs relative to outplant survival) associated with implementation of restoration activity varied widely from US$33.04-178.55 per surviving coral (n = 4,425 outplants) depending on whether ‘in-kind’ costs, restoration activity (outplanting only vs. total costs encompassing planning through to monitoring), site-based survivorship, or a combination of these factors, were considered. As coral reef restoration projects continue to be established globally, our results highlight the need for ongoing, long-term monitoring that can inform adaptive practice, and fully transparent cost-reporting to understand and improve feasibility for any given project. We further highlight the inherent context-dependency of restoration costs, and the importance of considering local social-environmental contexts and their associated cost-benefits in economic rationale for reef restoration projects.

Abstract The term polarization is used to describe both the division of a society into opposing groups (political polarization), and a social psychological phenomenon (group polarization) whereby people adopt more extreme positions after discussion. We explain how group polarization underpins the political polarization phenomenon: Social interaction, for example through social media, enables groups to form in such a way that their beliefs about what should be done to change the world—and how this differs from the stance of other groups—become integrated as aspects of a new, shared social identity. This provides a basis for mobilization to collective action.

Restoration supports the recovery of ecological attributes such as cover, complexity, and diversity to slow the areal decline of natural ecosystems. Restoration activity is intensifying worldwide to combat persistent stressors that are driving global declines to the extent and resilience of coral reefs. However, restoration is disputed as a meaningful aid to reef ecological recovery, often as an expensive distraction to addressing the root causes of reef loss. We contend this dispute partly stems from inferences drawn from small-scale experimental restoration outcomes amplified by misconceptions around cost-based reasoning. Alongside aggressive emissions reductions, we advocate urgent investment in coral reef ecosystem restoration as part of the management toolbox to combat the destruction of reefs as we know them within decades.

Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) are thought to be generalists that feed primarily on fish, but some individuals have been observed targeting pinnipeds. In the study reported here, field observations of foraging behaviours formed the basis of a priori classification as either seal-eaters or fish-eaters. Concurrent collection of photographic identification and biopsies for stable isotope analysis were used to validate prey choice classification. We found through satellite tracking that whales classified as seal-eaters took different paths south after leaving the northern fjords seemingly optimized for pinniped predation. Specifically, we found that seal-eaters took paths that tightly followed the coastline, remaining on average 6.9 ± 10.7 km (mean ± SD, n = 315) from the coast, whereas fish-eaters moved offshore along the continental shelf, travelling on average 45.1 ± 30.2 km (n = 1534) from the coast. We also found that, compared to fish-eaters, seal-eaters displayed more movements directed towards harbour seal haul-outs (p = 0.001). As expected, our data suggest that the fish-eaters feed primarily on fish, whilst seal-eaters appear to opportunistically use diverse foraging strategies optimized for either fish or seals based on availability and preference. Our findings demonstrate that tracking data can elucidate Norwegian killer whale movements associated with different prey types and selection.

The media's adherence to “if it bleeds, it leads” has resulted in global dominance of negative news (e.g., stories of corruption, fraud, shootings, terrorism, and war). The appetite for negative news is fueled by negativity bias, which compels people to prioritize negative over positive stories. This cross-cultural study, inspired by media effect theories such as Cultivation Theory, explored the links between problematic consumption of negative news (doomscrolling), existential anxiety, pessimistic views about human nature, and belief about a just world in two distinct cultures. Participants included convenience samples of Iranian (n = 620) and American (n = 180) university-student social media users. Doomscrolling was associated with elevated levels of existential anxiety in both samples. Additionally, misanthropy was positively associated with doomscrolling only in the Iranian sample. Aligned with the Media-induced PTSD Hypothesis and the Shattered Assumption Theory, our findings suggest that prolonged exposure to negative news can contribute to the development of existential anxiety. Current news framing with its overemphasis on negativity could fuel doomscrolling-inspired existential concerns.

Background Childhood chronic pain is a widespread public health issue. We need to understand how children with chronic pain and their families experience chronic pain and its management. Objectives To conduct a meta-ethnography on the experiences and perceptions of children with chronic pain and their families of chronic pain, treatments and services. We investigated how children and their families conceptualise and live with chronic pain; what they think of and want from health and social care services; and what they conceptualise as ‘good’ pain management. Design Meta-ethnography with stakeholder and patient and public involvement in the design, search and sampling strategies, analysis and dissemination. Review strategy: comprehensive searches of 12 bibliographic databases and supplementary searches in September 2022, to identify qualitative studies with children aged 3 months to 18 years with chronic non-cancer pain and their families. We included studies with rich explanatory data; appraised methodological limitations using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool; and extracted, analysed and synthesised studies’ findings. We used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-confidence in the evidence from reviews of qualitative research to assess confidence in review findings. We integrated findings with 14 Cochrane treatment effectiveness reviews on children’s chronic non-cancer pain. Results We synthesised 43 studies sampled from 170 eligible studies reported in 182 publications. Studies had minor (n = 24) or moderate (n = 19) methodological limitations. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-confidence in the evidence from reviews of qualitative research assessments of review findings were high (n = 22), moderate (n = 13) or very low confidence (n = 1). Moderate and severe chronic pain had profound adverse impacts on family members’ well-being, autonomy and self-identity; family dynamics; parenting approaches; friendships and socialising; children’s education and parental paid employment. Most children and families sought a biomedical cure for pain. They experienced difficulties seeking and receiving support from health services to manage pain and its impacts. Consequently, some families repeatedly visited health services. Cochrane reviews of intervention effects and trials did not measure some outcomes important to children and families, for example effects of pain on the family and resolution of pain. Reviews have mainly neglected a biopsychosocial approach when considering how interventions work. Limitations There were limited data on common pain conditions like migraine/headache, abdominal pain; some rarer conditions; children with learning disabilities and under-fives; siblings; fathers and experiences of treatments/services. We excluded studies on cancer, end-of-life pain and experiences of healthcare professionals. Conclusions We developed the family-centred theory of children’s chronic pain management, integrating health and social care with community support. Future work Future research should explore families’ experiences of services and treatments, including opioids, and social care services; experiences of children with autism and learning disabilities, under 5 years old and with certain common pain conditions. We need development and testing of family-centred interventions and services. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO (CRD42019161455) and Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care (623). Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR128671) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 17. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information. Plain language summary Chronic pain lasting 3 months or more affects at least 8% of children in the UK. It causes difficulties with many aspects of children’s lives including relationships, school attendance and use of National Health Services. In the UK, there are few specialist services and a lack of high-quality research for managing children’s chronic pain. Our study aimed to locate and pull together existing research on the experiences and views of children with chronic pain and their families. We wanted to find out how they think about and live with chronic pain, and their views and experiences of services and treatments, and what they want to achieve from them. We conducted this study alongside children with chronic pain and their families, charities, healthcare professionals and academic experts. They helped us to conduct the study and to ensure our findings are relevant to children, families and the National Health Service. We pulled together data from 43 studies that best answered our questions. We found that moderate and severe children’s chronic pain that was not well managed affected the whole family, including their relationships and social lives. Families found it difficult to get help and a diagnosis from health services. Most families wanted a medical cure for pain. Families had long waits for answers and treatment but gradually realised there may be no cure, so they focused on living well with pain or gave up hope. Children and families from ethnic minority groups or with a learning disability experienced discrimination. Few studies focused on children under 5 years old, children with learning disabilities or experiences of services. Families need a pain management approach tailored to the whole family’s needs involving schools, social care and health services. Our findings could improve treatment guidelines, training of health and social care professionals and service design and treatments. Scientific summary Background Chronic pain in childhood is widespread, affecting at least 8% of children and young people (CYP) in the UK. For a sizeable number of children, chronic non-cancer pain has considerable negative impacts on children’s lives and quality of life and leads to increased use of healthcare services and medication. Treating adolescent pain alone has an annual cost of around 4 billion pounds in the UK. Provision of, and access to, services for managing children’s chronic pain is limited. We also do not know which treatment outcomes children and families value. To design and deliver services and treatments, which meet the needs of patients and their families, it is vital that we understand how children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience chronic pain, pain treatments and services, and which outcomes are important to them. Qualitative research addressing these urgent, important issues exists but must be synthesised to interpret the body of evidence. Existing qualitative evidence syntheses have focused on either a narrow chronic pain population or topic and none produced a theory. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis using meta-ethnography, which is ideal for synthesising the diverse contexts of children’s chronic pain research and developing theory. We refer to the meta-ethnography by the acronym ‘CHAMPION’ (Children And young people’s Meta-ethnography on Pain). The meta-ethnography was conceived as a Cochrane review to inform and supplement existing Cochrane reviews of intervention effectiveness for children’s chronic pain. Cochrane requires qualitative evidence syntheses to be integrated with intervention effects reviews to further understanding of patient experiences, acceptability and implementation of interventions, which outcomes are important to children and their families, and inform further intervention development. Aim To conduct a meta-ethnography on the experiences and perceptions of CYP with chronic pain, and their families, of chronic pain, treatments and services to inform the design and delivery of health and social care services, interventions and future research. Review questions How do children with chronic pain and their families conceptualise chronic pain? How do they live with chronic pain? What do they think of how health and social care services respond to and manage their/their child’s chronic pain? What do they conceptualise as ‘good’ chronic pain management and what do they want to achieve from chronic pain management interventions and services? Objectives Conduct comprehensive searches to identify qualitative research literature on the experiences and perceptions of children with chronic pain and their families to address review questions 1–4. Select and synthesise relevant studies using meta-ethnography. Ensure salience of findings via involvement of children with chronic pain and their families in study design, analysis and interpretation. Assess how much confidence can be placed in our synthesised findings using GRADE-CERQual (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-confidence in the evidence from reviews of qualitative research) in order to facilitate use of our findings for NHS decision-making. Identify research gaps regarding review questions 1–4 in order to inform future research directions. Integrate our findings with existing relevant Cochrane treatment effectiveness reviews in order to determine if programme theories and outcomes of interventions match children and their families’ views. Inform the selection and design of patient-reported outcome measures for use in chronic pain studies and interventions and care provision to children and their families. Disseminate findings to academic, clinical, lay and policy audiences to influence childhood chronic pain policy and practice. Methods Design We conducted a meta-ethnography, a seven-phase interpretive methodology, which takes into account the contexts and meanings of the original studies. Patient and public involvement Patient and public involvement (PPI) of children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families was fundamental to all aspects of our meta-ethnography conduct from study inception to dissemination. We also worked with a Project Advisory Group of wider stakeholders. The groups approved the aim and design and search strategy. They participated in workshops to decide study inclusion and sampling criteria decisions, how to group studies for analysis, data interpretation, identification of research gaps and to develop outputs. They also informed and assisted with dissemination of findings. Review strategy We carried out comprehensive searches of 12 bibliographic databases including MEDLINE (medical literature analysis and retrieval system online), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), PsycInfo and 9 others, with iterative supplementary searches, including citation tracking. We searched for studies that had been published up to September 2022. Selection criteria To identify qualitative research studies with children aged 3 months to 18 years with chronic non-cancer pain, and their families, which focused on their perceptions, experiences and views of chronic pain, services and treatments. The final inclusion criteria were agreed with our PPI group. We included qualitative research studies of any design using recognisable qualitative methods of data collection, in any language, with no date restrictions. We did not include children with chronic pain related to cancer or end of life because they have distinct care pathways; Cochrane reviews of effects also synthesise non-cancer pain separately. Data collection and analysis Eligible studies were purposively sampled to ensure we could conduct an in-depth, synthesis of the data most relevant to answering our review questions. Sampling, organising studies for synthesis and analysis and interpretation involved our PPI group via two workshops and additional communication by teleconference, e-mail and social media. ‘Conceptually rich’ and ‘thick’ studies, that is, those with in-depth explanatory/interpretive findings and contextual details, were included. Sampling was guided by Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group Guidance, and our advisory and involvement groups who agreed we should include non-UK studies and studies with moderately rich data to ensure a wider range of pain conditions were represented. We assessed methodological limitations of studies using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. We extracted data on study aims, focus and characteristics into Microsoft Excel® and findings using NVivo software. We compared these study data to determine how studies related to one another and decided how to order and group them for synthesis. Stakeholders and our PPI group agreed we should group studies by pain condition. We used meta-ethnography to synthesise each group of studies separately before synthesising them all together. Analysis and interpretation of studies involved children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families and has resulted in theory to inform service design and delivery. Our PPI group clarified the meaning of ambiguous study findings and identified and addressed gaps in the data. We used the GRADE-CERQual approach to assess our confidence in each key review finding and used a matrix approach to integrate our findings with 14 existing Cochrane reviews on treatment effectiveness for children’s chronic non-cancer pain. Results One hundred and seventy studies met inclusion criteria. We sampled and synthesised 43 most relevant conceptually rich and thick studies, which had minor (n = 24) or moderate (n = 19) methodological limitations overall. Using GRADE-CERQual, we rated 36 descriptive-level review findings as high (n = 22) or moderate (n = 13) confidence with only one very low confidence. Twenty-three included studies were conducted in the UK, 17 in other high-income countries and 4 in low- to middle-income countries (there is a three-country study, so the total does not add to 43 studies). Included studies involved 325 CYP with chronic pain, most aged 10 years or older, and 308 family members, mostly mothers. The studies covered chronic pain conditions including complex regional pain syndrome, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, sickle cell disease, headache, migraine, abdominal pain, musculoskeletal pain, epidermolysis bullosa, dysmenorrhoea, neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, unspecified chronic pain or a mix of conditions. Moderate and severe children’s chronic pain had profound adverse impacts on the whole family, family life and their wider social connections. Pain affected all aspects of an individual’s and a family’s functioning: family dynamics and relationships; family members’ emotions, well-being, autonomy and a sense of self-identity; parenting strategies; friendships and socialising; children’s education and future employment prospects; and parental employment. Families experienced difficulties in seeking and getting help and support from health services to manage their child’s pain and its impacts. Most pain management occurred outside of health services supervised by parents, especially mothers who were usually the main caregivers. Children and young people and their families were aware of the biopsychosocial (physical/biological, psychological and social) impacts of chronic pain on their lives. However, most CYP and parents understood the cause of chronic pain as having solely an underlying biological cause. This influenced their expectations of, and interactions with, health services. However, families’ conceptualisations of pain were dynamic and could change over time influenced by experiences of treatments, services and interactions with healthcare professionals. Interactions with healthcare professionals were frequently negative and stressful. CYP and parents, particularly mothers, felt they were not listened to and believed, and thus felt unsupported. For instance, CYP’s experiences of living with pain were ignored or their pain was disbelieved, and mothers felt blamed for their child’s pain. Parents of younger children and of children with communication difficulties, in particular, perceived that healthcare professionals did not always recognise their expertise in assessing their child’s pain. A key challenge for children and their families was that they found health services fragmented and very difficult to navigate. Consequently, it was difficult to achieve satisfactory pain management. Families often entered a lengthy cycle, which could last many years, of attending then reattending health services, and awaiting referral. In addition to these navigation challenges, CYP and their families, particularly CYP with sickle cell disease and those with chronic pain and learning disabilities, such as Down syndrome, experienced prejudice and discrimination in health services. We created a model of how families navigate chronic management with two key routes labelled Path A and B. On Path A, families seek a cure from services but often repeatedly seek services without pain resolution. When their expectations of services are not met, they try to deal with pain alone, often unsuccessfully, which can dominate family life. Psychological treatments are only used as a last option. Path B depicts effective communication and expectation management by healthcare professionals which can help families to shift their focus from a cure to trying to live well despite the pain. Families might also realise independently over time that a cure is unlikely. Families on Path B tend to be more receptive to biopsychosocial approaches for pain management, due to lack of other options. Families can move between the paths depending on input from services and if pain worsens. We developed new interpretive findings resulting in the family-centred theory of children’s chronic pain and its management, which incorporates how children and families conceptualise pain, their experiences of living with pain and of pain management services, and defines ‘good’ pain management and services. Our mid-range theory describes good pain management and services as holistic, biopsychosocial, family-centred pain management which acknowledges the impact of CYP’s chronic pain on all aspects of family life and their social relationships. In the theory, pain management strategies are tailored to the family’s needs. Schools, social services, social care and healthcare services function as inter-related aspects in a whole system approach. This approach aims to reduce service fragmentation making services more intuitive for families. Empathetic communication is a core component of this approach, and it is fundamental for building trust between families and services. The theory includes assessment of chronic pain and of families’ psychosocial needs to enable effective triage and trigger appropriate actions from/referrals to different services (schools, social care and health services). Cochrane systematic reviews of intervention effects and trials did not measure some outcomes important to children and families, including effects of chronic pain on the family and resolution of pain. Reviews have mainly neglected a biopsychosocial approach when considering how interventions work. Limitations There were few conceptually rich qualitative studies focusing on common pain conditions like migraine, headache, abdominal pain; some rarer conditions; children with learning disabilities and under 5 years old; siblings; boys with chronic pain; fathers; and experiences of treatments/services for chronic pain. Our findings may not well represent the experiences and perceptions of the poorly represented groups and there were gaps in the evidence regarding experiences and perceptions of treatments/services. Three per cent (n = 1) of our findings were assessed as very low confidence, none were low confidence and 36% (n = 13) were moderate confidence, using GRADE-CERQual. Additional evidence could increase our confidence in those findings. We excluded studies focusing on chronic cancer pain, end-of-life pain management and experiences of healthcare professionals. Conclusions Currently, children’s chronic pain management does not involve holistic, biopsychosocial health and social care tailored for children and integrated with support in the community, which considers the needs of the entire family and the impact on the family life. The theory and findings developed in this meta-ethnography have the potential to contribute to the development and updating of existing clinical guidelines on children’s chronic non-cancer pain; inform training of health and social care professionals regarding children’s chronic pain management; and inform service, treatment and intervention design and delivery. Ultimately, this could improve the care provided and thus the health and quality of life of children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families, which in turn could reduce the burden on health and social care services. Findings are being disseminated widely to academic, lay, clinical and policy audiences. Outputs include a short, animated film on YouTube for children (https://youtu.be/Oz5I7xKYf5o), academic journal articles, a webinar, a lay podcast, an infographic, a policy briefing and other social media outputs. In addition, we have delivered eight conference presentations. Future work Family-centred outcomes should be included in future trials of chronic pain interventions. Conceptually rich, primary qualitative studies are needed to explore families’ experiences of services and treatments, including pain management plans, pain assessment, opioid use in children and social care services; experiences of children with autism and learning disabilities, under 5 years old, and with certain common pain conditions, such as headache, migraine and abdominal pain and with some rarer conditions such as Ehlers–Danlos syndrome; experiences of siblings and fathers of children with chronic pain; and healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions of chronic pain management. A qualitative evidence synthesis on chronic pain management for children with cancer is needed. Development and testing of family-centred children’s chronic pain interventions, services and treatments are needed. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO, the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (reference: CRD42019161455) and Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care (review number 623). Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR128671) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 17. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Considering a growing, aging population, the need for interventions to improve the healthspan in aging are tantamount. Diet and nutrition are important determinants of the aging trajectory. Plant-based diets that provide bioactive phytonutrients may contribute to offsetting hallmarks of aging and reducing the risk of chronic disease. Researchers now advocate moving toward a positive model of aging which focuses on the preservation of functional abilities, rather than an emphasis on the absence of disease. This narrative review discusses the modulatory effect of nutrition on aging, with an emphasis on promising phytonutrients, and their potential to influence cellular, organ and functional parameters in aging. The literature is discussed against the backdrop of a recent conceptual framework which describes vitality, intrinsic capacity and expressed capacities in aging. This aims to better elucidate the role of phytonutrients on vitality and intrinsic capacity in aging adults. Such a review contributes to this new scientific perspective—namely—how nutrition might help to preserve functional abilities in aging, rather than purely offsetting the risk of chronic disease.

Movements for progressive social change (e.g., Black Lives Matter, #MeToo) are commonly met with reactionary counter-movements that seek to protect the rights and interests of structurally advantaged groups (e.g., All Lives Matter, #MenToo). Drawing on the insights of the social identity approach and the needs-based model of reconciliation, the current research explores whether men's support for progressive and reactionary action (i.e., their intentions to promote women's rights and men's rights, respectively) are shaped by their need to defend their group's moral identity. Combined analyses of three samples (N = 733) showed that men's social identification was associated with their reduced intentions to act for women's rights and positively related to their intentions to promote men's rights—effects mediated by their need for positive moral identity and defensiveness regarding the issue of gendered violence. Overall, the findings suggest that defensive construals regarding group-based inequalities may not only present a barrier to men's engagement in collective action for gender equality, but might also underlie their participation in reactionary actions designed to advance the rights of their own (advantaged) group.

Aging is associated with impaired strength and power during isometric and shortening contractions, however, during lengthening (i.e., eccentric) contractions, strength is maintained. During daily movements, muscles undergo stretch-shortening cycles (SSCs). It is unclear whether the age-related maintenance of eccentric strength offsets age-related impairments in power generation during SSCs owing to the utilization of elastic energy or other cross-bridge based mechanisms. Here we investigated how aging influences SSC performance at the single muscle fibre level and whether performing active lengthening prior to shortening protects against age-related impairments in power generation. Single muscle fibres from the psoas major of young (∼8 months; n = 31 fibres) and old (∼32 months; n = 41 fibres) male F344BN rats were dissected and chemically permeabilized. Fibres were mounted between a force transducer and length controller and maximally activated (pCa 4.5). For SSCs, fibres were lengthened from average sarcomere lengths of 2.5 to 3.0 μm and immediately shortened back to 2.5 μm at both fast and slow (0.15 and 0.60 Lo/s) lengthening and shortening speeds. The magnitude of the SSC effect was calculated by comparing work and power during shortening to an active shortening contraction not preceded by active lengthening. Absolute isometric force was ∼37 % lower in old compared to young rat single muscle fibres, however, when normalized to cross-sectional area (CSA), there was no longer a significant difference in isometric force between age groups, meanwhile there was an ∼50 % reduction in absolute power in old as compared with young. We demonstrated that SSCs significantly increased power production (75–110 %) in both young and old fibres when shortening occurred at a fast speed and provided protection against power-loss with aging. Therefore, in older adults during everyday movements, power is likely ‘protected’ in part due to the stretch-shortening cycle as compared with isolated shortening contractions.

Background: Majocchi's granuloma (MG) is an uncommon deep fungal folliculitis predominantly caused by dermatophytes. Given the rarity of this condition, available data regarding predisposing comorbidities/risk factors, clinical characteristics, offending microbiologic pathogens, diagnostics, pathologic findings, and treatment approaches has been inferred from historical cases. Objectives: To review our institutional experience with MG. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a multicenter cohort of adult patients diagnosed with MG between 1992 and 2022. Results: We analyzed 147 patients with MG, 105 of which were male with a median age of 55.6 years. Immunosuppressant and topical corticosteroid use were common prior to development of MG. Dermatologic lesions and their sites of involvement did not differ based on the immune status of patients. Trichophyton rubrum was the most common causative pathogen of MG, in addition to other dermatophytes. Treatment duration for all prescribed agents was median 31.5 days with oral terbinafine being the most frequently utilized agent. Clinical resolution was achieved in 96.6% of cases. Limitations: Retrospective, nonrandomized study. Conclusions: Although rare and clinically variable in presentation, diagnosis of MG often requires histopathologic confirmation to subsequently direct prolonged treatment with systemic antifungal therapy for mycological cure.

Hurricane incidents have become increasingly frequent along the coastal United States and have had a negative impact on the mangrove forests and their ecosystem services across the southeastern region. Mangroves play a key role in providing coastal protection during hurricanes by attenuating storm surges and reducing erosion. However, their resilience is being increasingly compromised due to climate change through sea level rises and the greater intensity of storms. This article examines the role of remote sensing tools in studying the impacts of hurricanes on mangrove forests in the coastal United States. Our results show that various remote sensing tools including satellite imagery, Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used to detect mangrove damage, monitor their recovery and analyze their 3D structural changes. Landsat 8 OLI (14%) has been particularly useful in long-term assessments, followed by Landsat 5 TM (9%) and NASA G-LiHT LiDAR (8%). Random forest (24%) and linear regression (24%) models were the most common modeling techniques, with the former being the most frequently used method for classifying satellite images. Some studies have shown significant mangrove canopy loss after major hurricanes, and damage was seen to vary spatially based on factors such as proximity to oceans, elevation and canopy structure, with taller mangroves typically experiencing greater damage. Recovery rates after hurricane-induced damage also vary, as some areas were seen to show rapid regrowth within months while others remained impacted after many years. The current challenges include capturing fine-scale changes owing to the dearth of remote sensing data with high temporal and spatial resolution. This review provides insights into the current remote sensing applications used in hurricane-prone mangrove habitats and is intended to guide future research directions, inform coastal management strategies and support conservation efforts.