The Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) Cross-Trial Statistics Group gathered lessons learned from statisticians responsible for the design and analysis of the 11 ACTIV therapeutic master protocols to inform contemporary trial design as well as preparation for a future pandemic. The ACTIV master protocols were designed to rapidly assess what treatments might save lives, keep people out of the hospital, and help them feel better faster. Study teams initially worked without knowledge of the natural history of disease and thus without key information for design decisions. Moreover, the science of platform trial design was in its infancy. Here, we discuss the statistical design choices made and the adaptations forced by the changing pandemic context. Lessons around critical aspects of trial design are summarized, and recommendations are made for the organization of master protocols in the future.

We present a demonstration version of a commensal pipeline for Fast Radio Burst (FRB) searches using a real-time incoherent beam from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The main science target of the pipeline are bright nearby FRBs from the local Universe (including Galactic FRBs like from SGR 1935+2154) which are the best candidates to probe FRB progenitors and understand physical mechanisms powering these extremely energetic events. Recent FRB detections by LOFAR (down to 110 MHz), the Green Bank Telescope (at 350 MHz), and Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) detections extending down to 400 MHz, prove that there is a population of FRBs that can be detected below 350 MHz. The new MWA beamformer, known as the ‘MWAX multibeam beamformer’, can form multiple incoherent and coherent beams (with different parameters) commensally to any ongoing MWA observations. One of the beams is currently used for FRB searches (tested in 10 kHz frequency resolution and time resolutions between 0.1 and 100 ms). A second beam (in 1 Hz and 1 s frequency and time resolutions, respectively) is used for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project. This paper focuses on the FRB search pipeline and its verification on selected known bright pulsars. The pipeline uses the FREDDA implementation of the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform algorithm (FDMT) for single pulse searches. Initially, it was tested during standard MWA observations, and more recently using dedicated observations of a sample of 11 bright pulsars. The pulsar PSR J0835-4510 (Vela) has been routinely used as the primary probe of the data quality because its folded profile was always detected in the frequency band 200 – 230 MHz with typical signal-to-noise ratio $>$10, which agrees with the expectations. Similarly, the low dispersion measure pulsar PSR B0950+08 was always detected in folded profile in the frequency band 140–170 MHz and so far has been the only object for which single pulses were detected. We present the estimated sensitivity of the search in the currently limited observing bandwidth of a single MWA coarse channel (1.28 MHz) and for the upgraded, future system with 12.8 MHz (10 channels) of bandwidth. Based on expected sensitivity and existing FRB rate measurements, we project an FRB detection rate between a few and a few tens per year with large uncertainty due to unknown FRB rates at low frequencies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has been a leader in weed science research covering topics ranging from the development and use of integrated weed management (IWM) tactics to basic mechanistic studies, including biotic resistance of desirable plant communities and herbicide resistance. ARS weed scientists have worked in agricultural and natural ecosystems, including agronomic and horticultural crops, pastures, forests, wild lands, aquatic habitats, wetlands, and riparian areas. Through strong partnerships with academia, state agencies, private industry, and numerous federal programs, ARS weed scientists have made contributions to discoveries in the newest fields of robotics and genetics, as well as the traditional and fundamental subjects of weed–crop competition and physiology and integration of weed control tactics and practices. Weed science at ARS is often overshadowed by other research topics; thus, few are aware of the long history of ARS weed science and its important contributions. This review is the result of a symposium held at the Weed Science Society of America’s 62nd Annual Meeting in 2022 that included 10 separate presentations in a virtual Weed Science Webinar Series. The overarching themes of management tactics (IWM, biological control, and automation), basic mechanisms (competition, invasive plant genetics, and herbicide resistance), and ecosystem impacts (invasive plant spread, climate change, conservation, and restoration) represent core ARS weed science research that is dynamic and efficacious and has been a significant component of the agency’s national and international efforts. This review highlights current studies and future directions that exemplify the science and collaborative relationships both within and outside ARS. Given the constraints of weeds and invasive plants on all aspects of food, feed, and fiber systems, there is an acknowledged need to face new challenges, including agriculture and natural resources sustainability, economic resilience and reliability, and societal health and well-being.

‘Dietary variety’ has been identified as a factor associated with food intake. Whilst this relationship may have longer-term benefits for body weight management when eating low-energy, nutrient-dense foods, it may increase the risk of overconsumption (and body adiposity) when foods are high energy density. This study sought to further explore pathways underpinning the relationship between dietary variety and body weight, by considering energy density as a moderating factor and portion size as a mediating factor in this relationship. Using prospective data from the UK Biobank, dietary variety scores (DVS), cumulative portion size and energy density were derived from 24-h dietary recall questionnaires at baseline and follow-up. BMI, whole-body fat percentage and fat-free mass were included as outcomes. Contrary to predictions, linear multiple regression models found some evidence of a negative, direct association between DVS and body weight outcomes at baseline (b = –0·13). Though dietary variety was significantly associated with larger portions across time points (b = 41·86–82·64), a moderated mediation effect was not supported at baseline or follow-up (Index ≤ 0·035). Taken together, these findings provide population-level evidence to support a positive association between variety and food intake, which in turn has potential implications for body weight management, both in terms of moderating food intake and benefitting diet quality.

A new carbon isotope record for two high-latitude sedimentary successions that span the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary interval in the Sverdrup Basin of Arctic Canada is presented. This study, combined with other published Arctic data, shows a large negative isotopic excursion of organic carbon (δ13Corg) of 4‰ (V-PDB) and to a minimum of −30.7‰ in the probable middle Volgian Stage. This is followed by a return to less negative values of c. −27‰. A smaller positive excursion in the Valanginian Stage of c. 2‰, reaching maximum values of −24.6‰, is related to the Weissert Event. The Volgian isotopic trends are consistent with other high-latitude records but do not appear in δ13Ccarb records of Tethyan Tithonian strata. In the absence of any obvious definitive cause for the depleted δ13Corg anomaly, we suggest several possible contributing factors. The Sverdrup Basin and other Arctic areas may have experienced compositional evolution away from open-marine δ13C values during the Volgian Age due to low global or large-scale regional sea levels, and later become effectively coupled to global oceans by Valanginian time when sea level rose. A geologically sudden increase in volcanism may have caused the large negative δ13Corg values seen in the Arctic Volgian records but the lack of precise geochronological age control for the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary precludes direct comparison with potentially coincident events, such as the Shatsky Rise. This study offers improved correlation constraints and a refined C-isotope curve for the Boreal region throughout latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous time.

Introduction: Depending on the time and day of initial Emergency Department (ED) presentation, some patients may require a return to the ED the following day for ultrasound examination. Return visits for ultrasound may be time and resource intensive for both patients and the ED. Qualitative experience suggests that a percentage of return ultrasounds could be performed at a non-ED facility. Our objective was to undertake a retrospective audit of return for ultrasound usage, patterns and outcomes at 2 academic EDs. Methods: A retrospective review of all adult patients returning to the ED for ultrasound at both LHSC ED sites in 2016 was undertaken. Each chart was independently reviewed by two emergency medicine consultants. Charts were assessed for day and time of initial presentation and return, type of ultrasound ordered, and length of ED stay on initial presentation and return visit. Opinion based questions were considered by reviewers, including urgency of diagnosis clarification required, if symptoms were still present on return, and if any medical or surgical treatment or follow up was arranged based on ultrasound results. Agreement between reviewers was assessed. Results: After eliminating charts for which the return visit was not for a scheduled ultrasound examination, 328 patient charts were reviewed. 63% of patients were female and median [IQR] age was 40 years [27-56]. Abdomen/pelvis represented 50% of the ultrasounds; renal 24%; venous Doppler 15.9%. Symptoms were still present and documented in 79% of cases. 22% of cases required a medical intervention and 9% an immediate surgical intervention. 11% of patients were admitted to hospital on their return visit. Outpatient follow-up based on US results was initiated in 29% of cases. Median [IQR] combined LOS was 479.5 minutes [358.5-621.75]. Agreement between reviewers for opinion based questions was poor (63%-96%). Conclusion: Ideally, formal ultrasound should be available on a 24 hour basis for ED patients in order to avoid return visits. A percentage of return for ultrasound examinations do not result in any significant change in treatment. Emergency departments should consider the development of pathways to avoid return visits for follow up ultrasound when possible. The low incidence of surgical treatment in those returning for US suggests that this population could be served in a non-hospital setting. Further research is required to support this conclusion.

Post-translocation monitoring is fundamental for assessing translocation success and identifying potential threats. We measured outcomes for four cohorts of tuatara Sphenodon punctatus translocated to warmer climates outside of their ecological region, to understand effects of climate warming. Translocation sites were on average 2–4 °C warmer than the source site. We used three short-term measures of success: survival, growth and reproduction. Data on recaptures, morphometric measurements, and reproduction were gathered over 2.5 years following release. Although decades of monitoring will be required to determine long-term translocation success in this species, we provide an interim measure of population progress and translocation site suitability. We found favourable recapture numbers, growth of founders and evidence of reproduction at most sites, with greater increases in body mass observed at warmer, less densely populated sites. Variable growth in the adult population at one translocation site suggested that higher population density, intraspecific competition, and lower water availability could be responsible for substantial weight loss in multiple individuals, and we make management recommendations to reduce population density. Overall, we found that sites with warmer climates and lower population densities were potentially beneficial to translocated tuatara, probably because of enhanced temperature-dependent and density-dependent growth rates. We conclude that tuatara could benefit from translocations to warmer sites in the short term, but further monitoring of this long-lived species is required to determine longer-term population viability following translocation. Future vulnerability to rising air temperatures, associated water availability, and community and ecosystem changes beyond the scope of this study must be considered.

An investigation into the relative stabilities and equations of state of stoichiometric FeS was conducted using first-principles pseudopotential calculations. These calculations were based on density functional theory and performed using ultrasoft Vanderbilt pseudopotentials within the generalized gradient approximation. We have identified four stable polymorphs of FeS along the 0 K isotherm as a function of pressure: troilite, an orthorhombic MnP-type structure, a monoclinic structure, and a CsCl-type structure. The calculated internal energy as a function of volume for each polymorph was fitted to 4th order logarithmic and 3rd order Birch-Murnaghan equations of state, yielding values for the bulk modulus, K, and its first and second derivatives with respect to pressure, K′ and K″. These equations of state may be used to characterize models of planetary cores.

The commissioning and operation of apparatus for neutron diffraction at simultaneous high temperatures and pressures is reported. The basic design is based on the Paris-Edinburgh cell using opposed anvils, with internal heating. Temperature is measured using neutron radiography. The apparatus has been shown in both on-line and off-line tests to operate to a pressure of 7 GPa and temperature of 1700°C. The apparatus has been used in a neutron diffraction study of the crystal structure of deuterated brucite, and results for 520°C and 5.15 GPa are presented. The diffraction data that can be obtained from the apparatus are of comparable quality to previous high-pressure studies at ambient temperatures, and are clearly good enough for Rietveld refinement analysis to give structural data of reasonable quality.

An investigation of the relative stabilities and equations of state of possible Fe3S polymorphs was conducted using first-principles pseudopotential calculations. These calculations were based on density functional theory and performed using ultrasoft Vanderbilt pseudopotentials within the generalized gradient approximation. In accord with experiment, we found that the tetragonal Fe3P-type polymorph is the only stable phase along the 0 K isotherm as a function of pressure. Fe3S exhibits permanent magnetism at ambient conditions (Fei et al., 2000), but magnetism is suppressed by pressure and temperature, and therefore non-magnetic data are appropriate ones to use for modelling planetary interiors. For this reason, and because the Fe3P-type polymorph of Fe3S contains 32 atoms per unit cell it was impractical to incorporate magnetic properties into the simulations of this phase, we studied the behaviour of the non-magnetic phase. We obtained values of 250 GPa for the bulk modulus, K0, and 4.61 for its first derivative withrespect to pressure, K0′, by fitting a 3rd order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state to the calculated internal energy as a function of volume for the non-magnetic Fe3P-type Fe3S. This suggests that a pressure far greater than that expected in the Martian interior would be needed to achieve a density comparable to that of the Martian core. We therefore conclude that it is unlikely that the core of Mars contains significant amounts of solid Fe3S.

Svetlozarite, previously described as a new member of the mordenite group of zeolites, is reinterpreted as a multiply twinned and highly faulted dachiardite. X-ray diffraction study and transmission electron microscopy revealed (001) twins and (100) stacking faults. The former are attributed at least mainly to the insertion of a b glide plane between dachiardite sheets at each twin interface, which preserves the 5-ring linkages between the sheets. The latter are associated with loss of the C face-centring relation, and are attributed to replacement of shared 5-rings by linked 4-rings in the dachiardite sheets. Further study is needed to determine whether the structural faults in the dachiardite structures are chemically controlled.

The transition from inland- to streaming-style ice flow near to and upstream from the onset to Ice Stream D, West Antarctica, is investigated using the force-balance technique. Basal drag provides the majority of the flow resistance over the study area but is substantially modified by non-local stress gradients. Lateral drag increases with distance downstream, balancing ∼50–100% of the driving stress at the onset. Longitudinal stress gradients (LSG) are also found to be significant, an observation that distinguishes ice flow in this region from the inland- and streaming-flow regimes that bound it, in which LSG are usually negligible. LSG decrease the spatial variability in basal drag and sliding speed and increase the area of the bed over which frictional melting occurs. Overall, LSG decrease the resistive influence of basal stress concentrations and increase the spatial uniformity of basal sliding. These observations suggest that streaming flow develops as an integrated response to the physical interaction between the ice and its bed over an extended region upstream from the onset, rather than being solely due to changes in basal characteristics at the onset. An implication is that non-steady-flow behavior upstream from the onset may ultimately propagate downstream and result in non-steady behavior at the onset.

Thermoluminescence (TL) ages were obtained for five loess samples taken from the Zhaitang section near Beijing, China, using the coarse-grain quartz technique. The paleodose values have been determined by the method of total sample bleaching and regeneration of the TL growth curve. The method appears to be suitable for the age determination of loess samples up to about 150,000 yr where the annual dose-rate values are of the order 3–4 mGy/yr. This limit is a function of the total accumulated dose. The ages are in good agreement with those obtained by a fine-grain TL technique and are consistent with geological and geomagnetostratigraphic evidence.