Animal manure is applied in agriculture to improve soil fertility and crop yield. Nonetheless, manure can also carry Escherichia coli (E. coli), including antibiotic-resistant strains. Therefore, it may pose a risk for environmental contamination. This review includes 50 studies which were identified from the search terms related to the transmission of E. coli through manure. The review outlines the potential routes of E. coli transmission from manure to soil, water and crops and which factors most critically determine persistence and contamination. The persistence of E. coli in soil is highly variable, ranging from <30 days for composted manures to more than 200 days in cooler conditions. These differences depend on the type of manure used, the environmental conditions and the treatment employed. While crops can be contaminated directly through application of manure, contaminated irrigation water may be a more important pathway. The foremost cause of surface water contamination seems to be rainfall runoff, whereas groundwater contamination is rather uncommon, mainly happening in areas with specific soil conditions. Composting and adherence to pre-harvest intervals are very effective mitigation strategies that can greatly reduce contamination risks. Overall, this review identifies research gaps on water contamination pathways and the persistence of resistant strains. Moreover, it sets up the basis for the development of robust risk assessments and evidence-informed approaches to address the contamination risks that are linked to animal manure.

Gaussian states of bosonic quantum systems enjoy numerous technological applications and are ubiquitous in nature. Their significance lies in their simplicity, which in turn rests on the fact that they are uniquely determined by two experimentally accessible quantities, their first and second moments. But what if these moments are only known approximately, as is inevitable in any realistic experiment? What is the resulting error on the Gaussian state itself, as measured by the most operationally meaningful metric for distinguishing quantum states, namely, the trace distance? In this work, we fully resolve this question by demonstrating that if the first and second moments are known up to an error ε, the trace distance error on the state also scales as ε, and this functional dependence is optimal. To prove this, we establish tight bounds on the trace distance between two Gaussian states in terms of the norm distance of their first and second moments. As an application, we improve existing bounds on the sample complexity of tomography of Gaussian states.

Achiral molecules can be made temporarily chiral by excitation with electric fields, in the sense that an average over molecular orientations displays a net chiral signal [D. S. Tikhonov et al., Sci. Adv. 8, eade0311 (2022)]. Here, we go beyond the assumption of molecular orientations to remain fixed during the excitation process. Treating both rotations and vibrations quantum mechanically, we identify conditions for the creation of chiral vibrational wave packets, with net chiral signals, in ensembles of achiral molecules which are initially randomly oriented. Based on the analysis of symmetry and controllability, we derive excitation schemes for the creation of chiral wave packets using a combination of (a) microwave and IR pulses and (b) a static field and a sequence of IR pulses. These protocols leverage quantum rotational dynamics for pump-probe spectroscopy of chiral vibrational dynamics, extending the latter to regions of the electromagnetic spectrum other than the UV.

Squeezing is a nonclassical feature of quantum states that is a useful resource, for example, in quantum sensing of mechanical forces. Here, we show how to use optimal control theory to maximize squeezing in an optomechanical setup with two external drives and determine how fast the mechanical mode can be squeezed. For the autonomous drives considered here, we find the inverse cavity decay to lower-bound the protocol duration. At and above this limit, we identify a family of protocols leveraging a two-stage control strategy, where the mechanical mode is cooled before it is squeezed. Identification of the control strategy allows for two important insights: to determine the factors that limit squeezing and to simplify the time dependence of the external drives, making our protocol readily applicable in experiments.

Seit die Philosophie sich aus dem umfassenden Fundament der Metaphysik entlassen hatte, fächerte sie sich, ähnlich den Wissenschaften, in fachliche Segmente auf: Epistemologie, Ontologie, Geschichtsphilosophie, politische Philosophie, Naturphilosophie, Existenzphilosophie, praktische Philosophie, Ethik, Wissenschaftstheorie etc. Für das Wirtschaftliche im Philosophischen etablierte sich ab etwa Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Name ‘Wirtschaftsphilosophie’. Aus der Wirtschaftsphilosophie wurde aber bislang keine eigene philosophische Teildisziplin, vielmehr wurde sie auf unbestimmte Weise dem weiten Bereich der Praktischen Philosophie zugeschlagen. Wirtschaftsphilosophie ist aber vielmehr ein Reflexionsraum, der alle fachlich ausdifferenzierten Segmente des Philosophischen durchzieht. Das zeigt sich vor allem daran, auf welch verschiedene Art Wirtschaftsphilosophie heute betrieben wird: beispielsweise als epistemologische Befragung der vorherrschenden Semantik der Ökonomik, als Hinterfragen der Rationalitätsphilosophie der modern economics, als gabenökonomische Spurenanalyse einer Reziprozitätsphilosophie im Ökonomischen, als geschichtsphilosophische Rekonstruktion des Kapitalismus und seiner Industrialisierungswirkungen, als Rhetorik des Ökonomischen und ihrer narrativen Ausprägungen, als medienphilosophische Rekonstruktion der Finanzökonomie, als ethische Analyse von Normengeltung im Ökonomischen, als Philosophie der Dynamik der Ordnungsvorstellungen in der Geschichte, als politische Philosophie der politischen Ökonomie u.a. Es bildet sich kein Standardmodell heraus, sondern 2 ein bewegliches Feld philosophischer Reflektion des Ökonomischen, zum Teil “in rücksichtsloser Überschreitung” (Rorty) etablierter Begriffssysteme, um Neubeschreibungen und neue Interpretationen zu leisten. Die Philosophie hat immer schon das wirtschaftliche Handeln des Menschen thematisiert. Einschlägige Ansätze finden sich von Platon und Aristoteles über Thomas von Aquin, John Locke, Wolff, Rousseau, Fichte, Hegel, Marx und Nietzsche bis zu Bataille, Baudrillard, Derrida, Rawls, Sen und anderen. Diese Ansätze bildeten sich aber nicht zu einer spezifischen Wirtschaftsphilosophie aus, sondern blieben Reflexionen des Ökonomischen im Kontext der je eigenen Positionen und Ansätze. Heute zeigt sich: Die Philosophie, soweit sie das Wirtschaften reflektiert, denkt über die Wirtschaft als Sphäre nach, polyvalent, in all ihren Dimensionen, die das Effiziente weit übersteigen. Sie kann die Wirtschaft in ihrer Spannung zwischen Überfluss, Freiheit und Notwendigkeit reflektieren, ohne Dogmen, Mythen oder Ideologien aufzusitzen. Dieses intellektuelle Potenzial wird jedoch nicht genutzt, wenn man die Wirtschaftsphilosophie auf praktische Philosophie bzw. auf Wirtschaftsethik einschränkt. Angemessen wäre es heute, Wirtschaftsphilosophie als ein disziplinenübergreifendes Projekt anzusehen, innerhalb dessen die Reflexion erkenntnistheoretischer und methodologischer Aspekte und deren praktische Konsequenzen sowohl für die ökonomische Theoriebildung als auch das wirtschaftliche Handeln im Vordergrund stehen. Eine solche Ausfaltung des wirtschaftsphilosophischen Reflexionspotentials umfasst ein Spektrum von philosophischen Ansätzen über ökonomische Grundlagenfragen, Theorien und Praktiken, wodurch kein einheitliches Feld entsteht, sondern sich verschiedene Methoden, Narrationen, Systeme und Diskurse bilden. Ziel wirtschaftsphilosophischer Konsolidierung sollte es daher nicht sein, eine ähnliche fachliche Konsistenz wie die Wirtschaftswissenschaften erlangen zu wollen (ein Ideal, das derzeit auch innerhalb der Ökonomik herausgefordert wird), sondern einen Reflexionsraum zu schaffen, der die verschiedenen ökonomischen Theorien und Praktiken spiegeln kann (vor allem in Bezug auf ihre kontextuelle und kulturelle Einbettung). Vor diesem Hintergrund fasst das Positionspapier die wichtigsten Ergebnisse des Workshops zusammen, beschreibt die Potentiale und Probleme der Wirtschaftsphilosophie und macht Vorschläge für die Positionierung der Wirtschaftsphilosophie in Forschung, Lehre und Öffentlichkeit.

We provide quantitative evidence on the relationship between military spending and innovation in the 19th century. Combining innovation data from world fairs and historical military data across Europe, we show that national military spending is associated with national innovation towards war logistics such as food processing, but less towards war technology such as guns. This innovation pattern reflects differences in the historical markets for war supplies: While the armed forces sourced weapons globally, the market for food remained local.

This paper introduces a dataset from a validation study of two psychometric models, one on the intraindividual speed-ability relationship and the other one on persistence. It includes responses, response times, and action sequences from N = 1244 participants who completed a matrix reasoning test under two experimental conditions, one being speeded and one being non-speeded. Additionally, it includes measures on motivational disposition, current motivation, effort, and concentration. Collected online via Prolific, the data is freely available at OSF (https://osf.io/9j6hm/). This dataset may aid in the development and validation of psychometric models on response processes as well as the investigation of test-taking behavior.

How can you meet somebody you know nothing about? Provenance projects regarding human remains (bones, tissues, and alike) hope to tell the stories of those silent faculty members "stored" in department collections. After writing pages upon pages of scientifically concise and neutral case reports, I decided that I may as well throw them away. Who would want to read this besides experts who are already in the field and those seeking specific information about human remains in the collection? Even worse - does a dry scientific report even reflect what provenance research with human remains really entails? Were my heartfelt, personal reflections and even tears shed while working with those human remains merely byproducts, or actually valuable facilitators of my research? I banished the dry scientific report to my archives for the time being and started over by writing a poem. This book draws from experiences I made while working at a Berlin university’s collection. Next to scientific essays and real provenance cases, each chapter includes personal anecdotes, poems and hand-drawn illustrations to introduce key topics of provenance research.

TOI-2015 is a known exoplanetary system around an M4 dwarf star, consisting of a transiting sub-Neptune planet in a 3.35-day orbital period, TOI-2015 b, accompanied by a non-transiting companion, TOI-2015 c. High-precision radial-velocity measurements were taken with the MAROON-X spectrograph, and high-precision photometric data were collected, primarily using the SPECULOOS, MUSCAT, TRAPPIST and LCOGT networks. We collected 63 transit light curves and 49 different transit epochs for TOI-2015 b. We recharacterized the target star by combining optical spectra obtained by the MAROON-X, Shane/KAST and IRTF/SpeX spectrographs, Bayesian model averaging (BMA) and spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis. The TOI-2015 host star is a K = 10.3 mag M4-type dwarf with a subsolar metallicity of [Fe/H] = −0.31 ± 0.16, and an effective temperature of Teff ≈ 3200 K. Our photodynamical analysis of the system strongly favors the 5:3 mean-motion resonance and in this scenario the planet b (TOI-2015 b) has an orbital period of Pb = 3.34 days, a mass of Mp = 9.02-0.36+0.32M⊕ , and a radius of Rp = 3.309-0.011+0.013R⊕ , resulting in a density of ρp = 0.25 ± 0.01 ρ⊕ = 1.40 ± 0.06 g cm−3; this is indicative of a Neptune-like composition. Its transits exhibit large (> 1 hr) timing variations characteristic of an outer perturber in the system. We performed a global analysis of the high-resolution radial-velocity measurements, the photometric data, and the TTVs, and inferred that TOI-2015 hosts a second planet, TOI-2015 c, in a non-transiting configuration. Our analysis places it near a 5:3 resonance with an orbital period of Pc = 5.583 days and a mass of Mp = 8.91-0.40+0.38M⊕. The dynamical configuration of TOI-2015 b and TOI-2015 c can be used to constrain the system’s planetary formation and migration history. Based on the mass-radius composition models, TOI-2015 b is a water-rich or rocky planet with a hydrogen-helium envelope. Moreover, TOI-2015 b has a high transmission-spectroscopic metric (TSM=149), making it a favorable target for future transmission spectroscopic observations with the JWST to constrain the atmospheric composition of the planet. Such observations would also help to break the degeneracies in theoretical models of the planet’s interior structure.

Mediterranean cyclones can trigger severe weather hazards, including convective precipitation, lightning and hail, with implications for operational forecasting, risk assessment in the insurance industry, and societal preparedness. This work examines the climatological link between Mediterranean cyclones and atmospheric conditions conducive to severe convection. Using ATDnet lightning detections we find that, from autumn to spring, 20%–80% of lightning hours over the Mediterranean basin and adjacent land regions are associated with nearby cyclones. Based on reanalysis data, we demonstrate that severe convective environments and associated hazards predominantly occur in the warm sector of Mediterranean cyclones and to the north-east of their centres. Convective processes and hazards exhibit a peak approximately 6 h prior to the time of minimum pressure of the cyclone centre, consistent with previous studies. Additionally, we find a strong seasonal dependence of severe convection within cyclones. Severe convective environments are often detected in cyclone types typical of transition seasons (autumn especially) and summer, while they are rarer in deep baroclinic cyclones characteristic of winter. Finally, we provide novel insights regarding the dependence of convective activity on the presence of dynamical features around Mediterranean cyclones. Warm conveyor belts, characterised by large-scale ascent and high thermodynamic instability, emerge as the most favourable regions for lightning activity, with lightning potential being twice as high compared to cyclone cold fronts. These results advance our understanding of the interplay between cyclone dynamics and severe convection, offering valuable guidance for improving hazard prediction and for elaborating weather emergency strategies in the Mediterranean region.

At the 6th International Conference of the Global Bioequivalence Harmonisation Initiative (GBHI), co-organised by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS) and the Product Quality Research Institute (PQRI), critical bioequivalence (BE) topics were discussed by pharmaceutical scientists from academia, industry and regulatory agencies, revealing the following main conclusions: (1) Physiologically based pharmacokinetic/biopharmaceutic modelling (PBPK/PBBM) for solid oral drugs: PBPK/PBBM gains increasing recognition for generic drug development, e.g. waivers of fed studies and drug interaction studies with proton pump inhibitors. However, especially for complex formulations containing low-solubility compounds, more data are needed for modelling-based conclusion regarding BE in fed state. (2) Narrow therapeutic index drugs: A progress towards harmonisation of BE criteria from US-FDA and EMA speakers was made as there is consensus in the usefulness of applying a mixed scale for BE acceptance range depending on variability, via either fully or partially replicated design. Differences still remain regarding variability comparison and the selection of regulatory constant (0.760 vs. 1.05361). All parties confirmed the importance of controlling type-I error. (3) Single- vs. multiple-dose studies for BE demonstration of modified-release (MR) products: To circumvent multiple-dose studies, model-informed approaches were discussed based on real-life data, e.g. to simulate steady-state profiles from single-dose data. To reduce the burden in patient trials for long-acting injectables promising modelling approaches were presented, extrapolating from incomplete steady-state scenarios. (4) BE demonstration for additional dose strengths of solid oral MR products: For multiple-unit dosage forms where strengths differ in number of units only, testing BE of the highest dose was considered sufficient. In addition, there was some consensus that, whenever extrapolation from one strength to the others is not easily established, the “bracket-approach” of the EMA focusing on the intake conditions in the label claim (fasted or fed), can help mitigating risks without adding significant cost and effort. (5) Partial AUC for BE demonstration: Clinical relevance is key to decide on the relevant PK metrics for BE assessment whenever possible. There was consensus that the BE criteria and evaluation strategy may be best specified in product-specific guidances – preferably with international harmonisation. (6) BE of orally inhaled drug products (OIDPs): The “weight-of-evidence” approach of US-FDA and the stepwise approach of EMA largely differ. The auditorium was in favour of combining data on in-vitro characteristics and PK exposure. For prediction of comparable efficacy of two OIDPs, there is good trust in PK exposure data whenever they present concentrations being absorbed via the lung. GBHI has a strong role in scientifically supporting official harmonisation efforts including the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use since the first conference in 2015.

Cyanobacteria oxygenated the atmosphere of early Earth and continue to be key players in global carbon and nitrogen cycles. A phylogenetically diverse subset of extant cyanobacteria can perform photosynthesis with far-red light through a process called far-red light photoacclimation, or FaRLiP. This phenotype is enabled by a cluster of ∼20 genes and involves the synthesis of red-shifted chlorophylls d and f, together with paralogs of the ubiquitous photosynthetic machinery used in visible light. The FaRLiP gene cluster is present in diverse, environmentally important cyanobacterial groups, but its origin, evolutionary history, and connection to early biotic environments have remained unclear. This study takes advantage of the recent increase in (meta)genomic data to help clarify this issue: sequence data mining, metagenomic assembly, and phylogenetic tree networks were used to recover more than 600 new FaRLiP gene sequences, corresponding to 51 new gene clusters. These data enable high-resolution phylogenetics and—by relying on multiple gene trees, together with gene arrangement conservation—support FaRLiP appearing early in cyanobacterial evolution. Sampling information shows that considerable FaRLiP diversity can be observed in microbialites to the present day, and we hypothesize that the process was associated with the formation of microbial mats and stromatolites in the early Paleoproterozoic. The ancestral FaRLiP cluster was reconstructed, revealing features that have been maintained for billions of years. Overall, far-red-light-driven oxygenic photosynthesis may have played a significant role in Earth’s early history.

Bentonite is a key barrier material in deep geological facilities for spent nuclear fuel, where it may be exposed to temperatures >100 °C because of radiogenic heating. Understanding how prolonged heating affects its physicochemical properties and radionuclide retention capacity is critical for ensuring long-term repository safety. This study investigated the impacts of dry heating (unconfined, evaporation allowed) at 150 °C for 36 months on the mineralogical and geochemical stability of a Wyoming bentonite, chosen for the Finnish geological disposal facility, and its subsequent sorption behavior with 90Sr. Although the bentonite mineralogy remained mostly stable, combined X-ray diffraction, cation exchange capacity, titrations, demonstrated partial Na to Ca exchange within montmorillonite's interlayer following heating, and specific surface area analyses revealed a > 50 % reduction in specific surface area (30 to 14 m2/g). Colloid stability tests revealed that bentonite colloids did not form under repository-relevant saline conditions (I = 0.2 M), and heat treatment did not significantly impact colloid formation in reduced ionic-strength systems. Sorption isotherms demonstrated that Sr sorption was strongly pH-dependent, increasing from ∼40 % at pH 8 to ∼90 % at pH 13, and heating slightly enhanced Sr retention at pH 8. Two-site protolysis non-electrostatic surface complexation and cation exchange modelling suggested that in unheated bentonite, Sr was bound via a combination of surface complexation (∼30 %) and cation exchange (∼70 %) at pH 8, while at pH 13, sorption shifted towards surface complexation. However, after heating, cation exchange dominated at both pH values. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis confirmed outer-sphere Sr sorption at pH 8 and increasing inner-sphere complexation at pH 13. Together, these findings highlight that despite minor physicochemical alterations, bentonite retained its Sr sorption potential, supporting its continued suitability as a buffer material in the ONKALO® repository.

Female rhinoceroses have an ovarian reserve that consists of immature oocytes in primordial follicles. Establishing methods to grow and culture these oocytes from those follicles in the laboratory might fuel efforts towards in vitro embryo production in this species without the need for repeated in vivo oocyte collection. In depth understanding of the biology behind and improvement of assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) is the only option for preventing the disappearance of functionally extinct species such as the northern white rhinoceros. In vitro follicle development can only be obtained by in depth knowledge on rhinoceros ovarian histology. In addition to known ovarian features, we identified numerous undescribed structural and molecular ovarian characteristics from adult southern white rhinoceros (n=3). Ovarian sections were stained with H&E, PAS or Masson Trichrome and molecular analyses (hyaluronic acid detection, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay) were performed to identify proliferation, extracellular matrix, pluripotency markers, hormones, enzymes, markers for inflammation or endocrine glands, blood vessel presence, oocyte markers and apoptosis. Besides degenerating, deformed, or luteinized follicles, analysis revealed several ‘follicle-like structures’ (FLS) that deviated from the expected follicle appearance. Most importantly, the majority of FLS did not contain any oocyte and were comprised of a collection of cells organised around fluid islands with or without an antral cavity. The discovery and description of FLS in aged southern white rhinoceroses may play a role in poor oocyte recovery rates in ovum pick-up (OPU) in older rhinoceroses. It remains to be investigated whether FLS might be present on ovaries from other rhinoceros species and whether they might serve as a general indicator for oocyte recovery success in aged females.