Differential Mountain‐Building in the South Tian Shan Revealed by Multi‐Spatiotemporal Foreland Deformation

Abstract Understanding how spatially variable mountain‐building processes proceed within large intracontinental orogens provides critical insights into continental tectonics and regional paleoenvironmental evolution. Here, we address this issue in the central South Tian Shan (cSTS), a key transitional segment between the well‐studied eastern and western South Tian Shan. This region is characterized by extensive glaciation, peaks exceeding 6,000 m, complex drainage patterns, and the active range‐front Maidan Fault, highlighted by the recent M w 7.0 Wushi earthquake. We integrate seismic profile interpretation, kinematic forward modeling, and geomorphic analysis to reconstruct the multi‐spatiotemporal deformation history of the Eastern Wushi foreland. Our results show that basinward propagation of the Wushi foreland thrust system began at ∼5.3 Ma, significantly later (by 10–15 Ma) than in adjacent segments. GPS velocity data and deformed Late Quaternary geomorphic surfaces at the Wushi foreland indicate ongoing activity along the eastern Maidan Fault, with total active shortening across the Eastern Wushi foreland estimated at ∼2.0–3.3 mm/yr over the past ∼30 Kyr. Together, these findings suggest an active transpressional mountain‐building regime in the cSTS, characterized by oblique slip along the range‐front Maidan Fault, coeval foreland deformation, and potential shear thickening of the orogenic wedge. Our results reveal that the South Tian Shan accommodates crustal shortening through spatially variable mountain‐building processes, highlighting the coexistence of transpressional and in‐sequence thrust wedge processes across the range. This differential mountain building provides new insights into the evolution of active intracontinental orogens on a thousand‐kilometer scale.

Determining aetiology in dilated cardiomyopathy – does the ‘cardiomyopathy blood panel’ ameliorate clinical assessment?

An increasing number of medical conditions are recognised as causative factors in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Investigating aetiology in DCM is variable in extent among cardiologists and often not performed. We assessed the usefulness of a pre-specified blood panel in identifying an underlying cause in a population of DCM patients. Non-ischaemic DCM patients were identified from sequential new patients with heart failure-reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) at a regional HF clinic over a 2 year period. Each patient underwent clinical assessment and a blood panel related to causes of DCM. The likely aetiology was documented after initial assessment, and reclassified where relevant when the blood panel results were reviewed. 55 non-ischaemic DCM patients (mean age 63.4 [9.2]yr, 54.5% male) were identified from 259 HFrEF patients. Mean LVEF was 31.3 (4.3)%. After clinical assessment 29 (52.7%) were classified as idiopathic. The commonest specific aetiologies were toxin-mediated ( n  = 8, 14.5%), genetic ( n  = 7, 12.7%) and inflammatory ( n  = 6, 10.9%). Review of blood panels resulted in reclassification in 3 (5.4%) and detection of unrelated medical conditions in 2 (3.6%). Despite thorough clinical assessment, DCM remains idiopathic in at least half of cases. Adding an extensive blood panel identifies a specific aetiology in a small proportion of cases.

The Bonds of Kinship in Dahomey: Portraits of West African Girlhood, 1720–1940 by Jessica Catherine Reuther, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2025, 280 pp.

A Contemporary Myth of Er? From Homo Sacer to Freeform Life in Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library

Like the souls in Plato’s myth of Er, Haig’s protagonist Nora Seed, trapped between life and death in the Midnight Library following a suicide attempt, is able to select alternative lives. Inspired by Agamben and Malabou’s separate readings of the myth of Er, this study posits Nora’s journey as one from the exile of bare life (where zoe is trapped within a bios) to the happy, or philosopher’s exile, characterized by form-of-life (in which zoe is not separable from its bios). At first, then, Nora can be understood as a figure of bare life, in that, even in her selection of lives, she is at first trapped in modes of life which are ultimately imposed upon her through the expectations of others, a situation which arguably provoked her suicide attempt in the first place. However, through the experience she gradually gains via the Midnight Library, she eventually achieves what Agamben calls form-of-life, realizing the unlimited potentiality she contains even within an old, familiar mode of life.

Small hive beetle infestation levels independent of honey bee colony phenotypes: pheromones overruling kairomones?

Kairomones and pheromones are known to influence the behavior of small hive beetles ( Aethina tumida , SHB), but their relative importance in governing infestation levels of honey bee colonies is not well understood. Given that kairomones govern SHB infestation levels, there should be positive correlations with host colony phenotypes. Here, we examined whether extreme differences in colony phenotypes affect SHB infestation levels in Brazil. Our data revealed no significant impact of colony phenotypes, thereby indicating that the role of kairomones in regulating SHB infestation levels is minimal and further suggesting the possible influence of pheromones in governing local infestation levels.

Supply-Side Innovations to Increase Equitable Access to Digital Financial Services: Experimental Evidence from Mozambique

Access to digital financial services has expanded in Sub-Saharan Africa, but this expansion may not be distributed equitably. Improved access may require increased engagement with traditionally under-served groups, particularly women. In collaboration with M-Pesa in Mozambique, we worked with Telephonic Sales Representatives (TSRs) to target outreach efforts towards populations that are less likely to utilize mobile money accounts. TSRs were divided into teams by gender and were trained to support clients with opening M-Pesa accounts after clients had purchased a SIM card. We randomized the market that male or female TSR teams were sent to each day. Midway through the intervention, we introduced incentives for enrolling women in rural areas into M-Pesa. We assessed the impact of gendered outreach and incentives on new SIM card registrations and clients enrollment into M-Pesa accounts. Although female TSR teams registered fewer clients to SIM cards relative to male TSR teams, they were more successful at converting clients to M-Pesa, resulting in similar overall M-Pesa enrollments. Introducing incentives to engage with female clients in remote areas also increased overall M-Pesa enrollment rates, particularly among female TSR teams. We find that supply-side innovations can be effective in increasing digital service access and utilization.

Longitudinal Assessment of Sexual Behavior and Relationship Quality During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Britain: Findings from a Longitudinal Population Survey (Natsal-COVID)

While the impact of social restrictions on sexual and romantic life early in the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely studied, little is known about impacts beyond the initial months. We analyzed responses from 2,098 British adults (aged 18–59) taking part in the Natsal-COVID study (Waves 1 and 2). Participants were recruited via a web panel and surveyed twice: four months and one year after the start of the UK’s first national lockdown (July 2020 and March 2021). Changes in the prevalence and frequency of participants’ physical and virtual sexual behaviors between the two surveys were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. Changes in the quality of intimate relationships were modeled using logistic regression for the 1,407 participants in steady relationships, adjusting for age, gender, and relationship status. The reported prevalence of any sexual activity amongst the full sample increased over the study period (from 88.1% to 91.5%, aOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.23–1.84). Increases were observed for physical (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.15–1.74) and virtual (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.07–1.34) activities, particularly masturbation (aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.37–1.72). Increases were larger for men than women. The proportion of participants in steady relationships whose relationship scored as “lower quality” increased (from 23.9% to 26.9%, aOR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.10–1.49). These findings have implications for understanding sexual health needs during disasters and planning sexual health service priorities following the pandemic.

Advancing a Transformative Agenda Amid Institutional Complexity in Advertising: Introduction to Special Issue on New Challenges in Advertising–A Call for Transformation, Well-Being and Positive Social Change

Restoring Trust in Sport: Corruption Cases and Solutions edited by Catherine Ordway, Abingdon, Oxon (UK) and New York (USA), Routledge, 2021, 270 pp., €152.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-367-47306-8; €40.79 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-367-61692-2; €38.24 (e-book), ISBN 978-1-003-03478-0

United States healthcare encounters for poisoning involving cannabis relative to other substances

Background: Despite increases in cannabis-related healthcare encounters, research comparing trends in healthcare encounters involving cannabis poisoning with other substances is limited. Objective: To describe healthcare encounters (emergency department [ED] visits and hospitalizations) for poisonings involving cannabis versus other substances (heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines, alcohol). Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the National Inpatient Sample (2016–2020), and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to estimate annual national encounters involving poisoning and utilization-adjusted prevalence per 100,000 individuals reporting past-year use of that substance. Results: From 2016 to 2020, encounters involving cannabis poisoning were lower than heroin and benzodiazepines, and utilization-adjusted prevalence was lower than heroin, cocaine, and benzodiazepines. U.S. cannabis poisoning ED visits (2016: 29,050; 2019: 49,357; 2020: 47,655) and hospitalizations (2016: 12,940; 2019: 18,470; 2020: 13,680) increased between 2016 and 2019, and decreased in 2020, whereas most other substances decreased. Utilization-adjusted prevalence of cannabis poisoning ED visits (2016: 77.3 [95%CI, 70.3–84.3]; 2019: 102.0 [95%CI, 94.7–109.2]; 2020: 98.5 [95%CI, 91.0–106.0]) and hospitalizations (2016: 34.4 [95%CI, 32.6–36.3]; 2019: 38.2 [95%CI, 36.4–39.9]; 2020: 28.3 [95%CI, 26.9–29.7]) followed the same pattern, whereas most other substances declined. In 2020, utilization-adjusted prevalence of transfer/hospital admission was lower for single-substance ED visits involving cannabis poisoning than most other substances. Deaths were higher in single-substance hospitalizations for other substances than cannabis in 2020. Conclusions: Healthcare encounters involving cannabis poisoning increased while remaining lower, and having fewer admissions/deaths, than selected, other substances. These findings can inform healthcare policy and prevention strategies for cannabis-related healthcare encounters.