Novel Strategies for Preventing Fungal Infections—Outline

Fungal infections are a significant global health challenge, causing approximately 3.8 million deaths annually, with immunocompromised populations particularly at risk. Traditional antifungal therapies, including azoles, echinocandins, and polyenes, face limitations due to rising antifungal resistance, toxicity, and inadequate treatment options. This review explores innovative strategies for preventing and managing fungal infections, such as vaccines, antifungal peptides, nanotechnology, probiotics, and immunotherapy. Vaccines offer promising avenues for long-term protection, despite difficulties in their development due to fungal complexity and immune evasion mechanisms. Antifungal peptides provide a novel class of agents with broad-spectrum activity and reduced resistance risk, whilst nanotechnology enables targeted, effective drug delivery systems. Probiotics show potential in preventing fungal infections, particularly vulvovaginal candidiasis, by maintaining microbial balance. Immunotherapy leverages immune system modulation to enhance antifungal defenses, and omics technologies deliver comprehensive insights into fungal biology, paving the way for novel therapeutic and vaccine targets. While these approaches hold immense promise, challenges such as cost, accessibility, and translational barriers remain. A coordinated effort among researchers, clinicians, and policymakers is critical to advancing these strategies and addressing the global burden of fungal infections effectively

Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index

Background: Childhood obesity is a complex and multifaceted public health issue. Several studies have found that children living in greener neighborhoods have a lower body mass index (BMI); however, evidence on longitudinal exposure remains limited. This study examined the relationship between Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), green space, and children’s weight status using linked environmental and national health data.Methods: We derived annual EVI values from Landsat 8 satellite imagery (30 m resolution) within 300 m of a child’s residence in Wales from 2008 to 2019. Mean EVI exposure was calculated for the 4 years preceding BMI measurement. We utilized 2017 Ordnance Survey Open Greenspace data to identify green spaces within 800 m of a child’s residence. BMI obtained from the Child Measurement Programme for Wales (2012/13 to 2018/19) for children aged 4–5 years was used to define healthy versus overweight/obesity. We used logistic regression to evaluate associations between residential greenness, green spaces, and childhood weight status.Results: The final cohort consisted of 200,237 children. A one-unit increase in EVI was associated with a 20% higher likelihood of being overweight or obese (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.37). For every additional green space within 800 m, the likelihood of having an unhealthy weight increased by 0.3%.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that EVI and access to green spaces should be interpreted with care, as they may not capture how young children interact with nearby green environments. Future work investigating the impact of greenness and greenspace on child weight status should use measures tailored to more accurately represent age-specific behaviors

Impacts of Global School Feeding Programmes on Children’s Health and Wellbeing Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Objectives: School feeding programmes (SFPs) are widely implemented to address child poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, yet evidence on their influence on children’s health outcomes is limited. With ongoing debate around universal versus targeted provision, this scoping review aims to map global literature on SFPs, identify which health and well-being outcomes are reported, and explore how these outcomes vary by programme type (targeted vs universal). Design: Scoping review conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The protocol was pre-registered on the Open Science Framework. Data sources: Four electronic databases—Medline, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar—were searched in December 2023 and July 2025. Reference lists of included papers were also screened. Eligibility criteria: Included studies examined the impact of SFPs on physical, emotional, psychological and social health outcomes in children aged 5–16. Only English-language studies published between 2009 and 2025 were included. Data extraction and synthesis: Data were extracted using a structured template and reviewed by multiple authors. Due to the heterogeneity in study designs and reported outcomes, a narrative synthesis approach was used to group findings thematically, following established guidance for narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. Results: A total of 44 papers were included in the final review, spanning 13 countries and published between 2009 and 2025. SFPs were associated with healthier weight status, improved dietary intake, better social engagement and reductions in stigma. Targeted programmes addressed food insecurity but were more often linked to stigma and poorer mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Universal SFP were effective at improving children’s health outcomes such as healthy weight, improved behaviour and social support. Overall, both targeted and universal SFP positively impact children’s health outcomes and address health disparities

The Temple of Shanhûr 2: The Exterior of the Augustan Temple, the Hypostyle Hall, and the Lateral Chapel (nos. 99-240)

This volume represents the second installment dedicated to the publication of the temple of Shanhûr. The first volume addressed the decorated interior of the temple, comprising ninety-eight ritual scenes and texts. The present work turns to the exterior walls, including the contra-temple along the northern outer wall, as well as the surviving portions of the lateral chapel and hypostyle hall, altogether amounting to 141 ritual scenes and texts. The decorative program of the exterior walls reveals a distinct theological development during the reign of Claudius, in contrast to the earliest phase of the temple under Augustus. The Great Goddess (Isis) is here manifested through various mother-goddess forms, whose familial relationships are articulated within the theological frameworks of Thebes and Coptos. Yet the temple’s theological vision is not merely a synthesis of Theban and Coptite traditions; rather, it represents a distinctly Coptite theology, reshaping Theban concepts within a framework devised by the Coptite priesthood

Strategies for Maintaining a Positive Body Image in the Face of Stigma

This study aimed to explore how individuals with obesity, who have a positive body image (an accepting and favourable view of the body), maintain this positive image in the face of weight stigma. A qualitative methodology was used to explore the experiences of 16 individuals (11 women; 5 men) using one-to-one semi-structured interviews. Four themes were developed using Thematic Analysis: Experiences of stigma, Self-evaluative cognitive strategies, Social Behavioural strategies and What Helps? Themes included strategies that reflect self-affirmation, defensive self-protection and social support. The results also included strategies not found in previous research, such as confronting the source of the stigmatisation. Moreover, no negative strategies, such as eating or self-harm, were reported. In addition, the participants spoke of the positive effect of social support but did not report seeking this support, which suggests that perceived social support may be more useful than enacted support

Validating DSGE Models Through SVARs Under Imperfect Information

We study the ability of SVARs to match impulse responses of a well-established DSGE model where the information of agents can be imperfect. We derive conditions for the solution of a linearized NK-DSGE model to be invertible given this information set. In the absence of invertibility, an approximate measure is constructed. An SVAR is estimated using artificial data generated from the model and three forms of identification restrictions: zero, sign and bounds on the forecast error variance. We demonstrate that a VAR may not recover a subset of structural shocks when imperfect information causes the underlying model to be non-invertible

Topological Data Analysis of Abelian Magnetic Monopoles in Gauge Theories

Motivated by recent literature on the possible existence of a second higher-temperature phase transition in Quantum Chromodynamics, we revisit the proposal that colour confinement is related to the dynamics of magnetic monopoles using methods of Topological Data Analysis, which provides a mathematically rigorous characterisation of topological properties of quantities defined on a lattice. After introducing persistent homology, one of the main tools in Topological Data Analysis, we shall discuss how this concept can be used to quantitatively analyse the behaviour of monopoles across the deconfinement phase transition. Our approach is first demonstrated for Compact U(1) Lattice Gauge Theory, which is known to have a zero-temperature deconfinement phase transition driven by the restoration of the symmetry associated with the conservation of the magnetic charge. For this system, we perform a finite-size scaling analysis of observables capturing the homology of magnetic current loops, showing that the expected value of the deconfinement critical coupling is reproduced by our analysis. We then extend our method to SU(3) gauge theory, in which Abelian magnetic monopoles are identified after projection in the Maximal Abelian Gauge. A finite-size scaling of our homological observables of Abelian magnetic current loops at temporal size Nt=4 provides the expected value of the critical coupling with an accuracy that is generally higher than that obtained with conventional thermodynamic approaches at comparable statistics, hinting towards the relevance of topological properties of monopole currents for confinement

Biochar production, activation, and applications: A comprehensive technical review

Our planet has been facing critical challenges since the late 20th century, including climate change, resource shortages, environmental degradation and pollution, demanding urgent and sustainable solutions. Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from biomass pyrolysis, has gained attention for its great potentials in environmental remediation, pollutant removals, carbon neutrality, soil amendment, building materials, etc. The performance of biochar in these applications is highly related to its physicochemical properties, which are influenced by the feedstock and the preparation/activation methods. This paper reviews a wide range of biochar produced from various feedstocks and their performance in different applications. Advanced characterisations are discussed to unveil the fundamental mechanisms and provide insights for further improvement and optimization. The techno-economic analysis evaluates the feasibility, challenges, and opportunities for scaling up and adopting biochar in potential applications. By focusing on biochar's multifunctionality and sustainability, this paper provides a reference for future research on developing biochar as a green technology with environmental and economic benefits