Drought stress is one of the important factors limiting the growth of the apple industry. Although 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), an ancient indole amine, is widely present in plants, the role of 5-HT in drought stress in apples is unknown. We tested the impact of 5-HT on long-term drought stress in apple seedlings. Our findings revealed that 1 μM of exogenous 5-HT could improve the resistance of apple seedlings to short- and long-term drought stress. These plants experienced better root growth, more efficient water use, and less reactive oxygen species (ROS). The higher ABA levels mediated by 5-HT in leaves increased stomatal density and improved the photosynthetic capacity of leaves. Furthermore, exogenous 5-HT boosted the expression of drought stress-related genes, enabling apple plants to adapt to drought stress.

BACKGROUNDBecause of climate change, the frequency of extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall and flooding, is increasing in Europe. It is important to understand how such events affect infectious disease incidence to inform preparedness and response activities.AIMWe aimed to gather evidence of associations between heavy rainfall and flooding and infectious disease incidence in humans in Europe, as well as report preparedness and response measures.METHODSIn this rapid review, PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched using a combination of keywords relevant to infectious diseases as well as to heavy rainfall and flooding to identify published literature and preprints. Articles published between 1 January 2018 and 15 June 2025 were eligible for inclusion.RESULTSFrom 897 records identified, 14 articles were included in the review. In particular, outbreaks of campylobacteriosis and cases of leptospirosis were reported following heavy rainfall and flooding events in Europe. Public health communication on awareness and hygienic practices was among the most commonly reported preparedness and response measure, while structural measures such as sanitary infrastructure and One Health surveillance systems were suggested.CONCLUSIONWhile heavy rainfall and flooding have been associated with outbreaks of infectious diseases in different parts of Europe, relatively few studies investigating these associations were identified in Europe despite wide search criteria, highlighting the need for further research to strengthen European preparedness and response measures.

Influenza remains a significant public health threat with pandemic potential. Understanding environmental factors influencing virus spread and severity is critical, particularly as wildfires become more frequent and intense. While temperature and humidity's roles in virus seasonality and persistence are well understood, the impacts of air pollution ─ especially wildfire-specific particulate matter (PM2.5) ─ on respiratory infections are less explored.

A robust assessment of hydroclimatic variability is critical for strengthening drought resilience and optimizing water resource management in climate-sensitive and data-limited regions. This study provides one of the first comprehensive integrated hydroclimatic analyses of the eastern escarpment of the Abaya-Chamo sub-basin, evaluating multi-decadal trends in rainfall, temperature, streamflow, and drought through the Mann-Kendall trend test, Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA), and drought indices derived using DrinC software. Rainfall trends were largely insignificant across five monitoring stations, except at Hagereselam station, which exhibited an upward trend. Maximum monthly temperatures increased significantly at all stations except Dilla, while minimum temperatures rose at Fisehagenet, Yirgachefe, and Hagereselam. Streamflow analysis at the Tore gauging station revealed elevated low flows, reduced peak flows, slower recession rates, slightly decreased winter discharges, more frequent pulse events, and a reversal in flow direction. Drought assessment using SPI-6 and RDIst-6 indicated increased frequency and severity in recent decades, with Arbaminch, Yirgachefe, Dilla, and Hagereselam being particularly affected. The most severe drought levels were recorded at Yirgachefe (index score -3.31) and Arbaminch (index score -3.27) stations. Short-term indices (SPI-6 and RDIst-6) were more effective than 12-month indices in capturing recurring drought episodes, highlighting the importance of multi-scale drought monitoring. By linking meteorological drought with hydrological regime alterations, this integrated framework provided a comprehensive understanding of drought propagation and hydroclimatic interactions. These findings provide essential guidance for adaptive water governance and region-specific drought mitigation in a region increasingly vulnerable to climate change and broader climate drivers such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), underscoring the urgency of timely interventions in response to ongoing climatic variability.

Solidarity plays an important role in response to pandemics, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises. It has both an intrinsic and instrumental value in global health. However, it can result in unintended consequences when not practiced properly. When the unintended consequences of acts of solidarity are perceived by the intended beneficiaries to be so unacceptable that they are spurned, such solidarity is objectionable. This paper introduces the concept of objectionable solidarity and illustrates its global bioethical implications using the example of COVID-19 vaccine donations. Objectionable solidarity raises bioethical concerns including avoidable mortality, erosion of trust in health systems, and unjust distribution of life-saving resources. The argument then traces the roots of objectionable solidarity to fractures in the ethics of global health solidarity, and discusses the triggers of objectionable solidarity. Finally, this paper employs examples from Afro-Caribbean approaches to COVID-19 vaccine solidarity-such as reciprocity, sacrificidality, noblesse oblige, cooperativity, and simultaneity-as bases on which guidelines for navigating the ethics of global health solidarity in pandemic settings can be built.

Carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from wildfires and wildland urban interface (WUI) fires pose significant health risks to firefighters. Yet, limited information is known about the specific chemical composition of smoke exposure which is needed to develop targeted cancer prevention protocols. Critically, current methods to monitor firefighters' exposure to these hazardous VOCs are lacking. To address this gap, we developed an automated portable air sampling device capable of identifying and quantifying firefighters' exposure to toxic VOCs over a 24-hour work period. The device can be mounted to the pump panel on a fire engine with a sheet metal cradle to travel with firefighters as they work or can be mounted on tripods during live fire trainings. Our sampler actively collects air samples through a pump system and concentrates up to four individual air samples onto one of four custom micro-pre-concentrator (µPC) chemical adsorption chips. Additionally, the device has a simple user interface and records temperature, humidity, and global positioning sensor (GPS) location data on an SD card during sampling. Ten devices were manufactured and verified to capture environmental VOCs in equal quantities and be robust under the high temperatures and heavy vibrations that a fire engine experiences. Devices were deployed by a partner fire department during a 2024 California wildfire. We present successful collection of environmental and chemical data sampled during that fire.

Modern biodiversity monitoring programs are designed to provide rapid assessments of trends in the abundance and distribution of keystone taxa and timely scientific insights for decision-making. An important consideration when delivering this information to stakeholders is the quantification of uncertainty, which determines the robustness of detecting changes across habitats and regions. In coral reef science, sparse and fragmented monitoring datasets hinder assessments of reef habitat changes. We introduce a comprehensive prediction framework for estimating trends in hard coral cover and associated uncertainty at a local scale (5 km[2] predictive cells). The model accounts for spatial and temporal dependencies in coral cover through a latent process formulation, where correlation is structured explicitly in space and time, and includes environmental variables describing exposure to heat stress and tropical cyclones. We use a weighted spatial aggregation approach to predict trends at subregional and regional scales, with subregional and regional extents varying according to geographic context. The same approach is applied to estimate trends at broader spatial scales by combining outputs from multiple models through the ReefCloud platform, ensuring that predictions reflect the spatial distribution of reef-building corals and that uncertainty is appropriately propagated across spatial scales. The model also quantifies effects of heat stress and tropical cyclones and characterizes their associations with coral cover change across gradients of disturbance intensity. We demonstrate the value of the framework using two use cases: the central Great Barrier Reef in Australia and American Samoa. Together, these applications highlight the potential of our integrated approach as a widely applicable method for predicting coral cover trends at various spatial scales. We also discuss the substantial uncertainty associated with the framework due to the limitations of available datasets and suggest approaches to improve the robustness of trend detection for coral reefs and their attribution to environmental disturbances.

The current paper is the Alonso Plenary Presidential Address given at the Annual American Group Psychotherapy Association's 2026 Conference. The plenary focuses on how we are uniquely suited to address the psychological stressors, trauma, and mass trauma group members carry into their therapy and support groups. We have at our disposal the multifaceted tools of healing, including (1) small groups, which provide a safe container to process, metabolize and create symbolic meaning; (2) large groups, where projections, stereotypes, racism, and unresolved social traumas can be expressed, examined, and transformed, and (3) support groups for communities facing manmade and natural disasters. The evidence-based support for the efficacy of group therapy, leadership considerations, the importance of DEIA constructs and community involvement, core values to enhance organizational cohesion and self-care strategies for group therapists are discussed.