Many species of spittlebugs (Auchenorrhyncha: Cercopidae) use sugarcane and other grasses as host plants, and when damage is extensive they are considered pests leading tom economic losses. Mahanarva fimbriolata and Mahanarva spectabilis are the most common in sugarcane and can be distinguished mainly by genital morphology. Recently, another morphotype of Mahanarva occurring in sugarcane fields that did not match the morphologies of either of these Mahanarva species mentioned above has been widely collected in Brazil, raising doubts on the identification of Mahanarva species using sugarcane. Accurate specimen identification is critical for sugarcane pest management, because misidentifications can lead to economic losses and inefficient control strategies. Thus, we combined morphology, geometric morphometrics, and molecular techniques to investigate the hypothesis that this morphotype could be considered a new species of Mahanarva. Morphological analyses included examination of male genitalia and tegminal colouration patterns. We also quantified hindwing shapes using geometric morphometrics; and performed a phylogenetic analysis using the mitochondrial COI gene. Morphological evidence distinguished the new morphotype through unique traits in male genitalia. Geometric morphometrics reliably separated species, with over 89% classification accuracy. Molecular analyses confirmed the morphotype as a distinct lineage closely related to M. fimbriolata and M. spectabilis. Thus, we describe M. diakantha sp. n., demonstrating the effectiveness of an integrative approach in resolving taxonomic challenges. Additionally, we provide formal diagnoses for M. fimbriolata and M. spectabilis. This work underscores the importance of precise taxonomy in agroecosystems, supporting sustainable pest management practices.

To better understand language teacher turnover, this study closely replicates and extends McInerney et al.’s (2015) research, which found that teacher commitment predicted turnover intentions to schools (44.2%) and the profession (45.2%) among Hong Kong schoolteachers (N = 1,060). Given the relatively stable employment conditions in that context, the generalizability of these findings to more mobile populations, such as expatriate native English-speaking teachers (NESTs), remains uncertain. In this replication, (1) the population was changed to NESTs in East Asia, and (2) subgroup comparisons were extended to reflect distinctions relevant to the replication sample. Additionally, results were directly compared to the original. A total of 215 NESTs participated. Results showed similar directional patterns but stronger effects: commitment explained 51.8% of variance in turnover intentions to schools and 59.7% to the profession. Affective commitment was the strongest predictor, though NESTs reported lower commitment and higher turnover intentions than in the original study.

Parasitoids are effective biocontrol agents against Spodoptera frugiperda. Here, we studied four egg parasitoids (Trichogramma chilonis, Trichogramma pretiosum, Trichogrammatoidea bactrae, and Telenomus remus) on S. frugiperda eggs under laboratory conditions [25 ± 1 °C, 70 ± 5% RH, 14/10-h (L:D) photoperiod]. Then, Tr. chilonis (the best trichogrammatid species in the laboratory) was studied inside cages (1 m × 1 m) under maize-field conditions. Egg-to-adult periods (days) were recorded among different species, with Te. remus having the longest (10.00 ± 0.89 days) and Tr. bactrae the shortest (7.80 ± 0.66 days) periods. Furthermore, Te. remus exhibited the greatest adult longevity (days) for both males and females, with and without food. Lifespan parasitism under laboratory conditions was the highest for Te. remus (73.60 ± 7.23 eggs), followed by Tr. chilonis (45.40 ± 2.56 eggs) and Tr. pretiosum (42.00 ± 3.70 eggs). Adult emergence (%) was always higher than 90% and the sex ratio was higher than 0.60 for the studied egg parasitoid species. In the cage experiments set up in uncontrolled field conditions, different release densities of Tr. chilonis (50,000, 100,000, and 150,000 parasitoids/ha) were studied. Release densities of 100,000 and 150,0000 parasitoids per hectare were the most effective rates for managing S. frugiperda, with recorded egg parasitism of 71.36% and 72.88%, respectively. These findings provide crucial insights into the biological attributes and parasitism potential of these parasitoids, indicating the optimal release density of 100,000 Tr. chilonis/ha as an integrated pest management strategy against S. frugiperda in maize ecosystems.

Researchers across disciplines increasingly use Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to label text and images or as pseudo-respondents in surveys. But of which populations are GenAI models most representative? We use an image classification task—assessing crowd-sourced street view images of urban neighborhoods in an American city—to compare assessments generated by GenAI models with those from a nationally representative survey and a locally representative survey of city residents. While GenAI responses, on average, correlate strongly with the perceptions of a nationally representative survey sample, the models poorly approximate the perceptions of those actually living in the city. Examining perceptions of neighborhood safety, wealth, and disorder reveals a clear bias in GenAI toward national averages over local perspectives. GenAI is also better at recovering relative distributions of ratings, rather than mimicking absolute human assessments. Our results provide evidence that GenAI performs particularly poorly in reflecting the opinions of hard-to-reach populations. Tailoring prompts to encourage alignment with subgroup perceptions generally does not improve accuracy and can lead to greater divergence from actual subgroup views. These results underscore the limitations of using GenAI to study or inform decisions in local communities but also highlight its potential for approximating “average” responses to certain types of questions. Finally, our study emphasizes the importance of carefully considering the identity and representativeness of human raters or labelers—a principle that applies broadly, whether GenAI tools are used or not.

We construct surfaces with arbitrarily large multiplicity for their first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue. The proof is based on a technique by Burger and Colbois originally used to prove a similar result for the Laplacian spectrum. We start by constructing surfaces $S_p$ with a specific subgroup of isometry $G_p:= \mathbb {Z}_p \rtimes \mathbb {Z}_p^*$ for each prime p. We do so by gluing surfaces with boundary following the structure of the Cayley graph of $G_p$. We then exploit the properties of $G_p$ and $S_p$ in order to show that an irreducible representation of high degree (depending on p) acts on the eigenspace of functions associated with $\sigma _1(S_p)$, leading to the desired result.

In the United States, Latinos are often treated as a monolithic voting bloc, but this approach overlooks significant variation in political behavior across sub-groups from different countries of origin. This paper explores the role of country of origin (CoO) in shaping the partisanship and electoral choices of U.S. Latinos, arguing that national origin influences party identification and voting behavior. Using data from the Collaborative Multi-Racial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), spanning elections from 2008 to 2020, we examine how Latino voters from different countries differ in their partisanship and support for Republican and Democratic candidates. Our findings reveal substantial variation in vote choice and partisan identification based on CoO. We employ genetic matching to control for key covariates, revealing that aggregate country-of-origin differences show up repeatedly in elections over time. These results suggest that aggregating Latinos into a single voting bloc obscures meaningful political diversity and that a country-of-origin approach offers valuable insights into Latino electoral behavior.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) have been observed in children exposed to family violence. Although functioning improves for many children after cessation of violence, pathways to recovery are poorly understood. This study tests the mediating pathways between changes in family violence and children’s PTS through children’s emotional security, parental stress, and parents’ PTS. We used longitudinal data of 562 children and their parents who were referred to child protection service. Data included three waves over a one and a half years period. Questionnaire data of both children and parents were analyzed in R Lavaan with Random Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Models to examine intrafamilial associations. Child-reported, but not parent-reported, decreases in family violence predicted decreases in child PTS from the first to the second wave. Changes in parental stress, parent PTS, and emotional security did not mediate the associations between change in family violence and child PTS. We found in exploratory analyses that decreases in parental stress predicted decreases in parent-reported family violence. The results emphasize the importance of reducing family violence for children to recover from PTS. Parental stress may be a factor in restoring safety.

In this paper, we provide a characterization for a class of convex curves on the 3-sphere. More precisely, using a theorem that represents a locally convex curve on the 3-sphere as a pair of curves in $\mathbb S^2$, one of which is locally convexand the other is an immersion, we are able of completely characterizing a class of convex curves on the 3-sphere.

Intertextual linkages between Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions and mythological narratives have significantly contributed to our understanding of royal self-presentation and historicization. Less explored, however, are how such linkages may be interpreted and visualized within royal art. In this paper, I propose an intervisual connection between Ninurta mythologies and Assyrian royal lion hunts by unpacking modes of display and interaction embedded between image, text, and lived experience in the palace art of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. Intervisuality was arguably deployed as an innovative strategy to craft a sophisticated connection between royal and divine kingship. I explore how Anzû, a mythological adversary of Ninurta that embodies chaos and disorder, was conceptualized and manifested across media, including cylinder seals and in relief art. Consequently, the paper displaces the typical focus given to the Assyrian king by instead investigating the roles of animals and monsters in upholding royal narratives. I argue that the form and actions of Anzû as embodied and performed in objects act as powerful symbolic referents that anchor its transformed image in royal hunt narratives. In conclusion, I consider why Ashurbanipal may have employed visual references to Anzû in his palace art.

The love factor in the field of second language acquisition has gained considerable traction since the turn of the century. This article is the first to take a variationist perspective to investigate how multilingual coupledom affects sociolinguistic development in the second language (L2). Participants were 76 users of L2 German living in Austria, all of whom were in a romantic relationship with an Austrian partner. We analyzed the effects of multilingual coupledom on self-reported changes in learners’ use of, attitudes toward, and proficiency in standard German, the Austrian dialect variety, and first language(s), and whether (psycho-)social variables moderate this relationship. Individual differences in psychological and social variables (e.g., adaptability, Open-mindedness, length of residence, orientation toward the Austrian dialect) predicted reported changes in the sociolinguistic repertoire. Qualitative analysis revealed a blended operation of socioaffective and exposure-related factors, which helped explain why, how, and for whom multilingual coupledom affects (socio-)linguistic development.

This study examines the organization of large-scale chert biface production in the Maya Lowlands, focusing on Took’ Witz, an architectural group of El Palmar in Campeche, Mexico. Excavations and debitage analysis at three plazuelas and a major debitage deposit revealed a complex lithic industry. The results identified segmented production activities in households, from sourcing materials and early-stage reduction to late-stage biface production. The production scale far exceeded household consumption, probably supporting intensive agriculture in the region. The results provide insight into the variable settings and organization of the biface industry throughout the Maya Lowlands.