Introduction Increased mortality has been demonstrated in older adults with COVID-19, but the effect of frailty has been unclear. Methods This multi-centre cohort study involved patients aged 18 years and older hospitalised with COVID-19, using routinely collected data. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the impact of age, frailty, and delirium on the risk of inpatient mortality, adjusting for sex, illness severity, inflammation, and co-morbidities. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to assess the impact of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and delirium on risk of increased care requirements on discharge, adjusting for the same variables. Results Data from 5,711 patients from 55 hospitals in 12 countries were included (median age 74, IQR 54–83; 55.2% male). The risk of death increased independently with increasing age (>80 vs 18–49: HR 3.57, CI 2.54–5.02), frailty (CFS 8 vs 1–3: HR 3.03, CI 2.29–4.00) inflammation, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, but not delirium. Age, frailty (CFS 7 vs 1–3: OR 7.00, CI 5.27–9.32), delirium, dementia, and mental health diagnoses were all associated with increased risk of higher care needs on discharge. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased across all grades of CFS from 4 to 9. Conclusions Age and frailty are independently associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19. Risk of increased care needs was also increased in survivors of COVID-19 with frailty or older age.

Ancient lake sediments provide opportunities to reconstruct aquatic ecosystems during previous interglacials. In the summer of 2010, the ICDP project PALEOVAN drilled a complete succession of the lacustrine sedimentary sequence deposited during the last *600,000 years in Lake Van, eastern Anatolia (Turkey). Previous palaeolimnological analysis of the Lake Van sediment record has shown diatoms to be absent over most of the sequence apart from a short interval during the Holocene. Here, we demonstrate the preservation of additional fragmentary diatom records during Marine Isotope Stage , each spanning no more than a few thousand years. Although brief, the presence of contrasting diatom assemblages between these two interglacials provide a snapshot of varying water depth and, by inference, climate. Analysis of MIS7e samples suggests that lake water levels were low after a period when the lake was open (i.e., high lake levels with the presence of an outflow present), resulting in higher salinities and possibly less stable bottom waters, which switched between anoxic and oxic states more frequently. By contrast, the diatom assemblages during MIS5e are characteristic of fresh, relatively nutrient rich waters. This suggests that lake levels were high, that the lake was hydrologically open with an outlet, and that the bottom waters were anoxic for long periods of time. Furthermore, our palaeoconductivity estimates and modelling of the past lake volumes with respect to its salt content support the presence of an outflow.

Four genetically modified (GM) maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids (coleopteran resistant, coleopteran and lepidopteran resistant, lepidopteran resistant and herbicide tolerant, coleopteran and herbicide tolerant) and its non‐GM control maize stands were tested to compare the functional diversity of arthropods and to determine whether genetic modifications alter the structure of arthropods food webs. A total number of 399,239 arthropod individuals were used for analyses. The trophic groups’ number and the links between them indicated that neither the higher magnitude of Bt toxins (included resistance against insect, and against both insects and glyphosate) nor the extra glyphosate treatment changed the structure of food webs. However, differences in the average trophic links/trophic groups were detected between GM and non‐GM food webs for herbivore groups and plants. Also, differences in characteristic path lengths between GM and non‐GM food webs for herbivores were observed. Food webs parameterized based on 2‐year in‐field assessments, and their properties can be considered a useful and simple tool to evaluate the effects of Bt toxins on non‐target organisms.

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Arthropods from four genetically modified (GM) maize hybrids (coleopteran resistant, coleopteran and lepidopteran resistant, lepidopteran resistant+herbicide tolerant and coleopteran resistant and herbicide tolerant) and non-GM varieties were sampled during a two-year field assessment. A total number of 363 555 arthropod individuals were collected. This represents the most comprehensive arthropod dataset from GM maize, and together with weed data, is reasonable to determine functional groups of arthropods and interactions between species. Trophic groups identified from both phytophagous and predatory arthropods were previously considered non-target organisms on which possible detrimental effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins may have been directly (phytophagous species) or indirectly (predators) detected. The high number of individuals and species and their dynamics through the maize growing season can predict that interactions are highly correlational, and can thus be considered a useful tool to assess potential deleterious effects of Bt toxins on non-target organisms, serving to develop biosafety risk hypotheses for invertebrates exposed to GM maize plants.

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