bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transient incoherent-sum survey
Authors: Shannon R. M. , Bannister K. W. , Bera A. , Bhandari S. , Day C. K. , Deller A. T. , Dial T. , Dobie D. , Ekers R. D. , Fong W.- f. , Glowacki M. , Gordon A. C. , Gourdji K. , Jaini A. , James C. W. , Kumar P. , Mahony E. K. , Marnoch L. , Muller A. R. , Prochaska J. X. , Qiu (邱昊) H. , Ryder S. D. , Sadler E. M. , Scott D. R. , Tejos N. , Uttarkar P. A. , Wang Y.
Published: January 2025

With wide-field phased array feed technology, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is ideally suited to search for seemingly rare radio transient sources that are difficult to discover previous-generation narrow-field telescopes. The Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transient (CRAFT) Survey Science Project has developed instrumentation to continuously search for fast radio transients (duration ≲ 1 second) with ASKAP, with a particular focus on finding and localising Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). Since 2018, the CRAFT survey has been searching for FRBs and other fast transients by incoherently adding the intensities received by individual ASKAP antennas, and then correcting for the impact of frequency dispersion on these short-duration signals in the resultant incoherent sum (ICS) in real-time. This low-latency detection enables the triggering of voltage buffers, which facilitates the localisation of the transient source and the study of spectro-polarimetric properties at high time resolution. Here we report the sample of 43 FRBs discovered in this CRAFT/ICS survey to date. This includes 22 FRBs that had not previously been reported: 16 FRBs localised by ASKAP to. ≲ 1 arcsec and 6 FRBs localised to ∼ 10 arcmin. Of the new arcsecond-localised FRBs, we have identified and characterised host galaxies (and measured redshifts) for 11. The median of all 30 measured host redshifts from the survey to date is z = 0.23. We summarise results from the searches, in particular those contributing to our understanding of the burst progenitors and emission mechanisms, and on the use of bursts as probes of intervening media. We conclude by foreshadowing future FRB surveys with ASKAP using a coherent detection system that is currently being commissioned. This will increase the burst detection rate by a factor of approximately ten and also the distance to which ASKAP can localise FRBs.
Magmatic evolution of the Paleoproterozoic A2-type granite along the northern Indian margin: insights from geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology of Baijnath Klippe, NW Himalaya
Authors: Patel Shubham , Joshi Mallickarjun , Oinam Govind , Das Biraja P. , Kumar Alok , Srivastava Tanya
Published: January 2025

Paleoproterozoic granitoids of the lesser Himalayan belt are keys to understanding the evolution of the northern Indian continental margin and its position in the Columbia supercontinent assembly. We present whole-rock chemistry and zircon U-Pb geochronological data for Gwaldam Biotite Granite (GBGr) from the Baijnath Klippe (BK) in Kumaun Himalaya to elucidate their petrogenesis and geodynamic implications. Granites are characterized by ferroan, weakly peraluminous nature with high SiO2 and K2O contents, enrichment in LILE (Rb, Th, K and Pb), and depletion in Ba, Nb, P, Hf and Ti. Granites show enrichment in light rare earth element relative to heavy rare earth elements and pronounced negative Eu anomalies. Such chemistry suggests typical A-type granite with high Y/Nb >2 values that characterize it as A2-type granite. Zircon U-Pb ages for the granite yield upper intercept at 1900 ± 3 Ma (core) and 1854 ± 2 Ma (rim). Integrating the chemical and geochronological data, we propose a two-stage evolution model for the area. In the GBGr, the ∼1900 Ma date of zircon core is likely the date of crystallization of the melts presumably formed during the first extensional stage at uppermost mantle – lower crust levels caused by slab break-off/rollback, which followed a post-collisional setting. The second incipient rifting stage produced melt that entrained the zircon cores (∼1900 Ma) during its ascendance and crystallized as the GBGr at ∼1854 Ma when the zircon rims crystallized. It is further proposed that the Paleoproterozoic Northern Indian continental margin later underwent at least two crustal extensions during the Columbia supercontinent agglomeration.
A party with China: political party affiliation and perceptions of China in African countries
Authors: Nagao Haruka , Hatungimana William , Liu Rigao , Kennedy John James
Published: January 2025

Most of the attention on Africa-China relations has centred on China's economic activities. What remains unclear is the role of partisanship in shaping public perceptions of China in African countries. Since the Chinese government builds a favourable relationship with an incumbent party, incumbent party supporters tend to have positive views towards China whereas opposition party supporters perceive China more critically. This study conducts multilevel mixed-effects regression analyses of public opinion across 33 African countries, and finds that opposition party supporters are indeed more critical of China. While opposition parties are motivated by their office-seeking interests, they also hold an incumbent party accountable. This study sheds light on the agency of political parties and their supporters in African countries and the mode (instead of volume) of China's bilateral engagement.
Imagined solidarity around tax practices: a two-dimensional framework based on motivating logic and group boundaries
Authors: Söderström Johanna , Rakner Lise
Published: January 2025

Understanding why citizens are willing to finance public goods is central to development and state capacity. Taxation can contribute to the common good, yet particularly in developing contexts, citizens may not benefit – or contribute – equally from such resources or across their lifetimes. How do taxpayers link solidarity to the practice of paying taxes? Taxation makes solidarity visible, but taxation practices also produce and shape solidarity. To enable further scrutiny of the perceived linkages between taxation, ideas around redistribution, and solidarity we develop a framework of imagined solidarity, which differentiates between affective and calculative solidarity on the one hand, and personal and generalised solidarity on the other hand. Using data from focus groups with formal sector workers in Namibia, we illustrate how taxpayers link solidarity to the practice of paying taxes along these dimensions; demonstrating the usefulness of this framework for the further study of fiscal interconnectedness, also beyond Namibia.
Mapping tianxia and mapping the world: Cosmopolitan ideas in geographic sources of fifteenth- to eighteenth-century China
Authors: Papelitzky Elke
Published: January 2025

The concept of tianxia (All-under-Heaven) has been described as a Chinese version of cosmopolitanism. However, tianxia is a hard-to-define term, with political, cultural, and geographic meanings. From the fifteenth century onwards, maps exist that claim to show tianxia, therefore allowing us to reconstruct how Chinese mapmakers understood tianxia’s geographic extent. Other terms in the titles of maps that show space beyond the borders of the Ming and Qing states include huayi (civilized and barbarian/Chinese and non-Chinese), wanguo (10,000 countries), and sihai (four seas). This article examines the geographic extent of these terms and changes in their usage between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. It argues that Ming Chinese mapmakers and scholars presented tianxia as equivalent to the Ming empire and used terms such as huayi and wanguo to advertise the maps as showing regions far away, like western Asia and the Americas. Jesuits in China, on the other hand, applied a broader meaning of tianxia, equating it with the whole globe. During the Qing, the extent of tianxia expanded to represent a cosmopolitan empire connected to a range of surrounding states, embedded in a wider world.
Pointless atheism
Authors: Hendricks Perry C
Published: January 2025

Say theism is the view that an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly loving, and perfectly good being exists. And say pointless atheism occurs just in case there’s an atheist who isn’t resistant to belief in God, and no greater good comes about on account of this atheist’s non-belief. In this article, I show that if two prominent views about evil and divine hiddenness are accepted, theism is compatible with pointless atheism – a result hitherto unnoticed. Furthermore, not only is theism compatible with pointless atheism, it entails pointless atheism. This is significant because many objections to the argument from divine hiddenness have tried to show that all instances of non-resistant atheism are required for a greater good. But if I’m right, given theism, there need not be a point to non-resistant atheism. Indeed, we should expect there to be pointless atheism.
Models for information propagation on graphs
Authors: Dunbar Oliver R. A. , Elliott Charles M. , Kreusser Lisa Maria
Published: January 2025

We propose and unify classes of different models for information propagation over graphs. In a first class, propagation is modelled as a wave, which emanates from a set of known nodes at an initial time, to all other unknown nodes at later times with an ordering determined by the arrival time of the information wave front. A second class of models is based on the notion of a travel time along paths between nodes. The time of information propagation from an initial known set of nodes to a node is defined as the minimum of a generalised travel time over subsets of all admissible paths. A final class is given by imposing a local equation of an eikonal form at each unknown node, with boundary conditions at the known nodes. The solution value of the local equation at a node is coupled to those of neighbouring nodes with lower values. We provide precise formulations of the model classes and prove equivalences between them. Finally, we apply the front propagation models on graphs to semi-supervised learning via label propagation and information propagation on trust networks.
Development of an extraction method for the identification of peptides in the spermosphere of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
Authors: Saccaram Chandrodhay , Bernay Benoit , Brosse Céline , Collet Boris , Peng Shuang , Sourdeval Delphine , François Tracy , Corso Massimiliano , Rajjou Loïc
Published: January 2025

Seeds are crucial for plant reproduction, dispersal and agriculture. Seed quality and vigour greatly impact crop production by enabling rapid and uniform germination under various environmental conditions. This leads to healthy seedlings that can withstand both biotic and abiotic stresses, which are particularly important in the context of the accentuation of global climate change. Upon imbibition during germination sensu stricto, seeds release exudates, complex mixtures of organic and inorganic molecules, into the microenvironment surrounding them, known as the spermosphere. These exudates play a pivotal role in seedling development and overall plant fitness by influencing microbial selection, growth and interactions in the spermosphere, ultimately shaping the plant's microbiome. Proteins such as enzymes with protection properties have previously been demonstrated to be released by the seeds in their exudates. However, limited information is available pertaining to peptides in seed exudates. Here, we developed an experimental protocol to extract and identify peptides in the spermosphere of germinating common bean seeds. We showed that our methodology was successful in identifying a broad spectrum of peptides and that extraction solvent choice impacts peptide identification both qualitatively and quantitatively. We also show the possibility of using online prediction tools to predict the properties of identified peptides based on their amino acid sequence. We propose that this approach may be used to identify potential molecules that could be used as candidates for developing strategies to enhance seed quality and improve crop productivity.
Placing Women in the Revolt: Gender and the History and Memory of Resistance at Treblinka
Authors: Gibbs Chad S. A.
Published: January 2025

The Treblinka revolt has received extensive scholarly attention, though little of this work considers the resistance actions of women prisoners. In this article, I use spatial methods to reveal how Jews at Treblinka created three examples of what I term ‘places of resistance’ and how women supported each. Critically, this article demonstrates how studying these locations highlights the roles of women in resistance up to and including the famous uprising. Taking analyses of gender and memory further, I also examine how our scant knowledge of women's lives at Treblinka prompts consideration of archival silences, masculinity, and oral history practice.
Teaching death, spirituality, and palliative care to university students: Novel pedagogical approach
Authors: Corpuz Jeff Clyde G.
Published: January 2025

Teaching death, spirituality, and palliative care equips students with critical skills and perspectives for holistic patient care. This interdisciplinary approach fosters empathy, resilience, and personal growth while enhancing competence in end-of-life care. Using experiential methods like simulations and real patient interactions, educators bridge theory and practice. Integrating theological insights and inclusive-pluralism encourages meaningful dialogue, preparing students to address patients’ physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. This holistic pedagogy not only improves patient outcomes but also promotes collaboration and compassion in healthcare.
Children’s palliative care perceptions and educational needs among healthcare professionals in humanitarian settings
Authors: Blatman Zachary , Rayala Spandana , Richardson Kathryn , Risat Md Ilias Kamal , Yantzi Rachel , Doherty Megan
Published: January 2025

Objectives

Explore humanitarian healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) perceptions about implementing children’s palliative care and to identify their educational needs and challenges, including learning topics, training methods, and barriers to education.

Methods

Humanitarian HCPs were interviewed about perspectives on children’s palliative care and preferences and needs for training. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and arranged into overarching themes. Thematic analysis was performed using qualitative description.

Results

Ten healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, and health-project coordinators, were interviewed. Participants identified key patient and family-related barriers to palliative care in humanitarian settings, including misconceptions that palliative care was synonymous with end-of-life care or failure. Health system barriers included time constraints, insufficient provider knowledge, and a lack of standardized palliative care protocols. Important learning topics included learning strategies to address the stigma of serious illness and palliative care, culturally sensitive communication skills, and pain and symptom management. Preferred learning modalities included interactive lectures, role-play/simulation, and team-based case discussions. Participants preferred online training for theoretical knowledge and in-person learning to improve their ability to conduct serious illness conversations and learn other key palliative care skills.

Significance of results

Palliative care prevents and relieves serious illness-related suffering for children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions; however, most children in humanitarian settings are not able to access essential palliative care, leading to preventable pain and suffering. Limited palliative care knowledge and skills among HCPs in these settings are significant barriers to improving access to palliative care. Humanitarian HCPs are highly motivated to learn and improve their skills in children’s palliative care, but they require adequate health system resources and training. These findings can guide educators in developing palliative care education packages for humanitarian HCPs.
What are family caregivers’ experiences of coordinating end-of-life care at home? A narrative review
Authors: Nicholls Harriet , Carey Matthew , Hambridge Kevin
Published: January 2025

Objectives

People with life-limiting diseases, who are no longer receiving active or curable treatment, often state their preferred place of care and death as the home. This requires coordinating a multidisciplinary approach, using available health and social care services to synchronize care. Family caregivers are key to enabling home-based end-of-life support; however, the 2 elements that facilitate success – coordination and family caregiver – are not necessarily associated as being intertwined or one and the same. This narrative review explores family caregiver experiences of coordinating end-of-life care in the home setting.

Methods

Studies were identified systematically following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A search of 5 databases (CINAHL, AMED, MEDLINE, Joanna Briggs Institute for Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Database) was conducted using Medical Subject Headings search terms and Boolean operators. Seven hundred and eighty papers were screened. Quality assessment was conducted using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Characteristics of included studies were extracted using the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-QARI) extraction tool.

Results

Ten qualitative studies were included. A meta-aggregative approach was used to assemble findings and categories extracted from the included papers, which led to identification of 3 overall themes: (1) family caregiver identity, (2) strategies for care, and (3) practicalities of care.

Significance of results

Research suggests there should be a designated care coordinator to support people nearing the end of life at home. However, this review shows that family caregivers intrinsically take on this role. Their experiences, frequently share commonalities across different cultures and regions, highlighting the universal nature of their challenges. Difficulties associated with providing home-based care are evident, but the undertaking of care coordination by relatives highlights a need for a change in approach. Future studies could explore the impact of having a designated “facilitator” or single point of contact for families, as well as the development of tailored communication strategies.
Globalization and religious resurgence: a comparative analysis
Authors: Szendrő Brendan
Published: January 2025

Why does religion continue to emerge as a flashpoint in the age of secularization? Although models of religious resurgence suggest that religious cleavages are more prominent in the modern era, other models continue to show declining religious involvement. What is needed is a theory that can observe both resurgence and secularization at the same time. I argue that globalization—and the flow of people across borders, in particular—provokes a religious backlash at the societal level due to its secularizing effects. As the public is exposed to new and diverse religious traditions, religiosity declines; as a result, however, religious practitioners become more aggressive toward other religious groups. I test this theory using data on globalization, religious discrimination, and religious practice. I find that types of globalization dealing with the flow of people and information across borders have an outsize effect on societal religious discrimination, or SRD. This effect, however, is contingent on a decline in religious practice. This study suggests that religious resurgence can take place in secularizing environments, and that both resurgence and secularization share root causes.
Perceived threat and demographic misperception
Authors: Ives Brandon , Breslawski Jori
Published: January 2025

What causes demographic misperceptions of minority populations? We anticipate that the extent to which members of the majority group perceive the minority group as a threat shapes their estimation of minority group size. While existing research argues that demographic misperceptions of minority groups can lead to a sense of threat, we argue that the opposite relationship may exist—that threat also causes demographic misperception. We test our argument using an experiment embedded in a survey of Muslims in Indonesia. We manipulate perceived threat of Christians in Indonesia and then ask respondents to estimate the size of the Christian population. While Muslims generally overestimated the size of the Christian population, we find that Muslims who felt a greater sense of threat estimated the Christian population to be significantly larger at both the national and provincial levels. This finding provides new insights on the directionality of the relationship between the widely acknowledged connection between threat and demographic misperceptions.
Mental Fatigue: Is It Real?
Authors: Weiler Helena , Russell Suzanna , Spielmann Jan , Englert Chris
Published: January 2025

Abstract: Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state that occurs as a consequence of prolonged mental demands and is associated with physical and cognitive performance impairments. The effects of mental fatigue have been studied primarily with quantitative, experimental studies in recreational sports. Limited studies have been conducted that reflect the experiences of elite athletes. The aim of this study was to obtain a greater understanding of potential impact of mental fatigue in elite sport. A qualitative research approach using semi-structured, problem-centered interviews ( n = 15) was adopted to explore the different perspectives of elite athletes ( n = 5), coaches ( n = 5), and sport psychologists ( n = 5) regarding mental fatigue. The results align with prior findings to indicate a perceived performance impact. Novel insights informed further impacts of mental fatigue on athletes’ regeneration and recovery, daily life, general well-being, and overall health and the potential accumulative contribution of multiple causes from differing domains. The findings provide a solid foundation to increase the ecological validity of future work investigating athlete mental fatigue.
Evolution of Shoulder Type Escarpments Through Feedback Between Knickpoint and Windgap Migration
Authors: Qu Tianyue , Shelef Eitan , Goren Liran , Harel Elhanan , Porat Omri
Published: January 2025

Escarpments and cliffs (hereafter termed escarpments) form topographic barriers that influence the spatial patterns of climate and biodiversity. The inherent extreme slope change across the escarpment edge promotes escarpment retreat over time. Typically, escarpments are divided into arch‐ and shoulder‐types. In arch‐type, the drainage divide is located inland, and knickpoints, located where channels flow across the escarpment, can retreat and embay the escarpment. In shoulder‐type, the divide aligns with the escarpment edge, a setting expected to cause a slow and uniform escarpment retreat, preserving their integrity as barriers through time. However, observations from around the globe reveal shoulder‐type escarpments are associated with deep embayments (i.e., alcoves) that destroy the linear appearance of the escarpment front. Yet, the processes that produce and sustain these embayments remain largely unexplored. Embayments of shoulder‐type escarpments typically occur along reversed channels which were part of the antecedent drainage that used to flow away from the escarpment but now flow toward it, often resulting in a valley confined drainage divide called a windgap. Here, we hypothesize that feedback between knickpoint retreat and windgap migration away from the escarpment along reversed channels can sustain escarpment embayments, and use topographic analyses and numerical simulations to explore this hypothesis. Our analyses, focused on field sites in the Negev Desert, show that embayments of shoulder‐type escarpments can be sustained through the hypothesized feedback, and quantify the sensitivity of this feedback to geomorphologic and lithologic parameters. Results suggest that this feedback may explain some of the global variability of escarpment morphologies.
Consecutive Glacier Sub‐Surge Events Within Five Years Were Identified in an Unexplored Glacier of the Karakoram
Authors: Zhu Q. H. , Li H. L. , Ke C. Q.
Published: January 2025

In order to monitor the dynamic changes of an unnamed glacier (called G1 Glacier) located in the Karakoram in detail, glacier surface velocities were extracted from 165 Sentinel‐1 SAR images with 12‐day and 24‐day time intervals from 2014 to 2020, glacier elevation changes were obtained from four ASTER stereo images, and glacier terminus evolutions were derived from four Landsat 8 images. Based on the high‐density glacier surface velocity results, four consecutive glacier sub‐surge events of the G1 Glacier ranging from 6 months to 1 yr between 2015 and 2019 were confirmed for the first time, accompanied by sporadic pulse events before and after the four sub‐surges. The velocity changes and impact range of the four glacier sub‐surges showed a trend of first increasing, then stabilizing and finally decreasing. At the same time, the accelerating area gradually moved downstream of the glacier. The changes in glacier elevation and the evolutions in the glacier terminus also proved the occurrence of glacier acceleration events. Sentinel‐1 SAR images with shorter time intervals could be used to identify multiple sub‐surge events and pulse events within a complete surge. Combining four sub‐surges and multiple pulse events, a complete chain of glacier large‐scale acceleration events from pulse to surge and then to pulse could be summarized, which might mean that the effective identification of pulse events provides the possibility for the early warning of glacier surge events.
Access to Air-Conditioning May Affect Wildfire-Related Health Outcomes
Authors: Dieckman Emily
Published: January 2025

A new study found that access to air-conditioning is a stronger predictor of emergency department visits related to PM2.5 exposure from smoke than factors such as race, age, and socioeconomic status.
Transparent OLED displays for selective bidirectional viewing using ZnO/Yb:Ag cathode with highly smooth and low-barrier surface
Authors: Choi Eun-young , Kang Sung-Cheon , Kim Kanghoon , Lee Su-Hyeon , Kim Jeong-Beom , Song Jang-Kun
Published: January 2025

Transparent organic light-emitting diode (TrOLED) displays represent cutting-edge technology posed to significantly enhance user experience. This study addresses two pivotal challenges in TrOLED development. Firstly, we focus on the innovation of transparent cathodes, a fundamental component in TrOLEDs, by introducing a ZnO/Yb:Ag cathode. This cathode employs a combination of seed layer and metal doping techniques to achieve a highly uniform surface morphology and a low surface energy barrier. The optimized Yb:Ag cathode on ZnO, with a mere thickness of 15 nm, exhibits remarkable properties: an extremely low surface roughness of 0.52 nm, sheet resistance of 11.6 Ω ϒ−1, an optical transmittance of 86.7% at 510 nm, and tunable work function (here, optimized to be 3.86 eV), ensuring superior electron injection capability. Secondly, we propose a novel TrOLED pixel structure that features selective bidirectional viewing, allowing different types of information to be selectively displayed on each side while preserving overall transparency and minimizing pixel complexity. This design innovation distinguishes itself from conventional TrOLEDs that display images on only one side. The bidirectional TrOLED design not only enhances openness and esthetic appeal but also holds promise for diverse applications across various user environments.
Deficiency of the palmitoyl acyltransferase ZDHHC7 modulates depression-like behaviour in female mice after a mild chronic stress paradigm
Authors: Hohoff Christa , Kerkenberg Nicole , Zhang Mingyue , Palkowska Weronika , Wachsmuth Lydia , Peng Maja , Stiehl Lena , Schettler Christiane , Zang Johannes C. S. , Huge Andreas , Ponimaskin Evgeni , Faber Cornelius , Baune Bernhard T. , Zhang Weiqi
Published: January 2025

Chronic stress (CS) is a debilitating condition that negatively affects body and brain. In mice, CS effects range from changes in behaviour and brain microstructure down to the level of gene expression. These effects are partly mediated by sex and sex steroid hormones, which in turn are affected by the palmitoyl acyltransferase ZDHHC7. ZDHHC7 might modulate also the response to CS via palmitoylation of sex steroid hormone receptors and other proteins critical for neuronal structure and functions. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of ZDHHC7 in response to CS on different system levels in a mouse model of Zdhhc7-deficiency. Female and male Zdhhc7-knockout (KO) and -wildtype (WT) mice underwent a four-week-mild CS paradigm or non-stress control (C) condition. After C or CS, behaviours, hippocampal microstructures (via MRI-based diffusion tensor imaging) and brain gene expression profiles (via mRNA-seq transcriptomics) were investigated. Analyses focused on effects of genotype (KO vs. WT) or condition (C vs. CS) separately in both sexes. Our results revealed significant effects particularly in females. Female KOs displayed increased locomotion and reduced depression-like behaviour after CS (KO vs. WT, C vs. CS: p

all
 < 0.05). Hippocampal fibres were reduced in female KOs after C (KO vs. WT: p

all
 < 0.05) but in female WTs after CS (C vs. CS: p

all
 < 0.05). Furthermore, female KOs showed increased cortistatin expression after CS (C vs. CS: mRNAseq and qPCR p

all
 < 0.05). In sum, Zdhhc7-deficiency reduced depression-like behaviours, prevented hippocampal fibre reduction and upregulated cortistatin after CS. It seemed to be related to a sex-specific stress response and may reveal genetic factors of CS-resilience in female mice.
Optimising deep learning models for ophthalmological disorder classification
Authors: Vidivelli S. , Padmakumari P. , Parthiban C. , DharunBalaji A. , Manikandan R. , Gandomi Amir H.
Published: January 2025

Fundus imaging, a technique for recording retinal structural components and anomalies, is essential for observing and identifying ophthalmological diseases. Disorders such as hypertension, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are indicated by structural alterations in the optic disc, blood vessels, fovea, and macula. Patients frequently deal with various ophthalmological conditions in either one or both eyes. In this article, we have used different deep learning models for the categorisation of ophthalmological disorders into multiple classes and multiple labels utilising transfer learning-based convolutional neural network (CNN) methods. The Ocular Disease Intelligent Recognition (ODIR) database is used for experiments, and it contains fundus images of the patient’s left and right eyes. We compared the performance of two different optimisers, Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) and Adam, separately. The best result was achieved using the MobileNet model with the Adam optimiser, yielding a testing accuracy of 89.64%.
Sex-specific association of immunological markers in CS-delivered newborns with pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain of mothers
Authors: Rak Karolina , Godyla-Jabłoński Michaela , Bronkowska Monika
Published: January 2025

Just as overweight and obesity may impair immunity, excessive body weight-related parameters of women in the pre-conception period and during pregnancy are possible detrimental factors for fetal programming of the immune system in their offspring. We investigated the relationship of pre-pregnancy body mass index (pBMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) of mothers with the placental transport rate (PTR) of IgG antibodies and antineutrophil cytoplasmatic antibodies against lactoferrin (Lf-ANCA) and their concentration in umbilical cord blood serum (UCS), verifying the sex-specificity of this relationship. The examined group of this cross-sectional pilot study consisted of 101 pregnant women and their healthy CS-delivered newborn children. The concentration of antibodies in maternal serum (MS) and UCS were determined by ELISA method. PTR was assessed as a ratio of the concentration of antibodies in the UCS and MS. A significantly lower PTR of IgG and their concentration in the UCS were demonstrated in newborns of mothers with an excessive pBMI compared to those with pBMI < 25 and the association was more pronounced in male newborns. The lowest PTR of beneficial IgG and their concentration in the UCS as well as the highest PTR of detrimental Lf-ANCA and their concentration in UCS were observed in newborns born to mothers with co-occurrence of both an excessive pBMI and GWG. It seems that maternal preconception overweight and obesity along with an excessive GWG can be a predictor of unfavorable immune effects in fetuses. Further studies are needed to explain the role of maternal weight-related parameters in the development of immunological health of their offspring.
Giant pit craters on the modern seafloor above magma-induced hydrothermal vent complexes of Scotia Sea, offshore Antarctica
Authors: Somoza L. , Andreassen K. M. , Plaza-Faverola A. , Medialdea T. , Gafeira J. , González F. J. , Dickens G. R.
Published: January 2025

Massive injection of 13C depleted carbon to the ocean and atmosphere coincided with major environmental upheaval multiple times in the geological record. For several events, the source of carbon has been attributed to explosive venting of gas produced when magmatic sills intruded organic-rich sediment. The concept mostly derives from studies of a few ancient sedimentary basins with numerous hydrothermal vent complexes (HTVCs) where craters appear to have formed across large areas of the seafloor at the same time, but good examples remain rare in strata younger than the Early Eocene. We present geophysical data documenting at least 150 large (km-scale) craters on the modern seafloor across ∼148,000 km2 of Scan Basin in the southern Scotia Sea, a remote region offshore Antarctica. Seismic and bathymetric information reveals the craters relate to vertical fluid pipes extending above dome-shaped forced folds and saucer-shaped igneous sills. Presumably, magmatic intrusions deform overlying sediment and produce thermogenic gas, where buoyant hydrothermal fluids migrate upwards from sill flanks through V-shaped gas chimneys to the seafloor. Fluid expulsion, driven by excess pore pressure, enhances vertical conduits and creates collapse structures on the seafloor. Age estimates for sill emplacement and crater formation come from correlations of seismic reflectors with bore hole data collected on IODP Expedition 382. Sills intruded into sediment at least two times, first about 12–13 Ma (Middle Miocene), which occurred with deep intrusions of stacked composite sills, and once about 0.9 Ma and associated with volcanism along Discovery Bank, which may have reactivated previous fluid venting. Crater reactivation has occurred since 0.9 Ma, although probably episodically. Importantly, at present-day, numerous craters related to sills and fluid pipes populate the seafloor above a young sedimentary basin, and the ocean and atmosphere are receiving massive quantities of 13C depleted carbon. The two phenomena are unrelated but, with changes in global climate and sedimentation, the craters could be filled simultaneously and give an impression in the rock record of rapid and coeval formation coincident with carbon emission. Interpretations of ancient HTVCs and their significance to global carbon cycling needs revision with consideration of modern seafloor regions with HTVCs, notably Scan Basin.
Transposon mediated functional genomic screening for BRAF inhibitor resistance reveals convergent Hippo and MAPK pathway activation events
Authors: Chen Li , Pruteanu-Malinici Iulian , Dastur Anahita , Yin Xunqin , Frederick Dennie , Sadreyev Ruslan I. , Benes Cyril H.
Published: January 2025

Genotype-informed anticancer therapies such as BRAF inhibitors can show remarkable clinical efficacy in BRAF-mutant melanoma; however, drug resistance poses a major hurdle to successful cancer treatment. Many resistance events to targeted therapies have been identified, suggesting a complex path to improve therapeutics. Here, we showed the utility of a piggyBac transposon activation mutagenesis screen for the efficient identification of genes that are resistant to BRAF inhibition in melanoma. Although several forward genetic screens performed in the same context have identified a broad range of resistance genes that poorly overlap, an integrative analysis revealed a much smaller functional diversity of resistance mechanisms, including reactivation of the MAPK pathway, PI3K-AKT pathway, and Hippo pathway, suggesting that a relatively small number of therapeutic strategies might overcome resistance manifested by a large gene set. Moreover, we illustrated the pivotal role of the Hippo pathway effector TAZ (encoded by the WWTR1 gene) in mediating BRAF inhibition resistance through transcriptional regulation of receptor tyrosine kinases and through interactions with the E3 ubiquitin ligase NEDD4L.
A phylogenetic epidemiology approach to predicting the establishment of multi-host plant pests
Authors: Lynch Shannon Colleen , Reyes-Gonzalez Edeli , Bossard Emily L. , Alarcon Karen S. , Love Natalie L. R. , Hollander Allan D. , Nobua-Behrmann Beatriz E. , Gilbert Gregory S.
Published: January 2025

Forecasting emergent pest spread is paramount to mitigating their impacts. For host-specialized pests, epidemiological models of spread through a single host population are well developed. However, most pests attack multiple host species; the challenge is predicting which communities are most vulnerable to infestation. Here, we develop a phylogenetically-informed approach to predict establishment of emergent multi-host pests across heterogeneous landscapes. We model a beetle-pathogen symbiotic complex on trees, introduced from Southeast Asia to California. The phyloEpi model for likelihood of establishment was predicted from the phylogenetic composition of woody species in the invaded community and the influence of temperature on beetle reproduction. Plant communities dominated by close relatives of known epidemiologically critical hosts were four times more likely to become infested than communities with more distantly related species. Where microclimate favored beetle reproduction, pest establishment was greater than expected based only on species composition. We applied this phyloEpi model to predict infestation risk in California using weather data and complete tree inventories from 9262 1-km2 grids in 170 cities. Regions in the state predicted with low likelihood of infestation were confirmed by independent monitoring. Analysts can adapt these phylogenetic ecology tools to predict spread of any multi-host pest in novel habitats.
Landslide-channel feedbacks amplify channel widening during floods
Authors: Bennett Georgina L. , Panici Diego , Rengers Francis K. , Kean Jason W. , Rathburn Sara L.
Published: January 2025

Channel widening is a major hazard during floods, particularly in confined mountainous catchments. However, channel widening during floods is not well understood and not always explained by hydraulic variables alone. Floods in mountainous regions often coincide with landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, yet landslide-channel interactions during a flood event are not well known or documented. Here we demonstrate with an example from the Great Colorado Flood in 2013, a 1000 year precipitation event, how landslide-channel feedbacks can substantially amplify channel widening and flood risk. We use a combination of DEM differencing, field analysis, and multiphase flow modeling to document landslide-channel interaction during the flood event in which sediment delivered by landslides temporarily dammed the channel before failing and generating substantial channel widening. We propose that such landslide-flood interactions will become increasingly important to account for in flood hazard assessment as flooding and landsliding both increase with extreme rainfall under climate change.
A high sensitivity prostate-specific antigen SERS detection platform based on laser resonance nanoparticles
Authors: Fu Shi-Ying , Xu Shanshan , Li Hongmei , Guo Xian-Ming , Lin Jia-Sheng , Guan Bing , Chen Bin , Wang Tao , Zhang Yue-Jiao , Li Jian-Feng
Published: January 2025

An immunoassay based on SERS was established using antibody magnetic beads and SERS nanotags. This method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, fast (10 minutes) detection, low cost and portability.
Chemoenzymatic synthesis of Tamsulosin
Authors: de Prado Enol , Mangas-Sánchez Juan , Gotor-Fernández Vicente
Published: January 2025

(R)-Tamsulosin was stereoselectively synthesized via three different chemoenzymatic strategies. Alcohol dehydrogenases and transaminases were used to produce enantiopure alcohol and amine precursors, obtaining the desired drug in good overall yield.
Total synthesis of cyclopropane-containing natural products: recent progress (2016–2024)
Authors: Wang Neng , Zhao Jin-Xin , Yue Jian-Min
Published: January 2025

This review outlines recent progress in the total synthesis of cyclopropane-containing natural products, with a particular focus on the application of novel synthetic methodologies and tactics for assembling naturally occurring three-membered rings.
Effect of oxalic acid treatment on the oxidation efficiency of maize stover cellulose and controllable preparation of nanocellulose
Authors: Han Weishuai , Xu Hui , Qiu Fengqi , Liu Jinwei , Gu Haojie , Xue Zhenhua
Published: January 2025

Corn stover was used as raw material, and purification, oxalic acid treatment, oxidation treatment, and ultrasonic treatment were performed to realize the preparation of corn stover nanocellulose with low energy consumption.
Optimization & enhancement of KGeCl3-based perovskite solar cells through charge transport layer engineering
Authors: Abbasi Zulqarnain , Jan Shayan Tariq , Safeer Mamoona , Imran Muhammad , Rehman Anees Ur
Published: January 2025

The effect of novel charge transport layers on the behavior and performance of KGeCl3 perovskite solar cells was investigated with CSTO-KGeCl3-nPB structure outperforming the rest by achieving 29.3% efficiency.
Progress in research on organic photovoltaic acceptor materials
Authors: Yuan Shijie , Luo Wenzhen , Xie Mingfa , Peng Hongjian
Published: January 2025

In the past two decades, organic solar cells (OSCs) have begun to attract attention as the efficiency of inorganic solar cells gradually approaches the theoretical limit.
Advances in catalyst and reactor design for methanol steam reforming and PEMFC applications
Authors: Harkou Eleana , Wang Hui , Manos George , Constantinou Achilleas , Tang Junwang
Published: January 2025

The review focuses on recent developments in methanol steam reforming for hydrogen production, highlighting innovative reactor designs and catalyst advances and applications in fuel cells, as well as the environmental and economic implications.
Paper Sensors for the measurement of nitric oxide release from endothelial cells
Authors: Ali Syed Hassan , Trouillon Raphaël
Published: January 2025

Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous and important biological mediator. However, its detection and chemical analysis are challenging due to its short lifetime in biological conditions. Paper-based nitric oxide (NO)...
Understanding the trends of phase transition in dn (n = 0 to 6) transition metal disulfides during carrier injection: a perspective from d-orbital filling
Authors: Lv Xiao-Huan , Xia Wen-Xin , Yang Rui , Wang Nie-Wei , Zhang Yue-Jiao , Gong Peng-Lai , Wang Jiang-Long , Yang Yan-Min , Shi Xing-Qiang
Published: January 2025

The trends of phase transition in transition metal sulfides can be predicted with their band edge positions.
Mechanisms of lipid homeostasis in the Coxiella Containing Vacuole
Authors: Angara Rajendra K. , Van Winkle Peyton E. , Gilk Stacey D.
Published: January 2025

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of human Q fever, is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that replicates in a large, membrane-bound vacuole known as the Coxiella Containing Vacuole (CCV). The CCV is a unique, phagolysosome-derived vacuole with a sterol-rich membrane containing host and bacterial proteins. The CCV membrane itself serves as a barrier to protect the bacteria from the host’s innate immune response, and the lipid and protein content directly influence both the CCV luminal environment and interactions between the CCV and host trafficking pathways. CCV membrane cholesterol is critical in regulating CCV pH, while CCV phosphatidylinositol phosphate species influence CCV fusion events and membrane dynamics. C. burnetii proteins directly target host lipid metabolism to regulate CCV membrane content and generate a source of lipids that support bacterial replication or influence the innate immune response. This review provides an overview of the diverse repertoire of lipids involved in CCV formation and maintenance, highlighting the pathogen-driven strategies to modify host lipid homeostasis.
Usage des biopesticides en substitution aux pesticides de synthèse au Burkina Faso : une adoption limitée
Authors: Ouedraogo Odette , Nikiema Aude , Margetic Christine
Published: January 2025

Dans les pays du Sud, l’agriculture est très présente en milieu urbain, où elle assure une fonction économique, nutritionnelle et de sécurité alimentaire. Or, ces pays connaissent une urbanisation croissante, entraînant à la fois une réduction des terres cultivables et une augmentation de la demande en produits frais. Pour lutter contre les attaques des ravageurs sur les cultures en vue d’optimiser les rendements, les agriculteurs urbains ont recours aux pesticides de synthèse. Ces derniers entraînent des phénomènes de résistance, d’où la nécessité d’augmenter les doses au fil des années. Au Burkina Faso, dans la communauté de communes du Grand Ouaga, le maraîchage conventionnel se réinvente avec la promotion de pratiques agroécologiques basées sur l’utilisation de biopesticides. Cet article examine la diffusion des biopesticides comme alternative aux pesticides de synthèse et les limites à leur adoption. La méthodologie combine des enquêtes par questionnaire auprès de 125 maraîchers utilisant des pesticides de synthèse et/ou des biopesticides, avec des entretiens auprès de dix responsables d’associations de producteurs et cinq responsables d’ONG ou d’associations. Les résultats montrent que, pour des questions économiques, les producteurs reconditionnent ou mélangent les pesticides. La majorité pratique l’agriculture conventionnelle et manque de formation. La minorité qui se convertit aux biopesticides est accompagnée par des acteurs de divers profils sur des périodes plus ou moins longues. Enfin, le recours aux biopesticides se fait sur un espace agricole renouvelé car il s’inscrit dans de nouveaux espaces urbains dont le profil ne répond pas aux critères classiques du maraîchage conventionnel.