bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physicochemical and Spatial Distributions of Trace Elements and Organochlorine Compounds in Lake Idku Water, Egypt
Authors: Osman Khaled A. , Elgendy Sara M. , Ibrahim Hesham Z.
Published: January 2025

This study aimed to characterize the water quality of 4 sites in Lake Idku, the third largest wetland region in Egypt regarding the physicochemical indicators, the spatial distributions of certain trace elements and organochlorine compounds (OCs). Most of the tested water quality indicators were above the permissible limits of River Nile water except nitrate was lower than the permissible limits. The distribution and concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, and Cd significantly differed (p > 0.05) among the sampling sites, where mean concentrations of these trace elements in all the tested sites ranged from 0.0226–0.0392, 0.010–0.098, 0.3570–1.0160, 0.084–0.942, 0.015–0.024, and 0.011–0.023 mg/L, respectively. The west site of the lake contained the highest contents of the trace elements, followed by the east, north, and then south sites. Water collected from the south site had the highest concentrations of Fe and Cu, while those collected from the west site had the highest concentrations of Zn, Pb, and Cd, and samples from the east site had the highest concentrations of Mn. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn in all samples which exceeded the Egyptian regulations, except those collected from the south site which contained levels of Mn that met the regulations. Regarding the residues of OCs, the ∑OCs can be grouped in descending order as follows: north site > east site > west site > south site, with values of 5.632, 5.230, 4.731, and 4.650 µg/L, respectively. All the detected OCs were above the maximum acceptable levels as compared to WHO standards of 0.1 μg/L, except for p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, and p,p'-DDE which were at lower levels. In conclusion, the water quality of Lake Idku may at risk to biota and humans, monitoring, management, and mitigation strategies are urgently required to prevent further pollution by restricting the discharge of industrial and agricultural wastewater into Lake Idku.
Painful diabetic neuropathy is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging
Authors: Kwiatkowska Katarzyna Malgorzata , Garagnani Paolo , Bonafé Massimiliano , Bacalini Maria Giulia , Calzari Luciano , Gentilini Davide , Ziegler Dan , Gerrits Monique M. , Faber Catharina G. , Malik Rayaz A. , Marchi Margherita , Salvi Erika , Lauria Giuseppe , Pirazzini Chiara
Published: January 2025

About one out of two diabetic patients develop diabetic neuropathy (DN), of these 20% experience neuropathic pain (NP) leading to individual, social, and health-economic burden. Risk factors for NP are largely unknown; however, premature aging was recently associated with several chronic pain disorders. DNA methylation-based biological age (DNAm) is associated with disease risk, morbidity, and mortality in different clinical settings. The purpose of this work was to study, for the first time, whether biological age is involved in pain development in a huge cohort of DN patients with neuropathy assessed by anatomopathological assay (99 painful (PDN), 132 painless (PLDN) patients, 84 controls (CTRL)). Six subsets of DNAm biomarkers were calculated to evaluate NP-associated changes in epigenetic aging, telomere shortening, blood cell count estimates, and plasma protein surrogates. We observed pain-related acceleration of epigenetic age (DNAmAgeHannum, DNAmGrimAgeBasedOnPredictedAge, DNAmAgeSkinBloodClock), pace of aging (DunedinPoAm), and shortening of telomeres between PDN and PLDN patients. PDN showed decreased predicted counts of B lymphocytes, naive and absolute CD8 T cells, and increased granulocyte counts. Several surrogates of plasma proteins were significantly different (GHR, MMP1, THBS2, PAPPA, TGF-α, GDF8, EDA, MPL, CCL21) in PDNs compared to PLDNs. These results provide the first evidence of an acceleration of biological aging in patients with painful compared to painless DN. This achievement has been possible thanks to the state of the art clinical phenotyping of the enrolled patients. Our findings indicate that the aging process may be directly involved in the PDN progression and in general health degeneration in the T2DM patients. Therefore, it is possible to hypothesize that the administration of effective antiaging drugs could slow down or even block the disease advancement.
Saprotrophic fungal community responses to nitrogen additions in a Korean pine plantation: insights from using the mycoindicator
Authors: Wu Ruotong , Zhang Huanhuan , Zhang Mengmeng , Jin Guangze , Song Fuqiang
Published: January 2025

Human activities contribute to elevated nitrogen input in terrestrial ecosystems, influencing the composition of soil nutrients and microbial diversity in forest ecosystems. In this study, we built four addition treatments (0, 20, 40, and 80 kg ha−1 a−1 N for 6 a) at a Korean pine plantation of different soil horizons (organic (O) horizon, ranging from 0 to 10 cm, and organomineral (A) horizon, extending from 10 to 20 cm) to evaluate responses of the structure of saprophytic fungal communities. Here, 80 kg ha−1 a−1 N treatment significantly decreased the community richness in soil A horizon with the Chao1 index decreasing by 12.68%. Nitrogen addition induced changes in the composition of saprophytic fungi community between the different soil horizons. The co-occurrence network and its associated topological structure were utilized to identify mycoindicators for specific fungi to both soil horizons and nitrogen addition levels. In soil O horizon, the mycoindicators included Penicillium, Trichoderma, Aspergillus, and Pseudeurotium across control, low, medium, and high nitrogen treatments. In soil A horizon, Geomyces, Cladophialophora, Penicillium, and Pseudeurotium were identified as mycoindicators. Structural equation modeling determined NH4
+-N as the key factor driving changes in saprotrophic fungal communities. Our study aimed to screen mycoindicators that can respond to the increasing global nitrogen deposition and to assess the roles of these mycoindicators in the saprophytic fungal community structure within Korean pine plantations in northeast China.
Off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Cappellaro Anelise Poluboiarinov , de Almeida Luiz F. Costa , Pinto Manoela Lenzi , Martins Marcelo Albuquerque Barbosa , Sousa Augusto Graziani e , Gadelha Júlia Gonçalves , Vieira Ana Carolina Putini , Rocha Luís Fernando Rosati , Thet Myat Soe
Published: January 2025

Introduction

Off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (OPCAB) has been suggested as superior to on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (ONCAB) in certain high-risk subgroups, but its benefit in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate OPCAB versus ONCAB outcomes in COPD patients.

Methods

We followed PRISMA guidelines and searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library in August 2024 for studies comparing OPCAB and ONCAB in COPD patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4.1 and Rstudio with a fixed or random effects model.

Results

Six studies with a total of 1,687 patients were included, of which 1,062 (62.95%) underwent OPCAB. The mean patient age was 63.6 years. OPCAB did not significantly affect all-cause mortality compared to ONCAB (OR 1.14; 95% CI 0.65–1.99). There were no significant differences in reintubation (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.53–1.23), prolonged ventilation (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.24–1.22), post-operative atrial fibrillation (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.70–1.15), or ARDS (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.14–1.33). However, ventilation time was significantly shorter in the OPCAB group (MD – 5.30 h; 95% CI – 7.22 to – 3.38).

Conclusion

OPCAB is associated with reduced ventilation time in COPD patients though it shows no significant difference in all-cause mortality or other post-operative complications compared to ONCAB.
Effects of data-driven respiratory gating on visualization and quantification of breast and upper abdominal cancers in FDG PET/CT examinations
Authors: Tatsumi Mitsuaki , Morita Naomi , Kida Akira , Momoi Risa , Isohashi Kayako , Okada Atsuya , Tomiyama Noriyuki
Published: January 2025

Objective

Data-driven respiratory gating (DDG) has recently been introduced to improve image quality in the PET portion of PET/CT examinations. The latest DDG system does not require any external equipment or extended examination time. In this study, we investigated the effects of the new DDG system on the visualization and quantification of breast and upper abdominal cancers, comparing the results with those obtained using the standard free-breathing (STD) PET protocol.

Methods

A total of 223 cancer lesions (138 breast and 85 upper abdominal) evaluated with FDG PET/CT were included in this study. PET images were reconstructed using the STD and DDG algorithms. Lesion blurring and conspicuity were each visually graded on a three-point scale. The longest diameter (LD), SUVmax, and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) of the lesions were used for quantitative analysis. % change in SUVmax or MTV was calculated from the metrics in STD and DDG images. Fifty-six texture features (TFs) were also evaluated. Visual scores and quantitative metrics were compared between STD and DDG images. % change in SUVmax or MTV was compared in the lesion location groups or in the high and low groups based on LD, SUVmax, or MTV in STD images.

Results

Visual scores for lesion blurring and conspicuity were both significantly higher in DDG than in STD PET images. SUVmax and MTV were significantly higher and lower, respectively, in DDG than in STD images. An increase in SUVmax and a decrease in MTV were observed in 96% and 86% of all lesions, respectively. Group analysis revealed that % change in SUVmax was greater in the upper abdominal than the breast lesions and % change in MTV was greater in the high LD and high MTV groups than in the low LD and low MTV groups, respectively. Quantitative changes in TFs were observed between STD and DDG images for most of the features.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that DDG improved visualization and quantification of breast and upper abdominal cancers in FDG PET/CT examinations. DDG PET images exhibited an increase in SUVmax, a decrease in MTV, and changes in TFs.
Early intervention in eating disorders: introducing the chronopathogram
Authors: Preti Antonio , Bevione Francesco , Lacidogna Maria Carla , Raballo Andrea , Poletti Michele , Abbate-Daga Giovanni
Published: January 2025

Eating disorders (EDs) pose significant challenges to mental and physical health, particularly among adolescents and young adults, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating risk factors. Despite advancements in psychosocial and pharmacological treatments, improvements remain limited. Early intervention in EDs, inspired by the model developed for psychosis, emphasizes the importance of timely identification and treatment initiation to improve prognosis. Challenges in identifying prodromal phases and measuring the duration of untreated illness highlight the complexity of early intervention efforts in EDs. Current research focuses on reducing the duration of untreated eating disorder (DUED) and understanding the cognitive and behavioral symptoms preceding ED onset. However, current early intervention programs for EDs showed mixed results, necessitating further investigation. We introduce here the chronopathogram, a tool that may aid in precisely investigating the role of development in EDs. A chronopathogram is a graphical representation of pathological events as they unfold over time. Understanding the neurodevelopmental aspects of EDs and utilizing tools like the chronopathogram can aid in tracking the unfolding of symptoms over time, facilitating early detection and intervention efforts. Overall, addressing the key factors influencing the onset and course of EDs is essential for effective early intervention in these conditions.

Level of evidence: Level V narrative review.
Treatment and Monitoring of Eosinophilic Fasciitis
Authors: Selva-O’Callaghan Albert , Trallero-Araguás Ernesto , Gil-Vila Albert , Guillen-Del Castillo Alfredo , Matas-García Ana , Milisenda Jose Cesar , Simeon-Aznar Carmen Pilar , Pinal-Fernandez Iago
Published: January 2025

Purpose of Review

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by skin induration. Although some guidelines from scientific societies exist, standard recommendations on monitoring and therapy are lacking.

Recent Findings

Current therapy for patients diagnosed with EF includes glucocorticoids plus at least one immunosuppressive drug in cases of relapse or refractory disease. Methotrexate and mycophenolate mofetil are the most recommended, although recently a myriad of case reports or small series reporting the effectivity of biological agents or JAK inhibitors for treating relapses or refractory disease have been published. Anti-IL5 may have a role in those rare refractory cases with persistent eosinophilia. Intravenous immunoglobulins and photopheresis (in those centers with experience) may act as adjuvant therapies. Monitoring the disease activity is a cornerstone to ascertain if the treatment is useful or not. MRI, PET/TC, and more specifically POCUS have recently demonstrated their value for assessing therapy response.

High-quality data focused on therapy and monitoring is lacking in EF. Strategies for improving scientific quality of observational studies and consensus about “activity”, “sequela”, “relapse” or “refractoriness” terms in EF patients are necessary to implement prospective clinical trials and generate evidence-based medicine. Meanwhile we have to deal with the available information.
Righting Relationships: Reclaiming Places, Spaces, and Lifeways
Authors: Machado-Escudero Yolanda , Gilliam Christa C. , Prussia Leah
Published: January 2025

The intersections of climate change, environmental justice, government policy, and impacts on rights of nature and humans are examined by exploring urban and rural community narratives on displacement and gentrification. The narratives provide an overview of how past/present policies and environmental justice issues negatively affect marginalized communities and ecosystems. The narratives also attend to the resilience and resistance of tribal communities and communities of color in navigating the return of land to its original inhabitants. Strategies for righting, reclaiming, and protecting places, spaces, and lifeways are highlighted by sharing ancestral and emerging collective actions from tribal, urban, and island localities in hopes to inform the social work profession’s future allyship, advocacy, and action.
Length-Minimizing LED Trees
Authors: Sarkociová Remešíková Mariana , Sarkoci Peter , Trnovská Mária
Published: January 2025

In this paper, we introduce a previously not studied type of Euclidean tree called LED (Leaves of Equal Depth) tree. LED trees can be used, for example, in computational phylogeny, since they are a natural representative of the time evolution of a set of species in a feature space. This work is focused on LED trees that are length minimizers for a given set of leaves and a given isomorphism type. The underlying minimization problem can be seen as a variant of the classical Euclidean Steiner tree problem. Even though it has a convex objective function, it is rather non-trivial, since it has a non-convex feasible set. The main contribution of this paper is that we prove the uniqueness of a stationary point of the length function on the feasible set. Moreover, we prove several geometrical characteristics of the length minimizers that are analogous to the properties of Steiner minimal trees. We also explore some geometrical and topological properties of the feasible set. At the end, to demonstrate the applicability of our theoretical results, we show an example of an application in historical linguistics.
Preconception diet quality and modified natural cycle in vitro fertilisation outcomes
Authors: Faessen Janine P.M. , Homminga Irene , Buso Marion E.C. , Nagy Ruxandra A. , van Echten-Arends Jannie , Feskens Edith J.M. , Tietge Uwe J.F. , Hoek Annemieke , Brouwer-Brolsma Elske M.
Published: January 2025

Lifestyle has been associated with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) success rates, but studies on diet and IVF outcomes are inconclusive. We studied associations between adherence to the Dutch guidelines for a Healthy diet 2015 and pregnancy chances among women receiving modified natural cycle in vitro fertilisation (MNC-IVF). This prospective cohort study utilised data from 109 women undergoing MNC-IVF between 2014 and 2018 at University Medical Centre Groningen enrolled in a study examining associations between metabolic profile of follicular fluid and oocyte quality. Adherence to dietary guidelines was assessed by daily food records quantified based on the Dutch Healthy Diet (DHD) 2015 Index. IVF outcomes (i.e. positive pregnancy test, ongoing pregnancy, and live birth) were obtained from patient records. Statistical analyses involved Cox proportional hazard regression analyses while adjusting for maternal covariates age, smoking, and Body Mass Index (BMI), and stratified for treatment, age, BMI, and energy intake. Women were 31.5 ± 3.3 years old, and had a BMI of 23.5 ± 3.5 kg/m2. Higher DHD2015 adherence was linked to a reduced probability of achieving an ongoing pregnancy (HR = 0.77, 95%CI: 0.62–0.96), live birth (HR = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.62–0.98), and showed a non-significant trend towards a lower probability of a positive pregnancy test (HR = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.71–1.01). Associations were particularly present among women undergoing MNC-ICSI (n = 87, p-for-interaction = 0.06), with shorter duration of infertility (n = 44, p-for-interaction=0.06), being overweight (n = 31, p-for interaction = 0.11), and having higher energy intakes (n = 55, p-for-interaction = 0.14). This explorative study suggests inverse trends between DHD2015 adherence and MNC-IVF outcomes, encouraging well-powered stratified analyses in larger studies to further explore these unexpected findings.
Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change?
Authors: Michelotti Anna , Baroncini Ioli , Engemann Helen
Published: January 2025

Languages vary in the way they encode motion. Following Talmy, languages can be divided into verb-framed (VF, henceforth) or satellite-framed (SF, henceforth), based on how they encode path of motion. However, this difference is not always clear-cut. Italian, for instance, is typically considered a VF language but has also been shown to display a hybrid pattern. Since variation has typically been considered a prerequisite for language change, we investigated whether variation in encoding Italian motion events could indicate incipient language change. We simulated the chain of language change adopting an apparent-time approach and investigated whether the impact of semantic properties (the manner verb’s association with directional motion) on the interpretation and productions of SF Italian constructions was affected by participants’ age. We found that, although this semantic property affects both the interpretation and production of SF constructions, younger participants more readily accepted SF constructions than older participants; this age difference, however, was not significant in the production task. We suggest that these findings might speak for incipient language change, which starts from comprehension and subsequently gradually influences production.
Ultrasonic vocalisations in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat, a genetic animal model of depression
Authors: Kai Linda Marie , Iglesias Lia Parada , Kõiv Kadri , Harro Jaanus , Wegener Gregers
Published: January 2025

Objective:

Ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) emitted by rats may reflect affective states. Specifically, 50 kHz calls emitted during juvenile playing are associated with positive affect. Given that depression is characterised by profound alterations in this domain, we proposed that USV calls may configure a suitable tool for assessing depressive-like states. Utilising the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL), a well-established animal model of depression, we assessed USV calls emitted by rats during tickling, a procedure based on juvenile rats’ rough-and-tumble play.

Methods:

Juvenile FSL rats and their control counterparts, the Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) and Sprague Dawley, were submitted to tickling sessions to imitate rats playing behaviour. The rats were tickled daily for 6 weeks starting at PND21. Tickling sessions were recorded for further acoustic analysis of 50 kHz calls.

Results:

Tickling increased 50 kHz calls in all the strains. FSL rats emitted more calls than control strains and exhibited a higher number of flat-trill combination calls.

Conclusion:

Tickling is a robust method for inducing 50 kHz USV calls. Analysing USV calls emitted during tickling configurates a suitable method for studying affective states relevant to depression. FSL rats did not present anhedonia but rather higher reward sensitivity, which may underlie their stress vulnerability.
UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF BREXIT ON UK PRODUCTIVITY
Authors: Millard Stephen , Nicolae Anamaria , Nower Michael
Published: January 2025

In this article, we use a three-country macroeconomic model of trade, in which we allow for the presence of labour market frictions and heterogeneous firms, to analyse the effects of Brexit on UK productivity. We find that, under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, UK GDP would have been expected to fall by approximately 7.5% in 2021, that is, as soon as the United Kingdom exited the European Union. Our model suggests that UK GDP would then recover, rising back to a long-run level around 4% below where it would have been had Brexit not happened. This fall in GDP is driven by the negative productivity effects of the implied increase in the costs of trading between the United Kingdom and European Union. Specifically, the increase in trading costs will lead to fewer, higher-productivity, UK firms exporting and reduced competition from EU firms in the UK domestic market allows more ‘low productivity’ firms to remain in the market.
“A Sanctuary to Crime”? Enslaved Fugitives, Antislavery, and the Law in the Caribbean, 1819–1833
Authors: Jansen Jan C.
Published: January 2025

The article explores how the British Caribbean turned into an unlikely refuge for intercolonial escapees from slavery in the 1820s and 1830s. During this period, hundreds of enslaved men and women fled from French, Danish, and Dutch Caribbean colonies into British territories and entered in intense, and often contentious, encounters with low-ranking officials on the ground. The article examines how these individuals made use of legal ambiguities and loopholes in British slave trade abolition, thereby resetting, reinterpreting, and broadening the meaning and scope of freedom granted under it. The consequences of their actions were far-reaching and often uncontrollable, as they carved out a legal grey zone that created, in practice, a quasi-free-soil sanctuary in the heart of Britain’s planation complex. For more than a decade, local assemblies and officials, legal experts, British and foreign planters and their lobbies, foreign diplomats and British politicians grappled to close this grey zone. As it reincorporates enslaved fugitives in the history of state-sponsored antislavery, the article also shows how the case of these fugitives triggered a fierce debate about the essential parameters of imperial governance around 1800. This debate involved the renegotiation of the boundaries of freedom and slavery, and of subjecthood and (un)belonging. It gave rise to crucial questions related to imperial governance, including the scope of executive power and the challenge of coordinating imperial and colonial law as part of one coherent legal space. Because it involved other empires, the fugitives’ case also highlighted the connections between antislavery, sovereignty, and inter-state law.
Group Belief: The Cognitive Non-Summative Account
Authors: Shokri Mohammad
Published: January 2025

This article concerns the criteria for when a group can collectively hold a belief. By proposing a cognitive non-summative account of group belief (GB), I highlight three necessary features at the individual level: commonality, mutuality, and group-based considerations. My account asserts that group G believes proposition p if and only if a sufficient majority of its members believe (1) pG, where pG is “Given some G-based considerations, p,” and (2) “the majority of G also believe that pG.” The article critiques three significant accounts of GB: Anthony Quinton's simple summative account, Margaret Gilbert's and Raimo Tuomela's conative non-summative views, and Jennifer Lackey's modified summativism.
Toutes les disciplines ont-elles les mêmes raisons de diffuser les résultats de la recherche ?
Authors: Laplante-Anfossi Marie
Published: January 2025

Les discussions récentes au sujet des rapports entre sciences et sociétés concourent aux impératifs politiques pour la diffusion des connaissances qui transcendent les disciplines. Je soutiens qu'un argument pour la diffusion des résultats de la recherche en sciences, technologie, ingénierie et mathématiques (STIM) serait valable pour les sciences humaines et sociales (SHS). Je précise les conséquences de cette transposition en prenant l'exemple de la recherche en philosophie. J'aboutis à la conclusion que l'obstacle principal à la diffusion des résultats dans ce domaine est la reconnaissance d'une expertise philosophique.
Is Bathou Hindu? Consolidated Hinduism and assertions of a traditional religion among the Boros of Assam
Authors: Brahma Roshni
Published: January 2025

This article is an attempt to understand the vexed question of how the Boros of Assam have come to define and realize their ‘traditional’ religious identity amid contemporary assertions of Hindu nationalism in India. Since the early twentieth century, shaped by colonial anthropology and the consolidation of Hinduism, there have been attempts to categorize the Boros as either Hindus or animists. Subsequently, there have been efforts on the part of the Boros themselves to assert and consolidate their ‘traditional’ religious practices into a unified religion called Bathou.1 The process has continued in the complex arena of Boro identity assertion. As this article demonstrates, contemporary efforts at the consolidation of Hinduism by the Sangh Parivar and of Bathou by the Boros have often coincided and, at times, collided with each other,therein producing intricate transactions between traditional religionists and the votaries of Hindutva.
Conservation crisis? Status of jaguars Panthera onca in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Authors: Olson Erik R. , Shen Yunyi , Matzinger Parker J. , Solano Mora Evelyn Tatiana , Saborío-R. Guido , Azofeifa Alejandro
Published: January 2025

Maintaining jaguar Panthera onca subpopulations throughout Mesoamerica is vital to range-wide jaguar conservation. Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica is critical habitat for the Osa Peninsula jaguar subpopulation. There is a debate regarding whether the jaguars in this National Park are in a state of crisis. To examine this, we implemented long-term camera-trap monitoring throughout Corcovado National Park during 2015–2021. Using a spatially explicit Jolly–Seber model we estimated jaguar populations and distribution throughout our study area. Additionally, we reran our model using a constrained study area to compare our findings with those of a previous study. Trends in jaguar abundance indices and population estimates during 2015–2021 indicate that jaguar abundance has increased over time. Our jaguar density estimates also fall within the range of jaguar densities reported for relatively stable populations elsewhere. Using the same study area as that of a prior study, jaguar densities also increased over the duration of our study and were mostly comparable to previous density estimates. Our results suggest that jaguars within Corcovado National Park may not be in a state of crisis. Rather, our findings provide further hope for the jaguars of the Osa Peninsula. They do not, however, diminish the importance of continued conservation efforts. These will remain critical both inside and outside Corcovado National Park, as threats appear to have persisted over time.
The role of right-wing enjoyment in the normalisation of the far right
Authors: Kisić-Merino Pasko
Published: January 2025

The retreat of the modern liberal order in contemporary democracies can be understood as co-constituted with the normalisation of the far right. The far right has increasingly accessed the political ‘mainstream’ through the enabling of erstwhile-disavowing centre-right and right-wing counterparts. In contexts of political ‘victory’, the identity (re)formation of these mainstream right-wing subjects and discourses can be observed and analysed through celebrations alongside the far right and in emotions and attitudes like elation, gloating, and self-righteousness. In this article, I address how victory-related manifestations of enjoyment – or jouissance – are articulated in the discourses of mainstream right-wing subjects. I ask what enjoyment-based rhetoric reveal about the normalisation of the far right and the identity reformation of right-wing subjects and discourses. To address this, I first discuss the role of enjoyment on far-right normalisation by merging Derk Hook’s analytics of enjoyment (2017) with ontological security, expanding on the latter concept as a libidinal fantasy of ideological closure. Subsequently, analysing the case of the 2022 Swedish election, I explore three interrelated dimensions of co-(re)formation of right-wing enjoyment, discourses, and identities: the symbolic space where civilisational-securitising fantasies are produced; the threatening modes of enjoyment of cultural Others; and the imperilled enjoyment modes of the ‘real Swedes’.
Accent enregisterment through humour in The Catherine Tate Show
Authors: VALLERIANI LUCA
Published: January 2025

The Catherine Tate Show (2004–7) is a rich source of instances of stereotyped language varieties as linked to various TV tropes, reflecting how speakers coming from specific regional areas in the British Isles are generally and stereotypically perceived within British society, thus contributing to their linguistic enregisterment. Building on previous works on dialects in the media and their stereotypical representations, this study gives an account of the various implications and functions of the linguistic phenomena that are specific to the Southeast of England and that are exploited for the creation of some of the fictional identities presented in the show. Specific phonological features that implicitly collocate Tate’s recurring characters both regionally and socially are identified and their functions discussed.
Upper arm movements in the last days of life: A new possible sign of impending death
Authors: Julião Miguel , Simões Carolina , Calaveiras Patrícia , Câmara Paula , Castelo-Branco Miguel
Published: January 2025

One of the most crucial stages of palliative care is the last days and hours of life, which require special attention and knowledgeable identification of clinical signs described as signs of impending death (SID). Our case series of 11 patients receiving home palliative care describes bilateral hypoactive, stereotyped upper arm movements (scratching of the head, forehead, and nose) that were previously unknown or described, often accompanied by SID.
“None of It Matters Now”: Leszek Kołakowski between Marx and Spinoza
Authors: Edison Daniel
Published: January 2025

This article examines the influence of Spinozism on Leszek Kołakowski’s humanist Marxism between 1953 and 1968. After historically exploring Kołakowski’s early Stalinism and his later belief that Hegel’s historical theodicy, in eradicating the contradiction between totality and particularity, abolished individual moral responsibility, it examines Kołakowski’s interpretation of Spinoza’s alternatively ahistorical and ambiguous relationship between substance and its modes, which Kołakowski admired despite finding it metaphysically contradictory. It shows that this interpretation contributed to Kołakowski’s Marxism, which focused on the moral freedom of the individual by accepting the permanence of contradiction between subjectivity and totality. His interest in Spinoza also changed Kołakowski’s understanding of modernity, which he increasingly identified with the seventeenth century, especially those forms of thinking that contradictorily blended elements of religious and rationalist thought. While Kołakowski abandoned Marxism, this interest in the relationship between religion and secularism defined much of his thought after 1968.
Rock Magnetic Signature of Red Beds From the Intermontane Tarom Basin (NW Iran): Insights Into Middle to Late Miocene Environmental Conditions and Possible Forcing Mechanisms
Authors: Paknia Mohammad , Ballato Paolo , Bilardello Dario , Zeeden Christian , Jackson Mike
Published: January 2025

The study of sedimentary magnetism in the intermontane Tarom Basin (northern Iran) offers insights into local paleoenvironmental conditions during global middle‐late Miocene climate changes and the topographic growth triggered by the Arabia‐Eurasia continental collision. Rock magnetic results reveal that the ∼16.2 to ∼10–9 Ma coarse‐grained deposits at the basin's southern margin present a homogenous magnetic mineral assemblage, reflecting sediment provenance. Conversely, the ∼13.2 to ∼7.6 Ma, fine‐grained deposits in the basin's depocenter include alternating playa‐lake and lacustrine deposits, recording dry, evaporative conditions, leading to hematite formation in a low‐temperature oxidizing environment, and wetter conditions that preserve the original detrital signal, respectively. Time series analyses show cyclicity in different period bands for magnetic susceptibility, but precession and obliquity cycles can hardly be resolved in the record. Comparison with deep‐sea oxygen isotope data suggests that from ∼13.2 to ∼10.8 Ma environmental conditions likely mirrored global climatic forcing, with lacustrine and playa‐lake deposits associated with increased and decreased global temperature, respectively. At ∼10.8 Ma, the basin likely recorded the Tortonian Thermal Maximum with the establishment of a lacustrine system. From ∼10.4 Ma, the magnetic susceptibility signal departed from the global climate record, possibly due to basin margin (western Alborz and Tarom mountains) and regional (Anatolian‐Iranian plateau) topographic growth, accompanied by increased precipitation seasonality, focused rainfall and augmented erosion rates. Finally, we suggest that before ∼10.8 Ma, the Hadley cells expanded northward, leading to a trade‐dominated system with moist air masses sourced from the Caspian, while from ∼10.8 Ma, westerlies dominance progressively prevailed.
Ionospheric Response to the 24–27 February 2023 Solar Flare and Geomagnetic Storms Over the European Region Using a Machine Learning–Based Tomographic Technique
Authors: Li Ting , Zheng Dunyong , He Changyong , Ye Fei , Yuan Pengfei , Yao Yibin , Liao Mengguang , Xie Jian
Published: January 2025

Two solar flares accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occurred on 24–25 February (DOY 055–056), 2023, resulting in a large magnetic storm on DOY 058. We reconstructed the ionospheric electron density (IED) in Europe to analyze the spatial distribution of ionosphere and its temporal evolution during this period. Computerized ionospheric tomography based on machine learning (CIT‐ML) was used to predict the IEDs of unobserved voxels. The IEDs were examined using observation data from the Swarm satellite. The CIT‐ML accuracy was 28.3% higher than the improved algebraic reconstruction technique with relaxation factor automatic search technology (IART‐AS), which effectively improved the typical ill‐posed problem of CIT. The first flare generated the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), which continued southward for 13 hr, causing a small magnetic storm before the second flare occurred, resulting in an increased nighttime IED and nighttime medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID). The vertical total electron content (VTEC) and IED declined in the early stages of the main phase of the large magnetic storm, but later increased, indicating that negative‐positive biphasic storms were occurring in the ionosphere that altered the ionospheric daily cycle, resulting in the peak of the ionosphere being advanced by approximately 1.5 hr. The storms also caused nighttime MSTIDs during the main phase (DOY 057 at night) and the recovery phase (DOY 058 at night). To investigate the mechanisms of these results, we conducted a term analysis of the ion continuity equation using the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM). The analysis showed that ambipolar diffusion driver nighttime MSTIDs during flares, while increased geomagnetic disturbances amplify the effects of neutral wind transport, E × B drift and chemical reactions during magnetic storms. These combined effects offset the alternating positive and negative structures induced by ambipolar diffusion, becoming the main cause of electron density variations during ionospheric storms.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Reopens as Fire Recovery Continues
Authors: Cartier Kimberly
Published: January 2025

Many JPL staff, including its director, are still displaced or without homes after devastating fires throughout the LA region.
Role of macrophage in intervertebral disc degeneration
Authors: Dou Yiming , Zhang Yiming , Liu Yang , Sun Xun , Liu Xinyu , Li Bin , Yang Qiang
Published: January 2025

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a degenerative disease where inflammation and immune responses play significant roles. Macrophages, as key immune cells, critically regulate inflammation through polarization into different phenotypes. In recent years, the role of macrophages in inflammation-related degenerative diseases, such as intervertebral disc degeneration, has been increasingly recognized. Macrophages construct the inflammatory microenvironment of the intervertebral disc and are involved in regulating intervertebral disc cell activities, extracellular matrix metabolism, intervertebral disc vascularization, and innervation, profoundly influencing the progression of disc degeneration. To gain a deeper understanding of the inflammatory microenvironment of intervertebral disc degeneration, this review will summarize the role of macrophages in the pathological process of intervertebral disc degeneration, analyze the regulatory mechanisms involving macrophages, and review therapeutic strategies targeting macrophage modulation for the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. These insights will be valuable for the treatment and research directions of intervertebral disc degeneration.
A de novo, mosaic and complex chromosome 21 rearrangement causes APP triplication and familial autosomal dominant early onset Alzheimer disease
Authors: Ehn Emma , Eisfeldt Jesper , Laffita-Mesa Jose M. , Thonberg Håkan , Schoumans Jacqueline , Portaankorva Anne M. , Viitanen Matti , Lindstrand Anna , Nennesemo Inger , Graff Caroline
Published: January 2025

Copy number variation (CNV) of the amyloid-β precursor protein gene (APP) is a known cause of autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD), but de novo genetic variants causing ADAD are rare. We report a mother and daughter with neuropathologically confirmed definite Alzheimer disease (AD) and extensive cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Copy number analysis identified an increased number of APP copies and genome sequencing (GS) revealed the underlying complex genomic rearrangement (CGR) including a triplication of APP with two unique breakpoint junctions (BPJs). The mosaic state in the mother had likely occurred de novo. Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) on 42 different tissues, including 17 different brain regions, showed the derivative chromosome at varying mosaic levels (20–96%) in the mother who had symptom onset at age 58 years. In contrast, the derivative chromosome was present in all analyzed cells in the daughter whose symptom onset was at 34 years. This study reveals the architecture of a de novo CGR causing APP triplication and ADAD with a striking difference in age at onset between the fully heterozygous daughter compared to the mosaic mother. The GS analysis identified the complexity of the CGR illustrating its usefulness in identifying structural variants (SVs) in neurodegenerative disorders.
Boosting the mechanical performance and fire resistivity of white ordinary portland cement pastes via biogenic mesoporous silica nanoparticles
Authors: Aziz Abdallah A. , Nassar Hossam F. , Al-Shemy Mona T. , Mohamed O. A.
Published: January 2025

This study investigates how biogenic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MS-NPs) extracted from rice straw residues, a sustainable and economical bio-source, affect White Ordinary Portland Cement (WOPC) paste performance. A comprehensive investigation using varied fractions of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.0% MS-NPs as an additive to WOPC was conducted to analyze the physicomechanical characteristics of WOPC-MS hardened composites, including compressive strength, fire resistance, and water demand. The beneficial impact of biogenic MS-NPS was verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and differential thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG) methods, revealing several hydration products such as calcium silicate hydrates (CSHs), calcium ferrosilicate hydrates (CFSHs), and calcium aluminosilicate hydrates (CASHs). These products enhance the overall physical and mechanical properties and the thermal stability of hardened WOPC-MS. The composite comprising WOPC-0.75 MS provides numerous advantages from both an economic and environmental perspective.
Revisiting the Last Ice Area projections from a high-resolution Global Earth System Model
Authors: Fol Madeleine , Tremblay Bruno , Pfirman Stephanie , Newton Robert , Howell Stephen , Lemieux Jean-François
Published: January 2025

The Last Ice Area—located to the north of Greenland and the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago—is expected to persist as the central Arctic Ocean becomes seasonally ice-free within a few decades. Projections of the Last Ice Area, however, have come from relatively low resolution Global Climate Models that do not resolve sea ice export through the waterways of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Nares Strait. Here we revisit Last Ice Area projections using high-resolution numerical simulations from the Community Earth System Model, which resolves these narrow waterways. Under a high-end forcing scenario, the sea ice of the Last Ice Area thins and becomes more mobile, resulting in a large export southward. Under this potentially worst-case scenario, sea ice of the Last Ice Area could disappear a little more than one decade after the central Arctic Ocean has reached seasonally ice-free conditions. This loss would have profound impacts on ice-obligate species.
Rapid human oogonia-like cell specification via transcription factor-directed differentiation
Authors: Pierson Smela Merrick , Kramme Christian C , Fortuna Patrick R J , Wolf Bennett , Goel Shrey , Adams Jessica , Ma Carl , Velychko Sergiy , Widocki Ursula , Srikar Kavirayuni Venkata , Chen Tianlai , Vincoff Sophia , Dong Edward , Kohman Richie E , Kobayashi Mutsumi , Shioda Toshi , Church George M , Chatterjee Pranam
Published: January 2025

The generation of germline cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) represents a milestone toward in vitro gametogenesis. Methods to recapitulate germline development beyond primordial germ cells in vitro have relied on long-term cell culture, such as 3-dimensional organoid co-culture for ~four months. Using a pipeline with highly parallelized screening, this study identifies combinations of TFs that directly and rapidly convert hiPSCs to induced oogonia-like cells (iOLCs). We demonstrate that co-expression of five TFs – namely, ZNF281, LHX8, SOHLH1, ZGLP1, and ANHX, induces high efficiency DDX4-positive iOLCs in only four days in a feeder-free monolayer culture condition. We also show improved production of human primordial germ cell-like cells (hPGCLCs) from hiPSCs by expression of DLX5, HHEX, and FIGLA. We characterize these TF-based iOLCs and hPGCLCs via gene and protein expression analyses and demonstrate their similarity to in vivo and in vitro-derived oogonia and primordial germ cells. Together, these results identify new regulatory factors that enhance human germ cell specification in vitro, and further establish unique computational and experimental tools for human in vitro oogenesis research.
A bis-pyrene polyamine receptor for fast optical detection of ketoprofen: synthesis, characterization and application in all-solid-state fluorescent sensors
Authors: Romano Giammarco Maria , Di Menna Pierangela , Bencini Andrea , Simonini Steiner Yschtar Tecla , Innocenti Massimo , Di Natale Corrado , Paolesse Roberto , Lvova Larisa
Published: January 2025

Herein, we report on a polyamine receptor L1 bearing pyrene fluorogenic groups for the optical assessment of the non-opioid analgesic drug ketoprofen (KP).
Point-of-need diagnostics in a post-Covid world: an opportunity for paper-based microfluidics to serve during syndemics
Authors: Tsaloglou Maria-Nefeli , Christodouleas Dionysios C. , Milette Jonathan , Milkey Kendall , Romine Isabelle C. , Im Judy , Lathwal Shefali , Selvam Duraipandian Thava , Sikes Hadley D. , Whitesides George M.
Published: January 2025

A post-pandemic perspective on paper-based microfluidics by George Whitesides and collaborators. Sketch generated by artificial intelligence using an original photograph courtesy of Volker Steger (Science Photo Library).
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of metal oxide nanoparticles: chemical composition, oxidation state and functional group content
Authors: Lopinski Gregory P. , Kodra Oltion , Kunc Filip , Kennedy David C. , Couillard Martin , Johnston Linda J.
Published: January 2025

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to characterize the surface chemistry of 35 different commercially available metal oxide (NiO, Fe2O3, CeO2 and Mn2O3) nanoparticles.
Mass production of ultrasmall Mn3O4 nanoparticles for glutathione responsive off-on T1/T2 switching magnetic resonance imaging and tumor theranostics
Authors: Xie Qinghua , Zhang Gaorui , Zhou Dawei , Liu Hong , Yu Dexin , Duan Jiazhi
Published: January 2025

Ultrasmall Mn3O4 nanoparticles with mass-production capability were developed for integrated GSH responsive off-on T1/T2 switching MRI and ferroptosis therapy.
Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of α-C chiral sulfones enabled by merging photoactive electron donor–acceptor complexes with nickel catalysis
Authors: Lai Ze-Min , Xie Ying , Huang Le-Le , Guo Jing , Lu Gui
Published: January 2025

In cooperation with Ni catalysis, a range of α-C chiral sulfones are obtained with high yields and enantioselectivities. Mechanistic studies reveal that a new EDA complex generated from Hantzsch esters and sulfonyl chlorides is the key to success.
Poly(diallyldimethylammonium)-based solid electrolytes to significantly enhance the power factor of a thermoelectric oxide film (Sb-doped SnO2)
Authors: Solis-de la Fuente M. , Castro-Ruiz S. , Márquez-García L. , Rullière P. , Fantini S. , Del Olmo R. , Casado N. , García-Cañadas J.
Published: January 2025

A remarkable 2.6 times improvement in the power factor is achieved in a porous thermoelectric oxide in the presence of a polyelectrolyte.
Correction: Self-generating electricity system driven by aqueous humor flow and trabecular meshwork contraction motion activated BKCa for glaucoma intraocular pressure treatment
Authors: Wang Ruiqi , Wei Haiying , Shi Yuying , Wang Cao , Yu Zhenqiang , Zhang Yijian , Lai Yifan , Chen Jingwei , Wang Guangfu , Tian Weiming
Published: January 2025

Correction for ‘Self-generating electricity system driven by aqueous humor flow and trabecular meshwork contraction motion activated BKCa for glaucoma intraocular pressure treatment’ by Ruiqi Wang et al., Mater. Horiz., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MH01004C.