bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of surgical technique on the number of sentinel lymph nodes removed and its effect on complication rates
Authors: Stutz Kathleen , Mason Holly , Niakan Shiva , Coulter Aixa Perez , Casaubon Jesse , Friedrich Ann-Kristin U.
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a staging procedure used to guide treatment for patients with breast cancer. Multiple variations in the SLNB technique have been described. We questioned how technique impacts the number of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) removed and associated complications.

Methods

Patients with breast cancer who were treated with lumpectomy and SLNB between 2018 and 2023 were analyzed. Patients were excluded if they had prior ipsilateral breast or axillary surgery or chest wall radiation, underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy or endocrine therapy, or subsequently required ALND. Demographics, surgical technique, and operative and pathological data were collected. Complication rates were compared between more (4+) or fewer (1–3) SLNs removed.

Results

A total of 643 patients were included, with an average of 2.44 LNs removed (range 1–11). The overall complication rate was 19.8%, with a 4.4% lymphedema rate. The lymphedema rate was higher among patients who had more nodes removed. An average of 2.5 LNs were removed with dual mapping vs. 2.0 with technetium alone (p = 0.15). Breast massage had no effect on the number of SLNs removed (p = 0.12) but did impact blue dye uptake (p = 0.001).

Conclusions

Surgical technique did not significantly impact the number of nodes removed. Removing more nodes was associated with a greater risk of lymphedema.
Individual movement behaviour and habitat use of a small-sized cypriniform (Telestes muticellus) in a mountain stream
Authors: Schiavon Alfredo , Comoglio Claudio , Candiotto Alessandro , Spairani Michele , Hölker Franz , Watz Johan , Nyqvist Daniel
Published: January 2025

Knowledge about the biology and ecology of species is fundamental for their management and conservation. Despite this, many fish species and life stages are understudied, and there is a great need for research efforts to understand their ecology. Italian riffle dace (Telestes muticellus; order Cypriniformes) is a small-sized (< 15 cm) stream fish native to the Italian peninsula. There is a scarcity of research on its ecology and behaviour. In this study, we explored the movement ecology of Telestes muticellus in a Mediterranean mountain stream in Northern Italy using passive integrated transponder (PIT) telemetry. Over 15 months, 267 fish were located 2–27 times. Most fish remained stationary, while a few roamed over several hundreds of meters. Fish covered a larger linear range during spring and autumn than during other seasons. T. muticellus showed a strong preference for pools, and this preference was strongest during summer. We observed no differences in habitat use and movements between day and night, and fish size had no major effect. Within pools, many T. muticellus displayed remarkably small home ranges (median 8 m2). Fish increased their linear ranges over a period of flood events, indicating that high-flow events may be important for the downstream and upstream dispersal of T. muticellus in small mountain streams.
Genomic determinants of biological age estimated by deep learning applied to retinal images
Authors: Huang Yu , Syed Mohammad Ghouse , Chen Ruiye , Li Cong , Shang Xianwen , Wang Wei , Zhang Xueli , Zhang Xiayin , Tang Shulin , Liu Jing , Liu Shunming , Srinivasan Sundar , Hu Yijun , Mookiah Muthu Rama Krishnan , Wang Huan , Trucco Emanuele , Yu Honghua , Palmer Colin , Zhu Zhuoting , Doney Alexander S. F. , He Mingguang
Published: January 2025

With the development of deep learning (DL) techniques, there has been a successful application of this approach to determine biological age from latent information contained in retinal images. Retinal age gap (RAG) defined as the difference between chronological age and predicted retinal age has been established previously to predict the age-related disease. In this study, we performed discovery genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) on the RAG using the 31,271 UK Biobank participants and replicated our findings in 8034 GoDARTS participants. The genetic correlation between RAGs predicted from the two cohorts was 0.67 (P = 0.021). After meta-analysis, we found 13 RAG loci which might be related to retinal vessel density and other aging processes. The SNP-wide heritability (h
2) of RAG was 0.15. Meanwhile, by performing Mendelian randomization analysis, we found that glycated hemoglobin, inflammation hemocytes, and anemia might be associated with accelerated retinal aging. Our study explored the biological implications and molecular-level mechanism of RAG, which might enable causal inference of the aging process as well as provide potential pharmaceutical intervention targets for further treatment.

Graphical Abstract
Prognostic impact of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) expression on cancer survival and its implications for GLP-1R agonist therapy: an integrative analysis across multiple tumor types
Authors: Ungvari Zoltan , Bartha Áron , Ungvari Anna , Fekete Monika , Bianchini Giampaolo , Győrffy Balázs
Published: January 2025

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, such as exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda), albiglutide (Tanzeum), dulaglutide (Trulicity), lixisenatide (Lyxumia, Adlyxin), semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy), and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), are widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. While these agents are well known for their metabolic benefits, there is growing interest in their potential effects on cancer biology. However, the role of GLP-1R agonists in cancer remains complex and not fully understood, particularly across different tumor types. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of GLP1R expression on overall survival across various cancer types. Using a comprehensive analysis of gene expression data and survival outcomes a large cohorts of different tumor types, we employed Cox proportional hazards survival analyses, coupled with false discovery rate determinations, to explore correlations between GLP1R expression and survival. The integrated database included thousands of cancer specimens with available overall survival time and event data from numerous independent cohorts, providing a robust platform for survival analysis. Our findings reveal that increased GLP1R expression is associated with improved overall survival in cancers such as bladder cancer, breast cancer, esophageal adenocarcinoma, renal clear cell carcinoma, and thyroid carcinoma. Conversely, higher GLP1R expression is linked to poorer survival outcomes in cervical squamous cell carcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, stomach adenocarcinoma, and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma. Additionally, GLP1R expression showed no significant impact on overall survival in cancers such as esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, colon cancer, head-neck squamous cell carcinoma, renal papillary cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer. In conclusion, GLP1R expression levels serve as an important biomarker with potential prognostic significance across multiple cancers, demonstrating both protective and adverse associations depending on the tumor type. These findings highlight the complex role of GLP-1R agonists in cancer risk and survival, suggesting that the therapeutic use of these agents should be carefully tailored to the individual patient’s cancer risk profile.
Artificial Intelligence in Metal–Organic Frameworks from 2013 to 2024: A Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Cao Jian , Zhou Ling , Gan Fan , You Zhipeng
Published: January 2025

The purpose of this work is to analyze the development direction and prospects in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and to provide reference information for related research and industry personnel. The scientific papers on AI in MOFs published in Web of Science database from 2013 to mid-2024 were collected. Bibliometric methods and knowledge mapping visualization software were used to analyze the papers. Both quantitative statistics and qualitative comparative analysis of global scientific papers were done in terms of annual paper trends, papers by major countries, authors, institutions, journals and research topics, respectively. The results showed that the number of published papers has increased in recent years. The top three productive countries are China, the USA and Germany, respectively. The top three productive institutions are Guangzhou University, Northwestern University and Chinese Academy of Sciences, respectively. Reference co-citation analysis classifies references into four clusters, and keyword co-occurrence analysis divides keywords into six clusters. Bibliometric and network analyses were utilized to examine the distribution of research outcomes, enabling scholars to discern the prevailing trends and focal points within the domain of AI-MOFs.
Endocrine Disruptors in Child Obesity and Related Disorders: Early Critical Windows of Exposure
Authors: Celik Mensure Nur , Yesildemir Ozge
Published: January 2025

Purpose of Review

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) can mimic or interfere with hormones in the body, leading to non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Susceptibility to EDs increases during prenatal and postnatal life, a critical time window. This review aims to summarize the latest evidence on the relation of early life exposure to some EDs with obesity and the other metabolic disorders. 

Recent Findings

There is increasing evidence that early life exposure to EDs may impair adipogenesis by increasing the number and size of adipocytes, thereby increasing susceptibility to obesity in childhood. It is stated that exposure to EDs during the prenatal and postnatal period may raise the risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood by disrupting glucose, lipid, and insulin homeostasis in the offspring. They can also accelerate the development of type 1 diabetes through various mechanisms, like immunomodulation, gut microbiota, and vitamin D pathways.

There is a growing understanding that ED exposure during critical stages of life could play an important role in the development of obesity and metabolic disorders. We suggest setting national goals, global standards, and policies to reduce environmental exposure to pregnant and lactating women, and babies, considered sensitive populations.
Boosting electrocatalytic generation of FDCA and H2 from 2,5-furanedimethanol solution by carbonized wood supported Fe-CoP nanoleaves
Authors: Ma Yuan , Miao Jiaojiao , Li Yuanyuan , Zhou Xuehua , Zhang Lianbing , Zhang Jian , Li Guanglei , Qin Yong , Gao Jie
Published: January 2025

Electrocatalytic oxidation of more stable 2,5-furanedimethanol (FDM) for 2,5-furanediformic acid (FDCA) generation with concurrent hydrogen production is attractive but still nascent compared to 5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF). The need for effective and stable bifunctional electrocatalysts that are efficient for the FDM cell is thus quite significant. Wood serves as an ideal matrix for boosting the performance of catalysts, since its hierarchical porous structures facilitate mass transport and provide abundant active sites. Unfortunately, it has never been demonstrated for electrochemically organic synthesis. Herein, the effectiveness of Fe-CoP in catalyzing FDM oxidation was demonstrated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments, and a renewable carbonized porous wood decorated with Fe-doped CoP nanoleaves (Fe-CoP/CW) was constructed for electrocatalytic FDCA and hydrogen generation. The obtained Fe-CoP/CW as an anode in FDM solution afforded a current density of 100 mA cm−2 with a yield of 90% FDCA at a potential no more than 1.50 V vs RHE, which was 90 mV and 350 mV lower than Fe-CoP/carbon cloth (CC) and IrO2. In addition, Fe-CoP/CW showed excellent long-term stability for 108-h FDM oxidation in strong alkaline solution. Remarkably, in stark contrast to Fe-CoP/CC and Pt, the hydrogen evolution performance of Fe-CoP/CW was not impacted by FDM at the cathode, and it required exceptionally low overpotentials of 0.19 V to achieve 100 mA cm−2. As a result, in terms of the overall cell, the hydrogen production rate was 0.756 mmol cm−2 h−1, which was 3.57 times higher than those of commonly used commercial Pt | IrO2 cell, presenting a Faraday efficiency of near 100%. This work will pave the way towards the implementation of highly suited bifunctional electrodes and the possibility of affordable, effective, and environmentally-friendly wood-derived electrocatalysts for electrochemically organic synthesis.

Graphical Abstract
Matrix Metallopeptidase 9 Promotes Contraction in Human Uterine Myometrium
Authors: Ulrich Craig C. , Parker Lauren L. , Lambert Janet A. , Baldwin Lexa , Buxton Iain L. O. , Etezadi-Amoli Neda , Leblanc Normand , Burkin Heather R.
Published: January 2025

Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) is a secreted zinc-dependent peptidase known for extracellular remodeling. MMP9 is elevated in tissues from women experiencing preterm labor, and previous research has shown that the addition of combined matrix metallopeptidases 2 and 9 (MMP2/9) enhances uterine contractions. We hypothesized that adding MMP9 alone would enhance myometrial contractions and that specific MMP9 inhibition would suppress uterine contractions. In myometrial tissue from women undergoing term Caesarean sections, we observed an increased contractile response as measured by area under the curve over time in tissues treated with MMP9 compared to vehicle-treated controls (p = 0.0003). This effect was primarily due to increased contraction frequency in MMP9-treated tissues compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Specific inhibition of MMP9 with the highly selective MMP9 inhibitor 1 (AG-L-66085) reduced contractile responses in myometrial tissues from pregnant women. We observed a reduction in the oxytocin-induced contractile response as measured by area under the curve over time (p < 0.0001) and contraction amplitude (p < 0.0068) in AG-L-66085-treated tissues compared to vehicle-treated controls. To determine the effects of MMP9 inhibition in the absence of exogenous oxytocin, we tested the effects of AG-L-66085 on spontaneous contractions. The area under the curve (p = 0.0415) and amplitude (p = 0.0354) of spontaneous contractions were reduced in response to 1 μM AG-L-66085, and the inhibitory effects increased as the AG-L-66085 concentration increased. Together, these data support the hypothesis that elevated MMP9 promotes myometrial contractions and labor, while its inhibition promotes relaxation.
Contribution of ground motions to landslide distribution during the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake
Authors: Huang Dongliang , Goto Hiroyuki , Xiang Chenlin , Zhao Lianheng , Zhang Yingbin
Published: January 2025

Earthquake-induced landslides often have unique regional distribution characteristics and cause significant damage to the natural environment and severe loss of life and property. The aim of this study is to comprehensively investigate the contribution of ground motion time histories to the unique landslide distribution of the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake: although the geological and geomorphological conditions are similar on the northern and southern sides of the epicenter, the landslide density is obviously greater on the northern side. Overall, the synthetic waveforms in the near-source area are generated using a distance-weighted spatial interpolation method and a spectrum-matching technique, and dynamic finite difference simulations are then employed to further reproduce the actual landslide distribution pattern. The workflow contains two steps. First, the seismic ground motions in the near-source area are spatially evaluated by combining the ground motion model and the phase characteristics extracted from the downhole records. Then, dynamic analysis of slope stability using synthetic waveforms is conducted to form landslide susceptibility maps. As a result, the actual spatial pattern in which landslide density is greater on the northern side of the epicenter is reproduced and explained successfully. Differences in phase components are found to be responsible for the different deformation processes of slopes under seismic loading. The proposed method in this study can be applied to risk analysis of regional landslide hazards in regard to future earthquakes.
Language, Image, Gesture
Authors: Hart Christopher
Published: January 2025

Politics is an inherently symbolic practice. This innovative book advances a framework for the critical analysis of political texts and talk based in cognitive linguistics. Through detailed analyses of attested semiotic practices, it provides a current, comprehensive and authoritative statement on the paradigm of Cognitive Critical Discourse Analysis (Cognitive CDA). The ideological effects of dominant conceptualisations and their implications for the legitimation of social action are explored with reference to political topics that have defined the last decade, including immigration, the rise of nationalism, the right to protest, Brexit and Covid-19. A range of conceptual phenomena are addressed, including image schematic patterning, attentional distribution, viewpoint and metaphor, as they feature in various contexts, genres and modes of political discourse. In a major advancement of the paradigm, the book extends Cognitive CDA to images and gesture to consider the role played by multiple semiotic modes in the discursive performance of politics.
Forecasting Arctic sea-ice drift: insights from two case studies
Authors: Välisuo Ilona , Tietsche Steffen
Published: January 2025

The two main large-scale features of Arctic sea-ice drift are the Beaufort Gyre and the Transpolar Drift Stream. They exhibit strong intraseasonal and interannual variability. Winter 2016/17 showed increased cyclone activity, leading to the collapse of the Beaufort Sea high and the reversal of the Beaufort Gyre. Winter 2020/21 displayed decreased cyclone activity and intense anticyclonic ice transport in the Beaufort Gyre. Here we show that the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’s (ECMWF) extended-range (46 days) retrospective forecasts were able to predict the ice motion during these cases. The initial contrasts in sea level pressure, surface winds and ice drift were well captured, and their temporal evolution—including the reversal of the usual drift direction—well reproduced by the forecasts initialized about a week before the event. Sea-ice thickness in the forecast exhibited initial errors even greater than 1 m that persisted throughout the forecast and negatively affected the ice speed forecast. Despite these shortcomings, the dynamic forecast outperformed the persistence and climatology forecast and represented the observed relation between surface winds and ice drift well. The benefit of dynamic forecasts is especially clear in cases that differ from climatology, like the one we focus on.
AI product cards: a framework for code-bound formal documentation cards in the public administration
Authors: Celepija Albana , Palmero Aprosio Alessio , Lepri Bruno , Kazhamiakin Raman
Published: January 2025

Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) is integrated across various segments of the public sector, in a scattered and fragmented manner, aiming to enhance the quality of people’s lives. While AI adoption has proven to have a great impact, there are several aspects that hamper its utilization in public administration. Therefore, a large set of initiatives is designed to play a pivotal role in promoting the adoption of reliable AI, including documentation as a key driver. The AI community has been proactively recommending a variety of initiatives aimed at promoting the adoption of documentation practices. While currently proposed AI documentation artifacts play a crucial role in increasing the transparency and accountability of various facts about AI systems, we propose a code-bound declarative documentation framework that aims to support the responsible deployment of AI-based solutions. Our proposed framework aims to address the need to shift the focus from data and models being considered in isolation to the reuse of AI solutions as a whole. By introducing a formalized approach to describing adaptation and optimization techniques, we aim to enhance existing documentation alternatives. Furthermore, its utilization in the public administration aims to foster the rapid adoption of AI-based applications due to the open access to common use cases in the public sector. We further showcase our proposal with a public sector-specific use case, such as a legal text classification task, and demonstrate how the AI Product Card enables its reuse through the interactions of the formal documentation specifications with the modular code references.
COVID-19: An exploration of consecutive systemic barriers to pathogen-related data sharing during a pandemic
Authors: Yehudi Yo , Hughes-Noehrer Lukas , Goble Carole , Jay Caroline
Published: January 2025

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid response from governments and researchers worldwide, but information-sharing mechanisms were variable, and many early efforts were insufficient for the purpose. We interviewed fifteen data professionals located around the world, working with COVID-19-relevant data types in semi-structured interviews. Interviews covered both challenges and positive experiences with data in multiple domains and formats, including medical records, social deprivation, hospital bed capacity, and mobility data. We analyze this qualitative corpus of experiences for content and themes and identify four sequential barriers a researcher may encounter. These are: (1) Knowing data exists, (2) being able to access that data, (3) data quality, and (4) ability to share data onwards. A fifth barrier, (5) human throughput capacity, is present throughout all four stages. Examples of these barriers range from challenges faced by single individuals to non-existent records of historic mingling/social distance laws, and up to systemic geopolitical data suppression. Finally, we recommend that governments and local authorities explicitly create machine-readable temporal “law as code” for changes in laws such as mobility/mingling laws and changes in geographical regions.
Overruling the Executive: Judicial Strategies to Resist Democratic Erosion
Authors: Garcia-Holgado Benjamin
Published: January 2025

How can autonomous apex courts with specific attitudes and role conceptions counter executive aggrandizement? This article theorizes two causal mechanisms through which justices can resist democratic erosion. The first mechanism involves apex courts employing judicial review to neutralize autocratic legalism by blocking strategies such as institutional conversion, replacement, and layering that executives use to expand their power. The second involves apex courts building coalitions within and beyond the judiciary, enabling diverse actors – including judges, political parties, the media, and NGOs – to leverage their unique resources against executive encroachment. I conceptualize these two mechanisms by combining theory-building process tracing with counterfactual analysis of an unlikely case of democratic resilience: Argentina from 2007 to 2015. Drawing on evidence from 125 elite interviews, over a thousand newspaper articles, hundreds of state documents, memoirs, and other primary sources, this article demonstrates how the Supreme Court nullified President Cristina Kirchner’s attempts to undermine freedom of expression and judicial independence, thereby contributing to democratic resilience.
Against Hope Labour in the Public Humanities
Authors: Paris Jamie
Published: January 2025

This article argues that the number of tenure-line academic positions has been shrinking for decades, and that non-tenure track workers are being asked to do more un- and under-compensated publishing, editing, and peer review labour this labour. This is all having a detrimental impact on larger, public humanities based projects. Often, non-tenure track faculty are paid for their hard earned expertise in a currency of hope, or in the implicit promise of future opportunities. Large public humanities programs, should resist the temptation to use hope labour and gig workers.
Probing the production of quantum technologies to imagine its legal framework
Authors: Mittal Anushka
Published: January 2025

Quantum technologies (QT) are being awaited with excitement. They are supported by many governments, the corporate sector, international bodies and technology forecasters. There is discursive investment as well in terms of creating expectations and laying down a vision for the ‘Second Quantum Revolution’. Science and technology studies are also playing their part to think of the quantum future along with philosophical discussions around it. These visions and expectations perform an implicit and latent function of steering policy proposals and governance. At the current stage of development of quantum technologies, a comprehensive and cogent legal framework is hard to envisage. As it is difficult to foresee the final shape of these technologies, a way to proceed can be to focus on the legal enquiry related to economic, political and policy factors which contribute to its material emergence. This can broaden the focus from thinking about its impact to contextualizing its production and development. Further, it allows a way of determining the extent to which social science and ethical frames can apply to the governance of QT, given the legal and practical realities of technology production and use. This article maps the myriad governance frameworks being envisaged to think about the future of QT. It zooms onto the discussion related to the access divide being framed for QT to understand the points of legal intervention. It uses the case of quantum computing to understand the way legal and practical policy solutions have been ideated. It highlights the way these solutions entrench power of digital infrastructure providers further. This seeks to motivate further work to expand the scope of a legal framework for QT.
La surveillance : un instrument d’évitement de l'intrusion militaire dans le champ politique camerounais
Authors: Dongmo Julio César
Published: January 2025

Dans la littérature existante, les auteurs associent l'absence et la non-récurrence des intrusions militaires dans le champ politique à la peur des sanctions d'un éventuel échec, à des nominations militaires sélectives sur la base identitaire, à la mise en place de contrepoids militaires, à l'institutionnalisation d'un régime de privilèges militaires et au sens de professionnalisme de l'armée. Partant du postulat que les militaires sont des acteurs rationnels dont la loyauté et la fidélité peuvent évoluer en fonction des conjonctures et des « fenêtres d'opportunités » qui se présentent à eux, cet article montre que ces facteurs ont un pouvoir explicatif limité et soutient qu'une surveillance efficace – aussi bien des militaires que des acteurs sociopolitiques qui peuvent leur donner un prétexte d'intrusion dans le champ politique – est le facteur déterminant. Au-delà de la non-occurrence du coup d’État, cette explication contribue à la littérature sur les stratégies de survie autoritaire. Cette littérature met un accent exclusif sur la répression, la cooptation et la légitimation ; or, la surveillance s'entremêle avec ces stratégies, et ce sont leurs effets combinés qui créent les conditions de la persistance autoritaire.
Our lives go better in a world created by God
Authors: Ballard Brian
Published: January 2025

This article develops a novel argument that God’s existence would greatly increase our prospects for meaning in life. The key idea is that if God exists, He stands in certain relations to the world that would confer value upon it. For instance, God would be its creator and sustainer. The world would thus gain value in much the way that relics gain value by their links with historical persons and events. And crucially, as a result of this infusion of value, our lives go better because the things we engage with matter more.
Enhancing trajectory-tracking accuracy of high-acceleration parallel robots by predicting compliant displacements
Authors: Paksoy Erkan , Dede Mehmet İsmet Can , Kiper Gökhan
Published: January 2025

For precision-required robot operations, the robot’s positioning accuracy, repeatability, and stiffness characteristics should be considered. If the mechanism has the desired repeatability performance, a kinematic calibration process can enhance the positioning accuracy. However, for robot operations where high accelerations are needed, the compliance characteristics of the mechanism affect the trajectory-tracking accuracy adversely. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to enhance the trajectory-tracking accuracy of a robot operating at high accelerations by predicting the compliant displacements when there is no physical contact of the robot with its environment. Also, this case study compares the trajectory-tracking characteristics of an over-constrained and a normal-constrained 2-degrees-of-freedom (DoF) planar parallel mechanism during high-acceleration operations up to 5 g accelerations. In addition, the influence of the end-effector’s center of mass (CoM) position along the normal of the plane is investigated in terms of its effects on the proposed trajectory-enhancing algorithm.
The economic importance and mobility of horses in the Roman Netherlands
Authors: Groot Maaike , Gerling Claudia , Pike Alistair W. G.
Published: January 2025

Previous research has suggested that horse breeding, with the army as the intended buyer, was an important part of the local agrarian economy in the Roman Dutch eastern river area. Since it is very difficult to trace the origins of horses by traditional archaeozoological methods, strontium isotope analysis was used to investigate the origins of horses in both military and rural sites. These new data are integrated with data on horse frequencies and size to assess the economic importance of horses in rural communities in the eastern river area and further investigate possible supply networks. Both horse frequencies and horse size increase from the Early Roman period onwards, reflecting the significant economic importance of horses in this region. The laser ablation 87Sr/86Sr ratios show evidence for mobility in military horses but not in rural horses.
Exploring genetic diversity of pummelo (Citrus grandis L. Osbeck) genotypes in Devanahalli region of Karnataka, India
Authors: Koti Shivanand , Swamy G. S. K. , Ugalat Jayashree , Rao Venkat , Jayappa J. , Ainapur Shivanand D. , Kore Deepak S. , Vipin K.
Published: January 2025

Pummelo is the largest citrus species in the Rutaceae family and is important for human health and nutrition. This fruit is underutilized and threatened by human activities in its natural habitat. The present research was conducted in the Devanahalli region of Karnataka, which has a vast diversity of pummelo. This study aimed to evaluate 40 pummelo genotypes, selected through a preliminary survey, using morphological, biochemical and sensory assessments. Fruit and pulp weights ranged from 344.03 to 1746.23 g and 194.39 to 1073.07 g, with mean values of 939.67 and 522.81 g, respectively. Traits such as fruit length, diameter, fruit axis diameter, fruit volume, number of segments, rind thickness, fruit, pulp, peel weight, seed weight and seeds per fruit showed highly significant differences. Biochemical analysis revealed that ascorbic acid content varied from 28.53 to 60 mg/100 g, titratable acidity from 0.73 to 2.07% and total soluble solids from 7.63 to 11.07°Brix. High phenol (55.08–166.17 mg GAE/g FW) and flavonoid (39.26–137.78 mg CE/g FW) content were observed in fruit pulp, indicating significant antioxidant potential. Several morphological and biochemical traits exhibited significant positive correlations. A slightly higher phenotypic coefficient of variation was found for all the characters compared to the corresponding genotypic coefficient of variation. The principal component analysis indicated that the first nine components contributed 94.24% of the total variation. Hierarchical cluster analysis divided the populations into two distinct clusters. Sensory analysis indicated that genotypes, DVP-1 and DVP-2 had higher acceptability rates. The significant variations in plant traits among the genotypes offer great chances to select the best ones for genetic improvement programmes.
A Look Back At 20 Years of Research on Gender and Voting in Politics & Gender
Authors: Cassese Erin C. , Friesen Amanda
Published: January 2025

This essay highlights the impact of Politics & Gender on the discipline’s understanding of how gender shapes the preferences, behavior, and motivations of voters. It provides descriptive information about the prevalence of research on gender and voting in the journal, along with the proportion of articles dedicated to women voters across different regions globally. The bulk of the essay focuses on the substance of this research — drawing out major themes and identifying significant contributions within each theme — and it concludes by offering a future research agenda on gender and voting.
Weather and glufosinate efficacy; a retrospective analysis looking forward to the changing climate
Authors: Landau Christopher , Bradley Kevin , Burns Erin , DeWerff Ryan , Dobbels Anthony , Essman Alyssa , Flessner Michael , Gage Karla , Hager Aaron , Jhala Amit , Johnson Paul O , Johnson William , Lancaster Sarah , Lingenfelter Dwight , Loux Mark , Miller Eric , Owen Micheal , Sarangi Debalin , Sikkema Peter , Sprague Christy , VanGessel Mark , Werle Rodrigo , Young Bryan , Williams Martin
Published: January 2025

Foliar-applied postemergence applications of glufosinate are often applied to glufosinate-resistant crops to provide nonselective weed control without significant crop injury. Rainfall, air temperature, solar radiation, and relative humidity near the time of application have been reported to affect glufosinate efficacy. However, previous research may have not captured the full range of weather variability to which glufosinate may be exposed to prior to or following application. Additionally, climate models suggest more extreme weather will become the norm, further expanding this weather range glufosinate can be exposed to. The objective of this research was to quantify the probability of successful weed control (efficacy ≥85%) with glufosinate applied to some key weed species across a broad range of weather conditions. A database of >10,000 North American herbicide evaluation trials was used in this study. The database was filtered to include treatments with a single POST application of glufosinate applied to waterhemp (Amaranthus tuburculatus (Moq.) J. D. Sauer), morningglory species (Ipomoea spp.), and/or giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herm.) <15cm in height. These species were chosen because they are well represented in the database and listed as common and troublesome weed species in both corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (Van Wychen 2020, 2022). Individual random forest models were created. Low rainfall (≤20 mm) over the five days prior to glufosinate application was detrimental to the probability of successful control of A. tuburculatus and S. faberi. Lower relative humidity (≤70%) and solar radiation (≤23 MJ m-1 day-1) the day of application reduced the probability of successful weed control in most cases. Additionally, the probability of successful control decreased for all species when average air temperature over the first five days after application was ≤25C. As climate continues to change and become more variable, the risk of unacceptable control of several common species with glufosinate is likely to increase.
Unlocking Southern Ocean Under‐Ice Seasonality With a New Monthly Climatology
Authors: Yamazaki Kaihe , Bindoff Nathaniel L. , Phillips Helen Elizabeth , Nikurashin Maxim , Herraiz‐Borreguero Laura , Spence Paul
Published: January 2025

The advent of under‐ice profiling float and biologging techniques has enabled year‐round observation of the Southern Ocean and its Antarctic margin. These under‐ice data are often overlooked in widely used oceanographic datasets, despite their importance in understanding seasonality and its role in sea ice changes, water mass formation, and glacial melt. We develop a monthly climatology of the Southern Ocean (south of 40°S and above 2,000 m) using Data Interpolating Variational Analysis, which excels in multi‐dimensional interpolation and consistent handling of topography and horizontal advection. The climatology successfully captures thermohaline variability under sea ice, previously hard to obtain, and outperforms other observation‐based products and state estimate simulations in data fidelity, with smaller root‐mean‐square errors and biases. To demonstrate its multi‐purpose capability, we present a qualitative description of the seasonal variation, including (a) the surface mixed layer, (b) the water mass volume census, (c) the Antarctic Slope Front, and (d) shelf bottom waters. The circumpolar variation in the extent of dense shelf water—including its presence outside the four major formation sites—and the annual volume overturning that reaches deep waters are revealed for the first time. The present work offers a new monthly climatology of the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic margin, which will be instrumental in investigating the seasonality and improving ocean models, thereby making valuable winter observations more accessible. We further highlight the quantitative significance of under‐ice data in reproducing ocean conditions, advocating for their increased use to achieve a better Southern Ocean observing system.
Global Warming and Equatorial Atlantic Paleoceanographic Changes During Early Eocene Carbon Cycle Perturbation V
Authors: Kegel Anne H. , Fokkema Chris D. , Brinkhuis Henk , Röhl Ursula , Westerhold Thomas , Agnini Claudia , Bijl Peter K. , Peterse Francien , Sluijs Appy
Published: January 2025

A series of transient global warming events (“hyperthermals”) in the early Eocene is marked by massive environmental and carbon cycle change. Among these events, the impacts of the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (∼56 Ma), Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (∼54 Ma) and Eocene Thermal Maximum 3 (∼53 Ma) are relatively well documented. However, much less is known about the many subsequent hyperthermals that apparently occurred on orbital eccentricity maxima until at least the end of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ∼53–49 Ma). Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 959 (Equatorial Atlantic Ocean), we report a large negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) in both organic and carbonate substrates that we correlate to the “V” event sensu Lauretano et al. (2016), https://doi.org/10.1127/nos/2016/0077 (or C22nH1 sensu Sexton et al. (2011), https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09826) at ∼49.7 Ma, following combined bio‐ and chemostratigraphic constraints. Through TEX86 paleothermometry, we reconstruct a sea surface temperature rise of 1.3–2.0°C associated with this CIE, which, combined with evidence for warming from the deep sea, implies that this event indeed represents a transient global‐scale warming episode like the earlier hyperthermals. Organic walled dinoflagellate cyst assemblages indicate a productive paleoceanographic background setting, likely through regional upwelling, which alternated with episodes of stratification. Warming reconstructed across V at Site 959 is relatively similar to the higher‐latitude‐derived deep ocean reconstructions. However, the presence of upwelling and its variable intensity across the event compromises the use of the reconstructed warming as an estimate for the complete tropical band.
Home Foundations Are Crumbling. This Mineral Is to Blame.
Authors: Cassidy Benjamin
Published: January 2025

Pyrrhotite causes cracks in concrete. But research on how widespread the issue might be has only scratched the surface.
Dynamic transitions of initiator binding coordinate the replication of the two chromosomes in Vibrio cholerae
Authors: Niault Théophile , Talavera Ariel , Le Cam Eric , Baconnais Sonia , Skovgaard Ole , Fournes Florian , Wagner Léa , Tamman Hedvig , Thompson Andrew , Echemendia-Blanco Dannele , Guzzi Noa , Garcia-Pino Abel , Mazel Didier , Val Marie-Eve
Published: January 2025

The replication of the two chromosomes in the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae is coordinated by the binding of initiator protein RctB to a checkpoint sequence, crtS. Replication of crtS on the primary chromosome (Chr1) triggers replication of the secondary chromosome (Chr2), but the details are poorly understood. Here, we analyze RctB binding patterns in the V. cholerae genome across various cell cycle stages. We find that RctB primarily binds to sites inhibiting replication initiation at the Chr2 origin (ori2). This inhibitory effect is counteracted when crtS is replicated on Chr1, causing a shift in RctB binding to sites that activate replication at ori2. Structural analyzes indicate the formation of diverse oligomeric states of RctB, coupled to the allosteric effect of DNA, which determine ori2 accessibility. We propose a synchronization model where, upon replication, crtS locally destabilizes the RctB inhibition complex, releasing the Chr2 replication origin.
Unveiling the nexus between irradiation and phase reconstruction in tin-lead perovskite solar cells
Authors: Li Wenbo , Li Zhe , Zhou Shun , Gou Yanzhuo , Li Guang , Li Jinghao , Wang Cheng , Zeng Yan , Yan Jiakai , Li Yan , Dai Wei , Rong Yaoguang , Ke Weijun , Wang Ti , Xu Hongxing
Published: January 2025

Tin-lead perovskites provide an ideal bandgap for narrow-bandgap perovskites in all-perovskite tandem solar cells, fundamentally improving power conversion efficiency. However, light-induced degradation in ambient air is a major issue that can hinder the long-term operational stability of these devices. Understanding the specifics of what occurs during this pathway provides the direction for improving device stability. In this study, we investigate the long-term stability problem of tin-lead perovskites under irradiation, counterintuitively discovering an irreversible phase reconstruction process. In-situ photoluminescence spectroscopy is used to monitor the reconstruction process, which involves the reaction of oxygen with photoexcited electrons to form superoxide. It is proposed that Pb-rich regions appear on the surface after Sn2+ oxidation, and these Pb-rich regions are reconstituted from the yellow phase of formamidinium lead iodide to the black phase with prolonged irradiation. This study highlights the phase reconstruction process during the degradation of tin-lead perovskites, providing valuable insights into the superoxide degradation mechanism and guiding further stability improvements for narrow-bandgap tin-lead perovskites and tandem solar cells.
Particle exchange statistics beyond fermions and bosons
Authors: Wang Zhiyuan , Hazzard Kaden R. A.
Published: January 2025

It is commonly believed that there are only two types of particle exchange statistics in quantum mechanics, fermions and bosons, with the exception of anyons in two dimensions1–5. In principle, a second exception known as parastatistics, which extends outside two dimensions, has been considered6 but was believed to be physically equivalent to fermions and bosons7–9. Here we show that non-trivial parastatistics inequivalent to either fermions or bosons can exist in physical systems. These new types of identical particle obey generalized exclusion principles, leading to exotic free-particle thermodynamics distinct from any system of free fermions and bosons. We formulate our theory by developing a second quantization of paraparticles that naturally includes exactly solvable non-interacting theories and incorporates physical constraints such as locality. We then construct a family of exactly solvable quantum spin models in one and two dimensions, in which free paraparticles emerge as quasiparticle excitations, and their exchange statistics can be physically observed and are notably distinct from fermions and bosons. This demonstrates the possibility of a new type of quasiparticle in condensed matter systems and—more speculatively—the potential for previously unconsidered types of elementary particle.
Accurate predictions on small data with a tabular foundation model
Authors: Hollmann Noah , Müller Samuel , Purucker Lennart , Krishnakumar Arjun , Körfer Max , Hoo Shi Bin , Schirrmeister Robin Tibor , Hutter Frank
Published: January 2025

Tabular data, spreadsheets organized in rows and columns, are ubiquitous across scientific fields, from biomedicine to particle physics to economics and climate science1,2. The fundamental prediction task of filling in missing values of a label column based on the rest of the columns is essential for various applications as diverse as biomedical risk models, drug discovery and materials science. Although deep learning has revolutionized learning from raw data and led to numerous high-profile success stories3–5, gradient-boosted decision trees6–9 have dominated tabular data for the past 20 years. Here we present the Tabular Prior-data Fitted Network (TabPFN), a tabular foundation model that outperforms all previous methods on datasets with up to 10,000 samples by a wide margin, using substantially less training time. In 2.8 s, TabPFN outperforms an ensemble of the strongest baselines tuned for 4 h in a classification setting. As a generative transformer-based foundation model, this model also allows fine-tuning, data generation, density estimation and learning reusable embeddings. TabPFN is a learning algorithm that is itself learned across millions of synthetic datasets, demonstrating the power of this approach for algorithm development. By improving modelling abilities across diverse fields, TabPFN has the potential to accelerate scientific discovery and enhance important decision-making in various domains.
A rare PRIMER cell state in plant immunity
Authors: Nobori Tatsuya , Monell Alexander , Lee Travis A. , Sakata Yuka , Shirahama Shoma , Zhou Jingtian , Nery Joseph R. , Mine Akira , Ecker Joseph R.
Published: January 2025

Plants lack specialized and mobile immune cells. Consequently, any cell type that encounters pathogens must mount immune responses and communicate with surrounding cells for successful defence. However, the diversity, spatial organization and function of cellular immune states in pathogen-infected plants are poorly understood1. Here we infect Arabidopsis thaliana leaves with bacterial pathogens that trigger or supress immune responses and integrate time-resolved single-cell transcriptomic, epigenomic and spatial transcriptomic data to identify cell states. We describe cell-state-specific gene-regulatory logic that involves transcription factors, putative cis-regulatory elements and target genes associated with disease and immunity. We show that a rare cell population emerges at the nexus of immune-active hotspots, which we designate as primary immune responder (PRIMER) cells. PRIMER cells have non-canonical immune signatures, exemplified by the expression and genome accessibility of a previously uncharacterized transcription factor, GT-3A, which contributes to plant immunity against bacterial pathogens. PRIMER cells are surrounded by another cell state (bystander) that activates genes for long-distance cell-to-cell immune signalling. Together, our findings suggest that interactions between these cell states propagate immune responses across the leaf. Our molecularly defined single-cell spatiotemporal atlas provides functional and regulatory insights into immune cell states in plants.