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Eosinophils drive intestinal remodelling and innate defence in reproduction
Urinary vesicle biomarkers and kidney function—results from the German AugUR study
Abstract Progression into more severe stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria are associated with increased risk of end-stage renal failure, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality. Vesicles in the urine are cell-derived particles containing constituents of the cells of origin. Little is known about the prognostic capacity of urinary vesicles for CKD progression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between components of urinary vesicles and incident CKD. In the AugUR study, a prospective population-based cohort study in individuals aged 70–95 years at baseline, we isolated and characterized urinary vesicles from 580 participants at two timepoints. In cross-sectional data, influences of age, sex and established kidney biomarkers on vesicular albumin and podocalyxin were characterised. Longitudinal data were used to test associations of vesicular albumin and podocalyxin with incident eGFR-based CKD and albuminuria. Cross-sectionally, urinary vesicle albumin and urinary vesicle-bound podocalyxin were moderately correlated with each other and with urinary albumin and alpha1-microglobulin, but not with eGFR. Vesicular albumin concentrations were influenced by sex, whereas age showed an effect on podocalyxin. After adjusting for age and sex, higher vesicular albumin was associated with higher urinary albumin and lower eGFR. Higher vesicular podocalyxin concentrations were associated with higher urinary albumin but not with eGFR. Both markers showed identical associations with urinary alpha1-microglobulin. In longitudinal analyses, baseline vesicular albumin showed association with incident CKD based on eGFR. This association was no longer present after adjustment for baseline eGFR. In contrast, higher baseline podocalyxin concentrations were predictive for decreased risk of incident albuminuria after adjustment for baseline free urinary albumin. Baseline-adjusted change in urinary vesicle albumin and urinary vesicle-bound podocalyxin were both associated with incident albuminuria, independent of free urinary albumin and other kidney biomarkers. Here, increase in follow-up versus baseline values were associated with higher risk for incident albuminuria, with higher effect sizes for vesicular albumin. This study indicates that higher vesicular podocalyxin at baseline might be a potential predictor for lower risk for albuminuria over three years in an old-aged cohort. In contrast, longitudinal increase in urinary vesicle biomarkers, especially vesicular albumin, might be diagnostic markers for incident albuminuria in the elderly.
A predictive model for flow index performance of pit drip irrigation emitters using BP-PSO algorithm
Abstract It is crucial to accurately obtain the flow index in designing and developing labyrinth drip irrigation emitters. This study designed a pit drip irrigation emitter based on plant biomimetic principles, and created training-testing datasets (160 data points) and external validation datasets (25 data points) through experiments. The improved backpropagation neural network (BP) regression algorithm based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to predict the flow index of the pit drip irrigation emitter. The input parameters include the pit depth l , the inner and outer boundary spacing h , the flow channel angle θ , and the pit aperture j . There were four combinations with the different hidden layer settings, namely BP 1 , BP 2 , BP 1 -PSO, BP 2 -PSO. 85% of the training-testing dataset was used to train the developed model (using 5-fold cross-validation), of which 15% was used for testing. The reliability of the prediction model was evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), uncertainty at 95%(U 95 ), coefficient of determination (R 2 ), and global performance indicator (GPI). The results indicated that the optimal structures of BP 1 and BP (input-hidden layer-output) were 4-7-1 and 4-4-9-1. The BP 2 -PSO model had the best prediction accuracy and stability, MAE, MSE, RMSE, MAPE, U95, R², and GPI values were 1.98 × 10 − 3 , 5.49 × 10 − 6 , 2.34 × 10 − 3 , 4.09 × 10 − 3 , 6.46 × 10 − 3 , 0.9456, and 3.74 × 10 − 3 , respectively. the evaluation values were 6.46 × 10 − 3 , 0.9456 and 3.74 × 10 − 3 respectively. The GPI of BP 1 , BP 2 , BP 1 -PSO and BP 2 -PSO were 6.35 × 10 − 3 , 5.96 × 10 − 3 , 4.88 × 10 − 3 and 3.74 × 10 − 3 respectively, indicating good prediction accuracy. The ranking of prediction accuracy was as follows: BP 2 -PSO > BP 1 -PSO > BP 2 > BP 1 . The four models were tested on the external validation dataset, the R² values of all four models were higher than 0.85, indicating good correlation. Through SHAP analysis, the importance of structural parameters to the flow index is ranked as: j > θ > h > l . In order to verify the validity and extensive superiority of BP-PSO model in solving drip irrigation emitter flow index prediction problem, it was compared with six representative machine learning models, including classical models (GR and MLR), integrated models (CatBoost and LSBoost) and hybrid models (MLP-SVM and MLP-DT). The BP 2 -PSO and BP 1 -PSO models had the highest prediction accuracy in the training-testing process among ten machine learning methods, and BP 2 -PSO model had the highest prediction accuracy in the external validation process, which indicated that particle swarm optimization can improve the accuracy of neural network models. The BP 2 -PSO model was used to predict the flow index had greater advantages during the design and development stages of pit drip irrigation emitters.
Past projections of submediterranean oaks unveil future range shifts of vulnerable taxa under climate change
Abstract Submediterranean marcescent oak forests form a climatic ecotone highly exposed to increasing aridity across the Mediterranean Basin. Understanding how these vulnerable taxa were affected by past climatic shifts can help contextualize their sensitivity to ongoing changes. Here we used ensemble Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to infer the distribution dynamics of eight marcescent oak species from the Heinrich Stadial (~ 17 ka) to the present, and to explore their potential future trajectories for 2070 and 2100 under three SSP scenarios. Models calibrated with 12,450 filtered occurrences and high-resolution paleoclimate and CHELSA datasets performed well (AUC > 0.97), with precipitation and temperature seasonality emerging as key predictors. Hindcasts revealed contrasting east–west Quaternary histories, including episodes of expansion, contraction and partial stability linked to abrupt climate transitions such as the Heinrich Stadial and Younger Dryas. Future projections indicate widespread northward shifts and substantial suitability losses, especially under SSP5-8.5, with pronounced impacts on narrowly distributed taxa. By comparing past-to-present and present-to-future range shifts, we identify temporal coherence in species responses, showing that taxa with strong historical fluctuations tend to exhibit larger projected changes. Integrating past range dynamics provides an essential ecological baseline to interpret species-specific sensitivity and regional asymmetries. Our results refine the identification of potential climatic refugia and high-risk zones, offering a framework to prioritize conservation strategies for transitional oak forests in a rapidly warming Mediterranean Basin.
Research on noise reduction of annular axial cooling fan blade with perforated structure
Impact of ammonia hydrates and thermal gradients on the early geodynamic evolution of Enceladus’s south polar ice shell
MAPK pathway inhibitors enhance radioiodine sensitivity in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma through promoting NIS expression and ARF4-mediated NIS membrane transport
The fibrinogen αC region promotes arterial thrombosis in the context of hypofibrinogenemia
Abstract Hypofibrinogenemia reduces experimental venous thrombosis, but the impact on arterial thrombosis remains unknown. In a cohort of patients with congenital fibrinogen disorders, 19 of 264 (∼7%) patients developed arterial thrombosis, including 4 of 41 (∼10%) patients with hypofibrinogenemia. However, 0 of 8 patients with fibrinogen αC-region truncation mutations reported arterial thrombosis over 286 patient-years. To analyze the impact of hypofibrinogenemia and the fibrinogen αC region on arterial thrombosis, 2 mouse models were employed: (1) wild-type mice treated with lipid nanoparticles encapsulating small interfering RNA against fibrinogen (siFga) and (2) Fga270/270 hypofibrinogenemic mice expressing fibrinogen with a truncated αC region. Although siFga-treated hypofibrinogenemic mice developed occlusive carotid artery thrombi similarly to controls, Fga270/270 mice displayed suppressed carotid thrombosis following FeCl3 challenge, indicating loss of the αC region but not hypofibrinogenemia alone reduces arterial thrombosis. To determine if protection from arterial thrombosis in Fga270/270 mice was linked to loss of αC-region–platelet glycoprotein VI receptor (GPVI) interaction, platelet GPVI was depleted by JAQ1 antibody administration. JAQ1-treated wild-type mice were protected from arterial thrombosis following 5% FeCl3 but not 10% FeCl3 challenge. Interestingly, JAQ1 administration suppressed arterial thrombosis in siFga-treated mice but did not enhance protection in Fga270/270 mice following 10% FeCl3 challenge. Our studies suggest the fibrinogen αC region promotes arterial thrombosis in hypofibrinogenemic conditions.
Fracture behaviour and structural integrity of hemp fibre reinforced composites for low load-bearing aerospace applications
Tipping the balance on lenalidomide maintenance
Urban ambient air pollution and blood pressure in schoolchildren in Accra, Ghana
Abstract Ambient air pollution has been linked to elevated blood pressure (BP) in adults, but research is limited among children, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We investigated the potential effects of ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), black carbon (BC), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) exposures on BP in school-aged children in Accra, Ghana’s capital and one of the fastest growing cities in SSA. We performed a cross-sectional analysis among 919 (60% girls) schoolchildren aged 7–14 years across 90 elementary schools. Following NIH guideline, we define elevated BP as age, sex, and height specific systolic and/or diastolic BP values at ≥ 90th percentile. PM 2.5 , BC, and NO 2 concentrations at homes and schools were estimated using spatiotemporal land-use regression models developed specifically for Accra using measurement data from 146 sites. Covariate-adjusted associations were estimated using multivariable mixed-effects linear and logistic regression models. The mean SBP and DBP among the children were 107.2 (9.7) and 69.1 (7.1) mmHg, respectively, with one-third of the children having elevated BP. Children’s PM 2.5 exposure at both home and school were 5–8 times the World Health Organization (WHO) annual guideline of 5 µg/m 3 , BC levels were above the maximum value in the “good practice statement for BC” (5.1 µg/m 3 ), and NO 2 concentrations exceeded the WHO annual guideline of 10 µg/m 3 by 11-fold at some locations. Overall, PM 2.5 , BC, and NO 2 were negatively associated with BP after adjustment for demographic and lifestyle covariates. For instance, a 10 unit increase in air pollution at homes was associated with a small decrease in SBP (PM 2.5 : −0.70 mmHg (95% CI −3.34, 1.94), BC: −4.61 mmHg (95% CI −9.59, 0.37), NO 2 : -0.19 mmHg (95% CI −0.60, 0.22) and DBP (PM 2.5 : −0.83 mmHg (95% CI −2.93, 1.28), BC: −4.35 mmHg (95% CI −8.19, −0.50), NO 2 : −0.14 mmHg (95% CI −0.46, 0.18)). Furthermore, home-level PM 2.5 was associated with reduced odds of having elevated BP (OR 0.75 (95% CI 0.39, 1.41)), as was BC (OR 0.35 (95% CI 0.09, 1.39)). This study showed no evidence of pro-hypertensive effect of exposure to PM 2.5 , BC, and NO 2 pollution among schoolchildren in Accra.
Introduction to a review series on clonal tracking in hematopoiesis
Over the past decade, advances in single-cell genomics, lineage tracing, and computational phylogenetics have transformed our understanding of hematopoiesis by enabling detailed reconstruction of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell clonal relationships across development and aging. Associate Editor Diane S. Krause introduces a comprehensive Review Series on the rapidly evolving field of clonal tracking in hematopoiesis. Rodriguez-Fraticelli outlines key experimental clonal analysis approaches and evaluates their strengths and limitations to guide appropriate method selection for specific biological questions. Tomei and colleagues synthesize clonal lineage–tracing studies to challenge the traditional hierarchical model of stem cell differentiation, proposing alternative frameworks in which lineage bias may arise early and multiple developmental pathways can produce the same mature cell types within phenotypically similar populations. Chen and coauthors explain how DNA methylation can serve as a heritable record of cell division to reconstruct clonal relationships in cancer and how integrating these signals with single-cell data enables reconstruction of tumor evolution while linking lineage history to cellular state and treatment response.