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From challenge to growth: A qualitative study of parental adaptation to Autism Spectrum Disorder
Raising a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) profoundly affects family dynamics and parental well-being. While research has often focused on stress and negative outcomes, less is known about the processes and resources that foster adaptation and growth in parents. This qualitative study explored the adaptation process among parents of children with ASD, examining both challenges and transformative experiences, and identifying key personal and contextual factors that support or hinder adjustment. Thirty-six parents (19 mothers, 17 fathers) of children aged 5–11 years with ASD (severity level 2 or 3, DSM-5) were recruited from two health care centres for ASD in Northern Italy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a guide developed according to an established methodological framework for qualitative interviews and analysed following Braun and Clarke’s framework. Themes were organised into three conceptual domains (i.e., Outcomes, Resources, and Challenges) reflecting the main research aims. Parents reported both emotional distress and personal growth, including improvements in family functioning and child development (Outcomes). Facilitating factors included social support, access to information, professional interventions, and parental self-efficacy (Resources). Barriers included difficulties with services, family conflicts, social stigma, and maladaptive coping strategies (Challenges). Parental adaptation to ASD emerged as a dynamic, ongoing process of negotiation between challenges and resources, often leading to transformative experiences and personal growth. The findings support the implementation of systematic intervention strategies aimed not only at reducing parental stress, but also at empowering parents and promoting the development of adaptive resources.
Development and internal validation of a risk stratification scoring system for identifying gram-negative ESBL-positive acute cholangitis: A retrospective cohort study
Background Acute cholangitis, a severe biliary infection that is frequently caused by gram-negative pathogens, presents health challenges owing to the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, particularly among extended-spectrum beta–lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria. Accurate risk stratification of patients with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase–producing bacteria is crucial for optimizing antimicrobial therapies. Aims This study aimed to develop and internally validate a risk stratification scoring system for identifying ESBL-producing bacteria in patients with acute cholangitis, with the goal of supporting clinical risk stratification. Methods This retrospective cohort analysis included adult patients with acute cholangitis admitted between 2019 and 2023. Patients were excluded if they had incomplete medical records, missing microbiological data, or non-adherence to the Tokyo Guidelines 2018 diagnostic criteria. Predictors of positivity for ESBL-producing bacteria were identified using multivariate logistic regression and integrated into a scoring system, and the performance metrics were evaluated. Results A total of 303 patients with positive blood or bile cultures were included in the analysis, of whom 111 (36.6%) had ESBL-positive cholangitis. Independent predictors of positivity for ESBL-producing bacteria included prior antibiotic treatment (3.5 points), chills with rigors (2.5 points), alanine aminotransferase levels <400 U/L (3.5 points), hematocrit levels <27% (2.5 points), and alkaline phosphatase levels >300 U/L (2.0 point). At cutoff scores of 7.5 and 11, the scoring system demonstrated sensitivity of 56% and 16%, specificity of 75% and 98%, positive predictive values of 56% and 82%, and overall accuracy of 68% and 70%, respectively. Conclusions This preliminary scoring system demonstrated high specificity at higher cutoffs, supporting its use as a rule-in tool for identifying patients at high risk of ESBL-producing bacteria in acute cholangitis. However, its moderate sensitivity limits its role as a rule-out strategy. This preliminary internally validated model should not be used to guide routine clinical decision-making without external multicenter validation, and any application must consider local resistance patterns and patient context.
Correction: Gut microbiota signatures of the three Mexican primate species, including hybrid populations
Dirichlet-Swing: understanding spatio-temporal aspects of political elections in heterogeneous societies through agent-based simulation
Many countries have a system of electing members to their governing bodies through district-based elections. In each district, the party with maximum votes wins the corresponding “seat” in the governing body. However, the final seat distribution is strongly dependent on the geographical distribution of voters of different parties, and the party with most (or least) voters may not win the most (or least) number of seats if their voters are non-homogeneously distributed over the districts. This is further complicated in heterogeneous societies, where political preference of voters depends on their social identities, which is also related to their districts of residence. Projections of outcomes by sample surveys tend to fail in such situations. The aim of this paper is to explore how electoral outcomes are influenced by the geographical distribution of voters and community-centric voting preferences. We consider agent-based modeling of voters along with their locations, community memberships and voting preference. Our models represent the relations between these factors with their uncertainties through conditional probability distributions involving latent variables with Dirichlet Processes. Our models also represent spatio-temporal factors in elections – how geographical proximity between districts influence the voting preferences, and swing of votes across successive elections. We propose two novel models for vote swing between successive elections based on Dirichlet Processes, which is far more powerful than the existing models of Uniform Swing and Proportional Swing. For any choice of parameters, our models can be used to simulate a full election by Monte Carlo Sampling, and such simulations provide us a range of possible outcomes. We can also simulate surveys and study how their projections can deviate from the actual results. We discuss inference approaches to estimate the parameters to fit the model to actual district-based elections held in India.
The potential roles of androgen and estrogen receptors during reproductive cycle in Pampus argenteus
Steroid hormones are indispensable for regulating the typical reproductive processes during the development of gonads. This study aimed to clarify the expression patterns of androgen receptors (Ars) and estrogen receptors (Ers) in Pampus argenteus to better understand gonadal development and improve artificial breeding. In this study, the androgen receptors ( arα and arβ ) and estrogen receptors ( esr1, esr2a , and esr2β ) of P. argenteus were cloned and the expression profiles were detected by qPCR. The results showed that the highest expression of arα was found in hypothalamus, while arβ was mainly found in midbrain of male fish. The esr1 , esr2β and esr2α showed the highest expression level in pituitary, ovary, and liver of female fish, respectively. During the gonadal development, arα and arβ reached their highest expression in stage IV, while esr1 , esr2a , and esr2β showed the strongest expression in stage V in the ovary. In the testis, arα and esr2β showed the highest expression in stage I, arβ peaked in stage II, and esr1 and esr2a reached their highest levels in stage IV. In the pituitary, arα peaked during stage IV of ovarian development, while esr1 , esr2a , and esr2β all exhibited sex- and stage-specific expression partterns. Hormone treatment results showed that in ovarian tissue, E2 significantly upregulated arα , arβ , and all ers . In testicular tissue, MT markedly promoted the expression of arα , arβ , and all ers , and the combined E2 + MT treatment also synergistically enhanced arβ expression. Taken together, Ars and Ers exhibit distinct tissue- and stage-specific roles in gonadal development, with Ars primarily involved in early gametogenesis and Ers in later maturation. Their complementary, hormone-responsive functions provide a molecular basis for asynchronous gonadal development and offer guidance for improving artificial breeding of P. argenteus .
Correction: Salivary and serum interleukin-17A and interleukin-18 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without periodontitis
Lithium battery fault diagnosis by integrating improved EMD decomposition algorithm and 2DCNN
With the development of science and technology, lithium batteries, as important energy storage devices, have become a research hotspot for fault diagnosis. In response to the shortcomings of traditional fault diagnosis techniques in processing complex signals and extracting key features, a high-performance lithium battery fault diagnosis model is constructed by combining the high-dimensional representation ability of a two-dimensional convolutional neural network (2DCNN) with the decomposition stability of an optimized empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method. The study first uses an improved EMD algorithm to process the voltage data of lithium batteries and extract fault features. Moreover, the processed data are input into 2DCNN model for training and classification. The experiment results showed that the fault feature information consistency of the research designed model was 98.7% when the iteration number reached 600. The feature recognition accuracy dropped to 99.2% when the image contained 70 features. The running time in all 7 data groups was significantly lower than other methods, with the highest being below 6ms. The results indicate that the designed lithium battery fault diagnosis model has improved the accuracy and efficiency of fault diagnosis. This can provide new technological means for lithium battery fault diagnosis and helping to promote the further development and application of lithium battery technology.
Chloroplast genome comparison of Valeriana species with sequence variation, selective pressure, and divergence analysis
Valeriana fauriei and V. dageletiana are traditional medicinal plants known for their calming effects and use in alleviating insomnia. However, genomic information for these species is limited. This study aimed to sequence and characterize the complete chloroplast genomes of V. fauriei and V. dageletiana , and to compare them with those of closely related Valeriana species to investigate structural variation, molecular evolution, and divergence history. The chloroplast genomes of V. fauriei , V. dageletiana , and V. jatamansi were highly conserved in overall structure. Minor differences were observed in tandem repeat regions and sequence divergence hotspots, particularly within accD , rps18 , and the trnN–trnL intergenic region. Analysis of 57 protein-coding genes from four species revealed that most genes are under strong purifying selection. However, elevated dN/dS ratios in psbI , rps7 , and rpl23 suggest potential lineage-specific divergence. Phylogenetic reconstruction showed that V. fauriei and V. dageletiana form a clade with V. officinalis , whereas V. jatamansi is an earlier diverging lineage. Divergence time estimation indicated that V. officinalis split from this clade 0.4255 to 1,0839 million years ago, and that V. fauriei and V. dageletiana diverged approximately 0.0205 million years ago. These results provide insights into the evolution of Valeriana chloroplast genomes, highlighting both structural conservation and species-specific variation. The findings contribute to a better understanding of recent speciation events and molecular evolution in this genus, supporting future phylogenomic and taxonomic studies of Valeriana species.
Optimizing water rights allocation for the Hebei section of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project using asymmetric game theory
Effects of an orexin receptor 2-selective agonist on salivary secretion in rats
Abstract Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is caused by a significant loss of orexin-producing neurons. In clinical trials, multiple orexin receptor 2 (OX2R)-selective agonists (e.g., danavorexton, TAK-994, and oveporexton) improved wakefulness and decreased cataplexy in individuals with NT1. However, OX2R-selective agonists were also reported to induce hypersalivation as an adverse event in a small number of healthy volunteers and in individuals with NT1. Importantly, no objective data supporting these observations are available, and multiple factors can indirectly affect saliva secretion. In this study, we assessed the effect of an OX2R-selective agonist, OX-202, on salivary secretion in anesthetized or freely moving rats using a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, pilocarpine, as a positive control. Subcutaneous administration of pilocarpine at 1 mg/kg significantly increased the amount of saliva in the oral cavity in both anesthetized and freely moving rats. In contrast, intraperitoneal administration of OX-202 at 100 mg/kg under anesthetized conditions did not increase salivary secretion in rats. Moreover, oral administration of OX-202 (30 and 100 mg/kg) at zeitgeber time 6 (sleep phase) or zeitgeber time 15 (active phase) did not increase salivary secretion in the oral cavity in freely moving rats. In conclusion, OX2R-selective agonists may not directly induce salivary secretion in rats.
Comparison of oral water ingestion and intravenous fluid infusion on fluid responsiveness in healthy volunteers, a prospective, randomized trial
Structural dualities between the Schrödinger equation and its ultra-slow-light counterpart in one spatial and one temporal dimension
Abstract Extreme kinematic limits of space-time symmetries reveal alternative forms of quantum behaviour. In the Carrollian limit the speed of light is taken to zero ( $$c \rightarrow 0$$ ): causal light cones collapse onto the time axis, spatial points become disconnected, and the usual notion of particle motion disappears. The corresponding quantum equation is the Carroll–Schrödinger equation—the structural mirror image of the ordinary Schrödinger equation, being first order in space and second order in time. We explore the mathematical connections between these two equations in one space and one time dimension. Using operator methods, we find conditions on external potentials that allow both equations to share solutions, and show that any Carrollian problem can be mapped to an equivalent Schrödinger problem via an explicit coordinate transformation. Probability densities and currents are related by removing the interaction potential and swapping space and time coordinates. An extreme relativistic boost combined with a classical approximation yields the Carrollian dispersion relation and conditions for coinciding classical trajectories. By formulating the dynamics on a Hilbert space of time rather than space, we prove that evolution in the spatial coordinate preserves probability. Closed-form solutions illustrate each result and together offer a practical framework for translating between the two descriptions.
Impact of microbiome-modulating strategies in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy (MSIT): A systematic review and meta-analysis
Association of cardiometabolic index with incident cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and older adults with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stages 0–3: evidence from CHARLS (2011–2020)
Lung mTOR activation leads to lung fibrosis or emphysema via senescence of specific lung cells
Deep learning for dynamic tactical formation recognition in professional football
FERMam: a lightweight dual-source and multi-scale fusion framework for facial expression recognition
Predicting congregational and crowd spread-out flow using YOLOv4 and DeepSORT
Integrative metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling deciphers flavonoid biosynthesis of bulbs in Lilium brownii var. Viridulum
Abstract Lilium brownii var. viridulum is rich in flavonoids, which offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and immunomodulatory effects. Recently, a novel, more resistant variant called L. brownii var. viridulum (Xuefeng, xf) was identified through individual plant selection. However, the metabolic and transcriptional profiles of xf, particularly concerning flavonoid metabolism, have not yet been compared to those of the traditional variant (Longya, ly). To address this gap, we performed an integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis to systematically compare flavonoid metabolism between ly and xf. Our metabolomic analysis identified 85 flavonoids that are significantly enriched in the xf variety. In the transcriptomic analysis, we identified 59 differentially expressed enzyme genes, with expression levels in xf being significantly higher than those in ly, consistent with the metabolite profile. By combining transcriptome and metabolome, we identified one MYB transcription factor (Cluster-6560.0) and four bHLH transcription factors (Cluster-22934.6, Cluster-22934.10, Cluster-24120.2, and Cluster-24120.13) linked to anthocyanin synthesis. The co-expression of these identified genes supports the enrichment of flavonoids in xf, and this coordinated expression pattern of key enzymes was further confirmed via real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). In conclusion, this study enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying flavonoid biosynthesis and provides a strong foundation for the genetic breeding of lilies.