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Multi-objective optimization of hybrid laser cleaning process parameters for carbon deposits based on bayesian-SVR and NSGA-II
Shotgun metagenomic profiling reveals Bacillus-dominated bacterial communities in urban rooftop and surface garden soils of Bangladesh
Urban rooftop and surface garden systems play a critical role in food security in densely populated regions, yet their soil microbiomes remain understudied. To date, no baseline data exists on rooftop and surface garden soil microbiomes in Bangladesh. Understanding these communities is vital for enhancing soil health, nutrient cycling, and resilience for sustainable, climate-adapted urban agriculture. This study therefore investigated the bacterial diversity and community structure of rooftop and surface garden soils across Dhaka and Gazipur, Bangladesh. The goal was to uncover location- and garden-type-specific patterns that influence soil functionality. Using shotgun metagenomics of 27 garden soil samples (seven Dhaka rooftop [DRG], six Dhaka surface [DSG], eight Gazipur rooftop [GRG], and six Gazipur surface [GSG]), we identified 755 bacterial species dominated by Firmicutes (65–83%) and Proteobacteria (3–25%). While alpha diversity was consistent across sites (p > 0.05), beta diversity revealed distinct community structuring (p = 0.017), with surface gardens harboring greater bacterial richness (DSG:717, GSG:750 species) and elevated Bacteroidota (DSG:11.5%, GSG:2.7%) compared to rooftop soils. Strikingly, Bacillus species dominated all soils (>53% relative abundance) but exhibited location-specific distributions. DRG soils were notably enriched with B. paralicheniformis (28.3%) and B. licheniformis (25.2%). In contrast, DSG was characterized by B. cereus sensu lato (16.0%), Brevibacillus agri (12.1%), and Flavobacterium thermophilum (11.4%). GRG soils were dominated by B. cereus sensu lato (42.4%) and B. agri (11.5%). GSG soils showed diverse Bacillus species, including B. stratosphericus (14.6%), B. licheniformis (12.7%), B. safensis (9.7%), and B. altitudinis (8.8%). Of 41 detected Bacillus species, more than 58.0% were shared across gardens, yet their abundances varied with microhabitat. Moreover, KEGG profiling revealed marked functional divergence among urban garden soils. Carbohydrate metabolism dominated all sites (9.30–11.07%). DRG was uniquely enriched in photosynthesis (8.40%) and methane metabolism (8.62%), whereas DSG, GRG, and GSG showed higher oxidative phosphorylation (3.75–4.08%), two-component systems (3.24–3.73%), and biosynthetic pathways. This study unveils the ecological dominance of Bacillus species in urban agricultural soils, with location-driven compositional and functional shift. These findings are pivotal for optimizing sustainable urban agriculture in rapidly developing regions, where soil bacteriomes can be harnessed to improve crop resilience and food security.
Analysis of body composition with bioelectrical impedance analysis in different subtypes of pulmonary fibrosis
Abstract Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) often have an unfavourable body composition, characterized by a reduced phase angle (PhA) as an index of cellular health and associated with increased mortality. Little is known about body composition in other subtypes of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). In this single-centre, prospective study, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to assess body composition in patients with PF. In addition, metabolic parameters, lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL) questionnaires were collected. The fibrosis index (FIBI) was calculated by quantitative computed tomography. A total of 90 patients (57.8% male, mean age 70.8 ± 8.9 years) was analysed. Lung function was mildly impaired with a mean forced vital capacity (FVC) of 76.8 ± 21.4% predicted and mean diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide single breath (DLCO-SB) of 49.5 ± 16.0% predicted. The mean FIBI was 22.5% (SD 10.2). Main diagnoses were systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases-associated ILD ( n = 26, 29.9%), unclassified ILD ( n = 19, 21.1%) and fibrosing hypersensitivity pneumonitis ( n = 14, 15.6%). 22 patients (24.4%) received steroids and 26 (28.9%) other immunosuppressants. 22 patients (24.4%) experienced ≥ 1 acute exacerbation (AE). The mean body weight was 84.5 ± 18.2 kg with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 28.6 ± 5.7 kg/m 2 . One patient was underweight, and 31 patients (34.4%) had lost weight during the previous 6 months. BIA showed unfavourable values compared to healthy controls: body fat ↑ (28.9 ± 8.0%), extracellular mass/ body cell mass (ECM/BCM) index ↑ (1.2; IQR 1.0, 1.4), PhA ↓ (4.9 ± 1.0°), cell percentage ↓ (45.4 ± 6.3%) and fat-free mass index ↑ (19.9 ± 2.7 kg/m 2 ). Correlation analyses showed a moderate correlation between PhA and FVC ( p < 0.001). No relevant correlations were found between DLCO-SB, walking distance, FIBI, QoL and BIA parameters. Patients with ≥ 1 AE had a significantly worse PhA ( p = 0.030). In addition, a sex difference was observed with significantly worse values of PhA for women compared to men ( p = 0.036). Patients with PF had an unfavourable body composition with reduced PhA, reduced cell percentage and elevated ECM/BCM index. Significantly lower PhA values were found in patients with ≥ 1 AE and in women. Following longitudinal and interventional confirmation of our results, future research aimed at improving body composition and patient outcomes for those with PF could be conducted.
Correction: Collagen composition in equine exuberant granulation tissue reflects tissue immaturity
The use of screening tests in panel studies to monitor cognitive functioning in senior participation programme groups using ACE-III and M-ACE
Hypomorphic mutations in ura6 confer 5-FOA resistance in fission yeast
Genome integrity is essential for cellular survival and adaptation across diverse physiological states. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe relies on conserved DNA repair pathways to maintain genome stability during proliferative growth and in the absence of cell division (quiescence/G0). Using 5-fluoroorotic acid (5-FOA) counter-selection, we examined spontaneous mutation accumulation in both conditions in a wild-type prototrophic strain. Unexpectedly, we identified in growing and quiescent cells a class of 5-FOA–resistant mutants that, unlike canonical ura4 or ura5 loss-of-function mutants, retain the ability to grow without uracil supplementation. Genetic analyses showed that this phenotype is stable and segregates as a single locus. Whole-genome sequencing of tetrads from independent crosses revealed multiple hypomorphic alleles of ura6 , which encodes the essential uridylate kinase. These alleles, comprising non-synonymous substitutions and an in-frame duplication, cluster within conserved regions of the protein and likely reduce production of the toxic 5-FOA–derived metabolite while preserving sufficient uracil biosynthesis.
A damage constitutive model of carbonaceous shale containing a single crack under drying-weting cycles and triaxial compression
Development and psychometric validation of the insect fear questionnaire for school-aged children in Iran
Background Insect-related fear (Entomophobia) is prevalent in children and affects their behavior and well-being, avoidance behaviors, and potentially hazardous practices such as inappropriate pesticide use. While many tools exist for measuring fear in adults, there is a lack of validated instruments for school-aged children. This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing knowledge, entomophobia, behavior, and anxiety about insects among school-aged children in East Azerbaijan, Iran. Methods This psychometric study involved a multi-stage stratified random sampling design in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. A researcher-made questionnaire, developed through expert consultation and literature review, was used. A total of 1,370 children participated. Content validity was quantified via CVR and CVI. Construct validity was assessed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); EFA and reliability analyses (Cronbach’s alpha, item-total statistics) were performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 25, and CFA was conducted in AMOS 22. Temporal stability was evaluated by test–retest Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) over a two-week interval (n = 103). Result The finalized instrument comprises 32 items loading on four factors: knowledge, entomophobia, behavior, and personal fear/anxiety. EFA and CFA supported the four-factor model with excellent fit (CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.041). Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = 0.82), and test–retest reliability indicated good temporal stability (ICC = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.76–0.86). No meaningful floor or ceiling effects were observed. Conclusion The questionnaire demonstrates sound psychometric properties and is suitable for use in school settings to identify children with elevated insect-related fear or unsafe pesticide practices. Future work should examine criterion validity, measurement invariance across subgroups, and applicability in other cultural contexts.
Association of neonatal metrics, metabolic risk factors, and metal levels in children with obesity
Assessing toxic leadership in high-performance sports: Psychometric validation of a Swedish Version of the Toxic Leadership Scale for Sports (TLS-S)
This study evaluated the internal consistency and factorial validity of a sport-adjusted 15-item version of the Toxic Leadership Scale (TLS-S). The sample consisted of 189 Swedish elite team sport athletes (56 females, 132 males, 1 preferred not to disclose; mean age = 17.9 years, SD = 3.3) from 21 different teams (ice hockey n = 68; soccer n = 60; American football n = 26; basketball n = 15; handball n = 14; volleyball n = 3; other team sports not specified or multiple sports n = 3). Participants competed at different performance levels: sub-elite (n = 15), national junior elite (n = 105), international junior elite (n = 26), national senior elite (n = 30), international senior elite (n = 12), and other not specified (n = 1). Results showed adequate internal consistency (ω t > .70) for the total TLS-S score and all subscales except the authoritarian leadership subscale (ω t = .61). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable model fit for both a five-factor and a one-factor model. While the five-factor model (χ²(80)=135.87, p < .001; CFI = .98; RMSEA = .062 [90% CI: .044–.080]; SRMR = .044) was superior to the one-factor solution (difference test: χ²(10)=53.60, p < .001), intercorrelations across subscales were high (range: .73−.92). A bifactor model supported a unidimensional structure (explained common variance = .79; percentage of uncontaminated correlations = .86). The findings provide psychometric evidence for the TLS-S and support a unidimensional structure. This study constitutes an important initial step toward facilitating the quantitative assessment of toxic leadership within sport environments, with the TLS-S emerging as a promising instrument for this purpose.
Visual preference for previously familiar faces in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Wnt/β-catenin signalling modulates the timing of cell fate decision making in the early mouse embryo
Cell fate choice is a key event happening during preimplantation mouse development. From embryonic day 3.5 (E3.5) to E4.5, the inner cell mass (ICM) differentiates into epiblast (Epi, NANOG expressing cells) and primitive endoderm (PrE, GATA6, SOX17 and/or GATA4 expressing cells). The mechanism by which ICM cells differentiate into Epi cells and PrE cells remains partially unknown. FGF/ERK has been proposed as the main signalling pathway for this event, but it does not explain co-expression of NANOG and GATA6 or how the cell fate choice is initiated. In this study, we investigate whether Wnt/β-catenin signalling also plays a role. To this end, we use two in vitro models based on inducible GATA6 expression: one in 2D (flat cultured cells), and another in 3D, namely ICM organoids. By combining these in vitro models with in vivo mouse embryos, chemical and classical genetics, and quantitative 3D immunofluorescence analyses, we propose a dual role for Wnt/β-catenin signalling. We find that β-catenin, acting alongside FGF/ERK signalling, helps to guide the cell fate choice towards PrE. Additionally, by regulating GATA6 and GATA4 stability, Wnt/β-catenin signalling further facilitates this choice. To summarise, we observe that Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway activation promotes PrE differentiation, while its inhibition delays it.
Universal empirical scaling of low-temperature heat capacity van Hove signature in classical and quantum cryocrystals
Association of fibrinogen to albumin ratio with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury: A retrospective cohort study based on the MIMIC-IV database
Purpose Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is a critical complication associated with negative outcomes. However, the effective prevention of SA-AKI is limited. This retrospective cohort study, which used the MIMIC-IV database, investigated the association between fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) and SA-AKI. Materials and methods The retrospective cohort study involved 1,771 sepsis patients in MIMIC-IV database. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression models were used to estimate ORs/HRs with 95% CIs for incident SA-AKI. Sensitivity analyses, including stratified analyses and RCS curve, assessed the strength of the association. The predictive performance was compared to other marker using ROC curves and AUCs. Results An elevated FAR level (≥110.74) was found to be associated with an elevated risk of SA-AKI (adjusted OR 1.55, 95%CI 1.11–2.18, P = 0.011), but the association was timing, it reached statistical significance only when SA-AKI occurred after ICU day 3 (adjusted HR 5.17, 95%CI 1.81–14.72, P = 0.002). Subgroup analyses indicated that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypertension interacted in this association. In sepsis patients without COPD and hypertension, high FAR (≥110.74) was linked to SA-AKI (adjusted OR 2.31, 95%CI 1.40–3.82, P = 0.001), with statistical significance also occurring 3 days after ICU admission (adjusted HR 8.57, 95%CI 1.88–38.94, P = 0.005). The RCS curve showed a linear relationship between FAR and SA-AKI (P for non-linearity: 0.415). ROC analyses showed that FAR combined with SOFA slightly outperformed SOFA alone (AUC 0.697 vs. 0.678, P = 0.004). Conclusions An elevated FAR level was associated with an increased incidence of SA-AKI in patients without COPD and hypertension. However, this association reached statistical significance only when SA-AKI occurred after ICU day 3. Further research is needed to investigate this association.
Arabic validation of the VAGUS insight into psychosis scale among Lebanese patients with schizophrenia
Feasibility of MEG in assessing task-related oscillatory markers and evaluating cognitive changes in recently symptomatic carotid endarterectomy patients: A pilot study
Revascularization ensures oxygen supply to the brain in patients with significant carotid atherosclerosis. The current indication for carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is stroke risk reduction, but it may also impact cognitive functions and their neural basis. Findings on cognitive outcomes after CEA are inconsistent, and the changes in task-related brain electrophysiology are unknown. In this pilot study, we studied the feasibility of using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to follow the associated brain changes during the first postoperative year in five recently symptomatic CEA patients. Head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuropsychological examinations (NPE), and MEG were performed prior to surgery and repeated twice postoperatively. The stimulus-induced modulation of cortical alpha oscillation changed from pre- to 12 months postoperative recording in simple attention tasks. Neuropsychological examination pointed to improvement in postoperative motor dexterity and working memory. Our tentative results suggest that MEG may provide a useful means to evaluate CEA-related changes in the brain. Additional analyses in larger samples with age-matched controls are required to confirm the link between the changes in brain function and possible improvement in cognitive function in these patients. Increased understanding of the consequences of CEA on brain function and cognition is important both to clinicians and patients.
Study on the structural characteristics of nitrogen-containing compounds in co-pyrolysis tar of low rank coal using 1H-15N HMBC analysis
Strategic SA-UNet: Integrating self-attention blocks into U-Net for efficient crack segmentation
Accurate crack segmentation plays a crucial role in ensuring safety and mitigating disaster risks during road inspections and structural health monitoring. However, traditional image processing techniques often struggle with low detection accuracy and poor generalization performance due to the diverse morphology of cracks and the presence of background noise. To address these challenges, MixSegNet, a model that combines the strengths of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and Transformers, has been proposed and demonstrated to achieve high segmentation performance. However, this enhanced precision comes at the cost of prolonged training cycles, which limits its applicability in operational environments such as infrastructure inspection, where new data must be acquired and processed continuously and rapidly. In this paper, to address this limitation, we propose Strategic SA-UNet (Strategically Integrated Self-Attention U-Net), a novel crack segmentation network. The model strategically integrates a computationally efficient U-Net based CNN with a Self-Attention Block between the encoder and decoder to effectively fuse local features with global context, thereby maintaining high segmentation accuracy while reducing training time and computational cost. Experimental evaluations on publicly available datasets demonstrate that Strategic SA-UNet achieves segmentation accuracy comparable to MixSegNet, while reducing training time by 83%, Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) by 63%, and Model Parameters by 96%. Furthermore, Strategic SA-UNet achieves a high mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) even with a small number of epochs, highlighting its superior training efficiency. These results suggest that Strategic SA-UNet is an efficient segmentation model, especially suitable for real-time infrastructure inspection and structural monitoring applications.