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Correction: Efficient authentication system based on blockchain for E-government

Correction: Adherence to intravenous chemotherapy and associated factors among patients with cancer at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Cancer Treatment Center, Sidama Region, Southern Ethiopia

Disaggregating innovation for sustainable development in ASEAN: Panel evidence on the moderating role of government effectiveness

With progress toward the 2030 Agenda faltering, many see innovation as a key to sustainable development. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc represents a unique opportunity to examine how innovation capabilities drive sustainability in diverse economic and developmental contexts. Using panel data for ASEAN countries from 2011 to 2022, this study breaks down innovation into the seven pillars of the Global Innovation Index (GII) and investigates their impact on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index; with the objective of identifying which GII pillars most strongly predict SDG, while examining the moderating role of government effectiveness and controlling the impacts of gross national income per capita and foreign direct investment. Fixed effects models were used to analyse the data and supplemented by Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, addressing unobserved heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Results reveal that only Institutions and Infrastructure pillars exert a consistently positive impact on SDG performance. In contrast, Creative Outputs have a negative impact. Importantly, Government Effectiveness reverses the negative impact of Creative Outputs, so that this pillar becomes positive for SDG achievement, without significant moderation of the other six GII pillars when controlling for year effects. In conclusion, these findings contest the efficacy of universal innovation policies and underscore the imperative for nuanced, context‑specific ones. It is recommended that ASEAN governments prioritize institutional and infrastructural investments and develop tailored regulatory frameworks, such as green intellectual property regimes and digital economy standards, to harness the creative economy for inclusive, sustainable growth by explicitly integrating innovation strategies with governance reforms.

Detection of spike protein in term placentas of COVID-19 vaccinated and/or SARS-CoV-2 infected women

Introduction COVID-19 (Corona Virus Induced Disease-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can be a serious in pregnancy. Therefore, vaccination with modRNA vaccines was recommended depending on the immunity status for women of reproductive age and pregnant women since 2022. However, there are only preliminary data on transplacental transmission of the virus and modRNA from genetic vaccines so far. Methods The study population included 106 women who have given birth at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Würzburg during November 2020 to October 2022. In addition to medical data and vaccination history, immunohistochemical examination of the placenta was performed with antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins. RNAscope in situ Hybridization was used to show RNA detection in positive placental tissues as a proof of concept. Results Altogether, 87% of participants received at least one vaccine dose against SARS-CoV-2 and 56 women (42 vaccinated, 14 not vaccinated) contracted COVID-19. In total, 31 placentas were found positive for the spike protein. Spike positive cells were predominantly Hofbauer cells and trophoblasts. In three cases of vaccinated and then infected woman, an additional nucleocapsid staining was detected, but there was no significant difference in staining pattern in correlation to the vaccine/COVID-19 status. Interestingly, we did not find viral RNA in the investigated samples, but we could show a positive in situ Hybridization of BNT162b2 and S-encoding mRNA-1273 in two individual samples. Discussion The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 has been be detected in placental Hofbauer and Trophoblast cells as well as villous endothelia after infection and vaccination indicating a possible transplacental transfer or uptake. These findings may suggest a potential for transplacental transfer or cellular uptake; however, the extent, mechanisms, and clinical significance of this phenomenon remain to be fully understood. Clinical trial registration: DRKS00022506.

Gastrin ameliorates heart failure and suppresses myocardial remodeling via the JAK2/STAT3 and ERK1/2 pathways

Background Previous studies have indicated elevated serum gastrin levels in individuals with HF. However, the association and underlying mechanisms between gastrin and HF remain unclear. This article aims to investigate the effects of gastrin on myocardial remodeling and HF, as well as its potential signal transduction mechanisms. Methods In vivo studies were initially conducted to investigate the relationship between gastrin and HF, as well as the effects of gastrin on myocardial remodeling and HF. Gastrin levels were measured using ELISA kits to assess their association with ISO-induced HF. Echocardio- graphy, qRT-PCR analysis of hypertrophy (ANP, BNP, β-MHC) and fibrosis markers (COL1, COL3, α-SMA), hematoxylin-eosin staining, and Masson’s trichrome staining were performed to evaluate the impact of gastrin on HF, MH, and fibrosis in mice.Furthermore, the effect of gastrin on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was investigated in vitro using H9C2 cells, with F-actin staining and qRT-PCR analysis of ANP and BNP employed. Additionally, western blotting (WB) analysis of P-JAK2/JAK2, P-STAT3/STAT3, and P-ERK/ERK in cardiac tissues and cells was used to identify pathways through which gastrin modulates HF and myocardial remodeling. Results In vivo study, the ISO-treated mice exhibited significantly increased gastrin levels compared to the control group (P ＜ 0.05). Furthermore, the ISO group showed significant cardiac hypertrophy, characterized by increased heart size, thickened ventricular walls, impaired cardiac function, and expanded fibrotic areas (P ＜ 0.05). In contrast, the gastrin-only group exhibited no significant pathological changes. Co-treatment with gastrin and ISO notably attenuated these pathological changes, whereas CI-988(a CCK2R inhibitor) admini- stration partially reversed gastrin’s protective effects (P ＜ 0.05). In vitro study,the ISO group exhibited a significantly larger cardiomyocyte surface area and elevated expression of hypertrophy-associated biomarkers (ANP and BNP) compared to controls (P ＜ 0.01). Gastrin treatment significantly suppressed these changes (P ＜ 0.01), but this protective effect was partly reversed by the CCK2R antagonist CI-988 (P ＜ 0.05). Additionally, phosphorylation levels of JAK2, STAT3, and ERK were significantly increased in the ISO group (P ＜ 0.05) both in mice cardiac tissues and H9C2 cells. Gastrin treatment suppressed these increases (P < 0.05), an effect diminished by CI-988 (P ＜ 0.05). Conclusions Gastrin may exert protective effects against ISO-induced HF and myocardial remodeling by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 and ERK1/2 pathways via the CCK2 receptor.

This ant species is composed of only queens — no workers or males

Contraceptive use intention among women in Pakistan: Application of theory of planned behavior

Introduction Unintended pregnancies remain a major public health concern globally and in Pakistan, where family planning (FP) uptake continues to be hindered by entrenched social and behavioral barriers. This study applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) shape women’s contraceptive intentions in Pakistan. Methods We analyzed data from 13,335 non-pregnant women aged 15–49 using the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2017–18. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test TPB pathways. Model reliability, validity, and fit were assessed using Composite Reliability, Average Variance Extracted, discriminant validity indices, and bootstrapped estimates to ensure analytical rigor. Results Over half of respondents lacked formal education, and most (84%) were unemployed. Only 23% had FP knowledge, and 96% were unaware of contraceptive side effects. Subjective norms negatively influenced contraceptive intentions (β = −0.056, p < 0.001), while perceived behavioral control had a positive effect (β = 0.091, p < 0.001). Attitudes showed no significant effect. These findings indicate that women’s reproductive choices are shaped more by social expectations and decision-making autonomy than by personal evaluations of contraception. Conclusion The study demonstrates the applicability of TPB for understanding contraceptive intentions in a collectivist, patriarchal context. Subjective norms and PBC emerge as critical determinants, underscoring the need for interventions that engage families, strengthen women’s autonomy, and improve access to FP services. The findings offer a theoretically grounded and policy-relevant framework for designing behaviorally informed family planning programs in Pakistan.

MLGT: A multimodal graph attention network for virtual screening of anti—Uveitis drugs

Uveitis is a severe ocular inflammatory disease with complex immune—mediated pathogenesis, posing significant challenges for drug discovery. While artificial intelligence has accelerated virtual screening, existing models often inadequately integrate heterogeneous molecular features or address disease—specific mechanisms. To address these gaps, we propose MLGT (Multimodal Learning with Graph and molecular descriptors for Therapeutics), a novel graph attention network based on GATv2 that synergistically integrates molecular graph topology, bond attributes, and physicochemical descriptors within a unified deep learning framework. The model employs dynamic attention mechanisms to capture non—local atomic interactions and a dual—stream fusion module to combine graph embeddings with molecular descriptors. To mitigate data imbalance and overfitting, we implement label smoothing, class—balanced sampling, and SMILES randomization. Evaluated on a rigorously curated Uveitis—related compound dataset from ChEMBL, MLGT achieves state—of—the—art performance: 97.7% accuracy, 97.2% F1 score, 96.1% recall, and an AUC—ROC of 0.9156, surpassing existing graph learning and classical machine learning benchmarks. Ablation studies confirm the essential roles of multimodal fusion and attention mechanisms. This study provides an efficient, attention—based computational tool for targeted Uveitis drug screening and establishes a scalable AI—driven paradigm for precision drug discovery in complex diseases.

Understanding security challenges in the software supply chain through causal relationships

In recent years, the Software Supply Chain (SSC) has become a key target for cyberattacks due to its complex structure and dependence on third-party and open-source components. These attacks pose serious risks to the integrity and security of software systems. While many studies have explored solutions to specific security issues in the SSC, the relationships among the barriers to achieving robust security have not been comprehensively analyzed—particularly in the context of SSC security challenges using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique. This study addresses this gap by identifying and analyzing the major challenges that weaken SSC security. To do this, the DEMATEL method was used to explore how different security challenges affect each other. Ten key challenges were identified based on a detailed literature review. The findings indicated that the three most significant challenges are insecure software distribution mechanisms, inadequate continuous monitoring and incident response capabilities, and the growing complexity and diversity of cyber-attacks. By visualizing the relationships between these challenges, this study clarifies where to focus security efforts. Solving root causes can lead to broader improvements across the entire software supply chain. The findings offer practical insights for decision-makers seeking to improve cybersecurity strategies in software development environments.

Chest drain REgular FLushing in ComplIcated parapneumonic EFfusions and empyemas: Study protocol for the RELIEF randomized controlled trial

Background Pleural infections are common and drainage of the pleural space, in addition to antimicrobial therapy, is often required for adequate treatment. Guidelines suggest flushing small bore chest drains with 20–30 mL of saline every six hours, however, no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have assessed if this practice improves outcomes for pleural space infections. As a result, flushing practice is varied, inconsistent, and confounds the interpretation of studied therapeutic modalities in pleural space infection trials. The impact of regular chest drain flushing compared to as-needed flushing on length of time to chest tube removal is unclear. Methods Chest Drain RE gular F L ushing in Compl I cated Parapneumonic EF fusions and Empyemas (RELIEF) is a multi-center, open label randomized controlled trial conducted in the United States. Patients with a pleural space infection requiring chest drain placement for inpatient management will be screened for eligibility. Patients will be randomized within 24 hours of chest drain placement to a regular flushing protocol versus as-needed flushing for drain blockage. The primary outcome is time from randomization until time to chest drain removal (hours). Secondary outcomes are length of hospitalization, degree of radiographic improvement by chest X-ray, ultrasound or CT scan from time of drain placement to time of removal, need for additional procedures for the management of pleural space infection, and complications. An ordinal, multi-state transition model will be used to precisely characterize the role of flushing in longitudinal clinical outcomes in the two arms. Discussion RELIEF is a multi-center, open label randomized controlled trial that compares a regular saline flushing protocol with as-needed saline flushing of small-bore chest drains (8–20Fr) for the management of pleural space infection. This will be the first randomized controlled trial evaluating flushing protocol with patient-centered outcomes in pleural space infections. Trial Registration The trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT06427538 ) on 05-10-2024.

Clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia: A comprehensive analysis of associated factors

Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a significant cause of hospitalization and mortality globally. Optimizing clinical outcomes in CAP depends heavily on timely, appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy. However, limited data from low- and middle-income countries hinder effective stewardship efforts. The study aims to assess clinical outcomes among hospitalized CAP patients in Lebanon and identify key factors associated with deterioration or death, with particular emphasis on the role of guideline-concordant empiric antibiotic prescribing. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in five tertiary hospitals across Lebanon between January and June 2024. Adult patients admitted with CAP were included. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, microbiological, and treatment data were extracted. Antibiotic regimens were evaluated for adherence to national CAP guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of poor clinical outcomes, defined as ICU admission or in-hospital death. Results Inappropriate antibiotic selection (aOR=18.81, p<0.001) and dosing (aOR=1.78, p=0.027) were significantly associated with poor outcomes. Additional predictors included advanced age, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, elevated WBC, and CURB-65 scores ≥3. Conversely, patients with classical CAP presentations (e.g., wheezing, rales) were more likely to experience favorable outcomes. Conclusion Inappropriate empiric antibiotic prescribing significantly worsens clinical outcomes in hospitalized CAP patients. These findings underscore the urgent need for strengthening antimicrobial stewardship programs, implementing clinical decision support tools, and reinforcing physician education to promote adherence to national guidelines and improve patient safety.

Perspectives of military-affiliated women on lethal means safety: A systematic review

Background Women are the fastest-growing military cohort, with suicide rates rising faster than among veteran men and civilian women. Lethal means include firearms, used more often than by civilian women, and non-firearm methods like poisoning, used more than by veteran men. Despite these trends, most lethal means research is gender-neutral, and clinical guidance lacks gender-informed strategies. Objectives To synthesize literature on military-affiliated women’s perspectives on lethal means safety and how it should be addressed in suicide prevention conversations. Design Qualitative systematic review. Data sources APA PsycINFO via Ovid, Ovid MEDLINE ALL, select government and non-profit websites, and citation searching through December 2024. Methods Screening occurred in two stages (title/abstract and full text), with 30% of records double-screened. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Critical Appraisal Skill Programme (CASP), Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) Checklist, and Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Qualitative and quantitative data fragments were extracted and organized into domains on ownership, access, and means safety interventions. Thematic synthesis used an inductive coding approach. The protocol was published on OSF ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/Z8DJH ). Results Six of the seven articles included perspectives of VHA-enrolled women veterans on firearms or firearm safety counseling, two included active duty women. Three themes on firearm ownership and access emerged, highlighting variations in: understandings of safety surrounding firearms, the impact of military service and identity on firearm beliefs, and the role of spouses/partners in household firearm access. Three themes relating to lethal means safety counseling were identified: general acceptability of interventions, trust as a critical element of means safety conversations, and spouses as stakeholders in means safety conversations. Conclusions Lethal means safety counseling for military-affiliated women must be trauma-sensitive and gender-informed. Future research must expand beyond VA contexts and examine the impact and feasibility of engaging spouses in safety interventions.

Geographical indications and health-conscious behaviors among nursing students: A mixed methods study

This study was conducted using a Sequential Explanatory Design, in which the quantitative phase was carried out first, followed by a qualitative phase to examine the influence of nursing students’ attitudes toward purchasing Geographical Indication (GI)–certified products and their mindful eating practices on their healthy eating attitudes. The study population consisted of 1.385 nursing students enrolled in a faculty of nursing. The quantitative component included 392 students who met the inclusion criteria, while the qualitative component comprised 15 students. For data collection, the quantitative phase employed a sociodemographic data form, the Healthy Eating Attitude Scale (HEAS), the Mindful Eating Scale (MES), and the Attitude Scale for Purchasing GI-Certified Products (ASP-GICP). In the qualitative phase, data were collected using a Semi-Structured Interview Form. Quantitative findings showed that younger students (17–25 years) and females had significantly higher scores in GI product attitudes and mindful eating (p < 0.01). Students with greater knowledge of GI products and those with healthier personal eating habits demonstrated more positive healthy eating attitudes. Structural Equation Modeling revealed that attitudes toward purchasing GI products (S.P.T = 0.32, t = 3.10, R² = 0.10) and mindful eating (S.P.T = 0.29, t = 2.90, R² = 0.08) significantly predicted healthier eating attitudes. Furthermore, mindful eating exhibited a significant moderating effect, strengthening the positive impact of GI product attitudes on healthy eating attitudes (β = 0.27, t = 3.10, p = 0.003). Qualitative interviews highlighted the influence of societal and familial norms on students’ perceptions of GI products, while cost and limited accessibility emerged as key barriers. The study concludes that integrating GI product awareness and mindful eating practices into nursing education may strengthen students’ health-conscious behaviors and support their development as future health professionals.

Sewage systems waft more pollution into the air than reported

Rete ridges form via evolutionarily distinct mechanisms in mammalian skin

Abstract The loss of fur during human evolution has long mystified scientists and the public 1–5 . Reduced hair density coincides with acquisition of epidermal rete ridges, the developmental timing and molecular mechanisms of which are poorly understood despite their prominence in humans 1,6–9 . Examination of human and pig skin development has shown that rete ridges form through a mechanism independent from those of hair follicles 10,11 and sweat glands 3,4,12–15 by establishing interconnected epidermal invaginations. Here we document the occurrence of rete ridges across Mammalia, including in grizzly bears and dolphins, and show that neonatal pig wounds can regenerate them de novo. Multispecies spatiotemporal transcriptomics identifies significant signalling interactions between epidermal and dermal cells during rete ridge morphogenesis, particularly through bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP). We also demonstrate that mouse fingerpad skin forms rete ridges and functionally requires epidermal BMP signalling. We propose that evolution of rete ridges in mammalian skin involved replacement of the molecular program for formation of discrete microscopic appendages, including hair follicles and sweat glands, with a distinct program for the interconnected appendage network. Broad epidermal activation of BMP is required for the development of rete ridge networks organized around underlying dermal pockets. Understanding rete ridge mechanisms may enable development of therapeutic approaches to regenerate epidermal appendages lost during wounding or disease in humans.

Editorial Note: A survey of public attitudes toward uterus transplantation, surrogacy, and adoption in Japan

Expression of Concern: Dual-hybrid intrusion detection system to detect False Data Injection in smart grids

Visual intelligence for efficient human action recognition in human computers interaction applications

Human Action Recognition (HAR) is a pivotal area in computer vision, video surveillance, and human-computer interaction (HCI), driven by the need for efficient and accurate models to enhance HCI experiences. Traditional HAR methods often rely on hand-crafted features and shallow learning techniques, which limits their ability to capture complex patterns. In contrast, this study proposes an efficient HAR model that leverages deep neural networks, specifically a combination of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), to enhance HCI through AI-powered action understanding. The model employs a pre-trained EfficientNetB7 network to extract rich spatial features from video frames, followed by a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network to capture long-range temporal dependencies. This architecture enhances recognition accuracy while reducing computational complexity, making it highly suitable for HCI applications. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the model, achieving a classification accuracy of 97.8% on the UCF101 dataset and 80.1% on the HMDB51 dataset, outperforming state-of-the-art HAR models. The proposed model eliminates the need for auxiliary assistive techniques like data augmentation, highlighting its efficiency and tremendous potential for real-world HCI applications that rely on accurate and efficient recognition of human actions.

Understanding the direct and indirect impacts of disease response phenotypes on chicken coccidiosis epidemiology: A modelling approach

Coccidiosis, a widespread disease in poultry caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria, leads to significant economic losses. The increasing resistance of Eimeria species to anti-parasitics, combined with the high cost of vaccines, underscores the need for alternative intervention strategies against coccidiosis. This article explores the relative impact of several traits on the health of the group, accounting for the population dynamics of the infection. We focus on five traits that can potentially be influenced by genetic selection, treatment, vaccination or nutrition: (1) susceptibility, (2) recoverability, (3) infectivity, (4) tolerance, and (5) compensatory growth occurring after the infection ends. We propose an epidemiological model of coccidiosis based on literature review concerning chicken coccidiosis epidemiology and parameter estimations based on published data. Using this model, we investigate the direct and indirect impacts of each individual trait on the health and productivity of the flock. This approach aims at understanding the relative role of these individual traits on population level disease resistance and economical profitability of farms undergoing coccidiosis epidemics. The results showed increasing recoverability and tolerance were particularly beneficial for the health and productivity of the flock, both through direct and indirect effects whilst reducing infectivity has the highest beneficial effect on reducing the infectious load in the environment and on flock level protection. This approach has the potential to guide disease control strategies aimed at enhancing coccidiosis management within the poultry industry.

High-performance eco-concrete beams with calcined montmorillonite, metakaolin pyrolyzed coffee grounds, and hybrid fibers for enhanced bending strength and microstructural refinement

This study investigates the flexural performance and microstructural evolution of reinforced concrete beams incorporating calcined montmorillonite (CMMT), metakaolin (MK), pyrolyzed coffee grounds (PCG), and hybrid fibers (steel or banana) as sustainable partial replacements for natural sand and cementitious binders. The replacement levels—12.5% SCM (CMMT or MK) and 15% PCG—were selected based on preliminary optimization trials and evidence from prior studies that identify these ranges as the threshold at which pozzolanic reactivity, workability, and particle packing achieve maximum benefit without compromising matrix integrity. Thirteen mix groups and a control beam were cast and tested under four-point bending, with three replicates per group. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05) confirmed significant differences in peak load, stiffness, ductility, and energy absorption across mixes (p < 0.05). Beams containing CMMT and 1.5% steel fibers achieved the highest flexural capacity, exhibiting a 92–105% increase in ultimate load relative to the control, while mixes with 1.0% banana fibers demonstrated the greatest ductility and post-cracking deformation capacity. Improvements in stiffness (up to 68%) and energy absorption (up to 120%) were closely linked to microstructural refinement observed through XRD and SEM. Quantitative indicators—including a 22–34% reduction in portlandite peak intensity, an increase in amorphous C–S–H content, and visibly compacted interfacial transition zones—corroborated the enhanced matrix densification induced by CMMT and PCG.The combined use of PCG, CMMT, and natural/steel fibers significantly reduced reliance on natural sand and cement while improving structural performance, demonstrating a viable pathway for developing high-performance eco-concretes for structural applications. Although direct durability tests were not conducted, the observed microstructural densification suggests potential improvements in long-term resistance to moisture and chloride ingress, warranting further research.