Browse Articles

Differential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sociodemographic groups: A mathematical model framework

Deprivation and age can both drive disparities in infectious disease transmission and outcomes; however, few models capture their combined effects. We developed a deterministic ordinary differential equation model stratified by age and deprivation decile coupled with time-dependent testing proportion to examine how mixing patterns shape inequalities in disease burden, using COVID-19 in England as a case study. The framework allows three mixing scenarios–diagonal, preferred, and proportionate, and we simulated the epidemic with movement restrictions to reflect lockdown measures. We assessed the effectiveness of these restrictions in reducing transmission and explored their implications for different social groups. Results show that under diagonal mixing, disease outcomes are significantly higher than under the other mixing scenarios, with the most deprived deciles experiencing disproportionately greater burdens. Lockdown measures substantially reduced overall disease outcomes across all deciles, but relative inequalities persisted, indicating that generalised restrictions alone were insufficient to eliminate these inequalities. Our age–deprivation structured model provides a foundation for designing targeted interventions, such as deprivation-focused testing, vaccination campaigns, or localised movement restrictions, to mitigate unequal health outcomes during epidemics.

Radiological risk assessment of natural radioactivity in imported rice consumed in Ghana and its implications for food safety and public health

Abstract Rice is a staple food in many developing countries, and its role in public health has been a focus of research for decades. In Ghana, a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa, per capita rice consumption is estimated at 50 kg per person per year (2023/2024 marketing year). Meanwhile, in the same period, Ghana’s milled rice production was estimated at 1.009 million metric tons, covering about 59% of the national consumption needs. And this is while, many developing countries often lack well-defined regulatory frameworks for pre-import evaluation of critical safety parameters in food products. To bridge the consumption gap, Ghana imports a significant portion of its rice, with imports forecasted at 950,000 metric tons. Despite the significance of imported rice in the national food supply, there is a notable lack of comprehensive radiological assessments focused on these products. Therefore, this study attempts to address this gap by analyzing radioactive contaminants—radium-226, radium-228, and potassium-40 —in imported rice consumed in Ghana. A total of 50 rice samples, with an average of 10 samples per brand from 5 distinct brands were collected from major markets in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and analyzed using gamma-ray spectrometry with a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. The mean activity concentrations were 2.13 ± 0.85 Bq/kg for 226 Ra, 3.69 ± 1.47 Bq/kg for 228 Ra, and 51.82 ± 7.93 Bq/kg for 40 K, all within international safety limits. The estimated total annual effective dose for an average adult was 408.44 µSv/y well below recommended international thresholds. The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) was also calculated, with results indicating a negligible impact on public health. These findings highlight the importance of continuous monitoring of radioactive contaminants in imported food products to ensure consumer safety. Additionally, the study provides critical insights for policymakers, emphasizing the need for regulatory measures to control radioactivity levels in imported foods. This research supports Ghana’s public health initiatives and alignment with global food safety standards.

Cortical O ₂ supply and metabolism are suppressed in the aged mice

Current evidence suggests that the rejuvenating effects of parabiosis on brain function arise from the exchange of blood factors that enhance synaptic plasticity, promote neurogenesis, and reduce neuroinflammation in aged animals. However, aging is also associated with diminished tissue oxygenation. Here, we report that erythrocytes (red blood cells, RBCs) from aged mice exhibit reduced responsiveness to low oxygen tension (PO 2 ) and release O 2 slower than those from young mice. In vivo, sensory stimulation evoked a smaller and delayed capillary RBC flow in aged mice. Although activity-evoked PO 2 dips were diminished in aged mice; experimentally reducing PO 2 to comparable levels did not restore capillary flow in aged mice, consistent with diminished RBC O 2 responsiveness observed ex vivo. Notably, RBCs from aged mice in heterochronic parabiosis pairs (young-aged) displayed faster responses to low PO 2 compared to those from aged mice in isochronic pairs (aged-aged). Together, these findings across multiple levels of analysis demonstrate that aging impairs RBC responsiveness to O 2 and suggest that improved RBC-mediated O 2 delivery contributes to the rejuvenating effects of parabiosis.

Is working from home changing the meaning of work?

Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) has become a common practice in the workplace. This raises the question of whether WFH changes the non-monetary benefits of work, such as job quality or social contacts. Thus, in this article, we investigate how working from home affects Jahoda’s latent functions of employment as well as job quality measures. To this end, we use panel data from the German Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS) and estimate the effects of changing work patterns on the aforementioned outcomes. Our findings reveal basically no effects of WFH on job quality measures and latent benefits. This, in contrast to anecdotal evidence, implies that WFH does not harm psychological well-being.

Development of a banana stem fiber-reinforced chitosan–xanthan gum wound healing patch loaded with Tridax procumbens extract for biomedical applications

Discovery and mechanism of negative allosteric modulation of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by nanobodies

α7 nicotinic receptors are neurotransmitter-gated ion channels involved in neurological and inflammatory diseases. Ligands acting on its neurotransmitter binding site and on the channel domain of α7 have been extensively developed, yielding a wide range of orthosteric effectors and allosteric positive modulators. Here, we present the functional and structural characterization of two camelid antibody fragments, or nanobodies, F1 and E6, that inhibit α7 activity by acting as negative allosteric modulators, an underrepresented class of ligands. Cryo-EM structures of the nanobodies in complex with α7 show that both nanobodies form a pentameric bundle at the apex of the receptor, each nanobody interacting through a conserved set of residues at α7 subunit interfaces. Electrophysiological experiments suggest that E6 inhibits the activity of α7 by stabilizing its resting conformation, and that internanobodies interactions are key to its activity. Those two nanobodies expand the toolbox for human α7 modulation, opening new possibilities for its pharmacological control with far reaching potentialities in clinics.

Preparing the next generation of Complex Networks and Systems scientists: Evaluation results for the Complex Networks and Systems NSF research training program at Indiana University

Assessing and evaluating programmatic outcomes of graduate education programs help stakeholders understand and respond to challenges that emerge over the course of a complex academic program. Given the increased complexity of program activities and outcomes, there is a need for semi-automatic, interactive visual analytics tools that transform data into actionable insights to inform decision-making. This paper documents the results of the evaluation planning and annual workflow setup to create dynamic assessment reports for the Complex Networks and Systems NSF Research Traineeship (CNS NRT) program at Indiana University. The CNS NRT evaluation workflow relied on institutional, survey, and publication data and the freely available tools to guide decision making and communicate the achievements of faculty and doctoral trainees who participated in the program between 2017 and 2024. The evaluation data to date show that the program is judged by participants as meeting its goals and that there has been considerable evidence of research productivity as indicated in the publication data. These clear gains in short-term outcomes show that the CNS NRT is on a pathway to achieving the medium and longer-term goals of the project, which will be examined over a longer period.

Integrating machine learning and physics-based modeling for predictive design of gemcitabine-loaded nanocomposites

Impact of boiling liquid droplets: Vapor entrapment suppression

There hardly is a fluid mechanics phenomenon attracting more attention than the impact of a droplet, due to its undeniable beauty, many applications, and the numerous challenges it poses. One of the crucial factors turns out to be the cushioning effect of the gas surrounding the droplet. This fact, together with the observation that almost all of the relevant literature was done in air, triggers the question what would happen when the liquid was a boiling liquid, i.e., a liquid in thermal equilibrium with its own vapor, as is the case during transport of cryogenic liquids such as liquid hydrogen. To investigate precisely this question, we experimentally generate droplets in thermodynamical equilibrium with their own vapor, even before impact, such that minute energy exchanges of the droplet with its surroundings can trigger phase change. Using a frustrated total internal reflection setup, we make the exciting observation that depending on the impact speed and vapor conditions, the entrapment of vapor can be completely suppressed under boiling liquid conditions. We create a simplified model based on scaling arguments and perform numerical simulations considering both the compressible and condensable properties of the vapor layer that are in very good agreement with our experimental findings. Our results can be of great consequence to the pressures exerted during droplet impact and on an industrial scale may help better understand the loads experienced during sloshing wave impact inside cryogenic liquid containers.

Association between acute respiratory acidosis and hyperkalemia during esophageal cancer surgery in the prone position: A multicenter retrospective observational study protocol

Introduction Esophagectomy in the prone position can induce acute respiratory acidosis. While it is known that metabolic acidosis can significantly elevate serum potassium, the effect of respiratory acidosis is conventionally considered to cause minimal or no elevation. However, clinical practice in this surgical setting sometimes reveals a greater-than-expected degree of hyperkalemia. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between this acute respiratory acidosis and hyperkalemia, and to explore its clinical implications. Methods and analysis This is a retrospective, two-center observational study of adult patients who underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the prone position at two major Japanese institutions between January 2022 and December 2024. The primary outcome is the mean difference in serum potassium levels between the supine (baseline) and prone-position phases, analyzed as a paired-design within each patient. Key secondary outcomes include: 1) a multivariable analysis to identify factors associated with the magnitude of potassium increase; 2) a sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome after excluding cases with significant metabolic acidosis (e.g., base excess < −5 mmol/L); and 3) correlation analyses between the change in potassium and various physiological parameters, including PaCO₂ and markers of metabolic stress. Analyses will include the paired t-test, correlation analyses, and multivariable regression models.

Taguchi optimisation of ZnO and GO-integrated HA nanocomposite with improved antibacterial performance

Breast cancer histopathological image classification based on collaborative multi-domain feature learning

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous malignant tumor, and its accurate classification is of great significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment decision-making. In recent years, convolutional neural networks and Transformer have been widely used in pathological image analysis of breast cancer. Though the former excels at capturing local information and the latter is adept at modeling global dependencies, the former is limited by fixed sampling positions and is hindered to characterize irregular cell morphology, the latter is insufficient in describing the two-dimensional spatial structure of cells and tissues. Based on these, a Spatial–Frequency Domain Feature Extraction Model (S-FDFEM) proposed in this paper integrates spatial and frequency domain information to enhance feature learning for pathological image recognition. Specifically, in the spatial domain, Deformable Bottleneck Convolution (DBottConv) is utilized to effectively represent intricate cell and tissue morphological variations in pathological images and improve the expression ability of local features; in the frequency domain, wavelet low frequencies and Fourier high frequencies are generated based on the input pathological images to capture global approximation and fine structures, then statistical transformer and depth gradient feature extraction modules are integrated to operate on these two frequency domain components, enabling global dynamic focusing and two dimensions spatial characterization of pathological images. Experimental results show that the classification of breast cancer pathological image on BreakHis and BACH datasets verify the superiority of the S-FDFEM proposed in this paper.

Utilization of wastes from bioethanol production for the fabrication of new adsorbents for the removal of toxic dye in water

Abstract Cationic dyes, even at low concentrations, pose serious risks to aquatic ecosystems and contribute to environmental pollution. Effective removal of these dyes is therefore essential for protecting water resources and marine life. This study investigates lignosulfonate-based adsorbents (L, LS, and LSR-F) for the removal of crystal violet (CV) dye from wastewater. Structural and physicochemical characterization using FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TGA, and CHNS analysis confirmed the successful synthesis and functionalization of the adsorbents. Under optimal conditions (pH 8, 150 mg/L CV, 0.1 g adsorbent dose, room temperature), LSR-F achieved 98% removal efficiency within 15 min. Kinetic modeling with five approaches (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intraparticle diffusion, Boyd, and Elovich) revealed that adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting chemisorption as the dominant mechanism. Isotherm studies indicated that the Langmuir model best described the adsorption process, with LSR-F exhibiting a maximum adsorption capacity of 73.53 mg/g. Thermodynamic analysis further showed that the process was spontaneous and endothermic. Overall, LSR-F demonstrates excellent potential as a cost-effective, sustainable adsorbent for removing toxic cationic dyes from wastewater. By utilizing bio-industrial residues, this approach supports multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

Mating regulates growth, metabolism, and digestive efficiency in the female <i>Drosophila</i> midgut

Adaptive changes in organ size and function occur in most animals, but how these changes are regulated is not well understood. Previous research found that mating in Drosophila females promotes intestinal stem cell proliferation and increases the overall size of the endodermal portion of the intestine (the “midgut”). Other studies reported mating-dependent changes in feeding behavior, midgut gene expression, and whole-body lipid storage, suggesting altered metabolism. Here, we show that mating dramatically alters female midgut metabolism and digestive function. Mating increased relative levels of TCA cycle intermediates, fatty acids, and ceramides in the gut, increased total midgut lipids and protein, and reduced relative carbohydrate levels. Mating also enhanced the efficiency of protein digestion relative to carbohydrate digestion. Corroborating a previous report [M. A. White, A. Bonfini, M. F. Wolfner, N. Buchon, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118 , e2018112118 (2021)], we found that the expression of genes that mediate protein and carbohydrate and metabolism was similarly altered. In addition, we noted a mating-dependent downregulation of oxidative stress response and autophagy genes. Mating-dependent increases in ecdysone receptor (EcR) signaling were important for increasing TCA cycle intermediates, protein, and ceramides in the female midgut, but had minimal effects on bulk lipid accumulation. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the physiological changes that occur during adaptive intestinal growth, and how they are regulated.

Correction: Association and progression of multi-morbidity with Chronic Kidney Disease stage 3a secondary to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, grouped by albuminuria status in the multi-ethnic population of Northwest London: A real-world study

Application of a temporal convolutional network algorithm fused with channel attention module for UWB indoor positioning

Dynamics of working memory drift and information flow across the cortical hierarchy

Working memory is supported by widespread and distributed brain regions spanning across the cortical hierarchy. However, how working memory content evolves and is transmitted across cortical regions remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the flow of working memory information across the cortex using time-resolved fMRI decoding. Across multiple regions in visual and parietal cortex, we found that decoded working memory content drifted over time from the memoranda toward the later errors in memory reports, consistent with the dynamics of memory drift predicted by attractor models. These behaviorally predictive neural memory errors emerged earliest in higher-order dorsal visual area (V3AB) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS0) and then later in early visual cortex (V1), suggesting a propagation of mnemonic information originated in higher-level visual area. Interareal correlation analyses revealed that during memory maintenance, information flowed predominantly in a top–down manner—from higher to lower visual areas, whereas during passive viewing, feedforward dynamics prevailed. Together, our findings demonstrate that working memory maintenance involves temporally structured drift dynamics and feedback-dominated information flow across the cortical hierarchy, providing a mechanistic link between neural population dynamics and the formation of memory errors.

Determinants of the quality of life of care partners in the context of surgical cardiovascular interventions: A qualitative study

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally, and numerous patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery rely heavily on informal care partners, often spouses or close family members for support. While much of the existing literature focuses on caregiver burden, particularly in dementia-related conditions, less is known about the specific factors influencing the quality of life (QoL) of care partners in the context of surgical cardiovascular interventions. Methods This qualitative study was conducted at a tertiary cardiac center to identify the key factors that influence the QoL of care partners of patients who have undergone or are undergoing cardiovascular surgery. Twenty care partners of cardiac or vascular patients participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews explored emotional, physical, financial, and social dimensions of the care partner’s experience. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurrent factors influencing care partner QoL. Results Participants were predominantly female (80%) and most often spouses of the patients (55%). Thematic analysis revealed several interrelated domains affecting care partner QoL: financial stress (e.g., lost income, travel costs), emotional impact, communication with healthcare teams, care partner physical health limitations, and availability of social support. Patient-related factors such as the type and urgency of surgery, post-operative condition, and patient attitude also significantly influenced care partner experiences. These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of care partner QoL and its direct connection to patient outcomes. Conclusions This study identifies core factors that impact the well-being of care partners of cardiovascular patients and emphasizes the importance of their role in supporting recovery. The results provide a framework for identifying at risk care partners for poor patient outcomes, and consideration of early intervention and tailored support. Integrating care partner needs into healthcare planning may improve both patient and care partner outcomes in cardiovascular surgical care settings.

Graphene based terahertz MIMO antenna with machine learning regression for 6G communications

Mechanistic basis for relaxation of DNA supercoils by human topoisomerase IIIα–RMI1–RMI2

Topoisomerase enzymes are essential for the regulation of DNA topology. Human topoisomerase IIIα is a Type 1A topoisomerase that exists as a complex with RMI1 and RMI2, known as TRR. The TRR complex can unlink entwined DNA strands and is known to be important for resolving DNA replication and recombination intermediates. It has recently been proposed that TRR can also relax transient negatively supercoiled loops of DNA generated by the translocase PICH and that this activity may help to facilitate the resolution of ultrafine anaphase bridges (UFBs) between segregating sister chromatids. However, the mechanism by which TRR interacts with, and processes, negatively supercoiled DNA is not well understood. Here, we establish a single-molecule strategy to simultaneously measure real-time changes in supercoiling density and visualize the interactions of TRR with underwound DNA using a combination of optical tweezers and fluorescence imaging. We demonstrate that TRR relaxes highly negatively supercoiled DNA in a processive manner and that the timescale for relaxation is less than the expected lifetime of the negatively supercoiled loops generated by PICH. We also show that in the absence of free protein in solution, TRR remains bound to the DNA for long time periods after the torsional stress has been released. Our findings provide a mechanistic basis for how TRR can relax negative supercoils, consistent with its proposed role in UFB resolution. Moreover, our assay could also be widely applied to study the interactions of other families of topoisomerases with negatively supercoiled DNA.