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Forget SkinTok: the real science of skincare and why it matters for your health

Small prey fight back: post-capture defences shape prey–predator size relationships

Abstract Size relationships between prey and predators are a key topic in ecology. A positive correlation often exists between the sizes of prey and predators. Although predators can consume much smaller prey, some preferentially target larger prey and avoid very small ones. Prey size preferences can be shaped by prey quality, alternative prey availability, and handling costs. Additionally, the defensive behaviour of small prey may prevent ingestion after capture, although this hypothesis has not been experimentally tested. In this study, I observed the behavioural responses of the predatory fish Silurus asotus (Siluriformes: Siluridae) to eight aquatic beetle species (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae, Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae) of varying body sizes under aquarium conditions. The rate of successful predation varied from 20% to 90% among beetle species. Prey size significantly affected predation success: small beetles were more frequently spat out by fish after capture. When the locomotion of the small beetle Regimbartia attenuata was experimentally restricted by leg amputation, most individuals were readily consumed. These results demonstrate that small beetles use their legs to move rapidly within the fish’s mouth or cling to the internal surfaces, thereby preventing ingestion and eliciting rejection. Thus, post-capture defences of small prey can influence prey size preferences in whole-swallowing predators.

Megakaryocyte and platelet thrombospondin-1 regulates matrix remodeling by stabilizing basement membrane COL6A1 in lung injury

Artificial general intelligence must be assessed in its scientific and societal context

TopoSleuth, a decoy-based multi-layered defense framework for securing SDN topology discovery

Machine learning–driven design of engineered cilia enables hybrid operations in acoustic microrobots

Ab initio determination of phase stabilities of dynamically disordered solids: rotational C2 disorder in Li2C2

Abstract The temperature-induced orthorhombic to cubic phase transition in $$\hbox {Li}_2\hbox {C}_2$$ is a prototypical example of a solid to solid phase transformation between an ordered phase, which is well described within the phonon theory, and a dynamically disordered phase with rotating molecules, for which the standard phonon theory is not applicable. The transformation in $$\hbox {Li}_2\hbox {C}_2$$ happens from a phase with directionally ordered $$\hbox {C}_2$$ dimers to a structure, where they are dynamically disordered. We provide a description of this transition by employing ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) based stress-strain thermodynamic integration on a deformation path that connects the ordered and dynamically disordered phases. The free energy difference between the two phases is obtained. The entropy that stabilizes the dynamically disordered cubic phase is captured by the behavior of the stress on the deformation path.

Increased contact transmission of contemporary Human H5N1 compared to Bovine and Mountain Lion H5N1 in a hamster model

Abstract The ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) subtype H5N1 in the U.S. poses a significant public health threat. To date, 70 human cases have been confirmed in the United States, including two severe cases and one fatality. While suitable animal models are crucial for predicting the potential pandemic risk of newly emerging pathogens in humans, studies investigating contemporary HPAIV H5N1 transmission dynamics remain limited. Here, we investigate the pathogenicity and transmission efficiency of recent clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses isolated from a bovine, mountain lion, and a human case using Syrian hamsters. Intranasal inoculation results in productive virus replication in the respiratory tract and shedding for all three isolates. Transmission studies demonstrate limited efficiency via direct contact and airborne routes for all isolates. Although overall transmission is inefficient, the human H5N1 isolate demonstrates relatively greater contact transmissibility than the bovine and mountain lion isolates. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the Syrian hamster model complements existing animal models for influenza A virus research and expands the resources available for investigating the pathogenicity, transmissibility, and efficacy of countermeasures against HPAIV H5N1.

Transient adenovirus-Cre infection causes long-lasting remodeling of the mammary gland immune landscape

Abstract Understanding how immune cells respond to early oncogenic events is essential for designing immune-based strategies to intercept breast cancer. Mouse models that induce mammary tumorigenesis through Cre-mediated genetic manipulations can be used to study these early events. However, the immune effects of different induction methods remain unclear. Here, we compare adenovirus-delivered Cre with tamoxifen-inducible CreER systems in models targeting luminal mammary epithelial cells for p53-loss. We find that transient intraductal adenoviral infection produces not only an acute immune response but also long-lasting reshaping of the mammary gland immune microenvironment. Adenovirus exposure induces robust and persistent CD8 + T-cell infiltration dominated by CD103 + tissue-resident T cells displaying heightened activation. This sustained antiviral T-cell signature obscures the p53-loss-driven CD8 + T-cell activation detectable in the CreER/tamoxifen model. Adenoviral infection also transiently skews CD4 + T cells toward IFN-γ-producing antiviral states and affects the myeloid compartment, whereas tamoxifen-induced p53-loss increases macrophage abundance and activates CD8 + T-cells during premalignancy. Despite similar tumor latencies across induction strategies, our findings demonstrate that adenoviral infection exerts long-term immunological effects that can confound interpretation of immune dynamics during early mammary tumorigenesis. These results emphasize the importance of induction-method selection when using genetically engineered mouse models to study cancer-immune interactions.

Multi-mode piezoelectric radiation-based microantennas and miniaturized wireless sensing unit driven by bulk acoustic waves

Non-ordinary state-based peridynamics model for rock crack propagation: a combined stress-energy fracture method

A randomized controlled trial of seated Baduanjin and elastic band training on sleep and psychological needs in older wheelchair users

Improving multi-variable weather forecasting with spatiotemporal feature interaction and large-kernel modeling

The ethical risks of open-access agreements being used for authorship leverage

Clinical-grade autonomous cytopathology through whole-slide edge tomography

Abstract Cytopathology, often abbreviated as cytology, has a central role in the early detection of cancer, such as cervical, lung and bladder cancers, owing to its speed, simplicity and minimally invasive nature 1–9 . However, its effectiveness is limited by variability in diagnostic accuracy stemming from subjective visual interpretation 10–21 . Although many artificial intelligence (AI)-powered systems have been proposed to improve consistency 22–26 , none have achieved fully autonomous, clinical-grade performance. Existing approaches serve as assistive tools and still rely on human oversight for interpretation and decision-making 22–26 . Here we present a clinical-grade autonomous cytopathology pipeline that combines high-resolution, real-time optical whole-slide tomography with edge computing to deliver end-to-end automation. The system achieves practical performance in imaging speed, quality and data volume, with localized data compression enabling streamlined storage and accelerated AI-driven analysis. In addition to supporting cell-level classification, the platform enables flow cytometry-like, population-wide morphological profiling for comprehensive interpretation of cellular distributions and patterns. A vision transformer achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) values exceeding 0.99 at the single-cell level for detecting low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) and adenocarcinoma. In a multicentre evaluation of 1,124 cervical liquid-based cytology samples across four centres, the AI model achieved slide-level AUC values of 0.86–0.91 for LSIL + and 0.89–0.97 for HSIL + , with LSIL counts correlating strongly with human papillomavirus positivity and HSIL counts scaling with diagnostic severity. The system enables autonomous triage cytology, offering a foundation for routine, scalable and objective diagnostics.

Preharvest application of plant growth regulators extends the harvest window and improves fruit size and quality of mandarin orange cv. Khoku Local

Association between bone marrow donor origin and gut microbiota composition following fecal microbiota transplantation in mice

Abstract Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been reported as a method to directly alter the recipient’s gut microbiota in order to normalize its composition and confer therapeutic benefits. It is essential to maintain a consistent gut microbiota in FMT donors. However, various environmental factors influence the maintenance of gut microbiota composition. We investigated whether bone marrow transplantation (BMT) donor origin, presumably affecting the resultant recipient immune environment, may influence FMT outcomes by conducting a study combining BMT and FMT treatments in mice. Our results show that the origin of the bone marrow donor affected the extent to which the FMT recipient microbiota resembled that of the FMT donor. However, these changes did not reduce the overall microbiota dissimilarity compared to FMT alone. Among the affected microbes, the relative abundance of a mucus-associated bacterium in the family Muribaculaceae was higher, suggesting sensitivity to the combined influence of BMT and FMT donor origins. These findings are consistent with the possibility that bacterial proximity to the intestinal epithelium could modulate persistence patterns in response to distinct post-BMT environments. Altogether, the observed trends suggest that differences associated with bone marrow donor origin may shape post-FMT microbial retention.

Prevent pandemics through One Health commitments

Cryptic redundancy between PAR1b and PAR1a, two members of the PAR1 kinase family, in the survival of PAR1b-knockout mice

A comparison of the existing recommendations for human and veterinary clinicians on the management and prevention of the zoonotic aspects of dermatophytosis: A scoping review

Background Dermatophytosis (or ringworm) is a highly infectious zoonotic disease commonly found in humans and multiple animal species globally. With children under 5 years of age being the most at risk human patient group, and dermatophytosis the zoonosis most frequently contracted by veterinary professionals in the UK from their patients, it is of significance to both human and animal patients. Little is known as to whether there is recognition in both human medical and veterinary guidance of the importance of their opposite clinical counterpart. In addition, it is unknown whether the recommendations for zoonotic disease management and prevention are complementary between the two disciplines. Objectives The aim of this scoping review was to assess all human medical and veterinary guidelines pertaining to zoonotic dermatophytosis, to explore how the zoonotic aspects of the disease were reported and to determine if there was conflicting or complementary advice between the two disciplines on disease management and prevention. Sources of evidence: Medline, CAB Abstracts, and Embase were searched for relevant literature and the results assessed and filtered using inclusion and exclusion criteria. A targeted grey literature search was also performed. Eligibility criteria To be included, broadly all publications had to mention dermatophytes or specifically named dermatophyte species, and mention ‘guidelines’ or ‘protocols’. Publications needed to also mention terms relating to ‘zoonoses’; for veterinary publications, be focused on cattle, dogs and cats and for human medical publications, mention the clinical manifestation of dermatophytosis (e.g. tinea capitis). Some mention of risk factors for zoonotic transmission needed to also be included. Charting methods A data charting form was used to extract data pertaining to dermatophyte species discussed, animal species discussed, prevalence and risk factors, zoonotic risk factors, zoonotic recommendations for humans, transmission, diagnostic testing, treatment, monitoring response to treatment, and prevention and management from the included studies. A critical appraisal process using the AGREE II tool was conducted to identify the common limitations of the shortlisted published papers. Results Of the 554 human and 137 veterinary publications screened, 5 of each publication source met the inclusion criteria. Although data were charted across several variables, none of the publications used an evidence-based guideline approach in their construction (e.g. GRADE, AGREE processes) and a significant proportion of papers provided limited supporting evidence for their recommendations. There were significant gaps and minimal synergies between veterinary and human medicine recommendations. The human literature had limited information pertaining to zoonotic recommendations. Discussion A minimal number of studies have been conducted regarding zoonotic dermatophytosis, both in human medical and veterinary disciplines. There is a lack of good quality, detailed information about the prevention and management of the zoonotic aspects of the disease, indicating that there is a need for the development of evidence-based guidelines to support human and veterinary clinicians making decisions about these patients. Conclusion Evidence-based guidelines, inclusive of high quality information pertaining to the zoonotic aspects of the disease for both humans and animals, should be generated. Ideally human and veterinary representatives would work together to generate cohesive and complementary guidance.