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Experimental investigation of Al₂O₃ and CeO₂ nanoparticle additives in diesel-cottonseed biodiesel (CSOME) blends for performance and emission mitigation in a CI engine
Multi-criteria decision analysis approach on parametric optimization of abrasive waterjet pocket milling in Ti-6Al-4V alloy
Abstract The multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach was used to optimise Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) pocket milling process parameters to examine the machinability of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy and the experiments were done by the L 32 Taguchi array. Abrasive mesh (AM), waterjet pressure (WP), and traverse speed (TS) were chosen for this study, and material removal rate (MRR), depth of cut (DC), undercut (UC), and surface roughness (SR) were studied. Furthermore, the multiparametric ANOVA was used to determine the statistical significance of milling parameters, and the spatial pattern of output response parameter values was statistically assessed to support process parameter selection. Finally, regression models were developed based on milling parameters and output. To estimate the optimum level of input parameters for multi-objective optimization criteria on milling, particle swarm optimization (PSO), moth-flame optimization (MFO), grey wolf optimization (GWO), and whale optimization algorithm (WOA) have been combined with the combinative distance-based assessment (CODAS) methodology and multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA). Weights for output were assigned using the objective-based entropy weight-age approach. The entropy weights for DC, UC, SR, and MRR were 0.3255, 0.2312, 0.1837, and 0.2596, respectively. The MOORA method predicts the best ideal parameters and based on the assessment scores MFO algorithm outperformed the others in maximising DC and MRR while reducing UC and SRR.
Ancient storage of anomalous mercury isotope signatures in the Earth’s transition zone
Measurement of influential nodes in networks based on community structure information entropy
Partial element equivalent circuit modeling of distributed and lumped time-varying dielectric phenomena
Inflammation impairs post-hospital discharge growth among children hospitalised with acute illness in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia
Abstract In resource-limited settings, children often experience poor growth following illness, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. This cohort study in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia investigates pathways linking inflammation and post-discharge weight gain among children hospitalised with acute illness. We determine associations between inflammation, enteropathy, growth mediators and other exposures at hospital discharge and weight gain during 90 days and explain how these exposures influence growth. Here, we show that systemic inflammation impacts mediators of linear growth including the Growth hormone/Insulin-like growth factor 1 axis and bone metabolism to a larger extent and weight gain via enteroendocrine peptide YY and glucagon pathways to a lesser extent. Systemic inflammation negatively affects weight gain directly. Enteropathy impacts growth through systemic inflammation. Adverse household and chronic medical conditions predominantly influence weight gain through inflammation. It is critical to address inflammation, the intestinal mucosal barrier and other exposures driving inflammation to optimise recovery.
MYC-mediated transcriptional control of splicing factors promotes RNA splicing in activated B lymphocytes
Spatial and functional differentiation of microbial biofilms in a traditional cheese ripening environment
Translocation mechanism of xeroderma pigmentosum group D protein on single-stranded DNA and genetic disease etiology
Abstract XPD is a key nucleotide excision repair (NER) protein whose function is vital for genome integrity. During NER, XPD serves as a 5′−3′ single-strand DNA translocase that enables lesion scanning and verification in genomic DNA. Yet, its translocation mechanism is incompletely understood. Here we use molecular simulations and chain-of-replicas path optimization methods to model the ATP-driven translocation mechanisms of XPD and its bacterial homolog DinG, revealing all on-path metastable intermediates and corresponding kinetic rates. We identify the XPD(DinG) global domain motions that modulate the strength of DNA association at the opposing ends of the DNA-binding groove. During the ATP hydrolysis cycle, alternating weak and strong interactions at two defined groove constrictions enable DNA reptation and forward displacement of the ATPase. Moreover, we show that DNA- or ATP-binding residues directly involved in translocation are hotspots for genetic disease mutations. Thus, our findings shed light on the etiology of XPD-associated genetic syndromes.
Comparison of clinical outcomes and predictive model analysis between short-term culture and overnight culture after embryo recovery at cleavage stage
Water homeostasis and extracellular fluid dynamics reveal imidacloprid disruption and rutin mitigation in honey bees
Abstract Pollinator decline is partly driven by exposure to agrochemicals such as imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide that impairs feeding and water balance in bees. This study examines how imidacloprid and the dietary flavonoid rutin, individually and combined, affect body mass regulation and extracellular fluid in Apis mellifera . Africanized honey bees were exposed to 0.3, 0.6, or 1.0 ppm of each substance. We conducted four experiments to evaluate short- and long-term changes in food intake, wet and dry mass, hydration, and fluid evaporation rates. Imidacloprid consistently reduced food consumption and body mass gain, while rutin promoted weight gain, increased water retention, and partially reversed imidacloprid’s effects. The combination treatment produced intermediate results. Notably, extracellular fluid from imidacloprid-treated bees showed significantly slower evaporation, suggesting altered physicochemical properties. This represents the first application of extracellular fluid evaporation as a physiological biomarker of sublethal stress in honey bees, expanding current approaches beyond conventional endpoints such as survival or behavior. These physiological changes persisted beyond the exposure period in some cases. Our results highlight the potential of mass dynamics and fluid behavior as sensitive markers of sublethal stress. Rutin appears to enhance physiological resilience, supporting its role as a candidate dietary mitigator. This work contributes to the development of new physiological endpoints for assessing the impact of agrochemicals on pollinators and offers insight into the protective role of plant-derived compounds.
Primary tuberculous mycobacterial granulomas provide a niche for superinfecting Mycobacterium abscessus
Design of Cysteine Functional Polyesters through Michael Addition
Ecology and distribution of the recently discovered ked Lipoptena andaluciensis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) in Spain
Abstract Hippoboscid flies (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites of birds and mammals, with recognized ecological and epidemiological importance. Despite their relevance, the ecology and distribution of many species within this family remain poorly understood. We combined active screening of 372 wild ungulates (2013–2024) and passive CO₂-baited trap sampling (2023 – 2024) across Andalusia, Spain, to investigate the occurrence, host prevalence, and phenology of Lipoptena andaluciensis flies. We used these data to model its potential distribution and spatial overlap with key host species using an ensemble species distribution modeling approach. The presence of L. andaluciensis was confirmed in four Andalusian provinces, with the first record dating to 2018. Host prevalence increased significantly in recent years, reaching 69.7% in 2023 and 72.9% in 2024. Roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) and fallow deer ( Dama dama ) showed the highest infestation prevalence (70.0% and 50.4%, respectively), followed by red deer ( Cervus elaphus , 27.2%) and mouflon ( Ovis aries musimon , 3.9%). No flies were found on Iberian ibex ( Capra pyrenaica ) or wild boar ( Sus scrofa ). Winged adults were active, at least, from April to November, while wingless forms were present on hosts at least from June to March. Species distribution models identified extensive areas of high environmental suitability across central and southern Spain, driven primarily by vegetation density (NDVI), soil moisture, and land surface temperature. The models revealed a strong spatial overlap with the distribution of roe deer and fallow deer. Our findings document the widespread presence and high recent prevalence of L. andaluciensis in southern Spain and identify cervids, particularly roe deer, as its primary hosts. The extensive suitable habitat predicted beyond its current known range and the recording of its presence in Italy suggest that the potential distribution is larger than expected and the species may have been overlooked in Spain and probably in other countries of southern Europe. This study provides a critical baseline for monitoring the population dynamics and assessing the ecological and veterinary impact of this neglected ectoparasite.
Histone acetyltransferase 1 promotes postinfarction inflammatory response by regulation of monocyte histone succinylation
Effects of bromelain supplementation on disease activity and quality of life in patients with ulcerative colitis: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study
Normal twin PET: personalized generative modeling for confounder correction and anomaly detection in whole-body PET/CT
Abstract Variable physiological [ 18 F]FDG uptake patterns and a lack of labelled data make it challenging to automatically distinguish normal from pathological suspicious uptake in whole-body PET/CT imaging. We propose a deep learning method that generates patient-specific normal twin PET images to serve as personalized references for quantitative analysis and unsupervised detection of pathological anomalies. We developed an image-to-image generative model that synthesizes normal reference twin PET (ntPET) images from CT scans, patient demographics, and acquisition parameters. The model was trained on 2,538 pseudo-normal PET/CT studies, including stable lymphoma patients and manually disease-masked clinical scans. Model performance was evaluated on 177 test studies achieving 89.3% explained variance and 18.0% mean absolute relative error. We introduced a novel “twin correction” method which reduced SUV mean variance by up to 90% in various organs and successfully reduced confounding normally occurring effects of patient sex, age, fat mass, and uptake time. Finally, anomaly detection and unsupervised tumor segmentation was achieved by comparing actual PET scans with their normal twins. The ntPET-based method achieved a dice score of 49.3% on the AutoPET dataset without requiring tumor annotations for training. In conclusion, the proposed ntPET methodology employs personalized normal references to achieve disease-agnostic patient-specific analysis of PET images.
Mechanism of the electrochemical hydrogenation of graphene
Abstract The electrochemical hydrogenation of graphene induces a robust and reversible conductor-insulator transition, of strong interest in logic-and-memory applications. However, its mechanism remains unknown. Here we show that it proceeds as a reduction reaction in which proton adsorption competes with the formation of H 2 molecules via an Eley-Rideal process. Graphene’s electrochemical hydrogenation is up to 10 6 times faster than alternative hydrogenation methods and is fully reversible via the oxidative desorption of protons. We demonstrate that the proton reduction rate in defect-free graphene can be enhanced by an order of magnitude by the introduction of nanoscale corrugations in its lattice, and that the substitution of protons for deuterons results both in lower potentials for the hydrogenation process and in a more stable compound. Our results pave the way to investigating the chemisorption of ions in 2D materials at high electric fields, opening a new avenue to control these materials’ electronic properties.