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Environmental change shapes understory plant diversity and dominance in boreal forests
Adaptability analysis and spatial correlation characteristics of water-energy-food-ecology system in the Yellow River Basin from the perspective of symbiosis
A new single input common ground seven level triple boost switched capacitor based inverter
Anomalously enhanced diffusivity of moiré excitons via manipulating the interplay with correlated electrons
Hydrothermal upgrading and adsorption of a water-soluble nickel-based catalyst precursor in a porous media of carbonate oil-saturated rock
Decoding the anti-inflammatory properties of sesquiterpene coumarins from the active fractions of Ferula assa-foetida through integrated experimental and in silico analyses
Abstract Ferula assa-foetida known as Asafoetida has a long-established history in folk medicine as a therapeutically useful drug in many disorders. The current paper explored the in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of the plant. Liquid ethanol crude extract was subjected to liquid-to-liquid extraction, and the fractions so obtained were evaluated against the carrageenan-induced acute paw edema model in rats, to determine the anti-inflammatory effects. The fractions that gave the greatest activity-ethyl acetate and hexane- afforded four sesquiterpene coumarins: auraptene ( 1 ), umbelliprenin ( 2 ), galbanic acid ( 3 ), and kamolonol ( 4 ). The overall structure was determined through detailed spectroscopic investigation, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, DPET135, COSY, HSQC, HMBC, HRESIMS, and other references to the literature. Evaluation of the in vitro activity of the LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages showed that the compound 4 (ethyl acetate fraction) exhibited maximum inhibitory action against the generation of nitric oxide (NO), followed by the compounds 1 and 2 of the hexane fraction. Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking and Molecular dynamic simulation analysis were used to identify the target genes and explain the potential differences between the active compounds. As far as the authors know, there are no earlier reports that mention the anti-inflammatory action of kamolonol ( 4 ).
Enhancer regulator MLL4 controls skeletal muscle metabolic efficiency by limiting AMPK-mediated fuel catabolism
Research on personalized distance education recommendation system based on deep learning
Development of borated mesoporous zirconia nanocatalyst for the green synthesis of hydroquinone diacetate
Abstract The demand for highly active and reusable solid acid catalysts has led to the development of borated mesoporous zirconia nanoparticles, which exhibit excellent catalytic performance in the green synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates. This study focuses on the preparation, characterization, and catalytic application of borated mesoporous zirconia for the efficient production of 1,4-diacetoxybenzene, a valuable compounds in drug synthesis. The catalyst was synthesized using a sol-gel method, followed by boric acid functionalization to enhance surface acidity and surface area. Comprehensive characterization through XRD, FTIR, TEM, BET, and Thermal analysis confirmed the successful formation of a highly porous, thermally stable, and well-dispersed boron-modified zirconia structure. The catalytic efficiency was evaluated in the acetylation of hydroquinone under optimized conditions, where a maximum yield of 95.7% was achieved at 80 °C within 90 min using a catalyst loading of 25 wt%. Compared to traditional homogeneous acid catalysts, borated mesoporous zirconia exhibited superior stability and recyclability, as demonstrated by its ability to maintain 78% of its initial activity after three consecutive reaction cycles, with only a 18% decline in efficiency. The heterogeneous nature of the catalyst facilitated its easy recovery and reuse, reducing waste generation and operational costs. The results of this study highlight the potential of borated mesoporous zirconia as a sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally benign catalyst for organic synthesis, offering significant advantages in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries.
Defining the role of β-cell IRE1α/XBP1 pathway and its gene regulatory network components in non-obese diabetic mice
Association of chemotherapy and stoma features with peristomal skin disorders in rectal cancer patients
Abstract This study aimed to identify factors associated with the onset and worsening of peristomal skin disorders during outpatient follow-up after stoma creation for malignant rectal tumors. This prospective multicenter observational study enrolled patients who underwent stoma creation for malignant rectal tumors between December 2019 and December 2021 at six Japanese institutions. Patients were evaluated using the ABCD-Stoma and DET scoring systems at 1 month and during subsequent follow-up visits. A total of 130 patients were analyzed. At the 1-month visit, 53 (40.8%) had no peristomal skin disorders and 77 (59.2%) had lesions. Multivariate analysis showed that chemotherapy (odds ratio [OR] = 17.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.76–174.27, p = 0.015), loop stoma (OR = 43.46, 95%CI 1.70–1113.99, p = 0.023), and stoma height < 10 mm (OR = 32.68, 95%CI: 1.94–549.55, p = 0.015) were independently associated with the development of peristomal skin disorders. Diabetes mellitus (OR = 4.26, 95%CI: 1.08–16.79, p = 0.039) was independently associated with worsening, whereas stoma height < 10 mm (OR = 5.85, 95%CI: 1.16–29.35, p = 0.032) was associated with severe lesions during follow-up. These findings highlight the importance of continuous outpatient monitoring and tailored stoma-care support to facilitate early detection and management of peristomal skin disorders, especially in high-risk patients.
Nutritional and health benefits of wild and cultivated yam (Dioscorea spp.) species consumed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Abstract Yam ( Dioscorea spp.) is a tuber-producing crop and an important staple in the tropics and subtropics, valued for its nutritional, health and sociocultural relevance. However, there is limited awareness of its nutritional and health benefits among local communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), prompting its underutilization. This study aimed to (a) document the diversity of cultivated and semi-domesticated yam species in eastern DRC; (b) explore indigenous knowledge on their nutritional and health benefits; and (c) assess the nutrient composition and antioxidant activity of major yam species consumed in the region. Data collection involved ethno-botanical surveys, plant specimen collections, interviews with 123 community members, and physicochemical profiling using standard analytical methods. Ten yam species were documented in eastern DRC, including two domesticated species, with distribution patterns shaped by biophysical conditions and cultural factors. Species richness was higher in highland forest zones compared to lowland savannas. Local communities use yam to treat more than 15 health conditions, including stomach pains, food intoxications, skin wounds and infections, reproductive abnormalities, immune system deficiency, respiratory challenges, diabetics, etc. Physicochemical composition analysis revealed interspecific variations potentially contributing to their nutritional and therapeutic relevance by local communities. Notably, Dioscorea dumetorum tubers exhibited the highest protein content (8.7 g/100 g) and potassium concentration (240.2 mg/100 g), D. praehensilis was rich in carbohydrates (80.9 g/100 g), and D. bulbifera had highest calcium concentration (40.1 mg/100 g), underscoring the yam nutritional significance in the local diet. All yam species encompassed saponins, terpenoids, and alkaloids, though D. praehensilis and purple D. alata had the highest antioxidant activity that exceeded 90% inhibition level. These findings provide valuable insights on yam diversity and their potential to sustain nutritious healthy diets in eastern DRC.
Improvements in life expectancy mask rising trends in heat-related excess mortality attributable to climate change
Abstract Previous attribution studies of heat-related excess mortality have given limited attention to temporal trends in vulnerability and their non-climatic drivers. Here, we address this gap by combining counterfactual temperature data derived from multidecadal reanalysis series with time-varying warm-season temperature-mortality associations for the 15 most populous cities in Germany over 1993-2022. We find that declining vulnerability, associated with improvements in life expectancy, has led to decreasing trends in heat-related excess mortality in most cities despite summer warming. In contrast, if life expectancies had not improved, climate change would have induced increasing trends in the heat-related death burden. The growing anthropogenic fingerprint also emerges in the relative proportion of heat-related excess mortality attributable to climate change, which increased by 5.6% per decade (95% confidence interval: 2.6%, 8.6%), averaging 53.6 % (49.8%, 58.9%) across the study period. Our results underline the importance of accounting for evolving vulnerability when attributing human health outcomes to climate change.
A comparative study of quality of life and psychosocial adaptability following modified radical mastectomy and breast reconstruction
Improved energy efficient load balanced mobility management RPL protocol for mobile internet of things networks
Digging into the mechanisms that underlie soil production
Torsion is a dynamic regulator of DNA replication stalling and reactivation
Abstract DNA’s helical structure necessitates replisome rotation relative to DNA during replication, creating inevitable topological challenges. How replication generates and overcomes torsional stress remains unclear. Here, we developed a high-resolution, label-free, real-time assay to track DNA rotation by T7 replisome and its slowing under torsional stress. While helicase or DNA polymerase (DNAP) alone is a weak rotary motor, together they form the most powerful DNA rotary motor yet studied, generating ~22 pN·nm torque before stalling, twice that of E. coli RNA polymerase. Upon stalling, helicase-DNAP interactions stabilize the fork; without them, regression can extend hundreds of base pairs. Prolonged stalling inactivates the replisome, but excess DNAP, aided by interactions with helicase, promotes restart. Gyrase supports steady replication and enables timely restart of stalled forks. These findings demonstrate that helicase-DNAP synergy is essential for maintaining fork integrity under torsion, and that torsion is a key regulator of replication stalling and reactivation.
Securing e-governance against shadow attacks with blockchain technology
Abstract Contracts and invoices commonly utilize digitally signed PDFs to ensure content validity and integrity. These signatures enable PDF viewers to issue warnings if a document is altered after signing. However, vulnerabilities in PDF viewers have enabled a class of attacks known as shadow attacks, which undermine the integrity of digitally signed PDFs. Unlike prior attacks exploiting implementation flaws, shadow attacks leverage the flexibility of the PDF specification to embed malicious shadow documents that remain compliant with the standard. The first real-world instance of such an attack, documented under CVE-2022-25641, highlighted the inadequacy of existing defense mechanisms. This paper introduces a blockchain-based validation framework to secure PDF document exchange in e-government ecosystems. The approach integrates keyless signature infrastructure to strengthen authentication while preserving confidentiality. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed model effectively blocks shadow-infected documents with 100% detection accuracy, while maintaining low latency (0.464–0.687 ms block creation time) and high throughput (≈100 transactions per second) in private blockchain deployments. Scalability tests confirm 95–97% detection efficiency under simulated DoS and MiTM conditions. Furthermore, integration with decentralized storage (IPFS/Filecoin) enables large-scale handling of documents up to 50 MB with negligible overhead and achieves a 30% reduction in storage costs compared to conventional PDF filtering mechanisms. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the proposed framework offers a secure, cost-efficient, and scalable foundation for enhancing digital trust in e-government services.
Improving social determinants of health documentation in French electronic health records using large language models
Abstract Social determinants of health (SDoH) significantly influence health outcomes, shaping disease progression, treatment adherence, and health disparities. However, their documentation in structured electronic health records (EHRs) is often incomplete or missing. This study presents an approach based on large language models (LLMs) for extracting 13 SDoH categories from French clinical notes. We trained Flan-T5-Large on annotated social history sections from clinical notes at Nantes University Hospital, France. We evaluated the model at two levels: (i) identification of SDoH categories and associated values, and (ii) extraction of detailed SDoH with associated temporal and quantitative information. The model performance was assessed across four datasets, including two that we publicly release as open resources. The model achieved strong performance for identifying well-documented categories such as living condition, marital status, descendants, job, tobacco, and alcohol use (F1 score > 0.80). Performance was lower for categories with limited training data or highly variable expressions, such as employment status, housing, physical activity, income, and education. Our model identified 95.8% of patients with at least one SDoH, compared to 2.8% for ICD-10 codes from structured EHR data. Our error analysis showed that performance limitations were linked to annotation inconsistencies, reliance on English-centric tokenizer, and reduced generalizability due to the model being trained on social history sections only. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of NLP in improving the completeness of real-world SDoH data in a non-English EHR system.