Browse Articles

Measured oxygen levels in Norwegian waters and implications for future offshore Atlantic salmon aquaculture

Abstract Offshore salmon farms are being planned on the Norwegian Shelf. However, there are concerns of low oxygen levels within sea cages during periods of low water exchange. Hypoxia will compromise fish welfare and production performance, and it is therefore important to characterize oxygen dynamics at new offshore aquaculture sites. Here, we investigated oxygen variability in Norwegian waters by utilizing data from repeated sections and fisheries surveys collected between 2010 and 2023. In total more than 5000 profiles were analysed. Hypoxia was regularly observed in the inshore and fjord areas. However, no evidence for severe hypoxic conditions were seen on the shelf regions despite nutrients input being rather high. This lack of hypoxia at depth suggests that the cross-shelf exchange supplying oceanic water dominates the oxygen balance at the shelf relative to biological consumption. Meanwhile, seasonal cycles in oxygen, apparent oxygen utilization, temperature, and stratification were observed. Notably, oxygen saturations of 70–80% occasionally occurred offshore below the mixed layer during summer and fall. Such moderate hypoxia represents the initial conditions to be considered when planning cage sizes and allowable biomass. Since oxygen will not always be fully saturated, challenges with hypoxia within sea cages will likely prevail when moving offshore.

Bananas in the aftermath of La Palma volcanic eruption (Canary Islands, Spain): A study on the nutritional and toxic element composition of post-disaster production

The 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma devastated banana production, a key crop, with a 50% loss (53,000 tons). Concerned about potential contamination from volcanic ash and magma, we investigated the elemental composition of bananas from the eruption area and control sites. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis quantified both essential and non-essential mineral elements, including potentially toxic elements identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), as well as rare earth elements (REEs) and other trace elements that are scarcely studied under volcanic conditions. This approach allowed for spatial and temporal comparisons. Results showed a decrease in element levels post-eruption; however, samples from the volcanic area still exhibited elevated concentrations of Fe, Co, Cd, Al, Ba, Ni, Sn, Sr, Ti, V, and REEs. Control samples from unaffected islands with higher anthropogenic pressure showed elevated levels of Mn and Mo. Despite the increased element levels, banana consumption remains safe and constitutes a valuable source for the recommended daily intake of Mo and Co. Most toxic elements were present at less than 1% of the tolerable daily intake (TDI), with the highest values for As and V reaching 3%, and no risk was associated according to the margin of exposure approach. This eruption highlights the need for continuous monitoring in volcanic regions to safeguard public health and food safety.

Assessment of risk factors related to early occurrence of deep vein thrombosis after TBI using nomogram model

Performance of older adults on MTL- BR Battery: ARE There differences in healthy aging? A pilot study

Objectives Characterize and better understand differences that can occur in performing language tasks with advancing age in order to observe if the current norms of MTL-BR Battery obtained with individuals up 75 years of age could also be applied to old-old-individuals. Methods 80 participants, stratified into two age groups: 40 individuals aged 60–75 and 40 individuals aged 76–90 years, were submitted to an extensive language assessment by Montreal Toulouse Language Battery-Brazilian version (MTL-BR). Results A statistically significant difference was found between both groups on the tasks of oral comprehension of sentences, narrative discourse (oral and written), written dictation, repetition of words, reading aloud of sentences and numbers, verbal naming and written numerical calculation. Discussion The study showed that aging negatively affected performance on some language tasks. The results obtained in all tasks may be useful for comparative analyses in the clinical evaluation of old-old individuals with language complaints submitted to the MTL-BR Battery. On the one hand, subtests that typically exhibit ceiling effects in healthy populations, if found to be impaired, may clearly indicate the presence of a language disorder. On the other hand, data related to tasks that showed age-related differences should be interpreted with caution. In this sense, the data obtained on the performance of old-old individuals may guide the interpretation of the language assessment using the MTL-BR Battery or similar language assessment procedures.

Unveiling the hidden culturable endophytic fungal diversity in aerial vegetative parts of Wrightia tinctoria (Roxb.) R.Br. of southern Aravalli hills

Distribution of pharmacy deserts and its association with digital divide and residential redlining across the United States

Background Recent pharmacy closures across the US has increased the number of communities characterized as “pharmacy deserts.” Residential segregation and structural economic disinvestment including the digital divide may exacerbate inequities related to pharmacy access. Methods In this cross-sectional study, pharmacy deserts were defined at the census tract level and their distribution was analyzed relative to the digital divide index (DDI) and residential redlining using multivariate logistic regression. Results Overall, 3,105 (3.72%) census tracts were classified as pharmacy deserts comprising more than 10 million inhabitants (n = 10,215,249). Pharmacy deserts were more often Black (n = 398, 13% vs. n = 6142, 7.6%), Hispanic (n = 597, 19.0% vs. 7662, 9.5%), or American Indian and Alaska Native (n = 82,14.0% vs. n = 113, 0.1%) segregated communities (all p < 0.001). Census tracts with a high DDI (OR 6.94, 95%CI 5.82–8.32; p < 0.001; E-value = 4.70) had a higher likelihood of being a pharmacy desert versus low DDI areas. Furthermore, census tracts experiencing high residential redlining had a twofold increased risk of being pharmacy deserts (OR 2.18, 95%CI 1.90–2.50; p < 0.001; E-value = 2.31). Conclusions Understanding how socioeconomic and infrastructure factors influence access to pharmacies is crucial to reduce health inequities. Efforts should be made to ensure equitable access to pharmacy services, especially for underserved populations in both rural and urban settings.

Exaggerated perception of change with greater sensory imprecision

Abstract Bayesian models describe precision (inverse variance) as a key determinant of perception. However, there is limited evidence on the behavioural effects of precision. The default assumption is that higher precision leads to greater surprise (or perceived change) from otherwise equivalent sensory changes. Four human experiments investigated the influence of precision on perceived salience of systematic changes in auditory stimulus streams. Participants reported Perceived Salience of Change (PSC) in the mean value of Gaussian sequences of pure tones varying in either frequency or intensity, with sequences differing in precision. We hypothesised that PSC, for a particular absolute mean change, would positively correlate with stimulus precision. Surprisingly, we observed multiple instances of the opposite effect, where PSC was rated as higher in low-precision conditions. The conditions under which we found evidence for a counter-Bayesian strategy was under extreme values of individual stimuli within sequences, and mostly in experiments where frequency rather than intensity was the varied parameter. Further scrutiny of the specific conditions for these surprising results showed that low precision could be associated with worsened, unaffected or improved correct reporting of the direction of sound frequency change. These results raise the intriguing possibility that certain circumstances, particularly those characterised by low signal-to-noise, human perception may adopt a counter-Bayesian strategy, and we discuss the potential mechanisms, evolutionary benefits, and clinical implications for future work to further test this falsifiable hypothesis.

Gentrification influences mosquito community composition at neighborhood and county levels in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Gentrification is occurring across urban areas in the United States and poses threats to marginalized and vulnerable communities through displacement, disruption of social networks, and worsening health outcomes. Gentrification is both a social and environmental process, affecting socioecological factors responsible for driving mosquito abundance and community composition. Our study aims to investigate how gentrification in Miami-Dade County, Florida, affects the alpha and beta diversity of mosquito communities. We relied on data from the Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control Division from 2020 to 2024, paired with data from the American Community Survey, to analyze changes in mosquito community composition based on gentrification status. Our results show that gentrification, measured by changes in home value, age, race, and education, significantly affected mosquito richness and community composition at county and neighborhood levels. Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti, primary arbovirus vector species, were more abundant in gentrifying areas, representing 31% of community composition variation compared to non-gentrifying areas. These findings have important implications for improving mosquito-borne disease preparedness and response in urban settings.

Investigating neural correlates of attention in relation to the development of executive functions in early childhood

Advanced MDCT assessment of abdominal aortic wall integrity and morphometry in the Saudi cohort: A single-centre cross-sectional study

Background Accurate reference values for abdominal aortic dimensions and wall thickness are crucial for the early detection and management of vascular diseases, particularly abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). However, there is a lack of population-specific normative data for the Saudi population. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 347 adults [111 males, 236 females] aged 20–80 at King Fahad Medical City. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) was utilised to measure the abdominal aortic lumen area, diameter, and wall thickness at three standard anatomical levels. Pixel-based segmentation and image analysis using MATLAB allowed for precise quantification of wall thickness. Multiple linear regression was employed to assess associations with age, gender, and BMI. Results The average diameter of the aorta was 1.87 cm, the average wall thickness was 1.6 mm, and the average lumen area was 3.01 cm². Males generally had thicker aortic walls and larger dimensions than females, particularly in younger age groups. However, these gender differences became less pronounced with older age and increased BMI. A higher BMI was strongly linked to thicker aortic walls (p < 0.001) but was also associated with a reduced lumen area (p < 0.001). Importantly, aortic diameter did not significantly influence wall thickness. Conclusion This study provides essential normative data for abdominal aortic measurements in the Saudi population, highlighting age and BMI as significant influencers of aortic morphology. The results support the adoption of population-specific diagnostic criteria and demonstrate the utility of advanced MDCT-based measurement techniques in vascular assessment.

Co-expression of a truncated TGFβ receptor II in c-Met CAR T cells enhances antitumor activity against lung adenocarcinoma

Economic inequality and crime across cities in India: Evidence using nighttime lights data

This study investigates the relationship between economic inequality and crime rates across 49 Indian cities from 2016 to 2021. Given the limited availability of traditional economic indicators at the city level in India, we introduce a novel methodological approach using nighttime lights collected by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellites and its inequality as an alternative indicator for economic activity and economic inequality. Employing a dynamic panel data model, we demonstrate that inequality based on nighttime lights has a statistically significant positive impact on crime rates. Our findings reveal that a 1% increase in light-based inequality corresponds to a 0.5% increase in total crime rate. This relationship remains robust across multiple crime categories, including violent crime, minor property crime, and property crime. Furthermore, we observe that conviction rates have a significant negative impact on total crime rate, suggesting the deterrent effect of effective law enforcement. These results contribute to the growing literature on urban crime dynamics and offer insights on the use of remotely sensed nighttime lights for studying economic disparities in regions where conventional economic data may be limited.

Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells

Impact of deep learning and post-processing algorithms performances on biodiversity metrics assessed on videos

Assessing the escalating biodiversity crisis, driven by climate change, habitat destruction, and exploitation, necessitates efficient monitoring strategies to assess species presence and abundance across diverse habitats. Video-based surveys using remote cameras are a promising, non-invasive way to collect valuable data in various environments. Yet, the analysis of recorded videos remains challenging due to time and expertise constraints. Recent advances in deep learning models have enhanced image processing capabilities in both object detection and classification. However, the impacts on models’ performances and usage on assessment of biodiversity metrics on videos is yet to be assessed. This study evaluates the impacts of video processing rates, detection and identification model performance, and post-processing algorithms on the accuracy of biodiversity metrics, using simulated remote videos of fish communities and 14,406 simulated automated processing pipelines. We found that a processing rate of one image per second minimizes errors while ensuring detection of all species. However, even near-perfect detection (both recall and precision of 0.99) and identification (accuracy of 0.99) models resulted in overestimation of total abundance, species richness and species diversity due to false positives. We reveal that post-processing model outputs using a confidence threshold approach (i.e., to discard most erroneous predictions while also discarding a smaller proportion of correct predictions) is the most efficient method to accurately estimate biodiversity from videos.

Effect of substrate mineralogy, biofilm and extracellular polymeric substances on bacterially induced carbonate mineralisation investigated with in situ nanoscale ToF-SIMS

Abstract Bacterial mineralisation of calcium carbonates (CaCO3) has become a focal point of interest in the scientific community owing to their versatile applications as biomaterials. However, despite extensive research, the knowledge on factors influencing biogenic CaCO3 polymorph (calcite, vaterite or aragonite) selection in nature remains obscure. Bacterial mineralisation happens in nature on diverse substrates by different pathways, often in the presence of organic matter such as biofilm and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secreted with the regular metabolic activities of microbes. This study examines the bacterial CaCO3 mineralisation process by two distinct pathways on different natural substrates with advanced analytical techniques, including Time of Flight- Secondary Ions Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). A high EPS-producing microbe (Bacillus subtilis, BS) was compared with the standard ureolytic strain (Sporosarcina pasteurii, SP). Natural geological minerals, including apatite, calcite and quartz, were selected as substrates. This study demonstrates that SP favours the precipitation of rhombohedral calcite crystals (2 to 40 μm in size), regardless of the mineral substrate. In contrast, the EPS-producing BS culture induced the formation of significantly larger vaterite structures (20 to 100 μm in size) in spheroid and hexagonal shapes. The mineralogy of precipitates was confirmed with Raman spectroscopy. ToF-SIMS enabled the spatial tracking of organic macromolecules and the adsorption of calcium ions on them. The functional groups of the EPS involved in these interactions were characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). This study reveals that microbial activity dominates over substrate mineralogy in selecting the phase and shaping the morphology of biogenic CaCO3, with EPS playing a crucial role in promoting the aggregation of small nanocrystals into large vaterite structures and their stabilisation.

Multimodal fusion approach for sports injury prevention and pose keypoint detection

Real-time pose estimation is essential in various applications such as sports analysis, motion tracking, and healthcare, where understanding human movement in complex environments is critical. However, existing methods often struggle to balance accuracy and computational efficiency, particularly in crowded or dynamic scenes where occlusions and fast movements are common. To address these challenges, we propose a novel architecture that integrates the Detection Transformer (DETR) with a Graph Convolutional Transformer (GCT) and Gating Mechanisms. This model is designed to capture both spatial and temporal dependencies more effectively while optimizing feature selection, leading to improved pose estimation accuracy and efficiency. Our approach outperforms current state-of-the-art methods, particularly in challenging scenarios, as demonstrated through extensive experiments on the PoseTrack Dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed model achieves superior performance across key metrics such as mean Average Precision (mAP), PCK@0.5, and Recall, while maintaining real-time processing capabilities. This research contributes to the field by offering a more robust solution for pose estimation in real-world, complex environments, with potential applications in sports analysis, surveillance, and human-robot interaction.

Assessment of the myocardial effects of Bradykinin inhibitors by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in discharged COVID-19 patients

Unchanged but undecided: Reproductive intentions among Ghanaian women following COVID-19 lockdowns in two large metropolises in Ghana

Evidence suggests that disaster situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic may affect reproductive intentions. These effects interact with an individual’s social context, including socioeconomic status, cultural norms, family size and structure, to shape reproductive intentions. In this paper, we review the COVID-19 lockdowns’ effects on reproductive intentions among Ghanaian women living in Accra and Kumasi. A correlational quantitative research design was adopted for the study while data was obtained through a survey of 532 women of reproductive age. Descriptive statistics, bivariate modeling using Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests and multivariate modeling using Firth’s logistic regression model were conducted to understand determinants of changing intentions following the COVID-19 lockdowns. In all, 25 women (4.7%) reported changing their intentions. Those who come from Kumasi were more likely to change their intentions (p < 0.001) as were those who reside within their respective metropolis (p < 0.05). Those who had ever been married or cohabitated with a partner (p < 0.01), who have their childrearing decisions made with input from their partner or other family members (p < 0.05), and who were pregnant or expecting to become pregnant before the lockdowns were enforced (p < 0.001) were also more likely to change their minds. Residence in Kumasi (AOR = 4.21, 95%CI 1.41–12.62) and being pregnant or expecting to become pregnant just before lockdown (AOR = 4.29, 95%CI 1.28–14.32) were the strongest predictors for changing of intentions. Overall, reproductive intentions among those surveyed were largely characterized by ambivalence and inconsistency, with the largest groups of people labeling their state prior to COVID-19 lockdowns as “undecided” and their change in state after lockdown also as “undecided.” Future work should include more room for ambiguity when characterizing reproductive intentions among Ghanaian women. Incorporating room for ambiguity in characterizing reproductive intentions may improve accuracy in data collection in demographic health research and shift how success is measured in family planning policy. We hope that this shift will promote individualized and person-centered care in the realm of family planning.

Comparative effects of standardized Centella asiatica extract (ECa 233) and its active compound mixture on proteomics and mitochondrial function

Arrow heads at Obi-Rakhmat (Uzbekistan) 80 ka ago?

Lithic weapon points occasionally found in Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal sites are large and do not differ in size, shape or type from those used in other activities such as butchering or plant gathering. The presence in a same assemblage of various types of projectile armatures, some of which are microlithic and designed for this purpose, has only been documented in Modern Humans sites. Recent studies indicate that light projectile points, which would become a key element in Upper Palaeolithic lithic industries, were already present in its formative stages. However, they remain marginal in debates regarding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. We present the initial findings of a traceological search for weapon heads in the oldest layers of the Obi-Rakhmat rock shelter in Uzbekistan, dating back around 80 ka. The lithic industry of this settlement is forming part of the Levantine Early Middle Paleolithic continuity but with several innovative traits. This site, located in the western foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains, northeastern Uzbekistan, has yielded throughout 10 meters of Pleistocene deposits covering 40,000 years a lithic industry characterized by the systematic production of blades (regular thick narrow blades from unipolar and bipolar sub-prismatic and narrow-faced cores, thin and wide blades from flat-faced Levallois-like cores) along with shorter pieces from convergent or centripetal Levallois cores, and bladelets from burin-cores and other small cores. Three types of projectile armature are identified over a selection of 20: retouched points, bladelets and more particularly unretouched triangular micropoints which had previously gone unoticed due to their fragmentary state. According to the fundamental principles of hunting weapon design these micropoints are too narrow for having been fitted to anything other than arrow-like shafts. They resemble the armatures described in a pioneer settlement by Sapiens in the Rhône Valley, France, 25,000 years later.