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Your brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you?

Regional and institutional trends in assessment for academic promotion

Abstract The assessment of research performance is widely seen as a vital tool in upholding the highest standards of quality, with selection and competition believed to drive progress. Academic institutions need to take critical decisions on hiring and promotion, while facing external pressure by also being subject to research assessment 1–4 . Here we present an outlook on research assessment for career progression with specific focus on promotion to full professorship, based on 314 policies from 190 academic institutions and 218 policies from 58 government agencies, covering 32 countries in the Global North and 89 countries in the Global South. We investigated how frequently various promotion criteria are mentioned and carried out a statistical analysis to infer commonalities and differences across policies. Although quantitative methods of assessment remain popular, in agreement with what is found in more geographically restricted studies 5–9 , they are not omnipresent. We find differences between the Global North and the Global South as well as between institutional and national policies, but less so between disciplines. A preference for bibliometric indicators is more marked in upper-middle-income countries. Although we see some variation, many promotion policies are based on the assumption of specific career paths that become normative rather than embracing diversity. In turn, this restricts opportunities for researchers. These results challenge current practice and have strategic implications for researchers, research managers and national governments.

TWINKLE: An open-source two-photon microscope for teaching and research

Many laboratories use two-photon microscopy through commercial suppliers, or homemade designs of considerable complexity. The integrated nature of these systems complicates customization, troubleshooting, and training on the principles of two-photon microscopy. Here, we present “Twinkle”: a microscope for Two-photon Imaging in Neuroscience, and Kit for Learning and Education. It is a fully open, high performing and easy-to-set-up microscope that can effectively be used for both education and research. The instrument features a >1 mm field of view, using a modern objective with 3 mm working distance and 2 inch diameter optics combined with GaAsP photomultiplier tubes to maximize the fluorescence signal. We document our experiences using this system as a teaching tool in several two week long workshops, exemplify scientific use cases, and conclude with a broader note on the place of our work in the growing space of open scientific instrumentation.

Close the biodiversity funding gap by teaching conservation to financial professionals

Table tennis coaching system based on a multimodal large language model with a table tennis knowledge base

Table tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, and it plays a positive role in the overall development of people’s physical and mental health. This study develops an AI table tennis coaching system using a Multimodal Large Language Model with a table tennis knowledge base, aiming to provide precise training guidance and match strategies for table tennis beginners. Method: By using visual recognition technology, motion capture technology, and advanced multimodal large language models with a comprehensive professional table tennis knowledge base, the system accurately identifies common errors made by beginners and provides targeted training guidance. Result: The AI Table Tennis Coaching System demonstrates high accuracy in identifying mistakes made by beginner players, particularly in recognizing arm-related errors and racket-related errors, with accuracies reaching 73% and 82% respectively. Conclusion: The system operates at low costs, is easy to deploy, and offers a high cost-performance ratio, providing effective technological support for table tennis teaching and training. The AI table tennis coaching system is expected to play a significant role in enhancing training efficiency, promoting athlete skill improvement, and popularizing the sport. Future research will focus on improving the accuracy of footwork recognition in AI table tennis coaching systems and expanding their capability to provide training guidance for high-level athletes, thereby promoting the overall advancement of table tennis.

Integrating transcriptome and metabolomics revealed the key metabolic pathway response of Amaranthus retroflexus L. to the resistance to fomesafen

Background Amaranthus retroflexus L. is one of the main broad-leaved weeds in soybean fields in Heilongjiang Province and is an important factor affecting soybean yield. It is becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides. However, studies on the transcriptome level and the molecular mechanism of secondary metabolite accumulation of resistant varieties of Amaranthus retroflexus L. have not been reported. Therefore, comprehensive analysis of transcriptome and metabolome is needed to determine the key metabolic pathways and key genes of Amaranthus retroflexus L. Results The biosynthetic pathway of resistance to Amaranthus retroflexus L. was studied by transcriptome and metabolome analysis. Transcriptome analysis showed that in the three comparison groups, compared with untreated (CK) group, there were 979 Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in resistant (RY) group and 15731 DEGs in sensitive (SY) group; The RY group had 13822 DEGs compared to the SY group. Fluorescent quantitative PCR detection found that two gene tables related to Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase (P450), Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and other enzyme systems such as peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), Catalase (CAT) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly reached. Using Venn analysis for metabolomics analysis (VIP>1 and P<0.05), 239 Differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were selected. There are 15 common DEMs in the three control groups, and 8 unique DEMs in the RY group. This study detected 76 cases of DEMs and 139 cases of DEMs in the CK, RY, and SY control groups, respectively. More metabolites were detected in the CK and SY control groups. This viewpoint provides evidence for the genetic and metabolic differences between resistance and sensitivity in Amaranthus retroflexus L.. The KEGG in the RY vs SY group is mainly enriched in cysteine and methlonine metabololism, glycine, serine and threonine metabololism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, biosynthesis of variant plant secondary metabololites, biosynthesis of amino acids, arginine and proline metabololism, biosynthesis of cofactors. Therefore, the resistance mechanism of Amaranthus retroflexus L. may be mainly generated by the metabolic pathway mechanism of amino acids. Conclusion In this study, DEGs and DEMs were identified by de novo Transcriptome assembly and metabonomic analysis, and an important metabolic pathway of resistance was found. It was found that the resistance mechanism of Amaranthus retroflexus L. might be mainly produced by amino acid metabolic pathway. This discovery laid the foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism and functional characteristics of the resistance of Amaranthus retroflexus L..

Resolving native GABAA receptor structures from the human brain

Gliomagenesis mimics an injury response orchestrated by neural crest-like cells

Optimizing in-store warehouse safety: A DEMATEL approach to comprehensive risk assessment

Introduction In-store warehouses can be a dangerous place due to the storage of a high volume of diverse life goods which may raise the total risk of warehouse. The turnover of goods in this kind of warehouse is very high. Therefore, safety risk is a multi-criteria problem and risk assessment of a such dynamic place needs an accurate and simple method to use. This study was conducted to design and validation of a method for risk assessment of in-store warehouses using the DEMATEL method. Materials & methods This cross-sectional descriptive analytical study was conducted between 2015 to 2016. First, a preliminary questionnaire was prepared by reviewing the available studies and documents. After assigning the group of experts and validating the questionnaire base on the content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR), the weight of each of the parameters affecting the safety of the warehouse was determined. Then, the risk calculation model was developed. This model was validated using the failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) method and Bland-Altman statistical method. Finally, to simplify the use of the developed risk assessment method, the algorithm of the model was also created. Results The results showed that 21 factors are among the main factors affecting the safety of the in-store warehouse, among which the "igniting and explosive property of the goods" factor had the most impact and the "warehouse working hours" factor had the least impact. The results achieved from the designed model were consistent with the FMEA method. Conclusion Based on the results, the newly designed risk assessment method can analyze the risks in the in-store warehouses faster and more accurately than the existing methods.

Scientific societies need to modernize

How regional innovation and entrepreneurship vitality affects residents’ leisure consumption potential—utility differences between educational investment and scientific and technological investment

Innovation and entrepreneurship vitality, as a key factors in the development of the digital economy, significantly affects both regional economic development and residents’ consumption capacity. On the basis of the panel data of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2010 to 2022, this paper explores the impact of regional innovation and entrepreneurship vitality on residents’ leisure consumption potential and its internal mechanism. Research has shown that innovation and entrepreneurship vitality drives leisure consumption potential. Furthermore, regional innovation and entrepreneurship vitality can effectively increase educational investment, which in turn increases residents’ leisure consumption potential. Although scientific and technological investment can significantly increase innovation and entrepreneurship vitality, it curtails the development of residents’ leisure consumption potential. In addition, there are significant differences in the effect of regional innovation and entrepreneurial vitality on residents’ leisure consumption potential in different policy environments and demographic structure. Diverse policies help to better stimulate regional innovation and entrepreneurship influence on residents’ leisure consumption. The development of innovation and entrepreneurship vitality can effectively stimulate the leisure consumption potential of residents in areas with low population mobility, which compensate for the decrease of leisure consumption due to the lack of external population. On the basis of the inconsistency between economic development and residents’ spiritual needs in China’s major contradictions, this study further explores the coordination between scientific and technological development and individuals’ needs for a better life, and further complements and justifies the literature in the field of innovation and consumption.

Outdated rules on expenses prevent academics from travelling more sustainably

Effects of Taekwondo intervention on balance ability: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Objective This study investigated the effects of Taekwondo interventions on balance ability through meta-analysis and systematic review. Additionally, an optimal intervention protocol was proposed based on subgroup analysis of single-leg stance outcomes to enhance the overall effect. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in Chinese (CNKI, WANFANG DATA), English (Web of Science, PubMed), and Korean (KISS, RISS, DBPIA) databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs), pre-post studies, and cross-sectional studies (CSS) evaluating Taekwondo’s impact on balance. A total of 21 studies encompassing 972 participants were included. The risk of bias in the RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool version 2 (RoB 2.0), and the methodological quality of pre-post and cross-sectional studies was evaluated with the Methodology Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) criteria. Quantitative analyses focused on measures such as single-leg stance with eyes closed, marching in place with eyes closed, and assessments using the Win pod device. Qualitative analyses addressed other assessment methods. Results The overall risk of bias results for the included RCTs indicated that four studies were classified as high risk, while the remaining studies demonstrated some concerns regarding risk. The methodological quality of the included non-RCTs was assessed as moderate. Furthermore, the quantitative outcomes indicated that Taekwondo interventions significantly enhanced both static (single-leg stance with eyes closed; ES = 0.862, p<0.001) and dynamic (marching in place with eyes closed; ES = 0.296, p = 0.036) balance abilities. However, analysis using the Win pod device for static balance showed no significant improvement (p>0.05). Subgroup analysis for the single-leg stance with eyes closed demonstrated the most substantial effects in adults (ES = 1.191, p = 0.001) and females (ES = 0.786, p = 0.005). The most effective Taekwondo intervention featured a duration of 12 weeks (ES = 1.375, p = 0.002), a frequency of once per week (ES = 1.406, p = 0.003), and a times length of 60–70 minutes (ES = 1.028, p<0.001). Qualitative assessments supported these findings, indicating overall beneficial impacts on balance from Taekwondo training across various populations and evaluation methods. Conclusions In conclusion, Taekwondo interventions are effective for enhancing static and dynamic balance abilities, especially in adult females. It is recommended to follow a training protocol of 60–70 minutes per times, once weekly, for 12 weeks to optimize static balance improvements.

Japan can be a science heavyweight once more — if it rethinks funding

LIPG-mediated regulation of lipid deposition and proliferation in goat intramuscular preadipocytes involves the PPARα signaling pathway

Endothelial lipase (LIPG), a member of the triglyceride lipase family, plays an essential role in human diseases and lipid metabolism. However, its function in goat intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of the LIPG gene in IMF deposition by knocking down and overexpressing it in goat intramuscular preadipocytes. We successfully cloned the full-length LIPG gene, which spans 2,131 bp, including a 94 bp 5’ untranslated region (5’UTR), a 1,503 bp coding sequence (CDS), and a 534 bp 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR). Tissue expression profiles showed that LIPG is expressed in the heart, liver, spleen, Kidney, longest dorsal muscle, and small intestine tissues of goats. LIPG knockdown significantly inhibited both the proliferation of intramuscular preadipocytes and lipid deposition. Moreover, LIPG knockdown markedly decreased mRNA expression of FASN, LPL, CPT1A, CPT1B, FABP3, while increasing the mRNA expression of ATGL, ACOX1, FADS1, and ELOVL6. These findings were further corroborated through LIPG overexpression experiments. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we identified 1695 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the negative control (NC) and LIPG knockdown (Si-LIPG) groups, with KEGG pathway analysis revealing significant enrichment in the PPAR signaling pathway. Additionally, LIPG knockdown significantly upregulated the expression of both mRNA and protein levels of PPARα. The PPARα agonist WY14643 was able to reverse the enhanced lipid deposition induced by LIPG overexpression. In conclusion, our study highlights a key role for LIPG in the regulation of goat intramuscular preadipocyte proliferation and lipid deposition, potentially through the PPARα signaling pathway. These findings provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms governing IMF deposition and suggest potential strategies for improving goat meat quality.

Author Correction: An online monitoring method of milling cutter wear condition driven by digital twin

ILR-Net: Low-light image enhancement network based on the combination of iterative learning mechanism and Retinex theory

Images captured in nighttime or low-light environments are often affected by external factors such as noise and lighting. Aiming at the existing image enhancement algorithms tend to overly focus on increasing brightness, while neglecting the enhancement of color and detailed features. This paper proposes a low-light image enhancement network based on a combination of iterative learning mechanisms and Retinex theory (defined as ILR-Net) to enhance both detail and color features simultaneously. Specifically, the network continuously learns local and global features of low-light images across different dimensions and receptive fields to achieve a clear and convergent illumination estimation. Meanwhile, the denoising process is applied to the reflection component after Retinex decomposition to enhance the image’s rich color features. Finally, the enhanced image is obtained by concatenating the features along the channel dimension. In the adaptive learning sub-network, a dilated convolution module, U-Net feature extraction module, and adaptive iterative learning module are designed. These modules respectively expand the network’s receptive field to capture multi-dimensional features, extract the overall and edge details of the image, and adaptively enhance features at different stages of convergence. The Retinex decomposition sub-network focuses on denoising the reflection component before and after decomposition to obtain a low-noise, clear reflection component. Additionally, an efficient feature extraction module—global feature attention is designed to address the problem of feature loss. Experiments were conducted on six common datasets and in real-world environments. The proposed method achieved PSNR and SSIM values of 23.7624dB and 0.8653 on the LOL dataset, and 26.8252dB and 0.7784 on the LOLv2-Real dataset, demonstrating significant advantages over other algorithms.

Seasonal variation in Swedish sarcoidosis patients with severe hypercalcemia

Abstract Sarcoidosis associated hypercalcemia (SAHC) is a challenging clinical problem as it can result in severe morbidity. Sunlight exposure and conversion of vitamin D to its active form by macrophages in granulomas have been suggested as possible causes. We aimed to disentangle mechanisms behind SAHC by investigating any associations with season, granuloma burden and lung macrophages. Patients with SAHC were identified from a local cohort. The patients were divided in two groups: mild and severe SAHC. Data on when SAHC occurred, HLA-DRB1 alleles, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) macrophages, extrapulmonary manifestations (EPM) and serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (s-ACE) as a marker for granuloma burden were retrieved from medical records. Out of 83 patients with SAHC, severe hypercalcemia was found in 36 patients, 75% of whom presented between May and October (p < 0.001). No seasonal variation was observed for patients with mild hypercalcemia. Elevated s-ACE was more common in patients with severe hypercalcemia (84% of patients), compared to 46% in the group with mild hypercalcemia (p < 0.001). HLA-DRB1*04 was more frequent in the group with severe hypercalcemia, compared to the mild group (67% vs. 32%, p < 0.01). Results support SAHC being associated with sun exposure. Risk factors to be observant of are elevated s-ACE and HLA-DRB1*04.

Amazing Australopithecus — excitement from 1925 about a ‘man ape’ fossil find

Digital mental health service engagement changes during Covid-19 in children and young people across the UK: Presenting concerns, service activity, and access by gender, ethnicity, and deprivation

The adoption of digital health technologies accelerated during Covid-19, with concerns over the equity of access due to digital exclusion. The aim of this study was to assess whether service access and presenting concerns differed before and during the pandemic. Sociodemographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, and deprivation level) were examined to identify disparities in service use. To do this we utilised routinely collected service data from a text-based online mental health service for children and young people. A total of 61221 service users consented to sharing their data which represented half of the service population. We used interrupted time-series models to assess whether there was a change in the level and rate of service use during the Covid-19 pandemic (April 2020-April 2021) compared to pre-pandemic trends (June 2019-March 2020) and whether this varied by sociodemographic characteristics. The majority of users identified as female (74%) and White (80%), with an age range between 13 and 20 years of age. There was evidence of a sudden increase (13%) in service access at the start of the pandemic (RR 1.13 95% CI 1.02, 1.25), followed by a reduced rate (from 25% to 21%) of engagement during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic trends (RR 0.97 95% CI 0.95,0.98). There was a sudden increase in almost all presenting issues apart from physical complaints. There was evidence of a step increase in the number of contacts for Black/African/Caribbean/Black British (38% increase; 95% CI: 1%-90%) and White ethnic groups (14% increase; 95% CI: 2%-27%), sudden increase in service use at the start of the pandemic for the most (58% increase; 95% CI: 1%-247%) and least (47% increase; 95% CI: 6%-204%) deprived areas. During the pandemic, contact rates decreased, and referral sources changed at the start. Findings on access and service activity align with other studies observing reduced service utilization. The lack of differences in deprivation levels and ethnicity at lockdown suggests exploring equity of access to the anonymous service. The study provides unique insights into changes in digital mental health use during Covid-19 in the UK.