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Machine learning center-specific models show improved IVF live birth predictions over US national registry-based model

Breastfeeding transition in Oman: A generation shift or a product of social development? A qualitative study on three generations of Omani mothers

Background Exclusive breastfeeding is essential for infant health, yet its practice varies across generations and cultures. Although the health benefits of breastfeeding have been well known for decades, the utilization of infant formula feeding worldwide and in Oman, in particular, continues to rise, most likely as a result of a lack of social support and the time limit faced by working mothers. Little is known about the factors affecting Omani mothers’ breastfeeding experiences and practices. Therefore, this study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of breastfeeding practices among three generations of Omani mothers. Methods This qualitative study investigated exclusive breastfeeding practices among three generations of Omani mothers. Participants were recruited using a selective approach followed by a snowball technique, resulting in a total of 50 women, which included 17 first-generation mothers, 18 grandmothers, and 15 great-grandmothers. Participants were characterized by varying ages and socio-demographic backgrounds. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted in Arabic, and data collection continued until data saturation was reached. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis methodology, ensuring robustness and credibility. Results The analysis yielded two main categories reflecting the mothers’ experiences, three representing the grandmothers’ experiences, and two concerning the great-grandmothers’ experiences. While overarching themes like the significance of breastfeeding emerged across all generations, disparities were seen concerning challenges, beliefs, and support systems. Mothers highlighted contemporary hurdles such as work-life balance and societal pressures, whereas grandmothers emphasized inherited practices and cultural norms. Great-grandmothers reflected on the evolution of societal and familial dynamics impacting breastfeeding traditions. Despite these differences, a shared commitment to breastfeeding and recognition of its importance for maternal and child well-being was evident across generations. Conclusion The findings underscore the importance of societal support, healthcare provider education, and workplace policies in promoting exclusive breastfeeding. Targeted interventions are needed to address barriers to breastfeeding and empower women to make informed feeding choices. By addressing these challenges, societal institutions can contribute to achieving higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding and improve maternal and child health outcomes in Oman.

A clinical benchmark of public self-supervised pathology foundation models

Transcriptome and network analysis pinpoint ABA and plastid ribosomal proteins as main contributors to salinity tolerance in the rice variety, CSR28

Salinity stress is a major challenge for rice production, especially at seedling stage. To gain comprehensive insight into the molecular mechanisms and potential candidate genes involved in rice salinity stress response, we integrated physiological, transcriptome and network analysis to investigate salinity tolerance in two contrasting rice genotypes. The root and shoot samples were collected at two timepoints (6 hours and 54 hours) of high salt treatment. Element assay showed that the tolerant genotype CSR28 had lower Na+/K+ ratio in both organs than in those of the sensitive genotype IR28 under salinity stress. A total of 15,483 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from the RNA-Seq analysis. The salt-specific genes were mainly involved in metabolic processes, response to stimulus, and transporter activity, and were enriched in key metabolic pathways such as, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal transduction, and carotenoid biosynthesis. Furthermore, the results showed that the differential genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis were specifically up-regulated in the tolerant genotype. Network analysis revealed 50 hub genes for the salt-specific genes in the roots of CSR28 which mainly encodes ribosomal proteins (RPs). Functional validation of the nine hub genes revealed three plastid RPs (PRPs), including OsPRPL17, OsPRPS9 and OsPRPL11, which contributes to protein synthesis, chloroplast development and stress signaling. Our findings suggested that ABA and PRPs play key roles to enhance of salinity tolerance in CSR28. Our study provides valuable information for further investigations of the candidate genes associated with salt tolerance and the development of salt-tolerant rice varieties.

A mental-health crisis plagues PhDs — these evidence-led initiatives offer help

Heat-stable protein PGSL1 enhances pollen germination and tube growth at high temperature

Burden of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: an analysis based on the GBD 2021 compared with the United States

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an important disease affecting physical health worldwide, and the burden of this disease has been growing since 1991 for both China and the US. Objective To examine the changes in the burden of COPD in both China and the US between 1990–2021. Methods The joinpoint analysis, age-Period-Cohort analysis, decomposition analysis, predictive analysis methods were used to describe prevalence, incidence, death, and disability-adjusted life years for COPD in China and the US. Results Compared with China, all four measures of the US COPD burden were higher than they had been in 1990. The burden of COPD increases with age in China. Conversely, in the US, the burden of COPD is getting younger. The epidemiological changes have contributed to an increasing burden of COPD in the US, but have led to a decline in the burden of COPD in China. By 2042, the number of cases in both countries will rise, especially the death rate in the US. Conclusion The burden of COPD will not rapidly decline in the short term, both China and the US, as well as the global community, must take this disease seriously.

Asynchronous development of the mouse auditory cortex is driven by hemispheric identity and sex

Anticancer properties of peptides and protein hydrolysates derived from Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) serum

This study investigated the anticancer efficacy of <3 kDa fractions derived from native peptides and protein hydrolysate of Varanus saltator serum. The inhibitory effects of these fractions were evaluated against a panel of cancer cell lines (A375, CaCO2, CAL27, NCI-H460, HeLa, HCT8, HT29, HepG2, KATO III, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, Raw264.7, SKOV-3, SW620, T47D, and U937) and normal cell lines (HaCaT, MRC5, and Vero). Native peptides demonstrated higher anticancer activity compared to protein hydrolysates, inhibiting 16 cell lines and exhibiting high efficacy (≥70% inhibition) against CaCO2, CAL27, HaCaT, HT29, HepG2, MCF-7, MRC5, and U937. These native peptides were further fractionated by stepwise reverse-phase column chromatography. The hydrophilic (C18 unbound) peptide fraction exhibited greater anticancer activity than the hydrophobic (C18 bound) fraction. In addition, by LC-MS analysis, the peptide sequences were screening in silico. The predictions showed that 159 of the 432 Varanus peptides had the potential to be anticancer peptides (ACPs), of which the top twenty had a probability of more than 75%. The anticancer mechanism of peptides may be explained by the mechanism of cell entry or action. Further peptide synthesis and modification should be the next step to enhance the anticancer efficacy of these peptides with less toxicity to Vero cells. This finding sets the way for the development of new anticancer drugs originating from Varanus salvator serum peptides.

Hypoxia-induced Wnt5a-secreting fibroblasts promote colon cancer progression

“Everyone says ‘safe sex’ but no one ever says ‘safe drugs’, you know?”: Perspectives on the intersection of drug checking services, drug policy and the overdose crisis

Background Overdose deaths have continued to rise in the US despite heightened public attention and resources. Drug checking shows promise for integration into existing services for people who use drugs (PWUD) across North America. Amidst the backdrop of rising overdose deaths and emerging funds for harm reduction initiatives, this manuscript explores the landscape of drug checking services in North America and perspectives on improved integration with a diverse set of PWUD based in San Francisco and North American drug checking experts. Methods Two separate samples of drug checking stakeholders, ‘providers’ and ‘clients’ were recruited. Providers participated in in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews over Zoom on their experiences advocating for and operating drug checking services in the US and Canada. Clients were people who used drugs and lived in or commuted to the San Francisco Bay Area and participated in semi-structured interviews in November 2022. Interviews were transcribed fully and analyzed using thematic analysis methods. Results Providers and clients identified ongoing instability in the North American drug supply that is exacerbating overdose risk while also identifying groups that would benefit from greater access to drug checking services. Both groups believed the paradoxical impacts of the fentanyl crisis at the core of drug checking services created barriers to the implementation and expansion of these services, hurting PWUD and their providers. Additionally, clients and providers reflected on the social and policy challenges to expansion and improvement of drug checking in their communities. Conclusion Drug checking remains underleveraged, particularly with respect to the most vulnerable PWUD. Clients and providers contended that these services must become more responsive to an ever changing and dangerous drug supply in North America.

Coupling of ribosome biogenesis and translation initiation in human mitochondria

Abstract Biogenesis of mitoribosomes requires dedicated chaperones, RNA-modifying enzymes, and GTPases, and defects in mitoribosome assembly lead to severe mitochondriopathies in humans. Here, we characterize late-step assembly states of the small mitoribosomal subunit (mtSSU) by combining genetic perturbation and mutagenesis analysis with biochemical and structural approaches. Isolation of native mtSSU biogenesis intermediates via a FLAG-tagged variant of the GTPase MTG3 reveals three distinct assembly states, which show how factors cooperate to mature the 12S rRNA. In addition, we observe four distinct primed initiation mtSSU states with an incompletely matured rRNA, suggesting that biogenesis and translation initiation are not mutually exclusive processes but can occur simultaneously. Together, these results provide insights into mtSSU biogenesis and suggest a functional coupling between ribosome biogenesis and translation initiation in human mitochondria.

High impedance faults detection in power distribution networks using rogowski coils, kalman filtering, least-squares and non-recursive DFT computation engines

This paper presents a novel computational engine based on non-recursive discrete Fourier transform (DFT) technology to detect high-resistance faults (HRFs) in power distribution networks. The non-recursive DFT approach utilizes the interconnection between a sliding window for current signals and a foundation function window during transient error. This non-recursive DFT technology is characterized by a fixed error in amplitude calculation and a rotated output angle. The proposed technique is compared against several established methods for high-resistance fault detection in distribution systems, including current reconstruction (CR) using Rogowski coils, Kalman filtering, and least-squares computational engines. The performance of each technique is evaluated by assessing the estimated percentage error in the calculation of fundamental and harmonic amplitudes. To study the proposed technique, the aforementioned methods were carefully modeled and simulated using MATLAB software for the IEEE 33-bus test feeder, simulated arcing faults, and Rogowski coils under various test conditions. The comparison is conducted under the influence of different arc models in the distribution system to assess the performance of the proposed technology. The comparative results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed non-recursive DFT-based technique in detecting high-resistance faults in power distribution networks, outperforming the other established methods considered in this study.

Chanoclavine synthase operates by an NADPH-independent superoxide mechanism

Room-temperature multiferroicity in sliding van der Waals semiconductors with sub-0.3 V switching

Abstract The search for van der Waals (vdW) multiferroic materials has been challenging but also holds great potential for the next-generation multifunctional nanoelectronics. The group-IV monochalcogenide, with an anisotropic puckered structure and an intrinsic in-plane polarization at room temperature, manifests itself as a promising candidate with coupled ferroelectric and ferroelastic order as the basis for multiferroic behavior. Unlike the intrinsic centrosymmetric AB stacking, we demonstrate a multiferroic phase of tin selenide (SnSe), where the inversion symmetry breaking is maintained in AA-stacked multilayers over a wide range of thicknesses. We observe that an interlayer-sliding-induced out-of-plane (OOP) ferroelectric polarization couples with the in-plane (IP) one, making it possible to control out-of-plane polarization via in-plane electric field and vice versa. Notably, thickness scaling yields a sub-0.3 V ferroelectric switching, which promises future low-power-consumption applications. Furthermore, coexisting armchair- and zigzag-like structural domains are imaged under electron microscopy, providing experimental evidence for the degenerate ferroelastic ground states theoretically predicted. Non-centrosymmetric SnSe, as the first layered multiferroic at room temperature, provides a novel platform not only to explore the interactions between elementary excitations with controlled symmetries, but also to efficiently tune the device performance via external electric and mechanical stress.

How do positive and negative emotions influence children’s and adolescents’ arithmetic performance?

This study is the first to investigate how negative and positive emotional states influence children’s arithmetic performance and age-related differences therein. Children aged 8–14 (n = 149) were asked to verify true/false, one-digit addition problems (i.e., 8 + 2 = 10. True? False?) which were superimposed on emotionally negative, positive, or neutral pictures. The main results showed that (a) both positive and negative emotions impaired children’s arithmetic performance, (b) deleterious effects of negative emotions were larger than those of positive emotions, (c) effects of emotions were modulated by the type of (true/false) problems, (d) effects of emotions on current trials were influenced by emotions on immediately preceding trials, and (e) effects of emotions as well as their trial-to-trial modulations changed with children’s age. These findings have important implications for further our understanding of effects of emotions in children’s arithmetic and how these effects change as children grow older.

Author Correction: Cost-effectiveness of community-based integrated care model for patients with diabetes and depressive symptoms

Scaling-basis chirplet extracting transform and its application in bearing fault diagnosis

In this paper, we propose a new time-frequency analysis (TFA) method, namely scaling-basis chirplet extracting transform (SBCET). Based on the time-frequency representation (TFR) results obtained by scaling-basis chirplet transform (SBCT), the method introduces a new “extraction operator” to extract the time-frequency (TF) energy associated with the signal to portray the TF energy distribution information of the signal with high accuracy. SBCET can also obtain a TFR with concentrated energy and high resolution for non-stationary signals with close frequency intervals and intense background noise. The effectiveness and superiority are proved by numerical signal processing and experimental verification.

Data-driven discovery of biaxially strained single atoms array for hydrogen production

Design and development of an irrigation monitoring and control system based on blynk internet of things and thingspeak

The scarcity of water resources exacerbated by climate change poses a major challenge for sustainable agriculture. This study presents an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled irrigation system designed for real-time monitoring and precise water control. Using the Blynk platform and ThingSpeak for data management, the system integrates sensors for soil moisture, temperature, and humidity with a NodeMCU module to optimize irrigation practices. Initial results demonstrate the system’s effectiveness in improving water use efficiency and supporting sustainable agricultural practices, providing a low-cost, accessible solution for small and medium-scale farmers.