Browse Articles

Assessing reader reception of Arthur Waley’s English translation of Journey to the West: A topic modeling and sentiment analysis approach

Arthur Waley’s 1942 abridged translation, Monkey: Journey to the West , remains one of the most influential and widely debated English renderings of this Chinese classic. Despite its extensive global cultural impact, the contemporary online reception has remained largely unexplored. This study applies an integrated computational framework — combining BERTopic topic modelling, Twitter-RoBERTa sentiment classification, and GPT-4o-assisted qualitative validation — to analyse 796 English-language reader reviews of Waley’s translation collected from Amazon and Goodreads. The study aims to systematically investigate the contemporary online reception, identify the thematic concerns and interpretive patterns of English-language readers, exploring the dynamics of its cross-cultural dissemination. The findings indicate that Monkey is generally well received among international readers (43.12% positive sentiment), driven by appreciation for Waley’s colloquial prose, Sun Wukong’s appeal as a trickster-hero, and the translation’s cross-cultural philosophical resonance and humour. Conversely, negative feedback (18.30%) is associated with structural tensions with Western narrative and heroic conventions, insufficient paratextual guidance for cultural interpretation, and ineffective multimodal delivery — most notably, British-accented audiobook narrations. The study concludes that the global circulation of Monkey is shaped by a complex interplay of translation strategies, reader cultural schemas, and multimodal delivery formats. Furthermore, this hybrid methodological approach offers a replicable empirical framework for investigating international reception of Chinese literary classics in the digital era.

Hardware free industrial anomaly detection using physics informed thermal proxies from RGB

Potential role of a CRISPR-Cas-activated toxin-antitoxin system in bacterial immunity

Situated generosity in clinical care: A mixed-methods study of STI services in China

Background Generosity is a critical yet understudied dimension of prosocial behavior in healthcare. Existing research has focused on individual traits or professional values, with limited attention to how generosity is shaped in everyday clinical contexts. This study examines how healthcare professionals in China understand and enact generosity in sexually transmitted infection (STI) services, and how it is shaped by relational and organizational conditions. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 healthcare professionals and a focus group with four participants across five hospitals in Guangdong Province, China. Thematic analysis explored clinicians’ understandings and experiences of generosity. Crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) examined configurations of relational and organizational conditions associated with reported generous practices. Data were analyzed using NVivo 12 and csQCA 4.0. Given uniform outcome presence, findings are interpreted as descriptive configurational patterns rather than causal effects. Results Participants described generosity as discretionary practices beyond formal duties, including emotional support, flexible scheduling, and financial accommodations. These practices were associated with patient trust and collegial support, but also with emotional strain and boundary tensions in resource-constrained settings. Generosity was more often described in accounts involving clinicians’ engagement with patients’ broader social circumstances and experiences of supportive team environments. Overall, generosity appeared as a context-dependent practice shaped by interacting relational and organizational conditions. Conclusion Generosity in STI care appears as a relationally embedded practice shaped by interactions among clinicians, patients, and organizational environments. It reflects the coupling of relational dynamics and institutional conditions that simultaneously enable and constrain discretionary care. Sustaining situated generosity therefore depends less on individual motivation than on organizational infrastructures that structure relational work in clinical settings.

Interpretable graph neural networks for predicting drug activity in triple-negative breast cancer using scaffold-based splits

Design and realization of high performance textured lead-free piezoelectric ceramics through human-AI collaboration

Potentials and challenges of next generation sequencing-guided individualized treatment for management of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis – A qualitative study

Background Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a powerful technology for diagnosing and managing rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB). To facilitate its integration into routine RR-TB care, a treatment recommendation system was developed to automatically translate whole genome sequencing (WGS) results into treatment recommendations. The effectiveness of WGS-guided treatment recommendations was evaluated in the SMARTT trial. Methods We conducted a focus group discussion among eleven health care workers (HCWs) involved with managing SMARTT trial participants to explore their experiences and attitudes towards WGS-guided treatment recommendations. Thematic analysis was undertaken with an inductive approach. Results The use of WGS and automated treatment recommendations simplified drug susceptibility testing (DST) and was perceived as beneficial to patients and HCWs. The strategy did not negatively impact HCWs autonomy and competence. Trust and acceptance were compromised by slow turn-around time, guideline deviations, discordance between DST methods, and unfavorable outcomes of some patients. Implementation challenges included drug stock-out, limited internet connection and training requirements. Conclusion NGS accompanied by automated treatment recommendations holds promise for improving RR-TB care in high-burden settings, benefiting both patients and HCWs. Perspectives of policymakers, laboratory staff and patients should be explored to support the routine implementation of NGS in RR-TB management.

Effects of heatwaves on emergency medical service activity in Vienna: a 4-year analysis

Abstract Heatwaves increase the risk of morbidity and strain emergency medical services. However, prehospital data from Central Europe remain limited. Overall, 936,461 emergency dispatch records were linked to spatially matched meteorological data collected from a 506-point grid across Vienna. Heatwaves were defined based on the daily minimum, mean, and maximum temperatures using the duration-and-threshold approach. During the 2018–2021 study period, group comparison analyses and generalized linear models with a negative binomial distribution were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs), adjusting for calendar effects. Subgroup analyses assessed heterogeneity by age, sex, diagnostic category, and timing during and after heat events. Daily minimum temperature of ≥ 20.5 °C for 2 consecutive days yielded the strongest association with increased dispatch activity (IRR = 1.104, 95% CI 1.077–1.131, p  < 0.001). The effects intensified with increasing heatwave severity. Subsequent heatwave days exhibited decreased but statistically significant impacts. Female patients (IRR = 1.094) and those aged 0–18 and 76–85 years presented with a disproportionately greater increase in dispatches. Dispatches for heat-related illness, COPD, unconsciousness, and trauma were significantly higher. The first heatwave each year had stronger effects (IRR = 1.118) than the subsequent events. Minimum temperature-based definitions had the highest predictive value. Our results support the need to adapt local heat-health warning systems to account for cumulative exposure, early season risks, and diagnosis-specific vulnerabilities.

A fourth subgenome of the Camelina genus reveals gene dominance is influenced by chromosomal proximity

Abstract Camelina sativa , an oilseed crop of the Brassicaceae family, has close relatives that vary in ploidy levels, providing a unique platform for studying plant genome evolution. Here, we report an improved assembly of the widely used C. sativa reference DH55 and three additional genome assemblies of Camelina microcarpa : one tetraploid, and two hexaploids with divergent chromosome numbers, Type 1 (2n = 40) and Type 2 (2n = 38). We uncover the fourth subgenome of the Camelina genus that of C. microcarpa Type 2, which shows numerous unique chromosomal rearrangements differentiating it from other characterized Camelina subgenomes. In this recently formed species, the second subgenome displays gene expression dominance, contrary to expectations from the two-step evolutionary process invoked in the generation of related Brassicaceae species. The observed gene dominance is negatively correlated with inter-subgenome chromatin interaction frequencies, suggesting chromosome conformation and proximity in the nucleus contribute to this mechanism of genome evolution.

Role and mechanism of nitric oxide-regulated cGAS/STING pathway-mediated inflammatory response in hypoglycemia-induced coronary artery endothelial cell injury

Background Hypoglycemia in diabetes markedly increases the risk of coronary artery events, but the mechanism by which it damages vascular endothelium through nitric oxide (NO) regulation of innate immune pathways remains unclear. Objective This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which NO may induce vascular endothelial injury under hypoglycemic conditions, potentially through activation of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase/stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS/STING) pathway. Methods The mouse model of diabetic hypoglycemia and a primary endothelial cell model of low-high glucose cycling were constructed. Gene knockout, molecular biology, and functional assay were adopted. Results In the hypoglycemia group, endothelial cell NO levels increased by 4.1 times, while mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and ATP production decreased by 48.2% and 53.6%, respectively ( P  < 0.01), and inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) inhibitors could reverse the damage. Hypoglycemia induced a 5.9-fold increase in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) release, accompanied by a 3.8-4.2-fold upregulation in cGAS/STING protein expression ( P  < 0.01), suggesting that NO may contribute to the upregulation of the cGAS/STING pathway indirectly by promoting mtDNA release. STING knockout blocked pathway activation but did not affect mtDNA release. In the hypoglycemia group, IL-6 and TNF-α levels increased by 7.8 times and 7.6 times, respectively, cardiomyocyte survival rate dropped to 62.5%, and left ventricular function decreased by 35.3% ( P  < 0.01), all of which could be improved by STING inhibitors. Inhibition of iNOS or STING markedly restored mitochondrial function or suppressed inflammation, respectively, and combined intervention restored cardiomyocyte survival rate to 91.2% ( P  < 0.01). Conclusion Hypoglycemia induces mitochondrial damage and mtDNA release via the iNOS-NO axis, which may subsequently promote the activation of the cGAS/STING pathway, leading to vascular and myocardial inflammatory injury. Inhibition of iNOS or STING can mitigate the damage, revealing the “NO-cGAS/STING-inflammation axis” as a core mechanism and potential therapeutic target.

Heterologous expression and characterization of Rhodococcus opacus R7 laccase-like multicopper oxidase (LMCO1) enzyme for polyethylene biodegradation

SMURF: soft-segmentation for single-cell reconstruction and topological analysis of spatial transcriptomic data

Abstract High-resolution spatial transcriptomics requires computational methods to accurately assign transcripts to individual cells. We present SMURF (Segmentation and Manifold UnRolling Framework), a cross-platform soft-segmentation algorithm that uses deep learning to map mRNAs from capture spots to nearby nuclei. SMURF also unrolls complex tissue architectures by projecting cells onto Cartesian coordinates, enabling analyses of cell-type organization and gene expression gradients. We show that SMURF assigns mRNAs to single cells more accurately than existing approaches and robustly unrolls complex tissues to reveal zonated transcriptional programs and cell-type organization across multiple tissues and spatial transcriptomic technologies. To showcase the biological insights enabled by SMURF, we segment over 400,000 cells from the mouse ileum using Visium HD data. We identify zonated gene expression programs along the maturing intestinal villus and the transcription factors that regulate them. Importantly, we show that gene expression gradients along the proximal-distal axis of the intestine accumulate in the upper villus and that upper villus gene expression is reprogrammed by environmental signals in the lumen, suggesting that environmental inputs are major determinants of regional transcriptional identity. Together, these results establish SMURF as a powerful framework for analyzing gene expression of cells within native tissue contexts.

Optimized passive thermoelectric temperature regulation for dust-resilient sensor nodes in Extreme Desert Climates

Autonomous sensor nodes deployed in harsh, remote desert environments face significant reliability challenges due to extreme diurnal temperature fluctuations. This paper presents an Optimized Passive Thermoelectric Temperature Regulation System designed to protect sensitive electronics and batteries from these conditions. The innovative system leverages a solid-state Peltier module for active bi-directional temperature control (cooling and heating), crucially supported by novel, highly efficient fanless passive heat transfer components. The system integrates thermoelectric regulation with optimized passive heat dissipation and solar-powered energy management, enabling continuous 24/7 operation. Experimental validation under simulated desert environments demonstrates a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 0.83, cooling from approximately 40°C to 20°C within 4.6 minutes, and approximately 10% reduction in power consumption compared to forced-convection systems. Its holistically designed, sealed, and dust-proof enclosure, devoid of mechanical moving parts in the thermal management system (fans, compressors), drastically enhances reliability and minimizes maintenance requirements compared to traditional methods like forced air cooling or miniature vapor-compression systems. This approach uniquely addresses the compounded challenges of dust, extreme temperatures, and limited power. It offers a superior solution for ensuring the uninterrupted accuracy, extended lifespan, and demonstrated improved performance over conventional mechanisms of vital sensor nodes in arid climates.

Electronic nose and GC–MS coupling for sesame oil authenticity assessment

Abstract Sesame oil is a valuable edible oil whose authenticity and quality are important concerns for consumers and producers. Reliable and rapid analytical methods are therefore required to assess the quality and authenticity of sesame oil products available on the market. The electronic nose (E-nose) is a non-destructive, portable, and non-contact tool that offers advantages such as low cost, high speed, and ease of use compared with conventional quality control methods. In this study, E-nose and GC–MS techniques were applied to evaluate pure sesame oil and four commercially available sesame oil samples. Based on E-nose data analyzed using chemometric methods, the PCA model explained 96% of the total variance, while LDA and QDA achieved 100% classification accuracy. SVM and ANN models showed accuracies of 98.67% and 98.7%, respectively. The results demonstrated a strong agreement between E-nose and GC–MS analyses and confirmed the capability of the E-nose system, combined with chemometric methods, to differentiate pure sesame oil from commercially available sesame oil samples. These findings highlight the potential of E-nose technology as a rapid and cost-effective tool for sesame oil authenticity assessment and quality control.

Bubble-assisted cleaning for primary amine oxidation towards ampere-level current densities

Abstract Organic molecular oxidation reactions are ideally regarded to be energy-saving alternative to replace oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for lowering the oxidation overpotential during green hydrogen production. However, the vast scale of hydrogen production is far beyond the fine chemical processes, inevitably resulting in substantial oxygen release. Here, we propose another type of coupled oxidation reactions to stably accommodate with high-current density hydrogen production, accompanied by easy separation. As taking benzylamine oxidation reaction (BOR) as a probe without other side reactions, we propose a bubble-assisted strategy by activating OER and utilizing the generated oxygen bubbles to timely take the insoluble product benzonitrile away from electrode surface, and effectively overcome the electrode poisoning issue. The assembled prototype water electrolyzer achieves a typical current density of 200 mA/cm 2 and faradaic efficiency of 55% at 1.65 V for over 40 hours, diversify high-value chemical outputs. Such hybrid electrolysis within bubble-assisted strategy endows system flexibility for next-generation integrated electrochemical energy platforms.

Integrated in silico and in vivo larvicidal evaluation of compounds targeting juvenile hormone for malaria vector control

Malaria remains a major global health challenge, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Inhibition of the mosquito juvenile hormone binding protein (MJHBP) is essential for developing selective and effective insecticides against malaria vectors. We performed virtual screening on 2,874 compounds from Agrochemical Insecticides Library using Python-based workflow in RDKit and Pandas libraries. The resultant compounds were subjected to molecular docking study against MJHBP (pdb:5V13). Further evaluation was performed through molecular mechanics generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) analysis, insecticide-likeness assessment, toxicity and environmental hazard predictions and Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies. The top-ranked compounds, together with the co-crystallized ligand, were subsequently subjected to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The molecular docking and MM-GBSA analyses identified fifteen lead compounds as potent inhibitors, exhibiting binding affinities ranging from –49.84 kcal/mol to –89.51 kcal/mol, values comparable to that of the co-crystallized ligand (–75.83 kcal/mol). The DFT results of the analysed compounds indicated that the top candidates, based on docking scores and binding energies, possessed lower HOMO-LUMO energy gap values, 1.52 eV for F3023-0929 and 2.36 eV for F2708-0061, compared to the co-crystallized ligand, which had a gap of 3.43 eV. All the top compounds displayed significant insecticidal potential with minimal environmental hazards. The stability of the most promising compounds (F2708-0061 and F3023-0929), identified based on binding free energy, was further corroborated through MD simulation. Further in vivo experiments revealed that F3023-0929 and F2708-0061 exhibited potent larvicidal activity, with LC₅₀ values of 37.75 ppm and 33.49 ppm, respectively, thereby supporting their potential as promising insecticidal candidates for mosquito control.

Mediating role of negative meta-emotions on COVID stress and peritraumatic distress among adolescents in a post-pandemic era

Ligand-controlled sequential activation enables nickel-catalysed alkyl–alkynyl coupling

Nitrate contamination characteristics and health risk assessment of groundwater in the typical area of the lower Yellow River Basin

Nitrate is a key indicator for assessing groundwater quality, and nitrate pollution in groundwater poses a threat to water security and ecological health in the Yellow River Basin. Taking the Changxiao hydrogeological unit as an example, this paper studies the characteristics, influencing factors and health risks of nitrate pollution in groundwater by using nitrate pollution index, hierarchical cluster analysis, factor analysis, Monte Carlo simulation and human health risk assessment. The results show that the average concentration of NO 3 - -N is 19.48 mg/L, with pore water exhibiting the highest levels, followed by karst water and then fissure water in terms of average concentration. The average nitrate pollution index is 3.31, and 50% of the samples are severely polluted with nitrate. The pollution is mainly distributed in densely populated areas, especially near Xiaoli Town, Guide Town and Ancheng Town. Both anthropogenic and natural factors affect the groundwater chemical field in the study area. In areas with serious nitrate pollution, the impact of human activities is particularly serious. Probabilistic health risk assessment shows that the probabilities of potential risks posed by nitrate in pore water to children and adults are 24.37% and 6.67%, respectively; and in karst water, the probabilities to children and adults are 24.83% and 3.64%, respectively. The potential risk of nitrate to adults is far less than that to children who requires special attention. According to sensitivity analysis, the concentration of nitrate is the main variable affecting health risk assessment, which should be paid attention to reduce health risks. These results provide a scientific basis for groundwater pollution control and rational water resource management in both the study area and the lower Yellow River reaches.

A case study for application of DNA barcoding in identifying species of some imported frozen fish fillets in Egypt

Abstract Mislabeling of fish product is a persistent problem driven by economic incentives, complex supply chains, and weak regulations. It has significant consequences for the economy, public health, and marine conservation. The study aims to identify the fish species of some imported frozen fish fillets in Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Commercial samples were analyzed and sequencing of a short fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. GenBank and the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) databases revealed definitive identity matches in the range of 99.85%–100% for all imported frozen fish fillets. Sequencing of COI gene revealed two different species in the fish fillets, basa fish Pangasius bocourti and Swai/Sutchi Pangasianodon hypophthalmus . The results showed that 66.7% of the basa fish had been replaced by Swai/Sutchi fish. The phylogenetic analysis showed the sequenced DNA similar to the NCBI database reference sequence. This study revealed that the local grocery store’s imported catfish fillets were mislabeled. However, it is highly recommended that larger samples should be used in further studies to cover a greater geographic area. Meanwhile, DNA barcoding is an excellent technique for detecting how fish products are labelled in Egypt, which is crucial for enforcing quality and consumer protection.