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In winter, many reptiles have a period of inactivity ("brumation"). During brumation there is no energetic intake, therefore there would be an advantage to reducing energetic expenditure. The size of energetically costly organs, a major determinant of metabolic rate, is known to be flexible in many tetrapods. Seasonal plasticity of organ size could serve as both an energy‐saving mechanism and a source of nutrients for brumating reptiles. We studied a population of an invasive gecko, Tarentola annularis, to test for seasonal changes in activity, metabolic rate, and mass of various organs. The observed period of inactivity was December–February. Standard metabolic rates during the activity season were 1.85 times higher than in brumating individuals. This may be attributed to decreased organ mass during winter: heart mass decreased by 37%, stomach mass by 25%, and liver mass by 69%. Interestingly, testes mass increased by 100% during winter, likely in preparation for the breeding season, suggesting that males prioritize breeding over other functions upon return to activity. The size of the kidneys and lungs remained constant. Organ atrophy occurred only after geckos reduced their activity, so we hypothesize that organ mass changes in response to (rather than in anticipation of) cold winter temperatures and the associated fasting. Degradation of visceral organs can maintain energy demands in times of low supply, and catabolism of the protein from these organs can serve as a source of both energy and water during brumation. These findings bring us closer to a mechanistic understanding of reptiles' physiological adaptations to environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study constitutes one of the first investigations aiming to examine the association between traumatic experiences within religious settings and symptoms of post-traumatic stress among religious lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. Furthermore, the study tested whether the anticipated positive link between those traumatic experiences and post-traumtic stress is influenced by a positive perception of God’s image. The sample consisted of 146 Israeli Jewish lesbians, gays, and bisexuals who professed a belief in God or demonstrated religious inclinations either presently or in the past. They completed self-report measures via an online questionnaire, assessing traumatic experiences within religious settings, post-traumtic stress symptoms, and positive perceptions of God’s image. The findings revealed a significant and robust positive connection between traumatic experiences within religious settings and post-traumtic stress. A positive perception of God’s image exhibited a negative correlation with post-traumtic stress but did not moderate the relationship traumatic experiences within religious settings and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. These findings highlight the significance of traumatic experiences within religious settings as a distinct potential risk factor of post-traumtic stress among lesbians, gays, and bisexuals and underscore the necessity of enhancing awareness among mental health professionals, religious leaders, and legal entities regarding the detrimental effects of those expereinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Methods Results and Conclusions The rising importance of digital technologies in everyday communication has played a key role in processes of political polarization and rising mistrust and intolerance. We suggest this crisis could be productively conceptualized as a crisis in perspective‐taking—the tendency and competency to actively consider others' mental and emotional states.This conceptual paper sets out to propose a theoretical framework that identifies the key affordances of digital platforms for promoting perspective‐taking in formal educational settings (K‐12 and higher education): (1) connecting diverse individuals, (2) simulating interactions with other perspectives and (3) supporting the articulation and sharing of perspectives.Rather than summarizing the state of existing research, this paper aims to offer a novel conceptualization that allows unpacking the interplay between research on perspective‐taking and work on the affordances and constraints of digital media. We identify the three key affordances outlined above, exemplifying them by focusing on one type of digital tool and comparing them along two axes: (i) the depth vs. diversity of interactions it supports and (ii) its cultivation of intergroup perspective‐taking vs. interpersonal perspective‐taking.This framework, we argue, articulates the advantages and limitations of digital tools towards engagement in perspective‐taking, while providing a conceptual roadmap, and practical considerations, for researchers and practitioners interested in cultivating digitally mediated perspective‐taking in educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed‐methods study evaluates the efficacy of artificial intelligence (AI)‐assisted reviewer selection in academic publishing across diverse disciplines. Twenty journal editors assessed AI‐generated reviewer recommendations for a manuscript. The AI system achieved a 42% overlap with editors' selections and demonstrated a significant improvement in time efficiency, reducing selection time by 73%. Editors found that 37% of AI‐suggested reviewers who were not part of their initial selection were indeed suitable. The system's performance varied across disciplines, with higher accuracy in STEM fields (Cohen's d = 0.68). Qualitative feedback revealed an appreciation for the AI's ability to identify lesser‐known experts but concerns about its grasp of interdisciplinary work. Ethical considerations, including potential algorithmic bias and privacy issues, were highlighted. The study concludes that while AI shows promise in enhancing reviewer selection efficiency and broadening the reviewer pool, it requires human oversight to address limitations in understanding nuanced disciplinary contexts. Future research should focus on larger‐scale longitudinal studies and developing ethical frameworks for AI integration in peer‐review processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dorsal neural tube-derived retinoic acid promotes the end of neural crest production and transition into a definitive roof plate. Here, we analyze how this impacts the segregation of central and peripheral lineages, a process essential for tissue patterning and function. Localized in ovo inhibition in quail embryos of retinoic acid activity followed by single-cell transcriptomics unraveled a comprehensive list of differentially expressed genes relevant to these processes. Importantly, progenitors co-expressed neural crest, roof plate and dI1 interneuron markers, indicating a failure in proper lineage segregation. Furthermore, separation between roof plate and dI1 interneurons is mediated by Notch activity downstream of retinoic acid, highlighting their crucial role in establishing the roof plate-dI1 boundary. Within the peripheral branch, where absence of retinoic acid resulted in neural crest production and emigration extending into the roof plate stage, sensory progenitors failed to separate from melanocytes, leading to formation of a common glia-melanocyte cell with aberrant migratory patterns. In summary, the implementation of single-cell RNA sequencing facilitated the discovery and characterization of a molecular mechanism responsible for the segregation of dorsal neural fates during development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the Zionist challenges regarding "Jewish labor" through the micro-history of the Salonikian longshoremen on the eve of their emigration from Greece (early 1930s), and during the first period of integration in the Haifa Port (1933–1936). To date, the hegemonic perspective on Salonikian longshoremen has emphasized the immigrants' crucial role in overcoming the Arab-dominated port labor market. However, while tending to paint a romantic picture of national fervor, this Zionist view obscured the economic, ethnic, and cultural confrontation involved in realizing "Jewish labor". These multiple forms of confrontation occurred not only between ethnic groups (Jewish-Arab struggle) but also within the local Jewish labor community. Re-visiting the Zionist agenda from the vantage point of both the Salonikian longshoremen and the Zionist establishment enables to present largely neglected aspects of the complex relations between the Sephardic Salonikians and the Ashkenazi/Eastern European-dominated Jewish labor establishment. Due to heavy doubts about the Salonikian commitment to the uphill battle for "Jewish labor," the Haifa Labor Council excluded the latter from the labor community. Consequently, the cultural marginality of the Salonikians weakened the Zionist vision of uniting all Jewish wage earners into a cohesive working class in the middle of the 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on children's literature focuses on preschool children's books (children aged 3–6) and on juvenile fiction, yet is lacking in studies on toddler books (ages 0–3). In this paper, I present a definition of the genre of toddler books (often referred to as boardbooks, despite it including non-boardbooks), while focusing on the illustrational aspects, that are at least as dominant as the written texts, if not more so. I also examine the plots and themes that are presented in toddlers' books, distinguishing between concept books (lexical books with no narrative), ritual books (which engage in instilling certain habits), and narrative books (toddlers' books that depict a complex narrative and serve as preparation for prereader books). The findings of the study indicate that toddlers' books are often infants' first encounter with both narrative thought and visual art, hence their significant place in their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education policies are typically anchored in official texts that provide a foundation for their enactment in schools. What are the implications of an invisible policy not anchored in any official text due to political motives? This study explores the enactment of an invisible education policy that regulates religious enclave schools. These schools' curricula are the source of frequent conflict between states and religious enclave communities. The study draws on the case of the National Haredi Education (NHE) reform in Israel that enabled ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) private schools in Israel to affiliate with a new stream of public schools whose regulations were not anchored in any official text. The data comprised interviews with principals, teachers, and supervisors, as well as document analysis. The findings showed that the enactment of the NHE policy was primarily manifested in invisible changes, such as teacher professionalisation and pupil assessment. Curricular changes visible to the wider school community were enacted differently in different schools. Our findings also characterised the implications of the NHE policy's invisibility. The lack of institutional recognition hindered the reform, but the autonomy of the implementing agents enabled them to promote changes within their purview and become policy entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorism inflicts profound and enduring impacts on survivors and communities, yet the complex realities and needs of victims are often obscured in legal and policy discourses. This study examines the lived experiences of Israeli terrorism survivors through a qualitative thematic analysis of 28 victim impact statements submitted to courts from 2010 to 2023. The research uncovers the profound and enduring impact of terrorism on psychological, physical, social, and economic well-being. Pervasive grief, trauma, and irrevocable life changes emerge as central themes alongside the ripple effects on families and communities. Victims also describe daunting practical challenges in rebuilding their lives and express frustration with perceived leniency in sentencing and gaps in institutional support. While conveying urgent needs for comprehensive, trauma-informed assistance, the statements also reveal remarkable resilience and meaning-making in the face of horror. The article discusses the implications of developing more responsive, victim-centred policies and practices guided by the expressed priorities of survivors themselves. Key recommendations are outlined to foster a more humane and holistic response to the suffering of terrorism victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundAimsMethods and proceduresOutcomes and resultsConclusionsBilingual individuals with aphasia may exhibit unique patterns of language impairment and recovery. While code-switching (CS) is a common feature of bilingual speech, pathological CS following brain damage can provide insights into the neural mechanisms controlling bilingual language processing.This study aimed to examine language impairment and recovery patterns in IZ, an unbalanced Hebrew-English bilingual with non-fluent aphasia, focusing on the unusual CS behavior observed during his subacute phase of recovery.IZ underwent language and narrative assessments in both languages during the subacute and chronic phases of recovery. Ten cognitive tests were administered to assess various domains of cognitive function. Language performance was evaluated through naming and syntactic processing tasks in L1-Hebrew and L2-English. The frequency and type of CS were analyzed using the matrix language frame model.During the subacute phase, IZ displayed significant language deficits in both L1-Hebrew and L2-English, with more severe impairment in L1-Hebrew naming and L2-English syntactic processing. He exhibited frequent involuntary CS, primarily using L1-Hebrew as the matrix language while embedding L2-English content words. Cognitive testing revealed reduced performance across multiple domains. In the chronic phase, IZ showed parallel improvements in both languages, particularly in L1-Hebrew naming and L2-English syntactic processing, along with a marked reduction in CS frequency.IZ’s case demonstrates a double dissociation between lexical and syntactic processing across L1 and L2. The results suggest that matrix language selection in bilinguals may be governed by distinct neural mechanisms for each language, with specific brain regions responsible for activating lexical representations. Damage to these regions may lead to pathological CS, as observed in this case. This study underscores the importance of understanding bilingual language control mechanisms in aphasia rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult female desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) dig underground to lay their eggs, ensuring optimal conditions for successful hatching. Digging is performed using the two pairs of oviposition valves at the tip of the female's abdomen. These valves are subjected to considerable shear forces during the repeated digging cycles, potentially leading to wear over time. The resilience of the valves is investigated by analyzing the relationship between digging experience and valve damage and wear throughout the female locust's life. The findings reveal the ability of the valves to withstand the significant shear forces encountered during digging. Despite this resilience, however, perceptible limitations in the valves’ mechanical durability against wear are observed. Toward the end of the female locust's life, the valves show substantial signs of wear, indicating effective performance but with limited longevity, i.e., a designated life span that enables successful oviposition for ca. four oviposition cycles. A comparison of the valve material with that of the animals’ mandibles, which are used continuously throughout their life and show remarkable wear‐resistance, further highlights the evolutionary adaptation of the valve materials to their specific function, suggesting a trade‐off between energetic investment and the sufficient, or “good‐enough”, performance that is required for survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammalian autophagy is a highly regulated and conserved cellular homeostatic process. Its existence allows the degradation of self‐components to mediate cell survival in different stress conditions. Autophagy is involved in the regulation of cellular metabolic needs, protecting the cell or tissue from starvation through the degradation and recycling of cytoplasmic materials and organelles to basic molecular building blocks. It also plays a critical role in eliminating damaged or harmful proteins, organelles, and intracellular pathogens. Thus, a deterioration of the process may result in pathological conditions, such as aging‐associated disorders and cancer. Understanding the crucial role of autophagy in maintaining the normal physiological function of cells, tissue, or organs has led to copious and expansive research regarding the regulation of this process. So far, most of the research has revolved around transcriptional and post‐translational regulation. Here, we discuss the regulation of autophagy‐related (ATG) mRNA transcripts by RNA‐binding proteins (RBPs). This analysis focuses on how RBPs modulate autophagy in disease. A deeper understanding of the involvement of RBPs in autophagy can facilitate further research and treatment of a variety of human diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mason Type 3 radial-head fractures are typically treated with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) or radial-head arthroplasty (RHA). Prosthetic options include traditional monobloc implants and newer modular implants designed to match patient anatomy. While short- and medium-term outcomes of metallic RHA are generally favorable, this study aims to compare the long-term outcomes of patients treated with monobloc versus modular implants. Methods: The medical records of all the patients who underwent RHA at a level I trauma center between 2000 and 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who were available for follow-up were invited for reassessment, which included physical examination, questionnaires for the assessment of elbow pain and function, and follow-up radiographs. Results: Out of 35 patients who had RHA, 13 (37%) had a monobloc prosthesis and 22 (63%) had a modular prosthesis. Out of the patients that could be traced, 4 patients from the monobloc group and 10 patients from the modular group agreed to participate in the study. The mean follow-up time was 15 years in the monobloc group and 12.4 years in the modular group. Patients in the modular group demonstrated superior functional outcomes compared to the monobloc group, with statistically significant improvements in MEPS and DASH scores and a non-significant trend towards better ASES scores and VAS scores. Physical examination revealed a decline in function in the operated arm for both groups, with statistically significant differences favoring the modular group in elbow flexion and extension. Radiographic analysis showed varying degrees of implant loosening, with the modular group exhibiting less loosening compared to the monobloc group. Mild degenerative changes and heterotopic ossification were also observed, predominantly in the modular group. Conclusions: The results suggest that modular implants offer superior functional outcomes compared to monobloc implants. The modular group showed statistically significant improvements in elbow flexion and extension. These findings indicate that modular implants may be a more favorable option for enhancing patient outcomes. Further research with larger sample sizes is recommended to confirm these trends and to better understand the long-term benefits of modular implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs emerging from GRIN genes) are tetrameric receptors that form diverse channel compositions in neurons, typically consisting of two GluN1 subunits combined with two GluN2(A-D) subunits. During prenatal stages, the predominant channels are di-heteromers with two GluN1 and two GluN2B subunits due to the high abundance of GluN2B subunits. Postnatally, the expression of GluN2A subunits increases, giving rise to additional subtypes, including GluN2A-containing di-heteromers and tri-heteromers with GluN1, GluN2A, and GluN2B subunits. The latter emerge as the major receptor subtype at mature synapses in the hippocampus. Despite extensive research on purely di-heteromeric receptors containing two identical GRIN variants, the impact of a single variant on the function of other channel forms, notably tri-heteromers, is lagging. In this study, we systematically investigated the effects of two de novo GRIN2B variants (G689C and G689S) in pure, mixed di- and tri-heteromers. Our findings reveal that incorporating a single variant in mixed di-heteromers or tri-heteromers exerts a dominant negative effect on glutamate potency, although 'mixed' channels show improved potency compared to pure variant-containing di-heteromers. We show that a single variant within a receptor complex does not impair the response of all receptor subtypes to the positive allosteric modulator pregnenolone-sulfate (PS), whereas spermine completely fails to potentiate tri-heteromers containing GluN2A and -2B-subunits. We examined PS on primary cultured hippocampal neurons transfected with the variants, and observed a positive impact over current amplitudes and synaptic activity. Together, our study supports previous observations showing that mixed di-heteromers exhibit improved glutamate potency and extend these findings towards the exploration of the effect of Loss-of-Function variants over tri-heteromers. Notably, we provide an initial and crucial demonstration of the beneficial effects of GRIN2B-relevant potentiators on tri-heteromers. Our results underscore the significance of studying how different variants affect distinct receptor subtypes, as these effects cannot be inferred solely from observations made on pure di-heteromers. Overall, this study contributes to ongoing efforts to understand the pathophysiology of GRINopathies and provides insights into potential treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the boycott and discrimination faced by Israeli academics from the international academic community during the 2023–24 Israel-Hamas war. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 participants from diverse disciplines and institutions, five key themes emerged: 1) Overt and covert discrimination; 2) challenges in international collaborations; 3) ethical and professional dilemmas; 4) long-term personal and career implications; and 5) implications for academic discourse and collaborations. The findings underscore this hidden boycott’s significant personal and professional impact on Israeli researchers, highlighting an urgent need to support academic freedom and promote inclusivity amid conflicts. By shedding light on Israeli academics’ personal narratives and the subtle forms of discrimination encountered, this study provides insight into the unique challenges faced by Israeli researchers during this conflict. It serves as a call for collective action to safeguard academic freedom and foster an inclusive, collaborative environment upholding the core values of academia and the pursuit of knowledge in the face of targeted boycotts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on Abraham Benaroya, a prominent labor leader in southeastern Europe, this research examines his experiences during World War II, a period often neglected in prior studies. Existing scholarship has predominantly highlighted Benaroya's contributions to the Pan-Hellenic labor movement from 1909 to 1924/5, incorrectly assuming that his removal from political power signaled the end of his influence on both Jewish and non-Jewish historiography; however, his wartime writings challenge this notion, revealing a compelling story of individual and familial resistance against Nazi Germany. During the tumultuous years of 1942–1945, amidst the Nazi occupation in Greece, Benaroya's fate took a unique turn. Despite being Jewish, he avoided extermination, and as a Greek Socialist activist he escaped execution and survived internment in various German prisoner-of-war camps. By employing the biographical turn approach and exploring Benaroya's forgotten Holocaust-era letters from captivity, this study presents a narrative of Greek-Jewish individual and familial struggles, choices, and resilience. In doing so, it contributes fresh perspectives to the current bottom-up scholarship, which moves beyond the generalized narrative of Jewish passivity. Instead, the current study offers a profound discourse on the complexities of Jewish survival and resistance under the extraordinary circumstances of the Nazi regime in Occupied Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectivesMethodsResultsConclusionsDetermine if long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) can be successfully and safely administered in the hospital with minimal sublingual buprenorphine lead-in and potentially improve follow-up engagement in care.We performed a retrospective case series of 46 patients who received LAIB while hospitalized at a safety-net community hospital. We abstracted demographic information, details about substance use disorder treatment history, in-hospital buprenorphine initiation methods and follow-up data from inpatient and outpatient electronic medical records.In total, 46 hospitalized patients received LAIB during the study period. The majority of our patients were older Black adults with Medicaid who self-reported intranasal heroin use. A low-dose buprenorphine initiation protocol was used most commonly, either in sublingual or intravenous form, with only two cases of precipitated withdrawal occurring during the buprenorphine initiation process and no cases of precipitated withdrawal after the administration of LAIB. 87% (40) of the patients received LAIB after receiving either sublingual or IV buprenorphine for fewer than the recommended seven days. Of the 46 hospitalized patients who received LAIB, 23 (50%) attended a follow-up addiction medicine appointment within 30 days of discharge.Hospital administration of LAIB could play an important role in retention in care after hospital discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation CRISPR/Cas9 technology has been revolutionizing the field of gene editing. Guide RNAs (gRNAs) enable Cas9 proteins to target specific genomic loci for editing. However, editing efficiency varies between gRNAs and so computational methods were developed to predict editing efficiency for any gRNA of interest. High-throughput datasets of Cas9 editing efficiencies were produced to train machine-learning models to predict editing efficiency. However, these high-throughput datasets have a low correlation with functional and endogenous datasets, which are too small to train accurate machine-learning models on. Results We developed DeepCRISTL, a deep-learning model to predict the editing efficiency in a specific cellular context. DeepCRISTL takes advantage of high-throughput datasets to learn general patterns of gRNA editing efficiency and then fine-tunes the model on functional or endogenous data to fit a specific cellular context. We tested two state-of-the-art models trained on high-throughput datasets for editing efficiency prediction, our newly improved DeepHF and CRISPRon, combined with various transfer-learning approaches. The combination of CRISPRon and fine-tuning all model weights was the overall best performer. DeepCRISTL outperformed state-of-the-art methods in predicting editing efficiency in a specific cellular context on functional and endogenous datasets. Using saliency maps, we identified and compared the important features learned by DeepCRISTL across cellular contexts. We believe DeepCRISTL will improve prediction performance in many other CRISPR/Cas9 editing contexts by leveraging transfer learning to utilize both high-throughput datasets and smaller and more biologically relevant datasets. Availability and implementation DeepCRISTL is available via https://github.com/OrensteinLab/DeepCRISTL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycaprolactone (PCL) implants in large animals show great promise for tracheal transplantation. However, the longest survival time achieved to date is only about three weeks. To meet clinical application standards, it is essential to extend the survival time and ensure the complete integration and functionality of the implant. Our study investigates the use of three-dimensional (3D)-printed, biodegradable, PCL-based tracheal grafts for large-scale porcine tracheal transplantation, assessing the feasibility and early structural integrity crucial for long-term survival experiments. A biodegradable PCL tracheal graft was fabricated using a BIOX bioprinter and transplanted into large-scale porcine models. The grafts, measuring 20 × 20 × 1.5 mm, were implanted following a 2 cm circumferential resection of the porcine trachea. The experiment design was traditionally implanted in eight porcines to replace four-ring tracheal segments, only two of which survived more than three months. Data were collected on the graft construction and clinical outcomes. The 3D-printed biosynthetic grafts replicated the native organ with high fidelity. The implantations were successful, without immediate complications. At two weeks, bronchoscopy revealed significant granulation tissue around the anastomosis, which was managed with laser ablation. The presence of neocartilage, neoglands, and partial epithelialization near the anastomosis was verified in the final pathology findings. Our study demonstrates in situ regenerative tissue growth with intact cartilage following transplantation, marked by neotissue formation on the graft's exterior. The 90-day survival milestone was achieved due to innovative surgical strategies, reinforced with strap muscle attached to the distal trachea. Further improvements in graft design and granulation tissue management are essential to optimize outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pests and diseases are a major contributor to yield losses in sub-Saharan Africa, prompting smallholder farmers to seek cost-effective, accessible and ecologically friendly alternatives for crop protection. This study explored the management of pests and diseases affecting crops across eight selected villages in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Methods: A total of 120 smallholder farmers were purposefully selected utilising the snowball technique. Information on the management of plant pests and diseases was collected through interviews and focus group discussions using semi-structured interview schedules. Ethnobotanical indices, including relative frequency of citation (RFC), use-value (UV) and informant consensus factor (Fic), were used to quantify and rank the plants used for crop protection in the study area. Results: Twenty-three plant species (16 naturalised exotics and seven indigenous plants) belonging to 16 families were used for managing pests (vertebrates and invertebrates) and diseases (fungal and bacterial related) affecting crops in the study area. The dominant (100%) crops cultivated by the participants were Allium cepa L., Mangifera indica L., Solanum lycopersicum L. and Zea mays L. The RFC value ranged from 0.08 to 0.83 and the three most popular plants for crop protection were Capsium annuum L. (0.83), A. cepa (0.63) and Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight & Arn. (0.43). In terms of the UV, the five most promising plants used as biocontrol were Tulbaghia violacea (0.13), A. cepa (0.12), C. annuum L. (0.09), Solanum campylacanthum Hochst. Ex A.Rich.(0.09) and Pinus pinaster (0.08). Based on the Fic, four categories were established and dominated by fungal diseases (0.64). Furthermore, T. violacea and A. cepa were the most often mentioned plants used against fungal conditions. Other categories cited were bacterial diseases (0.3), invertebrate pests (0.11) and vertebrate pests (0.14), an indication that smallholder farmers had limited agreement or common knowledge about the plants used for their management. The preparation methods included maceration (38%), decoction (38%) and burning (24%). Foliar application (67%) and soil drenching (33%) were used for administering plant extracts during the management of crop pests and diseases. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of botanicals and associated indigenous knowledge among smallholder farmers in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. It is pertinent to explore the valorisation of these botanicals by generating empirical data on their biological efficacies and phytochemical profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combine supersymmetric localization with the numerical conformal bootstrap to bound the scaling dimension and OPE coefficient of the lowest-dimension unprotected operator in N = 4 SU(N) super-Yang-Mills theory for a wide range of N and Yang-Mills couplings gYM. We find that our bounds are approximately saturated by weak coupling results at small gYM. Furthermore, at large N our bounds interpolate between integrability results for the Konishi operator at small gYM and strong-coupling results, including the first few stringy corrections, for the lowest-dimension double-trace operator at large gYM. In particular, our scaling dimension bounds describe the level splitting between the single- and double-trace operators at intermediate coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laws of many countries grant politicians special protection from prosecution before national courts. The content of such laws is usually regulated by a compromise between two conflicting goals: On the one hand, the principle that everyone is equal before the law should be upheld. On the other hand, because politicians cannot fully dedicate themselves to their office when they are subject to legal proceedings, they should be protected more than regular citizens. What many seem to take for granted is that a trial of a senior politician, such as a prime minister or a president, does bad things to society. It deepens divisions between citizens and increases polarization in a way that is unhealthy for the democratic process. This Article seeks to challenge that intuition. Based on a series of comparative examples, the Article argues that prosecuting politicians improves public deliberation by getting people who would otherwise not engage in politics to take part in the political debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Urological Association guidelines recommend against the performance of ultrasound and other imaging modalities in the evaluation of patients with cryptorchidism before expert consultation. We aimed to examine our institutional experience with cryptorchidism and measure adherence to currently available guidelines. An institutional review board–approved retrospective review of ultrasound utilization in the evaluation of patients with cryptorchidism was performed from June 1, 2016, to June 30, 2019, at a single tertiary level pediatric hospital. We identified 1796 patients evaluated in surgical clinics for cryptorchidism. Surgical intervention was performed in 75.2% (n = 1351) of the entire cohort. Ultrasound was performed in 42% (n = 754), most of which were ordered by referring physicians (91% n = 686). Of those who received an ultrasound, surgical intervention was performed in 78% (n = 588). Those 166 patients (22%) who did not undergo surgical intervention were referred with ultrasounds suggesting inguinal testes; however, all had normal physical examinations or mildly retractile testes at the time of consultation and were discharged from the outpatient clinic. There were 597 patients referred without an ultrasound, 81% (n = 483) were confirmed to have cryptorchidism at the time of specialist physical examination and underwent definitive surgical intervention, the remainder (19%, n = 114) were discharged from the outpatient clinics. Ultrasound evaluation of cryptorchidism continues despite high-quality evidence-based guidelines that recommend otherwise, as they should have little to no bearing on the surgeon's decision to operate or the type of operation. Instead, physical examination findings should guide surgical planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Wild species are an invaluable source of new traits for crop improvement. Over the years, the tomato community bred cultivated lines that carry introgressions from different species of the tomato tribe to facilitate trait discovery and mapping. The next phase in such projects is to find the genes that drive the identified phenotypes. This can be achieved by genotyping a few thousand individuals resulting in fine mapping that can potentially identify the causative gene. To couple trait discovery and fine mapping, we are presenting large, recombination‐rich, Backcross Inbred Line (BIL) populations involving an unexplored accession of the wild, green‐fruited species Solanum pennellii (LA5240; the 'Lost' Accession) with two modern tomato inbreds: LEA, determinate, and TOP, indeterminate. The LEA and TOP BILs are in BC2F6–8 generation and include 1400 and 500 lines, respectively. The BILs were genotyped with 5000 SPET markers, showing that in the euchromatic regions there was one recombinant every 17–18 Kb while in the heterochromatin a recombinant every 600–700 Kb (TOP and LEA respectively). To gain perspective on the topography of recombination we compared five independent members of the Self‐pruning gene family with their respective neighboring genes; based on PCR markers, in all cases we found recombinants. Further mapping analysis of two known morphological mutations that segregated in the BILs (self‐pruning and hairless) showed that the maximal delimited intervals were 73 Kb and 210 Kb, respectively, and included the known causative genes. The 'Lost'_BILs provide a solid framework to study traits derived from a drought‐tolerant wild tomato. Significance Statement: We are presenting a very large Introgression population from drought‐tolerant wild tomato species for fine mapping and epistasis analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAn analysis of the stability margins of the innovative Holos-Quad microreactor design is presented. This high-temeprature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) system is designed to operate fully autonomously with passive safety mechanisms. Therefore, the inherent stability of the reactor is of great importance. Using a point-reactor model, which couples point kinetics to thermal-hydraulic heat balance equations and includes reactivity feedback effects of the fuel and moderator temperatures, the closed-loop transfer function of the reactor is derived. Applying the approach of linear systems and control theory, both the gain and phase margins of the Holos-Quad design are obtained. The analysis demonstrates that the design is stable, with an infinite gain margin and a finite phase margin.A parametric uncertainty quantification study is also performed using a total Monte Carlo approach. The stability of the reactor for different power levels, such as during reactor startup or load-following transients, is also explored. Finally, two sensitivity analysis methods are applied, namely, multiple regression (deriving standardized regression coefficients) and variance-based sensitivity analysis (known as the Sobol method), to study the contribution of each of the parameters to the stability margins’ uncertainty. This analysis improves our understanding of the role of each of the parameters in the stability of the reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aberrant left coronary artery from pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a very rare congenital heart defect. Its coexistence with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is extremely rare. The high pressures created by the left-to-right shunt in the pulmonary arteries can delay symptoms and create a real challenge in diagnosing ALCAPA. Missing this diagnosis can have severe results, including extensive ischemia and sudden death. Case presentation: We present a case of an infant born with a large PDA. Initially treated conservatively, however, due to congestive heart failure and lack of weight gain, she underwent surgical ligation of the PDA at the age of four and a half months. Following surgery, she developed pulmonary edema. Echocardiography revealed decreased ventricular function. ECG revealed ST elevations on lateral leads, and serum troponin was significantly increased. The patient underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which revealed signs of wall ischemia and decreased function of the left ventricle (LV) with unclear coronary anatomy. Diagnostic catheterization revealed an ALCAPA. She underwent surgical intervention, and the left coronary artery was re-implanted in the aortic sinus. Follow-up revealed slow improvement of cardiac function. Discussion and literature review: The coexistence of PDA and ALCAPA is a very rare occurrence. We found at least 10 reported cases in the literature. Delayed diagnosis might be detrimental. The prognosis of these patients is variable. Conclusion: An unusual post-surgical course following PDA repair requires a high index of suspicion and appropriate evaluation for ALCAPA, preferably with angiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze correlation functions of SU(k) × SU(2)F flavor currents in a family of three-dimensional N = 4 superconformal field theories, combining analytic bootstrap methods with input from supersymmetric localization. Via holographic duality, we extract gluon and graviton scattering amplitudes of M-theory on AdS4 × S7/ℤk which contains a ℂ2/ℤk orbifold singularity. From these results, we derive aspects of the effective description of M-theory on the orbifold singularity beyond its leading low energy limit. We also determine a threshold correction to the holographic correlator from the combined contribution of two-loop gluon and tree-level bulk graviton exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Soldiers in military service are at risk of exposure to traumatic and stressful experiences, which can lead to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms of depression. In the context of veterans' PTSD and depression, social support has been shown to be a very significant resource. However, while general depression has been examined among veterans and although combat soldiers are often men, male depression has been rarely examined. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the relationships between social support, PTSD symptoms, and male depression among veterans. Methods: Five hundred and ninety-five male combat veterans completed a demographic questionnaire and measures of social support, PTSD, and male depression, including the specific symptoms of anger, substance use, social withdrawal, and restricted emotions. Results: Structural-equation-model analyses showed that social support was negatively associated with both PTSD symptoms and depression symptoms. Specifically, social support showed lower trends of associations with substance use and anger; whereas there were higher associations with social withdrawal and restricted emotions. PTSD showed the strongest association with anger. Thus, we can see that social support is a key resource for coping with PTSD and different symptoms of male depression. Conclusion: Greater attention to social support, PTSD, and aspects of male depression could assist the development of intervention and therapeutic programs and also help to prevent the misdiagnosis of depression among military veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many traditional field-courses for intercultural education were suspended. In response, we developed and implemented an innovative online field course that leveraged live online field experiences. Drawing from Cognitive Load Theory and Four Components Instructional Design, our aim was to create an engaging online intercultural course that addressed the challenges of remote instruction. The course focused on introducing students to field challenges in rural India, equipping them with the necessary skills for conducting online field research. Throughout the course, we employed Action Research methodologies to study and refine our approach while monitoring student's progress towards achieving the course objectives. While physical presence in the field is valuable for certain aspects of intercultural education, we found that online field courses, supported by live virtual field visits and online fieldwork, can provide students with a meaningful intercultural experience. To manage the cognitive load experienced by students, we emphasised carefully designed and flexible course content, as well as providing close supervision and feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postpartum depressive symptoms constitute a common yet serious complication of pregnancy and childbirth, but research on its association with coparenting is scarce. Furthermore, although coparenting dynamics start forming prior to the child's birth, no research has explored dyadic prenatal coparenting dynamics as a predictor of postpartum depressive symptoms. The current study assessed how dyadic prenatal coparenting behaviors predicted postpartum depressive symptoms in first-time parents. We conducted a dyadic mixed-method longitudinal study of 107 expectant couples with data collected prenatally, and at 3, 6, and 24 months post-birth. The results indicated that prenatal coparenting dyadic synchrony predicted low levels of depressive symptoms among first-time fathers 3 and 6 months after the birth, and a prenatal coparenting dynamic of dyadic negative escalation predicted high levels of depressive symptoms among first-time mothers at 3 and 24 months postpartum. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary understanding of combat trauma's psychological effects emphasizes the interpersonal ways survivors process their experiences. Yet cases of incongruence between survivors who want to share their traumatic experience and close others who are not ready to take part in this challenging task are common. Hence, many trauma survivors are compelled to cope with the posttraumatic consequences mostly alone. The present study followed the interpretive phenomenological approach to examine the experience of loneliness, as described by 15 male combat veterans dealing with posttraumatic stress. Participants completed semistructured qualitative interviews in which they shared their knowledge regarding postservice distress, loneliness, coping, and growth. Two main themes emerged: "The Loneliness Complex," highlighting this phenomenon's multifaceted, layered, and cyclical nature; and "Emotional Growth after Loneliness," presenting the positive potential of loneliness. These findings emphasize the importance of interpersonal relations in trauma survivors' recovery process. Participants described how experiences with peers can serve as a pivotal point for coping with postservice distress and how internalization of positive interpersonal interactions seems to be a crucial psychological resource for further rehabilitation and growth. Being a multilayered and cyclical condition, loneliness might serve trauma survivors in their search of safety, while also bearing the potential to motivate them to act upon their condition and promote emotional growth. Clinicians should acknowledge the risks trauma survivors take by leaving their lonely yet safe place, as they are encouraged to process their traumatic experiences and share their inner world with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe current qualitative interpretative phenomenological study explored the intricate experiences of Israeli adults who lost a parent during childhood and subsequently navigated the challenges of adapting to a stepfamily dynamic. Through semistructured interviews, nine participants revealed three key themes: “Unbreakable Bonds: Loyalty to the Deceased Parent,” illustrating efforts to preserve the original family structure amid changes; “Replacement Bonds: Loyalty to the New Parent,” depicting the loyalty conflicts arising when connecting with a stepparent; and “Harmonic Bonds: Loyalties to All Three Parents,” showcasing instances in which bereaved children successfully maintained connections with their deceased parent while forming meaningful relationships with their stepparent and living biological parent. The study findings informed a model elucidating the dialectical stance family members may adopt in response to such complexities. The model emphasizes the prioritization of orphaned children’s emotional needs in a pyramid-shaped family structure, in which the psychological presence of the deceased parent remains integral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compute the AdS Veneziano amplitude for type IIB gluon scattering in AdS5 × S3 to all orders in α′ in a small curvature expansion. This is achieved by combining a dispersion relation in the dual 4d N = 2 SCFT with an ansatz for the amplitude as a worldsheet integral in terms of multiple polylogarithms. The first curvature correction is fully fixed in this way and satisfies consistency checks in the high energy limit, the low energy expansion as previously fixed using supersymmetric localisation, and for the energy of massive string operators, which we independently compute using a semiclassical expansion. We also combine localisation with this first curvature correction to fix the unprotected D4F4 correction to the amplitude at finite curvature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated correlation functions in N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group SU(N) can be expressed in terms of the localised S4 partition function, ZN, deformed by a mass m. Two such cases are C N = Im τ 2 ∂ τ ∂ τ ¯ ∂ m 2 log Z N m = 0 and H N = ∂ m 4 log Z N m = 0 , which are modular invariant functions of the complex coupling τ. While C N was recently written in terms of a two-dimensional lattice sum for any N and τ, H N has only been evaluated up to order 1/N3 in a large-N expansion in terms of modular invariant functions with no known lattice sum realisation. Here we develop methods for evaluating H N to any desired order in 1/N and finite τ. We use this new data to constrain higher loop corrections to the stress tensor correlator, and give evidence for several intriguing relations between H N and C N to all orders in 1/N. We also give evidence that the coefficients of the 1/N expansion of H N can be written as lattice sums to all orders. Lastly, these large N and finite τ results are used to accurately estimate the integrated correlators at finite N and finite τ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polyaryl-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) has gained popularity as a substrate for orthopaedic hardware due to its desirable properties such as heat and deformation resistance, low weight, and ease of manufacturing. However, we observed a relatively high failure rate of PEEK-based hinges in a distal femur reconstruction system. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the proportion of patients who experienced implant failure, analyse the mechanism of failure, and document the associated clinical findings. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study, reviewing the medical charts of 56 patients who underwent distal femur resection and reconstruction with a PEEK Optima hinge-based prosthesis between 2004 and 2018. Concurrently, we performed a clinical and biomechanical failure analysis. Results: PEEK component failure occurred in 21 out of 56 patients (37.5%), with a mean time to failure of 63.2 months (range: 13–144 months, SD: 37.9). The survival distributions of PEEK hinges for males and females were significantly different (chi-square test, p-value = 0.005). Patient weight was also significantly associated with the hazard of failure (Wald's test statistic, p-value = 0.031). Discussion: Our findings suggest that PEEK hinge failure in a distal femur reconstruction system is correlated with patient weight and male gender. Retrieval analysis revealed that failure was related to fretting and microscopic fractures due to cyclic loading, leading to instability and mechanical failure of the PEEK component in full extension. Further assessment of PEEK-based weight bearing articulating components against metal is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperspectral (HS) measurement is among the most useful tools in agriculture for early disease detection. However, the cost of HS cameras that can perform the desired detection tasks is prohibitive-typically fifty thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In a previous study at the Agricultural Research Organization’s Volcani Institute (Israel), a low-cost, high-performing HS system was developed which included a point spectrometer and optical components. Its main disadvantage was long shooting time for each image. Shooting time strongly depends on the predetermined integration time of the point spectrometer. While essential for performing monitoring tasks in a reasonable time, shortening integration time from a typical value in the range of 200 ms to the 10 ms range results in deterioration of the dynamic range of the captured scene. In this work, we suggest correcting this by learning the transformation from data measured with short integration time to that measured with long integration time. Reduction of the dynamic range and consequent low SNR were successfully overcome using three developed deep neural networks models based on a denoising auto-encoder, DnCNN and LambdaNetworks architectures as a backbone. The best model was based on DnCNN using a combined loss function of ℓ 2 and Kullback–Leibler divergence on images with 20 consecutive channels. The full spectrum of the model achieved a mean PSNR of 30.61 and mean SSIM of 0.9, showing total improvement relatively to the 10 ms measurements’ mean PSNR and mean SSIM values by 60.43% and 94.51%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design. A large-scale retrospective case-control study. Objective. Examine diabetes as a risk factor for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) development and evaluate the impact of diabetes duration, glycemic control, and associated complications on this risk. Summary of Background Data. Diabetes mellitus, a multiorgan disorder impacting various connective tissues, induces histological changes in spinal structures, particularly the ligamentum flavum. While clinical studies suggest a higher incidence of LSS in diabetic patients, substantial epidemiological research on the likelihood of LSS diagnosis in individuals with diabetes is scarce. Materials and Methods. Using nationwide data, a total of 49,576 patients diagnosed with LSS based on International Classification of Diseases-10 codes were matched with controls of the same number based on age and sex. Employing a multivariable logistic regression model, the study assessed for the association between spinal stenosis and diabetes, while adjusting for confounders. Results. We found a higher likelihood of LSS diagnosis in diabetic patients [odds ratio (OR) 1.39, 95% CI: 1.36 – 1.43, P< 0.001]. Those with hemoglobin A1c ≥ 7% and ≥ 1 diabetes-related complication also had an elevated likelihood (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.08–1.31, P=0.001). Prolonged diabetes exposure increased the risk. Diabetes diagnosis reduced median survival by around 4.5 years for both stenosis and nonstenosis patients; spinal stenosis diagnosis alone minimally impacted survival. Relative to individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at the age of 65 or older, the OR for developing LSS were 1.22 (95% CI: 1.18–1.27, P< 0.001) when DM was diagnosed at 50 to 65 years old and 1.67 (95% CI: 1.56–1.79, P< 0.001) for those under 50 years old. Multivariate analysis revealed a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with DM and spinal stenosis (hazard ratio: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.29–1.44, P<0.001) and those with DM without stenosis (hazard ratio: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.41–1.57, P< 0.001) compared with controls. Conclusions. Diabetic patients with prolonged disease, poor glycemic control, and diabetes-related complications face an elevated risk of developing LSS. Recognizing the reciprocal adverse relationship between these conditions is crucial in clinical practice and designing public health measures for managing both conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conjectures are a key component of mathematical inquiry, a process in which the students raise conjectures, refute or dismiss some of them, and formulate additional ones. Taking a designbased research approach, we formulated a design principle for personal feedback in supporting the iterative process of conjecturing. We empirically explored the design principle by studying the use that four pairs of high school students made of online feedback when working on two example-eliciting tasks. Analysis focused on the ways in which the feedback was apparent in the students’ reasoning process. The findings indicate that designed elaborated feedback supported interactions that led students to formulate new conjectures and motivated them to resume the inquiry and to generalise their initial conjecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported by a large body of work demonstrating the impact of infant attachment representations on subsequent development, numerous therapeutic programs have been developed to promote secure attachment, with increasing focus on parental mentalizing. Nonetheless, empirical evidence supporting their effectiveness has yet to be fully established. The current pilot study (N = 24) was designed to evaluate whether and to what extent parents' shifts in parental mentalizing following a brief attachment‐based group intervention, namely circle of security parenting (COSP; Cooper, Hoffman & Powell, 2009) can be captured using the parental embodied mentalizing instrument (PEM; Shai & Belsky, 2017). Compared to a waiting list–control group, this small‐scale study examined whether community‐based low‐risk mothers of infants aged 5–48 months show an increase in their observed PEM capacities following the intervention. Secondary self‐reported outcome variables parental stress, feeling of competence, and self‐compassion. Findings show that PEM ratings improved significantly over time in the COSP group, but not in the control group. Intervention group mother–infant dyads also presented significantly longer embodied interactions communication post intervention compared to the control group. No effects of the COSP on parental stress, competence, or self‐compassion were found. Despite the small sample size, these results tentatively suggest that COSP can improve embodied mentalizing abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: I present a database that contains information on multiple key traits for all 11,744 recognised species of squamates worldwide. The database encompasses key traits and a reasonably comprehensive picture of available public knowledge. I present comprehensive description of the sources and rationale leading to the assignment of each particular trait state for each species. I hope the dataset can serve the scientific community, promote research and understanding of the group, comparisons with other taxa, and assessment of conservation needs. Furthermore, gaps in our knowledge of squamate traits become readily apparent and will hopefully lead to further study and even better knowledge. Main types of variables contained: Morphological, ecological, life history, geographical and conservation‐related traits. Spatial location: Global. Time period: Late Holocene to recent. Major taxa and level of measurement: Squamata, species. Software format: xlsx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCC) are frequently detected in tumors and are increasingly recognized for their roles in chromosomal instability and associated genome evolution that leads to cancer recurrence. We previously reported that therapy stress promotes polyploidy, and that acid ceramidase plays a role in depolyploidization. In this study, we used an RNA-seq approach to gain a better understanding of the underlying transcriptomic changes that occur as cancer cells progress through polyploidization and depolyploidization. Our results revealed gene signatures that are associated with disease-free and/or overall survival in several cancers and identified the cell cycle inhibitor CDKN1A/p21 as the major hub in PGCC and early progeny. Increased expression of p21 in PGCC was limited to the cytoplasm. We previously demonstrated that the sphingolipid enzyme acid ceramidase is dispensable for polyploidization upon therapy stress but plays a crucial role in depolyploidization. The current study demonstrates that treatment of cells with ceramide is not sufficient for p53- independent induction of p21 and that knockdown of acid ceramidase, which hydrolyzes ceramide, does not interfere with upregulation of p21. In contrast, blocking the expression of p21 with UC2288 prevented the induction of acid ceramidase and inhibited both the formation of PGCC from parental cells as well as the generation of progeny from PGCC. Taken together, our data suggest that p21 functions upstream of acid ceramidase and plays an important role in polyploidization and depolyploidization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an efficient pipeline for morpho-syntactically annotating an ancient language corpus which takes advantage of bootstrapping techniques. This pipeline is designed for ancient language scholars looking to jump-start their own treebank projects, which can in turn serve further pedagogical research projects in the target language. We situate our work in the field of similar ancient language treebank projects, arguing that our approach shows that individual humanities scholars can leverage current machine-learning tools to produce their own richly annotated corpora. We illustrate this pipeline by producing a new Akkadian-language treebank based on two volumes from the online editions of the State Archives of Assyria project hosted on Oracc, as well as a spaCy language model named AkkParser trained on that treebank. Both of these are made publicly available for annotating other Akkadian corpora. In addition, we discuss linguistic issues particular to the Neo-Assyrian letter corpus and data-encoding complications of cuneiform texts in Oracc. The strategies, language models, and processing scripts we developed to handle both linguistic and data-encoding issues in this project will be of special interest to scholars seeking to develop their own cuneiform treebanks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As advanced technology continues to evolve, incorporating robotics into surgical procedures has become imperative for precision and accuracy in preoperative planning. Nevertheless, the integration of three-dimensional (3D) imaging into these processes presents both financial considerations and potential patient safety concerns. This study aims to assess the accuracy of a novel 2D-to-3D knee reconstruction solution, RSIP XPlan.ai™ (RSIP Vision, Jerusalem, Israel), on preoperative total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patient anatomies. Methods: Accuracy was calculated by measuring the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between X-ray-based 3D bone models generated by the algorithm and corresponding CT bone segmentations (distances of each mesh vertex to the closest vertex in the second mesh). The RMSE was computed globally for each bone, locally for eight clinically relevant bony landmark regions, and along simulated bone cut contours. In addition, the accuracies of three anatomical axes were assessed by comparing angular deviations to inter- and intra-observer baseline values. Results: The global RMSE was 0.93 ± 0.25 mm for the femur and 0.88 ± 0.14 mm for the tibia. Local RMSE values for bony landmark regions were 0.51 ± 0.33 mm for the five femoral landmarks and 0.47 ± 0.17 mm for the three tibial landmarks. The RMSE along simulated cut contours was 0.75 ± 0.35 mm for the distal femur cut and 0.63 ± 0.27 mm for the proximal tibial cut. Anatomical axial average angular deviations were 1.89° for the trans epicondylar axis (with an inter- and intra-observer baseline of 1.43°), 1.78° for the posterior condylar axis (with a baseline of 1.71°), and 2.82° (with a baseline of 2.56°) for the medial–lateral transverse axis. Conclusions: The study findings demonstrate promising results regarding the accuracy of XPlan.ai™ in reconstructing 3D bone models from plain-film X-rays. The observed accuracy on real-world TKA patient anatomies in anatomically relevant regions, including bony landmarks, cut contours, and axes, suggests the potential utility of this method in various clinical scenarios. Further validation studies on larger cohorts are warranted to fully assess the reliability and generalizability of our results. Nonetheless, our findings lay the groundwork for potential advancements in future robotic arthroplasty technologies, with XPlan.ai™ offering a promising alternative to conventional CT scans in certain clinical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current scholarship on race in Europe has described race as an "absent presence". However, little is known about the dynamics of the absentness and presentness of race, including how various social processes operating at distinct levels (e.g. supranational and national) influence the uses of race and ethnicity concepts. We begin addressing this gap by examining racialised pharmaceutical regulation in the EU and its operationalisation in European countries. We analysed patterns of English-language uses of race and ethnicity terms at the EU level for all new drugs approved in 2014–2018, and systematically compared official translations into 24 languages. We found that "race" was promoted in plain sight and often retained when translated, albeit with much inconsistency across languages, creating peculiar patterns of presentness and absentness of race. Finnish, French, Swedish, and German stood out, as "race" was often translated into ethnicity terms, but even in those languages, "race" lingered despite claims that these countries vehemently opposed "race". Our findings should inform scholarly and political debates about race, ethnicity, and medicine in Europe that tend to assume, incorrectly, an anti-racialist consensus. There are also policy implications, because prescribers may interpret regulator-approved information about race and ethnicity differently because of inconsistent translations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: FDG PET-CT scans are critical in detecting metastases during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer, particularly for potential liver involvement. The liver's proximity to the radiation field in distal esophageal cancer therapies raises the risk of radiation-induced liver damage. Therefore, greater FDG absorption in the liver does not always imply metastases; it could also signal radiation-induced damage, which is a concern for distal esophageal carcinoma therapies in the left hepatic lobe, potentially leading to overstaging. Accordingly, thorough monitoring of FDG activity in the liver is required to reliably distinguish between radiation effects and genuine distant metastases. If FDG activity is seen in the left or caudate liver lobes following CRT, additional diagnostic procedures are demanded to confirm or rule out distant metastases. Surgery, usually scheduled 6–8 weeks after CRT, should be followed by an FDG PET-CT scan to look for new interval metastases, as their existence may prohibit surgical intervention. In patients with esophageal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), subsequent restaging with F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) can reveal the presence of interval metastases, such as liver metastases, in approximately 10% of cases. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon in clinical practice to observe focal FDG uptake in the liver that is not associated with liver metastases but rather with radiation-induced liver injury (RILI), which can result in the overstaging of the disease. Liver radiation damage is also a concern during distal esophageal cancer radiotherapy due to its proximity to the left liver lobe, typically included in the radiation field. Post-CRT, if FDG activity appears in the left or caudate liver lobes, a thorough investigation is needed to confirm or rule out distant metastases. The increased FDG uptake in liver lobes post-CRT often presents a diagnostic dilemma. Distinguishing between radiation-induced liver disease and metastasis is vital for appropriate patient management, necessitating a combination of imaging techniques and an understanding of the factors influencing the radiation response. Diagnosis involves identifying new foci of hepatic FDG avidity on PET/CT scans. Geographic regions of hypoattenuation on CT and well-demarcated regions with specific enhancement patterns on contrast-enhanced CT scans and MRI are characteristic of radiation-induced liver disease (RILD). Lack of mass effect on all three modalities (CT, MRI, PET) indicates RILD. Resolution of abnormalities on subsequent examinations also helps in diagnosing RILD. Moreover, it can also help to rule out occult metastases, thereby excluding those patients from further surgery who will not benefit from esophagectomy with curative intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the use of magnetic resonance imaging of the fetal brain has evolved, the need to understand its efficiency in the biometry of the fetal brain has broadened. This study aimed to assess the level of agreement and correlation between the two cardinal imaging methods of fetal neuroimaging, ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), by measuring the corpus callosum (CC) and transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD) in terms of length and percentile. Measurements of CC and TCD length and percentile were documented over a 7-year span in a tertiary referral medical center. All US and MRI examinations were performed in the customary planes and subcategorized by valid reference charts. Exclusion and inclusion criteria were set before the collection and processing of the data. A total of 156 fetuses out of 483 were included in the study. A positive, strong correlation and agreement were found (r = 0.78; ICC = 0.76) between US and MRI in TCD measurements. For CC length measurement, a moderate correlation and moderate agreement (r = 0.51; ICC = 0.49) between US and MRI was observed. TCD and CC percentiles had lower levels of correlation and agreement compared with the length variables. Our study indicates good agreement between MRI and US in the assessment of TCD measurement as a part of antenatal neuroimaging. Furthermore, while the two techniques are not always compatible, they are complementary methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post‐racial discourse that permeates many Western European countries depicts society as having moved beyond race concepts and classifications. This article focuses on Sweden, a country that, in line with the post‐racial thinking, declares race to be an offensive and unscientific concept. The article investigates what happens when this post‐racial discourse meets clinical research standards that encourage, if not demand, the collection of data on patient race. Through an analysis of the reporting of patient race in 76 multinational trials with at least one study site in Sweden, and a review of the regulatory and medical standards and trial documents that direct the collection of patient race in trials, we show how race classification is kept intact in trials despite conflicting with post‐racial norms and conventions. Notably, our findings diverge from the way racialisation is typically assumed to work in Sweden and related countries. We argue this is possible because the two incompatible understandings of race are 'distributed' (Mol, 2002, The body multiple: Ontology in medical practice, Duke University Press) among different social worlds. The distribution, we propose, is upheld through the paucity of major debate on why and how race classification should be carried out in clinical trials in Europe as this allows contradictions to remain unspoken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the design, implementation, and use of a new system to investigate the behavior of small batteries that power sensor and wireless systems that consume relatively high power during infrequent short activity periods. The system enables simple, low-cost, long-term (days to weeks) monitoring of batteries under such loads. Data collected by this system revealed a major cause of failures in wildlife tracking tags, an effect called concentration polarization, which causes a transient increase in the internal resistance of the battery. The article describes the goals and the design of the system, failures that it revealed, mechanisms to mitigate the limitations of miniature batteries, as well as a methodology to optimize and validate the design of tags powered by miniature batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]