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Abstract Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) affects the fate and storage of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, but its global importance remains uncertain. Accurately modeling and predicting CUE on a global scale is challenging due to inconsistencies in measurement techniques and the complex interactions of climatic, edaphic, and biological factors across scales. The link between microbial CUE and soil organic carbon relies on the stabilization of microbial necromass within soil aggregates or its association with minerals, necessitating an integration of microbial and stabilization processes in modeling approaches. In this perspective, we propose a comprehensive framework that integrates diverse data sources, ranging from genomic information to traditional soil carbon assessments, to refine carbon cycle models by incorporating variations in CUE, thereby enhancing our understanding of the microbial contribution to carbon cycling.

Financial self-efficacy is used as an intermediary variable in this study to examine how Islamic financial literacy affects financial inclusion. The participants in this study are final-semester Muslim economics students. Accidental sampling is the method employed. The response percentage for the 300 questionnaires distributed—181 of which were returned—was 60%. The investigation came to two important conclusions. First, financial inclusion and financial self-efficacy are significantly impacted by Islamic financial literacy. Second, the effect of Islamic financial literacy on financial inclusion is not significant. These findings may have an impact on legislators, service providers, and institutions of higher learning. Islamic finance should be a subject covered in higher education, either as part of the core curriculum or as an elective. To help the consumer better understand the given product information, the service provider should give them comprehensive information. The provision of financial education to certain groups, such as housewives or workers in offices, must be addressed in a number of ways by policymakers.

Abstract Numerical models are crucial to understand and/or predict past and future soil organic carbon dynamics. For those models aiming at prediction, validation is a critical step to gain confidence in projections. With a comprehensive review of ~250 models, we assess how models are validated depending on their objectives and features, discuss how validation of predictive models can be improved. We find a critical lack of independent validation using observed time series. Conducting such validations should be a priority to improve the model reliability. Approximately 60% of the models we analysed are not designed for predictions, but rather for conceptual understanding of soil processes. These models provide important insights by identifying key processes and alternative formalisms that can be relevant for predictive models. We argue that combining independent validation based on observed time series and improved information flow between predictive and conceptual models will increase reliability in predictions.

Macrobenthos animals are an architect of a variety of roles including as a part of the food web of aquatic ecosystem and improve the structure of the sediment and can determine the quality of the water. Macrobenthos communities have shown their potential role in biomonitoring to analyze contaminant loads due to high sensitivity to organic pollutants along the coastal water area. Besides, it is also used to determine heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in coastal water due to their long sustainability with chemicals are primarily related with industrial calamities and occupational activities. Based on above perspectives, this systematic review has shown interesting findings about the macrobenthic diversity including community composition in the coastal areas of Malaysia. The study has focused on the diversity and abundance of macrobenthos communities along some potential coastal areas of Malaysia which emphasis on the states of Johor, Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, and Sarawak. Several studies have evidently revealed that pollutants and human activities have contributed to loss of macrobenthos towards abundance (individuals/m2) and species richness. The highest abundance of macrobenthos was Coleoptera sp. (1650 ind./m2 followed by Hemiptera sp. (860 ind./m2) were observed in Sarawak and Crustacea sp. (597 ind/m2) was found in Selangor, respectively. While Crustacea (10 ind/m2) was found as the lowest in the coastal water Pahang only. A major shortcoming among the studies was sampling time along with sampling method which was observed in this systematic review of different studies of macrobenthic assemblages in the coastal waters of Malaysia. However, the existing study reveals the baseline information on macrobenthic community which are still inadequate in Malaysia. Hence, a long-term monitoring for eco-biology and species diversity of macrobenthic assemblages are necessary for their sustainable development in this fascinating tropical coastal water of Malaysia.

Determination of the quality of food products is an essential key factor needed for safe-guarding the quality of food for the interest of the consumers, along with the nutritional and sensory improvements that are necessary for delivering better quality products. Bacteriocins are a group of ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides that help in maintaining the quality of food. The implementation of multi-omics approach has been important for the overall enhancement of the quality of the food. This review uses various recent technologies like proteomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics for the overall enhancement of the quality of food products. The matrix associated with the food products requires the use of sophisticated technologies that help in the extraction of a large amount of information necessary for the amelioration of the food products. This review would provide a wholesome view of how various recent technologies can be used for improving the quality food products and for enhancing their shelf-life.

Background: Multi-morbidity poses a substantial challenge for health care in an aging population. Recent studies did not provide evidence for general side effects of anti-cancer therapy regarding the growth rate of coincident abdominal aortic aneurysms, although it was suggested that specific therapeutic substances might accelerate growth. Aneurysm pathology, however, differs with respect to localization. Hence, we present the first ever analysis on the association of cancer and cancer therapy with growth alteration of aneurysms of the ascending aorta (AscAA). Patients and methods: A retrospective single-center identification of AscAA+cancer patients was performed in the institutional picture archiving and communication system (PACS). Included were all patients with ≥2 CT angiograms over ≥6 months and additional malignancy. Clinical data and aneurysm diameters were retrieved and analyzed for an association of cancer (stratified by tumor entity) or cancer therapy (stratified by several classes of chemotherapeutic agents and radiation therapy) with annual growth rate, respectively. Statistics included t-test, Wilcoxon test, and a linear regression model accounting for initial AscAA diameter and type of treatment. Results: From 2003 to 2021, 151 patients (median age 70 years; 85% male) with AscAA and coincident 163 malignancies were identified. Prostate (37%) and hematologic cancer (17%) were most frequent. One-hundred-eleven patients (74%) received chemotherapy and 75 patients (50%) had radiation. After exclusion of six patients with an initial AscAA diameter >55 mm, the average annual AscAA growth rate was 0.18±0.64 mm/year, with only 12 patients experiencing a growth rate >1mm/year. Neither tumor entity nor radiation or chemotherapy - alone or in combination - were significantly associated with an alteration of the annual AscAA growth rate. Likewise, a subanalysis for singular chemotherapeutic agents did not reveal a specific association with AscAA growth alteration. Conclusions: Growth rates of AscAA are low in this cohort with coincident malignancy. Cancer and/or chemotherapy or radiation are not associated with an alteration of the annual growth rate. Additional control examinations seem unnecessary.

Objectives: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a lung malignancy with high relapse rates and poor survival outcomes. Treatment-resistant disease relapse occurs frequently and effective salvage therapies are urgently needed., Materials and Methods: We aimed to define efficacy and safety of checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) in a heterogeneous population of relapsed and refractory SCLC patients in a large retrospective multicentric real-world cohort across German tertiary care centers., Results: A total of 111 patients from 11 treatment centers were included. Median age of all patients was 64 years, and 63% were male. Approximately one-third of all patients had poor performance status [Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) ⩾ 2], and 37% had known brain metastases. Patients were heavily pretreated with a median number of prior therapy lines of 2 (range, 1-8). Median follow-up of the entire cohort was 21.7 months. Nivolumab and Nivolumab/Ipilimumab were the most common regimens. Overall disease control rate was 27.2% in all patients and was numerically higher in CPI combination regimens compared with single-agent CPI (31.8% versus 23.8%; p  = 0.16). Median overall survival (OS) was 5.8 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-9.9 months]. The 12- and 24-month survival rates were 31.8% and 12.7%, respectively. The 12-week death rate was 27.9%. Disease control and response rate were significantly lower in patients with liver metastases. Platinum sensitivity (to first-line treatment), metastatic burden, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) showed prognostic impact on survival in univariate analysis. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was a significant and independent predictor of survival in univariate ( p  = 0.01) and multivariate analyses [hazard ratio (HR), 2.1; 95% CI = 1.1-4.1; p  = 0.03]., Conclusion: CPI in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) SCLC is of limited value in an overall patient cohort; however, long-term survival, in particular with CPI combination strategies, is possible. Clinical characteristics allow a more differentiated subgroup selection, in particular patients with low NLR showed less benefit from CPI in R/R SCLC., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement: The authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: J.A.S. reports personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Roche, personal fees from BMS, personal fees from Amgen, personal fees from LEO pharma, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Takeda, outside of the submitted work; R.T. has nothing to disclose; A.A. reports grants and personal fees from BMS, outside the submitted work; V.R. has nothing to disclose; N.F. has nothing to disclose; J.A. reports personal fees and non-financial support from BMS, outside the submitted work; C.F.W. has nothing to disclose; N.R. reports honoraria or consultation fees from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, Hoffmann-La Roche, Lilly, MSD, Merck, Pfizer, and Takeda, outside the submitted work; G.R. has nothing to disclose; F.C.S. reports grants from Roche, non-financial support from Lilly, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Pfizer, outside the submitted work; A.B.v.R. has nothing to disclose; F.A. has nothing to disclose; L.A. has nothing to disclose; M.M. has nothing to disclose; M.S. reports personal fees from Lilly, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Bristol-Myers & Squibb, personal fees from Merck Sharp & Dohme, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Roche, personal fees from AbbVie, personal fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, personal fees from Celgene, personal fees from Novartis, outside the submitted work, (© The Author(s), 2022.)

Visceral artery aneurysms (VAA) are a rare entity of arterial aneurysms with the imminent threat of rupture. The impact of cancer and chemotherapy on the growth of VAAs is unknown. A retrospective dual center cohort study of patients with concomitant VAA and different types of cancer was conducted and the impact of various chemotherapeutic agents on VAA growth was studied by sequential CT analysis. For comparison, a non-cancer all comer cohort with VAAs and no cancer was studied to compare different growth rates. The primary endpoint was aneurysm progress or regression >1.75 mm. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney test was used for statistical comparison. In the 17-year-period from January 2003 to March 2020, 59 patients with 30 splenic artery aneurysms, 14 celiac trunk aneurysms, 11 renal artery aneurysms and 4 other VAA and additional malignancy were identified. 20% of patients suffered from prostate cancer, the rest were heterogeneous. The most prevalent chemotherapies were alkylating agents (23%), antimetabolites (14%) and mitose inhibitors (10%). Eight patients had relevant growth of their VAA and one patient showed diameter regression (average growth rate 0.1 ± 0.5 mm/year). Twenty-nine patients with 14 splenic, 11 RAAs (seven right) and 4 celiac trunk aneurysms were available in the non-cancer comparison cohort (average growth rate 0.5 ± 0.9 mm/year, p = 0.058). However, the growth rate of patients receiving operative treatment for relevant VAA growth was significantly higher (p = 0.004). VAAs grow rarely, and rather slow. Cancer and/or chemotherapy do not significantly influence the annual growth rate. Additional control examinations seem unnecessary., (© 2022 The Authors. Clinical Anatomy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Clinical Anatomists.)