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Aysun Damci,1,2 Janneke GJ Hoeijmakers,1,2 Marlies den Hollander,3– 5 Catharina G Faber,1,2 Sophie Waardenburg,6,7 Charlotte CM van Laake-Geelen,3– 5 Albère JA Köke,3,4 Jeanine AMCF Verbunt3– 5 1MHeNS, Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands; 2Department of Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, 6229 HX, The Netherlands; 3Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht university, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands; 4Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, 6229 HX, The Netherlands; 5Adelante Zorggroep, Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hoensbroek, 6432 CC, The Netherlands; 6Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, 6229 HX, The Netherlands; 7Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, 6229 HX, The NetherlandsCorrespondence: Aysun Damci, Department of Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, P.O. Box 5800, Maastricht, 6202 AZ, The Netherlands, Tel +31-43-3877059, Fax +31-43-3877055, Email aysun.damci@mumc.nlPurpose: Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is characterized by neuropathic pain, associated with decreased quality of life (QOL). It remains unclear which psychosocial factors play a role in SFN. The experience sampling method (ESM) allows a profound understanding of the real-time fluctuations in reaction to events. The main goal of this study was to increase knowledge of the interrelationships between pain intensity, physical activity, and psychosocial factors in patients with SFN in daily practice over time.Patients and Methods: A prospective observational ESM study with the PsyMate© application (smart-eHealth GmbH, Luxembourg) was conducted at the Adelante location of Maastricht University Medical Center+ in the Netherlands. Participants with idiopathic SFN, older than 18 years, with an indication for rehabilitation, were included. Pain intensity, fatigue, positive and negative affect, physical activity, avoidance behavior, and pain catastrophic thoughts were incorporated into the ESM questions. Participants received 10 beep signals per day followed by the above-mentioned questions, for consecutive 7 days. The results were analyzed with linear mixed-effect models.Results: Twenty-one participants were included with a mean age of 48.24 (SD ± 13.89) years, of whom 76.2% were female. More pain (now) resulted in more physical activity (later) (a) and more physical activity (now) resulted in more pain (later) (b). The first association (a) is influenced by pain catastrophic thoughts and fatigue, and the second (b) by an increase in affective states and a lower level of avoidance behavior.Conclusion: In idiopathic SFN, pain intensity, and physical activity showed a 2-sided association, influenced by catastrophic thoughts, fatigue, affective states, and avoidance behavior.Keywords: chronic pain, rehabilitation therapy, biopsychosocial factors, small fiber neuropathy

Modern approaches with advanced technology can automate and expand the extent and resolution of biodiversity monitoring. We present the development of an innovative system for automated wildlife monitoring in a coastal Natura 2000 nature reserve of the Netherlands with 65 wireless 4G wildlife cameras which are deployed autonomously in the field with 12 V/2A solar panels, i.e. without the need to replace batteries or manually retrieve SD cards. The cameras transmit images automatically (through a mobile network) to a sensor portal, which contains a PostgreSQL database and functionalities for automated task scheduling and data management, allowing scientists and site managers via a web interface to view images and remotely monitor sensor performance (e.g. number of uploaded files, battery status and SD card storage of cameras). The camera trap sampling design combines a grid-based sampling stratified by major habitats with the camera placement along a traditional monitoring route, and with an experimental set-up inside and outside large herbivore exclosures. This provides opportunities for studying the distribution, habitat use, activity, phenology, population structure and community composition of wildlife species and allows comparison of traditional with novel monitoring approaches. Images are transferred via application programming interfaces to external services for automated species identification and long-term data storage. A deep learning model for species identification was tested and showed promising results for identifying focal species. Furthermore, a detailed cost analysis revealed that establishment costs of the automated system are higher but the annual operating costs much lower than those for traditional camera trapping, resulting in the automated system being >40 % more cost-efficient. The developed end-to-end data pipeline demonstrates that continuous monitoring with automated wildlife camera networks is feasible and cost-efficient, with multiple benefits for extending the current monitoring methods. The system can be applied in open habitats of other nature reserves with mobile network coverage.

Summary: Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) has a poor prognosis and substantially impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Large studies on longitudinal HRQoL in patients with PAC, taking patient treatment into account, are lacking. This study aimed to investigate HRQoL over time in patients with PAC undergoing various treatments. Methods: This nationwide cohort study included patients diagnosed with PAC between 2015 and 2020. Data were collected from the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Project (PACAP) and the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Patients were categorized into four groups based on treatment modality: resection (R-PAC), chemotherapy for localized disease (C-PAC), chemotherapy for metastatic disease (M1-C-PAC), and best supportive care (BSC). HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and -PAN26 questionnaires at baseline, during treatment, and at 0–3 months and 3–6 months after treatment. Linear mixed models were used to analyze changes in HRQoL over time, with clinically relevant changes defined as a minimal mean difference of 10 points in absolute scores and reported with 95% confidence intervals. Findings: Overall, 1496 patients were included (673 [45.0%] female), of whom 675 (45.1%) in R-PAC, 319 (21.3%) in C-PAC, 340 patients (22.7%) in M1-C-PAC, and 162 (10.8%) in BSC group. In R-PAC, hepatic symptoms and health care satisfaction improved while role and social functioning deteriorated and eating related problems, side effects and fear of future health increased during treatment. In C-PAC, insomnia, pancreatic pain, hepatic symptoms decreased while diarrhea, side effects and fear of future health increased. In M1-C-PAC, pain, insomnia, pancreatic pain, hepatic symptoms, ascites and constipation decreased, sexuality improved while fear of future health and side effects increased. In BSC, hepatic symptoms decreased and flatulence increased. Interpretation: This nationwide study identified specific improvements and deteriorations in various HRQoL domains during 6 months follow-up. This information may be valuable in the clinical setting to inform patients on potential outcomes of the course of HRQoL during various treatment strategies. Funding: None.

With regard to circular economy, upcycling organic waste streams to products with a biopesticidal activity represents a promising approach in integrated pest management. The current study demonstrates the induced resistance (IR) activity of seven aqueous extracts from byproducts of the Apiaceae plant family in rice to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola. Furthermore, we unveiled that the systemic IR activity of an aqueous extract from fennel (FWE) is conserved among monocot and dicot plants and is effective against a wide range of plant pathogens as it induces resistance in rice against Pyricularia oryzae, in sugar beet against Heterodera schachtiii, in tomato against Meloidogyne incognita and in Arabidopsis against Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis and Botrytis cinerea. The extract also showed a strong direct nematicidal activity against M. graminicola, fungicidal activity against P. oryzae and bactericidal activity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Transcriptome analysis in combination with complementary biochemical validation in FWE-treated rice plants underlined the importance of an altered reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism, lignin accumulation and elevated levels of abscisic acid (ABA),indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in FWE-treated rice plants. Lastly, bioactivity-guided fractionation and identification revealed several small organic acids such as alanine, malic acid and У-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as potential IR eliciting constituents in the extracts. To summarize, our data demonstrates high potential for valorization of Apiaceae byproduct extracts as preventive or curative plant bioprotectants in near-future eco-friendly agricultural practices.

Although strongly influenced by environmental conditions, lateral root (LR) positioning along the primary root appears to follow obediently an internal spacing mechanism dictated by auxin oscillations that prepattern the primary root, referred to as the root clock. Surprisingly, none of the hitherto characterized PIN- and ABCB-type auxin transporters seem to be involved in this LR prepatterning mechanism. Here, we characterize ABCB15, 16, 17, 18, and 22 (ABCB15-22) as novel auxin-transporting ABCBs. Knock-down and genome editing of this genetically linked group of ABCBs caused strongly reduced LR densities. These phenotypes were correlated with reduced amplitude, but not reduced frequency of the root clock oscillation. High-resolution auxin transport assays and tissue-specific silencing revealed contributions of ABCB15-22 to shootward auxin transport in the lateral root cap (LRC) and epidermis, thereby explaining the reduced auxin oscillation. Jointly, these data support a model in which LRC-derived auxin contributes to the root clock amplitude.

IntroductionOptimization techniques, such as linear programming, can be used to estimate the minimum cost of a nutrient-adequate food basket, to determine if individuals or households can afford nutritious diets. These cost estimates typically account for seasonal fluctuations but often overlook significant disruptions in the availability of affordable nutritious food that can severely impact food and nutrition security.MethodsThis paper proposes a tree-based method, the binary search tree, to assess the resilience of the cost estimate of the minimum-cost food basket. In particular, this method aims to identify indispensable foods in these baskets — those whose unavailability would lead to a substantial cost increase. The binary search tree operates by iteratively excluding essential food items while ensuring the construction of minimum-cost nutritious baskets. It considers all relevant combinations of foods up to a specified size and avoids unnecessary optimizations, thereby saving computation time. We describe how the resulting tree can be evaluated and condensed to capture only the necessary information for decision makers. The construction and evaluation of the binary search tree are independent of the (dietary) restrictions or type of optimization model (i.e., linear, non-linear or integer) included.ResultsIn general, the binary search tree can identify all (combinations of) foods whose exclusion leads to a significant cost increase of a nutritious food basket. Furthermore, it can detect possible substitute effects between foods and identify key limiting nutrients. A case study is presented in which the binary search tree is applied to data from Ebonyi, Nigeria, modeled using linear programming. We report all combinations of up to five foods that, when unavailable, can impact food and nutrition security in Ebonyi.ConclusionThe BST can provide insights into local food and nutrition security when facing drastic disruptions in access to nutritious foods by identifying indispensable foods. Its results can be used to inform and design interventions in the context of humanitarian operations.

Three sulfur-containing alkaloids aplospojaveedins A–C (1–3) with a hitherto undescribed carbon skeleton comprising octahy-dronaphthalene, α, β-unsaturated lactam and glycine-cysteine moieties were isolated from Aplosporella javeedii. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, HR-MS, X-ray diffraction analysis, DFT-NMR and TDDFT-ECD calculations. A plausible biosynthetic pathway and putative targets are described. The blind docking suggested that 1–3 may have functional effects on several putative targets such as the GPCR cannabinoid receptor 2 or the integrin α5β1 complex.

Unlocking the potential of sustainable agriculture relies on innovative approaches such as recycling crop waste and exploiting wastewater. Herewith, human urine derivatives were integrated into the fertigation of soilless-grown lettuce. The effects were remarkable: not only did they impact primary metabolites such as amino acids, proteins, and sugars, but they also influenced secondary metabolites such as polyphenols and anthocyanins, along with antioxidant enzyme activity. K-struvite, a urine precipitate with CaO and NaOH, elicited responses comparable to those of the control NPK and correlated with high biometric values. Interestingly, urine precipitate–CaO and electrodialysis (ED) concentrate stimulated accumulation of leaf polyphenols and anthocyanins, while urine precipitate–CaO induced high ABTS antioxidant capacity, highlighting their potential to enhance antioxidant activity and nutritive quality. Moreover, hydrolyzed urine and aurin induced a significant boost of essential amino acid content, underlining their role in increasing the nutritive value of lettuce. However, they also correlated with higher levels of MDA, a marker of lipid peroxidation, and reduced APX activity, indicating the need for further optimization. These findings underscore the promising role of human urine as an organic component in soilless lettuce fertilization, paving the way for more sustainable and resource-efficient agricultural practices.

Photomorphogenic responses of etiolated seedlings include the inhibition of hypocotyl elongation and opening of the apical hook. In addition, dark-grown seedlings respond to light by the formation of adventitious roots (AR) on the hypocotyl. How light signaling controls adventitious rooting is less well understood. Hereto, we analyzed adventitious rooting under different light conditions in wild type and photomorphogenesis mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Etiolation was not essential for AR formation but raised the competence to form AR under white and blue light. The blue light receptors CRY1 and PHOT1/PHOT2 are key elements contributing to the induction of AR formation in response to light. Furthermore, etiolation-controlled competence for AR formation depended on the COP9 signalosome, E3 ubiquitin ligase CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC (COP1), the COP1 interacting SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA-105 (SPA) kinase family members (SPA1,2 and 3) and Phytochrome-Interacting Factors (PIF). In contrast, ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5), suppressed AR formation. These findings provide a genetic framework that explains the high and low AR competence of Arabidopsis thaliana hypocotyls that were treated with dark, and light, respectively. We propose that light-induced auxin signal dissipation generates a transient auxin maximum that explains AR induction by a dark to light switch.