Urban green spaces are important components of city spaces that are vulnerable to degradation in soil–water–climate processes. This vulnerability is exacerbated by current climate change and park usage density. This study examines the dynamics of soil water repellency in the topsoils of selected urban parks in Berlin, aiming to assess the relationships between weather conditions, soil water content, and soil water repellency. This study is based on monthly sampled soils from spots originating from three selected parks—Fischtal Park, Stadtpark Steglitz, and Rudolph-Wilde Park—between September 2022 and October 2023; two of the parks are exclusively rainwater fed, and one is irrigated during summer months. For each sample soil, water repellency persistence and severity were analyzed. Time series analysis was conducted including soil water content. In addition, the total organic carbon content (TOC) and sample texture were analyzed. The results show that the rainfall amount, number of dry days, and maximum temperature during different time intervals prior to the sampling date predominantly control the variation in the soil water repellency via the soil water content. Soil water repellency variations observed appear more event-related than monthly or seasonal, as rainfall is evenly distributed through the years without a distinct dry or wet season in Berlin. The non-repellency of the soil samples was usually observed when the associated water content was increased, which is linked to high cumulative rainfall and short dry periods. Low rainfall amounts and long dry periods in summer result in the re-establishment of the soil water repellency, possibly affecting increased runoff generation and soil erosion risk. Spatially, the repellency properties were observed at locations under healthy vegetation cover, while soils located on the upper slope locations and on the pathways lacked repellency characteristics.

Every year, millions of people worldwide suffer from bone tissue damage caused by bone trauma and surgical operations, as well as diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, osteomyelitis, and periodontitis. Bone defect repair is one of the major challenges in the field of regenerative medicine. Although bone grafts are the gold standard for treating bone defects, factors such as donor sources and immune responses limit their application. Functionalized nanomaterials have become an effective means of treating bone diseases due to their good biocompatibility and osteoinductivity, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous coordination polymers composed of metal ions and organic ligands, featuring unique physical properties, including a high surface area–volume ratio and porosity. In regenerative medicine, MOFs function as the functions of drug carriers, metal ion donors, nanozymes, and photosensitizers. When combined with other functional materials, they regulate cellular reactive oxygen species, macrophage phenotypic transformation, bone resorption, osteogenesis, and mineralization, providing a new paradigm for bone tissue engineering. This study reviews the classification of functionalized MOF composites in biomedicine and the application of their synthesis techniques in bone diseases. The unique in vivo and in vitro applications of MOFs in bone diseases, including osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, bone tumors, osteomyelitis, and periodontitis, are explored. Their properties include excellent drug loading and sustained release abilities, high antibacterial activity, and bone induction abilities. This review enables readers to better understand the cutting-edge progress of MOFs in bone regeneration applications, which is crucial for the design of and functional research on MOF-related nanomaterials.

Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are major contributors to foodborne intoxications. Reliable detection methods for SEs are essential to maintain food safety and protect public health. Since the heat-stable toxins also exert their toxic effect in the absence of the bacterium, reliance on DNA detection alone can be misleading: it does not allow for determining which specific toxins encoded by a given strain are produced and epidemiologically linked with a given outbreak. Commercially available diagnostic assays for SE detection are so far limited in sensitivity and specificity as well as in the range of targeted toxins (SEA–SEE), thus non-targeted SEs linked to foodborne illness remain undetected at the protein level. This study aimed to develop a highly sensitive and specific multiplex suspension immunoassay (SIA) for SEA to SEI. To this end, high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the specific detection of the individual SEs were generated. When implemented in sandwich ELISAs and multiplex SIA, these mAbs demonstrated exceptional sensitivity with detection limits in the low picogram per millilitre range. When applied for the analysis of SE production in liquid cultures of a panel of 145 whole-genome sequenced strains of Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus faecalis, the novel multiplex SIA detected and differentiated the eight SEs with assay accuracies of 86.9–100%. Notably, the multiplex SIA covered one to four sequence variants for each of the individual SEs. Validation confirmed high recovery rates and reliable performance in three representative complex food matrices. The implementation of the novel mAbs in a multiplex SIA enabled, for the first time, simultaneous detection, differentiation, and quantification of multiple SEs from minimal sample volumes using Luminex® technology. As a result, the multiplex SIA will help strengthen food safety protocols and public health response capabilities.

Love and economics are usually considered to be opposites: While love is seen as an irrational, unexplainable and ungovernable feeling towards another person, economics is regarded as the art of egoistic, profit-oriented, rational calculations and actions. But are they, really? By examining a wide range of literary and historical sources throughout European modernity, the papers assembled in this volume investigate how the process of finding a partner or spouse interlaces love and economics. In their analysis of Early Modern marriage legislation, drama, Spanish novellas, Jane Austen’s novels, films, dating apps and more, they reveal major cultural-historical changes in the notions of love and economics, and stress the role that concepts of gender, epistemic discourse, and media play in their interrelated history. Yet, despite their differing findings, they all show one thing: that „opposition“ is far too simple a term to grasp the complicated relation of emotion and calculation.

Dietary fibre can modify colostrum and milk composition in sows. Bile acids (BA) aid in fat digestion and lipid absorption and are important signalling molecules for the digestive tract. The aim of this study was to determine BA concentration in colostrum from sows fed two different sources of dietary fibre during gestation and lactation and from the intestinal digesta of their 4-6-days-old suckling offspring. Twenty sows were fed diets enriched with either 15% high-fermentable sugar beet pulp (SBP, n = 10) or 15% low-fermentable lignocellulose (LNC, n = 10). Sow colostrum, piglet gallbladder content, ileum and colon digesta were assessed for BA using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. In colostrum, lithocholic acid and oxolithocholic acid were higher in sows fed SBP vs. LNC (p = 0.005 and p = 0.003, respectively), while 3α,7α,12α-trihydroxycholestanoic acid and glycohyodeoxycholic acid were higher in colostrum from sows fed LNC vs. SBP (p = 0.039, p = 0.002, respectively). In the piglet bile, cholic acid and taurodeoxycholic acid were higher in SBP vs. LNC group (p = 0.02, p = 0.001, respectively), while taurochenodeoxycholic acid was higher in LNC vs. SBP group (p = 0.035). In the piglet ileum digesta, lithocholic acid was higher in SBP vs. LNC (p = 0.015). In the piglet colon digesta, lithocholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid were higher in SBP vs. LNC (p = 0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively). Addition of specific dietary fibres to sow diets differentially influences the BA in colostrum. Dietary fibres in sow diets can impact on the intestinal BA composition in piglets with a possible consequence on the digestive physiology and health in the offspring.

Recently, there is a growing interest in understanding how individuals adapt to changing climate conditions and climate-induced extreme weather events. An underexplored question is whether and how climate-related natural hazards affect household saving behavior. For this purpose, we exploit a natural experiment stemming from the European Flood of August 2002. Combining micro data with geo-coded flood maps allows us to analyze the causal impact of flood exposure on household savings within a difference-in-differences setting. We find that flood exposure depresses household saving behavior in the medium run. A likely explanation is moral hazard induced by massive government support for affected households.

Optical manipulation of ferroelectric polarization is a promising method for potentially ultrafast and remote polarization switching without electrodes. Here, we report optical ferroelastic and ferroelectric switching by UV irradiation in epitaxial BaTiO3 thin films grown on a SrTiO3-buffered Si substrate. The pristine BaTiO3 film is in the tetragonal ferroelectric phase with both in-plane and out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization. After irradiation by a 325 nm UV laser, the polarization is mainly out-of-plane indicating ferroelastic switching. Moreover, all initial downward polarized domains have switched to upward, thus showing ferroelectric 180°-domain switching. After irradiation the film exhibits mainly a single up-oriented polarization and as a result, the irradiated regions exhibit an enhanced piezoelectric response. We propose that the observed ferroelastic and ferroelectric switching is triggered by additional strain/stress fields generated by internal electric fields arising mainly from the spatial charge carrier separation after photoexcitation. These strain/stress fields add up to the Vegard strain field and to local heating, which induce defect motion and a final state with full strain relaxation. This optical switching enables remote manipulation of ferroelastic and ferroelectric domains in BaTiO3 films on silicon. Moreover, UV illumination appears as a potential postdeposition treatment to heal defects and obtain a strain-free epitaxial layer.

Bay functionalization of perylene bisimides (PBIs) is a widely used strategy to tailor their electronic structure. However, most bay-functionalized PBIs are symmetric, bearing identical substituents. Here, we present an asymmetrically functionalized PBI with distinct groups at the bay positions. The introduction of an aldehyde intermediate at the bay positions enables stepwise formation of benzimidazole (Imi) and dicyanoethylene (DCE) moieties. In the resulting asymmetric mono-Imi-mono-DCE-PBI, Imi and DCE act as electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups, respectively. Comparing its spectral features with symmetric di-Imi-PBI and di-DCE-PBI reveals that its absorption spectrum is dominated by the DCE group, while emission is governed by the Imi group. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of this asymmetric PBI lies between di-Imi-PBI and di-DCE-PBI. Furthermore, acid titration of di-Imi-PBI yielded another asymmetric PBI through one-sided protonation. Unlike mono-Imi-mono-DCE-PBI, this partially protonated derivative shows the lowest PLQY value compared with its symmetric counterparts. Theoretical calculations provided molecular orbital energy levels of the PBI core and bay substituents. Applying a discrete component model, we rationalized the photo-induced charge transfer (PICT) behavior. This analysis shows that additional electron transfer from the PBI core to the benzimidazolium (Imi + ) moiety in the protonated derivative accounts for the pronounced fluorescence quenching observed.

The rotationally resolved excitation spectrum of the S1 ← S0 electronic transition of the chiral molecule 1-phenylethanol is measured via laser-induced fluorescence detection in a cold, seeded molecular beam. The rotational constants and structure of the S1 state are determined by fitting 419 spectral lines. The transition dipole moment is found to have predominant projections along the b and a inertial axes with only a small contribution along the c-axis, in agreement with ab initio calculations. Using two-color (1 + 1′) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization the S1 excited state lifetime is determined as 70 ± 18 ns.

Sleep problems are widespread among children and can have a negative impact on their development, everyday functioning and pose an additional burden on the parents. While there are numerous apps designed to improve children’s sleep and help them fall asleep, little data are available regarding the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy. The purpose of this study is to conduct an initial analysis of the feasibility and acceptability of the Aumio app and an email psychoeducational module as well as preliminary efficacy on child’s sleep quality and the associated factors well-being and parental stress. This research project is designed as a single-group pre-post design for a sample of 456 guardian-child dyads, with children aged 6–12 years. Participants will be recruited through the Aumio app as well as through advertisements in pediatric clinics and online. During the 12-week intervention, participants will be provided with the Aumio app and the parent-centred email psychoeducation module. At the beginning of the intervention and before the first app use (T0), six weeks after the first app use (T1), and immediately following the conclusion of the 12-week intervention (T2), the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy on children’s sleep and health-related quality of life as well as parental stress will be examined. The study will examine the association between the intensity of the Aumio app use and the endpoints to improve feasibility and acceptability by synthesizing recommendations for use. This pilot study can provide important insights into an app targeting child’s sleep problems in naturalistic, uncontrolled settings. Through this study, the existing research gap regarding app-based interventions for improving infant sleep will be addressed. Results will stimulate further development and research in the area of evidence-based mobile health interventions for children and their parents.

Mathematical modelling of infectious disease spreading on temporal networks has recently gained popularity in complex systems science to understand the intricate interplay between social dynamics and epidemic processes. As analytic solutions can usually not be obtained, one has to resort to exact stochastic simulation algorithms, yet these have remained infeasible for the large sizes of realistic systems. Here, we introduce a rejection-based stochastic sampling algorithm with high acceptance probability (‘high-acceptance sampling’; HAS), tailored to simulate disease spreading on adaptive networks. We prove that HAS is exact and can be multiple orders faster than Gillespie’s algorithm. While its computational efficacy is dependent on model parameterization, we show that HAS is applicable regardless on whether contact dynamics are faster, on the same time-scale, or slower than the concurrent disease spreading dynamics. The algorithm is particularly suitable for processes where the spreading- and contact processes are co-dependent (adaptive networks), or when assumptions regarding time-scale separation become violated as the process unfolds. To highlight potential applications, we study the impact of diagnosis- and incidence-driven behavioural changes on virtual Mpox- and COVID-like epidemic and examine the impact of adaptive behaviour on the spreading processes.

A small percentage of species in the fungal kingdom can cause devastating infections in humans, with Candida albicans reigning as a leading cause of systemic disease. One of the key virulence phenotypes for pathogenic fungi is the ability to survive at host body temperature; however, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that orchestrate thermal adaptation in fungi remains incomplete. In this study, we expand the largest functional genomics resource in C. albicans, reaching 71.3% coverage of the entire genome, and perform screens under six different temperatures to identify genes important for temperature-dependent fitness. We describe the function of genes involved in translation (GAR1), splicing (C1_11680C or YSF3), and cell cycle progression (C6_00110C or RHT1) in enabling fungal survival at both low and high temperatures. Through experimental evolution, we also show that C. albicans can rapidly overcome deleterious mutations and adapt to extreme temperature environments. Overall, our study highlights the transformative potential of genome-wide functional genomics to uncover critical vulnerabilities in pathogenic fungi.

Background

The study of control mechanisms of biological systems allows for interesting applications in bioengineering and medicine, for instance in cell reprogramming or drug target identification. A control strategy often consists of a set of interventions that, by fixing the values of some components, ensure that the long term dynamics of the controlled system is in a desired state. A common approach to control in the Boolean framework consists in checking how the fixed values propagate through the network, to establish whether the effect of percolating the interventions is sufficient to induce the target state. Although methods based uniquely on value percolation allow for efficient computation, they can miss many control strategies. Exhaustive methods for control strategy identification, on the other hand, often entail high computational costs. In order to increase the number of control strategies identified while still benefiting from an efficient implementation, we introduce the use of trap spaces, subspaces of the state space that are closed with respect to the dynamics, and that can usually be easily computed in biological networks.

Results

This work presents a method based on value percolation that uses trap spaces to uncover new control strategies. It allows for node interventions, which fix the value of certain components, and edge interventions, which fix the effect that one component has on another. The method is implemented using Answer Set Programming, extending an existing efficient implementation of value percolation to allow for the use of trap spaces and edge control. The applicability of the approach is studied for different control targets in a biological case study, identifying in all cases new control strategies.

Conclusion

The method presented here provides a new tool for control strategy identification in Boolean networks that allows for more diversity of interventions and for the possibility of efficiently finding new control strategies that would escape usual percolation-based methods, widening the possibility for potential applications

We investigate the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of an interlayer-exchange-coupled Co/Mn/Co trilayer system after excitation with an ultrafast optical pump. We probe element- and time-resolved ferromagnetic order by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in resonant reflectivity. We observe an accelerated Co demagnetization time in the case of weak total parallel interlayer coupling at 9.5 ML Mn thickness for antiparallel alignment of both Co layers compared to parallel alignment as well as for parallel alignment in the case of strong parallel interlayer coupling at 11 ML of Mn. From ab initio time-dependent density functional theory calculations, we conclude that optically induced intersite spin transfer of spin-polarized electrons from Co into Mn acts as a decay channel to enhance and accelerate ultrafast demagnetization. This spin transfer can only take place in case of a collinear Mn spin structure. We argue that this is the case for antiparallel alignment of both Co layers at 9.5 ML Mn thickness and parallel alignment in case of 11 ML of Mn. Our results point out that an antiferromagnetic spacer layer and its spin structure have a significant effect on the magnetization dynamics of adjacent ferromagnetic layers. Our findings provide further insight into fundamental mechanisms of ultrafast demagnetization and may lead to improve dynamics in multilayered systems for faster optical switching of magnetic order.

Archaeological research on early villages has repeatedly shown that despite their small size these settlements were anything but simple. Excavations at the Late Neolithic and early Aeneolithic village of Monjukli Depe in the Kopet Dag foothills of Turkmenistan contribute to a picture of this complexity. General uniformities in house plans and material culture conceal underlying variability in material and social practices. Small-scale analyses of the preparation and use of space in buildings, courtyards, and outdoor areas yield insights into how and where village residents pursued their daily activities. Studies focused on interactions among villagers, animals, and plants demonstrate the multiple relationships between them in this settlement. Animals were sometimes penned in buildings or courtyards, and their dung served as a source of fuel. Macrobotanical and phytolith analyses offer indications of the main crops grown as well as the plant parts that people and animals brought, intentionally or not, into the village. They underscore long-term continuities as well as changes in the relationships among plants, animals, and people between the Neolithic and Aeneolithic occupations. A series of studies examine the stone, bone, and copper tools made and used by the villagers. Items of bodily adornment, including beads and copper pins, add a distinctly personal layer of life.

Together, the assembled evidence offers a rich source of information on production activities but also on practices and materials that are otherwise largely invisible to the naked eye, from the adornment of the body, to the working of leather, fibers, and fabrics, to the harvesting of grain, to food preparation. Indirect connections to worlds beyond the village and the region are revealed via raw materials and objects from distant sources, including cherts and chalcedony, marine shells, lapis lazuli, and copper.

The resulting picture extends and refines our knowledge about this ancient village, making visible the dynamics of quotidian village life beyond larger-scale similarities.

Ostracods in Tibetan Plateau (TP) waters have well-constrained ecological preferences, pronounced with favourable moult season and last-instar shell calcification in summer, their shell (biogenic carbonates) stable isotopes, therefore, have a great potential use as a palaeoclimate indicator, notably on seasonal basis. However, our understanding of the isotopic fractionations in a long record remains elusive, particularly as biocarbonates frequently precipitate out of thermodynamics-based isotopic equilibrium with ambient waters. The knowledge gap arises from the different roles of metabolic and kinetic effects in disequilibrium fractionations, in addition to the impacts of various surface processes in the lake catchment on the input and output of isotopic flux of a lake basin. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview on multiple factors for value variation of biological carbonate isotopes in terms of ostracods from different lakes over the Tibetan Plateau, to reduce the knowledge gap for future study. We address (1) the ecological preferences of ostracod species used for stable isotope analysis on the TP and the analytical reproducibility error of an individual measurement on several genus/species; (2) multiple factors for different shell isotope values of modern ostracods including metabolic and kinetic effects in disequilibrium fractionations as well as the impacts of in-lake and catchment processes on isotopic signal change in ambient waters; (3) the differences and related indications of stable isotope values of nature and culture modern and fossil ostracods from the same species (Eucypris mareotica); (4) the spatial stable isotope distribution patterns of the reported ostracod populations and their controlling factors in one lake and/or between several lakes through time and (5) different temporal distribution patterns of stable isotopes and their relevant triggers in four selected TP lakes with comparable or incomparable hydrological conditions during a long period of the last 15,000 to 32,000 years. The successful use of difference transformation of stable isotope data from Nam Co Lake for further reconstruction of palaeotemperature anomaly in terms of various seasonal anomalies show a great potential of this tool in palaeoclimate reconstruction at interannual scale in the future.

EEG studies have identified ERP components at various latencies as predictors of conscious somatosensory perception, but it remains largely unclear which factors are responsible for this variation. Here, for the first time we directly compare the event-related potential correlates of stimulus detection under tactile versus electrical peri-threshold stimulation using single-trial modelling and Bayesian model selection within and between groups, while controlling for task-relevance and post-perceptual processes with a visual-somatosensory matching task. We find evidence that the P50 component predicts conscious perception under tactile, but not electrical stimulation: while electrical stimulation evokes a P50 already for subliminal stimuli and activity in this time window is best explained by stimulus intensity, there is almost no subliminal P50 for tactile stimulation, and detection best explains the data. In contrast, the N80 and N140 components correlate with detection and detection probability in both stimulation groups. The P100 and the P300 were modulated by detection in the tactile group, and by detection probability in the electrical group. Our results indicate that cortical processing in somatosensory target detection partly depends on the type of stimulation used. We propose that electrical stimulation of afferent nerve fibers that do not give rise to conscious perception may mask the P50 modulation associated with conscious somatosensory detection, and might contribute to subliminal evoked cortical responses.

Background Inhalers are essential for managing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; however, their environmental effects vary significantly. Pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) contain potent greenhouse gases (GHGs), resulting in a much higher carbon footprint (CF) than non-propellant inhalers (NPIs). Consequently, reducing the use of pMDIs is seen as an important contribution to reduce the healthcare sector’s effect on climate change. This study analyses inhaler dispensing trends in Germany, estimates their resulting CF and quantifies the potential GHG savings from increased NPI use.

Methods Dispensing data at the expense of statutory health insurances, covering nearly 90% of the German population, were analysed from 2013 to 2022 across three age groups. Annual dispensing shares and CF estimates based on life cycle assessment-derived CF values were calculated for four inhaler types: pMDIs with hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-134a, pMDIs with HFC-227ea, dry powder inhalers (DPIs), and soft mist inhalers (SMIs). Two scenario calculations estimated the potential GHG savings.

Results Between 2013 and 2022, the total number of dispensed defined daily doses of inhalers increased by 14%, with no significant shift towards lower-emission inhalers (2013, 55% NPIs; 2022, 52% NPIs). Consequently, the total CF increased from 459 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (kt CO2eq) in 2013 to 525 kt CO2eq in 2022 (+14%). More than 95% of the inhaler-related CF was attributable to pMDIs. A GHG-saving scenario assuming 85% NPI use among patients aged 10–79 years projected an annual CF reduction of 55% (288 kt CO2eq).

Conclusion Despite climate neutrality goals, inhaler-related CF has continued to rise because of stable pMDI usage rates. The substantial potential for GHG reduction highlights the necessity and feasibility of a sustainable change in clinical prescription practice. Our insights could support the promotion of climate-friendly inhalers across other European countries with similar prescription patterns.

Sonication-assisted emulsification has emerged as a powerful technique for the preparation of microparticles in various fields, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food science. This study aims to investigate the impact of different polymers in an aqueous system on the preparation of microparticles by the double emulsion technique. By understanding the factors that affect emulsification and stability, we can optimize the production of microparticles with desired characteristics. This study discusses the mechanism behind sonication-assisted emulsification, the various polymers used, and the analysis of particle size, morphology, and stability. The microparticle were prepared with a water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) solvent evaporation method, for various polymers (including EC 4 cp, Eudragit® RS 100, Eudragit® RL 100, PLGA (RG503H) and PCL) that solvent used dichloromethane. The particle size/distribution of the emulsion droplets/hardened microparticles was monitored using FBRM. The morphology of polymeric microparticles was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The transformation of the emulsion droplets into solid microparticles occured within the first 11.5, 20, 26, 30.5 and 56 min when EC 4 cp, Eudragit® RS 100, Eudragit® RL 100, PLGA (RG503H) and PCL were used respectively. The square weighted mean chord length of PCL microparticles was smallest, but the chord count was not the highest. The chord length distribution (CLD) measured by FBRM showed that a larger mean particle size gave longer CLD and a lower peak of particle number. SEM data revealed that the morphology of microparticles was influenced by the type of polymer. Sonicator helped in emulsification of polymeric system in aquous. FBRM can be employed for online monitoring of the shift in the microparticle CLD and detect transformation of emulsion droplets into solid microparticles during the solvent evaporation process. The microparticle CLD and transformation process were strongly influenced by polymer type.