Lessons learned from the risk-informed urban development initiative in the SADC region.

Unlabelled: This study presents the systemisation of lessons learned from the urban sector in which the measures based on the guiding principle of risk-informed development (RID) have been implemented in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region at the national and/or sub-national levels. Despite notable risks in the region, these are not adequately considered in urban development planning and programming. Aiming at strengthening RID in the SADC region, the objectives of this peer-to-peer exchange were achieved through virtual workshops, roundtables and briefings on a cloud-based and open-source BigBlueButton Web conferencing system.

Probabilistic Forecasting With Modified N-BEATS Networks.

In this article, we present a modification to the state-of-the-art N-BEATS deep learning architecture for the univariate time series point forecasting problem for generating parametric probabilistic forecasts. Next, we propose an extension to this probabilistic N-BEATS architecture to allow optimizing probabilistic forecasts from both a traditional forecast accuracy perspective as well as a forecast stability perspective, where the latter is defined in terms of a change in the forecast distribution for a specific time period caused by updating the probabilistic forecast for this time period when new observations become available (i.e.

Acute rapamycin treatment reveals novel mechanisms of behavioral, physiological, and functional dysfunction in a maternal inflammation mouse model of autism and sensory over-responsivity.

Maternal inflammatory response (MIR) during early gestation in mice induces a cascade of physiological and behavioral changes that have been associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a prior study and the current one, we find that mild MIR results in chronic systemic and neuro-inflammation, mTOR pathway activation, mild brain overgrowth followed by regionally specific volumetric changes, sensory processing dysregulation, and social and repetitive behavior abnormalities. Prior studies of rapamycin treatment in autism models have focused on chronic treatments that might be expected to alter or prevent physical brain changes.

Senescent CAFs Mediate Immunosuppression and Drive Breast Cancer Progression.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) profoundly influences tumorigenesis, with gene expression in the breast TME capable of predicting clinical outcomes. The TME is complex and includes distinct cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) subtypes whose contribution to tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here, we identify a subset of myofibroblast CAFs (myCAF) that are senescent (senCAF) in mouse and human breast tumors.

Senescence Defines a Distinct Subset of Myofibroblasts That Orchestrates Immunosuppression in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) therapeutic resistance is largely attributed to a unique tumor microenvironment embedded with an abundance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). Distinct CAF populations were recently identified, but the phenotypic drivers and specific impact of CAF heterogeneity remain unclear. In this study, we identify a subpopulation of senescent myofibroblastic CAFs (SenCAF) in mouse and human PDAC.

Asymmetric neurons are necessary for olfactory learning in the Drosophila brain.

Animals have complementary parallel memory systems that process signals from various sensory modalities. In the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, mushroom body (MB) circuitry is the primary associative neuropil, critical for all stages of olfactory memory. Here, our findings suggest that active signaling from specific asymmetric body (AB) neurons is also crucial for this process.

Reducing hand radiation during renal access for percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a comparison of radiation reduction techniques.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy confers the highest radiation to the urologist's hands compared to other urologic procedures. This study compares radiation exposure to the surgeon's hand and patient's body when utilizing three different techniques for needle insertion during renal access. Simulated percutaneous renal access was performed using a cadaveric patient and separate cadaveric forearm representing the surgeon's hand.

Time Efficiency and Performance of Single-Use Reusable Cystoscopes: A Randomized Benchtop and Simulated Clinical Assessment.

A flexible cystoscope is an indispensable tool for urologists, facilitating a variety of procedures in both the operating room and at bedside. Single-use cystoscopes offer benefits including accessibility and decreased burden for reprocessing. The aims of this study were to compare time efficiency and performance of single-use and reusable cystoscopes.

A subset of cholinergic mushroom body neurons blocks long-term memory formation in Drosophila.

Long-term memory (LTM) requires learning-induced synthesis of new proteins allocated to specific neurons and synapses in a neural circuit. Not all learned information, however, becomes permanent memory. How the brain gates relevant information into LTM remains unclear.

First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment.

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. This Letter reports results from LUX-ZEPLIN's first search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with an exposure of 60 live days using a fiducial mass of 5.5 t.

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Oxidase Promotes Glioblastoma Radiation Resistance in a Phosphate and Tensin Homolog-Dependent Manner.

The goal of this study was to determine whether nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (NOX)-produced reactive oxygen species (ROS) enhance brain tumor growth of glioblastoma (GBM) under hypoxic conditions and during radiation treatment. Exogenous ROS promoted brain tumor growth in gliomasphere cultures that expressed functional phosphate and tensin homolog (PTEN), but not in tumors that were PTEN deficient. Hypoxia induced the production of endogenous cytoplasmic ROS and tumor cell growth activation of NOX.

Children's Oncology Group's 2023 blueprint for research: Neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is the most common extra-cranial solid tumor in children and is known for its clinical heterogeneity. A greater understanding of the biology of this disease has led to both improved risk stratification and new approaches to therapy. Outcomes for children with low and intermediate risk disease are excellent overall, and efforts to decrease therapy for such patients have been largely successful.

Does renal failure worsen radiation cystitis following radical prostatectomy?

Objective: To investigate the impact of renal function on the risk, severity, and management of radiation cystitis in patients who underwent postoperative radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

Methods: Retrospective data was assessed from patients treated with adjuvant/salvage radiation therapy at a single academic institution between 2006 and 2020. The incidence, severity, and management of radiation cystitis were compared between three groups: CKD 0-2, CKD 3-4, and CKD 5.

Tumor-associated fibrosis impairs immune surveillance and response to immune checkpoint blockade in non-small cell lung cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Immune checkpoint blockade has improved survival for many patients with NSCLC, but most fail to obtain long-term benefit. Understanding the factors leading to reduced immune surveillance in NSCLC is critical in improving patient outcomes.

Investigating extreme hydrological risk impact on water quality; evidence from Buffalo catchment headwater, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Evidence from increasing mineralization, micropollutant concentrations, waterborne epidemics, an algal boom, and dissolved organic matter has provided substantial evidence that climate change impacts water quality. While the impact of the extreme hydrological event (EHE) on water quality (WQ) has aroused considerable research interest, research uncertainty has been premised on WQ data scarcity, a short time frame, data non-linearity, data structure, and environmental biases on WQ. This study conceptualized a categorical and periodic correlation using confusion matrices and wavelet coherence for varying standard hydrological drought index (SHDI; 1971-2010) and daily WQ series (1977-2011) of four spatially distinct basins.

Production in peatlands: Comparing ecosystem services of different land use options following conventional farming.

Majority of Dutch peatlands are drained and used intensively as grasslands for dairy farming. This delivers high productivity but causes severe damage to ecosystem services supply. Peatland rewetting is the best way to reverse the damage, but high water levels do not fit with intensive dairy production.

Building resilience to hazards in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems: a global review.

Building the resilience of communities is essential in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Scientific research is crucial in identifying gaps in the development of WASH systems and the management of WASH-related hazards . The main purpose of this paper was to analyze the global research evolution on resilience and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) between the period 2003 and 2021.

Thulium versus holmium for in situ lower pole laser lithotripsy.

Introduction: During in situ lower pole laser lithotripsy, the dependent location may result in increased challenge fragmenting stones and a risk for stone regrowth if residual fragments remain. The purpose of this study was to compare the thulium fiber laser (TFL) with the holmium laser (HL) for in situ lower pole lithotripsy.

Materials And Methods: In a 3D printed kidney benchtop model, sixty 1 cm BegoStones were placed in the lower pole and fragmented in situ until fragments passed through a 2 x 2 mm mesh.

CREBB repression of protein synthesis in mushroom body gates long-term memory formation in .

Learned experiences are not necessarily consolidated into long-term memory (LTM) unless they are periodic and meaningful. LTM depends on de novo protein synthesis mediated by cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) activity. In , two genes (, ) and multiple CREB isoforms have reported influences on aversive olfactory LTM in response to multiple cycles of spaced conditioning.

Climate-Change-Induced Weather Events and Implications for Urban Water Resource Management in the Free State Province of South Africa.

Current climate projections for Southern Africa indicate an increase in the incidence of extreme weather events in the future. Even though South Africa does not rank among the highest on the world multi-hazard index list, the country is prone to multiple climate-related extreme events which pose substantial human and ecological impacts. Consequently, such climate extremes have serious negative effects on regional water resources, public health, biodiversity, food security, natural systems, and infrastructure.

Structure of lactate oxidase from Enterococcus hirae revealed new aspects of active site loop function: Product-inhibition mechanism and oxygen gatekeeper.

l-Lactate oxidase (LOx) is a flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-dependent triose phosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel fold enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of l-lactate using oxygen as a primary electron acceptor. Although reductive half-reaction mechanism of LOx has been studied by structure-based kinetic studies, oxidative half-reaction and substrate/product-inhibition mechanisms were yet to be elucidated. In this study, the structure and enzymatic properties of wild-type and mutant LOxs from Enterococcus hirae (EhLOx) were investigated.