Environmental impacts of restructuring the EU's natural gas supply and consumption: Learnings from the 2022 energy crisis.

In 2022, the European Union put forward the REPowerEU plan in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, aiming at enhancing short-term energy security by diversifying imports and reducing natural gas demand while accelerating the deployment of renewable alternatives in the long term. Here, we quantify the life cycle environmental impacts of both REPowerEU's short-term measures, including the controversial extended coal-fired power plant operations, and how the first year of the crisis was managed in practice. We find that the policy measures' impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would be negligible, although they could have detrimental effects on other environmental categories.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide restores impaired metabolism, endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis in old sedentary male mice.

Aging is accompanied by a decline in neovascularization potential and increased susceptibility to ischemic injury. Here, we confirm the age-related impaired neovascularization following ischemic leg injury and impaired angiogenesis. The age-related deficits in angiogenesis arose primarily from diminished EC proliferation capacity, but not migration or VEGF sensitivity.

Conserved multisensory integration of social cues in the thalamus.

The recognition of conspecifics, animals of the same species, and keeping track of changes in the social environment is essential to all animals. While molecules, circuits, and brain regions that control social behaviors across species are studied in-depth, the neural mechanisms that enable the recognition of social cues are largely obscure. Recent evidence suggests that social cues across sensory modalities converge in a thalamic area conserved across vertebrates.

A reproducible framework for monitoring the impact of randomized clinical trials on clinical practice using large-scale real-world data: application to gynaecological surgical trials using the French national healthcare database.

Background: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are fundamental to evidence-based medicine, but their real-world impact on clinical practice often remains unmonitored. Leveraging large-scale real-world data can enable systematic monitoring of RCT effects. We aimed to develop a reproducible framework using real-world data to assess how major RCTs influence medical practice, using two pivotal surgical RCTs in gynaecologic oncology as an example-the LACC (Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer) and LION (Lymphadenectomy in Ovarian Neoplasms) trials.

Desensitization With Imlifidase for HLA-Incompatible Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation: A Delphi International Expert Consensus.

Highly sensitized (HS) patients in need of kidney transplantation (KTx) typically spend a longer time waiting for compatible kidneys, are unlikely to receive an organ offer, and are at increased risk of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Desensitization using imlifidase, which is more rapid and removes total body immunoglobulin G (IgG) to a greater extent than other methods, enables transplantation to occur between HLA-incompatible (HLAi) donor-recipient pairs and allows patients to have greater access to KTx. However, when the project was launched there was limited data and clinical experience with desensitization in general and with imlifidase specifically.

Use of reference markers in the speech of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Evidence from two referential communication tasks manipulating common ground with the interaction partner.

Introduction: People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders present with language dysfunctions, yet we know little about their use of reference markers (indefinite markers, definite markers, pronouns or names), a fundamental aspect of efficient speech production.

Methods: Twenty-five (25) participants with a recent-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SZ) and 25 healthy controls (HC) completed two referential communication tasks. The tasks involved presenting to an interaction partner a series of movie characters (character identification task) and movie scenes composed of six images (narration task).

Cardiorespiratory-gated cardiac proton radiotherapy using a novel ultrasound guidance system.

Cardiac stereotactic body radiotherapy is a promising noninvasive treatment for patients with refractory ventricular tachycardia. With the aim to prove feasibility of a novel image guided radiotherapy and heart motion gating device, cardiac proton radiotherapy was performed using a porcine model. Using a novel adaptation of γ - H2AX tissue staining techniques, we have been able to localize a radiation beam in large animal tissue to assess targeting accuracy within a defined field.

Identifying targets for antibiotic stewardship interventions in pediatric patients in Punjab, Pakistan: point prevalence surveys using AWaRe guidance.

Introduction: Surveillance of antibiotic use is crucial for identifying targets for antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs), particularly in pediatric populations within countries like Pakistan, where antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is escalating. This point prevalence survey (PPS) seeks to assess the patterns of antibiotic use in pediatric patients across Punjab, Pakistan, employing the WHO AWaRe classification to pinpoint targets for intervention and encourage rational antibiotic usage.

Methods: A PPS was conducted across 23 pediatric wards of 14 hospitals in the Punjab Province of Pakistan using the standardized Global-PPS methodology developed by the University of Antwerp.

Cartilage thickness can be accurately measured intraoperatively in total knee arthroplasty: A step further in calipered kinematic alignment.

Introduction: Kinematic alignment (KA) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is by definition a pure femoral resurfacing procedure aiming to restore the individual prearthritic anatomy. However, when a 2 mm compensation is systematically used on the worn side, the variability in cartilage thickness in the unworn compartment might alter the accuracy of the technique. This study aimed to validate two intraoperative femoral cartilage thickness measurement techniques by comparing them to the photographic method, which measures cartilage thickness through pixel analysis of bone-cut images.

Targeted barcoding of variable antibody domains and individual transcriptomes of the human B-cell repertoire using Link-Seq.

Here, we present Link-Seq, a highly efficient droplet microfluidic method for combined sequencing of antibody-encoding genes and the transcriptome of individual B cells at large scale. The method is based on 3' barcoding of the transcriptome and subsequent single-molecule PCR in droplets, which freely shift the barcode along specific gene regions, such as the antibody heavy- and light-chain genes. Using the immune repertoire of COVID-19 patients and healthy donors as a model system, we obtain up to 91.

Primordial black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures.

In the recent years, primordial black holes (PBHs) have emerged as one of the most interesting and hotly debated topics in cosmology. Among other possibilities, PBHs could explain both some of the signals from binary black hole mergers observed in gravitational-wave detectors and an important component of the dark matter in the Universe. Significant progress has been achieved both on the theory side and from the point of view of observations, including new models and more accurate calculations of PBH formation, evolution, clustering, merger rates, as well as new astrophysical and cosmological probes.

Changes in and Potential Mechanisms of Circulating IgA+CD27-Class-Switched Memory B Cells in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis.

Background: The role of memory B cells and their subgroups in allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergen immunotherapy (AIT) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of memory B cells in the circulation of patients with AR and those undergoing AIT, as well as their clinical significance.

Methods: This study involved a cohort comprising 32 healthy control subjects, 39 individuals diagnosed with AR, and 31 AR patients who had received AIT for over one year.

Pulse approach: a physics-guided machine learning model for thermal analysis in laser-based powder bed fusion of metals.

Fast and accurate representation of heat transfer in laser powder-bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) is essential for thermo-mechanical analyses. As an example, it benefits the detection of thermal hotspots at the design stage. While traditional physics-based numerical approaches such as the finite element (FE) method are applicable to a wide variety of problems, they are computationally too expensive for PBF-LB/M due to the space- and time-discretization requirements.

Healthcare provision for displaced people in transit: Analyses of routinely collected data from INTERSOS clinics at the Ukrainian border with Moldova and Poland.

Background: The Russian military invasion of Ukraine has sparked Europe's largest forced displacement since World War II, bringing about significant health vulnerabilities for migrants and refugees. European health information systems lack comprehensive data coverage, especially in underrepresented migration stages like transit. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing data from INTERSOS clinics at the Moldovan and Polish borders with Ukraine to identify the common health conditions prompting people to seek healthcare services during transit.

Landscapes-a lens for assessing sustainability.

Context: There are urgent calls to transition society to more sustainable trajectories, at scales ranging from local to global. Landscape sustainability (LS), or the capacity for landscapes to provide equitable access to ecosystem services essential for human wellbeing for both current and future generations, provides an operational approach to monitor these transitions. However, the complexity of landscapes complicates how and what to consider when assessing LS.

DNA Methyltransferase Inhibition Upregulates the Costimulatory Molecule ICAM-1 and the Immunogenic Phenotype of Melanoma Cells.

In cutaneous melanoma, epigenetic dysregulation is implicated in drug resistance and tumor immune escape. However, the epigenetic mechanisms that influence immune escape remain poorly understood. To elucidate how epigenetic dysregulation alters the expression of surface proteins that may be involved in drug targeting and immune escape, we performed a 3-dimensional surfaceome screen in primary melanoma cultures and identified the DNA-methyltransferase inhibitor decitabine as significantly upregulating the costimulatory molecule ICAM-1.

Environmental shocks and migration among a climate-vulnerable population in Bangladesh.

Unlabelled: Various studies predict large migration flows due to climatic and other environmental changes, yet the ex post empirical evidence for such migration is inconclusive. To examine the causal link between environmental changes and migration for a population residing along the Jamuna River in Bangladesh, an area heavily affected by floods and riverbank erosion, I relate the respondents' self-reported affectedness by environmental changes, their migration aspirations, and their capability to move to their migration likelihood. The analysis relies on a unique quasi-experimental research design based on original survey panel data of 1604 household heads.

Risk Estimation of Severe Primary Graft Dysfunction in Heart Transplant Recipients Using a Smartphone.

Background: Currently, there are no standardized guidelines for graft allocation in heart transplants (HTxs), particularly when considering organs from marginal donors and donors after cardiocirculatory arrest. This complexity highlights the need for an effective risk analysis tool for primary graft dysfunction (PGD), a severe complication in HTx. Existing score systems for predicting PGD lack superior predictive capability and are often too complex for routine clinical use.

Atypical functional connectome is associated with low reflective functioning in incarcerated adolescents.

Introduction: While functional neuroimaging studies have reported on the neural correlates of severe antisocial behaviors, such as delinquency, little is known about whole brain resting state functional connectivity (FC) of incarcerated adolescents (IA). The aim of the present study is to identify potential differences in resting state connectivity between a group of male IA, compared to community adolescents (CA). The second objective is to investigate the relations among FC and psychological factors associated with delinquent behaviors, namely psychopathic traits (callous unemotional traits, interpersonal problems, and impulsivity), socio-cognitive (empathy and reflective functioning RF) impairments and psychological problems (externalizing, internalizing, attention and thought problems).

A luminous and young galaxy at = 12.33 revealed by a JWST/MIRI detection of Hα and [O iii].

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a surprising population of bright galaxies in the very early Universe (≲500 Myr after the Big Bang) that is hard to explain with conventional galaxy-formation models and whose physical properties are not fully understood. Insight into their internal physics is best captured through nebular lines, but at these early epochs, the brightest of these spectral features are redshifted into the mid-infrared and remain elusive. Using the mid-infrared instrument onboard the James Webb Space Telescope, here we present a detection of Hα and doubly ionized oxygen ([O iii] 4959,5007 Å) from the bright, ultra-high-redshift galaxy candidate GHZ2/GLASS-z12.

Defining quantum games.

In this research article, we survey existing quantum physics-related games and, based on this survey, propose a definition for the concept of quantum games. We define a quantum game as any type of rule-based game that either employs the principles of quantum physics or references quantum phenomena or the theory of quantum physics through any of three proposed dimensions: the perceivable dimension of quantum physics, the dimension of quantum technologies, and the dimension of scientific purposes, such as citizen science or education. We also discuss the concept of quantum computer games, which are games on quantum computers, as well as definitions for the concept of science games.

The redox aspects of lithium-ion batteries.

This article aims to present the redox aspects of lithium-ion batteries both from a thermodynamic and from a conductivity viewpoint. We first recall the basic definitions of the electrochemical potential of the electron, and of the Fermi level for a redox couple in solutions. The Fermi level of redox solids such as metal oxide particles is then discussed, and a Nernst equation is derived for two ideal systems, namely an ideally homogenous phase where the oxidised and reduced metal ions are homogeneously distributed and two segregated phases where the oxidised and the reduced metal ions are separated in two distinct phases such as observed, for example, in biphasic lithium iron phosphate.

Diagnosis and management of de novo non-specific spinal infections: European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) Spine Section Delphi consensus recommendations.

Introduction: The management of de novo non-specific spinal infections (spondylodiscitis - SD) remains inconsistent due to varying clinical practices and a lack of high-level evidence, particularly regarding the indications for surgery.

Research Question: This study aims to develop consensus recommendations for the diagnosis and management of SD, addressing diagnostic modalities, surgical indications, and treatment strategies.

Material And Methods: A Delphi process was conducted with 26 experts from the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).