Advancing Open Science

Pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Physiologic changes in pregnancy, along with patient-specific and pregnancy-specific risk factors, increase this VTE risk. The prevention and treatment of pregnancy-related VTE is often complex and requires the careful consideration of variation in clinical guidelines, VTE risk profile, bleeding assessment, careful delivery planning and patient preference. The mainstay of treatment for an acute VTE in pregnancy is the use of low-molecular-weight heparin. In this review, we highlight three clinical cases to review clinical approaches to the prevention and treatment of VTE in pregnancy in these scenarios. Importantly, this review goes over the current understanding of the pathophysiology and clinical practice experience for pregnant patients with VTE. We also explored the variation in professional clinical guidelines on VTE prophylaxis and treatment strategies in pregnancy, and how these guidelines may be interpreted in the context of patient care for optimal outcomes.

Patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) often develop other malignancies, most commonly second primary lung cancer (SPLC). This study aimed to estimate the incidence of SPLC in LSCC patients and evaluate whether pulmonary nodules on baseline thoracic computed tomography (CT) predict SPLC development. In this single-center retrospective cohort study, 243 patients with LSCC diagnosed from 2017 to 2024 at the University Hospital of Split, Croatia, were followed, of whom 26 (10.7%) developed SPLC. The median time from LSCC to SPLC diagnosis was approximately 1.2 years. Patients with LSCC had an approximately eightfold higher risk of developing an SPLC than the general population (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] 8.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.48–12.30). Pulmonary nodules at diagnosis were the only predictor associated with the development of an SPLC (hazard ratio [HR] 2.37; 95% CI 1.09–5.13; p = 0.029), although this association weakened and lost significance when the analysis was restricted to metachronous tumors (HR 1.84; 95% CI 0.71–4.77; p = 0.207). Metachronous tumors were predominantly squamous cell carcinomas (83.3%), whereas adenocarcinoma was the most common histological type among synchronous tumors (50.0%; p = 0.022). Patients with SPLC had a shorter overall survival than those without it (median 5.4 vs. 8.0 years; log-rank p = 0.016). The presence of pulmonary nodules at LSCC diagnosis was associated with a higher risk of SPLC. However, these findings originate from a single center, and further studies are needed to determine whether stratification based on initial radiological findings can improve early detection of SPLC in patients with LSCC.

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires of August 2025 reached Cluj-Napoca, Romania, on 6–9 August as a thin layer at 5–8 km. We followed the plume from its source with the multi-angle polarimeters HARP2 and SPEXone and the OCI radiometer on NASA’s PACE and characterised it at the RADO-Cluj ACTRIS National Facility with a multiwavelength depolarisation lidar, a ceilometer, AERONET photometry, GRASP inversions, and HYSPLIT trajectories. Along the air mass trajectory, the HARP2 retrievals resolved the ageing of the smoke: an optical depth decaying from 0.9 to 0.2–0.3, a layer rising to 10 km and descending to 5 km, growth of the fine-mode radius, and a single-scattering albedo consistent with brown carbon loss. At the site, the lidar ratio and particle depolarisation ratio retrieved by HARP2 (52 sr, 0.042) agreed with the lidar’s derived lidar ratio and measured depolarisation (50 sr, 0.042), whereas the three satellite optical depths differed by 0.2 around an AERONET value of 0.1 and the NATALI typing networks returned three different classes. For this faint, aged plume, intensive polarimetric and vertical quantities could no longer be identified for the aerosol by its optical depth and Ångström exponent, which motivates testing an intensive-first pairing of satellite polarimetry with ground-based lidar on further episodes.

This study examines a decade of laboratory investigation and bronze conservation practice at the Shanghai Museum using a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser (El.En. S.p.A., Calenzano, Italy). Preliminary irradiation tests on heterogeneous archaeological fragments explored effective-cleaning fluence ranges and adverse-alteration limits under dry and wet LQS and SFR irradiation; reflectance measurements assessed optical response at 1064 nm. Despite recurring tendencies, operational ranges overlapped substantially and remained case-specific, limiting the predictive value of nominal fluence and reflectance. Eight historical artefact cases highlighted situations with greater practical potential for laser treatment, including well-preserved gold-bearing surfaces and selected aged restoration residues, whereas sensitive patinas and degraded metallic decorative layers offered narrower treatment margins. For certain restoration residues, useful removal was achieved even when their major constituents were weak absorbers at 1064 nm. In selected chloride pits, high-frequency SFR was associated with delayed and reduced visible recurrence but was accompanied by surface modification and the continued need for conventional corrosion-control measures. These successes and setbacks inform a practice-oriented decision framework integrating pre-treatment assessment, preliminary testing, observed response and conservation judgement to determine whether laser treatment should serve as a primary method, make an auxiliary contribution or be avoided, with its role reassessed as treatment progresses.

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is increasingly embedded in higher education, yet how AI literacy relates to AI-assisted innovative behavior in learning (IBL) remains unclear. This cross-sectional study examined whether cognitive and affective trust in AI, together with creative self-efficacy (CSE), sequentially linked AI literacy to IBL. A sample of 1173 Chinese college students completed an online survey; gender, age, and AI use frequency were controlled. AI literacy was associated with IBL in total (β = 0.211, 95% CI [0.155, 0.267]), but the direct association was no longer significant once the mediators were included (β = 0.057, p = 0.056); the total indirect effect accounted for 73.2% of the total association. When both trust dimensions were modeled simultaneously, all seven specific indirect pathways were significant. The pathway through cognitive trust (0.093) exceeded that through affective trust (0.057; Δ = 0.036). Re-estimation under a symmetric covariate specification confirmed a modest antecedent asymmetry (Δ = 0.086), whereas the two trust dimensions did not differ reliably downstream. Cognitive trust thus appears to be the more readily mobilized gateway to IBL, whereas affective trust may require relationally supportive design. Single-wave self-reports preclude causal inference.

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is the most widely used biomaterial for extrusion-based bioprinting. However, its intrinsic rheological properties often require optimisation with rheological modifiers, such as the nanoclay Laponite (Lapo). Since the rheological behaviour of GelMA/Lapo hybrid bioinks depends on polymer–nanoclay interactions, the physicochemical and conformational properties of GelMA are expected to critically influence Lapo incorporation, the resulting rheological behaviour, and ultimately printability. Accordingly, this study combines formulation design with a systematic rheology-guided screening strategy. Two GelMA derivatives (GelMA_DP and GelMA_SP) obtained through different synthesis procedures, and characterised by distinct physicochemical and structural properties, were used to prepare GelMA/Lapo bioinks under physiologically relevant conditions. GelMA_SP enabled homogeneous incorporation of higher Lapo contents than GelMA_DP, expanding the formulation space and allowing the development of hybrid inks with improved rheological properties. A sequential rheological roadmap integrating oscillation temperature-ramp, flow-sweep, yield stress, and elastic recovery analyses was then used to progressively screen the formulations and guide the selection of suitable processing conditions. Among the investigated formulations, SP20-3 (20% w/v GelMA_SP and 3% w/v Lapo) exhibited the most suitable rheological profile, combining favourable temperature-dependent gelation, pronounced shear-thinning behaviour, and rapid structural recovery, ultimately leading to high printing fidelity. These properties were largely retained also after high-density cell inclusion. Overall, these results identify the physicochemical and conformational properties of the starting GelMA as critical design parameters governing polymer–clay network organisation, rheological behaviour, and bioink printability, while highlighting the value of a systematic rheology-guided approach for formulation screening and optimisation.

Background/Objectives: Obesity is characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress, mediated in part by Toll-like receptor (TLR)-associated pathways. Bariatric surgery improves clinical and metabolic parameters, but its effects on TLR-associated reactive oxygen species (ROS) responses in immune cells remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate ROS production following TLR2- and TLR4-associated stimulation in granulocytes from women with obesity before and after bariatric surgery, compared with age-matched non-obese controls. Methods: ROS production was evaluated using a luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay in granulocytes isolated from women with obesity before (PRE, n = 12) and after (POST, n = 12) bariatric surgery, as well as from age-matched non-obese controls (n = 12). ROS production was assessed under basal conditions and following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a TLR4 agonist) or zymosan (ZY, a TLR2-associated stimulus). Clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical parameters were assessed, and their associations with ROS production were analyzed. Results: Bariatric surgery was associated with significant improvements in clinical and metabolic parameters, although mean BMI in the POST group remained within the obesity range. Granulocytes from the PRE group exhibited increased basal ROS production and enhanced responses following both LPS and ZY stimulation. In the POST group, basal ROS production and the response following ZY stimulation were comparable to those observed in controls, whereas LPS-associated ROS production remained elevated. Correlation analyses showed positive associations between anthropometric and biochemical parameters and ROS production in both PRE and POST groups, with body weight and BMI remaining positively associated with basal and LPS-associated ROS production after surgery. Conclusions: Bariatric surgery was associated with substantial clinical and metabolic improvement but did not completely restore innate immune redox homeostasis. The persistence of TLR4-driven ROS production suggests that some alterations in innate immune redox balance may persist after surgery despite metabolic improvement.

Optimizing spatial land-use configurations is a critical pathway toward achieving spatially balanced ecosystem service values (ESVs) in arid regions. Based on multi-source geospatial data from 1980 to 2025, this study constructs a comprehensive ‘value accounting–attribution diagnosis–multi–objective optimization’ framework. This framework integrates dynamic equivalent factors, driving factor analysis, hot and cold spot analysis, and the ESCI-FLUS model to conduct land-use optimization analysis. The empirical findings reveal that: (1) Exhibiting pronounced asymmetric polarization, ESV dynamics are primarily driven by nighttime lights and surface runoff, reflecting the intricate coupling mechanisms of vulnerable human–earth systems in arid regions. (2) ESV degradation zones are densely clustered along oasis–desert ecotones and urban peripheries; through the topological intersection of significant cold spots across four ecosystem services, this study successfully isolates multidimensional ecological deficit zones totaling 35,034 km². (3) Spatial reconfiguration under the dual constraints of zero expansion in construction land and ESCI enforcement induces an 11.63% reduction in landscape connectivity alongside a 41.17% contraction in the maximum patch size within deficit areas. By dismantling the contiguous agglomeration of low-value patches and restricting the spatial pathways of ecological risk transmission.