Advancing Open Science

The increasing frequency and severity of agricultural drought pose a growing threat to Mediterranean farming systems, intensifying soil water deficits, crop water stress, productivity losses, and degradation of water quality. This study evaluates ECMWF SEAS5 seasonal forecasts (SFs) for drought monitoring and early warning in Portugal, considering the accumulation period, lead time, event type, seasonality, and spatial variability. Forecast performance was assessed by comparing the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) from SEAS5 forecasts (2017–2024) with SPEI from bias-corrected ERA5-Land reanalysis, using Cohen’s Kappa and confusion-matrix metrics (True Positive Fraction—TPF; False Positive Fraction—FPF). SF generally reproduced the main spatial gradients and seasonal variability of climatic water availability and captured the major drought episodes. However, some limitations were identified, notably the SF’s coarse spatial resolution and a persistent warm-season wet bias, resulting in drought severity underestimation. Exact categorical agreement was limited (29–42%), though quadratically weighted Kappa indicated that most disagreements occurred between adjacent SPEI classes. Although forecast performance decreased with lead time, it improved with accumulation period, with SPEI-9 retaining substantial agreement (quadratically weighted Kappa ≥ 0.6) through the sixth lead month in the warm season. Dry conditions were better identified during the cool season (TPF up to 60%) and wet conditions in the warm season (TPF up to 89%), the latter linked to higher false alarm rates (FPF 6–11%). Extreme SF percentiles occasionally reduced the wet bias and improved detection, but generally showed larger errors, whereas the SF median provided the most balanced skill. Overall, these findings suggest that SFs have the potential to provide meaningful added value for drought early warning in Portugal, while bias correction, downscaling methodologies, and multi-system integration represent promising pathways to further enhance their usability for agricultural decision-making.

Tandem photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells made exclusively of earth-abundant oxides are a promising route to solar hydrogen, but bias-free operation and durability remain challenging, particularly in acidic environments. This work presents a 1 cm² zero-gap tandem PEC cell, operated without housing and fed only with deionized water, that integrates an electrodeposited nanostructured WO₃ photoanode (band gap 2.75 eV), a spray-coated nanostructured CuFe₂O₄ photocathode (1.43 eV) and a Nafion 117 proton-exchange membrane acting as solid electrolyte and separator. Mott–Schottky analysis in N₂-purged 0.1 M HClO₄ confirms the expected n-type and p-type semiconductor character, with a band-edge alignment compatible with unassisted operation. Under simulated AM 1.5G sunlight, the device delivers ≈42 µA cm⁻² at zero bias (solar-to-hydrogen efficiency ≈ 0.05%, assuming unity Faradaic efficiency) and a saturated photocurrent density of 0.47 mA cm⁻² at −1.0 V (throughput efficiency 0.70%). After 96 h of operation (48 h at 0 V and 48 h at −0.7 V), the photocurrent decreases by only ≈5–6%. Impedance spectroscopy and distribution of relaxation times analysis identify a dominant millisecond-scale interfacial charge-transfer process. Post-operando analyses reveal that WO₃ undergoes only mild surface reduction, whereas CuFe₂O₄ shows partial Cu²⁺ → Cu⁺ reduction and local delamination, identifying the photocathode as the lifetime-limiting component.

Region-specific skin appendage phenotypes enable animals to meet diverse environmental and functional demands, yet the molecular basis of this specialization remains incompletely understood. Feathers vary markedly in size and shape across the avian body. Here, we investigate the relationship between regional feather phenotypes and morphogen signaling using bulk RNA sequencing, single-cell transcriptomics, spatial expression mapping, and in vivo functional perturbation. Adult chicken feathers from the scalp, neck, back, breast, forelimb, hindlimb, and tail each exhibit distinct morphogen signatures involving Wnt–Frizzled, FGF, IGF, and BMP pathway members. Elongated flight and sickle feathers shared an IGF-associated signature but differed in Wnt- and FGF-associated profiles, suggesting that similar phenotypes can arise through partially distinct molecular programs. Spatial mapping revealed region-specific Frizzled receptor expression within the proximal flight feather follicle. RCAS-mediated misexpression demonstrated that Wnt–Frizzled signaling is required for adult flight feather follicle regeneration and morphogenesis. Perturbation of individual Frizzled family members differentially affected flight feather follicle organization, cell survival, and feather filament elongation. Together, these findings show that region-specific feather phenotypes arise from combinations of core morphogen signaling modules that are differentially tuned by individual pathway components, providing a framework for understanding how a shared developmental toolkit generates diverse and convergent skin appendage phenotypes.

Background/Objectives: Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based acrylic materials are widely used in dentistry, but they are not completely biologically inert and have been associated with hypersensitivity and allergic reactions in both patients and dental personnel. This narrative review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on (meth)acrylate-related hypersensitivity reactions in dentistry, with an emphasis on clinical manifestations, immunological mechanisms, and risk factors. Methods: A structured literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (15 August–1 September 2026), following the SANRA (Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles) guideline. After screening 408 records, 17 core articles were selected and grouped into four thematic categories: prevalence and clinical relevance, molecular and immunological mechanisms, clinical manifestations in patients, and occupational sensitization in dental personnel. Results: Confirmed (meth)acrylate sensitization ranges from 1.4% to 8% depending on population and testing methodology, remaining lower than metal allergy but clinically relevant. Haptenization through covalent binding of electrophilic monomers to host proteins underlies sensitization, while sublethal HEMA (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) exposure can induce measurable cellular stress independent of overt cytotoxicity. Patient presentations range from localized contact stomatitis to acute facial swelling, whereas dental personnel, particularly dental technicians, show disproportionately high occupational incidence rates. Testing restricted to HEMA alone may miss a substantial proportion of sensitized individuals. Conclusions: (Meth)acrylate hypersensitivity, although relatively uncommon, warrants increased diagnostic vigilance, broader patch-test panels, and improved occupational preventive measures. The current literature remains methodologically heterogeneous, underscoring the need for standardized testing series and larger prospective studies.

Background/Objectives: The Crohn’s disease exclusion diet (CDED) offers a structured nutritional strategy for adults with Crohn’s disease. We evaluated remission outcomes by comparator, assessment time, and analysis population to clarify its clinical interpretation. Methods: Six databases were searched from January 2014 to 2 September 2026. Week-6 clinical remission was primary; later assessments were secondary. Randomized comparisons were analyzed separately by comparator and time point. Uncontrolled proportions were reported individually using exact binomial confidence intervals. Risk of bias and certainty were assessed using design-specific tools. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261381711), with broader activity-range inclusion and exploratory analyses reported as deviations. Results: Seven studies comprised two randomized trials and five uncontrolled studies. At week 6, remission occurred in 13/19 participants receiving CDED plus partial enteral nutrition versus 12/21 receiving CDED alone (risk ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval 0.74–1.94). A separate trial favored CDED over a Mediterranean diet at week 12 (17/24 versus 8/21; 1.86, 1.02–3.40). Comparative certainty was very low or low. Descriptive, exploratory uncontrolled week-6 remission proportions in clinically active populations were 30/48 (62.5%) and 23/30 (76.7%). Objective inflammatory outcomes were inconsistently assessed and showed no consistent comparative advantage accompanying symptomatic remission. Conclusions: Adult evidence identifies a symptomatic remission signal that differs by comparator and assessment time. Comparative biochemical or endoscopic superiority remains unestablished. This synthesis clarifies the population and treatment question represented by each estimate. Trials should assess inflammatory control, nutritional adequacy, adherence, and longer-term outcomes during treatment and after cessation.

Maize in Mexico suffers severe economic losses due to root-feeding and defoliating pests, among which Macrodactylus nigripes is particularly damaging, attacking roots during its larval stage and reducing pollination in adults. The intensive use of chemical insecticides has generated environmental impacts and resistance risks, driving the search for sustainable alternatives. In this study, the efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae), diatomaceous earth, and a chemical control was evaluated against larvae and adults of M. nigripes under laboratory (controlled) conditions. A completely randomized factorial design was employed, and mortality and survival were assessed using Abbott’s correction, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, and Probit regression. Results revealed highly significant differences among treatments. The native strain of B. bassiana (MA-Bb1) achieved the highest Abbott-corrected cumulative mortality in L₁ larvae (99.4 ± 1.0%) and adults (75.3 ± 3.9%), with lethal times (LT₅₀) of approximately 1.1–1.3 days in larvae and 1.6 days in adults, outperforming commercial strains and diatomaceous earth. Chemical control exhibited immediate action (LT₅₀ < 0.4 days). These findings highlight the potential of entomopathogenic fungi, particularly the native strain MA-Bb1 exhibited high pathogenicity against M. nigripes under laboratory conditions and represents a promising candidate for future biological control programs. Additional studies under semi-field and field conditions are required to confirm its effectiveness under agricultural production systems.

The growing adoption of artificial intelligence in space communications has imposed increasingly demanding efficiency requirements on deep learning training for tasks such as intelligent signal processing and resource allocation. However, performance disparities and workload fluctuations across heterogeneous nodes cause synchronization delays, while gradient aggregation and redundant parameter updates further increase training overhead. This paper proposes a data-parallel training method that combines dynamic load balancing with communication optimization. The Iteration-Level Dynamic Batch Adjustment algorithm (IDAT) estimates node processing rates online and dynamically assigns local batch sizes while maintaining a fixed global batch size, with a time-variation threshold, integer adjustment, and GPU memory constraints used to control overhead. The communication optimization algorithm (MRA) integrates Reduce-Scatter, sharded parameter updates, and All-Gather into a unified workflow to reduce communication startup and redundant update costs. Experiments using ResNet-50, AlexNet, and VGG-16 on a cluster of three servers and five NVIDIA V100-series GPUs show that IDAT achieves a 1.03×–1.04× speedup over the baseline, while the combined IDAT–MRA scheme achieves a 1.41×–1.82× speedup over the native PyTorch DDP 1.12.1 and Horovod 0.28.1 configurations, with an absolute accuracy difference of no more than 0.02 percentage points. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in improving synchronous data-parallel training efficiency on the evaluated heterogeneous cluster and indicate its potential applicability to the training of intelligent models for space communication systems.

Autoimmune diseases (AIDs), a group of diseases induced by dysfunction of the immune system, are currently prompting the search for novel intervention strategies. Recent studies have found that plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PELNs) have the potential to restore immune homeostasis. In particular, preclinical evidence indicates that PELNs can modulate the immune microenvironment, inhibit inflammatory pathways, and exert antioxidant and tissue-repair effects. Meanwhile, molecular loading, targeted modification and novel engineering strategies have significantly improved the Intervention precision of PELNs. Based on this, this review summarizes the biological functions, functional advantages, and regulatory mechanisms of PELNs in AIDs and discusses the prospects for their large-scale clinical application in terms of engineering modification, preparation standardization, and multidimensional safety assessment, with the aim of providing a theoretical basis and reference for the development of novel intervention strategies for AIDs.