Search Results (225)

Background/Objectives: Longer lifetime exposure to endogenous estradiol (L_EE2) has been associated with lower risk of age-related cognitive decline and dementia. Complementary to cognitive decline, behavioral and functional decline are also predictive of dementia risk; however, the association between L_EE2 and these domains is underexplored. We investigated whether L_EE2 is correlated with later-life changes in behavior and function. Methods: Baseline data from 1156 females enrolled in the CAN-PROTECT study were analyzed. L_EE2 was estimated based on the length of the reproductive period (menopause age–menarche age) plus years pregnant and scaled in 5-year increments. Objective cognition was measured using the CAN-PROTECT neuropsychological battery, while subjective cognition, behavior, and function were measured using the Revised Everyday Cognition (ECog-II) scale, Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C), and Standard Assessment of Global Everyday Activities (SAGEA) scale, respectively. Linear regressions modeled the association between L_EE2 and neuropsychological performance. Three separate negative binomial regression models examined the association between L_EE2 and ECog-II, MBI-C, and SAGEA total scores. All models adjusted for menopause hormone therapy, menopause type, age at first childbirth, body mass index, age, education, and ethnocultural background. Results: Each five-year increase in L_EE2 was associated with a lower MBI-C score (count ratio [CR] = 0.89, 95% CI [0.82, 0.97]) and lower SAGEA score (CR = 0.91, 95% CI [0.84, 0.98]). L_EE2 was not significantly associated with any objective or subjective cognitive measures. Conclusions: Longer L_EE2 may associate with lower severity of later-life behavioral and functional symptoms in older women. Full article

This study integrates recent literature with qualitative data from sexual-health outreach workers in the Greater Toronto Area to examine how outreach is delivered to gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GBTQ+) men who have sex with men (MSM) in virtual social settings, including social networking applications. Using a symbolic-interactionist framework and reflexive thematic analysis, the study identifies persistent challenges that shape GBTQ+ and MSM users’ engagement with sexual-health services, such as stigma, privacy concerns, and platform-level constraints. Findings highlight mismatches between current outreach practices and community needs in app-based environments and point to opportunities to strengthen the relevance, accessibility, and trustworthiness of digital sexual-health initiatives. The analysis offers practical recommendations for improving service design and delivery in online queer spaces and outlines priorities for future research focused on outreach effectiveness, equity, and user safety. Full article

Clusterin is a chaperon protein that is involved in many physiological processes, including binding to beta-amyloid (Aβ). Recently, we showed that in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model mice and human postmortem brains, there are elevated levels of methionine-oxidized clusterin in the disease state versus controls. These observations prompted us to investigate the possibility that elevated methionine-oxidized levels of clusterin in human blood plasma correlate with clinical diagnosis of both mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD stages. To achieve this goal, we have used a combination of Elisa kits for determining the total level of clusterin and methionine-oxidized clusterin in human blood plasma, enabling the quantification of a methionine-oxidized clusterin to total clusterin ratio. This ratio was correlated with the diagnostics of three groups of patients (normal controls (NL), MCI, and AD; with n = 44 per group). Accordingly, it was determined that there was a significant increase in the relative methionine-oxidized clusterin level in the MCI and AD groups compared to the controls. In conclusion, it is suggested that increased levels of methionine-oxidized clusterin in human blood plasma may serve as a potential marker for MCI and AD diagnosis. Full article

Metaheuristic optimization algorithms are widely employed to address complex nonlinear and multimodal optimization problems due to their flexibility and strong global search capability. However, the original Connected Banking System Optimizer (CBSO) still exhibits several inherent limitations when handling high-dimensional and highly complex search spaces, including excessive dependence on single global-best guidance, rapid loss of population diversity, weak exploitation ability in later iterations, and inefficient boundary handling. These deficiencies often lead to premature convergence and unstable optimization performance. To overcome these drawbacks, this paper proposes a Multi-Strategy Enhanced Connected Banking System Optimizer (MSECBSO) by systematically enhancing the CBSO framework through multiple complementary mechanisms. First, a multi-elite cooperative guidance strategy is introduced to aggregate information from several high-quality individuals, thereby mitigating search-direction bias and improving population diversity. Second, an embedded differential evolution search strategy is incorporated to strengthen local exploitation accuracy and enhance the ability to escape from local optima. Third, a soft boundary rebound mechanism is designed to replace rigid boundary truncation, improving search stability and preventing boundary aggregation. The proposed MSECBSO is extensively evaluated on the CEC2017 and CEC2022 benchmark suites under different dimensional settings and is statistically compared with nine state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate that MSECBSO achieves superior convergence accuracy, robustness, and stability across unimodal, multimodal, hybrid, and composition functions. In terms of computational complexity, MSECBSO retains the same order of time complexity as the original CBSO, namely O(N×D×T), while introducing only a marginal increase in constant computational overhead. The space complexity remains O(N×D), indicating good scalability for high-dimensional optimization problems. Furthermore, MSECBSO is applied to corporate bankruptcy forecasting by optimizing the hyperparameters of a K-nearest neighbors (KNN) classifier. The resulting MSECBSO-KNN model achieves higher prediction accuracy and stronger stability than competing optimization-based KNN models, confirming the effectiveness and practical applicability of the proposed algorithm in real-world classification tasks. Full article

If modern readers sometimes find Adam Smith’s laissez-faire market vision in Wealth of Nations difficult to reconcile with his emphasis on sympathy in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which Smith published in 1759 while serving as Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, the fault may be ours. For many of Smith’s eighteenth-century contemporaries, the connections between the two books would have been obvious: they were distinct but converging aspects of an Enlightenment project to lay the ethical foundations of an urban middle-class discourse of polite sociability that reflected Britain’s status as a modern transactional society. This focus on the moral dimensions of eighteenth-century Britain’s experience of commercial modernity becomes especially clear when we read Smith in the philosophical context out of which his ideas emerged, including writers such as Joseph Addison, Francis Hutcheson, and David Hume. Closer attention to these earlier writers, especially Steele and Addison’s Spectator, offers a powerful reminder of the philosophical complexity of this project and a timely rejoinder to current efforts to sever economic policies from ethical imperatives in the name of an often brutal protectionism today. Full article

Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and The Wealth of Nations (1776) offer a distinctive perspective on moral development that avoids succumbing to the limitations of capitalism and utilitarianism by supporting both moral agency and the importance of enabling structures and systems in commerce. Corruption of moral sentiments cannot be averted by enforcing only mechanical structures and systems of compliance with governance rules, regulations, and disciplinary processes to control employees. Compliance then follows a means-to-an-end logic for maximising profit, which becomes a barrier for autonomous moral development or is even incapable of moral decision-making, as suggested by Hannah Arendt. Smith’s originality lies in grounding this analysis with an affirmative view of human nature and liberty, which enables him to move beyond purely legalistic or moralistic approaches to understand and counter moral failure. Smith offers a distinctive perspective on moral development in commerce, integrating human cognition, moral philosophy, and enabling structural and systemic design that avoids the displacement of responsibility noted by Albert Bandura. For Smith, the corruption of moral sentiments is distorted by the natural need for praise from others at all costs, as opposed to praiseworthy conduct. His remedy is a two-fold process of moral education in which the impartial spectator extends the natural desire for praise to prioritise honour and integrity in behaviour that is praiseworthy. However, moral education also requires a structural social space that is not prescriptive or legalistic to enhance the freedom to develop morally by exercising the choice to strive towards ethical behaviour. In this manner, self-interest enables moral development through natural means that prioritise honourable conduct and perpetuates sympathetic sentiment in which the well-being of others is considered. Full article

ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf) proteins are small GTPases that regulate intracellular membrane trafficking and actin remodeling through tightly controlled cycles of GTP binding and hydrolysis. Arf1, a central coordinator of Golgi and endosomal transport, and Arf6, which regulates plasma membranes and endosomal dynamics, have both been implicated in late stages of the HIV-1 life cycle. However, the mechanisms by which these GTPases support viral assembly and release remain incompletely defined. Here, we provide direct evidence that both Arf1 and Arf6 are required for efficient trafficking of the HIV-1 Gag polyprotein, assembly, and virion production. Perturbation of Arf1 function using either GTP-locked (Q71L) or GDP-locked (T31N) mutants significantly reduced virus release, impaired Gag association with membrane compartments, and prevented its accumulation at the plasma membrane. Manipulation of Arf1 cycling through the GTPase-activating protein AGAP1 further demonstrated that dynamic transitions between GTP- and GDP-bound states are essential for productive Gag trafficking. Similarly, expression of a constitutively active Arf6 mutant (Q67L) misrouted Gag to intracellular membranes and markedly suppressed virion release. Importantly, disruption of Arf1 or Arf6 activity did not affect the expression, surface levels, or intracellular distribution of the host restriction factor BST-2. Together, these findings identify Arf1- and Arf6-mediated trafficking pathways as critical host determinants of HIV-1 assembly and release and establish that their functions operate independently of BST-2 antagonism. Full article

This essay argues that Jeremy Bentham’s experience of the 1780 Gordon Riots and 1787 sojourn to White Russia inspired his conception of several projects for managing unruly populations. Bentham’s devotion to speculative enterprise informs his Defence of Usury, which vindicates schemers and dreamers from the criticism of Adam Smith, whose Wealth of Nations caricatured projectors as “riotous” con-artists who threatened domestic peace. Bentham’s Defence, I show, resuscitated early modern debates over the efficacy of free-lance enterprise to authorize his own efforts to improve society. A projector and theorist of projection, Bentham reveals how residents of the late eighteenth century described riot so that they could suppress it. Full article

Microbial communities play a crucial role in coastal ecosystem function, yet their seasonal and spatial dynamics in response to environmental change remain underexplored in tropical and subtropical regions. This yearlong study investigated microbial composition in water, sinking particles, and sediments along an inshore–offshore gradient influenced by the Caloosahatchee River Estuary in southwest Florida. The region has been altered by rapid coastal development and was struck by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Environmental parameters exhibited significant spatiotemporal variation, shaping microbial beta diversity in all habitats. Sediment communities showed the greatest hurricane-induced disruption but returned to pre-disturbance conditions within six months. Dominant microbial classes included Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, and Gammaproteobacteria. Biogeochemical cycling taxa displayed strong habitat specificity, such as Desulfobulbia which dominated sinking particles, Desulfobacteria which was abundant in sediments, and Nitrosomonadaceae and Nitrosopumilaceae which were key nitrifiers in water and sediments, respectively. Particle–sediment taxonomic overlap suggests resuspension processes. Several inshore microbial indicators were consistently present across microbial habitats, especially at estuarine sites, suggesting the estuary as a microbial diversity reservoir for the coastal zone. These results highlight the value of long-term microbial monitoring to understand ecosystem change and resilience in dynamic coastal environments. Full article

Lung involvement in patients with leptospirosis is associated with a more complicated disease course. However, the demographic and clinical associations of lung involvement are incompletely defined, and its optimal management is uncertain. This retrospective study examined consecutive patients admitted to a referral hospital in tropical Australia, with laboratory-confirmed leptospirosis between January 2015, and June 2024. Lung involvement was defined as new lung parenchymal changes on chest imaging at any point during the patients’ hospitalisation. The demographics, clinical findings and clinical course of the patients with and without lung involvement were compared. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) age of the 109 patients was 39 (24–56) years; 93/109 (85%) were male. Lung involvement was present in 62/109 (57%), 55 (89%) of whom had no documented comorbidities. Patients with lung involvement received antibiotics later in their disease course than those without lung involvement (after a median (IQR) of 5 (4–6) versus 3 (2–5) days of symptoms, p = 0.001). Lung involvement was frequently associated with multi-organ failure: patients with lung involvement were more likely to require intensive care unit admission than patients without lung involvement (41/62 (66%) versus 15/47 (32%), p < 0.001). Overall, 30/109 (28%) satisfied criteria for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and 26/109 (24%) developed pulmonary haemorrhage. Patients with lung involvement received cautious fluid resuscitation, vasopressor support and prompt initiation of additional supportive care—including mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy and extracorporeal membranous oxygenation—guided by the patients’ physiological parameters and clinical trajectory. All 109 patients in the cohort were alive 90 days after discharge. Life-threatening lung involvement was identified in the majority of individuals in this cohort and occurred in young and otherwise well individuals. However, in Australia’s well-resourced health system excellent outcomes can be achieved using a standard contemporary approach to the management of a patient with undifferentiated infection while a confirmed diagnosis of leptospirosis is awaited. Full article

As ecological collapse accelerates under the pressures of anthropogenic climate change, adaptation strategies increasingly include technological proxies for nature’s functions. But can ecosystem services (ES) be meaningfully replaced by technology? Revisiting this urgent question first posed by Fitter (2013), we assess the extent to which bio-inspired design—particularly biomimetics—has advanced the capacity to support, enhance, or replace natural ES. We convened an interdisciplinary team to synthesize and refine a comprehensive list of 22 ecosystem services, integrating often-overlooked cultural and relational dimensions. Using this framework, we conducted a large-scale analysis of over 68,000 peer-reviewed publications from the biomimetics and bio-inspired design literature between 2004 and 2025, applying AI-assisted classification to evaluate whether, and how, these technologies map onto specific ES functions and benefits. Our findings reveal both promise and profound limitations. Bio-inspired research engages with 20 of the 22 ES, but over 78% of this work concentrates on five technologically tractable functions—biochemicals, disease regulation, waste treatment, fibre/hide/wood, and fuel. Foundational supporting and regulating services such as pollination, soil formation, and nutrient cycling are almost entirely absent. Moreover, only 3% of technologies described in the academic literature aim to support existing systems; the overwhelming emphasis on enhancement (39%) and replacement (58%) suggests a design paradigm skewed toward substitution rather than coexistence. Intangible, co-produced services—particularly those related to culture, identity, and meaning—remain outside the current reach of biomimetic design. This skew reveals a dangerous imbalance: while certain ES can be technologically approximated, the relational, emergent, and systemic qualities of ecosystems elude replication. Technological replacement must not become a substitute for preservation. Instead, bio-inspired design should be mobilized as a tool for adaptation that amplifies and protects the living systems on which human and more-than-human futures depend. Full article

Clear Lake in Lake County, CA, USA has experienced highly toxic cyanobacterial blooms for more than a decade, with multiple cyanobacterial taxa and cyanotoxins appearing sporadically, typically throughout much of the early-spring to late-fall seasons. Recurring blooms have been attributed to high internal nutrient loads within the lake, with hydrography and hydrology playing important but still poorly documented roles in controlling the availability of growth-limiting elements to the phytoplankton community. The lake is approximately 180 km² in areal extent and composed of three somewhat disjointed lobes, or ‘Arms’. The large size of the lake presents a formidable task for synoptic lakewide surveys and for understanding the specific features that stimulate the development and magnitude of harmful blooms. We conducted a study in August of 2020 that involved the use of an autonomous underwater vehicle and deployment of a hand-held water column profiler to describe the lakewide status of various biological, chemical, and physical features. Discrete water samples were also collected from ten stations located throughout the lake to produce a near-synoptic depiction of lake status. Additionally, a mechanically driven, continuously monitoring water-column profiler was deployed at a central lake location to document short-term temporal (minutes to months) changes in water-column structure and chemistry. Wind was a dominant feature affecting the lake’s chemistry and biology during the study, resulting in massive concentrations and dramatic spatial heterogeneity of phytoplankton biomass and cyanotoxins in the eastern and southeastern Arms of the lake, and confirmed by the analysis of discrete water samples. Unique insight into the processes leading to or prolonging blooms was revealed by the water column profiler, which demonstrated rapid development (within a few hours) of suboxic conditions during periods of calm winds. We speculate that these quiescent periods are fundamental events in the lake’s ecology, resulting in episodic ‘pulses’ of nutrient release from the sediments, which can stimulate or refuel blooms of cyanobacteria in the water column. Full article

To address the power sharing dissymmetry in islanded microgrids with multiple parallel inverters caused by asymmetrical line impedance distribution and internal parameter mismatches, this paper proposes an adaptive virtual complex impedance control strategy based on line impedance identification for symmetry restoration. The strategy incorporates model predictive control (MPC) into the current inner loop and a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) control into the voltage outer loop of inverters. By establishing a real-time impedance identification mechanism and generating adaptive virtual impedance, the system achieves symmetrical power sharing under asymmetrical grid conditions. Firstly, the voltage-current dual-loop design eliminates the impact of internal impedance dissymmetry and enhances disturbance rejection capabilities. Secondly, the adaptive virtual complex impedance actively compensates for line impedance mismatches among units, thereby resolving power unbalance and restoring operational symmetry. Simulation results validate the strategy’s effectiveness in enabling balanced power sharing and symmetrical operation of distributed inverters. Full article

Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is an important biological control agent for various soft-bodied arthropod pests. The effective mass rearing and reliable field performance of any biocontrol agent can depend on the quality of its diet. While a combination of insect prey and pollen has been tested previously, little information exists on how different prey and pollen types support survival and reproduction when provided alone. The current study evaluated adult longevity, reproductive span, and total and daily fecundity per female across five different diets. The first instar nymphs of O. insidiosus were reared on Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs + honey, pest thrips Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) + honey, Typha latifolia L. (Poales: Typhaceae) pollen + honey, multifloral bee pollen + honey, and honey alone in laboratory conditions. The adults reared on E. kuehniella eggs + honey had the highest longevity, daily and total fecundity, and reproductive span, followed by those fed on S. dorsalis + honey. Two pollen diets supported reproduction and survival but were significantly less effective than insect-based diets; honey alone was insufficient to sustain reproduction. These results confirm the superior nutritional quality of E. kuehniella eggs for mass rearing while also showing that O. insidiosus can complete its lifecycle on pollen diets. Incorporating high-quality prey in the rearing system will improve colony productivity, whereas pollen supplements in the field may support predator persistence during periods of low pest density. This study contributes to optimizing both laboratory production and augmentation biological control programs using O. insidiosus. Full article

Some mid-eighteenth-century Political Economists, among them Adam Smith, employed the conceptual and methodological tools from General Grammar. Instead of offering, at the outset, a set of formal definitions of their concepts, they departed from ordinary language’s words (‘popular notions’, as Smith puts it) and endeavored to map all the different meanings of a particular notion. The goal of this paper is to follow Smith’s efforts as Grammarian by offering a mapping of the meanings of the word trade in the Wealth of Nations. According to Smith, trade has (1) a proper and original meaning as occupation or métier, that is, a specific productive activity or branch of labor; (2) a derived meaning as business, when it involves the employment of capital in pursuit of profit; and (3) an abstract meaning as commerce, especially when referring to a sector of economic activity, such as domestic or foreign trade. The article argues that key Mercantilist errors also stem from a grammatical confusion between these meanings, illustrating the critical aspect of Smith’s Political Economy. Full article