Search Results (3,159)

Linear superarrays (LSAs) are linear microphone arrays composed of omnidirectional and first-order directional microphones, and their mixed-sensor manifold supports fully steerable differential beamforming. Building on established null-based target-beampattern theory and WNG-constrained beampattern-error design, this paper develops their joint realization for an LSA. Given a look direction and N prescribed null offsets, the corresponding Nth-order differential reference is obtained through the established null-constrained polynomial relation under the stated nonsingularity condition. The LSA weights are then obtained by minimizing the mean-squared beampattern error (MSBE) over the full array plane, subject to exact distortionless and null constraints and a prescribed white noise gain (WNG) lower bound. For the adopted omnidirectional/first-order-directional LSA model, the angular-integral matrices in the MSBE objective are evaluated analytically, while the final weights are obtained from the resulting convex program. Numerical simulations for the evaluated configurations show lower broadband MSBE than the maximum-WNG NC baseline, stable steering, and more consistent broadband patterns than the tested finite-order Jacobi–Anger designs. Anechoic-chamber measurements with an 11-element prototype further confirm that the main lobe, null structure, and steering behavior are retained in measured free-field responses. Full article

Large-water fisheries are central to China’s freshwater aquaculture, but their sustainability is threatened by eutrophication from traditional high-density stocking. Polyculture of grass carp and crucian carp offers an ecologically sound alternative; nevertheless, its direct effects on plankton communities require further study. We conducted monthly sampling from July to December 2023 (over two seasons within a single aquaculture cycle) in polyculture ponds and used eDNA metabarcoding (18S V9) with high-throughput sequencing. We detected 288 planktonic taxa across 28 phyla and 290 genera based on eDNA sequence assignment. Alpha diversity (Chao1, Shannon, Simpson) peaked in autumn and was lowest in winter, with Chao1 showing greater seasonal variation. Beta diversity revealed season as the dominant factor (R² = 0.287, p = 0.012), with significant summer–winter divergence. Null-model analysis indicated stochastic processes (56.3%) slightly exceeded deterministic filtering (43.7%), and stochasticity was higher in summer (67.2%), suggesting fish bioturbation and grazing create heterogeneous microhabitats. Co-occurrence networks were dominated by positive links (87.3%), with Cryptomonas as a central hub, implying mutualism and niche complementarity. This study is the first to integrate eDNA metabarcoding with community assembly theory to elucidate seasonal succession and interactions in this polyculture. Our findings confirm that polyculture sustains diversity and stability via top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (nutrient release) effects, providing eDNA-based taxonomic evidence for management of large-water aquaculture. Full article

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are bright transient sources that can be observed at high redshift. They can therefore be used as tracers of the distant large-scale structure, although the GRB redshift sample is sparse and affected by strong selection effects. We analyze the three-dimensional distribution of 542 GRBs with spectroscopic redshifts. The method extends our earlier spherical-window search by replacing spherical counting volumes with axisymmetric spheroids. The angular positions of the observed GRBs are kept fixed in the Monte-Carlo null samples, while the redshifts are shuffled within each Galactic hemisphere. In the Northern Galactic hemisphere, the overdensity associated with the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall remains significant for a range of spheroidal shapes. This supports the stability of the previously reported signal and shows that it is not only a consequence of using spherical counting volumes. In the Southern Galactic hemisphere, the same method finds no structure with comparable significance. A small candidate grouping is present, but its significance is only marginal, and it is sensitive to the small number of events. We conclude that spheroidal resampling is a useful check of GRB overdensity searches, but the physical nature of any candidate structure still requires confirmation with independent tracers such as galaxy or quasar samples. Full article

Distributional gaps in poorly documented Neotropical mammals often reflect the combined effects of ecological filtering, low detectability, taxonomic uncertainty, and incomplete sampling. We reassessed the documented distribution of L. brachyotis (Dobson, 1879), a rarely collected forest-dwelling phyllostomid bat, using an expanded occurrence dataset and specimen-based validation. Independently, we used ecological niche models to characterize climatic suitability under current and paleoclimatic conditions. We compiled 125 documentary or specimen records from published sources and museum material, including new voucher-based records from southern Ecuador and northern Colombia, and consolidated them into 121 reviewed unique locality-coordinate units. After environmental screening and cell-level deduplication, 115 unique presence cells were used for model calibration. The best-supported model used linear, quadratic, and hinge features with a regularization multiplier of 2.5 and performed significantly better than null-model expectations. Under current conditions, climatic suitability was broad but spatially heterogeneous across northern South America, with additional suitable areas in Mesoamerica, the Andean–Amazonian interface, central Brazil, and southeastern Brazil. Temporal projections identified recurrent areas of climatic suitability across northern South America, but were interpreted as climatic context rather than direct evidence of historical occupancy or demographic continuity. The new records indicate that the documented distribution remains incomplete along its margins. Our results support a revised interpretation of L. brachyotis as a rarely recorded humid-forest bat with a coherent Amazonian–Guianan core and peripheral extensions consistent with the combined influence of climatic suitability, habitat heterogeneity, and incomplete sampling. Full article

Deregulation of striatal neurotransmission is a key pathogenetic mechanism in neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. In the present study, we applied a proteomic approach to demonstrate shifts in striatal protein expression in rats with heterozygous (DAT-Het) and homozygous (DAT-KO) dopamine transporter (DAT) gene knockouts. These animals model dose-dependent ADHD- and autism-like behaviors, ranging from slightly increased activity and social disturbances in DAT-Het rats to a pronounced phenotype in DAT-KO rats. We revealed pronounced changes in the proteomic profiles of both groups, associated primarily with deregulation of proteins involved in energy and carbon metabolism. Furthermore, we identified changes in vesicular transport proteins specific to DAT-KO and DAT-Het rats. Since these changes involved SNARE complex components, we evaluated SNARE mRNA expression in our models and public transcriptomic data for mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders, including Mbd5 gene haploinsufficiency and a polygenic model of ADHD. No significant changes in mRNA levels were revealed in any model. Thus, the identified protein expression changes likely depend on post-transcriptional mechanisms. These data suggest a deregulation of metabolism in DAT-Het rats, which becomes more pronounced in DAT-KO rats. Full article

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders impose substantial global burdens. Although Pilates is a recognized biopsychosocial intervention, a quantitative synthesis evaluating its occupational efficacy remains limited. Objective: To compute the pooled effect sizes of workplace Pilates interventions on musculoskeletal pain intensity, functional disability, muscular endurance, and health-related quality of life (QoL). Methods: Twelve randomized controlled trials (14 reports) involving diverse occupational cohorts were analyzed. Data dependency was resolved via outcome aggregation. Random-effects models calculated pooled effect sizes (Hedges’ g), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and 95% prediction intervals (PI). Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2. Results: The meta-analysis demonstrated a moderate, statistically significant reduction in functional disability (g = −0.660, 95% CI [−1.091, −0.229], p = 0.011). Conversely, pooled estimates for pain intensity (g = −0.461, p = 0.360), muscular endurance (g = 1.354, p = 0.223), and QoL (g = −0.146, p = 0.815) were non-significant. Substantial heterogeneity was observed (I²: 32.02–98.25%), and all prediction intervals crossed the null, indicating high uncertainty regarding future effects. Conclusions: Workplace Pilates consistently mitigates functional disability, but current evidence does not support significant pooled improvements in absolute pain, endurance, or QoL. This divergence between functional recovery and pain reduction aligns with biopsychosocial frameworks, suggesting improved work capacity despite variable pain relief. Given the high heterogeneity and wide prediction intervals, findings must be interpreted cautiously, highlighting the need for rigorously standardized trials. Full article

Background/Objectives: The 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR) integrates cleavage and polyadenylation signals, microRNA targets, RNA-binding-protein sites, and RNA secondary structure, but the organizational levels that remain conserved during long-term sequence evolution are poorly understood. Methods: We analyzed the ras85D 3′ UTR in 37 drosophilid taxa. Substitution rates were estimated by maximum likelihood and RelTime; insertions and deletions were reconstructed with ARPIP and summarized as insertion–deletion evolutionary localizations (IELs). Mobile-element candidates were detected with CENSOR/Repbase, and evolutionarily conserved motifs (ECMs) with MEME/MAST. Functional and structural annotations were integrated for Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila yakuba, and Drosophila virilis and tested using permutation-based coverage, distance, boundary-neighborhood, and multilayer architecture analyses. Results: The 2247-column alignment yielded 959 block events (710 deletions and 249 insertions). Among 63 positive-length ingroup branches, 16 were deletion-enriched, three were insertion-enriched, and one showed bidirectional turnover. Thirty-four IELs projected to 27 D. melanogaster loci and were associated with ECMs. The final registry contained 390 primary functional objects and 1135 RNAfold-predicted structural segments. Predicted weakly conserved miRNA target sites were depleted in ECM_15 and ECM_11, whereas none of 12 Functional Distance tests was significant. APA objects were enriched near predicted structural-segment boundaries (O/E = 5.21; FDR = 0.00761). SAME_MULTILOOP_INTERVAL showed reduced between-context variance (0.276× null; FDR = 0.0233), and the DIFFERENT_MULTILOOP_ARMS − SAME_MULTILOOP_INTERVAL contrast was significant (p = 0.00149; FDR = 0.00447). Conclusions: The ras85D 3′ UTR evolves as a mosaic system in which extensive deletion-biased sequence turnover coexists with conserved regulatory landmarks, recurrently remodeled local neighborhoods, and context-dependent structural–functional architectures. Full article

Background/Objectives: Epidemiological studies link autoimmune diseases (AIDs) to follicular lymphoma (FL) risk, but their shared genetic architecture and causal mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was employed to assess causal relationships between 15 AIDs and FL. Pleiotropic loci were identified through the Pleiotropy Analysis under Composite Null (PLACO). Bayesian colocalization analysis, functional mapping, and Multi-marker Analysis of GenoMic Annotation were applied to fine-map shared genetic variants and identify their target genes. Summary data-based MR was used with multitissue expression quantitative trait locus data to infer causal effects of gene expression. HyPrColoc analysis was applied to decipher shared genetic regulation of immune cell phenotypes. Results: MR revealed that rheumatoid arthritis increased FL risk (OR_IVW = 1.55, nominal p = 7.16 × 10⁻⁵, FDR-corrected p = 1.07 × 10⁻³), whereas composite autoimmune disease reduced FL risk (OR_IVW = 0.70, nominal p = 4.61 × 10⁻⁵, FDR-corrected p = 6.92 × 10⁻⁴). Hypothyroidism showed only a nominally suggestive protective trend (OR_IVW = 0.88, nominal p = 0.015), which did not survive Benjamini–Hochberg multiple-testing correction (FDR-corrected p = 0.075). Fifty-five pleiotropic loci shared between FL and AIDs were identified, among which key loci such as 1p36.32, 6p21.32, 17p13.1, and 11q23.3 exhibited strong colocalization evidence. Core pleiotropic genes (e.g., TNFRSF14, MMEL1, CXCR5, and RNASET2) were prioritized, which implicated pathways related to MHC class II antigen presentation, interferon signaling, and T cell activation. HyPrColoc analysis demonstrated that these loci colocalized with the expression of immune receptors, including BAFF-R on B cells and HVEM (TNFRSF14) on naïve CD8⁺ T cells. Conclusions: Our study identifies divergent causal effects of selected AIDs on FL risk and demonstrates localized pleiotropy at key loci, providing novel insights into shared immunogenetic mechanisms. Full article

Volcanic gas and isotope anomalies can retain delayed effects of shallow hydrothermal storage, transfer and selective chemical removal before they are measured at the surface. A single Caputo order provides a parsimonious memory law, but finite cutoffs, multiple relaxation slopes and discrete exchange domains may require broader descriptions. This theoretical study formulates hydrothermal memory first as a causal Volterra process and distinguishes positive-spectral and Sonine-compatible refinements of that class without assuming that either implies the other. Exact initialized diffusive realizations, positive finite-reservoir approximations, a quadratic storage identity and finite-window kernel-to-observable error bounds are developed. Synthetic experiments compare memory classes through scalar, gas-ratio and isotope responses. The principal statistical benchmark is deliberately restricted to the nested Caputo and exponentially tail-tempered families, thereby testing whether one additional cutoff parameter is supported. In a key negative-control experiment, omission of a slow inherited mode caused AICc to prefer tail tempering in 72.0% of replicates even though the post-observation kernel remained Caputo. This demonstrates that incorrect memory initialization can masquerade as a constitutive cutoff. The study has not yet been validated against real volcanic gas or isotope records, and no site calibration is claimed. Full article

Background/Objectives: Sucralose is a cheap, non-nutritive sweetener commonly used by the food industry. Although it seems a healthy alternative to sugar, it remains unclear whether the habitual consumption of sucralose may impair cardiometabolic health in healthy participants. Methods: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of sucralose on cardiometabolic outcomes was performed (using PubMed and Web of Science, since inception to May 2026). Results: A total of 23 randomized trials were selected (12 acute studies versus 11 studies with 7 or more days of intervention). From the latter, contradictory findings (null effects and harmful effects) of sucralose on glucose metabolism (higher insulin or glucose levels) were found. In contrast, most trials did not find short-term statistically significant changes in ghrelin, peptide YY, leptin, GLP-1 or GIP. Conclusions: Our systematic review shows emerging experimental evidence that habitual sucralose consumption in humans may impair glucose metabolism. The present findings raise doubts about the safety of sucralose for human consumption, and a precautionary approach indicates that sucralose intake should be reduced as part of a healthy lifestyle. Full article

This study focuses on accelerating adaptive beamforming in the Multicarrier Wireless Internet Local Loop (McWiLL) professional radio communication system using “Korona” ring smart antennas. The work investigates algorithms for calculating complex weight coefficients in an eight-element uniform circular antenna array. The main objective is to reduce beam pattern adaptation time while maintaining interference suppression depth and robustness under multipath propagation. To achieve this, an ensemble machine learning approach based on the Random Forest algorithm is employed to approximate the optimal Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (MVDR) solution using elements of the sample covariance matrix of received signals. The training dataset is generated through McWiLL channel simulations considering mutual coupling between array elements, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) variation, and different angles of arrival of the desired and interfering signals. The proposed method is evaluated against the classical MVDR algorithm in terms of radiation pattern null depth, robustness to phase distortions, and inference time on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware platform. Results demonstrate that the Random Forest-based approach achieves more than a fourfold reduction in computation time while forming radiation-pattern nulls of about 30–35 dB toward the interferers (versus 44–46 dB for the classical MVDR); the synthesized core uses no hardware multipliers (DSP48), and its functional equivalence to the software model is confirmed by bit-exact RTL co-simulation. The findings show promise for deployment in McWiLL base stations and other professional radio systems requiring fast, adaptive beamforming under dynamic channel conditions. Full article

Decision tables are widely used for representing and executing decision logic in business rules systems, regulatory compliance, and automated workflows. However, real-world decision tables often contain incomplete condition values. Existing rough set approaches typically treat missing values uniformly and cannot distinguish between occurrences of the same unknown value and occurrences of different unknown values. This paper introduces Labeled Null Decision Tables (LN-DTs), a framework that extends decision table semantics with labeled nulls from incomplete database theory. Missing values are represented by labeled nulls, where identical labels denote the same unknown value and distinct labels may denote different values. We define a possible-world semantics in which each possible world corresponds to a complete valuation of nulls. Based on this semantics, we define certain, possible, and conditional decisions. We develop symbolic algorithms that avoid explicit enumeration of possible worlds, analyze their computational complexity, and establish precise relationships with rough set approximations. We show that LN-DT possible decisions are always contained in the rough upper approximation, that the rough lower approximation is sound for LN-DT certain decisions under completeness and well-formedness, and that labeled null identities and constraints can yield strict precision gains by eliminating tolerant rules that cannot match in any admissible possible world. To provide evidence beyond small illustrative examples, we also include a medium-scale synthetic benchmark suite containing 105 instances with up to 500 rules and 32 labeled nulls. The benchmarks vary the number of rules, the number of labeled nulls, and the constraint type, and report runtime, precision, and verification metrics. Across all benchmark instances, the symbolic evaluator produces known results with no solver timeouts, the LN-DT possible decision set is contained in the rough upper approximation in 100% of cases, and the hybrid evaluator agrees with exact symbolic evaluation in 100% of cases. The average rough upper decision set size is 1.905, while the average LN-DT possible decision set size is 1.019, corresponding to an average upper-bound reduction of approximately 46.5%. These results provide medium-scale evidence that LN-DT is practically feasible and that labeled-null constraints can yield measurable precision gains over tolerance-based rough set approximation. Full article

Integrated-light spectral energy distribution modeling is widely used to infer the star-formation and assembly histories of galaxies that cannot be resolved into individual stars. However, existing approaches are often discussed primarily in terms of particular fitting codes, star-formation-history parameterizations, or inference algorithms. In this Review, we formulate the recovery of galaxy evolution histories from integrated spectral energy distributions as a unified inverse problem. We separate the physical spectral-generation operator from the observational operator and examine the resulting information loss through non-identifiability, singular-value structure, null directions, effective resolution, regularization, and model discrepancy. We then classify parametric and nonparametric star-formation histories, PCA, MOPED, VESPA, non-negative matrix factorization, deep learning, and simulation-based inference within a common five-component framework consisting of the representation space, forward operator, physical or statistical constraints, inference method, and uncertainty assessment. On this basis, we introduce information-driven adaptive representation as a general design principle in which the complexity of the recovered history is matched to the information supported by the observations. Finally, we extend the framework from star-formation histories to coupled galaxy-evolution states involving chemical enrichment, dust evolution, interstellar-medium conditions, and radiative transfer, and outline a three-layer research program linking controlled mock experiments, inverse-problem theory, and physical forward modeling. Full article

Amplitude-modulation magnetic particle imaging (AM-MPI) has strong potential for real-time navigation of magnetic nanoparticles because it provides tracer-specific spatial feedback using a narrowband acquisition scheme with relatively low excitation power and simplified signal detection. However, improving spatial resolution by increasing the selection-field gradient becomes increasingly difficult as scanner dimensions increase. This study investigates whether field orientation can be used to improve and control the spatial resolution of three-dimensional AM-MPI with field-free-point (FFP) and field-free-line (FFL) encoding. Four scan-receive configurations were analyzed using a matrix point-spread-function (PSF) model, followed by two-point phantom simulations at equal physical and FWHM-normalized source separations. With a common y-directed scan, FFP-y produced a single-peaked collinear h_yy response with FWHM values of 1.29 mm along y and 5.89 mm along x and z. FFL-y retained the same y-direction FWHM while reducing the z-direction FWHM to 2.94 mm. FFP-x selected the transverse h_xy component, producing a central null and a multi-lobe response, whereas FFL-x was a null channel for the adopted field geometry. At equal physical spacing, the first tested separation satisfying the adopted Rayleigh-type criterion (M ≥ 0.26) was 3 mm along y for both FFP-y and FFL-y, 5 mm along z for FFL-y, and 7 mm along x and z for FFP-y. FFL-y also provided better z-direction separability than FFP-y. After normalization by the corresponding directional FWHM, the single-peaked responses showed similar two-point separability, indicating that the differences observed at equal physical spacing were mainly associated with directional PSF width. These results show that field orientation affects both the topology and directional resolution of the AM-MPI response and can be considered together with selection-field design when optimizing AM-MPI systems for nanoparticle navigation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Although genetic studies have linked immune phenotypes with anxiety, broad Mendelian randomization (MR) screens require explicit multiple-testing control. We reappraised 1753 reported immune-cell-trait-to-anxiety inverse-variance-weighted (IVW) association records available in the analysis tables and assessed the chromosome 20 signal that includes CD40. Methods: The reported records were derived from the 731-trait Sardinian flow-cytometry GWAS of Orrù et al. and were evaluated across one UK Biobank and three FinnGen anxiety phenotypes; outcome-specific Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate (FDR) correction was applied to the available analysis table. The leading locus was examined using bulk and single-cell expression quantitative trait locus annotations, two-sample MR, summary-data-based MR (SMR), HEIDI tests, and regional colocalization results. Results: Of 1753 tests, 120 were nominally significant, and 21 were retained after outcome-specific FDR correction (14 for UK Biobank anxiety and 7 for FinnGen all anxiety; none for generalized or phobic anxiety). B-cell and regulatory/CD4 T-cell traits were common among retained associations, and several B-cell traits mapped to variants at the CD40 locus. For FinnGen all anxiety disorders, monocyte instruments gave a positive estimate (beta = 0.00418, p = 9.25 × 10⁻⁴), whereas three naïve B-cell instruments gave a negative estimate (beta = −0.0520, p = 2.64 × 10⁻⁴). Monocyte SMR was null (p = 0.542). Naïve B-cell SMR was nominally significant (p = 0.00537), but HEIDI could not be calculated. Regional colocalization was weak in both cell contexts (PP.H4 = 0.0205 and 0.00272). Conclusions: The post-selection locus follow-up prioritizes a chromosome 20 immune locus but does not establish CD40-mediated regulation of anxiety. Because the upstream screen was not regenerated from source GWAS files and complete per-instrument F-statistics were unavailable, all findings are exploratory. CD40 remains a testable candidate for ancestry-matched fine-mapping and cell-state-specific validation. Full article