Search Results (1,445)

Cytokinins (CKs) are a class of phytohormones that regulate a wide range of developmental processes in plants. Different structural forms of these phytohormones have been widely used in plant tissue culture, although comparative studies on their temporal effects on gene expression remain limited. In this study, we compared the effects of trans-zeatin (tZ), meta-topolin (mT), and thidiazuron (TDZ) on the expression dynamics of ten CK-responsive genes associated with shoot growth and development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Ten-day-old Arabidopsis seedlings were exposed to liquid nutrient media containing 5 μM tZ, mT, or TDZ, or a control medium, for 15 min and 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h. Gene expression was analyzed by RT-qPCR using three independent biological replicates. All tested genes were strongly upregulated at 4 h following mT treatment, whereas most genes showed the highest expression at 8 h in response to TDZ. In contrast, tZ generally induced weaker and slower transcriptional responses. Expression levels of all analyzed genes returned to control-like or lower levels within 24 h. Overall, the three structurally distinct cytokinins induced markedly different temporal transcriptional responses, with mT producing the fastest and most pronounced effects on the expression of the tested genes under the applied experimental conditions. These findings improve our understanding of CK-dependent transcriptional dynamics during shoot development and provide a basis for future studies on CK-regulated morphogenesis and plant regeneration. Full article

Regeneration is increasingly emerging as a guiding paradigm for socio-ecological challenges, urging tourism research beyond conventional sustainability toward systemic, transformative perspectives. This study examines how the Regenerative Lens proposed by Buckton et al., combined with the Three Horizons framework, can be operationalized to diagnose tourism dynamics and identify regenerative pathways in the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve (Madrid, Spain). Using a participatory action research design, data were generated through 12 group sessions, 23 in-depth interviews, participant observation, an open online survey, and engagement in local tourism planning. The analysis first structured local narratives into present challenges, desired futures, and transition pathways, then read them through five regenerative qualities: ecological worldview, mutuality, diversity, agency, and reflexivity. All five are present, but unevenly. Diversity is a consolidated asset; reflexivity and ecological worldview are emerging yet largely discursive; and mutuality and agency are the weakest links, constrained by a governance deficit across the reserve’s six municipalities. In rural destinations rich in ecological and cultural capital, the decisive constraint on regeneration is thus relational, not material. The study also demonstrates the value of combining participatory foresight with the Regenerative Lens to examine tourism as a subsystem of wider territorial transformation. Full article

Nitrogen cycling is a key determinant of ecosystem functioning, productivity, and carbon sequestration during forest development. This review synthesizes ecological evidence on nitrogen cycling in young forest ecosystems established through natural regeneration, afforestation, reforestation, or major disturbance across boreal, temperate, and tropical biomes. The review evaluates how successional stage, plant community composition, soil properties, microbial processes, climate, and disturbance influence nitrogen transformations, retention, and losses during early forest development. The literature indicates that young forests can exhibit rapid nitrogen turnover while maintaining effective nutrient retention, although the balance between conservation and loss varies with biome, site conditions, and disturbance intensity. Boreal forests tend to show more conservative nitrogen cycling, whereas tropical forests generally exhibit faster turnover and greater nitrogen fluxes. The synthesis also highlights important knowledge gaps, particularly the limited availability of long-term studies, insufficient integration of aboveground–belowground interactions, underrepresentation of tropical and Southern Hemisphere forests, and limited assessment of climate-change effects on plant–soil–microbial feedbacks. Addressing these gaps will improve understanding of nitrogen dynamics during forest development and strengthen ecosystem modelling, forest restoration, and climate-change mitigation strategies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Neuroplasticity is crucial for functional adaptation after spinal cord injury (SCI). Both adaptive/maladaptive changes occur across the cortical/subcortical/spinal levels, influencing recovery, compensation, and long-term complications. However, the contributions of these mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the current evidence on neuroplastic mechanisms following SCI, identifying knowledge gaps relevant to rehabilitation/functional recovery. Methods: This scoping review searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases from inception to 14 November 2025. Neuroimaging/electrophysiological methods used to investigate neuroplastic changes in human SCI were assessed. Data on study design, participant characteristics, injury features, methodological approaches, and reported neuroplastic mechanisms were extracted. Findings were categorized into predefined domains (axonal regeneration, synaptic plasticity, cortical reorganization, propriospinal pathway reorganization, neurochemical and molecular changes, activity-dependent plasticity, maladaptive plasticity and other mechanisms). Results: Across 37 studies, cortical reorganization was most commonly reported (n = 19), followed by activity-dependent plasticity (n = 14), and synaptic plasticity (n = 12). Propriospinal pathway reorganization and maladaptive plasticity were reported in six and four studies, respectively. Evidence on axonal regeneration (n = 1) and neurochemical/molecular mechanisms (n = 2) were limited. Neuroimaging/electrophysiological findings demonstrated dynamic cortical reorganization, altered sensorimotor network connectivity, and progressive structural changes in motor pathways. Activity-dependent interventions, including task-specific training, motor imagery, and neuromodulation, would appear to promote adaptive plasticity, while maladaptive changes are associated with neuropathic pain, abnormal excitability, and compensatory overactivation. Conclusions: Neuroplasticity after SCI involves multiple interactions with cortical/spinal mechanisms. Cortical reorganization and activity-dependent plasticity were the most frequently investigated neuroplasticity domains identified in the included studies, while axonal regeneration and molecular mechanisms remain underexplored in humans. Future multimodal longitudinal studies are needed to clarify these relationships and optimize rehabilitation strategies. Full article

On model predictive control, the weighting factors are often challenging to tune, which usually relies on trial-and-error methods. To bypass this inconvenience, this paper enhances a previously proposed weightless method applied to Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC). An induction motor driven by a neutral point clamped inverter on a Back-to-Back configuration, connected to the grid and allowing power regeneration is presented. On the control side, a weightless predictive current control is presented along with a novel strategy to build the torque reference based on the motor dynamics, which can also dismiss load torque measurement or estimation with a speed deviation lower than 0.1%. To ensure reliable results, the power circuit was assembled on a hardware-in-the-loop environment, whilst the control was embedded on a digital signal processor, bringing the simulation closer to a real power plant. Simulation results proved that the strategy could regulate the Direct Current (DC) link voltage and the rotor speed and that the machine still operates on all four quadrants with a power factor close to unity. The mean absolute percentage error presented during full load was 0.12% for the DC link voltage and 0.22% for the rotor speed. For the grid current, the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) obtained is 1.00% during pre-charge of the DC link capacitors, whilst for the stator current, it was 0.76% during full load. The control strategy also proved to be more efficient than previous works and presented robustness under many parameters mismatching. Full article

Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (SI-ALI) is a severe complication of sepsis characterized by dysregulated inflammatory responses and impaired immune homeostasis. Growing evidence indicates that extracellular vesicles (EVs), particularly exosomes, are important mediators of intercellular communication. Despite the heterogeneity of infectious sources underlying sepsis, EVs can regulate macrophage polarization and functional reprogramming by transferring diverse bioactive cargo. Consequently, EVs are involved in the pathophysiological progression of SI-ALI arising from sepsis of different etiologies. However, the mechanisms through which distinct EV cargos regulate macrophage function and contribute to SI-ALI pathogenesis remain incompletely understood. To address these issues, this review summarizes how different EV subtypes and their cargos, including RNAs, proteins, lipids, and DNA, modulate macrophage functional states through multiple signaling pathways. The effect of such processes further contributes to inflammatory reaction, immune balance, and tissue regeneration in acute lung injury caused by damage to the SI-ALI. Particularly, the EV-mediated modulation of macrophage function goes beyond the rigid M1/M2 dichotomy, being rather based on the dynamic functional repertoire involving both pro-inflammatory response and immune regulation as well as tissue regeneration. The article finally concludes with EV-based treatment approaches aimed at cargo delivery or blocking and the main problems related to translational medicine. Overall, the review article identifies the macrophage regulatory network controlled by EVs, thus helping to understand immunopathogenesis of SI-ALI as well as laying the theoretical foundation for developing EV-based precision medicine. Full article

Wounds represent a persistent challenge in modern medicine, driving the search for novel nanomaterials capable of modulating oxidative stress and promoting tissue regeneration. While cerium oxide nanoparticles have been extensively studied for their enzyme-mimetic activity, hydrated cerium orthophosphates remain relatively unexplored despite their promising biocompatibility and redox properties. The aim of the study is the synthesis of cerium phosphate nanoparticles (CePO₄ NPs) via controlled hydrolysis of a Ce(NO₃)₃–sodium tripolyphosphate complex under different temperature regimes (60 °C (CePO₄-1) and 90 °C (CePO₄-2)), their physicochemical characterization (using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, UV spectroscopy), and the evaluation of their biocompatibility and biological activity in relation to human cells involved in skin regeneration. Their biological activity was evaluated on human dermal fibroblasts (BJ TERT) and keratinocytes (HaCaT) using MTT assays and direct cell counting across a broad concentration range (10⁻²–10⁻⁴ M). Synthesis temperature critically governed the atomic structure without significantly altering NPs size. CePO₄-1 (4.7 ± 1.2 nm) was X-ray amorphous with a high density of oxygen vacancies and a mixed Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ valence state on the surface (the physical basis for its antioxidant enzyme-mimetic and pro-regenerative activity); CePO₄-2 (5.2 ± 0.9 nm) formed highly crystalline hexagonal rhabdophane. Both nanoparticle types demonstrated biocompatibility. A dose-dependent stimulating effect of NPs on the metabolism and proliferation of fibroblasts (by 1.14–1.45 times) was established. In contrast, keratinocytes exhibited dose-dependent metabolic suppression at higher concentrations (10⁻²–10⁻³ M), while remaining unaffected at 10⁻⁴ M. The amorphous, defect-rich CePO₄-1 exhibited pronounced biological activity, significantly stimulating fibroblast metabolic (up to 128%) and proliferative (up to 145%) activity. Thus, the temperature control during the CePO₄ NPs synthesis enables the “physical programming” of biological activity, presenting a promising strategy for the development of biocompatible, enzyme-mimetic and redox-mediated wound-healing nanodrugs. Full article

Pain is a complex process involving dynamic transcriptional changes in cells of the PNS and CNS following injury or inflammation. Among stress-inducible transcription factors, ATF3 has emerged as one of the most robust molecular markers of neuronal injury, particularly in sensory neurons of the DRG. Although ATF3 is widely used as an indicator of axonal damage in experimental pain models, its functional contribution to the initiation, maintenance, and resolution of pain remains poorly understood. Recent transcriptomic and functional studies suggest that ATF3 not only reflects neuronal stress but also orchestrates gene expression programs involved in axonal regeneration, neuroimmune communication, ion channel remodeling, and nociceptor plasticity. Moreover, ATF3 expression has been identified in non-neuronal cell populations, including Schwann cells and satellite glial cells, indicating broader roles in peripheral nerve repair and neuroinflammation. Despite the growing body of experimental evidence, the literature remains fragmented, and no consensus has yet been reached as to whether ATF3 primarily promotes adaptive regeneration or directly contributes to maladaptive pain signaling. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and critical overview of the current understanding of ATF3 biology in pain, building on evidence from transcriptomic and molecular analyses, experimental models of neuropathic, inflammatory, and cancer-associated pain, and emerging mechanistic insights into its role in pain-related neuronal plasticity. This review examines the regulation of ATF3 expression, its downstream transcriptional targets, its interactions with inflammatory signaling pathways, and its potential value as a therapeutic target. By consolidating current evidence and highlighting existing knowledge gaps, this review seeks to clarify the multifaceted role of ATF3 in pain pathophysiology. Full article

Hydrogel bio-adhesives have gained great attention in wound healing and tissue regeneration applications because conventional wound closures are often hindered by insufficient adhesion and poor biocompatibility. Considering that dynamic covalent interactions facilitate robust wet adhesion in hydrogels, we fabricated a Schiff base hydrogel bio-adhesive based on oxidized chondroitin sulfate (OCS) and polyethylenimine (PEI), and employed different degrees of OCS oxidation to regulate the physicochemical properties of the bio-adhesives. In this system, aldehyde groups of OCS react with amino groups of PEI to form covalent imine crosslinks, while physical hydrogen bonds also contribute as supplementary interactions. The fabricated hydrogel bio-adhesives demonstrated a three-dimensional interconnected microstructure and regulated equilibrium swelling ratios. The rheological tests also confirmed the typical viscoelasticity of the hydrogels and their shear-thinning behavior. The obtained hydrogel bio-adhesives demonstrated rapid and autonomous self-healing ability and strong adhesion to the surfaces of various matrices and wet organs, including wood, glass, metal, plastic, rubber, and heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and lung tissue. Furthermore, an ABTS radical scavenging assay confirmed their potent antioxidant activity. The hydrogels possessed effective antibacterial activities against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli. The hydrogels exhibited good hemocompatibility, effective intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity, favorable cytocompatibility, and promoted cell proliferation. These results confirmed the fabricated hydrogels via Schiff base connections for biomedical applications and provided a facile design for biomedical hydrogel bio-adhesives. Full article

Mining and metallurgical wastes contain reactive Fe-, Al-, Ca-, Mg-, and Mn-bearing phases. These phases can be used for water treatment. Their performance depends on mineral accessibility, processing history, and water chemistry rather than waste identity alone. This review compares tailings, slags, red mud, and leaching residues for inorganic and organic contaminant removal, focusing on mechanisms, modification intensity, and validation. Cations are removed by ion exchange, surface complexation, and precipitation, whereas anion removal relies on Fe/Al sites, Ca-mediated mineral formation, and redox reactions. Organic treatment proceeds through adsorption or catalytic transformation and generally requires activation or additional functional phases. Red mud and blast-furnace slag showed the broadest applicability across both pollutant classes, although no unchanged formulation was validated for both. Under favorable conditions, waste-derived sorbents can achieve pollutant-removal efficiencies approaching 100% in synthetic solutions. However, their performance generally decreases in real wastewater and under continuous or cyclic operating conditions, with reported efficiency losses reaching approximately 25 percentage points. Deployment and machine-learning-assisted selection require application-matched processing, real-water and static/dynamic validation, and standardized reporting of separation, regeneration, cyclic stability, mass loss, secondary leaching, and spent-material fate. Full article

We introduce a deterministic class of constraint-coupled reaction–diffusion systems in which an internally generated field modulates transport and reaction processes while being regenerated by the same dynamics that it regulates. This feedback structure provides a minimal mathematical framework for studying dynamically consequential endogenous regulation in spatially extended non-equilibrium systems; the presence of a causal loop alone is not identified with organizational autonomy. The model is formulated as a quasilinear parabolic system on a bounded domain. Positivity, boundedness, viability, equilibrium stability, and spatial localization are treated as distinct mathematical properties. Under structural assumptions on the diffusion and reaction terms, we establish local classical well-posedness, preservation of non-negativity, and global existence under boundedness or forward-invariant-region conditions. Viability is formulated as forward invariance of subsets of an infinite-dimensional phase space rather than as a local pointwise balance. A minimal three-field realization, consisting of a resource field, an organizing field, and a constraint field, is then analyzed. We derive conditions for the existence of positive homogeneous equilibria, obtain sufficient criteria for homogeneous and full modal stability, and characterize stationary and oscillatory spatial instability thresholds through a mode-dependent dispersion relation. We complement the analysis with conservative two-dimensional finite-volume simulations. Below the predicted spatial-instability threshold, perturbations decay, whereas above threshold a persistent heterogeneous state forms with a dominant scale consistent with the dispersion relation. Constraint level sets, occupied fraction, connected components, and concentration indices quantify the resulting dynamically generated localization. Feedback-ablation controls show that, for the representative parameter set, removing either transport or reaction feedback eliminates the finite-wavenumber instability, while alternative bounded monotone constitutive laws preserve spatial patterning. The framework therefore distinguishes externally imposed regulation, passive outputs, and dynamically consequential endogenous feedback, and provides a basis for investigating bounded self-maintenance and localization without equating loop topology with autonomy. Full article

Wildfire and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are increasingly important drivers of forest recovery under global change, yet their combined effects on understory shrub dynamics remain poorly understood in subtropical forests. We quantified temporal changes in shrub aboveground biomass (AGB) following low-severity fire and N addition in a subtropical conifer–broadleaf mixed forest in Central China, and evaluated the underlying mechanisms of resource and trait. Burning reduced shrub AGB by 58.3% in the first post-fire year, but this negative effect rapidly weakened, disappeared within two years, and shifted to a net positive effect (+28.2%) by year four. Nitrogen addition increased shrub AGB by 26.5%, with gradually strengthening effects over time. Understory light availability, soil available N, and community-weighted leaf area were the key predictors explaining variation in shrub AGB. Fire induced changes in shrub AGB was most strongly associated with leaf area rather than specific leaf area or foliar nutrient concentrations. Nitrogen addition improved shrub growth primarily through increased soil N availability and foliar N enrichment. Overall, post-fire shrub recovery was governed by a successional shift in limiting factors, transitioning from initial disturbance constraint to light-driven structural control with increasing importance of soil nutrient supply. These findings demonstrate that post-fire shrub recovery in subtropical forests is increasingly governed by canopy-mediated structural strategies rather than acquisitive leaf economics during succession. Therefore, increasing wildfire activity and atmospheric N deposition may reinforce shrub-dominated understory states, with important implications for post-fire regeneration trajectories and long-term forest carbon dynamics. Full article

Background: Premature consolidation of the regenerated bone is a relevant and underreported complication of limb lengthening in achondroplasia, with a reported incidence of 7–15% in the international literature. The gain-of-function fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutation paradoxically enhances bone-healing capacity, predisposing patients to accelerated callus maturation during distraction osteogenesis and exposing patients to a risk of invasive procedures to treat this issue. This study reports the incidence and clinical features of premature consolidation in a cohort of achondroplastic patients treated with external fixation. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with achondroplasia who underwent lower limb lengthening (femur and/or tibia–fibula) between 2017 and 2024 at IRCCS Ospedale Galeazzi–Sant’Ambrogio (Milan, Italy). Inclusion criteria were ages 7–18 years, confirmed achondroplasia, and a clinical–radiological diagnosis of premature consolidation. Key parameters included the healing index (HI), length gained, proportional increase, and fixator duration. Results: Among 39 patients (112 segments: 46 femora and 66 tibia–fibula units), premature consolidation occurred in 7 patients (10 segments), yielding an overall incidence of 8.9%. The fibula was predominantly affected (6/10 segments). The mean HI was 33.47 days/cm for the tibia and 30.1 days/cm for the femur; the mean length gained was 8.1 cm and 8.2 cm, respectively. Conclusions: Premature consolidation affects approximately 9% of lengthened segments in achondroplastic patients, with a predilection for the fibula due to its passive indirect distraction mechanism. Early radiographic recognition and dynamic adjustment of the distraction protocol are essential to prevent surgical calloclasis and optimize outcomes, and further analyses of the FGFR3 mutation are fundamental to understand the biologic features of the bone during the lengthening and consolidation steps. Full article

Skeletal muscle regeneration depends on coordinated transitions of muscle stem cells (MuSCs), also known as satellite cells, from quiescence through activation and proliferative expansion to differentiation and fusion, while self-renewal replenishes the quiescent MuSC pool within a dynamically remodeled niche. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling regulates these transitions, but its effects vary as MuSCs and their niche change across regenerative stages. FGF output is shaped by ligand availability and extracellular presentation, fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) isoform expression and coreceptor availability, receptor trafficking, intracellular feedback, and the state of the responding cell. Following acute injury, FGF inputs can support MuSC activation and expansion; signaling is subsequently reconfigured during differentiation, fusion, self-renewal, and return to quiescence. Aging-associated regenerative decline, chronic injury and dystrophic remodeling, denervation, and metabolic dysfunction disrupt this coordination and can uncouple FGF activity from productive repair. Rhabdomyosarcoma provides a distinct malignant context in which the FGF network is rewired to sustain oncogenic myogenic cell states. Here, we integrate molecular, cellular, and niche-level evidence across these settings to explain why FGF signaling produces divergent outcomes and to clarify how cellular context and timing should inform therapeutic modulation. Full article

In recent years, the agentive role of youth groups in urban regeneration has garnered increasing academic attention. As vital carriers of urban cultural heritage, the ways in which historic districts can leverage youth dynamics to achieve vitality revitalization have emerged as a key research issue. This study selects the Fayuan Temple Historic and Cultural District in Beijing as an empirical case, constructs a public space evaluation system grounded in the concept of “youth-friendliness,” adopts a mixed-method approach integrating field surveys, questionnaire administration, and multi-source data mining, and employs Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) modeling for deconstruction. Based on behavioral characteristic differences, youth within the district are categorized into two groups: “resident/local youth” and “transient visiting youth.” The comprehensive experience quality scores were 3.559 (Fair) for resident and local youth and 3.85 (Fair) for temporary visitors, with cultural space scoring highest for both groups. Resident youth demonstrate stronger demands for renewal concerning the completeness of cultural facilities, diversity of commercial formats, and street navigability. Transient visiting youth, by contrast, exhibit greater concern for eight factors: pedestrian safety and comfort, static traffic order, diversity of commercial formats, quality of consumption environment, richness of social venues, pleasantness of spatial scale, landscape interactivity, and street navigability. These findings indicate that youth groups with varying interactive relationships with historic districts possess significantly heterogeneous needs regarding public space utilization, and their expectations for historic district regeneration also manifest differentiated characteristics. This provides a scientific basis for formulating precise, multi-layered strategies for district renewal. Full article