In Japan, the growing number of vacant housing units has become a pressing issue, and an increase in inbound tourism has led to accommodation shortages and rising lodging prices. Converting long-term rentals (LTRs) into short-term rentals (STRs) has emerged as a practical solution; however, empirical evidence on which property attributes are best suited for such conversions remains limited. This study identified the physical and locational attributes of vacant LTRs in Tokyo's 23 wards, which contributed to improved profitability following conversion. Using an open dataset of 7,772 Airbnb listings from 2024, we developed a hedonic pricing model to estimate rates based on floor area, distance to the nearest station, station ridership, nearby tourist attractions, and administrative districts. The model was applied to 20 930 LTR properties to estimate the profit ratio before and after conversion and identify favorable attributes. Higher STR profitability was linked to lower pre-conversion rent, proximity to high-ridership stations, and locations near many tourist attractions within 10 km, especially in wards near transport hubs (e.g., Setagaya, Shibuya, Meguro, Shinagawa, and Shinjuku) and in well-connected, lower-rent peripheral wards (e.g., Nakano and Suginami). These findings offer insights into housing stock utilization and provide guidance for STR regulations and tourism policies.

Hazelnut, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects, has an important role in a healthy diet. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), used as a sweetener in ready-made food, beverages; causes hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, cardiovascular system damages; oxidative stress, inflammation play role in these damages. Based on these data, we aimed to examine liver and heart damage caused by HFCS in rats and to investigate possible role of hazelnut enriched food in preventing/improving these damages. During this process, weight change, food, liquid consumption were recorded. Biochemical parameters were measured with standard enzymatic techniques. Inflammatory cytokines were determined by ELISA. Liver and heart tissues were evaluated histopathologically, changes were scored, graded. HFCS decreased food, increased liquid consumption. Feeding with hazelnut reduced fluid consumption. HFCS increased weight gain, hazelnut did not reverse it. LDH, CK values increased in HFCS group due to heart damage. While damage occurred in livers of HFCS group due to increased levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß, feeding with hazelnut did not change it. In heart, inflammatory cytokines were similar between groups. In histopathological analysis, inflammation was observed both in livers, hearts of HFCS group. In hazelnut group, a significant decrease in damage was observed compared to HFCS, HFCS+H groups. According to our results, hazelnut supplementation reduced liquid intake and showed limited cardiac protection, but did not reverse HFCS-induced hepatic or cardiac injury.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298200.].

To investigate the permeability enhancement effect of microorganisms (Methanogens) on anthracite and their impact on coal strength, static fracture tests were conducted on semi-circular SCB specimens with prefabricated cracks of varying angles after immersion in neutral and microbial solutions. The fracture process was monitored using digital image correlation DIC and VIC-2D techniques. The effects of different solutions and prefabricated angle cracks on the strength, deformation characteristics and fracture toughness of anthracite were analyzed. Simultaneously, the influence of the displacement field at the prefabricated crack tip of the coal sample during the failure process and the evolution characteristics of the strain field of the coal sample at different stages of the process were analyzed. The test results show that the composite specimens with different slit angles and different solution environments have significant differences in the loading process. The samples mainly experience tensile failure, with shear failure as a supplement. Fracture toughness decreased as the angle between the crack and loading direction diminished. In the microbial-solution environment, the ability of the samples to resist crack propagation is further reduced. Tensile deformation initiation occurred at 57.97 ~ 86.7% Pmax for neutral solutions and 36.36 ~ 60.52% Pmax for microbial solutions. Microbial solutions induced earlier crack tip tensile deformation, promoting tensile failure and extending the fracture process zone (FPZ) length.

Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) increases the risk of lower limb amputation if revascularization is not performed. The use of autologous venous conduits is the only option for patients requiring below-the-knee bypass surgery, but it is limited by a lack of usable veins. The Biotube Maker (BTM1), based on in-Body Tissue Architecture (iBTA) technology, is a mold for the in vivo production of the Biotube® regenerative artificial vascular grafts. This clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous embedding of the BTM1 for Biotube preparation and arterial bypass surgery using Biotube. Patients with CLTI who lack suitable veins for bypass surgery will be enrolled. This exploratory, investigator-initiated clinical trial will include 12 subjects. The primary endpoint is successful formation of an implantable Biotube following subcutaneous embedding of the BTM1. Secondary endpoints include intraoperative usability, patency and biocompatibility of the Biotube, wound healing, relief of rest pain, limb salvage, and procedure-related mortality, assessed up to 12 weeks after surgery. These outcomes are expected to provide essential feasibility and safety data to guide future pivotal studies. This study may offer a new treatment option for CLTI patients who otherwise face major amputation. If feasibility and safety are confirmed, the findings will support planning of a pivotal trial aimed at regulatory approval. jRCT2072220062. Registered on October 19, 2022.

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), bighead carp (H. molitrix) and their hybrids, collectively known as bigheaded carps, have been introduced to Lake Balaton, Hungary. The current stock sizes are difficult to assess. We investigated environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques targeted for bigheaded carps, assessed the spatial distribution of eDNA in Lake Balaton, compared eDNA concentrations to environmental variables to assess potential habitat selection based on those variables, and provided an estimate of biomass of bigheaded carps relative to eDNA shedding rates per unit biomass observed in controlled experiments. Water samples were collected from 70 sites in an array across the lake. Biomass estimation was calculated using mean eDNA concentration obtained by quantitative PCR of the samples and previously determined eDNA shedding rates of bigheaded carps under controlled conditions in a laboratory. Concentration of eDNA was highly variable between sites, resulting in wide confidence intervals. Basins did not significantly differ in eDNA concentration, and there were no strong relationships between environmental variables and eDNA concentration, indications that bigheaded carps use the entire lake. The model provided an estimate of 4,830 metric tonnes (2,750-8,030 tonnes) of bigheaded carps in Lake Balaton, or 81.0 kg/ha. The eDNA method produced a value close to previous estimates by traditional means of total biomass of bigheaded carps in the lake, and like traditional methods, there was a broad confidence interval on the estimate of the mean. The results of the present study support the utility of aquatic eDNA analysis, and the need for further comparisons with fisheries methods and supporting data from laboratory studies.

In response to the issues of low land utilization efficiency and poor nighttime thermal performance in old single-slope solar greenhouses (SSG) commonly found in northern China, this study proposes renovation measures that expand the cultivation area and interior space by adding a shaded room and lowering its ground level. These modifications transform the original SSG into a double-slope solar greenhouse (DSG) and a sunken double-slope solar greenhouse (SDSG). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was employed to simulate and analyze the thermal environments of the three greenhouse types. The results indicate that, in winter, the peak temperature of the sunlit side in the SDSG is 1.9°C higher than that in the SSG; the temperature of the shaded side in the SDSG is 0.88-1.81°C higher than that in the DSG; compared with the rear wall of the SSG, the heat flux density of the middle wall in the SDSG is 10.19 W/m² lower, and is similar to that of the DSG middle wall, but the duration of heat release is longer in the SDSG; in comparison to the SSG and DSG, the annual thermal stability index of the SDSG is improved by 70% and 8.5%, respectively.

Despite the importance of plethodontid salamanders and their vulnerability to ongoing environmental change, they are inherently difficult to monitor due to their cryptic nature. Recent advances in genomics have created new opportunities for monitoring of populations and their responses to environmental perturbations. In this study, we developed a new target capture-based genomic panel for the purposes of genetic monitoring in plethodontid salamanders. We demonstrate its utility in several distantly related species and present an example application in two representative species with co-occurring distributions but different ecological attributes and expected patterns of population structure: Plethodon jordani and Desmognathus wrighti. Although the number of successfully assembled loci declined with phylogenetic distance from the original reference species (Desmognathus spp), we obtained high-quality data from thousands of loci from species in all four genera tested (Desmognathus, Plethodon, Eurycea, and Gyrinophilus), which span the deepest split in Plethodontidae. Landscape genetic analyses detected weak but statistically significant geographic structure in P. jordani, and much stronger geographic structure in D. wrighti, as expected based on the lower population density and likely lower dispersal ability of D. wrighti. Our target capture panel is broadly applicable across salamanders in Plethodontidae and has the potential to provide data for a wide range of phylogenetic, biogeographic, and population genetics research questions.

Microevolution and macroevolution describe evolutionary change at different scales: short-term genetic and phenotypic variation within populations, and long-term patterns of diversification and extinction. Despite their interconnected nature, they have often been studied separately, and the reciprocal causal links between them remain poorly understood due to their operation on different timescales and the complexity of the processes involved, making mechanistic approaches particularly challenging. To bridge this operational gap, we introduce a novel bottom-up, process-based computational framework that integrates genotype-to-phenotype mapping, fitness evaluation under environmental constraints, and biotic interactions shaping ecological niches and adaptive pressures, while incorporating lower-level mechanisms such as mutation, gene flow, and gene-pool expansion through stochastic duplication of genes. Its modular design accommodates diverse microevolutionary mechanisms to study the emergence of large-scale eco-evolutionary patterns from explicit individual-level processes. The framework allows addressing research questions ranging from the formation of spatiotemporal biodiversity patterns to the role of eco-evolutionary feedbacks in macroevolution. It provides an open-ended platform that serves both as a theoretical tool for testing evolutionary hypotheses and as a flexible environment for exploratory simulations. To illustrate its heuristic potential, we present proof-of-concept simulations under biologically plausible conditions that reproduce multiple well-documented macroevolutionary patterns-such as biphasic diversification, saturating and exponential-like biodiversity trends, speciation-extinction correlations, species duration distributions, and niche structuring-as emergent phenomena. Beyond reproducing patterns, the simulations reveal underlying mechanisms, including trial-and-error dynamics in long-term adaptation, high species turnover maintaining biodiversity equilibrium, and self-organized niche occupancy. These findings establish the framework as a versatile tool for investigating the complex interplay of ecological and evolutionary forces shaping biodiversity. By capturing emergent dynamics from mechanistic microevolutionary processes without imposing predefined constraints, the model provides a unique perspective on long-term evolutionary change, contributing to a broader theoretical toolkit for studying macroevolutionary patterns under controlled conditions. Future extensions could assess how variations in environmental dynamics, genomic architecture, or species interactions influence evolutionary trajectories, refining our understanding of biodiversity evolution.

Tele-mental health has become an effective method to offer mental health services to a diverse and geographically dispersed population such as Malaysia. The success of tele-mental health programs relies heavily on the willingness and readiness of counsellors to embrace technology in their practice. This highlights the significance of counsellor attitudes towards technology in executing such initiatives. This study investigates how counselling self-efficacy mediates the relationship between computer self-efficacy and attitudes toward tele-mental health among Malaysian school counsellors. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 348 school counsellors randomly selected from two states in Malaysia. The participants completed three instruments to evaluate their counselling self-efficacy, computer self-efficacy, and attitudes towards tele-mental health. Correlation results showed significant positive relationships among all three variables. Mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro (Model 4) demonstrated that counselling self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between computer self-efficacy and attitudes toward tele-mental health (β = .030, 95% CI [.003,.067], t = 2.75, p < .01). The direct effect remained significant (β = .122, p < .01), confirming partial mediation. These findings suggest that improving school counsellors’ confidence in technological and counselling skills may potentially improve favorable attitudes towards tele-mental health adoption. This study contributes to the counselling profession in preparing school counselors for delivery tele-mental health and supporting the integration of technological training in counselling development programs.