Scientific Community Research Articles

Pedagogical and teaching strategies used to teach writing to pre-licensure students enrolled in health professional programs: a scoping review protocol.

The objective of this review is to map the existing literature on pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used to teach academic and professional writing to pre-licensure students who are enrolled in health professional programs. Health professional programs are intended to develop competence in both academic and professional writing. Effective academic writing skills prompt critical reflection and engagement with research communities, while professional writing skills are used to document interventions and communicate across health systems. Despite the importance of these 2 forms of writing, there are ongoing concerns that practitioners are entering practice without adequate writing skills. Given these concerns and the importance of writing across health disciplines, there is value in identifying the pedagogical strategies and approaches used in health professional programs to develop writing skills and to transfer such skills from one communicative context to another. This review will consider research on the pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used to teach academic and professional writing in pre-licensure health professional programs. This review will be conducted in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. The search strategy will aim to locate published literature using MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, CINAHL with Full-Text (EBSCOhost), ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health (ProQuest), and ERIC (EBSCOhost), along with gray literature (using databases/search engines). Papers published from 2010 onward in English and in French will be included. Extracted data will be reported in tabular format and presented narratively to address each review objective. http://osf.io/9raxp.

Natural-based solutions to mitigate dietary microplastics side effects in fish

Dietary microplastics (MPs) can be consumed by fish, crossing through the gastrointestinal tract. MPs smaller than 20 μm can easily translocate to other organs, such as liver, commonly triggering oxidative stress in fish. Given the current unlikelihood of their short-term elimination, strategies to mitigate MPs-related issues on fish are of considerable interest to the scientific community. In the present study, to reduce both the dietary MPs-induced oxidative stress and the accumulation of MPs, the effectiveness of microencapsulated astaxanthin (ASX) was evaluated in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Specifically, zebrafish were reared from larvae to adults (6 months) and fed diets containing MPs different in range-size (polymer A: 1-5 μm; polymer B: 40-47 μm) at different concentrations (50 or 500 mg/kg). After this period, fish from each experimental group were divided in two sub-groups that were fed, for an additional month, with the previous diets or with the same diets containing implemented with microencapsulated ASX (7 g /kg), respectively. Results showed that microencapsulated ASX was able to counteract the negative effects caused by MPs different in size. Particularly, in zebrafish fed diets containing polymer B microbeads, microencapsulated astaxanthin was able to restore the intestinal epithelium, affected by the abrasive role of MPs during gut transit. Differently, in zebrafish fed diets containing polymer A microbeads, absorbed at intestinal level and translocated mainly to the liver, the microencapsulated ASX decreased the oxidative stress response and reduced the MPs accumulation in target organs due to the antioxidant and the coagulant properties of the ASX and microcapsules wall, respectively. Taken together, the results highlighted that the aquafeeds’ implementation with microencapsulated astaxanthin is a prospective tool to prevent MPs-related issues in fish.

Dual pathway inhibition in peripheral arterial disease

Despite its high worldwide prevalence and the intuitable negative prognostic connotation, for a long time peripheral artery disease (PAD) has not been the subject of particular interest by the cardiac scientific community. The availability of a new therapeutic strategy (low-dose rivaroxaban associated with acetylsalicylic acid) has reignited interest in PAD. The clear evidence derived from the COMPASS and VOYAGER PAD trials, with the possibility of using dual pathway inhibition, has given new energy to the therapeutic front against symptomatic PAD also associated with coronary artery disease. This review article aims to revisit the pathophysiological concepts underlying PAD and the path of the various clinical trials that have led to new scientific evidence.

Climate change influence on the trends of BFRs in the environment and food.

Climate change poses new challenges for environmental protection and food safety. With reported consequences including warmer temperatures, melting of Alpine glaciers, higher sea levels, droughts, extreme rainfall events and increased surface UV radiation, concerns about the impact on food contaminants have been raised. While the effects of climate change on POPs were initially expected to have the biggest impact in the arctic region, given the intensity, frequency and spread of extreme weather events, global influence on environmental pollution and food safety is currently anticipated. Warmer temperatures are expected to enhance the volatilization of POPs and influence their partitioning between soil, sediment, water and atmosphere, enhancing their mobility and their potential for long-range atmospheric transport. Floods and strong winds can cause dilution but also spread of pollutants to wider areas. Limited data are available for the impact of climate change on BFRs levels, trends and toxicity. BFRs are widely used to protect people from fire hazards. Numerous BFR containing products are disposed in landfills where climate change could possibly induce increased leaching and resulting impacts on the food chain. Heat and UV exposure can lead to degradation of novel polymeric BFRs with adverse environmental effects. Long-term monitoring data are needed for feed, food and environmental compartments in order to evaluate climate change influence, which will also enable the development of prediction models specific for legacy and novel BFRs, for various climate change scenarios. Furthermore, there is a need to promote further discussion in the scientific community for the design of risk management and remediation activities for contaminated areas, in response to potential future conditions as the climate continues to change.

Coherent high-power terahertz vortex generation with tunable orbital angular momentum based on transverse phase mask shaping

Abstract Terahertz (THz) radiation has become a significant tool in cutting-edge research due to its superior properties. THz vortices with tunable orbital angular momentum (OAM) are particularly attractive to the scientific community due to their well-defined discrete azimuthal phase around the propagation axis. However, the generation of high-power THz radiation with OAM remains a challenge for most existing technologies. In this paper, a new method for generating coherent high-power THz vortices with tunable OAM and frequency is proposed by combining frequency beating and transverse phase mask shaping techniques. Theoretical analyses and numerical simulations indicate that this method can generate coherent THz vortices with peak powers in the tens of megawatts and tunable topological charge numbers.

VarClaMM: A reference meta-model to understand DNA variant classification

Determining the significance of a DNA variant in patients’ health status – a complex process known as variant classification – is highly critical for precision medicine applications. However, there is still debate on how to combine and weigh diverse available evidence to achieve proper and consistent conclusions. Indeed, currently, there are more than 200 different variant classification guidelines available to the scientific community, aiming to establish a framework for standardizing the classification process. Yet, these guidelines are qualitative and vague by nature, hindering their practical application and potential automation. Consequently, more precise definitions are needed.In this work, we discuss our efforts to create VarClaMM, a UML meta-model that aims to provide a clear specification of the key concepts involved in variant classification, serving as a common framework for the process. Through this accurate characterization of the domain, we were able to find contradictions or inconsistencies that might have an effect on the classification results. VarClaMM’s conceptualization efforts will lay the ground for the operationalization of variant classification, enabling any potential automation to be based on precise definitions.

Health-promoting worms? Prospects and pitfalls of helminth therapy.

In this manuscript, we explore the potential therapeutic use of helminths. After analyzing helminths' role in connection with human health from the perspective of their symbiotic and evolutionary relationship, we critically examine some studies on their therapeutic applications. In doing so, we focus on some prominent mechanisms of action and potential benefits, but also on the exaggerations and theoretical and methodological difficulties of such proposals. We conclude that further studies are needed to fully explore the potential benefits of this perspective, and we encourage the scientific community in doing so.

Standardized Daily High‐Resolution Large‐Eddy Simulations of the Arctic Boundary Layer and Clouds During the Complete MOSAiC Drift

AbstractThis study utilizes the wealth of observational data collected during the recent Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) drift experiment to constrain and evaluate close to two‐hundred daily Large‐Eddy Simulations (LES) of Arctic boundary layers and clouds at high resolutions. A standardized approach is adopted to tightly integrate field measurements into the experimental configuration. Covering the full drift represents a step forward from single‐case LES studies, and allows for a robust assessment of model performance against independent data under a range of atmospheric conditions. A homogeneously forced domain is simulated in a Lagrangian frame of reference, initialized with radiosonde and value‐added cloud profiles. Prescribed boundary conditions include various measured surface characteristics. Time‐constant composite forcing is applied, primarily consisting of subsidence rates sampled from reanalysis data. The simulations run for 3 hours, allowing turbulence and clouds to spin up while still facilitating direct comparison to MOSAiC data. Key aspects such as the vertical thermodynamic structure, cloud properties, and surface energy fluxes are well reproduced and maintained. The model captures the bimodal distribution of atmospheric states that is typical of Arctic climate. Selected days are investigated more closely to assess the model's skill in maintaining the observed boundary layer structure. The sensitivity to various aspects of the experimental configuration and model physics is tested. The model input and output are available to the scientific community, supplementing the MOSAiC data archive. The close agreement with observed meteorology justifies the use of LES for gaining further insight into Arctic boundary layer processes and their role in Arctic climate change.

Leveraging a new data resource to define the response of C. neoformans to environmental signals.

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen with a polysaccharide capsule that becomes greatly enlarged in the mammalian host and during in vitro growth under host-like conditions. To understand how individual environmental signals affect capsule size and gene expression, we grew cells in all combinations of five signals implicated in capsule size and systematically measured cell and capsule sizes. We also sampled these cultures over time and performed RNA-Seq in quadruplicate, yielding 881 RNA-Seq samples. Analysis of the resulting data sets showed that capsule induction in tissue culture medium, typically used to represent host-like conditions, requires the presence of either CO2 or exogenous cyclic AMP (cAMP). Surprisingly, adding either of these pushes overall gene expression in the opposite direction from tissue culture media alone, even though both are required for capsule development. Another unexpected finding was that rich medium blocks capsule growth completely. Statistical analysis further revealed many genes whose expression is associated with capsule thickness; deletion of one of these significantly reduced capsule size. Beyond illuminating capsule induction, our massive, uniformly collected dataset will be a significant resource for the research community.

Initiatives to improve lung and sleep health in children: Delphi consensus from the pediatrics, pulmonary, and sleep conference.

The lung and sleep health of adults is heavily influenced by early factors, both genetic and environmental; therefore, optimizing respiratory health begins in childhood. Multiple barriers impede improvements in lung and sleep health for children. First, the traditional siloing between general pediatric care in the community, pediatric pulmonary and sleep subspecialty care, and the research community limits the translation of knowledge into practice. Additionally, identifying and addressing health disparities remains a challenge. The 2021 NHLBI-sponsored workshop "Defining and Promoting Pediatric Pulmonary Health (DAP3H)" was a first step in defining critical gaps in our current healthcare system in identifying and optimizing lung and sleep health in children. The workshop identified key opportunities including measuring pulmonary function in young children, sleep-focused outcomes, developing biomarkers, and longitudinal research cohorts. To expand on the work of DAP3H and continue initiatives to improve childhood lung and sleep health, the Pediatrics & Pulmonary Network: Improving Health Together conference was held in 2023. A modified Delphi process was applied to form consensus surrounding gaps, barriers, and action items, with the goal of identifying the most urgent opportnities for improving childhood lung and sleep health. Cross-cutting foundational principles were identified as: (1) Authentic Stakeholder Collaboration & Engagement, (2) Reach & Implementation in Real World Settings, (3) Understanding Current Landscape & Resources and (4) Purposeful Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Initiatives. To improve lung and sleep health in children, these principles should be the foundation for research design, development, and implementation.

A New ENSO Statistical Prediction Model considering Extratropical Effects and Its Application to the Prediction of the 2015/16 El Niño Event

Abstract Understanding the evolution mechanisms and providing accurate predictions for ENSO continue to be a challenge for the research community. In recent years, some studies pointed out that the extratropical Pacific atmosphere and ocean variations may affect the evolution of ENSO, which is different from the classical theoretical framework of ENSO. In this study, by combining tropical atmosphere and ocean predictors with extratropical precursors, an ENSO statistical prediction model was constructed. It was found that including extratropical predictors can significantly enhance the prediction skills of the model. The Victoria mode index (VMI) can significantly improve the prediction skills in the 10–12-month lead model and can effectively help the model cross the spring predictability barrier (SPB). When predicting 6–8 months in advance, the South Pacific Oscillation index (SPOI) can improve the prediction skills, but the degree of the improvement is relatively small. The model was also applied to conduct prediction experiments on the 2015/16 El Niño event. It was found that the model can successfully predict the event nearly 1 year in advance, mainly due to the inclusion of the VMI. Due to the interdecadal variation in the relationship between predictors and ENSO, when constructing the 6-month lead model, using data since 2000 and replacing the 6-month lead VMI with a 10-month lead, one can effectively improve the model’s prediction skills, especially in predicting the intensity of 2015/16 El Niño events, which has shown significant improvement.

Reporting guidelines for qualitative research: a values-based approach

ABSTRACT Evaluative tools for qualitative research need to be developed and designed in a way that allows them to be used by the research community to assess qualitative research on its own terms, and thus strengthen, rather than undermine, research quality. The diversity of qualitative research practice makes the development of ‘one size fits all’ tools challenging. When evaluating Big Q Qualitative – the use of practices for generating and analysing qualitative data underpinned by qualitative research values – many existing ‘one size fits all’ reporting checklists and standards have the potential to introduce methodological incongruence through their inclusion of criteria that don’t ‘fit’ or align with Big Q values. The values and practices of Big Q Qualitative research, and the paradigms and meta-theoretical assumptions that inform them, are typically incommensurable with ideas and ideals founded in, disciplinary dominant, (post)positivism/objectivism and scientific realism. The unknowing, or knowing-but-required, application of ill-fitting criteria and standards for reporting risks not just incongruence, but undermining the vitality and creativity of Big Q Qualitative. However, evaluative guidelines remain important tools, pragmatically and rhetorically. In this paper, we explain and justify our development of a set of reporting guidelines to support methodologically congruent and reflexively open evaluation and reporting of Big Q Qualitative research. The Big Q Qualitative Reporting Guidelines (BQQRG) articulate a values-, rather than consensus-, based framework for reporting and evaluating qualitative research.

Investigation of scalable chiral metamaterial beams for combined stiffness and supplemental energy dissipation

Abstract Metamaterials have gained important interest in the research community attributable to advances in additive manufacturing enabling their fabrication at reasonable costs. The vast majority of their applications and demonstrations are at micro- and nano-scales, and challenges remained regarding the larger scale applications. In this paper, we are interested by the scalability of metamaterials, targeting structural engineering applications. To do so, we explore mechanisms capable of providing both bending stiffness and high-performance energy dissipation. Our study includes beams constructed with chiral topologies of different structural hierarchy orders, and we also explore three new topologies that we termed chiral friction, chiral-rectangular and chiral-hexagonal design to engineer the beams and the use of friction rods with tunable post-stress that inserted longitudinally through the beams to provide enhanced friction. The mechanical performance of the metamaterial beams is characterized through a series three-point bending tests. Of interest is to evaluate the bending stiffness, shape recoverability, and energy dissipation capabilities. We find that the chiral-hexagonal topology equipped with a non-stressed friction rod exhibit excellent energy dissipation capabilities, showing an improved loss factor by 11.9 times compared to the control beam using 68% of its materials density. Moreover, the use of the post-stress mechanism shows that it is possible to augment both its shape recovery and bending stiffness up to 99.3% and 47.1%, respectively. Overall, our investigation shows that it is possible to engineer scalable metamaterial beams targeting structural engineering applications, and that the use of topology optimization and strategically designed post-tensioning mechanism can allow tuning of mechanical performance.

Designing and Implementing a Community-Engaged Research e-Library: A Case Study for Adapting Academic Library Information Infrastructure to Respond to Stakeholder Needs.

The Duke University Clinical and Translational Science Institute Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERI) created an e-Library in 2018. This e-Library was developed in response to requests from academic researchers and the community for reliable, easily accessible information about community-engaged research approaches and concepts. It was vetted by internal and external partners. The e-Library's goal is to compile and organize nationally relevant community-engaged research resources to build bi-directional capacity between diverse community collaborators and the academic research community. Key elements of the e-Library's development included a selection of LibGuides as the platform; iterative community input; adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic; and modification of this resource as needs grow and change.

Mineral composition of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa ash: Exploration of its ability to mimic the function of different metalloenzymes

The motivation to find functional models of different metalloenzymes comes from their potential to develop better catalysts inspired by nature. Generally, metalloenzymes can activate aerial dioxygen due to the metal ions in it. Amongst the numerous metalloenzymes, catechol oxidase, and phenoxazinone synthase are the two most discussed metalloenzymes that are of interest to the research community for their ability to oxidize small organic substrates in an eco-friendly way. In this research work, Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa (a plant Indigenous to India) ash has been prepared as per the method mentioned in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API). The ash's mineral composition has been evaluated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The ability of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa ash to mimic the function of catechol oxidase, and phenoxazinone synthase-like metalloenzymes have been explored. The results of this study confirm that Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa ash can as a catalyst for promoting the aerobic oxidation of the organic substrates 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol (3,5-DTBC) and o-aminophenol (OAPH) to their corresponding chromophores, which are the functions of catechol oxidase and phenoxazinone synthase metalloenzymes respectively. The average values of Vmax and KM-like kinetic parameters for catechol oxidase mimicking activity of ash are (3.4826 ± 0.0896) x 10-5 M S-1 and (512.9146 ± 13.7268) x 10-5 M, respectively. Similarly, the average values of Vmax and KM-like kinetic parameters for phenoxazinone synthase mimicking activity of ash are (1.8871 ± 0.0461) x 10-5 M S-1 and (1823.0084 ± 25.3384) x 10-5 M, respectively.

XSShield: A Novel Dataset and Lightweight Hybrid Deep Learning Model for XSS Attack Detection

With the proliferation of web applications, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks have increased significantly and now pose a significant threat to users' information security and privacy. To enhance the efficiency of XSS attack detection, the adoption of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques offers promising solutions, but their effectiveness is limited by the lack of comprehensive and diverse datasets. Moreover, existing approaches often prioritize detection accuracy over real-time processing capabilities, which are essential for effective defense. To address these challenges, in this paper, we propose a novel framework that automatically collects web resources, efficiently extracts informative features, and constructs an up-to-date XSS attack dataset, which is then used to train a machine learning-based XSS detection model. Using this framework, we created and published a well-structured dataset over 100,000 samples for the research community. Furthermore, we present a hybrid detection model that leverages the strengths of both Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. Extensive evaluations of our dataset demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms other baseline ML models across various metrics, including processing rate. Notably, our model achieves an accuracy of 99.27% while maintaining a low false positive rate of 0.06% and high processing rate of exceeding 1000 samples per second. These results highlight its high accuracy and robustness in detecting XSS, and suitability for real-time applications. Our work presents a comprehensive solution for enhancing web application security by providing a diverse dataset and a high-accuracy detection model with low latency.

The Pico Balloon Archive: Establishing the First Super-Pressure Balloon Satellite Network for Atmospheric Research

Abstract We present the Pico Balloon Archive (PBA), a specialized platform for archiving, visualizing, and verifying data from pico balloons—lightweight, super-pressure balloons capable of operating in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere for durations ranging from weeks to years. With a latitudinal range from 88.77°S to 89.60°N and data collection ongoing since 2021, the PBA stands as the most spatially extensive repository for super-pressure balloons to date. It offers a centralized, user-friendly online portal (http://picoballoonarchive.org) for data access, featuring a summary of flight details, downloadable raw data, and individual flight visualizations. In this study, we validate the PBA’s wind speed and direction calculations against the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA), showing strong correlations (r2 = 0.66 and 0.78 for wind speed and direction, respectively). We also highlight the PBA’s effectiveness in charting global atmospheric circulation and the capacity of certain balloons to traverse hemispheres, a feat made possible by unique stratospheric dynamics. Furthermore, we demonstrate the PBA’s effectiveness in validating numerical weather prediction (NWP) Lagrangian trajectories, quantifying errors based on model initialization latitude. This continuously updated super-pressure balloon network is poised to significantly aid the atmospheric science community, facilitating a deeper understanding of global atmospheric processes. Significance Statement The first ever super-pressure balloon network is discussed and validated using radiosondes and numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. The Pico Balloon Archive (PBA) is positioned to offer worldwide data, facilitating cost-effective and high-reward atmospheric research for numerous users.

Science in times of war: reflections from Sudan

The war that erupted in Sudan on 15th April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Force (RSF) resulted in widespread destruction of national infrastructures, including the educational and research systems. Based on the personal experiences of the authors, this paper discussed the impact of the war on science and community of scientists who remained in Sudan during the war, including the resultant challenges, opportunities offered, and future perspectives. Clearly, the war brought about unquantifiable devastation on professional and personal lives of scientists; internal and external displacement and separation of scientists, colleagues, and families; loss of research and teaching resources; loss of jobs and financial instability; and host of negative psychological, emotional and social issues. Given that more than 10.4 million Sudanese were forcibly displaced, among them scientists, the educational system has been hampered. Available data indicate that in Khartoum State, 39% of governmental and 73% of non-governmental universities were occupied by RSF, whereas it was 10% of governmental and 8% of non-governmental universities in Gezira state. This contrasts with 3% of governmental and 5% of non-governmental university in South Darfur. Some universities and colleges were partially or completely damaged, while in some it was not possible to determine the damage. This has led to complete shutdown of the universities, forcing students to find expensive alternative ways to continue their education or abandon it altogether. Scientists and science in Sudan faced many challenges, which are difficult to overcome. While efforts to restore infrastructure and physical capital will be challenging, the social, psychological, and emotional devastation might be even more intricate. Revitalizing policies and international efforts are needed to support the recovery of the entire educational systems and research infrastructures, as well as the wellbeing of scientists.

FastProtein-an automated software for in silico proteomic analysis.

Although various tools provide proteomic information, each tool has limitations related to execution platforms, libraries, versions, and data output format. Integrating data generated from different software is a laborious process that can prolong analysis time. Here, we present FastProtein, a protein analysis pipeline that is user-friendly, easily installable, and outputs important information about subcellular location, transmembrane domains, signal peptide, molecular weight, isoelectric point, hydropathy, aromaticity, gene ontology, endoplasmic reticulum retention domains, and N-glycosylation domains. It also helps determine the presence of glycosylphosphatidylinositol and obtain functional information from InterProScan, PANTHER, Pfam, and alignment-based annotation searches. FastProtein provides the scientific community with an easy-to-use computational tool for proteomic data analysis. It is applicable to both small datasets and proteome-wide studies. It can be used through the command line interface mode or a web interface installed on a local server. FastProtein significantly enhances proteomics analysis workflows by producing multiple results in a single-step process, thereby streamlining and accelerating the overall analysis. The software is open-source and freely available. Installation and execution instructions, as well as the source code and test files generated for tool validation, are available at https://github.com/bioinformatics-ufsc/FastProtein.

Partnership or battle

University libraries live and change through interaction with the scientific community or without essential interaction they fail to evolve and grow. This article studies the effects of collaboration between professors and librarians on the strategic development of libraries, especially during times of crisis. This study was conducted at the University of Helsinki (established in 1640). It is based mostly on historical sources, such as the annual reports of the university and faculties, and documents outlining plans and decisions. The first crisis phase took place in the 1820s, when a fire destroyed academic collections and facilities and the university was relocated from Turku to Helsinki. A conflict arose between the contemporary needs of the scientific community and the need for a main library to replace the collections. Another upheaval was caused by the growing need for services for the post-war baby boomer generation. Nationwide library planning aimed for the creation of a separate national library and for merging faculty libraries with the main library. The third crisis phase involved the Finnish economic crisis of the 1990s and the digital revolution that continued into the 2000s. Solutions were sought through cooperation between the academic leadership, library management and personnel. The crisis led to the organisation of library services into two large entities. The success of extensive changes in academic libraries is one of the key questions in management. The crisis periods under examination show that significant reforms are only possible through close partnerships between the library, the research community and academic decision-makers.