Abstract: This study aims to investigate osmoprotectant rhizobacteria producing glycine betaine, marked with the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene, in the rhizosphere of mung bean plants under drought stress conditions. The transformation of the GFP gene was performed on isolates Bl-19 and Am-7. Seeds were soaked for 30 minutes in bacterial suspensions containing either Bl-19-gfp or Am-7-gfp at a density of 106 cells mL-1, in a volume of 500 mL. The seeds were then planted under drought stress at 60% field ca-pacity and sterile media. The results showed that inoculation of Bl-19-gfp isolates with an initial density of 10⁶ CFU led to a decrease in bacterial density to 1.4 x 10⁵ CFU 1 week after inoculation. Similarly, inoculation of Am-7-gfp isolates with an initial density of 10⁶ CFU caused a decrease to 1.7 x 10⁵ CFU after 1 week of inoculation. Subsequently, the densities of both isolates remained stable from week 2 to week 4. The dry weight of mung bean plants at soil moisture conditions of 60% field capacity using isolates Bl-19 and Am-7 increased by 40.13% and 52.44%, respectively. Based on the results, both isolate increased dry weight below 60% of field capacity in sterile media.

Abstract: Background: Radiography integrates scientific knowledge and technical skill with effective patient interaction and sound ethical judgment to provide quality patient care. Sustained ethical conduct is central to safe, trustworthy radiographic service delivery. However, the extent to which radiographers uphold these standards in Nigerian settings, including Kano metropolis remain in deficit. Objective: This study evaluated adherence to ethics of patient care, professional responsibilities, and continuous professional development among practicing radiographers in Kano metropolis. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among practicing radiographers in Kano metropolis between April and October 2019 using a validated, structured, self-administered questionnaire. It was distributed to 35 consented radiographers selected by non-probability sampling. Only 27 responded, with a response rate of 77.1%. Data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS version 23.0. Results: Most respondents always adhered to core patient care ethics: accurate patient identification (100%), respect for patient rights and dignity (92.6%), justification of medical exposure (88.9%), and confidentiality (85.2%). Only 29.6% always implemented equipment quality assurance programmes, with 40.7% doing so only sometimes and 7.4% never. Adherence to professional responsibilities and continuous professional development was similarly high (77.8%). Conclusion: Radiographers in Kano metropolis showed strong ethical commitment to patient care and professional responsibility. However, equipment quality assurance implementation was inadequate. Strengthening institutional quality assurance and regulatory oversight is recommended.

Abstract: Aspergillus species are saprophytes, found in soil, decaying matter and on the surface of plants. Some species are pathogens of humans, other animals or plants or cause food spoilage. Invasive aspergillosis affects three million people, mostly immunocompromised individuals, and mortality is around 50% where treatment is provided and almost 100% without treatment. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis affects five million people, particularly asthmatics and cystic fibrosis patients. Resistance to azole antifungals is rising, possible because of agricultural use of azoles. This review discusses Aspergillus species, aspergillosis and allergic conditions caused by Aspergillus, immune reactions and ways in which Aspergilli counteract immune responses, the rise of antifungal resistance and the dispersal of Aspergillus spores and mycelial fragments and suggests future prospects, including possible research directions and methods of detection and treatment.

Abstract: A set of pointlike inhomogeneities placed on the flat surface of an elastic half-space is put forward as a model for large urban agglomerations, consisting of buildings, constructions, erected on a limited area on Earth’s surface (e.g., cities). Under the action of an incident plane seismic wave a hierarchy of scattered waves arising from these inhomegeneities is identified, and their effect on the pointlike inhomogeneities is analyzed. We show that in the long-wavelength limit the first-order scattered waves are of Coulomb type, i.e. the displacement in these waves goes like the inverse distance from the scattering centres. We estimate the displacement produced by the scattered waves in this case, and find that it is large for large and agglomerated buildings, constructions, placed over large distances, i.e. precisely for what we call "large urban agglomerations". In the short-wavelength limit the Coulomb-like dependence acquires an oscillating factor. In this case we identify a divergent displacement produced by the scattered waves when the incident wave propagates parallel to the surface; leaving aside this special case, a necessary condition for the convergence of the series produced by the hierarchy of the scattered waves is a rare (sparse) distribution of small-size inhomogeneites.

Abstract: International climate finance is widely presumed to accelerate green technological innovation in recipient economies, and recent studies report positive effects. This study examines whether that proposition survives systematic scrutiny. Using OECD ENV-TECH patent indicators and OECD DAC Rio Marker climate-mitigation commitments for 118 developing economies between 2004 and 2022, the analysis estimates 180 specifications based on two estimators, three treatment scalings, five denominator thresholds, alternative trend specifications, and sample restrictions. Although 90% of the estimates are positive and 34% reach conventional significance, significance is confined to two identifiable dependencies. Count-based (quasi-Poisson) models are dominated by China, which accounts for 78.7% of the sample’s inventions despite representing only 10.7% of the world total: all thirty count specifications are significant with China included, and none is significant once China and India are excluded. Fractional-response models on the green invention share are invariant to dropping large recipients but derive their significance entirely from country-years with fewer than four total inventions, where a single patent moves the outcome by tens of percentage points. Of the 48 specifications that both exclude China and impose a minimally informative denominator, none is significant; the median standardised effect is 0.03. The findings indicate no reliable evidence that bilateral climate-mitigation finance raises green innovation, and identify a structural weighting problem that plausibly explains positive results in smaller samples.

Abstract: Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of infectious morbidity worldwide, with increasing recognition of post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD). Structural lung damage begins early in the disease course, often preceding clinical or radiographic detection. Methods: The objective of this study was to review diagnostic approaches for detecting early structural lung damage in TB. A structured narrative review was conducted using PRISMA principles, including studies published between 2018 and 2025. Results: We found high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the most sensitive modality for early structural abnormalities such as tree-in-bud nodules and ground-glass opacities. Pulmonary function tests, particularly DLCO, detect early impairment. Biomarkers such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cytokines reflect ongoing tissue damage. Conclusion: We concluded that a multimodal diagnostic approach integrating imaging, functional assessment, and biomarkers enables early detection and may prevent progression to chronic lung disease.

Abstract: Paper mills pose a serious threat to the reliability of the scholarly record, and public critics have often identified cross-journal patterns that conventional editorial processes failed to detect. The legitimacy of this work, however, does not remove the need to calibrate public terminology. When a severe organisational label such as "paper mill" is combined with a national descriptor, the apparent scope of the claim can expand from a defined set of papers to authors, institutions, or an entire research community. This Perspective develops an evidence-and-scope framework for evaluating that expansion. It draws on research about paper mills, citation manipulation, image anomalies, stigma, and research assessment, and it uses the publicly available Science Integrity Digest post "The Iranian Plant Paper Mill" as an illustrative case. The analysis does not determine whether the papers discussed in that post originated from a paper mill and does not allege misconduct by the post's author, commenters, or any researcher mentioned there. Instead, it examines the relationship among the evidence described, the title's geographic referent, the procedural status of the allegations, the use of pseudonymous observations, and the expansion of claims through comments. The article argues that national descriptors are not inherently improper, but they require an explicit analytic purpose, a defined unit of attribution, proportional treatment of transnational participation, and visible uncertainty and update mechanisms. It proposes a staged evidence-to-label vocabulary and a disclosure standard covering dataset boundaries, geographic meaning, verification, right of reply, comment moderation, and post-publication revision. These safeguards are intended to strengthen, rather than restrain, public research-integrity criticism by making serious warnings more precise, auditable, and resistant to collective overgeneralisation.

Abstract: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists are used to treat central precocious puberty and are increasingly prescribed in gender-affirming care. Despite well-established reproductive effects, their broader physiological effects during puberty remain poorly understood. Male and female Wistar rats received a depot triptorelin injection at pubertal onset. Body mass, food intake, and locomotor activity were monitored. After 28 days, reproductive function was assessed, and pituitary and hypothalamic gene expression was analyzed. Changes in gonadal weight, estrous cycle, folliculogenesis, seminiferous tubules’ morphology, and sperm count confirmed the suppression of pubertal maturation. Triptorelin downregulated Gnrhr and Lhb, demonstrating suppression of gonadotrope function. Despite comparable reproductive suppression, metabolic responses to triptorelin were strongly sex-dependent. Females exhibited increased body weight gain accompanied by delayed hyperphagia, whereas males showed reduced body weight gain, unchanged food intake, and increased mean locomotor speed. Female-specific transcriptional remodeling was observed in the hypothalamus, characterized by downregulation of Lepr and Npy and upregulation of Sst and Kiss1 expression. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that pubertal triptorelin treatment induces profound reproductive suppression in both sexes while eliciting sex-specific hypothalamic adaptations in pathways regulating energy homeostasis. This suggests that puberty blockers exert broader neuroendocrine effects beyond the suppression of reproductive maturation.

Abstract: Jeffreys‑rule Bayesian inference for the Poisson mean was retrospectively applied to cytokinesis‑block micronucleus (CBMN) data from four studies conducted in a single laboratory (2001–2026), covering ionising‑radiation exposures in human lymphocytes and an ¹³¹I biodosimetry study (29 experimental groups). The CBMN assay is widely used for cytogenetic biodosimetry and for evaluating radioprotective agents, but classical analysis of net micronucleus (MN) yield becomes unreliable when effective radioprotectors reduce MN frequencies towards background, leading to near‑zero or negative net counts with poorly characterised uncertainty. In our reanalysis, the Bayesian correction systematically modified magnitude-of-protection and dose-reduction estimates in low-count, high‑protection conditions in comparison with the classical approach. Using Bayesian net counts to recalculate standard radioprotective metrics revealed that, while the overall ranking of radioprotective potency was preserved, Bayesian magnitudes of protection and dose reduction factors were consistently lower than their classical counterparts for the most effective radioprotectors administered before irradiation, providing more conservative efficacy estimates with quantified uncertainty. In the ¹³¹I biodosimetry cohort and in patients undergoing diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures, post‑exposure MN yields remained within the spontaneous background variability of the assay, and the Bayesian framework is fully compatible with the practical absence of detectable chromosomal damage at the doses used in routine clinical practice. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Jeffreys‑rule Bayesian inference provides a statistically coherent and practically feasible framework for CBMN analysis in the low‑count regime, stabilising net MN estimates, avoiding artefactual negative values and supplying confidence intervals for radioprotective efficacy metrics. As a concrete methodological recommendation, Bayesian analysis should be adopted as the default approach whenever post‑exposure MN counts are within approximately a factor of two of background, with classical methods remaining adequate at higher count levels.

Abstract: The selection of separation-pier layouts for side inlet/outlet structures in pumped-storage power stations is still largely experience-based, and direct hydraulic comparisons among practical layouts remain limited. This study compares one-, two-, three-, and four-pier layouts under inflow and outflow operation. A three-pier layout from a lower-reservoir side inlet/outlet was used as the reference, while the other layouts followed previously recommended pier-head positions and channel-width ratios. The total trash-rack flow area and the principal longitudinal and elevation dimensions were kept constant. A three-dimensional simulation based on the Reynolds stress model was validated against physical-model measurements; the maximum relative deviations of the evaluated hydraulic indices were below 5%. All four layouts met the prescribed discharge-distribution criterion in both flow directions. Under outflow, however, the maximum velocity non-uniformity coefficients for the one- and two-pier layouts were 2.168 and 2.068, exceeding the allowable value of 2.0, whereas the three- and four-pier layouts yielded 1.920 and 1.838. The head-loss coefficient increased monotonically with pier number in both directions. Consequently, the three-pier layout provided the most favorable engineering trade-off among the four evaluated configurations for the investigated geometry and operating conditions. These results represent a comparison of practical layouts rather than a strict single-factor test of pier number.

Abstract: Hyperspectral remote sensing instruments record hundreds of narrow, contiguous spectral bands, and the resulting data volumes make compression essential for storage and transmission. Lossless compression preserves this data exactly, which matters for archival and reanalysis, but existing methods largely target redundancy in the original image, leaving the redundancy in residual data after an initial compression pass largely unexploited. The proposed Multi-level Clustering Lossless Compression Algorithm (MLCLCA) is built on an Improved K-means Algorithm (IKA) that exploits the spatial geometry of remotely sensed pixels to prune distance comparisons among distant or already-stable classes, accelerating convergence relative to standard K-means. MLCLCA re-clusters the residue produced at each level and searches, at every level, for the class count that maximizes the lossless compression ratio (LCR). On 220-band AVIRIS hyperspectral data, rounding class centers to the nearest integer outperforms nearest-pixel selection, and differencing class centers across bands and classes reduces inter-band redundancy by roughly two orders of magnitude. Extending clustering from one level to nineteen raises the LCR from 2.51 to 2.84, a 13.1% relative gain, though about 89% of it is already realized within the first eight levels, showing that residue redundancy, while substantial, is finite. These results indicate MLCLCA is best suited to archival and reprocessing scenarios that prioritize compression ratio over real-time throughput.

Abstract: The Solvency II regulatory framework (Directive 2009/138/EC) defines the Solvency Capital Requirement (Solvency Capital Requirement, SCR) using a Value-at-Risk (VaR) approach with a confidence level of 99.5% and a one-year time horizon. This structure makes regulatory capital extremely sensitive to the characteristics of the right tail of the loss distribution and, consequently, to the effectiveness of risk transfer mechanisms. This study analyzes the impact of the five main types of reinsurance contracts quota share, surplus, quota-surplus, excess-of-loss (XoL), and stop-loss on the transformation of the net loss distribution and the resulting dynamics of the SCR. The empirical analysis is based on a computational experiment using real data from a ten-year insurance portfolio covering the period 2016–2025. The results show that the use of reinsurance leads to a reduction in the total capital requirement in the range of 18.4–23.4% on an annual basis, with the effect exhibiting an approximately linear relationship with the size of the cession quota. The stratified comparative analysis conducted identifies significant differences in the effectiveness of individual contract structures with regard to the reduction of tail risk. In particular, XoL contracts demonstrate the strongest effect on the extreme quantiles of the loss distribution, with a reduction reaching −52.5% at the 99.5% VaR level and −68.6% at the 99.9% VaR level. In contrast, quota-share contracts result in a practically proportional scaling of risk, characterized by a symmetric reduction of approximately −40% across all confidence levels. The results further show that multi-tiered reinsurance programs combining quota share, excess, catastrophe XoL, and stop-loss components, provide the highest degree of capital relief, reaching 48.8%, which indicates the presence of significant nonlinear diversification and complementarity effects among the individual risk transfer mechanisms. A waterfall decomposition was applied to identify the main factors determining the difference between the standard formula and the internal model. The analysis finds that the dominant drivers of the observed capital relief are the effect of precise risk calibration (on average −8.3%) and the effect of diversification (−4.7%). These results underscore the importance of adequately modeling the interdependencies among risk modules and the limitations of standardized regulatory parameterizations. In addition, a “wrong-way risk” stress scenario was developed, involving the simultaneous occurrence of a catastrophic risk and the insolvency of two key reinsurers. Under this scenario, the effectiveness of risk transfer is reduced to −27.3%, and the solvency ratio falls below the minimum capital requirement (12.5%). This result empirically confirms the cautious regulatory stance of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority regarding the limited recognition of capital reliefs that do not demonstrate resilience under extreme stress conditions. The study provides a quantitatively grounded framework for optimizing reinsurance programs under the Solvency II regime. The main conclusion is that capital efficiency is not a function of a single “optimal” reinsurance contract, but rather results from the strategic combination of various reinsurance mechanisms capable of simultaneously reducing tail risk, improving diversification, and limiting vulnerability to systemic stress events.

Abstract: Fallen pedestrians—those lying prone, supine, or crouching on roadways—represent a critical and under-addressed vulnerability in contemporary Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). In simulation, a baseline RGB camera system achieved a 21.4% true-positive detection rate (TPR) at night for non-upright subjects, compared with a simulated 98.2% TPR achieved by the Advanced Fallen Object Detection System (AFODS) under the same night-time (0 lux) condition—a 76.8 percentage-point simulated detection gap. This article synthesises three complementary peer-reviewed studies into a proposed closed-loop safety architecture: (1) simulation-based multi-modal detection via AFODS; (2) a physics-grounded design evaluated through simulation for post-collision kinematic reconstruction; and (3) simulation-based injury-risk quantification translating detection latency into Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and AIS-graded fatality probability. The integrated framework is associated with Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-167440, filed on 3 October 2025, and JST support has been approved for the planned PCT filing and further development of the detection and information-processing claims. In the source simulation, modelled fatal head-injury probability at 50 km/h falls from 66.2% (no-detection baseline) to 0.7% under worst-case AFODS-triggered braking—a 65.5-percentage-point model-chain contrast that has not yet been empirically observed. A five-stage validation roadmap is proposed, targeting eventual conformance assessment against ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), and relevant NCAP protocols. The article identifies open research challenges and a proposed trajectory toward prototype testing; it does not report empirical validation, legal admissibility findings, or deployment, all of which remain future work.

Abstract: The paper explores the provenance of the fundamental physical units in a physical universe defined over a finite relational arithmetic substrate. The units are identified as the four horizons of the substrate: the Planck length, momentum, time, and energy, one per representation domain of the framed shell. The four physical constants \( c \), \( \hbar \), \( G \), \( k_B \) follow uniquely from this quartet, over declared identifications whose epistemic status is tagged throughout. The speed of light is the ratio across the two Fourier pairs of the domain square. The Planck constant is the product within each conjugate pair. The Boltzmann constant is the mixed product. The gravitational constant is the normalisation of the quartet to the totality. The quartet admits exactly one internal cancellation identity. No further algebraically independent relation exists within its lattice. On an admissible substrate the four constants instantiate as exact residues; their unit-face magnitudes are their observer-facing manifestation. Beneath the quartet, dimensional analysis is developed as a graded modular domain algebra over the framed shell. Classical dimensional analysis is recovered exactly inside the sub-capacity window. The domain of the Planck constant is the unit flag: the generator of the unique order-four torsion subgroup that the domain lattice itself carries. The flag marks the crossing between the observer's counts and the substrate-anchored measures. Its torsion-free surrogate is the classical mass dimension. Temperature inherits the acceleration domain. The flag cancels in every count-valued comparison.

Abstract: Background: Chronic cough is a major determinant of impaired quality of life and recurrent exacerbations in bronchiectasis. The BEAT-COUGH Study evaluated the effectiveness of adjunctive oral erdosteine plus nebulised amikacin during acute exacerbation and long-term maintenance in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Methods: The BEAT-COUGH Study was a prospective, two-centre observational study (VCC:37/2023) with 52-week follow-up. A total of 164 adults with HRCT-confirmed bronchiectasis, Modified Reiff Score >10, acute exacerbation, and positive sputum microbiology were enrolled. Eighty-two patients received standard care alone and 82 received standard care plus oral erdosteine and nebulised amikacin (250 mg twice daily during exacerbation, followed by once daily during maintenance). A total of 144 patients completed maintenance follow-up. Cough severity was assessed using a 100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), with VAS < 20 mm defining a satisfactory response. Secondary outcomes included exacerbation frequency, duration, time to first exacerbation, exacerbation-free days, sputum rheology, microbiology, hospitalization, antibiotic use, and healthcare costs. Results: Adjunctive therapy produced significantly higher satisfactory cough responses during both acute exacerbation and maintenance (both p< 0.001). Combination therapy reduced the duration of mild, moderate, and severe exacerbations by 39.97%, 37.30%, and 30.26%, respectively (all p< 0.0001), prolonged time to first exacerbation and exacerbation-free days (all p< 0.0001), and reduced moderate and severe exacerbations while increasing the proportion of exacerbation-free patients (p=0.00019). Significant improvements were observed in sputum viscosity and clearance (90.3% vs. 19.4%), sputum volume (94.4% vs. 13.9%), and sputum colour (91.7% vs. 13.9%) (all p< 0.0001). Conclusions: Adjunctive erdosteine plus nebulised amikacin significantly improved cough control, sputum rheology, exacerbation outcomes, and healthcare utilization, supporting its role as an effective adjunctive strategy for exacerbation-prone non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Abstract: Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is one of the fastest-growing chronic diseases worldwide, affecting an estimated 589 million adults in 2024, with projections rising to 853 million by 2050. Dietary modification is a cornerstone of both T2D prevention and management. Among the various dietary approaches, plant-based dietary patterns have gained increasing attention; however, uncertainty remains regarding the optimal dietary composition and the contribution of specific food groups. Methods: This narrative review summarizes the current evidence on plant-based dietary patterns and their association with T2D prevention and metabolic control, with a particular focus on legumes, dietary fiber, and red and processed meat. Evidence from prospective cohort studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses were evaluated. Results: Higher adherence to healthy plant-based dietary patterns was consistently associated with a 23-33% lower risk of developing T2D, improved insulin sensitivity, and approximately a 0.30- 0.47% reduction in glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c). Greater consumption of legumes and dietary fiber was linked to improved glycemic control, enhanced gut microbiota composition, reduced low-grade inflammation, and beneficial effects on body weight and lipid metabolism. In contrast, higher intake of processed meat and unprocessed red meat was consistently associated with an increased risk of T2D. Importantly, unhealthy plant-based diets characterized by refined grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, and highly processed foods provided little metabolic benefit and may even increase diabetes risk by up to 10%. The interpretation of the available evidence is limited by the predominance of observational studies, heterogeneous definitions of plant-based dietary patterns, self-reported dietary assessments, and the limited availability of long-term randomized controlled trials. Conclusions: Current evidence supports healthy plant-based dietary patterns as an effective strategy for the prevention and management of T2D. Dietary patterns emphasizing whole plant foods, including legumes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, while limiting processed and excessive red meat intake, are associated with improved metabolic health. Future high-quality randomized controlled trials with standardized dietary definitions are needed to further define the optimal composition of plant-based diets for diabetes prevention and treatment.

Abstract: Addressing the mismatch between agricultural development and water resource conditions, this study selected 22 provinces and 4 municipalities in China from 2014 to 2023 as the research area and incorporated terrain factors into the analytical framework. An evaluation system for the Agricultural Emphasis Index and Water Resource Condition Index was established. The entropy weight method, coupling coordination degree model, standard deviation ellipse model, spatial difference coefficient, and two-way fixed effects model were employed to investigate the spatiotemporal variations and coordination relationships between agricultural development and water resource conditions. The results showed that the Agricultural Emphasis Index continuously increased during the study period, whereas water resource conditions remained relatively stable, indicating different evolutionary patterns between the two systems. The coordination level of the Agriculture–Water Resources System generally improved, but significant regional disparities remained. Plain regions exhibited stronger coordination foundations, while mountainous and plateau regions showed relatively lower coordination levels due to terrain constraints and resource limitations. Spatial displacement existed between agricultural advantage regions and water resource advantage regions, although the matching degree between the two systems gradually improved. The evaluation framework established in this study provides a scientific basis for optimizing regional agricultural layouts, improving water resource allocation, and promoting coordinated agricultural and water resource development.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Professional burnout is widespread among surgeons. Despite the abundance of research on organizational factors, little attention has been paid to the resources developed during training that may protect against burnout. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between involvement in student research and prac-tical clubs (SRPCs) during training and burnout symptoms during surgical practice, as well as subjective assessments of career progression in surgical graduates. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 96 surgeons (32 women, 64 men; mean age 33.1 ± 6.4 years) who participated in the SRPC over a 20-year period was conducted. Burnout was assessed us-ing the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire. Involvement indicators (duration, activity) were combined into an integrative activity index using the principal component analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis and Spearman's rank correlation analysis were used. Results: The sample was characterized by a favorable burnout profile: emo-tional exhaustion at a medium/high level was detected in 71.9%, depersonalization at a low level was detected in 62.5% (high level in only 7.3%), and there was no reduction in professional achievements. Regression analysis revealed a strong negative relationship between the integrative activity index and depersonalization (β = –0.740, p < 0.001, R² = 0.535, f² = 1.15): higher involvement in SRPC was associated with a lower level of deper-sonalization. No significant connections were found with emotional exhaustion and re-duction in achievements. Subjective assessment of the impact of SRPC on one’s career was negatively correlated with depersonalization (rₛ = –0.517, p < 0.001) and emotional ex-haustion (rₛ = –0.319, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Engagement in student research can act as a protective resource against depersonalization, a key component of burnout, by promoting meaningful professional interactions and strengthening professional identity. The find-ings support the need to support SRPC in medical schools not only as a means of training research personnel but also as a tool for preventing professional strain and burnout among actively working surgeons.

Abstract: Breast cancer relapse in bone is a significant clinical problem that is experienced in ~70-80% of patients with late-stage breast cancer. This condition commonly occurs 5-10+ years following surgical removal of the primary tumor. The long latency seen prior to relapse in bone is a result of tumor cell dormancy. Once disseminated to the bone, tumor cell interaction with the bone metastatic niche (endosteal niche and endovascular cells) maintains cells in a dormant state until changes to the local environment activate the niche to support outgrowth. Amassing evidence suggests that cytokines are key regulators of the bone metastatic niche, controlling bone homing and metastatic outgrowth. Pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TGFβ and RANKL play crucial roles in attracting tumor cells to bone. Furthermore, these cytokines act in conjunction with IFN, VEGF, TGF, PTHrP, FGF, OPG and various chemokines to regulate expansion of the niche, facilitating tumor cell escape from dormancy and promoting the “vicious cycle of bone metastasis”. Here, we review the current literature to provide an up to date understanding of how interactions between cytokine signalling cascades regulate the bone metastatic niches to promote homing, dormancy or metastatic outgrowth of breast cancers.

Abstract: The phase-pure syntheses of Fe(dca)₂ and Fe(dca)₂(NH₃)₂ have enabled comprehensive investigation of their structural and magnetic properties. Fe(dca)₂ crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnnm, with Fe²⁺ ions octahedrally coordinated by six dca ligands, forming a rutile-like 3D network. Temperature-dependent structural analysis reveals minor distortions and a slight unit cell volume contraction (~2.5 ų) from 300 K to 25 K. Fe(dca)₂(NH₃)₂ crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c, featuring two axial ammonia ligands and dca-bridged Fe²⁺ ions forming layers. Magnetic susceptibility measurements of Fe(dca)₂ reveal a ferrimagnetic transition at T_C = 19.1 K, con-firmed by SQUID data, Mößbauer spectroscopic measurements and low-temperature neutron diffraction. A magnetic hysteresis at 5 K indicates long-range cooperative magnetic ordering. ATR-IR spectroscopic measurements support the structural models and confirm the chemical composition of both compounds. TGA shows the thermal decomposition of Fe(dca)₂.