Abstract: Background/Objectives: COVID-19 vaccine resistance was detrimental to herd immunity and worsened COVID-19 morbidity and mortality during outbreaks. Despite more evidence showing reactionary behavior among residents exposed to vaccine mandates, little research has been conducted on the effects of state proof-of-vaccine (POV) mandate bans in the United States (US). We sought to investigate the causal effects of POV mandate bans, overall and stratified by policy passage via executive order or state legislature, on 1st-dose COVID-19 vaccinations. Methods: In the contiguous US, 21 states enacted POV mandate bans from 2/8/2021–10/25/2021. Using a geographic regression discontinuity design, we selected treatment and control counties within 150 miles of the POV mandate ban state border. The resulting sample was 4,612 county-observations and 2,466 unique counties. We conducted two-way fixed effects estimation to compare changes in bimonthly, 1st-dose COVID-19 vaccinations among individuals under 65 years old before and after POV mandate ban enactment between treatment and control counties. Results: Among executive order POV mandate ban counties, we saw a reduction in the decreasing 1st-dose COVID-19 trend following POV mandate ban enactment. This corresponded to an additional 32.6% increase in 1st-dose COVID-19 vaccinations in Weeks 1–2, 34.5% in Weeks 3–4, 35.0% in Weeks 5–6, and 36.9% in Weeks 7–8 post-POV mandate ban enactment when compared to control counties. Conclusions: These findings suggest that executive order POV mandate bans reversed reactance to vaccine mandates. Future public health efforts should consider potential reactance to mandatory policies and tailor efforts to community values.

Abstract: China is committed to building a new development paradigm to realize Chinese modernization. Therefore, it is of great significance to delve into, from the standpoint of new quality productive forces (NQPF), how digital finance affects foreign investment. This study utilizes data from 31 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2023 to ascertain the impact of digital finance on foreign investment. The findings indicate that digital finance exerts a significant and positive effect on foreign investment, with this effect being stronger in the central and western regions. With regard to transmission mechanism, digital finance can enhance foreign investment by improving regional NQPF, which has significant characteristics of regional heterogeneity. Further research makes a discovery that the outward foreign investment’s level in the central and western regions, is positively associated with the strength of digital finance’s effect on foreign investment, while the outward foreign investment’s level in the eastern regions, is negatively associated with the strength of digital finance’s effect on foreign investment. This research provides evidence for deepening digital finance’s development to promote foreign investment.

Abstract: The advent of CRISPR-based genome editing has transformed the conceptual framework of oncology—from descriptive molecular profiling to functional genome engineering. By enabling precise, programmable, and multiplex control of cancer-associated genes, CRISPR/Cas systems are reshaping how we model tumorigenesis, predict drug response, and design patient-tailored interventions. This Perspective discusses how CRISPR technologies are redefining precision oncology, the biological and ethical challenges that impede their clinical translation, and emerging strategies that integrate gene editing with immunotherapy, synthetic biology, and systems medicine. We argue that the future of cancer therapy lies not merely in editing genes but in orchestrating the dynamic networks that sustain malignancy.

Abstract: Non-Saccharomyces yeasts (NSY) are increasingly investigated as biotechnological tools to diversify wine profiles and modulate fermentation outcomes. This study evaluated the enological behavior of two Chilean isolates, Starmerella bacillaris (SB) and Hanseniaspora uvarum (HU), in Sauvignon Blanc must from the Casablanca Valley under monoculture and sequential inoculation (NSY → Saccharomyces cerevisiae) at laboratory (500 mL) and microvinification (10 L) scales. In synthetic medium (150 g/L sugars), SB and HU showed incomplete sugar consumption, producing 4.25% and 8.50% v/v ethanol, respectively, compared with 9.16% v/v for S. cerevisiae. In laboratory-scale fermentation in real must, both strains completed fermentation in monoculture, with moderate reductions in ethanol production relative to the control. At the microvinification scale, monocultures yielded lower ethanol concentrations (11.90–12.50% v/v) than S. cerevisiae (13.50% v/v), whereas sequential fermentations converged toward control values. NSY treatments showed higher relative abundances of medium-chain ethyl esters associated with fruity and floral sensory attributes while maintaining acetic acid concentrations ≤0.50 g/L. These findings indicate that the effects of SB and HU depended primarily on fermentation strategy and process scale under the evaluated conditions.

Abstract: Temperature control during hot-mix asphalt production and paving is critical to construction quality and emissions. However, conventional thermometry is susceptible to dust and vibration. This study proposes an indirect temperature monitoring system using electronic nose technology, exploiting the nonlinear correlation between asphalt VOC odor fingerprints and temperature. The system integrates a MOS sensor array with IoT feedback, with a proof-of-concept study involving three asphalt types at five temperature levels. Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation (LOOCV) was employed to mitigate overfitting. The hybrid modeling framework significantly outperformed the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) baseline, achieving 88.9% three-class accuracy and a regression RMSE of ±6.2℃. Drift compensation improved accuracy by 16.4%. These results show the feasibility of multi-dimensional odor patterns for quantitative temperature prediction, offering a new paradigm for closed-loop, non-contact temperature control in smart, low-carbon pavement engineering.

Abstract: Effervescent tablets are highly hygroscopic solid dosage forms in which even minor surface defects can compromise product stability, dose uniformity, and patient safety. Reliable, high-throughput defect detection is therefore essential, yet the existing literature overwhelmingly focuses on compressed or film-coated tablets and rarely offers a systematic comparison across recent YOLO families and scales. This study presents a multi-scale performance benchmarking of three recent YOLO families—YOLO11, YOLO12, and YOLO26—on a newly constructed effervescent tablet defect dataset. The dataset comprises 251 high-resolution images acquired under controlled illumination, each containing 12 tablets, and is manually annotated in YOLO format across six physical-condition classes (intact, damaged, cracked, broken, moist, and stained), yielding 3,012 bounding-box instances. All five standard scale variants (n, s, m, l, x) of each family were trained for 100 epochs under identical hyper-parameter settings, producing fifteen model variants that are compared in terms of mAP@0.5, mAP@0.5:0.95, precision, recall, inference speed (FPS), parameter count, and FLOPs. Experimental results show that YOLO11l achieves the best overall accuracy, with 96.8% mAP@0.5 and 91.7% mAP@0.5:0.95, while YOLO11n offers the most attractive real-time trade-off at 345.9 FPS with 95.6% mAP@0.5 and only 2.5M parameters. YOLO12 variants deliver competitive accuracy but at markedly lower inference speeds for the larger scales, whereas YOLO26 scales lag in the nano regime (88.0% mAP@0.5) but close the gap at l/x scales. Class-wise analysis of YOLO11l shows consistently high performance across all six defect categories, with mAP@0.5 ranging from 0.940 (damaged) to 0.994 (stained). The results provide practical guidance for selecting a YOLO configuration for real-time effervescent tablet inspection lines and demonstrate that modern nano- and small-scale detectors are already sufficient for high-throughput pharmaceutical quality control.

Abstract: Background: Single cell proteins (SCPs) have significantly high protein content, contain low fat and are rich in various vitamins. They are produced from microbial fermentation of low-cost raw materials, some of which are considered as waste resources. SCP production has a reduced environmental footprint compared to con-ventional methods of producing protein. It also provides a way of converting waste products, including those containing hemicellulose into useful biomass. Objective: This review is focused on the current sustainability problem associated with the present food sys-tem alongside the global demand for protein which places a stress on it. The role of SCPs, a sustainable source of protein able to meet human nutritional needs is also considered. Method: We searched databases for primary and secondary research published on SCPs, Anthropocene, and Sustainability. Relevant articles were thereafter. Results: The food system is in the intersection of several overarching Sustainable Development Goals, and hence influences almost all planetary health boundaries. Contrary to processes associated with obtaining protein-rich foods from various animals, SCPs production is eco-friendly, offers an avenue for waste transformation, and does not impact the biogeochemical flow negatively. Nutritional contents of SCPs are good building blocks for the human immune system. Conclusion: Current challenges associated with SCPs mass production and consumption, especially eth-ic-related and downstream processing and purification technology and technical know-how can be overcome through an interdisciplinary research approach. The role of science communication in portraying SCPs as a safe microbial source of protein before the non-scientific communities cannot be overemphasized.

Abstract: The paper seeks to determine whether renewable energy is a future pathway for society or rather a temporary stage leading towards sustainable sources of energy. It evaluates the factors that affect the use of renewable energy in Malaysia through modeling their long-term relationship and short-term causalities. Time series data collected from 1970 to 2020 is used in the Johansen cointegration test and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to determine the association among renewable energy consumption, per capita GDP, foreign direct investments (FDI), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, oil prices, trade openness, and urbanization. There is evidence of a strong positive long-term association between renewable energy consumption and per capita GDP. However, there is evidence of a negative long-term relationship between renewable energy and FDI, CO2 emissions, oil prices, and urbanization. There is a positive relationship between renewable energy consumption and trade openness in the long term. In addition, short-term causality analysis shows the existence of a feedback loop between renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and FDI. Overall, the paper provides empirical evidence for the carbon-neutral target set by Malaysia in 2050.

Abstract: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a highly adaptive and heterogeneous niche in which cancer stem cells (CSCs) promote immune evasion, metastatic dissemination, and therapy resistance. Among the mechanisms that support this phenotype, mitochondrial hijacking has emerged as a central strategy through which CSCs reprogram immune and stromal cells to favor tumor progression. This review synthesizes current evidence on how CSCs exploit mitochondrial transfer, particularly via tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs), to impair antitumor immunity and remodel the metastatic niche. CSCs display marked metabolic plasticity, shifting between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in response to environmental stress. They exploit this adaptability by transferring mitochondria and mitochondrial components to recipient cells, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and cytotoxic T cells, thereby disrupting ATP production, increasing oxidative stress, and skewing immune polarization. This mitochondrial hijacking contributes to an immunosuppressive milieu, stabilizes HIF-1α, and enhances PD-L1 expression, ultimately weakening T-cell activity and reinforcing CSC survival. EVs add another layer of regulation by transporting bioactive cargo, including oncogenic microRNAs (miRNAs) and mitomiRs such as miR-21, miR-210, and miR-34a. These molecules modulate mitochondrial gene expression, reshape immune signaling, and reinforce CSC phenotypes through autocrine and paracrine loops. Single-cell and spatial transcriptomic approaches have further revealed metabolic heterogeneity within CSC–immune synapses, identifying “metabolic hotspots” associated with profound immune dysfunction. Therapeutic strategies targeting OXPHOS, EV biogenesis, and miRNA activity are therefore being explored. In parallel, mitochondria-associated proteins such as TSGA10 may also contribute to CSC-driven immunometabolism regulation and deserve further investigation. Targeting downstream heterogeneity is like cutting the branches of a weed. Targeting the upstream mechanisms of mitochondrial hijacking and miRNA crosstalk aims to destroy the root (CSC plasticity) that generates the heterogeneity and drives therapy resistance in the first place. This review highlights mitochondrial hijacking and miRNA-mediated reprogramming as central determinants of CSC-driven immune escape and proposes a framework for precision interventions targeting CSC–immune interactions in metastatic cancer.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Intermittent fasting (IF) has been widely investigated for its metabolic effects, including improvements in insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory markers. However, its psychological and experiential dimensions remain comparatively underexplored. The present narrative review examines IF within a psychobiological framework, integrating evidence from metabolic science, neuroendocrinology, and affective neuroscience to explore its potential impact on emotional regulation and interoceptive processes. Methods: A structured narrative literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, focusing on studies published between 2000 and 2025. Eligible studies included human and relevant animal research addressing metabolic, hormonal, interoceptive, and psychological responses to IF. Evidence was synthesized thematically to identify convergent mechanisms linking metabolic adaptations to emotional and regulatory outcomes. Results: The available literature indicates that IF induces a metabolic shift toward lipid utilization, characterized by increased lipolysis, elevated circulating free fatty acids, and enhanced ketone body production, particularly β-hydroxybutyrate. These metabolic changes are accompanied by modulation of neuroendocrine pathways, including transient activation followed by adaptive recalibration of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, as well as alterations in insulin, leptin, and ghrelin signaling. Emerging evidence suggests that these physiological adaptations may influence central nervous system functioning through mechanisms involving neuroinflammation, mitochondrial efficiency, and synaptic plasticity. At the psychological level, IF appears to modulate interoceptive signaling, with heterogeneous emotional outcomes: structured fasting protocols have been associated with modest improvements in depressive symptoms and perceived stress in metabolically healthy individuals, whereas increased irritability, anxiety, or behavioral rigidity may occur in the presence of psychological vulnerability. Individual variability appears to be associated with differences in interoceptive sensitivity, stress reactivity, and traits related to anxiety, perfectionism, and eating-related pathology. Conclusions: Overall, IF may be conceptualized as a context-dependent psychobiological stressor whose effects extend beyond metabolic regulation to include interoceptive and emotional processes. These effects appear bidirectional, potentially promoting psychological resilience in some individuals while increasing the risk of affective destabilization or maladaptive behaviors in others. Current evidence remains limited by a lack of integrative and longitudinal studies combining metabolic and psychological measures. Future research adopting multidisciplinary approaches is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying individual variability and to better define the potential benefits and risks of IF in both clinical and non-clinical populations.

Abstract: this study evaluated the effects of non-fermented red ginseng marc (RGM) in a commercial liquid feeding system on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs. A total of 480 crossbred pigs ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) with an average body weight of 32.64 ± 0.12kg were arranged for a 12-week feeding trial. Experimental pigs were allotted to one of four treatments in 3 replicates of 40 pigs per pen by body weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Dietary red ginseng marc (0, 2%, 3%, 6%) was added to each experimental diet via a liquid feeding system. final body weight decreased linearly with increasing dietary RGM (p= 0.05). Average daily gain during weeks 10-12 showed both linear and quadratic responses (p= 0.02), and overall average daily gain during weeks 0-12 decreased linearly (p= 0.03). Average daily feed intake decreased linearly during weeks 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and overall (p≤ 0.05). During weeks 7-9, fecal acetate and butyrate increased linearly (p= 0.05 and p= 0.03, respectively), whereas during weeks 10-12, acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total SCFA were reduced at the highest inclusion level. Similarly, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased linearly at measured points (p=0.04, p=0.05, p=0.04, respectively). Glucose increased linearly at weeks 9 and 12 (p=0.04; p=0.02), and total cholesterol decreased linearly at week 12 (p=0.04). Under the present commercial liquid feeding conditions, inclusion of non-fermented RGM at 2% or 3% did not impair growth performance, whereas 6% reduced feed intake and growth during the finishing period.

Abstract: Cyanobacteria dominate ecosystems ranging from oligotrophic deserts to eutrophic lakes, yet it remains unclear whether distantly related species thrive in disparate habitats through shared genomic foundations or divergent specialization. Here, we address this question using Microcoleus vaginatus, the pioneer stabilizer of biocrusts, and Microcystis aeruginosa, the agent of freshwater blooms worldwide, as contrasting models of terrestrial and aquatic dominance. We assembled a comparative framework of 504 high-quality cyanobacterial genomes, including 132 M. vaginatus, 148 M. aeruginosa, and 224 reference taxa, and jointly analyzed genome architecture, functional repertoires, and genomic plasticity. Despite phylogenetic separation, both species share high rates of horizontal gene transfer and retain a compact, conserved functional core centered on FAD-dependent oxidoreductases, manganese efflux, and class II aldolases that collectively maintain redox balance, photosynthetic performance, and metabolic robustness. Nevertheless, the two lineages followed contrasting genomic strategies that M. vaginatus expands regulatory breadth and stress-resilience gene families, whereas M. aeruginosa shows genome streamlining and rapid exploitation. Notably, aquatic M. vaginatus strains retain terrestrial genomic scaffolds while gradually rewiring plasticity mechanisms and niche-specific functions. Together, these results reveal a two-tier architecture of cyanobacterial dominance, a conserved survival core coupled with divergent adaptive peripheries. It offers a predictive framework for how cyanobacterial lineages will respond to the global-change pressures.

Abstract: Background: Peripheral muscle electrostimulation (PME), including neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and functional electrical stimulation (FES), has been increasingly acknowledged as an effective adjunctive or complementary treatment to voluntary exercise in elderly cardiac patients who cannot perform sufficient amounts of voluntary exercise, with limited research on optimal protocols. Sarcopenia, defined as a progressive decrease in muscle mass, strength and function, affects approximately 34% of heart failure (HF) patients and considerably worsens their prognosis. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the current evidence on the theoretical mechanisms, physiological pathways, safety and efficacy of PME in older adults within a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) setting with a specific emphasis towards sarcopenia reversal. Methods: We performed a systematic review following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and PEDro databases from inception until December 2025 was conducted. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials focusing on PME in patients with cardiac diseases aged 65 years or older. The main outcomes were physical function (assessed with the Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB] and 6-minute walk distance [6MWD]), muscle strength, muscle mass, and safety. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used for quality evaluation of the studies. Results: Eight studies were included, with 387 participants and mean age between 78 to 85 years. PME consistently improved lower extremity muscle strength (MD: 5.2% body weight, 95% CI = 1.2–9.1, p = 0.013) along with SPPB scores ranging from +2.3 to +2.67 points (all p < 0.05). Home-based NMES achieved 100% adherence rates and no cardiovascular adverse events were reported. The mechanisms by which PME is beneficial involve peripheral skeletal muscle adaptations without eliciting central hemodynamic stress, increased endothelial function, aerobic enzyme activity, protein anabolism stimulation and muscle proteolysis inhibition. No significant effects were observed on BNP levels, hospital readmissions or mortality. PME has been shown to attenuate the progression of sarcopenia through hypertrophy of type I and II muscle fibers, as well as mitochondrial biogenesis. Conclusions: PME is a safe, feasible adjunct to conventional CR in frail elderly cardiac patients, particularly those with exercise intolerance and sarcopenia. It improves peripheral muscle function, physical performance, and muscle protein balance without cardiovascular stress. Larger multicenter trials are needed to establish optimal protocols and long-term clinical outcomes. Registration: PROSPERO CRD420261347748 (protocol registered prior to data extraction).

Abstract: Background. Staple line leak after sleeve gastrectomy remains one of the least predictable complications in bariatric surgery. Despite numerous proposed explanations, no consensus pathogenetic model exists. Objective. To develop a biomechanical model accounting for the mechanism of staple line failure after sleeve gastrectomy. Model. The present work proposes the formula: Leak = Obstruction & "Dog Ear". Leak is posited to be the predictable consequence of two co-occurring conditions: (1) mechanical or functional obstruction generating excess intraluminal pressure in the proximal gastric sleeve, and (2) a "dog ear" — a residual triangular pouch at the angle of His acting as a gas-and-fluid trap that prevents pressure decompression into the esophagus. Neither factor alone is sufficient: isolated obstruction results in stenosis; an isolated “dog ear”, in the absence of elevated pressure, remains clinically inconsequential. Conclusion. The formula Leak = Obstruction & "Dog Ear" offers a reproducible biomechanical framework for understanding and preventing staple line failure after sleeve gastrectomy. Prospective experimental investigation is required.

Abstract: Deepfake detection from images and videos has evolved from artifact-specific convolutional baselines toward more generalizable, cross-dataset, and foundation-model-based approaches. The current work focuses on the efficiency and informativeness of frame selection itself, while keeping the downstream detectors fixed. The study compares twelve frame-selection heuristics ranging from simple baselines to landmark-aware strategies. Four pre-trained detectors were included in the present quantitative comparison: Self-Blended Images (SBI), Frequency-Enhanced Self-Lendered Images (FSBI), Generative Convolutional Vision Transformer (GenConViT), and GenD. The results show that GenD achieved the strongest average detector-level performance, with a mean frame-mean AUC of 0.9464. The best single validated configuration is GenD, yielding an AUC value of 0.9607 and a balanced accuracy of 0.9133. FSBI and SBI reached mean AUC values of 0.8953 and 0.8935, respectively, while GenD was the best general candidate. For SBI, the best validation configuration is Landmark cluster with 32 selected frames. GenD achieves the best AUC at the level of selection strategy. The present work demonstrates that inference-time frame selection is an important component of video-only deepfakes under constrained inference budgets.

Abstract: Integration of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films on metallic substrates is important for flexible piezoelectric devices, but achieving highly textured crystallinity without detrimental interfacial diffusion or oxidation remains challenging. In this work, PZT thick films (~1.3 μm) were deposited on titanium substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at 400 °C followed by rapid thermal processing at 640 °C for 2.5 min. A conductive LaNiO₃ buffer layer was introduced to promote nucleation of the perovskite phase and suppress interfacial degradation. The resulting PZT films on LNO/Pt/Ti substrates exhibit a strong (001) preferred orientation and dense micro-structure. The films show a large remnant polarization Pr of ~61 μC cm^-2 and a low coercive field E_c of ~56 kV cm⁻¹ at 60 V, together with dielectric constants ε_r of ~1350–1612 and dielectric loss tanδ ≤ 0.06 in the frequency range of 1 kHz–1 MHz. Patterned Pt/PZT/LNO/Pt/Ti cantilevers yield a transverse piezoelectric coefficient e_31,f of ~ –6.7 C m^-2, significantly outperforming reported piezoelectric films deposited on Ti. These results demonstrate that controlled nucleation and rapid thermal crystallization enable highly textured PZT films on reactive metallic substrates, providing a viable route for flexible piezoelectric MEMS devices.

Abstract: Purpose: To validate a deep learning algorithm for automated segmentation and quantitative assessment of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) and RPE–Bruch’s membrane (BM) complex in healthy and geographic atrophy (GA) eyes. Methods: In this retrospective study, SD-OCT volume scans from 30 healthy and 30 eyes with GA were analysed. NMI-Outer Retina Analyzer was used to segment the inner EZ, inner RPE, and outer BM. Average thicknesses of EZ-RPE, EZ-BM, and RPE-BM were calculated from volumes and across nine ETDRS sectors. Manual segmentations were corrected by two masked expert graders and were compared using ICC. Dice coefficients (DC), Pearson correlation, and absolute thickness differences were used to assess agreement between automated and manual segmentation. Heat maps were generated to visualize thicknesses. Results: Thirty healthy eyes and thirty GA eyes were included in the analysis. Mean EZ–RPE, EZ–BM, and RPE–BM thicknesses were 47.55 ± 6.75 µm, 69.49 ± 6.92 µm, and 21.94 ± 3.46 µm, in the healthy eyes and 15.65 ± 11.09 µm, 39.18 ± 23.28 µm, and 23.52 ± 16.21 µm in GA eyes respectively. The model demonstrated high segmentation accuracy, with mean DC of 0.998 in healthy eyes and 0.995–0.998 in GA eyes. In healthy eyes, differences between automated and manual measurements were minimal (1.42 ± 3.39 μm (2.98%) for EZ–RPE, 1.31 ± 3.18 μm (1.88%) for EZ–BM, and 0.67 ± 1.71 μm (3.05%) for RPE–BM) which is within 1.88-3.05% from the gold standard (manual corrections), whereas GA eyes showed greater variability (mean differences of 3.61 ± 8.62 μm (23.06%) for EZ–RPE, 4.28 ± 11.34 μm (10.92%) for EZ–BM, and 4.4 ± 10.45 μm (18.71%) for RPE–BM). Heat maps revealed increased variability at the junctional zone surrounding atrophy. Automated and manual measurements showed strong correlations across all sectors in GA eyes (r = 0.97 for EZ–BM, 0.96 for EZ–RPE, and 0.89 for RPE–BM). Conclusions: The NMI-ORA enables accurate, automated segmentation and quantification of outer retinal layers, with performance comparable to expert graders.

Abstract: Background:Cancer remains a major global health challenge, with treatment efficacy li-mited by drug resistance and adverse effects. Drug repurposing offers opportunities for novel anticancer strategies. This study evaluated the cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and pro-apoptotic effects of metformin and caffeine, alone and in combination, in human cancer cell lines, and their potentialinteraction mechanisms. Methods:Human cervical carcinoma (HeLa), lung adenocarcinoma (A549), and colorectal carcinoma (HT29) cell lines were treated with metformin (0.05–50 mM) and caffeine (0.5–5 mM), alone or combined, for 24 and 48 h. Cell viability and proliferation were assessed using Trypan Blue and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays. Apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometry, and p53 expression in HeLa cells was determined by ELISA. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test. Results:Metformin induced dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicity in all tested cell lines, with the lowest IC₅₀ values observed in HeLa and A549 cells after 48 h (2.28 and 3.30 mM, respectively; p < 0.05). Caffeine showed moderate antiproliferative activity, with the strongest effects at 2.03 mM in HeLa and 2.01 mM in HT29 cells (p < 0.05). The combined treatment produced effects that varied depending on both the cell line and exposure time. At earlier time points, transient synergistic effects were observed in certain cell lines, particularly HeLa; however, these effects were not sustained over time. With prolonged exposure, the interaction shifted toward predominantly antagonistic effects, indicating a reduced overall efficacy of the combination compared to expected additive outcomes.Increased apoptosis and elevated p53 expression further support the activation of tumor-suppressive pathways. Conclusions:Metformin exhibits significant anticancer activity in vitro, supporting met-formin repurposing in oncology. However,the addition of caffeine does not uniformly enhance its efficacy and appears to exert context-dependent effects.Further in vivo studies are required to confirm its clinical relevance. Keywords:AMPK;Antitumor activity; Apoptosis; Caffeine; Cancer cell lines;Chou–Talalay method; Drug repurposing;Docking;Metfomin;Molecular docking; p53;

Abstract: The radio-wave method for monitoring bronchopulmonary function is attractive due to its simplicity of implementation and safety for patients. The achieved results in imaging the lung air-filling process were encouraging; however, they also revealed several limitations that hinder the development of the method as a diagnostic tool. This paper describes an improved setup for radio-wave monitoring of the breathing process, enabling the measurement of not only amplitude but also phase pulmonograms. The setup is based on the USRP device PlutoSDR and the GNU Radio framework. Using the Helmholtz equations, it was possible to separate the contributions to amplitude and phase variations in the pulmonograms into those associated with changes in lung size during breathing and those related to changes in relative permittivity due to lung aeration. The values of relative permittivity at selected measurement points may serve as a basis for developing diagnostic indicators of various bronchopulmonary diseases. The problem of selecting these measurement points is discussed, drawing an analogy with auscultation points, but focusing on locations that provide information about the lung air filling process. The estimated measurement accuracy indicates that a single breathing cycle is sufficient to determine the relative permittivity at each measurement point.

Abstract: With growing global REE demand, the investigation of cryptic clay-hosted rare earth element (REE) enrichment provides a better understanding of potential new prospects. This study is focused on novel REE enrichment (up to 1.38 wt.% TREO) identified in the regolith overlying the Doradilla Sn skarn prospect, northern New South Wales, Australia. The REE mode of occurrence was investigated through petrographic, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), micro-X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF), and Laser Raman analyses. Secondary REE-bearing phosphate minerals are the dominant host of the REE in the regolith at Doradilla. The presence of water identified through Laser Raman confirms these minerals as rhabdophane-(La) (La(LREE,Ca)(PO₄)·_nH₂O), hosting most LREE, and churchite-(Y) (Y(HREE,Ca)(PO₄)·2H₂O), hosting most HREE. Through confirming the majority of REE being hosted in hydrated, and therefore, secondary minerals, this cryptic REE-enrichment is confirmed to be the result of secondary mineralization driven entirely by regolith-derived processes. This study highlights the importance of detailed mineral characterization in confirming the deportment of REEs in clay-hosted settings, and suggests that new protoliths (in this case a Sn skarn) have the potential to form significant, secondary REE enrichment in the overlying clay-hosted, regolith environment.