Specimens belonging to a new species in the genus Protocirrineris have been found during surveys along the southwestern coasts of the Netherlands. Protocirrineris stormae sp. nov, as described herein, were collected from the muddy bottom sediments in enclosed marine waterbodies and estuaries. This species is characterized by branchiae commencing from the first chaetiger and tentacular filaments arranged in two groups arising from chaetigers 2–3 that present one/two pairs of lobes, each bearing a single dorsal tentacle. From the current records of this species, it seems that P. stormae has an affinity for enclosed marine environments or parts of estuaries with minimal variability in salinity, higher transparency, and normal temperature regime. The discovery and study of this species contributes to a comprehensive characterization of benthic fauna in locations subjected to particular environmental stresses. Considering the extensive dataset available from the Southwestern Netherlands due to many years of sampling, it is plausible that P. stormae is a pseudo-indigenous species as there seem to be no records of similar or unknown Protocirrineris before 2013. Full article

The scaling of the strength of composite parts with part size is referred to as the size effect. In the presence of notches, stress concentration affects a portion of material that increases with the notch size. Furthermore, in woven composites, the notch and tow size can be comparable, thus demanding a mesoscale approach to properly capture the stress intensification. In this paper, a probabilistic mesoscale method to model the size effect in notched woven composites is presented. First, the stress distribution is estimated with a finite element model, calibrated on experimental Digital Image Correlation data. The FE model simulates the mesoscale heterogeneity of the woven reinforced material and replicates the local stress intensification at the tow level. Then, a three-parameter Weibull-based statistical model is introduced to model the probability of failure from the calculated stress distribution and the volume of the part. An equivalent stress is used to capture the relevant fiber and matrix failure modes and the maximum value within the specimen volume is the random variable of the model. The method is applied to open-hole tension tests of a woven twill carbon fiber–epoxy composite. Two specimen widths and three width-to-diameter ratios, from 3 to 12, are considered. Specimen width produced an observable size effect, whereas the variation of hole size in the range considered did not. The statistical model is found to accurately describe the experimental observations, efficiently replicating an inverse size effect, regardless of hole size, while wider specimens lead to a lower probability of failure. Full article

The development of deep learning greatly promotes the progress of speaker verification (SV). Studies show that both convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and dilated time-delay neural networks (TDNNs) achieve advanced performance in text-independent SV, due to their ability to sufficiently extract the local feature and the temporal contextual information, respectively. Also, the combination of the above two has achieved better results. However, we found a serious gridding effect when we apply the 1D-Res2Net-based dilated TDNN proposed in ECAPA-TDNN for SV, which indicates discontinuity and local information losses of frame-level features. To achieve high-resolution process for speaker embedding, we improve the CNN–TDNN structure with proposed repeated multi-scale feature fusions. Through the proposed structure, we can effectively improve the channel utilization of TDNN and achieve higher performance under the same TDNN channel. And, unlike previous studies that have all converted CNN features to TDNN features directly, we also studied the latent space transformation between CNN and TDNN to achieve efficient conversion. Our best method obtains 0.72 EER and 0.0672 MinDCF on VoxCeleb-O test set, and the proposed method performs better in cross-domain SV without additional parameters and computational complexity. Full article

Annual outbreaks of floating Ulva prolifera blooms in the Yellow Sea have caused serious local environmental and economic problems. Rapid and effective monitoring of Ulva blooms from satellite observations with wide spatial-temporal coverage can greatly enhance disaster response efforts. Various satellite sensors and remote sensing methods have been employed for Ulva detection, yet automatic and rapid Ulva detection remains challenging mainly due to complex observation scenarios present in different satellite images, and even within a single satellite image. Here, a reliable and fully automatic method was proposed for the rapid extraction of Ulva features using the Tasseled-Cap Greenness (TCG) index from satellite top-of-atmosphere reflectance (R_TOA) data. Based on the TCG characteristics of Ulva and Ulva-free targets, a local adaptive threshold (LAT) approach was utilized to automatically select a TCG threshold for moving pixel windows. When tested on HY1C/D-Coastal Zone Imager (CZI) images, the proposed method, termed the TCG-LAT method, achieved over 95% Ulva detection accuracy though cross-comparison with the TCG and VBFAH indexes with a visually determined threshold. It exhibited robust performance even against complex water backgrounds and under non-optimal observing conditions with sun glint and cloud cover. The TCG-LAT method was further applied to multiple HY1C/D-CZI images for automatic Ulva bloom monitoring in the Yellow Sea in 2023. Moreover, promising results were obtained by applying the TCG-LAT method to multiple optical satellite sensors, including GF-Wide Field View Camera (GF-WFV), HJ-Charge Coupled Device (HJ-CCD), Sentinel2B-Multispectral Imager (S2B-MSI), and the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI-II). The TCG-LAT method is poised for integration into operational systems for disaster monitoring to enable the rapid monitoring of Ulva blooms in nearshore waters, facilitated by the availability of near-real-time satellite images. Full article

Fluoride ions, which interfere with the oxide formation on zirconium have been over-looked until recently. The effect of fluoride ions on oxide formation and dissolution behaviors in zirconium was investigated in this study. A detailed quantitative characterization of the oxide films formed on Zr702 immersed in a fluorinated nitric acid solution was performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and representative high-angle annular dark-field scanning Transmission Electron Microscope, (TEM). The corrosion performance in a fluorinated nitric acid solution was discussed. The results reveal that the thickness of the oxide films immersed in the fluorinated nitric acid solution was between 42–48 nm, which is much thinner than that of the oxide layer (~98.85 nm thickness) in the F⁻ free HNO₃ solution. The oxide film was identified to be a nanocrystalline cluster, comprised of outermost HfO₂ and HfF₄ layers, sub-outer ZrO₂ and ZrF₄ layers, and an innermost Zr (F, O)_3.6 layer. This fluoride species penetration through the oxide films indicated that the fluoride ions are responsible for the dissolution of the oxide film of Zr702. Full article

Thermoelectric devices are both solid-state heat pumps and energy generators. Having a reversible process without moving parts is of high importance for applications in remote locations or under extreme conditions. Yet, most thermoelectric devices have a rather limited energy conversion efficiency due to the natural competition between high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity, both being essential conditions for achieving a high energy conversion efficiency. Heavy-fermion compounds Yb$T_2$Zn${}_{20}$ (T = Co, Rh, Ir) have been reported to be potential candidate materials for thermoelectric applications at low temperatures. Motivated by this result, we applied chemical substitution studies on the transition metal site in order to optimize the charge carrier concentration as well as promote more efficient phonon scatterings. Here, we present the latest investigation on the Ni-doped specimens YbCo${}_{2-x}$Ni${}_x$Zn${}_{20}$, where enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit values have been obtained. Full article

The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) has been used in various countries to assess the mental states of individuals. The objectives of this study were to validate the DASS-21 for use in Guam, an island that endures a high burden of mental health challenges, such as suicide, and examine the predictive impact of selected health indicators on DASS-21 variables. Three years of data (2017–2019) were pooled from the Pacific Islands Cohort of College Students (PICCS) study conducted annually at the University of Guam. In total, 726 students were included in the secondary data analysis. MPlus statistical software was used to perform a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the validation and structural equation modeling (SEM) for the predictive modeling. The results from the CFA suggested an acceptable model fit (RMSEA: 0.073, CFI: 0.901, TLI: 0.889, RMR: 0.044), while SEM suggested that sleep quality and physical activity were significant predictors of DASS-21 variables. Therefore, the DASS-21 is a valid instrument for measuring depression, anxiety, and stress among emerging adults in Guam. Full article

Here, we study the extension of p-trigonometric functions $\mathrm{sinp}$ and $\mathrm{cosp}$ family in complex domains and p-hyperbolic functions $\mathrm{sinhp}$ and the $\mathrm{coshp}$ family in hyperbolic complex domains. These functions satisfy analogous relations as their classical counterparts with some unknown properties. We show the relationship of these two classes of special functions viz. p-trigonometric and p-hyperbolic functions with imaginary arguments. We also show many properties and identities related to the analogy between these two groups of functions. Further, we extend the research bridging the concepts of hyperbolic and elliptical complex numbers to show the properties of logarithmic functions with complex arguments. Full article

Helvella bachu, a prized edible and medicinal fungus, is primarily found in the forests of Populus euphratica, an ancient and endangered species crucial to desert riparian ecosystems. Despite extensive efforts, the isolation of pure cultures and cultivation of fruiting bodies of H. bachu have remained elusive. While some species within the Helvella genus have been confirmed as ectomycorrhizal fungi, others have been considered either saprotrophic or mycorrhizal. By integrating field observations of H. bachu habitat, macro- and micro-anatomical examination of plant root tips, and molecular data from fruiting bodies, mycorrhizae, and host plants, it has been confirmed that H. bachu forms ectomycorrhizal associations with Populus trees. The mycorrhiza of H. bachu displays a light earth color with a curved smooth cylindrical shape. It features a thick mantle and the presence of a Hartig net, accompanied by a small amount of epitaxy mycelia. Morphological observation of the root tips requires meticulous handling, and the paraffin section technique has yielded noteworthy results. Host plants encompass four Populus species, including P. euphratica, P. pruinosa, P. nigra, and P. alba var. pyramidalis (synonym Populus bolleana). A conservation area was established within the young P. euphratica forest at Tarim University, resulting in a 14.75% increase in the quantity of fruiting bodies during the second year. Establishing a conservation area and in situ propagation of H. bachu holds economic and ecological implications. This study will contribute to the conservation of resources related to H. bachu and P. euphratica. Full article

Phytoremediation, an ecological approach aimed at addressing polymetal(loid)lic-contaminated mining soils, has encountered adaptability challenges. Dominant plant species, well-suited to the local conditions, have emerged as promising candidates for this purpose. This study focused on assessing the phytoremediation potential of ten plant species that thrived in heavy metal(loid)-contaminated mining soils. This investigation covered nine heavy metal(loid)s (As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sn, and Zn) in both plants and rhizosphere soils. The results revealed a significant impact of mining activities, with heavy metal(loid) concentrations surpassing the Yunnan Province’s background levels by 1.06 to 362 times, highlighting a significant concern for remediation. The average levels of the heavy metal(loid)s followed the order of As (3.98 × 10³ mg kg⁻¹) > Cu (2.83 × 10³ mg kg⁻¹) > Zn (815 mg kg⁻¹) > Sn (176 mg kg⁻¹) > Pb (169 mg kg⁻¹) > Cr (68.1 mg kg⁻¹) > Ni (36.2 mg kg⁻¹) > Cd (0.120 mg kg⁻¹) > Hg (0.0390 mg kg⁻¹). The bioconcentration factors (BCFs), bioaccumulation factors (BAFs), and translocation factors (TFs) varied among the native plants, indicating diverse adaptation strategies. Low BCFs and BAFs (ranging from 0.0183 to 0.418 and 0.0114 to 0.556, respectively) suggested a low bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)s. Among the species, both J. effusus and P. capitata showed remarkable abilities for As accumulation, while A. adenophora demonstrated a notable accumulation ability for various heavy metal(loid)s, especially Cd, with relatively high BCFs (1.88) and BAFs (3.11), and the TF at 1.66 further underscored the crucial role of translocation in preventing root toxicity. These findings emphasized the potential of these plant species in mine ecological restoration and phytoremediation, guiding targeted environmental rehabilitation strategies. Full article

This study described 17 cases of children admitted to the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital with acute hepatitis of unknown origin between mid-April and November 2022. Following the World Health Organization’s working case definition of probable cases, 17 children, with a median age of 2.1 years (interquartile range: 1.0–7.1), presenting with acute hepatitis non-AE, with serum transaminase >500 IU/L, were included in the study. A pre-specified set of microbiological tests was performed on different biological specimens for all pediatric patients. All patients resulted negative for the common hepatotropic viruses. The most common pathogen detected in blood specimens was human-herpes-virus-7 (52.9%). Adenovirus was detected more frequently in stool specimens (62.5%) than in respiratory (20.0%) or blood samples (17.6%). Regarding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, one child tested positive two days after admission, while antibodies against spike and nucleoprotein were present in 82.3% of patients. A co-pathogen detection was observed in 94.1% of children. Overall, 16 children recovered without clinical complications, while one patient required liver transplantation. In these cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin, adenovirus was mainly detected in stool samples. A co-pathogen detection was also frequently observed, suggesting that the etiology of this acute hepatitis is most probably multifactorial. Full article

Antimicrobial de-escalation (ADE) is defined as the discontinuation of one or more antimicrobials in empirical therapy, or the replacement of a broad-spectrum antimicrobial with a narrower-spectrum antimicrobial. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the available literature on the effectiveness and safety of ADE in critically ill patients, with a focus on special conditions such as anti-fungal therapy and high-risk categories. Although it is widely considered a safe strategy for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), to date, there has been no assessment of the effect of de-escalation on the development of resistance. Conversely, some authors suggest that prolonged antibiotic treatment may be a side effect of de-escalation, especially in high-risk categories such as neutropenic critically ill patients and intra-abdominal infections (IAIs). Moreover, microbiological documentation is crucial for increasing ADE rates in critically ill patients with infections, and efforts should be focused on exploring new diagnostic tools to accelerate pathogen identification. For these reasons, ADE can be safely used in patients with infections, as confirmed by high-quality and reliable microbiological samplings, although further studies are warranted to clarify its applicability in selected populations. Full article

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has spread around the world. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a critical component that directly interacts with host ACE2. Here, we simulate the ACE2 recognition processes of RBD of the WT, Delta, and OmicronBA.2 variants using our recently developed supervised Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (Su-GaMD) approach. We show that RBD recognizes ACE2 through three contact regions (regions I, II, and III), which aligns well with the anchor–locker mechanism. The higher binding free energy in State d of the RBD_OmicronBA.₂-ACE2 system correlates well with the increased infectivity of OmicronBA.2 in comparison with other variants. For RBD_Delta, the T478K mutation affects the first step of recognition, while the L452R mutation, through its nearby Y449, affects the RBD_Delta-ACE2 binding in the last step of recognition. For RBD_OmicronBA.₂, the E484A mutation affects the first step of recognition, the Q493R, N501Y, and Y505H mutations affect the binding free energy in the last step of recognition, mutations in the contact regions affect the recognition directly, and other mutations indirectly affect recognition through dynamic correlations with the contact regions. These results provide theoretical insights for RBD-ACE2 recognition and may facilitate drug design against SARS-CoV-2. Full article

With advancements in medical technology, the structure of disease is shifting from acute illnesses to chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Consequently, there is an escalating need for evaluations that discourse on the potential effects on healthy life years, as well as disease onset. We aimed to evaluate the associations with AD disability-adjusted life year (AD-DALY) rates and protein intake by sex and age group. For the analysis, we used representative values for males and females in their 60s and aged over 70, extracted from the public dataset of the Global Burden of Disease Study and the National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan, covering the years 1990 to 2019. In order to evaluate the association between AD-DALY rates and protein intake, we analyzed correlations and stratified multiple regression models. Additionally, we simulated alterations in AD-DALY rates associated with changes in protein intake by utilizing stratified multiple regression models. AD-DALY rates and protein intake indicated significant negative correlations across all sex and age groups. In stratified multiple regression models, significant associations were found between higher protein intake and lower AD-DALY rates in females. In the simulation, when protein intake was increased to 1.5 g/kg/day, AD-DALY rates decreased by 5–9 percent compared with 2019. However, the association between intake of animal and plant protein and AD-DALY rates were found to vary based on sex and age group. The present study suggests the possibility to improve AD-DALY rates by increasing population average protein intake levels in a recommended range. Full article

Alarmins are immune-activating factors released after cellular injury or death. By secreting alarmins, cells can interact with immune cells and induce a variety of inflammatory responses. The broad family of alarmins involves several members, such as high-mobility group box 1, S100 proteins, interleukin-33, and heat shock proteins, among others. Studies have found that the concentrations and expression profiles of alarmins are altered in immune-mediated diseases. Furthermore, they are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory conditions. The aim of this narrative review is to present the current evidence on the role of alarmins in rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and psoriasis. We discuss their potential involvement in mechanisms underlying the progression of these diseases and whether they could become therapeutic targets. Moreover, we summarize the impact of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of these diseases on the expression of alarmins. Full article

In recent years, blockchain technology has attracted substantial interest for its capability to transform supply chain management and finance. This paper employs evolutionary game theory to investigate the application of blockchain in mitigating financial risks within supply chains, taking into account the technology’s maturity and the risk preferences of financial institutions. By modeling interactions among financial institutions, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and core enterprises within the accounts receivable financing framework, this study evaluates blockchain’s impact on their decision-making and its efficacy in risk reduction. Our findings suggest the transformative potential of blockchain in mitigating financial risks, solving information asymmetry, and enhancing collaboration between financial entities and SMEs. Additionally, we integrate smart contracts into supply chain finance, proposing pragmatic procedures for their deployment in real-world contexts. Via a detailed examination of blockchain’s maturity and financial institutions’ risk preferences, this research demonstrates the primary determinants of strategic decisions in supply chain finance and underscores how blockchain technology fosters system stability using risk mitigation. Our innovative contribution lies in the design of smart contracts for the ARF process, rooted in blockchain’s core attributes of security, transparency, and immutability, thereby ensuring efficient operation and cost reduction in supply chain finance. Full article

Given the importance of maximizing resection for prognosis in patients with HGG and the potential risks associated with ventricle opening, this study aimed to assess the actual increase in post-surgical complications related to lateral ventricle opening and its influence on OS and PFS. A retrospective study was conducted on newly diagnosed HGG, dividing the patients into two groups according to whether the lateral ventricle was opened (69 patients) or not opened (311 patients). PFS, OS, subependymal dissemination, distant parenchymal recurrences, the development of hydrocephalus and CSF leak were considered outcome measures. A cohort of 380 patients (154 females (40.5%) and 226 males (59.5%)) was involved in the study (median age 61 years). The PFS averaged 10.9 months (±13.3 SD), and OS averaged 16.6 months (± 16.3 SD). Among complications, subependymal dissemination was registered in 15 cases (3.9%), multifocal and multicentric progression in 56 cases (14.7%), leptomeningeal dissemination in 12 (3.2%) and hydrocephalus in 8 (2.1%). These occurrences could not be clearly justified by ventricular opening. The act of opening the lateral ventricles itself does not carry an elevated risk of dissemination, hydrocephalus or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. Therefore, if necessary, it should be pursued to achieve radical removal of the disease. Full article

Support vector machines (SVMs) are well-known machine learning algorithms for classification and regression applications. In the healthcare domain, they have been used for a variety of tasks including diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of disease outcomes. This review is an extensive survey on the current state-of-the-art of SVMs developed and applied in the medical field over the years. Many variants of SVM-based approaches have been developed to enhance their generalisation capabilities. We illustrate the most interesting SVM-based models that have been developed and applied in healthcare to improve performance metrics on benchmark datasets, including hybrid classification methods that combine, for instance, optimization algorithms with SVMs. We even report interesting results found in medical applications related to real-world data. Several issues around SVMs, such as selection of hyperparameters and learning from data of questionable quality, are discussed as well. The several variants developed and introduced over the years could be useful in designing new methods to improve performance in critical fields such as healthcare, where accuracy, specificity, and other metrics are crucial. Finally, current research trends and future directions are underlined. Full article

Small $\mathrm{m}\mathrm{N}$-class gridded ion thrusters are usually tested in a vacuum chamber without the use of a neutralizer, relying on self-neutralization of the ion beam due to interaction with facility walls. Langmuir probe measurements performed immediately downstream of such a thruster reveal values of the plasma potential of several hundreds of volts. If this locally very high potential indeed exists, it would have significant impact on the erosion rate of RIT grids and thus reduce the lifetime of thrusters compared to the generally accepted plasma potential of a few tens of volts. Further measurements performed with a movable Langmuir and emissive probes indicate that the probe mount violates the ability of the ion beam to self-neutralize. This is concluded due to dependence of the measured potential value on the degree of neutralization introduced in the experiment. Particle-in-cell and direct-simulation Monte Carlo simulations of the ion beam corresponding to experimental conditions (ion energy $E_{{\mathrm{Xe}}^{+}}=1.5 \mathrm{keV}$ and ion beam current $I_{{\mathrm{Xe}}^{+}}=17 \mathrm{mA}$) are carried out to determine the phenomena responsible for the self-neutralization; mainly, reactions with neutral species such as ionization by electron or ion impact and secondary electron emission (SEE) from the facility walls are compared. Reasonable agreement with measurements is achieved, and SEE is determined to be the primary source of electrons, indicating that facility and measurement disturbance effects majorly influence testing of (non-neutralized) ion beams. Further, limitations of the applicability of probe diagnostics on non-neutralized ion beams are described. Full article

No standardized in vitro cell culture models for glioblastoma (GBM) have yet been established, excluding the traditional two-dimensional culture. GBM tumorspheres (TSs) have been highlighted as a good model platform for testing drug effects and characterizing specific features of GBM, but a detailed evaluation of their suitability and comparative performance is lacking. Here, we isolated GBM TSs and extracellular matrices (ECM) from tissues obtained from newly diagnosed IDH1 wild-type GBM patients and cultured GBM TSs on five different culture platforms: (1) ordinary TS culture liquid media (LM), (2) collagen-based three-dimensional (3D) matrix, (3) patient typical ECM-based 3D matrix, (4) patient tumor ECM-based 3D matrix, and (5) mouse brain. For evaluation, we obtained transcriptome data from all cultured GBM TSs using microarrays. The LM platform exhibited the most similar transcriptional program to paired tissues based on GBM genes, stemness- and invasiveness-related genes, transcription factor activity, and canonical signaling pathways. GBM TSs can be cultured via an easy-to-handle and cost- and time-efficient LM platform while preserving the transcriptional program of the originating tissues without supplementing the ECM or embedding it into the mouse brain. In addition to applications in basic cancer research, GBM TSs cultured in LM may also serve as patient avatars in drug screening and pre-clinical evaluation of targeted therapy and as standardized and clinically relevant models for precision medicine. Full article

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIa) and antimicrobial resistance are expected to be the next threat to human health and are most frequent in people with severe acquired brain injury (SABI), who can be more easily colonized by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). The study’s aim is to investigate the impact of MDRO colonizations and infections on SABI rehabilitation outcomes. This retrospective observational study was performed in a tertiary referral specialized rehabilitation hospital. The main outcomes were the presence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) colonization, type and timing of HAI and MDRO HAI, and the number of CPE transmissions. We included 48 patients, 31% carrying CPE on admission and 33% colonized during the hospitalization. A total of 101 HAI were identified in 40 patients, with an overall incidence of 10.5/1000 patient days. Some 37% of patients had at least one MDRO infection, with a MDRO infection incidence of 2.8/1000 patient days. The number of HAIs was significantly correlated with the length of stay (LOS) (r = 0.453, p = 0.001). A significant correlation was found between colonization and type of hospital room (p = 0.013). Complications and HAI significantly affected LOS. We suggest that CPE carriers might be at risk of HAI and worse outcomes compared with non-CPE carriers. Full article

Basilepta melanopus is a pest that severely affects oil tea plants, and the Notch signaling pathway plays a significant role in the early development of insect ovaries. In this study, we explored the function of the notch gene within the Notch signaling pathway in the reproductive system of B. melanopus. The functional domains and expression patterns of Bmnotch were analyzed. Bmnotch contains 45 epidermal growth factor-like (EGF-like) domains, one negative regulatory region, one NODP domain and one repeat-containing domain superfamily. The qPCR reveals heightened expression in early developmental stages and specific tissues like the head and ovaries. The RNA interference (RNAi)-based suppression of notch decreased its expression by 52.1%, exhibiting heightened sensitivity to dsNotch at lower concentrations. Phenotypic and mating experiments have demonstrated that dsNotch significantly impairs ovarian development, leading to reduced mating frequencies and egg production. This decline underscores the Notch pathway’s crucial role in fecundity. The findings advocate for RNAi-based, Notch-targeted pest control as an effective and sustainable strategy for managing B. melanopus populations, signifying a significant advancement in forest pest control endeavors. Full article