SET-domain group histone methyltransferases (SDGs) are known to play crucial roles in plant responses to abiotic stress. However, their specific function in cotton’s response to drought stress has not been well understood. This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of the SDG gene family in Gossypium hirsutum, identifying a total of 82 SDG genes. An evolutionary analysis revealed that the SDG gene family can be divided into eight subgroups. The expression analysis shows that some GhSDG genes are preferentially expressed in specific tissues, indicating their involvement in cotton growth and development. The transcription level of some GhSDG genes is induced by PEG, with GhSDG59 showing significant upregulation upon polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatment. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis showed that the accumulation of transcripts of the GhSDG59 gene was significantly upregulated under drought stress. Further functional studies using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) revealed that silencing GhSDG59 reduced cotton tolerance to drought stress. Under drought conditions, the proline content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzyme activities in the GhSDG59-silenced plants were significantly lower than in the control plants, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly higher. Transcriptome sequencing showed that silencing the GhSDG59 gene led to significant changes in the expression levels of 1156 genes. The KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly enriched in the carbon metabolism and the starch and sucrose metabolism pathways. The functional annotation analysis identified known drought-responsive genes, such as ERF, CIPK, and WRKY, among these DEGs. This indicates that GhSDG59 is involved in the drought-stress response in cotton by affecting the expression of genes related to the carbon metabolism and the starch and sucrose metabolism pathways, as well as known drought-responsive genes. This analysis provides valuable information for the functional genomic study of SDGs and highlights potential beneficial genes for genetic improvement and breeding in cotton. Full article

The sandstone-type uranium deposit of the Kelulun Depression is the first industrially valuable uranium deposit discovered in the Hailar Basin. This study performed a systematic examination of 17 sandstone samples from the Yimin Formation in the Kelulun Depression based on various analytical techniques. The findings of the current study were synthesized with previous research to investigate the impact of the redox conditions and the tectonic background of the source area, as well as the paleoclimatic evolution of the Yimin Formation on uranium mineralization. The elemental Mo, U/Th, V/Cr, Ni/Co, and V/(V+Ni) ratios indicate that the paleowater was in an oxygen-rich environment during the deposition of the Yimin Formation. Additionally, the C-value, Sr/Cu, Al₂O₃/MgO, and Rb/Sr ratios indicate that the Yimin Formation was formed in a paleoclimate characterized by arid-to-semi-arid conditions. The geochemical characteristics of the observed elements indicated that the sediment source of the Yimin Formation was mainly felsic rocks from the upper continental crust, the weathering of the rock was weak, and the tectonic background was a passive continental margin. Coffinite is distributed in the form of cementation and stellates within or around pyrite crystals, and uranium-titanium oxide is mostly distributed in an irregular granular distribution in the biotite cleavage fractures of the study area. In summary, the findings of this study reveal that the tectonic settings, provenance, uranium source, paleoclimate, and oxygen-rich paleowater of the Yimin Formation have important geological significance for the large-scale uranium mineralization of the Kelulun Depression. Full article

High-nickel ternary materials are currently the most promising lithium battery cathode materials due to their development and application potential. Nevertheless, these materials encounter challenges like cation mixing, lattice oxygen loss, interfacial reactions, and microcracks. These issues are exacerbated at high voltages, compromising their cyclic stability and safety. In this study, we successfully prepared Nb⁵⁺-doped high-nickel ternary cathode materials via a high-temperature solid-phase method. We investigated the impact of Nb⁵⁺ doping on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of LiNi_0.88Co_0.05Mn_0.07O₂ ternary cathode materials by varying the amount of Nb₂O₅ added. The experimental results suggest that Nb⁵⁺ doping does not alter the crystal structure but modifies the particle morphology, yielding radially distributed, elongated, rod-like structures. This morphology effectively mitigates the anisotropic volume changes during cycling, thereby bolstering the material’s cyclic stability. The material exhibits a discharge capacity of 224.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1C and 200.3 mAh g⁻¹ at 1C, within a voltage range of 2.7 V–4.5 V. Following 100 cycles at 1C, the capacity retention rate maintains a high level of 92.9%, highlighting the material’s remarkable capacity retention and cyclic stability under high-voltage conditions. The enhancement of cyclic stability is primarily due to the synergistic effects caused by Nb⁵⁺ doping. Nb⁵⁺ modifies the particle morphology, thereby mitigating the formation of microcracks. The formation of high-energy Nb-O bonds prevents oxygen precipitation at high voltages, minimizes the irreversibility of the H2–H3 phase transition, and thereby enhances the stability of the composite material at high voltages. Full article

Manganese (Mn), a cofactor for various enzyme classes, is an essential trace metal for all organisms. However, overexposure to Mn causes neurotoxicity. Here, we evaluated the effects of exposure to Mn chloride (MnCl₂) on viability, morphology, synapse function (based on neurogranin expression) and behavior of zebrafish larvae. MnCl₂ exposure from 2.5 h post fertilization led to reduced survival (60%) at 5 days post fertilization. Phenotypical changes affected body length, eye and olfactory organ size, and visual background adaptation. This was accompanied by a decrease in both the fluorescence intensity of neurogranin immunostaining and expression levels of the neurogranin-encoding genes nrgna and nrgnb, suggesting the presence of synaptic alterations. Furthermore, overexposure to MnCl₂ resulted in larvae exhibiting postural defects, reduction in motor activity and impaired preference for light environments. Following the removal of MnCl₂ from the fish water, zebrafish larvae recovered their pigmentation pattern and normalized their locomotor behavior, indicating that some aspects of Mn neurotoxicity are reversible. In summary, our results demonstrate that Mn overexposure leads to pronounced morphological alterations, changes in neurogranin expression and behavioral impairments in zebrafish larvae. Full article

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arbovirus spread primarily by Culex mosquitoes, with humans being a dead-end host. WNV was introduced to Florida in 2001, with 467 confirmed cases since. It is estimated that 80 percent of cases are asymptomatic, with mild cases presenting as a non-specific flu-like illness. Currently, detection of WNV in humans occurs primarily in healthcare settings via RT-PCR or CSF IgM when patients present with severe manifestations of disease including fever, meningitis, encephalitis, or acute flaccid paralysis. Given the short window of detectable viremia and requirement for CSF sampling, most WNV infections never receive an official diagnosis. This study utilized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect WNV IgG antibodies in 250 patient serum and plasma samples collected at Tampa General Hospital during 2020 and 2021. Plaque reduction neutralization tests were used to confirm ELISA results. Out of the 250 patients included in this study, 18.8% of them were IgG positive, consistent with previous WNV exposure. There was no relationship between WNV exposure and age or sex. Full article

Background: This investigation is both a study of potential non-invasive diagnostic approaches for the bladder cancer biomarker UBC^® Rapid test and a study including novel comparative methods for bioassay evaluation and comparison that uses bladder cancer as a useful example. The objective of the paper is not to investigate specific data. It is used only for demonstration, partially to compare ROC methodologies and also to show how both sensitivity/specificity and predictive values can be used in clinical diagnostics and decision making. This study includes ROC curves with integrated cut-off distribution curves for a comparison of sensitivity/specificity (SS) and positive/negative predictive values (PPV/NPV or PV), as well as SS-J index/PV-PSI index–ROC curves and SS-J/PV-PSI index cut-off diagrams (J = Youden, PSI = Predictive Summary Index) for the unified direct comparison of SS-J/PV results achieved via quantitative and/or qualitative bioassays and an identification of optimal separate or unified index cut-off points. Patients and Methods: According to the routine diagnostics, there were 91 patients with confirmed bladder cancer and 1152 patients with no evidence of bladder cancer, leading to a prevalence value of 0.073. This study performed a quantitative investigation of used-up test cassettes from the visual UBC^® Rapid qualitative point-of-care assay, which had already been applied in routine diagnostics. Using a photometric reader, quantitative data could also be obtained from the test line of the used cassettes. Interrelations between SS and PV values were evaluated using cumulative distribution analysis (CAD), SS/PV–ROC curves, SS-J/PV-PSI index–ROC curves, and the SS-J/PV-PSI index cut-off diagram. The maximum unified SS-J/PV-PSI index value and its corresponding cut-off value were determined and calculated with the SS-J/PV-PSI index cut-off diagram. Results: The use of SS/PV–ROC curves with integrated cut-off concentration distribution curves provides improved diagnostic information compared to “traditional” ROC curves. The threshold distributions integrated as curves into SS/PV–ROC curves and SS-J/PV-PSI index–ROC curves run in opposite directions. In contrast to the SS–ROC curves, the PV–ROC and the novel PV-PSI index–ROC curves had neither an area under the curve (AUC) nor a range from 0% to 100%. The cut-off level of the qualitative assay was 7.5 µg/L, with a sensitivity of 65.9% and a specificity of 63.3%, and the PPV was 12.4% and the NPV was 95.9%, at a threshold value of 12.5 µg/L. Based on these set concentrations, the reader-based evaluation revealed a graphically estimated 5% increase in sensitivity and a 13% increase in specificity, as compared to the visual qualitative POC test. In the case of predictive values, there was a gain of 8% for PPV and 10% for NPV. The index values and cut-offs were as follows: visual SS-J index, 0.328 and 35 µg/L; visual PV-PSI index, 0.083 and 5.4 µg/L; maximal reader Youden index, 0.0558 and 250 µg/L; and maximal PV-PSI index, 0.459 and 250 µg/L, respectively. The maximum unified SS-J/PV-PSI index value was 0.32, and the cut-off was 43 µg/L. The reciprocal SS-J index correctly detected one out of three patients, while the reciprocal PV-PSI index gave one out of twelve patients a correct diagnosis. Conclusions: ROC curves including cut-off distribution curves supplement the information lost in “traditionally plotted” ROC curves. The novel sets of ROC and index–ROC curves and the new SS/PV index cut-off diagrams enable the simultaneous comparison of sensitivity/specificity and predictive value profiles of diagnostic tools and the identification of optimal cut-off values at maximal index values, even in a unifying SS/PV approach. Because the curves within an SS-J/PV-PSI index cut-off diagram are distributed over the complete cut-off range of a quantitative assay, this field is open for special clinical considerations, with the need to vary the mentioned clinical diagnostic parameters. Complete or partial areas over the x-axis (AOX) can be calculated for summarized quantitative or qualitative effectivity evaluations with respect to single and/or unified SS-J and PV-PSI indices and with respect to single, several, or several unified assays. The SS-J/PV-PSI index-AOX approach is a new tool providing additional joint clinical information, and the reciprocal SS-J indices can predict the number of patients with a correct diagnosis and the number of persons who need to be examined in order to correctly predict a diagnosis of the disease. These methods could be used in applications like medical or plant epidemiology, machine learning algorithms, and neural networks. Full article

The effect of different stretches during warm-up on subsequent performance has been studied. However, no reviews are found in which a meta-analytical analysis is used. The aim was to synthesise the effects of different types of stretching included in the warm-up on jumping performance and ROM. The Cochrane, Sport Discus, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched. The inclusion criteria included studies analysing the effect of different stretching in the warm-up, on a vertical jump or lower-limb ROM. Sixteen studies were eligible for meta-analysis. In vertical jumping, SS led to a non-significant decrease in jump height (SMD = −0.17 95%CI [−0.39, 0.04]; I² = 16%; Z = 1.57; p = 0.30), and DS led to a non-significant increase in jump height (SMD = 0.12, 95%CI [−0.05, 0.29]; I² = 4%; Z = 1.34; p = 0.41). Statistically significant differences were observed between stretches (p = 0.04). Regarding ROM, both stretches showed improvements compared to the control intervention (SS:SMD = 0.40, 95%CI [0.05, 0.74]; SD:SMD = 0.48, 95%CI [0.13, 0.83]). However, no differences were observed (p = 0.73) between static and dynamic stretching. A greater presence of dynamic stretching is recommended in the warm-up of those sports that require a good jump height and range of motion. Full article

Mutations in the LMNA gene-encoding A-type lamins can cause Limb–Girdle muscular dystrophy Type 1B (LGMD1B). This disease presents with weakness and wasting of the proximal skeletal muscles and has a variable age of onset and disease severity. This variability has been attributed to genetic background differences among individuals; however, such variants have not been well characterized. To identify such variants, we investigated a multigeneration family in which affected individuals are diagnosed with LGMD1B. The primary genetic cause of LGMD1B in this family is a dominant mutation that activates a cryptic splice site, leading to a five-nucleotide deletion in the mature mRNA. This results in a frame shift and a premature stop in translation. Skeletal muscle biopsies from the family members showed dystrophic features of variable severity, with the muscle fibers of some family members possessing cores, regions of sarcomeric disruption, and a paucity of mitochondria, not commonly associated with LGMD1B. Using whole genome sequencing (WGS), we identified 21 DNA sequence variants that segregate with the family members possessing more profound dystrophic features and muscle cores. These include a relatively common variant in coiled-coil domain containing protein 78 (CCDC78). This variant was given priority because another mutation in CCDC78 causes autosomal dominant centronuclear myopathy-4, which causes cores in addition to centrally positioned nuclei. Therefore, we analyzed muscle biopsies from family members and discovered that those with both the LMNA mutation and the CCDC78 variant contain muscle cores that accumulated both CCDC78 and RyR1. Muscle cores containing mislocalized CCDC78 and RyR1 were absent in the less profoundly affected family members possessing only the LMNA mutation. Taken together, our findings suggest that a relatively common variant in CCDC78 can impart profound muscle pathology in combination with a LMNA mutation and accounts for variability in skeletal muscle disease phenotypes. Full article

In this paper, we present sufficient conditions for Hyers–Ulam-Rassias stability of nonlinear implicit higher-order Volterra-type integrodifferential equations from above on unbounded time scales. These new sufficient conditions result by reducing Volterra-type integrodifferential equations to Volterra-type integral equations, using the Banach fixed point theorem, and by applying an appropriate Bielecki type norm, the Lipschitz type functions, where Lipschitz coefficient is replaced by unbounded rd-continuous function. Full article

Thermoelectric (TE) materials play a crucial role in converting energy between heat and electricity, essentially for environmentally friendly renewable energy conversion technologies aimed at addressing the global energy crisis. Significant advances in TE performance have been achieved over the past decades in various TE materials through key approaches, such as nanostructuring, band engineering, and high-entropy engineering. Among them, the design of high-entropy materials has recently emerged as a forefront strategy to achieve significantly low thermal conductivity, attributed to severe lattice distortion and microstructure effects, thereby enhancing the materials’ figure of merit (zT). This review reveals the progress of high-entropy TE materials developed in the past decade. It discusses high-entropy-driven structural stabilization to maintain favorable electrical transport properties, achieving low lattice thermal conductivity, and the impact of high entropy on mechanical properties. Furthermore, the review explores the theoretical development of high-entropy TE material and discusses potential strategies for future advancements in this field through interactions among experimental and theoretical studies. Full article

Given the rapid growth of the Cannabis industry, developing practices for producing young plants with limited genetic variation and efficient growth is crucial to achieving reliable and successful cultivation results. This study presents a multi-faceted experiment series analyzing propagation techniques for evaluating proficiency in the growth and development of Cannabis vegetative cuttings. This research encompasses various (1) soilless propagation methods including aeroponics, horticultural (phenolic) foam, and rockwool; (2) transplant timings; (3) aeroponic spray intervals; and (4) aeroponic reservoir nutrient concentrations, to elucidate their impact on rooting and growth parameters amongst two Cannabis cultivars. Aeroponics was as effective as, and in some cases more effective than, soilless propagation media for root development and plant growth. In aeroponic systems, continuous spray intervals, compared to intermittent, result in a better promotion of root initiation and plant growth. Moreover, raised nutrient concentrations in aeroponic propagation demonstrated greater rooting and growth. The effects of experimental treatment were dependent on the cultivar and sampling day. These findings offer valuable insights into how various propagation techniques and growth parameters can be tailored to enhance the production of vegetative cuttings. These results hold critical implications for cultivators intending to achieve premium harvests through efficient propagule methods and optimization strategies in the competitive Cannabis industry. Ultimately, our findings suggest that aeroponic propagation, compared to alternative soilless methods, is a rapid and efficient process for cultivating vegetative cuttings of Cannabis and offers sustainable advantages in resource conservation and preservation. Full article

This study outlines a comprehensive strategy for designing and implementing robust controllers tailored for intelligent structures. This study presents a robust control-based structural identification technique that uses the input/output data of the system to construct a state-space mode and frequency domain. To reduce vibrations, a robust controller is created using the control Simulink model. The identification and robust control of smart structures using Simulink involve a combination of system identification techniques and control design within the MATLAB Simulink environment. The key challenge is dealing with uncertainties and variations in system dynamics. Robust control methods have been employed to suppress the vibrations during dynamic disturbances. These methods are important for mechanical systems operating under stochastic loading conditions. Full article

Knowledge of hydrogen locations and protonation states is critical for a fundamental understanding of biological macromolecular function/interactions, and neutron macromolecular crystallography (NMX) is uniquely suited among the experimental structural-determination methods to provide this information. However, despite its potential, NMX remains a relatively niche technique, due to substantial limitations. This review explores NMX’s role amongst the evolving landscape of structural biology, comparing and contrasting it to the historical gold standard of X-ray macromolecular crystallography (X-ray MX) and the increasingly prevalent electron-based methods—i.e., electron microscopy (EM) and electron diffraction (ED). Forthcoming developments (e.g., the European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden, coming online) are expected to substantially address current limitations and ensure NMX will remain relevant in the coming decades. Full article

This article introduces an analytical framework that interprets individual measures of entropy-based mobility derived from mobile phone data. We explore and analyze two widely recognized entropy metrics: random entropy and uncorrelated Shannon entropy. These metrics are estimated through collective variables of human mobility, including movement trends and population density. By employing a collisional model, we establish statistical relationships between entropy measures and mobility variables. Furthermore, our research addresses three primary objectives: firstly, validating the model; secondly, exploring correlations between aggregated mobility and entropy measures in comparison to five economic indicators; and finally, demonstrating the utility of entropy measures. Specifically, we provide an effective population density estimate that offers a more realistic understanding of social interactions. This estimation takes into account both movement regularities and intensity, utilizing real-time data analysis conducted during the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

Acute lung injury, a fatal condition characterized by a high mortality rate, necessitates urgent exploration of treatment modalities. Utilizing UHPLS-Q-Exactive Orbitrap/MS, our study scrutinized the active constituents present in Rosa roxburghii-fermented juice (RRFJ) while also assessing its protective efficacy against LPS-induced ALI in mice through lung histopathological analysis, cytokine profiling, and oxidative stress assessment. The protective mechanism of RRFJ against ALI in mice was elucidated utilizing metabolomics, network pharmacology, and molecular docking methodologies. Our experimental findings demonstrate that RRFJ markedly ameliorates pathological injuries in ALI-afflicted mice, mitigates systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, enhances energy metabolism, and restores dysregulated amino acid and arachidonic acid metabolic pathways. This study indicates that RRFJ can serve as a functional food for adjuvant treatment of ALI. Full article

Considering the essential expansion of agricultural production, current research primarily focuses on static factors, such as the distribution of fine-grained arable land, omitting an in-depth analysis of its developmental dynamics and key drivers. Addressing this knowledge gap is crucial for enhancing the scalability of agricultural production. This research utilizes landscape ecology techniques, correlation analysis, random forest algorithms, and structural equation modeling to explore spatial pattern trends of arable land in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Its objective is to clarify how the expansion of agricultural production scale affects food production through changes in arable land patterns and to determine the impact of socio-economic factors on these configurations. The results show that: (1) the landscape pattern of arable land is transitioning to a more fragmented arrangement with complex contours, (2) grain yield per unit area correlates positively with the landscape pattern index in Beijing, negatively in Hebei, and exhibits no significant correlation in Tianjin, and (3) land ownership plays a crucial role in land fragmentation, alterations in land morphology, and influences other socio-economic variables. Analyzing the spatial pattern of arable land in conjunction with socio-economic factors is essential for developing holistic land management approaches, improving resource efficiency, minimizing external inputs, and mitigating food security challenges. Full article

In this paper, we consider the problem of asynchronous estimation in the presence of packet losses for the randomly sampling nonlinear system. Packet losses occur at the control input and at the measurement side. Firstly, the synchronization of the asynchronous sampling system is realized by weighting the state of the adjacent state update points. Secondly, the projection theorem is used to estimate the system state at the sampling time. Due to modeling errors and unmodeled dynamics, obtaining an accurate dynamic model is challenging. Therefore, observation inference based on interpolation techniques is proposed to solve the asynchronous estimation problem. Furthermore, the algorithm is extended to multi-sensor systems to obtain a distributed fusion estimator. Finally, simulation experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. Full article

The large variation in vertebral shape and calcification observed among elasmobranch species prevents using a single method for enhancing growth bands and reading age. Further, estimating age and growth parameters can be difficult or impractical when samples are incomplete due to the bycatch of a size-selective fishery. Using a single and rapid method, age readings were obtained on the vertebrae of four batoid species, namely 53 individuals of Dasyatis pastinaca, 51 of Raja asterias, 15 of Torpedo marmorata, and 55 specimens of Torpedo torpedo, from the local small-scale trammel net fishery in the coastal waters (5–20 m depth) of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea during 2019–2021. Based on these data, a statistical routine was developed to obtain multiple estimates of age and growth parameters for incomplete samples due to size-selective fishing. The acceptable agreement between and within readers (intra and inter-reader disagreement < 5%) and the rate of increase in vertebral size with body size (differently ranked across species) demonstrated the consistency of the enhancing method. The parameters estimated by the Von Bertalanffy and Gompertz growth models matched the data available in the Mediterranean Sea for the species studied, with D. pastinaca, T. torpedo, and R. asterias showing the lowest (k = 0.05–0.12), intermediate (k = 0.112–0.19), and highest (k = 0.18–0.23) growth rates, respectively, in line with the life history traits of these species. Overall, the method proved effective both in delineating band pairs in vertebrae of different species and in reliably estimating the age and growth parameters of problematic samples due to size-selective fishing. The proposed method supports the collection of comparable demographic data from other areas where similar multi-specific assemblages are bycatch of size-selective fisheries impacting potential nursery areas and other essential habitats for elasmobranchs. Full article

As the transportation industry seeks sustainable alternatives to internal combustion engine trucks (ICET), understanding the dynamics behind battery electric truck (BET) adoption becomes essential. This paper explores the critical factors influencing the procurement decision for BET in the freight transportation sector, employing a novel combination of fuzzy logic and the Delphi method to bridge qualitative assessments and quantitative analysis. Through a comprehensive literature review and expert consultations via the Delphi method, the research identifies the barriers to BET adoption, including initial investment costs, charging infrastructure, and legislative clarity. Fuzzy logic is then applied to model these factors’ impacts on the purchasing decision, translating subjective judgments into a structured analytical framework. This approach enables the assessment of BETs’ viability against ICETs, considering the total cost of ownership (TCO), travel time (TT) ratios, and perceived social benefits. While economic factors primarily drive the purchasing decision, the study reveals that social utility also plays a crucial role. This research contributes to the sustainable transportation literature by offering a detailed model of the decision-making process for BET procurement, providing valuable insights for industry professionals, policymakers, and academics committed to advancing environmentally friendly freight solutions. Full article

Tchaikovsky enjoyed composing Yevgeni Onegin. He expressed his fulfillment in a famous letter to Sergey Taneyev. What could his enthusiasm convey about the content of the project? Music criticism has taken Tchaikovsky’s words as proof for the thesis that the opera is connected to autobiographical circumstances. In this mode of thinking, the quality of Tchaikovsky’s music is the result of the composer’s identification with the subject matter. Despite the objection of several Tchaikovsky scholars, the autobiographical paradigm remains very much alive in the reception of Tchaikovsky’s music. As an alternative, Tchaikovsky scholarship has explored a hermeneutical approach that would link his music to its context in Russian society and culture. In this paper, I present another possible reaction to Tchaikovsky’s statement: an exploration of the composer’s approach to musical characterization. Analysis of some key scenes reveals that the definition of characters and situations by musical means is more precise than standard interpretations of the opera would concede. This discovery may lead to a new assessment of characterization as a critical tool to refine the definition of Tchaikovsky’s position in European music history. The method may be applied to examples outside his operatic output, such as Serenade for Strings and the Fifth Symphony. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented surge in respiratory illness cases worldwide. Although uncommon, pulmonary cavitation has been reported as a potential complication of COVID-19. This case series report describes four cases of COVID-19 patients with lung cavities, highlighting the various causes and clinical manifestations of this complication, and a review of the literature on the presence of lung cavities in COVID-19 patients. In two cases, the cavities were most likely due to secondary bacterial superinfections, with one case being complicated by multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Another case developed cavities secondary to a fungal infection, while the third case was directly caused by SARS-CoV-2 invasion in the lungs. The presence of cavities with or without air-fluid level or pneumothorax in COVID-19 patients should be considered as a potential complication of this infection, especially in those with respiratory symptoms. Physicians should remain vigilant for the development of pulmonary cavitation in COVID-19 patients, particularly those receiving high doses of steroids. Additionally, spontaneous pneumothorax should be considered an alarming sign in COVID-19 patients. Full article

This essay aims to explore the theoretical limitations that hidden curricula—hidden normative values, beliefs, and knowledge that are often considered problematic—place on our understanding of teacher–pupil relationships. It applies Habermas’ theory of communicative action—synonymous with mutual understanding and predicated on his concept of the lifeworld—to analyse hidden curricula. It finds that hidden curricula limit teachers’ comprehension of teacher–pupil relationships dependent on pupils’ responses to teacher-level hidden curricula. Where they respond with compliance, pupils limit expressions of their subjectivity; conversely, where they reject teacher-level hidden curricula, pupils’ subjective lifeworlds are already disrupted by them. Both responses impede teachers’ understanding of teacher–pupil relationships. In addition, pupil-level hidden curricula, which are often asymmetrical and oriented in response to teacher-level hidden curricula, present another barrier to teachers unveiling hidden curricula and the subjectivities of teacher–pupil relationships. In effect, pupil-level hidden curricula render teachers ‘alone in a crowd’. Finally, I argue that systematically examining hidden curricula represents strategic action—communicative action’s counterpoint—and colonisation of pupils’ lifeworlds. While hidden curricula present significant theoretical limitations to understanding teacher–pupil relationships, teachers might use this as a ‘pedagogical hinge’, freeing them from the unknowable and uncontrollable to a more practical view of teacher–pupil relationships. Full article