ARPHA OAI-PMH Endpoint
Not a member yet
49206 research outputs found
Sort by
The key role of humidity for the survival of cave beetles in a context of climate change
No full textClimate change is altering the environmental conditions of subterranean ecosystems, leading to warmer and drier caves across many regions. Despite growing evidence of the high heat sensitivity of cave-dwelling arthropods, the role of humidity as a limiting factor remains largely unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, we experimentally assessed the combined effects of temperature and humidity on the survival of four Pyrenean cave beetles (Euryspeonomus eloseguii, Troglocharinus impellitieri, T. hustachei, and Stygiophyes ribagorzanus). Adult beetles were exposed to eight combinations of temperature (11, 20, 23, and 25 °C) and relative humidity (100% and 75% RH) for seven days under controlled laboratory conditions. Survival was monitored daily, and Cox proportional-hazards models were used to analyze treatment effects. Our results showed a significant interaction between temperature and humidity across all species. By the end of the experiment, no individuals survived under 75% relative humidity at any temperature, nor at 23 °C or 25 °C in any humidity condition. Particularly, E. eloseguii and T. impellitieri were highly sensitive to humidity reduction, with no survival beyond 48 hours at 75% RH regardless of temperature. E. eloseguii also exhibited the lowest heat tolerance, with complete mortality at 20 °C even under saturated humidity. Our findings highlight the extreme vulnerability of subterranean beetles to desiccation and heat. Even moderate humidity reductions can drastically reduce survival, underscoring the need to consider combined climatic stressors when assessing the conservation status of subterranean species under climate change
Targeting HER2: a decade of progress in breast and gastric cancer therapy
No full textBackground: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a key member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family and a crucial driver of tumorigenesis in breast and gastric cancers. HER2 amplification and overexpression are associated with poor prognosis, making HER2 an essential therapeutic target. Over the last two decades, significant advancements in HER2-targeted therapies have transformed the treatment landscape, with numerous monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and antibody–drug conjugates providing substantial survival benefits. Aim: This review aims to summarize the progress in HER2-targeted therapies for breast and gastric cancer over the past decade, highlighting their mechanisms of action, clinical applications, patient selection, and associated side effects. Materials and methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Studies published between 2013 and 2023, written in English, and focused on HER2-positive breast or gastric cancers were included. Eligible articles comprised clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and real-world studies that evaluated the mechanism, efficacy, safety, or resistance patterns of HER2-targeted therapies such as trastuzumab, pertuzumab, ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), and lapatinib. Exclusion criteria were studies involving HER2-negative cancers, non-human or preclinical research without clinical correlation, case reports, editorials, conference abstracts, and non-English publications without available translations. Results: HER2-targeted therapies have shown remarkable efficacy in both early and advanced stages of HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers. Trastuzumab remains the cornerstone of treatment, while pertuzumab improves outcomes in combination regimens. Antibody–drug conjugates such as T-DM1 and T-DXd offer novel mechanisms to deliver cytotoxic agents directly to cancer cells, improving therapeutic indices and reducing systemic toxicity. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors like lapatinib provide unique advantages in treating brain metastases and overcoming resistance. Conclusion: The last decade has seen tremendous progress in HER2-targeted therapies, revolutionizing the management of HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers. Continued innovation and clinical trials promise to extend these advancements, improving patients’ survival and quality of life. The integration of novel agents, personalized approaches, and enhanced understanding of tumor biology will be instrumental in overcoming current limitations and shaping the future of HER2-targeted cancer therapy
Small, enigmatic alligatoroid from the Middle Eocene Clarno Formation, John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon
No full textAlligatoroidea is the crocodylian superfamily that includes extant alligators, caimans and many related extinct taxa. Palaeogene North America offers a rich record of alligatoroid diversity representing more than a dozen forms. The Eocene-aged Hancock Mammal Quarry (HMQ, Clarno Formation, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, central Oregon, USA) has yielded two crocodylian fossils, a right humerus and the anterior portion of a left lower jaw from an unknown alligatoroid. Though fragmentary, discrete morphological traits of the HMQ alligatoroid are shared with several contemporaneous alligatoroids, but the suite of character states is unique. Though its phylogenetic placement is uncertain, the presence of an alligatoroid in north-western North America, along with the biostratigraphic record of other Palaeogene alligatoroids and Asian floral and faunal associations of the HMQ suggest that an Asian origin for the taxon is plausible
A new species of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, India
No full textA new species of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus (slender geckos) is described from the Tirumala Hill ranges in the Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve of the southern Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, southern India. This novel species exhibits 9.7–12.9% divergence in uncorrected pairwise distances of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) sequence data from its closely related congeners in peninsular India, namely H. jnana (9.5–12.6%), H. nilgiriensis (10.9–12.9%), and H. peninsularis (10.5–11.2%), and had previously been suggested as an undescribed species by earlier researchers based on molecular phylogenetic analyses. The new species, represented by five individuals, reached a maximum observed snout–vent length (SVL) of 33.7 mm and differs from its peninsular Indian congeners by the following combination of characters: 12–16 chin scales; 16–17 dorsal scales; 9–11 ventral scales at midbody; males with 6–8 precloacal pores and 5–7 femoral pores on each thigh, separated by 7–10 poreless scales; and lamellar formula of manus 2-2-2-2 and pes 2-2-2-2. This is the second species of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus to be reported from Andhra Pradesh, after H. arakuensis
Fallopia convolvulus (L.) Á. Löve: Review of traditional use, phytochemistry and pharmacology
No full textFallopia convolvulus (L.) Á. Löve, a widely distributed species of the Polygonaceae family, has long been valued in traditional medicine for its diverse therapeutic applications. This review investigates its phytochemical composition, traditional uses, and pharmacological potential, placing the plant in the broader context of natural product research. Bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, anthraquinones, steroids, and phenolic acids, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities, are compiled and analyzed. Modern techniques have identified novel compounds like falloconvolin A and B, as well as compounds with estrogenic and neuroprotective properties. To support this analysis, information was sourced from ethnobotanical, phytochemical, pharmacological, and clinical studies, utilizing databases like PubMed, Science Direct, and ResearchGate. This comprehensive analysis underscores the importance of further research to elucidate the mechanisms of action of its bioactive constituents and to explore its potential for pharmaceutical innovation. Fallopia convolvulus represents a promising, sustainable resource for developing novel therapeutic agents, bridging traditional medicine with modern science
Using Generative Artificial Intelligence to Improve User Engagement in Content Marketing
No full textThe use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is revolutionising how companies create digital content on social networks. However, how users respond to this content remains less explored. The aim of this article is to compare GenAI-generated content with human-generated content on Instagram. First, through a survey of 273 students, we explored user engagement with the eSports team’s content on Instagram. Second, we measured followers’ engagement behaviors (i.e., “likes”, comments, shares and reach) with GenAI-generated content versus human-created content. Results indicate that both GenAI tools (ChatGPT and Gemini) achieved similar levels of engagement in terms of “likes”. ChatGPT stood out for its use of interactive features like opinion polls, particularly in “stories”, while Gemini excelled in total reach and visibility. In contrast, human-generated content attracted a higher proportion of non-followers, suggesting a stronger potential to expand the existing audience. These findings underscore the advantages of adopting a hybrid strategy that combines the scalability and speed of GenAI with the contextual relevance and authenticity of human-created content
Exploring Discourse Markers for Automated Argument Mining in Student Essays
No full textThis paper explores Natural Language Processing (NLP) in automatic comprehension and discourse analysis, focusing on argument mining. While previous works have focused on English, this study addresses the lack of adequate corpora and methodologies for Brazilian Portuguese. The researchers employed a corpus of essays from Brazil's National High School Exam (ENEM) to investigate the impact of discourse markers on identifying argumentative structures using feature engineering with machine learning. The proposed methodology offers key advantages over transformer-based approaches: enhanced interpretability of feature selection, computational efficiency, and improved adaptability across different linguistic domains. By systematically 'opening the black box' of machine learning models, this approach provides insights into the discourse marker identification decision-making process, in contrast to the opaque neural network models. Unlike the transformers-based solutions, this approach offers a transparent solution based on feature engineering allowing insights into the linguistic patterns underlying argumentative structures in Portuguese. While acknowledging the relatively small corpus size as a limitation, the researchers suggest that future work should focus on expanding the dataset for further evaluation. This work lays the groundwork for advancing NLP in Portuguese by providing valuable features and methodologies for feature engineering in automated linguistic analysis tasks such as essay scoring, opinion mining, and text summarization. The findings demonstrated a significant breakthrough, revealing that a concise set of only five argument mining-derived features dramatically improved the model accuracy, surpassing the performance of an initial, extensive set of over 600 features. These features specifically enhanced the evaluation of Competence 5, which assesses students' ability to develop intervention proposals grounded in scientific concepts.
Factors of Digital Overload among Russian Teachers
No full textThe digital transformation of education, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased teachers’ workload, triggering digital overload, a condition characterized by cognitive exhaustion and impaired work-life balance. The aim of the study was to empirically test a comprehensive model of organizational-environmental and individual-personal factors of teachers’ digital overload and its potential impact on their intention to quit. A sample of 314 teachers (96% women, average age 45) was surveyed using scales assessing the digital climate of the organization, digital competence, digital engagement, digital self-efficacy, digital overload, and intention to quit. Data were analyzed using path analysis, including the assessment of indirect effects. The results confirmed a positive relationship between teachers’ digital overload and their intention to quit. The supportive digital climate of educational organizations, as an organizational-environmental factor, did not significantly affect digital overload, which contrasts with previous studies. By contrast, individual-personal factors emerged more prominently. Teachers’ digital self-efficacy reduced their digital overload, while digital engagement with educational digital resources increased it. Moreover, digital competence and digital engagement reduced overload through higher digital self-efficacy. Interestingly, digital engagement directly increased digital overload but indirectly reduced it through enhanced digital self-efficacy. These findings are discussed in relation to previous research, with emphasis on their practical implications
The impact of climate change on the distribution and diversity of desiccation-tolerant vascular plants in West Africa
No full textBackground and aimsClimate change affects global biodiversity, and species such as desiccation-tolerant vascular plants (DT plants) remain largely neglected in conservation objectives and individual initiatives, West Africa is no exception. Our study aims to assess the impact of climate change on DT plant distribution and diversity in West Africa.Material and methodsIn this study, we use all DT plants described to West Africa and their occurrences, and employ species distribution models to depict changes in their distribution and diversity when comparing present and future climate change conditions.Key resultsWe identified a consistent contraction of DT plants’ distribution ranges and a significant shrinkage of their centres of diversity and endemism.ConclusionIt is imperative that future research and on-the-ground conservation efforts should focus on species-specific conservation needs, including closely monitoring DT species with small distribution ranges and assessing the conservation requirements of DT species with broad distribution ranges. It should also be stressed the urgency of integrating climate projections into the conservation planning of DT plants worldwide to ensure that effective conservation strategies include the expansion of protected areas specifically designed to improve stewardship of conserved DT plants
Description of new sand-dwelling Rhynchothorax species (Pycnogonida, Rhynchothoracidae) from Korean waters with note on novel morphological traits
No full textA new species belonging to the genus Rhynchothorax was discovered in a subtidal sandy patch off the eastern coast of Jejudo Island, Republic of Korea. The new species, Rhynchothorax arenigenus sp. nov., is morphologically close to R. nopperabo, R. philopsammum, and R. vallatus, but can be distinguished by a combination of morphological characters: an ectal tubercle at the lateral extension of cephalic segment, the lateral process intervals, the arrangement of spines and tubercles on the lateral processes, the oviger spine formula, leg tuberculation, and the relative length of auxiliary claws. We highlight three morphological traits in the present species: a pair of ventral furrows on the proboscis, variable lateral process intervals, and the structure of oviger terminal claw. Notably, the ventral furrows are described here for the first time within the genus and may have been overlooked in other Rhynchothorax species. Additionally, partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) are provided to support species delimitation and to facilitate future phylogenetic research