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MUSE IFU observations of galaxies hosting of Tidal Disruption Events
No full textWe present an analysis of twenty tidal disruption event (TDE) host galaxies observed with the MUSE integral-field spectrograph on ESO VLT. We investigate the presence of extended emission line regions (EELRs) and study stellar populations mostly at sub-kpc scale around the host nuclei. EELRs are detected in 5/20 hosts, including two unreported systems. All EELRs are found at z < 0.045, suggesting a distance bias and faint EELRs may be missed at higher redshift. EELRs only appear in post-merger systems and all such hosts at z < 0.045 show them. Thus, we conclude that TDEs and galaxy mergers have a strong relation, and >45% of post-merger hosts in the sample exhibit EELRs. Furthermore, we constrained the distributions of stellar masses near the central black holes (BHs), using the spectral synthesis code Starlight and BPASS stellar evolution models. The youngest nuclear populations have typical ages of ∼1 Gyr and stellar masses below 2.5M⊙. The populations that can produce observable TDEs around non-rotating BHs are dominated by subsolar-mass stars. 3/4 TDEs requiring larger stellar masses exhibit multi-peaked light curves, possibly implying relation to repeated partial disruptions of high-mass stars. The found distributions are in tension with the masses of the stars derived using light curve models. Mass segregation of the disrupted stars can enhance the rate of TDEs from supersolar-mass stars but our study implies that low-mass TDEs should still be abundant and even dominate the distribution, unless there is a mechanism that prohibits low-mass TDEs or their detection
Explainable fault classification mechanism using solar data based on ensemble paradigm for efficient hydrogen energy production
No full textThe efficiency of green hydrogen production, which primarily relies on solar energy, depends on the optimal operation of the solar panels. Traditional machine learning (ML) approaches for solar panel fault classification face critical limitations, including poor performance on imbalanced datasets and limited transparency in decision-making. These methods tend to favor majority classes, leading to the misclassification of rare but essential fault types, which can significantly reduce the efficiency of hydrogen production. This work addresses these challenges by introducing an Explainable Ensemble Fault Classification (EEFC) model that integrates multiple classifiers through a voting-based ensemble strategy. For comprehensive evaluation, the EEFC model is compared not only with individual learners (GB, CB, XGBoost, LGBM, and RF) but also with other ensemble approaches such as stacking and blending, ensuring a fair benchmark. Experimental results on highly imbalanced and resampled datasets (SMOTE and ADASYN) demonstrate that EEFC consistently outperforms all baselines, achieving the highest F1-score (0.893) and MCC (0.869) under ADASYN, indicating superior balanced classification performance. To further validate its generalizability, the proposed EEFC model was also tested on an open-source wind turbine dataset, where it maintained strong performance across F1-score and MCC. Furthermore, the integration of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques, specifically SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), provides model interpretability by identifying key features contributing to fault detection and classification. To ensure comprehensive evaluation, an ablation study is carried out to further validates the contributions of individual components in the EEFC framework. The proposed model enhances solar panel fault management, ensures more reliable hydrogen production, and improves the transparency and robustness of decision-making in renewable energy systems. The full implementation is available at Github.</p
Spirituality and religion and the role in improving teaching approaches to diversity and inclusion in the nursing and midwifery curriculum: an explanatory sequential multi-methods study
No full textBackgroundSpirituality and religion play an important role in many people’s lives. While healthcare professionals support people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and belief systems, these dimensions are often missing from assessments and care plans. Using the lens of nursing and midwifery students and academic teaching staff, this study sought to explore how the concepts of spirituality and religion could be better incorporated into nursing and midwifery teaching programmes, while acting as a possible conduit for exploring the richness of diversity and inclusion.MethodsAn explanatory sequential multi-methods study, to include an online survey (n = 114 responses) and focus groups (n = 11 participants). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Integration of the quantitative and qualitative data was achieved through a pillar integration process.ResultsThe concept of spirituality was viewed as predominately positive, something personal to individuals and linked to how people make sense of their place in the world. Religion was seen as a connectedness to a community with common beliefs and a shared identity. However, the rules and regulations associated with religion, were perceived by some respondents as leading to intolerance and the exclusion of others. Overall, participants believed that greater awareness of spirituality and religion could help people to be more aware and to be more welcoming of diversity leading to greater inclusion. Participants believed that these concepts should be included in teaching programmes and integrated with clinical practice.ConclusionsStudents and clinical practitioners should be encouraged to increase their knowledge and awareness towards spiritual and religious issues. This awareness may begin with students and clinical practitioners reflecting on their own beliefs and values enabling them to be more sensitive to and respond to the beliefs and values of others. Insights gained by this study may be valuable to healthcare educators and policymakers highlighting the need for greater awareness of spirituality and religion in health and social care training.<br/
Ethno‐religious socialization among majority and minority group children in a post‐conflict society
No full textFamilies vary in the extent to which they socialize their children about their racial or ethnic identities (i.e., family ethnic socialization). Research on family ethnic socialization has primarily been done in the United States, and there, researchers have established at least four dimensions of socialization (cultural, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and egalitarianism). We adapt and extend existing measures to understand how Catholic (historically the minority group) and Protestant (historically the majority group) parents socialize their children in the post-conflict society of Northern Ireland. Across three timepoints (N = 192; 87% mothers; 94% White), we assessed ethno-religious socialization in Northern Ireland. We documented variability between families in each subscale but found little evidence for systematic linear change. Further analyses showed that each subscale was uniquely related to theoretically relevant antecedents and/or consequences (i.e., strength of identity, perceived victimhood, nervousness in intergroup contact, and child prosocial behaviors).<br/
Human genetics suggests differing causal pathways from HMGCR inhibition to coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes
No full textBackgroundStatins lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and reduce the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, they also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D).MethodsWe consider genetic variants in the region of the HMGCR gene, which encodes the target of statins, and their associations with downstream consequences of statins. We use various statistical methods to identify causal pathways influencing CAD and T2D, and investigate whether these are the same or different for the two diseases.ResultsColocalization analyses indicate that LDL-C and body mass index (BMI) have distinct genetic predictors in this gene region, suggesting that they do not lie on the same causal pathway. Multivariable Mendelian randomization analyses restricted to variants in the HMGCR gene region revealed LDL-C and BMI as causal risk factors for CAD, and BMI as a causal risk factor for T2D, but not LDL-C. A Bayesian model averaging method prioritized BMI as the most likely causal risk factor for T2D, and LDL-C as the second most likely causal risk factor for CAD (behind ubiquinone). Colocalization analyses provided consistent evidence of LDL-C colocalizing with CAD, and BMI colocalizing with T2D; evidence was inconsistent for colocalization of LDL-C with T2D, and BMI with CAD.ConclusionsOur analyses suggest cardiovascular and metabolic consequences of statin usage are on different causal pathways, and hence could be influenced separately by targeted interventions. More broadly, our analysis workflow offers potential insights to identify pathway-specific causal risk factors that could provide possible repositioning or refinement opportunities for existing drug targets
Efficacy of two rounds of albendazole treatment on soil-transmitted helminths in schoolchildren, Yunnan Province, China
No full textMass drug administration (MDA) of albendazole to at-risk populations remains the primary strategy for controlling soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Despite its widely use, its efficacy varies among different STH species and remains sub-optimal, particularly in the treatment of T. trichiura. Currently, studies investigating the optimal dose and regimens for albendazole are lacking. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted to assess the efficacy of two single-dose albendazole 400 mg treatments given four weeks apart targeting STH infections compared with just one single-dose albendazole 400 mg on 375 schoolchildren in Bulang Shan, Menghai county, Yunnan Province, China from October to December 2015. The first round of albendazole resulted in cure rates (CR) of 92.5%, 63.1% and 5.1%, and egg reduction rates (ERR) of 99.2%, 87.9% and 41.1% for A. lumbricoides, hookworms and T. trichiura, respectively. With the second round, efficacy remains high against A. lumbricoides (98.9% CR), is increased against hookworm (92.2% CR), and remains low against T. trichiura (6.3% CR). The second round increased the ERR to 99.6%, 99.8% and 74.1% for the same species, respectively. In this setting, albendazole is thus highly effective against A. lumbricoides, reasonably effective against hookworm, but has low efficacy against T. trichiura following two rounds of treatment
Cardiac substructure radiotherapy dose and changes in physical activity and quality of life after chemoradiotherapy for NSCLC: a secondary analysis of the CLARITY prospective study
No full textPurpose: The objective was to assess associations between cardiac substructure dose and changes in patient-reported outcomes (PROs) post-chemoradiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods and Materials: The study population was derived from CLARITY (NCT04305613), a multi-institutional longitudinal prospective cohort study. Patients treated with conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (1.8–2 Gy per fraction) with concurrent chemotherapy completed physical activity (Godin) and quality of life (FACIT-Fatigue and Dyspnea) questionnaires at baseline, completion of radiotherapy, 6 and 12 months post-radiotherapy. Thirty cardiac dosimetric parameters were a priori selected from centrally contoured radiotherapy plans: mean dose, maximum dose, volume receiving ≥ 5 Gy (V5Gy), V15Gy, and V30Gy to the whole heart, left ventricle, right ventricle, left atrium, right atrium, and left anterior descending coronary artery, and applied to a LASSO regression model to further define variable importance. Associations between cardiac radiation dose metrics and changes in PROs were assessed using repeated-measures linear regression via generalized estimating equations with correction for multiple testing. Results: In a subcohort of 122 patients, the median age was 67 years, 57% were male, and 41% had prevalent cardiovascular disease. Median whole heart mean dose was 9 Gy, whole heart maximum dose was 64 Gy, and LAD V15Gy was 1%. Godin physical activity (p = 0.0499), FACIT-Fatigue (p < 0.001), and FACIT-Dyspnea scores (p = 0.0037) worsened from baseline to end of radiotherapy, then recovered to baseline levels thereafter. In multivariable analysis and after adjusting for multiple comparisons, no cardiac dose metric was significantly associated with a worsening in patient-reported physical activity, fatigue or dyspnea (p > 0.05). Conclusions: PROs worsened from baseline to the end of thoracic chemoradiotherapy, then recovered to baseline levels. Cardiac radiation dose metrics were not associated with these changes.</p
Plasmonically enhanced Fe( ll ) coordination complexes allow SERS readout of spin state switching below the optical diffraction limit
No full textCreating and monitoring spin crossover (SCO) materials at the nanoscale is challenging since the spin transition phenomena are perturbed and methods for monitoring them are limited. Optical approaches for monitoring nanoscale SCO are attractive but limited by weak signal levels. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) allows enhanced readout of spin state transitions of even <1 µm SCO nano-objects confined within plasmonic nanovoids. Pressing dry crystalline [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)](BF4) (1) into the nanogaps between sheets of metal nanoparticles gave strong SERS signals but was unsuccessful since the surface perturbed the spin transition behaviour. However, when 1 was placed in the plasmonic hotspots between the Au cores in clusters of Au@SCO core–shell nanoparticles, SCO was retained and could be monitored using SERS. Importantly, the clusters showed thermal hysteresis loops which, although narrower than that of bulk 1 (9 K vs. 40 K), demonstrated that cooperative behaviour was retained in the nanovoids