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Synthesis of the Double Infinite-Layer Ni(I) Phase La 3 Ni 2 O 5 F via Sequential Topochemical Reactions
Get PDFFluorination of the n = 2 Ruddlesden–Popper oxide, La3Ni2O7, with polyvinylidene fluoride yields La3Ni2O5F4, a phase in which fluoride ions have been inserted into interstitial sites in the Ruddlesden–Popper framework and also exchanged with the oxide ions residing on apical anion sites. Reaction with LiH at 190 °C reduces La3Ni2O5F4 by extracting interstitial fluoride ions. The resulting phase, La3Ni2O5F3, adopts a structure described in space group Pbcm in which the fluoride ions in the half-filled interstitial layer are arranged in chains parallel to the y-axis, and the NiO5F octahedra adopt an a – a – c + /–(a – a – )c + tilting pattern. Further reduction with LiH at 250 °C converts La3Ni2O5F3 into La3Ni2O5F, a Ni1+ phase which adopts a T′-structure consisting of double infinite-sheets of apex linked NiO4 squares, stacked with LaOF fluorite-type layers. Magnetization and neutron diffraction data indicate La3Ni2O5F3 adopts an antiferromagnetically ordered state below T N = 225 K, while magnetization data from La3Ni2O5F exhibit a broad maximum centered at 75 K, suggestive of antiferromagnetic order
The impact of chronic and acute sleep deprivation on key Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Get PDFBackground: Sleep disruption is recognized as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Both chronic and acute sleep deprivation (SD) may increase cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau, potentially complicating early AD diagnoses. Some studies also suggest an inverse relationship in plasma biomarker levels, although these effects remain poorly characterized. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether SD elevates CSF concentrations of key AD biomarkers (Aβ40, Aβ42, total tau [t-tau], phosphorylated tau [p-tau]) in individuals without established AD. Results: Six studies (n = 169 participants) were included. Pooled results showed that SD significantly raised CSF Aβ40 (mean difference [MD]: 31.88, 95% CI: 25.61–38.15) and Aβ42 (MD: 37.32, 95% CI: 32.67–41.97 after sensitivity analysis). While initial analyses suggested inconsistent findings for t-tau and p-tau, excluding outlier data consistently revealed elevated levels in both (t-tau MD: 37.81, 95% CI: 23.27–52.35; p-tau MD: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.26–1.77). Possible publication bias was noted, but overall findings indicate that SD may cause meaningful biomarker fluctuations. Conclusion: Short- or long-term SD may transiently elevate CSF Aβ and tau, underscoring the importance of assessing recent sleep history when interpreting AD biomarkers. Although not directly evaluated here, preliminary data suggest plasma biomarkers might move in the opposite direction, warranting further investigation. Clinically, these results highlight the potential impact of sleep patterns on biomarker-driven AD risk assessments. Addressing SD could thus be a valuable target for both optimizing diagnostic accuracy and potentially slowing early neurodegenerative processes. Graphical Abstract
Mapping Adolescent Wellbeing: Developmental Network Differences between Early To Middle Adolescence in 24 Countries
Get PDFAdolescent wellbeing is often assessed using composite scores, yet less is known about how specific components of wellbeing are structurally organized and how this organization shifts across development. Using psychometric network analysis, we examined interconnections among 49 wellbeing indicators spanning subjective wellbeing (life satisfaction, affect, and domain satisfaction) and psychological wellbeing (flourishing and positive mental functioning) in a large international sample of adolescents. Data were drawn from 6,445 students aged 11–18 years (M = 14.4, SD = 1.96; 51.7% girls; 3.1% preferred not to report gender) recruited from 38 schools across 24 countries. Networks were estimated for the full sample and separately for early adolescence (11–14 years; 51.9%) and middle adolescence (15–18 years; 48.1%). Across all analyses, overall life satisfaction and satisfaction with student life consistently emerged as the most central nodes, underscoring their integrative role in adolescents’ wellbeing evaluations. Network density was similar across age groups, indicating comparable overall interconnectedness; however, network configuration differed developmentally. In middle adolescence, future-oriented optimism became more structurally prominent, whereas present-focused life evaluation (current life satisfaction) showed reduced centrality. Indicators reflecting negative affect and calmness also showed modest age-related increases in relative importance. Together, these findings suggest a developmental reorganization of adolescent wellbeing from present-oriented evaluations toward future-oriented expectations and regulatory resources, while reaffirming the central role of overall life satisfaction and student-life satisfaction. Mapping age-related differences in wellbeing structure across a large cross-national sample informs age-sensitive approaches to assessment, monitoring, and intervention
Prognostic characteristics, recurrence patterns and survival outcomes of uterine papillary serous carcinoma: a single-centre retrospective cohort study
Get PDFBackgroundUterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) is a rare subtype of endometrial cancer with aggressive characteristics. The aim of our cohort analysis was to examine and present risk factors for recurrence and mortality.MethodsThe study is a retrospective analysis led from April 2010 and November 2019. Women older than 18 years, with a histopathological diagnosis of serous carcinoma (SC) and suitable for surgery were included in this study. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis was conducted to assess individual risk factors for both recurrence and mortality. Survival rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves and compared using log-rank tests.ResultsOne hundred and eighteen cases of SC were surgically managed. For the entire cohort, 5-year overall survival (OS) was 41.6%, while 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 60.7%. Advanced stages had the worst survival and recurrence rate (P=0.001 and 0.01, respectively). Univariate analysis revealed an association with a high risk of mortality for myometrial invasion, cervical, parametrial and lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) and adnexa involvement, whereas only cervical, lymphovascular and parametrium invasion were associated. However, the multivariate analysis confirmed the cervical invasion as a poor predictor for survival with a hazard ratio of 2.230 (95% confidence interval: 1.252-3.971; P=0.006).ConclusionsUPSC is an aggressive subtype of endometrial cancer where even early stages tend to recur and deteriorate the prognosis. Cervical involvement was the only risk factor associated with increased mortality, while myometrial invasion and LVSI were not confirmed in the multivariate analysis
‘I'm Tight on Time, So Let's Make It a Fast Interview on the Go’: Rapid Serial Interview for Quick Ethnographies With Busy People
Get PDFParticipating in research is rarely a priority in time‐pressured urban lives, posing practical and ethical challenges for qualitative inquiry. This paper examines how rapid qualitative methods can be used reflexively and rigorously to generate analytic depth while reducing participant burden. Focusing on two urban transport studies—bike‐sharing in Hong Kong and public transport in Wrocław—we document the early, exploratory use of quick ethnography, serial‐in‐motion interviews, free listing and vignette‐based elicitation as context‐sensitive tools for researching people–place relations in mobile settings. Rather than treating the cases as comparative, we use them as methodological testbeds to reflect on how rapid approaches operate across different political, cultural and temporal constraints. In Hong Kong, insider‐led, solo rapid inquiry enabled discreet engagement under political sensitivity, revealing socio‐political meanings attached to bike‐sharing through brief, participant‐led walk‐along encounters. In Wrocław, outsider‐led, team‐based rapid inquiry used vignette‐based interviews to explore intergenerational norms in public transport and to inform subsequent survey design. Across both cases, analytic depth was accumulated through systems‐oriented serial engagement, constant comparison and reflexive memoing, rather than prolonged interaction with individuals. The paper argues that rapidity can function as a form of care, empowering participants through choice, mobility and implicit exit, while also supporting researcher self‐care under uncertainty. By foregrounding systems thinking, positionality and ethical reflexivity, the study demonstrates how rapid qualitative inquiry can be both analytically robust and care‐full, offering practical guidance for urban researchers working in time‐scarce, politically sensitive and mobile contexts
Dostoevsky within the problem of evil: influences and reception
Get PDFFyodor Dostoevsky has played an influential role in shaping both theistic and atheistic approaches to the problem of evil. This study situates Dostoevsky within the history of theodical discussions by examining the sources that shaped Dostoevsky’s engagement with the problem of evil as well as the reception of his work in later debates. This paper identifies three aspects of Ivan’s formulation of the problem, a rejection of consequentialist justification of suffering, a radical reinterpretation of truth, and his use of the evidential form, and shows how these arguments emerge from diverse sources including Orthodox apophaticism, Alexander Pushkin, and Immanuel Kant. This paper also illustrates how these have been influential for both anti-theodical and evidential traditions in the problem of evil. I also examine three of Dostoevsky’s responses to the problem of evil, the miracle of Job’s faith, an appeal to freedom, and an artistic vision of confronting suffering. I show how these are predominantly grounded in his Christian beliefs and can foster productive engagements in theodical literature. This paper aims to further the appreciation of Dostoevsky’s contributions to the problem of evil as well as promote a more holistic treatment of the problem of evil
Patient‐ and caregiver‐reported barriers to radiotherapy for cancer in sub‐Saharan Africa—A survey of population‐based registries
Get PDFAlthough radiotherapy is an essential part of comprehensive cancer care, access is heavily limited in most sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries. Patients' barriers to care can be grouped as availability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability, and acceptability. We aimed to assess cancer patient‐ and caregiver‐reported barriers in nine SSAn countries (Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe). We conducted a telephone‐based survey among 553 randomly selected patients with breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer, Kaposi sarcoma and non‐Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed between 2018 and 2019 registered in population‐based registries of the African Cancer Registry Network. We inquired about receipt of radiotherapy and barriers irrespective of recalling a recommendation. Among all categories, 21.6% (Use of alternative medicine) to 39.6% (Cost of treatment) of patients reported severe barriers. Most common was problematic Cost of treatment (69.0% overall). A high share of patients from Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania reported barriers. Higher education and wealth were associated with reduced problems in all categories except increased problems with Fear and Use of alternative medicine. Receipt of radiotherapy was associated with fewer problems with Availability of transport (odds ratio [OR]: 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.13–0.88) and Trust in healthcare workers (OR: 0.44; 95% CI, 0.24–0.8), and increased Fear (OR: 2.33; 95% CI, 1.33–4.05). Seeing that one‐third of the patients reported severe problems in all dimensions, shortage of radiotherapy units is not the only problematic aspect of access to radiotherapy. Improvements in affordability, patient–healthcare worker communication, and psychosocial support are needed
Acceptability judgements in colloquial Singaporean English
Get PDFColloquial Singaporean English (CSE) includes several optional features which vary in their usage. Such features include the zero copula in copular constructions (e.g., ‘Tom ∅ very tall’), as well as the lack of past tense inflection in past constructions (e.g., ‘Yesterday, she go to the store’). In this study, we used an acceptability judgement task to estimate the effect of social factors (e.g., mother tongue language) and linguistic factors (e.g., complement type or past inflection form) on CSE speakers’ acceptability of these two classes of constructions. For copular constructions, we found that PP complements were more acceptable than NP or AP complements with a zero copula, and there were no differences in ratings between Malay and Chinese speakers. These results suggest that previously found differences have been levelled among CSE speakers. For past tense constructions, Malay speakers showed a greater difference in ratings than Chinese speakers for sentences with versus without past tense inflection. There were also no differences among different forms of past tense inflection (suppletion, vowel change, affixation), contrasting with previous studies. These results help to complement and clarify the findings from corpus-based studies of the distribution of these optional features among CSE speakers, demonstrating the utility of using acceptability judgements to study sociolinguistic variation and language change
The postoperative analgesic efficacy of three peripheral nerve blocks in hip fracture surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials
Get PDFIntroduction: Anaesthesia for hip fracture surgery is often supplemented with a peripheral nerve block (PNB) to reduce postoperative pain. Common PNBs include fascia-iliaca compartment block (FICB) and femoral nerve block (FNB). Since the introduction of the pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block, debate continues as to which technique provides superior analgesia. This review aimed to compare the postoperative analgesic efficacy of three PNBs when administered perioperatively to adult hip fracture patients. Methods: CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, Medline, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched in April 2025. Statistical analysis was performed using a random-effects model. Results: 19 randomised trials (1059 patients) were included. Pain scores between PENG and FICB at 6, 12 and 24 h were not significantly different. Compared to FNB, PENG significantly lowered pain scores at 6 h (P = 0.004). Opioid consumption in the 24 h postoperative period was significantly lower in PENG than FICB (P = 0.02), but not in FNB. No outcome reached the minimal clinically important difference. Evidence was graded very low to moderate. Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to state superiority of PENG over FICB or FNB when used perioperatively in patients undergoing hip fracture repair. No included studies reported time to mobilisation, highlighting a significant evidence gap in existing primary research. Further high-quality, sufficiently powered randomised trials are still needed
