Background and Aims The quantitative effects of alcohol consumption on cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are unknown. This study aimed to establish a dose-dependent model of alcohol consumption on the risks of cirrhosis and HCC. Methods PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and four Chinese databases were searched for studies published from their inception to 15 May 2024. A random-effects model was used to pool the data on the incidence of cirrhosis and HCC, and a dose-dependent model of alcohol’s effect on cirrhosis and HCC was established. Results A total of 33,272 HBV patients ...

January 16, 2025 – New York, NY – The International Alliance for Primary Immunodeficiency Societies (IAPIDS) and Rockefeller University Press (RUP) have entered a partnership to launch Journal of Human Immunity (JHI), the official open access journal of IAPIDS. This collaboration will ensure that JHI emerges as the destination for exciting research into human immunity, with a particular focus on inborn errors of immunity. “The Journal of Human Immunity represents a bold step forward in advancing ...

Digital Science is pleased to announce that Dr Raym Crow, a leading figure in mission-driven, sustainable open publishing models, has won the 2025 APE Award for Innovation in Scholarly Communication. The award – a joint initiative between Digital Science and the Berlin Institute for Scholarly Publishing (BISP) – has been announced at the 20th Academic Publishing in Europe (APE) Conference in Berlin, Germany. The APE award is presented to an individual who has brought innovation in scholarly communication to the community, through infrastructure, technology, business models, output on the topic, theory, or practice. With more than ...

Accurate object pose estimation refers to the ability of a robot to determine both the position and orientation of an object. It is essential for robotics, especially in pick-and-place tasks, which are crucial in industries such as manufacturing and logistics. As robots are increasingly tasked with complex operations, their ability to precisely determine the six degrees of freedom (6D pose) of objects, position, and orientation, becomes critical. This ability ensures that robots can interact with objects in a reliable and safe manner. However, despite advancements in deep learning, the performance of 6D pose estimation algorithms largely depends ...

Background and Aims The performance of neurodegenerative biomarkers—neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), tau, and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1)—in diagnosing minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) has not been systematically evaluated, simultaneously, nor have their associations with the development of overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE). This study aimed to evaluate the performance of plasma NfL, GFAP, tau, and UCHL1 in diagnosing MHE and predicting the development of OHE in Chinese patients with hepatic cirrhosis. Methods In this prospective study, 124 patients ...

The remains of nearly 200 animals found in Mexico’s Teotihuacán are helping reconstruct history. The unearthing and significance of these remains, found in four chambers within the Moon Pyramid — dating back nearly 2,000 years — are central in Nawa Sugiyama’s new book, “Animal Matter: Ritual, Place, and Sovereignty at the Moon Pyramid of Teotihuacan,” published by Oxford University Press.  Teotihuacán, one of the first megacities of the Western Hemisphere and now a UNESCO World Heritage site, is situated ...

New research forthcoming in Social Psychological and Personality Science illuminates why liberals and conservatives often support different types of leaders. The study shows that these preferences stem from differences in moral priorities rather than mere partisan bias. "This research helps explain why people across the political spectrum often support such different types of leaders," explains lead researcher Harrison Miller, of Florida State University. "Rather than simply attributing these differences to political bias, ...

WASHINGTON -- If you’ve ever wondered whether your parents secretly had a favorite child, they might have. Parents may be more inclined to confer the “favorite child award” to daughters and children who are agreeable and conscientious, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “For decades, researchers have known that differential treatment from parents can have lasting consequences for children,” said lead author Alexander Jensen, PhD, an associate professor at Brigham Young University. “This study helps us understand which children are more likely to be on the receiving end of favoritism, which can ...

Ecological warning lights have blinked on across the Arctic over the last 40 years, according to new research, and many of the fastest-changing areas are clustered in Siberia, the Canadian Northwest Territories, and Alaska. The analysis of the rapidly warming Arctic-boreal region, published in Geophysical Research Letters this week, provides a zoomed-in picture of ecosystems experiencing some of the fastest and most extreme climate changes on Earth.   Many of the most climate-stressed areas featured permafrost, or ground that stays frozen year-round, and experienced both severe warming and drying ...

Wearable devices can identify, differentiate, and predict flare-ups, or the worsening of symptoms and inflammation, in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Mount Sinai researchers have shown in a first-of-its-kind study. The findings, published in the journal Gastroenterology on January 16, suggest that wearable technology can predict the subsequent development of flares in IBD, enabling continuous disease monitoring through widely available commercial devices. “Current disease-monitoring methods rely on patients directly interacting with ...

Background and Aims T lymphocytes play a pivotal role in resolving hepatitis B virus infection. This study aimed to investigate the dynamics of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets during peginterferon alpha (peg-IFN-α) therapy and their association with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance in inactive HBsAg carriers (IHCs). Methods This prospective observational study enrolled 197 IHCs treated with peg-IFNα-2a/2b for 48 weeks and followed for 24 weeks (treatment group), and 221 IHCs who were regularly monitored for 72 weeks without treatment (IHC control group). ...

January 16, 2024 - The MIT Press is pleased to announce that Direct to Open (D2O) has reached its full funding goal for 2025 and will open access to 80 new monographs and edited book collections in the spring and fall publishing seasons.  “It has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to contribute to this program and demonstrate that our academic community can unite to publish high-quality open access monographs at scale,” said Amy Harris, Senior Manager of Library Relations ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [January 16, 2025] — Today, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—an alliance of leading cancer centers—published a new resource to inform people about the latest recommendations around hereditary and familial cancer risk. This essential guide is based on the latest evidence and expert consensus in the rapidly advancing field of cancer genetics. It provides guidance on how best to assess, and test for, inherited genetic mutations that can raise the ...

Reservoir computing (RC) is a powerful machine learning module designed to handle tasks involving time-based or sequential data, like tracking patterns over time or analyzing sequences. It is widely used in areas such as finance, robotics, speech recognition, weather forecasting, natural language processing, and predicting complex nonlinear dynamical systems. What sets RC apart is its efficiency—it delivers powerful results with much lower training costs compared to other methods. RC uses a fixed, randomly connected network layer, known as the reservoir, to turn input data into a more complex representation. ...

Infertility is a major global challenge associated with physiological and psychological impact. Genetic mutations that affect early embryonic development, oocyte (egg cell) maturation, and fertilization have recently been studied as causes of infertility. One of the most well-studied causes of early embryonic infertility is mutations in the subcortical maternal complex (SCMC)-related genes. SCMC participates in embryo development and cleavage by maintaining the structure of the egg cytoplasm and recruiting proteins that assist proper embryo formation. SCMC is composed of multiple proteins, of which the transducin-like ...

Paper-thin optical lenses simple enough to mass produce like microchips could enable a new generation of compact optical devices. A team with researchers at the University of Tokyo and JSR Corp. fabricated and tested flat lenses called Fresnel zone plates (FZPs), but did so for the first time using only common semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the i-line stepper, for the first time. These flat lenses currently lack the efficiency of in-production lenses, but have the potential to reshape optics for industries ranging from astronomy to health care and consumer electronics. Flat lenses, such as metalenses, exist, but they come with hefty price tags ...

Throughout history, volcanic eruptions have had serious consequences for human societies such as cold weather, lack of sun, and low crop yields. In the year 43 BC when a volcano in Alaska spewed large quantities of sulphur into the stratosphere, harvests failed the following years in the countries around the Mediterranean, causing famine and disease. This is well-documented in written sources from ancient Greece and Rome.  We do not have written sources from the Neolithic. But climate scientists from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have analysed ice cores from the Greenland ice sheet and can now document that around 2,900 ...

Two new studies led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a possible way to block the progression of several forms of blood cancer using a drug already in clinical trials against breast cancer. The studies — both conducted in patient samples and animal models — found that inhibiting a protein called RSK1 reduces inflammation and stops the progression of blood cancers called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) as well as an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). With the RSK1 inhibitor already in clinical testing, the path to expanded use as a treatment for blood ...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that disproportionally affects postmenopausal women, and the millions affected can attest to the pain, reduced mobility and diminished quality of life that comes from this disease. While the hormonal changes associated with menopause have long been known to accelerate the development and progression of OA, a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie this correlation is crucial for developing effective treatments. A new study led by researchers at Spaulding Rehabilitation, a member of the Mass General Brigham ...

A new study documents the dramatic change in America’s material diet from 1900 to 2020 – ongoing shifts in US commodity consumption patterns with profound environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications. Published by Iddo K. Wernick of The Rockefeller University’s Program for the Human Environment in the Elsevier journal Resources Policy, the paper details the consumption of 100 key commodities used to build cities, power cars, produce everyday products, and connect people. It charts transformative changes since the start of the 20th century in both absolute ...

Approximately 66 million years ago, the Chicxulub asteroid, estimated to be 10-15 kilometer in diameter, struck the Yucatán Peninsula (in current-day Mexico), creating a 200-kilometer-wide impact crater. This impact triggered a chain reaction of destructive events including a rapid climate change that eventually led to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and in total about 75% of species on Earth. The main culprit is most likely the “impact winter”, which was caused by massive release of dust, soot, and sulfur into the atmosphere, leading to extreme cold, darkness, and a collapse ...

WESTMINSTER, Colorado – 16 January 2025 – Recently published research in the journal Weed Science shows promise for controlling herbicide-resistant weeds in soybean fields by using a seed impact mill at harvest. When installed on a combine, this harvest weed-seed control system (HWSC) mechanically damages weed seeds as they move through the mill to render them non-viable. Iowa State University Researchers Alexis Meadows and Ram (Ramawatar) Yadav conducted seed impact mill field experiments ...

Amid an increase in suicidal behavior among teen girls, new research links this phenomenon to the significant increase in the number of female students identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ).   “This finding suggests that the overall increase in female suicidality is not due to all female students becoming more suicidal, but rather to a larger proportion of students being part of a group that has historically experienced higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors due to social and structural pressures,” says lead author Joseph Cimpian, ...

We see color because photoreceptor cones in our eyes detect light waves corresponding to red, green, and blue, while dimness or brightness is detected by photoreceptor rods. Many non-mammalian vertebrates like fish, however, are known to detect color and brightness with the pineal gland, which is part of the brain. An Osaka Metropolitan University research group has further elucidated on how the pineal organ of fish do so. Previously, the research group led by Professor Akihisa Terakita and Professor Mitsumasa Koyanagi of the Graduate School of Science revealed that ...

Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus with significant human health implications, has garnered considerable attention due to its high fatality rates and potential for human-to-human transmission, posing a global public health threat. Emerging in South and Southeast Asia, NiV is known for its recurrent outbreaks, with a particular focus on its genetic lineages, NiV-MY and NiV-BD, which differ in pathogenicity and transmissibility. The virus, initially isolated in Malaysia in 1998, has since caused outbreaks linked to contact with infected ...