Development Initiatives

The design of sustainable materials that integrates mechanical toughness with on-demand degradability remains a central challenge in the development of materials science. Here, we present a photoresponsive polyester capable of light-regulated enzymatic degradation through movable cross-links. The material consists of a poly(ε-caprolactone) backbone and inclusion complexes between photoisomerizable trans-stilbene (tSti) units and triacetylated γ-cyclodextrin (TAcγCD) units. Upon UV-A (λ = 350 nm) or UV-C (λ = 254 nm) irradiation, stilbene units undergo reversible trans-cis isomerization, repositioning cyclodextrin (CD) rings along the backbone and thereby switching the molecular coverage of enzyme-active ester groups. In the trans state, polyester segments are exposed, accelerating lipase-catalyzed degradation; in the cis state, ester groups are shielded, suppressing degradation. The switching is reversible under alternating UV-A/UV-C irradiation and absent in the linear control lacking movable rings, demonstrating that controllable CD positioning is essential for degradation control. This study introduces a molecular-coverage-based design rule that reconciles toughness and degradability for sustainable, environmentally benign polymers.

Abstract Urban forest inventories are vital for understanding the ecological and social functions of neighborhood-scale arboreal systems, especially in communities experiencing climate-related stress. This study integrates field sampling, community questionnaires, and high-resolution (1m x 1m) LiDAR data to establish a comprehensive urban tree inventory for the Chatham neighborhood in Chicago, a community historically burdened by flooding, noise pollution, heat vulnerability, and limited green space. Findings demonstrate that trees in Chatham are predominantly tall, with an average height of 19 meters, and that canopy coverage constitutes approximately 17% of the neighborhood, higher than previous city estimates but still considerably below the recommended 40% urban canopy benchmark. Field assessments further indicate that crown vigor, as well as the health of leaves, trunks, twigs, and other woody components (including bark and branches), are adversely affected, suggesting substantial biotic and abiotic stress factors, which underscores the need for proactive urban forest management like regular tree inspections, inventories, removal or pruning of dead branches, and effective storm preparedness and emergency response. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of targeted planting initiatives in areas with sparse tree cover and of implementing neighborhood-specific greening strategies to enhance climate resilience.

Abstract The climate crisis is increasingly contributing to a mental health crisis. Policy and practice inadequately account for the mental health costs of climate change and the mental health benefits of climate action. The climate and mental health field is expanding rapidly but unevenly. Connecting Climate Minds (CCM), a global initiative, aimed to develop a guiding vision to ensure investment in and implementation of future research aligns with lived experience needs and appropriately informs policies. CCM convened 1184 contributors with diverse expertise across 126 countries, through 21 online and in-person dialogues. Their insights produced a Global Research and Action Agenda for climate change and mental health. This paper outlines the 53 research priorities structured into four high-level themes (impacts, risks and vulnerable groups; pathways and mechanisms; mental health benefits and risks of climate action; mental health interventions). It also outlines how to implement research and translate evidence to action.

IntroductionThis study examined whether fatigue mediates the association between sleep debt and depressive symptoms among municipal employees in Japan.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the Night in Japan Home Sleep Monitoring Study (NinJaSleep Study) between November 2023 and March 2024 among 1,435 municipal employees in Koka City, Japan. Sleep debt was quantified using the Sleep Debt Index, calculated from self-reported ideal and actual sleep duration. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and fatigue was assessed using the Chalder Fatigue Scale. Mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro (Model 4), adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and occupation. Indirect effects were estimated using bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples.ResultsSleep debt was significantly associated with higher fatigue scores (B = 2.37, p < 0.001), and fatigue was positively associated with depressive symptoms (B = 0.32, p < 0.001). The direct association between sleep debt and depressive symptoms was not statistically significant (B = 0.07, p = 0.36). Mediation analysis indicated that the association between sleep debt and depressive symptoms was significantly mediated by fatigue (indirect effect: B = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.61–0.91).DiscussionSleep debt is associated with depressive symptoms primarily through increased fatigue. These findings highlight fatigue as a key pathway in linking insufficient sleep to mental health outcomes and underscore the importance of addressing fatigue in workplace mental health strategies.

A palladium-catalyzed (3+2) cycloaddition between arylalkynes and norbornene derivatives via C-H bond cleavage is reported. This reaction enables the selective synthesis of benzo-fused five-membered cyclic products from a variety of arylalkynes, including electronically biased and alkyl(aryl)alkynes. Notably, the use of a bulky bidentate ligand leads to the (2+2) cycloaddition, giving four-membered cyclobutene derivatives from the same starting materials. Mechanistic studies indicate that both cycloadditions proceeds through hydropalladation of the arylalkynes by Pd(0) and AcOH to generate a vinyl-Pd intermediate. DFT calculations suggest a ligand-to-ligand hydrogen transfer (LLHT) mechanism for this step. The subsequent turnover-determining step is proposed to vary with the ligand environment, involving either the C-H bond cleavage or reductive elimination, thereby governing pathway selectivity.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major public health concern in Nigeria, where mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) contributes significantly to chronic infections. This study evaluated the effectiveness of HBV PMTCT interventions implemented in Sardauna LGA (2023) and Kurmi LGA (2024) in Taraba State, comparing screening coverage, prophylaxis uptake, and childhood immunization outcomes across the two models of care. Methods: A descriptive analysis was conducted using programme data from both LGAs, encompassing HBV/HCV screening among pregnant women, women of childbearing age (CBA), and male partners; initiation of Tenofovir prophylaxis for HBV-positive pregnant women; and uptake of HBV birth-dose and subsequent childhood vaccinations. Health worker capacity-building outputs and step-down training outcomes were also assessed. Results: In Sardauna LGA, 2,426 individuals were screened, identifying 99 HBsAg-positive and 34 Anti-HCV-positive cases; all 56 HBV-positive pregnant women received Tenofovir prophylaxis. Similarly, Kurmi LGA screened 1,435 individuals, identifying 101 HBsAg-positive and 65 Anti-HCV-positive cases, with full prophylaxis initiation for all 58 HBV-positive pregnant women. Birth-dose vaccination within 24 hours was high in both LGAs—1,357 infants in Sardauna and 850 in Kurmi—although attrition across the vaccine series persisted, with only 1,005 and 484 infants completing the pentavalent schedule, respectively. Screening indicators fell short of five-year EMTCT targets, whereas infant vaccination and health workforce training exceeded expectations. Step-down training improved health worker knowledge, service readiness, antenatal care uptake, HBV screening rates, and birth-dose vaccination performance. Conclusion: The HBV PMTCT interventions demonstrated strong maternal prophylaxis coverage, improved service availability, and high birth-dose uptake across both LGAs. However, screening coverage for pregnant women, women of CBA, and male partners remained below targets, and vaccine completion rates showed notable drop-offs. Strengthening community outreach, improving facility-based deliveries, and enhancing follow-up systems are critical to achieving HBV EMTCT goals in Taraba State.

We introduce and analyze an infectious disease model that combines the Crowley–Martin incidence rate with the Holling-type II treatment rate. This model aims to capture the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases and takes into account the potential for reinfections. We thoroughly examine the behavior and characteristics of this model to gain insights into the spread and control of infectious diseases. We obtained the case of transcritical and backward bifurcations conditionally. The global stability of a unique endemic steady state is obtained under appropriate parametric conditions, as demonstrated using a geometric approach. When the basic reproduction number exceeds one, the system exhibits the coexistence of numerous endemic steady states. These steady states give birth to complex and sophisticated dynamics because they display a variety of bifurcations, oscillations (via Hopf bifurcation), bistability, and hysteresis. Through the use of sensitivity analysis, the parameters that are most sensitive to the basic reproduction number are identified. The theoretical results are accompanied by their corresponding numerical simulations. This work highlights the importance of ensuring proper access to effective treatment and preventing reinfection to achieve the ultimate goal of disease eradication.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a standard preoperative intervention for early-stage breast cancer (BC). Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) has emerged as a critical tool for evaluating treatment response and pathological complete response (pCR) following NAC. Computational modeling offers a robust framework to simulate tumor growth dynamics and therapy response, leveraging patient-specific data to enhance predictive accuracy. Despite this potential, integrating imaging data with computational models for personalized treatment prediction remains underexplored. This case study presents a proof-of-concept prognostic tool that bridges oncology, radiology, and computational modeling by simulating BC behavior and predicting individualized NAC outcomes. Methods: CE-MRI scans, clinical assessments, and blood samples from three retrospective NAC patients were analyzed. Tumor growth was modeled using a system of partial differential equations (PDEs) within a reaction–diffusion mass transfer framework, incorporating patient-specific CE-MRI data. Tumor volumes measured pre- and post-treatment were compared with model predictions. A 20% error margin was applied to assess computational accuracy. Results: All cases were classified as true positive (TP), demonstrating the model’s capacity to predict tumor volume changes within the defined threshold, achieving 100% precision and sensitivity. Absolute differences between predicted and observed tumor volumes ranged from 0.07 to 0.33 cm3. Virtual biomarkers were employed to quantify novel metrics: the biological conversion coefficient ranged from 4 × 10−7 to 6 × 10−6 s−1, while the pharmacodynamic efficiency coefficient ranged from 1 × 10−7 to 4 × 10−4 s−1, reflecting intrinsic tumor biology and treatment effects, respectively. Conclusions: This approach demonstrates the feasibility of integrating CE-MRI and computational modeling to generate patient-specific treatment predictions. Preliminary model training on retrospective cohorts with matched BC subtypes and therapy regimens enabled accurate prediction of NAC outcomes. Future work will focus on model refinement, cohort expansion, and enhanced statistical validation to support broader clinical translation.

This paper presents an autoethnography from a Gaza-based scholar who documents, in real time, the war's effects on himself and his family. It situates a personal trajectory-bombardments, repeated displacement, injury, bereavement, and the collapse of essential services-within the broader humanitarian emergency, arguing that first-person evidence is indispensable to grasp lived experience and cumulative harm. Using an autoethnographic case-study design, the author combines contemporaneous field notes, direct observations across hospitals and shelters, and family narratives with publicly available situational reports. Narrative analysis is applied to episodes of displacement, rescue and burial operations, access to health care, and day-to-day survival under siege, to derive thematic patterns of risk, harm, and adaptation. The account documents: (i) continuous exposure to airstrikes, artillery, and drones; (ii) direct physical harm to the author(tank-shell blast injury with persistent symptoms), (iii) family losses-the death of a son, a brother,and the disappearance and later recovery of his detained daughter-as well as the discovery and burial of his mother; (iv) health-system collapse (closures, staff shortages, lack of imaging and essentialmedicines) that intensified preventable morbidity and mortality; (v) repeated displacement through overcrowded shelters and hazardous checkpoints; and (vi) resource deprivation (famine conditions, unsafe water, disrupted transport). These stressors produced profound psychological distress, exhaustion, and functional impairment, exemplifying cumulative, multisystemic impacts on civilians. Autoethnography provides granular evidence of civilian burden that aggregate statistics cannot capture. Lessons for readers and practitioners include: protect health facilities and corridors; prioritize family-centred psychosocial care after bereavement and detention; pair needs assessmentswith first-person testimonies to detect hidden harms; and design humanitarian responses that address cumulative risks (safety, nutrition, water, mobility, and continuity of care) rather than siloedneeds. The narrated events engage potential violations of international humanitarian and humanrights law; therefore, responses should pair humanitarian relief with accountability: independent investigations with evidence preservation and survivor protection; avenues to justice (domestic courts, universal jurisdiction, ICC where applicable); and reparations. The narrative underscores.