Visualizing leadership classifications in rectangular data using a basket model and co-word network analysis: a case study of U.S. HCAHPS survey results.

Aim To test the hypothesis that communities with higher diversity have more predictable properties by examining patterns of community structure along a species richness gradient. Location Trinidad and Tobago (11°00 N, 61°00 W), on the South American continental shelf, opposite the Orinoco River delta, north-east Venezuela. Methods We used quantile regressions to investigate how three total abundance, absolute and relative dominance measures – numerical abundance, biomass and energy use, respectively – change across a species richness gradient. We investigated which allocation rule best mimics community assembly in this species richness gradient by examining the abundance of the dominant species and comparing it with predictions of niche apportionment models. Results All measures of total abundance increase on average across the gradient, but the upper limit remains constant. On average, absolute dominance is constant, but the distance between the upper and lower limits decreases along the gradient. Relative dominance decreases with species richness. Observed dominance patterns are best described by Tokeshi's random fraction model. Main conclusions Our results show that both total abundance and absolute dominance become increasingly variable as biodiversity decreases. Consequently, our study suggests that ecosystem properties are less predictable when biodiversity is lower.

It is well-established that synapse formation involves highly selective chemospecific mechanisms, but how neuron arbors are positioned before synapse formation remains unclear. Using 3D reconstructions of 298 neocortical cells of different types (including nest basket, small basket, large basket, bitufted, pyramidal, and Martinotti cells), we constructed a structural model of a cortical microcircuit, in which cells of different types were independently and randomly placed. We compared the positions of physical appositions resulting from the incidental overlap of axonal and dendritic arbors in the model (statistical structural connectivity) with the positions of putative functional synapses (functional synaptic connectivity) in 90 synaptic connections reconstructed from cortical slice preparations. Overall, we found that statistical connectivity predicted an average of 74 ± 2.7% (mean ± SEM) synapse location distributions for nine types of cortical connections. This finding suggests that chemospecific attractive and repulsive mechanisms generally do not result in pairwise-specific connectivity. In some cases, however, the predicted distributions do not match precisely, indicating that chemospecific steering and aligning of the arbors may occur for some types of connections. This finding suggests that random alignment of axonal and dendritic arbors provides a sufficient foundation for specific functional connectivity to emerge in local neural microcircuits.

ElecTIS is a new single container bioreactor which does not require forced air blowing, instead making the culture material mobile and the liquid medium stationary. The timed up-and-down movement of the basket containing the shoot culture ensures periodic contact with the liquid medium positioned at the base of the container. In this study we tested for the first time its use in the recovery of blackberry shoot cultures (Rubus fruticosus L., cvs Thornfree and Chester), coming from 5 months of slow growth storage (SGS), at 4 °C and in the dark. The shoot recovery at standard culture conditions was performed on two different types of ElecTIS, i.e., one with a smaller basket (ElecTISS, 234 cm2 of culture area), and one with a large basket (ElecTISL, 336 cm2), comparing the culture in TIS (cycle of 8 min every 6 h, equal to 32 min/day) with the traditional one in a gelled medium in glass jars (500 cc). After each one of the three 4-week subcultures, the shoot growth parameters and the relative growth rate highlighted a clear superiority of ElecTIS in promoting the recovery of shoot cultures coming from SGS. The analyses of chlorophyll content and stoma functionality confirmed the superior quality of shoots cultured in the ElecTIS bioreactor, and these shoots were afterwards easily rooted and acclimatized ex vitro.

Although network visualizations are becoming increasingly common, designing such visualizations can be challenging due to the number of visual elements and non-linear relations that they need to display. The main design challenge faced is finding the right trade-off between providing a sufficient level of information detail while keeping the visual complexity of the visualization as low as possible. One way of overcoming this challenge is to rely on the use of mental models that are familiar to the users of network visualizations. In this paper, we propose the use of a mental interaction model similar to that of map visualizations - generally based on geographical maps - as the basis for visual design of network diagrams. We argue that such a mental model would foster a set of network interaction tasks that can be defined broadly as wayfinding. We present the process of wayfinding from a semiotic standpoint, and match its main key points to those of interaction tasks with network diagrams. As a case study for this analysis, we also present a prototype network diagram visualization tool, called Colocalization Network Explorer, which we have developed to support the exploration of the relationships between various diseases and the portion of the human genome that is potentially involved in their onset. Additionally, we describe how the design process has benefited from the adoption of the wayfinding mental model.

Age-related differences in daily experiences are often described using summaries of categorical repeated measures, including typologies of stressors, activities, social partners, and coping strategies. This paper illustrates how an intraindividual variability (IIV) framework can be used to extract additional meaning from categorical IIV data. Using 8-occasion categorical data on daily stressors from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N = 1,499, MAge = 46.74, SDAge= 12.91), we derive and compute six IIV metrics that invoke numeric and nominal measurement of the central tendency, dispersion, and asymmetry of individuals' stressor experiences and examine how these metrics, relative dominance, diversity, log-skew and mode, spread, order, are related to age and interindividual differences in negative affect. Results demonstrate the utility of the numeric and nominal categorical IIV metrics, with theoretically meaningful age gradients in the three numeric IIV stressor metrics and five of six IIV metrics mapping differences in negative affect. Findings highlight how the unique constructs measured by these six metrics of categorical IIV may be used to examine dynamic process, study interindividual and age-related differences, and expand the variety of developmental research questions that may be answered using categorical repeated measures data.

Purpose This study maps the thematic evolution, conceptual developments, and structural patterns of equity-focused research in science education between 2000 and 2025, with particular attention to persistent silences, epistemic asymmetries, and opportunities for theoretical advancement. Sample The analysis draws on 1,288 peer-reviewed publications indexed in the Web of Science database over a 25-year period, encompassing diverse geographical and institutional contexts. Methods A bibliometric mapping approach was employed, using VOSviewer for co-word analysis and network visualization. Temporal trend analysis was conducted across three analytically defined phases to examine shifts in thematic emphasis and network structure. Results Findings reveal a three-phase trajectory: an early emphasis on access-oriented and gender-based equity concerns (2000–2009), a shift toward identity, culture, and inclusion (2010–2017), and an acceleration of intersectional and justice-oriented frameworks (2018–2025). Although the volume and conceptual diversity of equity-related scholarship have expanded substantially over time, network structures indicate uneven thematic integration. Core terms equity and science education remain centrally positioned, while critical constructs intersectionality, translanguaging, and epistemic justice occupy peripheral locations. Thematic gaps disability, social class, rurality, and affective and relational dimensions of equity persist. Moreover, contributions from Global South remain marginal within citation networks, despite comparatively high citation impact in countries such as Lebanon and Taiwan. Fragmented authorship networks and enduring asymmetries in epistemic authority suggest limited uptake of pluralistic knowledge frameworks. Conclusion Moving beyond mappings of trends, this study advances equity-focused science education research by integrating co-word network analysis with critical interpretive lens. By mobilizing concepts epistemic justice and intersectionality as heuristics, it distinguishes between symbolic visibility and structural integration within knowledge networks. The findings point to a field that has expanded conceptually but remains structurally uneven, underscoring the need for more intentional engagement with decolonial, intersectional, and relational approaches to equity at the levels of research design, collaboration, and knowledge production.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) has now become one of the major diseases affecting people’s lives, and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) always has good efficacy in clinical treatment. In the present study, we analyzed the most frequently used drug pair of Astragalus-Saposhnikoviae Radix (SR) in prescriptions for the treatment of allergic rhinitis by network pharmacology to reveal the modern pharmacological mechanisms of drug prevention and treatment of the disease. Firstly, the 38 active ingredients with good ADME properties from the Astragalus-SR drug pair were collected from the database, and the collated drug targets of Astragalus and SR and the targets of allergic rhinitis were mapped against each other by the network visualization software Cytoscape, followed by the establishment of a “drug active ingredient-target-disease” network diagram and the construction of a high-confidence protein-protein interaction network. Then, the common targets obtained from the disease and drug active ingredients were imported by R language for GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The KEGG pathways associated with the targets of Astragalus and SR for the treatment of allergic rhinitis obtained from R enrichment analysis were imported into Cytoscape, and the CytoNCA plug-in was loaded to construct a “target-pathway” network map, and the core target wogonin (FN1) was screened. These evidences suggest that the drug pair of Astragalus-SR works in a multi-component, multi-target and integrated modulation manner for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, which provides an important basis for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

This paper provides a comprehensive morphological description of local circuit neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC: areas 24a, 24b, 24c, 25 and 32) of the monkey. Cortical interneurons were identified immunocytochemically by the expression of the calcium binding proteins calretinin (CR), parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin D-28k (CB). Interneurons were also identified using GABA immunocytochemistry. The areal and laminar distributions of CR, PV, and CB cells were consistent across mPFC; their morphological characteristics identified them as local circuit neurons. Throughout layers 2-6: CR immunoreactivity labelled double bouquet and bipolar neurons, PV was localised in large and small basket neurons and in chandelier (axoaxonic) cells, while CB immunoreactivity was present in double bouquet, Martinotti, and neurogliaform neurons. In addition, some cells in layer 1 (including Cajal-Retzius neurons) were CR immunoreactive. Calbindin immunoreactivity also labelled a population of large nonpyramidal neurons deep in the cortex. Other types of CR, PV and CB cells were also immunolabelled. A small population of layer 3 pyramidal cells was weakly CB immunoreactive. Peak cell densities occurred in layer 2/upper layer 3 for CR+ neurons and in upper to midlayer 3 for CB+ cells. PV+ neuron density peaked in midcortex. These observations support and extend a similar study of monkey prefrontal cortex (Condé et al. [1994] J. Comp. Neurol. 341:95-116). The morphologies and combined cortical depth distributions of CR+, PV+, and CB+ neurons were similar to GABA-immunolabelled cells. Local circuit neurons in mPFC displaying NADPH diaphorase activity composed less than 0.25% of the total neuron population, and were distributed in two horizontal strata, in mid- to lower layer 3 and in lower layer 5/upper layer 6. CR, PV and CB immunoreactivity was colocalised in NADPH diaphorase-reactive neurons. The interrelationships between CR+, PV+ and CB+ neurons were investigated using dual immunocytochemistry. CR+ puncta were found to be closely associated with the cell bodies and proximal processes of PV+ neurons, whereas CR+ puncta were located more distally over processes from CB+ cells. Additionally, PV+ puncta were found closely apposed to PV+ somata and processes and CR+ puncta abutted against CR+ cell bodies. The companion paper (Gabbott and Bacon [1996] J. Comp. Neurol.) presents quantitative data regarding the areal and laminar distributions of the identified cell classes in mPFC. Such data provide a realistic structural framework with which to investigate neuronal operations in monkey mPFC.

South Australia is sparsely populated agricultural country. Small towns, many with Uniting Churches, serve the communities. Only a few of these churches have their own ordained minister. Most ministers serve a cluster of three or more churches, often assisted by lay teams which take some services. Many churches are led by teams of lay people. Surveys and case-studies showed that the vitality of the lay-led churches was no different from churches led by ordained ministers. In many lay-led churches there is a strong sense of ownership by the lay people, and those involved in leadership often reported that they had grown in faith through their responsibilities. The preferred pattern of leadership in rural churches adopted by the Synod of the Uniting Church in South Australia is that of local lay leadership. ‘Resourcing ministers’ are being appointed to mentor and resource the lay leaders of clusters of between six and 12 congregations.

BACKGROUNDAutoimmune liver diseases, including primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), and their overlap syndrome (OS), involve immune-mediated liver injury, with OS occurring in 1.2%-25% of PBC patients. OS carries a higher risk of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and reduced survival. While its pathogenesis remains unclear, gut microbiota dysbiosis and serum metabolite alterations may play key roles. This study uses 16S rRNA sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics to compare gut microbiota and serum metabolites among PBC, AIH, and OS patients, and explores their associations with liver function.AIMTo differentiate OS from PBC and AIH based on gut microbiota, serum metabolites, and liver function.METHODSGut microbiota profiles were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing, while untargeted serum metabolomics was conducted via LC-MS. Comparative analyses were performed to identify differences in microbial composition and serum metabolite levels among PBC, AIH, and OS groups. Correlation analyses and network visualization techniques were applied to elucidate the interactions among liver function parameters, gut microbiota, and serum metabolites in OS patients.RESULTSCompared to patients with PBC or AIH, OS patients demonstrated significantly reduced microbial diversity and richness. Notable taxonomic shifts included decreased abundances of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, alongside increased levels of Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Distinct serum metabolites, such as pentadecanoic acid and aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide, were identified in OS patients. Correlation analysis revealed that aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were negatively associated with the bacterial genus Fusicatenibacter and the metabolite L-Tyrosine. A microbial-metabolite network diagram further confirmed a strong association between Fusicatenibacter and L-Tyrosine in OS patients.CONCLUSIONOS patients show decreased gut microbiota diversity and unique serum metabolites. Multi-omics linked AST, Fusicatenibacter, and L-Tyrosine, revealing OS mechanisms and diagnostic potential.

Over the last decade, the development of a range of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies has led to an enormous increase in the size of the data sets available in molecular biology. The scale of these data presents new challenges for researchers, and visualisation is widely regarded as an essential tool for exploration and detailed analysis of candidate relationships. Inevitably, there are cognitive and technical limits on the information which may usefully be displayed on a particular device, and there may be some tension between the analytical utility of a representation and its coverage of the relationships available within the data. Careful attention must be given to the overall design of the visualisation, and to the channels selected, and these tasks are further complicated if the intent is to support interactive exploration by a number of collocated researchers or inclusion within a collaborative workflow. This paper is concerned with the design of a visualisation for regulatory interactions in bacteria, the complex relationships that exist between a set of proteins and the much larger set of genes whose action they control. Modelling these interactions yields equally complex network diagrams, and even classical hairball representations when visualised. In this work we explore the iterative refinement of an alternative visualisation for data of this kind, moving away from the traditional hairball to a 'field' of smaller structures, the intent being to support effective comparison across many dozens of strains and species rather than the exhaustive documentation of a full set of interactions for the one organism. While the study did not directly compare insights obtained using TRNDiff with those obtained using other tools, formal evaluations have allowed us to settle on an effective set of representations and visual channels, and interactive features to support analysis. Our approach has produced a far more effective visualisation of these important data sets, and offers useful lessons for tool developers and insights into the utility of touch devices and larger displays for visual analytics and generation of insight at scale.