Warming waters can affect fish community dynamics, potentially exacerbating predator-prey asymmetries in behavioural and physiological metrics of thermal tolerance. Further, differing responses of prey fish species to concurrent predation risk and warming highlight the need to understand these impacts in various contexts, especially with at-risk species. This study explored variation in thermal tolerance between the Threatened pugnose shiner (Miniellus anogenus) and non-threatened congener blackchin shiner (Miniellus heterodon) given concurrent exposure to warming and predation risk via chemical cues. Using a series of three channel-side experiments, we (1) explored whether predator odours from centrarchids affect the thermal tolerance of pugnose shiner and blackchin shiner, (2) explored how conspecific disturbance cues impacted blackchin shiner thermal tolerance and (3) quantified the thermal tolerance of two centrarchid species (largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans) and pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)) predators and qualitatively compared this to the two shiner species. We found that blackchin shiner had a lower critical thermal maximum (CTMax) when given predator odours compared to a water control, demonstrating a plastic upper thermal limit in response to risk. In contrast, the CTMax of pugnose shiner did not differ between treatments, indicating that they may lack the capacity to respond to these concurrent stressors. The CTMax of blackchin shiner and pugnose shiner increased over the summer coinciding with increasing water temperature in their home habitat. However, when blackchin shiner received disturbance cue relative to the water control in a separate assay, the effect of seasonal acclimatization on CTMax was reduced. Finally, largemouth bass qualitatively exhibited a CTMax that was higher than the shiners, but pumpkinseed did not. Continuing to explore how predator-prey relationships change with warming waters may strengthen our predictive capacity when examining future climate-change scenarios.

Suspected macrolide-refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia can be a diagnostic challenge in immunocompromised hosts, particularly after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Screening serologies may further complicate diagnosis when false-positive or discordant results divert therapy. We report a 63-year-old woman with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia status postallogeneic stem cell transplantation and hypogammaglobulinemia who was transferred for persistent cough, exertional dyspnea, and right upper-lobe consolidation after limited improvement with azithromycin and broad-spectrum antibacterial therapy. Initial and repeat respiratory testing detected M. pneumoniae, while an extensive infectious evaluation was otherwise negative. Coccidioides enzyme immunoassay IgM and IgG were positive, prompting empiric fluconazole, but confirmatory immunodiffusion and complement fixation testing were negative, and the patient lacked epidemiologic risk factors. Following reassessment, fluconazole was discontinued; doxycycline and replacement intravenous immunoglobulin were initiated. Clinical improvement followed, including discontinuation of supplemental oxygen and return to baseline exercise tolerance, although the relative contributions of doxycycline and intravenous immunoglobulin cannot be determined from a single case. This case highlights the need to interpret screening fungal serologies in a clinical and epidemiologic context, confirm positive Coccidioides EIA results, and consider clinically suspected macrolide-refractory M. pneumoniae when respiratory symptoms persist despite macrolide therapy. Molecular resistance testing was not available, so macrolide resistance remained clinically suspected rather than proven.

Long-term persistence of managed species will depend, in part, on whether the species harbors the physiological or genetic potential to adjust to warming temperatures, and whether relevant genetic variation is modified by management practices. The critically endangered Delta Smelt ( Hypomesus transpacificus ) is intensively managed, but little is known about the presence of genetic variation for resistance to elevated temperature, which will be important to maintain for their persistence in a rapidly warming future. Using a pedigree and whole genome sequencing data, we characterized the genetic variation and genomic architecture for CTMax (as a metric of upper thermal tolerance) across control and elevated rearing temperatures, alongside covarying traits (body size, degree of hatchery ancestry). Warmer rearing temperatures increased CTMax through acclimation but also resulted in reduced additive genetic variation for the trait, which could constrain adaptation under thermal stress. We found that larger fish had reduced CTMax, although this effect was diminished at elevated temperatures. We observed modest heritability for CTMax at rearing temperatures of 15°C and 18°C (0.26 and 0.16, respectively), but only a limited number of loci were identified that had consistent effects on CTMax across rearing temperatures. Instead, the genomic basis of thermal tolerance was highly dependent on rearing temperature (many loci detected with a GxE effect). The influence of domestication selection was indicated by changes in allele frequency, and divergence in upper thermal tolerance and plasticity, between low and high hatchery ancestry groups. Minimal overlap between loci associated with domestication and CTMax suggests that these traits possess separate genetic underpinnings. Knowledge of genetic variation supporting ecologically relevant physiological variation may be useful for refuge management and may inform supplementation in an ever-warming environment.

Metasurface absorbers play a critical role in microwave electromagnetic control, yet conventional designs suffer from fixed performance and strong cross-coupling between tunable parameters, limiting their adaptability in dynamic environments. Here, we propose a dual-band reconfigurable metasurface absorber with independent modulation of absorption intensity and frequency. The absorber adopts a double-layer metallic structure integrated with PIN diodes and varactors, realizing independent regulation of absorption intensity and frequency. In the lower band (4.1-7.7 GHz, S11 < -10 dB), the absorption intensity is continuously tunable via the PIN diode bias without frequency shift, while in the upper band (13.4-14.4 GHz), the absorption frequency is continuously tunable via the varactor bias without intensity variation. Quantitative cross-sensitivity analysis yields a frequency shift of less than 1.5% during intensity tuning and an intensity variation of less than 0.8 dB during frequency tuning. The absorber exhibits polarization insensitivity and stable performance under oblique incidence up to 45°. An equivalent circuit model is developed and validated against full-wave simulations. Numerical analyses of fabrication tolerance for the active components confirm that the highly decoupled behavior is robust, with absorption peak shifts below 0.15 GHz and intensity variations below ±1.2 dB. Our conceptual design highlights the potential towards independent multi-parametric control in reconfigurable metasurface absorbers for adaptive electromagnetic shielding, smart radomes, and frequency-agile sensing.

High sound pressure level (SPL) acoustic sensing requires miniaturized microphones that can operate under large acoustic loading while maintaining mechanical linearity, sufficient sensing response, and broadband audio frequency behavior. This work targets high-SPL operation and numerically investigates a graphene piezoresistive MEMS microphone based on a membrane-supported beam-island diaphragm. The proposed structure retains a continuous membrane for acoustic load bearing, while the upper beam-island topology redirects deformation-induced strain toward beam root regions where graphene piezoresistors are placed. This design is intended to increase the local strain available for piezoresistive readout without simply relying on larger global diaphragm deflection. Finite-element analysis was used to optimize the diaphragm geometry and evaluate strain enhancement, pressure response linearity, modal behavior, and harmonic response. Under the 170 dB SPL reference condition, the optimized structure increases the peak structural strain from 47.83 με in a thickness-equivalent solid diaphragm to 562.53 με, achieving an approximately 11.8-fold enhancement in local sensing strain while maintaining a highly linear pressure response (R2 > 0.9999). Additionally, the results also show that the sensor exhibits a high first natural frequency of 64.07 kHz and a small response variation of approximately 0.94 dB within the 0-20 kHz target frequency range, indicating excellent dynamic stability and high-fidelity signal transduction characteristics. To connect the structural response with piezoresistive readout, first-order electromechanical output estimation was further performed using representative graphene gauge factors, quarter-bridge readout assumptions, contact resistance correction, and Johnson-noise-limited signal-to-noise ratio estimation. A ±5% geometric tolerance check further indicates that the membrane side length is the most fabrication-sensitive parameter, while the selected design remains generally robust except for reduced linearity margin under positive membrane side-length deviation. These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed graphene-based MEMS microphone for high-SPL broadband acoustic sensing applications in harsh and high-intensity acoustic environments.

Taiwan's subtropical climate poses substantial heat stress challenges to poultry production. This study compared four red-feathered rooster lines (n = 10 per line, BB homozygous HSP70 genotype)-three commercially bred lines (F, T, K) selected for maximum body weight, and one native trial line (TLRI-09) developed through marker-assisted selection targeting the HSP70 BB genotype-during a one-hour acute heat challenge at 42 °C. A pre-specified statistical decision tree was applied: normality was assessed by the Shapiro-Wilk test for each group's change score (Δ = post - pre); one-way ANOVA with Tukey's HSD was used when all groups were normally distributed; Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn's post hoc test (Bonferroni correction) was used otherwise. Within-group pre-to-post changes were assessed by paired t-test. TLRI-09 showed a substantially lower body weight (909 ± 102 g vs. 2039-2226 g) and zero mortality, whereas each commercial line experienced one death (10%). Cloacal temperatures in F, T, and K groups exceeded the thermometer's upper limit (>44 °C) within one hour; TLRI-09 reached only 42.8 ± 0.1 °C. Respiratory rate increment was highest in TLRI-09 (Δ = 82.0 ± 8.4 breaths/min) and differed significantly among lines (p < 0.001). Plasma T3 change differed among lines (p = 0.006); post hoc analysis identified a significant K vs. T contrast only (p = 0.019). These results indicate that, despite sharing the same HSP70 genotype, breeding objective is an important determinant of acute thermal resilience-an observation that warrants further validation under chronic and commercial production conditions.

The mechanisms generating immunity involved in nasal vaccination for children are likely to differ significantly from both adult immunity and animal models. A deeper understanding is necessary for the development of future paediatric mucosal vaccines. Live-attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) are licensed mucosal vaccines which confer protection in children against severe influenza. Beyond individual protection, mucosal vaccines can also limit transmission and colonisation, offering broader public health benefits than parenteral vaccination. We describe a protocol for an exploratory, observational study assessing systemic and mucosal responses to LAIV in healthy children.

Nerve surgery for unmeasurable upper extremity neuropathophysiology - such as pronator syndrome, supinator syndrome/radial tunnel syndrome, lacertus syndrome, and neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome - remains a subject of ongoing debate due to the lack of objective reference tests confirming the diagnoses. This round table discussion outlines the perspectives of five expert surgeons navigating the clinical and ethical uncertainties of offering surgery for theoretical neuropathies presenting as non-specific pain. The panel explores the balance between subjective patient reporting and objective diagnostic limitations, the ethical implications of surgical placebo effects, and how to determine treatment effectiveness. The discussion highlights the divergent strategies among specialists regarding risk tolerance, overtreatment, and the implementation of shared decision-making in the absence of measurable disease.