Eötvös Loránd University

Background and aims: The addiction literature conceptualizes problematic substance use and addictive behaviors (e.g., gambling disorder, gaming disorder) as having shared etiologies and phenomenologies. The reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) model proposes blunted responses to natural rewards that potentially contribute to the development of addictive behaviors. The 29-item Reward Deficiency Syndrome Questionnaire (RDSQ-29) was developed to assess RDS-related psychological-behavioral characteristics. The aim of the present study was to validate the Hebrew version of the RDSQ-29 and to provide empirical evidence for the relevance of RDS in addictive behaviors and related psychological features. Methods: The sample comprised 961 Jewish Israeli young adults from the general community (age 19–27 years; M = 23.40 years [SD = 1.95]) who were assessed for personality characteristics (attachment styles, RDS, compulsive personality), internet gaming disorder (IGD), problematic use of social media use (PUSM), compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD), and gambling disorder (GD). Results: The analysis confirmed the validity and factor structure of the RDSQ-29. RDSQ-29 scores showed a significant but weak association with anxiety, avoidance, and compulsive personality. Also, weak to modest relationships were found between RDSQ-29 scores and the severity of the four potential behavioral addictions. Discussion: The findings suggest that the Hebrew translation of the RDSQ-29 is a psychometrically sound instrument to assess RDS. Given that different potentially addictive and other problematic behaviors are associated with RDS, its assessment might be useful in prevention or screening.

Polypeptides can self‐assemble into highly organized amyloid structures through complex and poorly understood mechanisms. To better understand the key parameters governing amyloidogenesis, we investigated the aggregation of the Sup35 prion‐derived GNNQQNY sequence alongside two rationally designed mutants, glutamine to norleucine in the 4th or 5th position, where selective removal of hydrogen bonding capacity reduces amyloid structural stability. Our findings reveal that β‐sheet arrays form rapidly as an initial step, followed by π–π aromatic interactions between Tyr residues, which drive hierarchical self‐assembly into 3D fibrillar structures via hydrophobic zippers and partial water exclusion. As the oligomers grow, they also acquire twist and chirality at the protofilament level, with Tyr ladders serving as key interaction surfaces that dictate the final amyloid architecture. These ladders guide protofibrils to assemble into either oppositely twisted chiral fibers or achiral nanocrystals, contributing to amyloid polymorphism. The emergence of distinct polymorphs is influenced by multiple factors, including fibril twisting, side‐chain interactions, solvent exclusion, and local microenvironmental conditions. Our study provides crucial insights into the hierarchical nature of amyloid self‐assembly and highlights the structural adaptability of amyloid fibrils, which is essential for designing functional amyloids and understanding the pathogenicity of disease‐associated aggregates.

Numerous HIV related outcomes can be determined on the viral genome, for example, resistance associated mutations, population transmission dynamics, viral heritability traits, or time since infection. Viral sequences of people with HIV (PWH) are therefore essential for therapeutic and research purposes. While in the first three decades of the HIV pandemic viral genomes were mainly sequenced using Sanger sequencing, the last decade has seen a shift towards next-generation sequencing (NGS) as the preferred method. NGS can achieve near full length genome sequence coverage and simultaneously, it accurately encapsulates the within-host diversity by characterizing HIV subpopulations. NGS opens new avenues for HIV research, but it also presents challenges concerning data management and analysis. We therefore set up the Swiss HIV Cohort Study Viral NGS Database (SHCND) to address key issues in the handling of NGS data including high loads of raw- and processed NGS data, data storage solutions, downstream application of sophisticated bioinformatic tools, high-performance computing resources, and reproducibility. The database is nested within the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Zurich Primary HIV Infection Cohort Study (ZPHI), which together enrolled 21,876 PWH since 1988 and include a biobank dating back to the early nineties. Since its initiation in 2018, the SHCND accumulated NGS sequences (plasma and proviral origin) of 5,178 unique PWH. We here describe the design, set-up, and use of this NGS database. Overall, the SHCND has contributed to several research projects on HIV pathogenesis, treatment, drug resistance, and molecular epidemiology, and has thereby become a central part of HIV-genomics research in Switzerland.

Authoritarianism is a key predisposition that serves as a motivational base for prejudice against non‐conventional social groups, but less is known about the contextual bases of authoritarian prejudice. Using multinational data, we revealed how contextual social equality and inclusion affect authoritarian prejudice. Authoritarians' sensitivity to social and normative threats and conformity to norms would indicate the opposite influence of contextual equality on the relationship between authoritarianism and negative attitudes towards non‐conventional outgroups. Based on data from the World Values Survey (2017–2022) and other country‐ranking indices, and the analysis of authoritarian prejudice against three different groups (immigrants, gay people, and traditional gender roles), we found that social equality and inclusion strengthen the effect of authoritarianism on prejudice. These results indicate that social equality functions as a contextual threat, catalyzing the “authoritarian dynamic” rather than serving as an acceptable norm to authoritarians.

Methodology for direct fluoroalkenylation of phenolic OH function was developed using a fluorinated electrophilic reagent derived from HFO1234ze gas. Besides various functionalized phenols, tyrosine and tyrosine‐based peptides were successfully conjugated under the optimized reaction conditions. Furthermore, the transformability of the fluoroalkenyl bromide motif was demonstrated to expand the space of bioconjugation via palladium catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions.

We investigated the trophic ecology of three non-native crayfish species (the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis, the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii and the spiny-cheek crayfish Faxonius limosus) and two non-native fishes (the eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki and the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus) from two sections of a thermal tributary of the Barát brook in Budapest (Hungary) over the four seasons using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. All crayfish species occupied an omnivore trophic position in almost all sections and seasons. On the other hand, both fishes had a predatory trophic position, with G. aculeatus occupying a higher position than G. holbrooki. These patterns are confirmed by the results of the mixing models, showing spatial and temporal changes in the diet composition. We also found interspecific differences in the crayfish trophic niche in both sections during summer and overlapped niches in the other occasions, while fish had always segregated niches. Crayfish showed interseasonal differences in the trophic niche in both sections, while fish showed seasonal niche shifts only in the upper section. Our results show a considerable plasticity in the trophic ecology of the studied non-native populations, suggesting that the temperature variability gradient has no important role in determining their trophic niche.

In this paper, all results apply only to finite graphs. Let G be a simple connected finite graph with n vertices and maximum degree $\Delta (G)$. We show that the list-distinguishing chromatic number $\chi _{D_{L}}(G)$ of G is at most $2\Delta (G)$, and it is $2\Delta (G)$ if G is a complete bipartite graph $K_{\Delta (G),\Delta (G)}$ or a cycle with six vertices. We apply a result of Lovász to reduce the above-mentioned upper bound of $\chi _{D_{L}}(G)$ for certain graphs. We also show that if H is a connected unicyclic graph of girth of at least seven and $\Delta (H)\ge 3$, then $\chi _{D_{L}}(H)$ is at most $\Delta (H)$. Moreover, we obtain two upper bounds for $\chi _{D_{L}}(G)$ in terms of the coloring number of G and the list chromatic number of G. We also determine the list-distinguishing chromatic number for some special graphs.

The position occupied in social networks influences the success of individuals in many animal species. However, the associations between bird song (an important means of communication) and the relative position in social networks remained understudied. Such associations are expected because neighbors can learn song elements from each other or change their songs due to competition, and also because song can be related to other individual traits determining social network positions. We investigated these phenomena in males of the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a passerine with complex songs and intense territorial interactions. Relying on 19 years of song recordings, we used multiple traits reflecting the spectral and temporal characteristics and complexity of songs, as well as syllable composition, to investigate if similarity in song is associated with the position in neighbor networks. We also examined whether birds settle down in an age‐dependent manner (as age is linked to individual quality) and whether the nonrandom spatial distribution of song is affected by the proportion of immigrants, young birds, or the number of displaying males. We found that the minimum frequency and the repertoire size of neighbors differed, but this pattern was not shaped by the investigated predictors. Therefore, our results highlight the need to study communication traits and social environment together. The fact that neighboring males tend to sing differently with respect to some song traits suggests that songs can be flexibly adjusted based on the performance of conspecifics.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a fundamental sleep state associated with diverse functions from elemental physiological processes to higher order neurocognitive functions. A growing body of research indicates that REM sleep with eye movements (phasic REM) differs from REM periods without ocular activity (tonic) in terms of spontaneous and evoked neural responses. Studies using auditory stimulation consistently observed enhanced evoked responses in tonic versus phasic REM, indicating that external processing is largely diminished when the eyes move during REM sleep. Whereas exteroceptive processing during sleep is widely studied, investigations on interoception (the processing of bodily signals) during sleep are scarce, and limited to scalp electroencephalographic recordings. Here we studied interoceptive processing in a group of epileptic patients (N = 11) by measuring their heartbeat‐related neural activity in the anterior nuclei of the thalamus (ANT) during phasic and tonic REM sleep and resting wakefulness. Evoked potentials and beta–low gamma spectral power locked to the heartbeat were significantly different in phasic REM compared with tonic REM and wakefulness. Heartbeat‐related neural signals exhibited pronounced inter‐trial phase synchronization at lower (7–20 Hz) oscillatory activity in all vigilance states, but reduced gamma synchronization at later time points in phasic REM only. Tonic REM and wakefulness did not show significant differences in heartbeat‐related activity in the ANT. Our findings indicate that heartbeat‐related neural activity is detectable at the level of the ANT, showing distinct signatures of interoceptive processing in phasic REM compared with tonic REM and wakefulness. image Key points We studied interoceptive processing in the anterior the thalamus (ANT). The ANT tracks cardiac signals during wakefulness and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Phasic REM shows distinct patterns of heartbeat‐related oscillatory activity. Interoceptive processing might be attenuated during REM periods with eye movements.

Humans have long applied canine olfaction in various contexts. Dog olfactory brain networks have recently been mapped by anatomical measures, but functional connections remain unexplored. Also, whereas individual characteristics, including age, sex, and brain shape, are known to affect olfactory performance, their covariation with olfactory functional networks is unknown. To address these, we investigated dogs’ resting-state functional connectivities between anatomically defined olfactory regions and assessed whether and how their olfactory functional network is affected by age, sex, and brain shape. Olfactory functional connectivity strength exhibited negative correlations with both age and brain shape: older dogs and those with rounder-shaped brains demonstrated lower functional connectivity, respectively, but no effect of sex was found. The results suggest that both aging and brain morphology can negatively impact a dog’s sense of smell, and older dogs and dogs with rounder-shaped brains may have diminished olfactory performance.

We introduce the Piquasso quantum programming framework, a full-stack open-source software platform for the simulation and programming of photonic quantum computers. Piquasso can be programmed via a high-level Python programming interface enabling users to perform efficient quantum computing with discrete and continuous variables. Via optional high-performance C++ backends, Piquasso provides state-of-the-art performance in the simulation of photonic quantum computers. The Piquasso framework is supported by an intuitive web-based graphical user interface where the users can design quantum circuits, run computations, and visualize the results.

This article examines the KfH Kuratorium decision and its broader implications for gender equality, discrimination against part-time workers, and statistical evidence requirements in proving indirect discrimination under EU law. It explores how the CJEU's ruling interprets the principle of non-discrimination in cases involving unequal treatment of part-time workers, particularly women, and how it compares to other areas of discrimination law, such as nationality-based discrimination.

Contemporary emancipatory praxis is undermined by ‘activist fatigue’ related to the uncertain efficiency of collective action. The article investigates the phenomenon from a critical theoretical perspective. The crisis of praxis is inseparable from the crisis of theory: to resolve them, critical theory's relation to suffering needs to be revised. To provide an alternative framework, the perspective of consolation is proposed as a counter to activist fatigue. Consolation does not aim at eradicating the activists’ existential suffering; instead, it provides tools to live with the uncertainties of activism. To elaborate a version of consolation capable of resolving the crisis of emancipatory praxis, four questions are analysed: what is the relationship between critique and consolation; how can the phenomenological space of consolation be described; what are the contemporary constraints surrounding consolation; how can consolation be consistent with both the demands of critique and the constraints of late modernity, while avoiding activist fatigue?

Kohn–Sham density functional theory is widely used for screening color centers in semiconductors. While the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) generalized gradient approximation functional is efficient, its accuracy in describing defects is often not sufficient. The Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof (HSE) functional is more accurate but computationally expensive, making it impractical for large-scale screening. This study evaluates the strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) family of meta-GGA functionals as potential alternatives to PBE for characterizing NV-like color centers in 4H-SiC using the Automatic Defect Analysis and Qualification (ADAQ) framework. We examine nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, sulfur, and chlorine vacancies in 4H-SiC, focusing on applications in quantum technology. Our results show that SCAN and r²SCAN achieve a greater accuracy than PBE, approaching HSE's precision at a lower computational cost. This suggests that the SCAN family offers a practical improvement for screening new color centers, with computational demands similar to PBE.

Renal ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common complication in several clinical scenarios including kidney transplantation. Mannan-binding lectin-associated serine proteinase (MASP)-2 is essential for activation of the complement lectin pathway, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal IRI and therefore represents a potential therapeutic target. We developed a new, affinity-enhanced MASP-2 inhibitor, EVO24, by directed evolution of the D2 domain of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor. EVO24 was fused with a human IgG1-Fc to create the homodimer EVO24L, which potently and selectively inhibited the lectin pathway in human and mouse serum in vitro. EVO24L was tested in a mouse model of unilateral warm renal IRI. EVO24L administered before and after ischemia significantly protected against IRI, with improved renal function as well as reduced tubular injury and inflammatory cell infiltration at 24 h compared to vehicle-treated mice. Immunofluorescence analyses showed reduced deposition of complement components (C3d, C4d, and C9) and reduced expression of VCAM-1, indicating a decrease in complement activation and endothelial cell activation. Additionally, EVO24L treatment lowered plasma levels of complement C5a, hyaluronan (a marker of endothelial glycocalyx shedding), and the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α. Our findings indicate that EVO24L inhibits acute inflammatory responses in renal IRI by blocking the lectin pathway, confirming the important role of this pathway in acute ischemic kidney injury and warranting further investigation of EVO24L in clinical settings.

Let X be a compact Riemann surface. Let $(E,\theta )$ be a stable Higgs bundle of degree 0 on X . Let $h_{\det (E)}$ denote a flat metric of the determinant bundle $\det (E)$ . For any $t\gt 0$ , there exists a unique harmonic metric $h_t$ of $(E,t\theta )$ such that $\det (h_t)=h_{\det (E)}$ . We prove that if the Higgs bundle is induced by a line bundle on the normalization of the spectral curve, then the sequence $h_t$ is convergent to the naturally defined decoupled harmonic metric at the speed of the exponential order. We also obtain a uniform convergence for such a family of Higgs bundles.

From the perspective of the European Union, it becomes crucial to understand the forces that are shaping the Member States and are driving policy changes. As explained before, what is claimed here is that the political culture of the Member States has a fundamental effect on the functioning of the EU, and values are also transferred from the Member States to the Union.