Charles University

Circular orbits in spherically symmetric spacetimes and BSW effect with nonzero force

Abstract We consider circular particle motion under the action of an unspecified force in a static spherically symmetric spacetime. We derive the machinery that allows one to find the force acting on a circular particle and deduce whether its position is stable or not. This also...

Giant Well-Differentiated Liposarcoma of the Spermatic Cord Associated With Inguinal Hernia: Clinical Insights From a Case Report

Patient: Male

Even better sums of squares over quintic and cyclotomic fields

Abstract We classify all totally real number fields of degree at most 5 that admit a universal quadratic form with rational integer coefficients; in fact, there are none over the previously unsolved cases of quartic and quintic fields. This fully settles the lifting problem for u...

Discoveryof High-Affinity Peptide Ligands Targetingthe SPIN1 Tudor 3 Domain Via a Minimalist Pruning Strategy

Abstract Spindlin1 (SPIN1) is an epigenetic reader involved in oncology, whose third Tudor domain remains largely underexplored. Here, we applied a minimalist pruning strategy to the 26-mer peptide DOCpep3 to identify the core pharmacophore for SPIN1 Tudor 3 domain binding. This...

Maternal immune activation disrupts the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism in the placenta–fetal brain axis in rats

Abstract Background Maternal immune activation is a major risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders; however, the molecular mechanisms linking gestational inflammation to fetal brain vulnerability remain incompletely defined. The tryptophan–kynurenine pathway is highly respons...

The Search for Life Elsewhere: Avoiding Hype and Fostering Public Understanding

The search for life beyond Earth presents unique challenges for science communication due to its interdisciplinary nature, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries, and the inherent uncertainties involved. The Lorentz Center workshop Breaking News: We Found Extraterrestrial L...

Religious Education, Psychosocial Learning, and the Formation of Prosocial Behaviour: A Conceptual Study in Christian Educational Contexts

This article examines the role of psychosocial learning in the formation of prosocial behaviour within Christian religious education and broader religiously informed educational settings. While prosocial behaviour is frequently analysed from psychological, pedagogical, or sociolo...

Outside Back Cover: Cycloazulenylene

Cycloazulenylene exhibits a remarkably narrow HOMO–LUMO gap, intense absorption in the visible range, and a unique tubular packing in the solid state. In Research Article e2204400, Tomáš Slanina, Oliver Dumele, and co-workers strained the nonalternant azulene, known for its anti-...

Depression in people with epilepsy: reliability and validity of the Czech version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Beck Depression Fast Screen (BDI-FS) for major depressive episode

Objective Depression affects up to 55% of people with epilepsy (PWE) yet remains systematically underdiagnosed. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Czech versions of the Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II) and Beck Depression Inventory–Fast Screen (B...

Common pathways and outliers in glucose catabolism across Trypanosomatidae

Glucose catabolism in trypanosomatids differs significantly from that in most other eukaryotes. Here, the first few enzymes of the pathway are all located inside glycosomes, that is, the peroxisome‐like microbodies uniquely present in the Kinetoplastida and Diplonemida of the Eug...

Hydrophobic MFI‐Type Zeolites via Alkali‐Cation‐Induced Defect Healing: Implications for Adsorbent and Catalyst Design

ABSTRACT Here, we demonstrate that sub‐stoichiometric amounts of alkali cations (Na + and K + ) critically govern defect formation during the synthesis of Silicalite‐1 (MFI), enabling precise control over framework integrity and surface properties after calcination. Combining sys...

Nonfermenting Gram-Negative Bacilli Other Than Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter Species in Pediatric Blood Cultures: A Multicenter European Analysis

BACKGROUND: Nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli other than Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter species are increasingly recognized as opportunistic pathogens in pediatric populations, yet their epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance remain poorly defined. METHODS: We conducted a mul...

Towards Personalized Medicine in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Roadmap for the future of Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Management: A Consensus Roadmap from the EUTox, PerMedik and KidneyHealth networks

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects more than 800 million individuals worldwide and represents one of the fastest‑growing causes of morbidity and mortality. Despite major therapeutic advances, CKD is frequently detected only after substantial and irreversible loss of kidney func...

Temperature, pH and silica as key drivers of papillae formation in Mallomonas (Chrysophyceae) across local and continental scales

Abstract Papillae are small siliceous protuberances occurring on the scales and cysts of many chrysophyte algae, yet the environmental factors shaping their distribution remain poorly understood. We combined pan-European and local datasets to identify the key drivers of papillae...

Medium-term prediction of clinically relevant outcomes in first-episode schizophrenia patients

Background Predicting long-term outcomes in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) remains difficult, despite being especially important early in the illness, when timely intervention is most critical. It also remains unclear how much data from the initial phase of illness is required...

Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with antidepressants in major depressive disorder: a randomized, double-blind, single-center, sham-controlled trial

Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (DMPFC-rTMS) has shown some evidence of an antidepressant effect. This study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of DMPFC-rTMS as a combination strategy with concurrently initiated selective serotonin...

Prognostic Stratification of Brain Metastases from Nonanaplastic Follicular Cell–Derived Thyroid Carcinoma: Results of an International Multicenter Retrospective Study

Background: Brain metastases (BMs) from nonanaplastic follicular cell–derived thyroid carcinoma (hereinafter referred to as non-ATC) are rare and not well characterized, with limited evidence guiding treatment and prognostic stratification. We aimed to describe clinical features,...

The Impact of Robotization on Employees' Mental and Physical Health: A Qualitative Study in the Czech and Slovak Republics

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the impact of introducing robotic technologies on employees' mental and physical health across three Czech and one Slovak manufacturing company. It sought to understand employees' subjective experiences and perceptions of organizational sup...

Soil enzyme dynamics under PFAS contamination in arid and Mediterranean soils

Abstract Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent contaminants increasingly detected in agricultural soils, yet their effects on extracellular enzyme activities remain poorly resolved. This study examined the short- and long-term effects of perfluorooctanoic acid...

Detailed study of non-equilibrium characteristics of quasi-neutral TNSA plasmas

In an experiment performed in November 2022 at the petawatt (PW) laser facility at Vega III located in Salamanca-Spain, we have studied the successful production of several radioisotopes using protons accelerated by the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanism (Rodrigue...