University of Fribourg

Uncovering the role of biogeography, resources, food web composition and time during microbial primary succession

Ecological succession is shaped by multiple processes that operate simultaneously across spatial and temporal scales. While classical succession theory generally focuses on a single trophic level within a single location, often in plants or other macroscopic organisms, recent eff...

Starvation transforms signal encoding in C. elegans thermoresponsive neurons and suppresses heat avoidance via bidirectional glutamatergic and peptidergic signaling

. During early food deprivation (1-hr off food), the thermoresponsive sensory neurons AWCs mediate robust heat-evoked reversals over a broad range of stimulus intensities via glutamate and FLP-6 neuropeptide signaling, each covering distinct heat intensity ranges. After six hours...

Limited global awareness of invasive alien species and little support for their management

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main drivers of global change and can cause a wide range of negative ecological and social impacts. Addressing these impacts requires management actions, which can fail to be effective when not supported by the public. Here, we conducte...

Tectonics of the Mont Tendre and Mont Risoux (Internal Jura Mountains): mapping and 2D kinematic forward modelling

This study focuses on a new geological cross-section and forward model of the Mont Tendre and Mont Risoux anticlines within the Internal Jura of the Jura fold-and-thrust belt. The results are based on fieldwork, remote sensing, data compilation of previous studies and geological...

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Suicidality Among Children and Adolescents Living with HIV in South Africa

Abstract Despite progress in HIV prevention and treatment, global data suggests that youth living with HIV remain at risk of mental disorders and suicidality. However, reliable epidemiological data from South Africa (SA) are limited. We conducted a systematic review and meta-anal...

From “Aha!” to “Haha!”: Humour processing and insight problem-solving in autism

Humour processing requires the integration of disparate information and shares cognitive mechanisms with insight problem-solving, in which previously unrecognized connections are suddenly discovered through an “Aha!” experience. Autistic individuals may differ from neurotypical i...

Modifying Electrochemical Doping in Light‐Emitting Electrochemical Cells With Gold Nanoparticles

ABSTRACT Electrochemical doping enables dynamic control of organic semiconductors and underpins technologies such as electrochemical transistors, energy‐storage, bioelectronic, and light‐emitting devices. It is typically governed by the active‐material composition or the applied...

Serial Optical Coherence Tomography Findings After Lesion-Preparation Incorporating the ShockFast™ Intravascular Lithotripsy: A Prospective Single-Center Imaging Sub-Study

Background: Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is an established calcium modification strategy for severely calcified coronary lesions. The Shunmei ShockFast™ IVL system is a novel device that appeared safe and feasible in an initial clinical experience. However, its calcium fractur...

Hierarchical quasiparticle dynamics in antiferromagnets revealed by time- and momentum-resolved X-ray scattering

Abstract Energy flows among coupled subsystems are essential for ultrafast dynamics and high-speed technologies. In magnetic materials, spin fluctuations —magnons— mediate these flows in ultrafast magnetism. Yet momentum-resolved access to low-energy magnons governing the microsc...

Near-Critical Ornstein–Zernike Theory for the Planar Random-Cluster Model

Abstract We develop an Ornstein–Zernike theory for the two-dimensional random-cluster model with $$1 \le q <4$$ 1 ≤ q < 4 that also applies in its near-critical regime. In particular, we prove an asymptotic formula for the two-point function which holds uniformly for $$p < p_c$$...

Morphosyntactic processing of complex nonwords in sentence context: An ERP study

The current study aimed to understand morphosyntactic processing of suffixes in sentence context. We employed Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to assess how the morphosyntactic features carried by suffixes are integrated in the syntactic structure of the sentence during reading. T...

Causal responsibility for (possibly) overdetermined climate harms

When it comes to climate change, some people may think that they bear no responsibility for climate change-related harms because their own behaviour does not make any difference to these harms – they will happen whatever they do or omit doing. In climate ethics, this issue is kno...

Severe antipsychotic-associated gastrointestinal hypomotility: AMSP pharmacovigilance data from 333,175 psychiatric inpatients

Abstract Background Severe courses of gastrointestinal hypomotility (GIH) are rare but potentially life-threatening adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with antipsychotic drugs (APDs). This study aimed to investigate the frequency, clinical characteristics, and associated dr...

Contribution of Adolescent Movement Behaviours to Socioeconomic Inequalities in Adult Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Causal Decomposition in a Population-Based Cohort

Abstract Addressing unhealthy movement behaviours in adolescence could reduce socioeconomic inequalities in adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Among 6608 adolescents enrolled in the Add Health cohort (1994-1995) and followed into adulthood (2016-2018), movement behaviours (...

Supramolecular Mechanophore Additives Enable Mechanochromic Hydrogels

ABSTRACT Mechanochromic hydrogels that report deformation through optical signals require mechanophores that function in aqueous environments, are activated at low force, and allow integration into the hydrogel matrix. Here, we report a new strategy to address these challenges th...

Use of Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Physical Activity for Refining Cardiovascular Risk Prediction in the General Population - Insights from the CoLaus/PsyCoLaus Study

Abstract Aim The SCORE2/SCORE2-OP, recommended for estimating 10-year risk of first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), does not include lifestyle factors. We investigated whether adding self-reported physical activity and Mediterranean diet adherence improves predict...

A Dual PCM Thermal Battery Delivering More than 80 kW of Discharge Power Despite the Low Thermal Conductivity of Organic PCM

The increasing deployment of decentralized renewable energy systems requires sus-tainable, affordable, and high-energy-density storage technologies. While thermal en-ergy storage using phase change materials (PCMs) represents a promising solution, its widespread adoption remains...

A single-amino-acid cleavage controls global mitochondrial complex integrity

Abstract Mitochondrial proteostasis depends on precise N-terminal processing of imported precursor proteins. Defects in this maturation step are implicated in disease, yet the functional impact in humans remains unclear. Here we show that the intermediate cleaving peptidase ICP55...

The Problem of Temporal Misalignment in Longitudinal Causal Research

A common goal of longitudinal research in psychology and related disciplines is the study of causal effects over time. An often overlooked assumption in this context is temporal alignment, referring to a match between the timescale at which a longitudinal process operates, the ti...

Local Acidity as a Corrosiveness Descriptor of Fluorinated Ether Solvents in Lithium–Metal Batteries

ABSTRACT Electrolyte engineering based on solvent fluorination has proven effective for stabilizing lithium (Li) metal batteries by weakening the Li + ‐solvent interaction. However, the influence of fluorination on the chemical reactivity of an electrolyte toward Li metal remains...