Vilnius University

Governing Solar Geoengineering at Planetary Scale: Pipe Dream or Possibility?

Solar geoengineering is being suggested by some scientists as a partial solution to the climate crisis. However, these hypothetical technologies to reflect parts of incoming sunlight back out into space pose significant governance challenges, due to their ecological risks, planet...

Folded futures: the exquisite corpse of citizenship and the emergence of planetizen

This paper introduces the planetizen as a speculative figure of more-than-human planetary belonging, emerging not through coherence but through rupture, absurdity, and relational composition. Drawing on a semester-long collaboration with students in the Planetizing Citizenship co...

Naming and Shaming to Protect Civilians During Peacekeeping: Lessons from South Sudan

Abstract What can the United Nations do to strengthen the protection of civilians when it fails? When missions struggle to protect civilians, high‐level naming and shaming of non‐responsive units within the operation can occur to reorient the operation. Shaming helps rehabilitate...

‘Like a nest of homosexuals:’ tracing homophobia in post-socialist Lithuanian print media (1994–2004)

This article examines the historical roots and discursive developments of homophobia in Lithuanian print media from 1994 to 2004, a decade following the decriminalization of homosexuality, and leading up to Lithuania’s accession to the European Union. The article demonstrates how...

Digital solutions for tackling mental health in cancer patients and their families: The ALTHEA project

Despite advances in cancer treatment, the growing global cancer burden underscores the need for comprehensive and supportive care to address the needs of patients and their families. However, access to psycho-oncological support remains often limited across healthcare systems. Th...

A Review of Molecular Representations in Quantum Machine Learning

This review synthesizes state-of-the-art quantum machine learning (QML) techniques for molecular modeling, focusing on strategies designed to overcome the limitations of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) hardware. A central challenge is the encoding of high-dimensional chem...

Berberine and Etoposide Exert Synergistic Anticancer Effects in A431 Epidermoid Carcinoma Cells

Abstract Berberine, a natural isoquinoline alkaloid derived fromCoptidis rhizoma has long been used in traditional medicine and has recently attracted attention for its potential role in cancer therapy. Emerging evidence suggests that berberine can inhibit proprotein convertase s...

Multimodal Hyperspectral Imaging Unveils Pigment Rearrangement in the Diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana under Changing Physicochemical Conditions

Abstract Revealing the spatial organization and stress-induced rearrangements of the photosynthetic machinery in thylakoids of diatoms is crucial for understanding their metabolic responses and/or adaptation. Using a multimodal framework that combines coherent anti-Stokes Raman s...

Intracavity THz Generation Using a Thin Lithium Niobate Plate in a Compact Kerr-Lens Mode-Locked Yb:CALGO Bulk Oscillator

Abstract We demonstrate intracavity terahertz (THz) generation via optical rectification in a 50-µm-thick lithium niobate crystal placed inside a compact diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked (KLM) Yb:CALGO bulk oscillator. The oscillator operates at a repetition rate of 85 MHz and...

Closing the Loop: High‐Precision 3D Photofabrication in Living Tissues

ABSTRACT Multiphoton absorption enables three‐dimensional fabrication of photoresists ranging from ceramics to hydrogels and has recently been extended to the writing of microstructures within the dermis, muscle, and brain of living animals. However, an intrinsic difficulty preve...

Patterns of recorded sexual violence in Lithuania before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sexual violence is a major public health and medico-legal concern, but many cases remain unreported. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, social isolation, restricted services, and psychosocial stress raised concerns about changes in reporting. This study aimed to analyz...

East Syriac language and ethnicity amongst St. Thomas Catholic Christians of Kerala

Abstract This article explores how East Syriac, the religious language of St. Thomas Catholic Christians in what today is the state of Kerala (India), became a key ethnic marker during the 16th and 17th centuries. It tracks the tensions sparked off by European missionaries, who t...

Financial bureaucracy featuring innovation bureaucracy – insights from diverging pathways in Estonia and Lithuania

The paper investigates the integration of innovation-centric characteristics within traditional financial bureaucracies as they confront the rise of the FinTech sector. From the financial governance perspective, FinTech acts as a significant disruptive force, challenging the esta...

Upfront surgery vs. neoadjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer with venous involvement: a multicenter retrospective analysis

Abstract Introduction The benefits of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for pancreatic cancer (PC) with portal venous involvement remain debated. This study aimed to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of surgery with or without NAT in patients with PC with suspected venous involve...

GENDIRECT: a GENeralized DIRECT-type algorithmic framework for derivative-free global optimization

The DIRECT algorithm (DIviding RECTangles) has been a cornerstone of derivative-free global optimization for three decades, inspiring numerous enhancements and adaptations. The recent DIRECTGO toolbox consolidated over fifty of these implementations, providing users with a divers...

Autumn edible mushrooms’ euphoria in Dzūkija, SE Lithuania: lessons to learn for an ethnobiology of situated and resilient forest practices

Dzūkija is the most heavily forested region of Lithuania, and foragers and ethnographers alike describe it as the country’s epicentre of mushroom enthusiasm. We interviewed 34 foragers there in October 2025 (20 women, 14 men; mean age 56 years) to ask why gathering fungi in this...

The interplay of social capital, digital transformation and sustainability for designing international marketing strategies: a systematic literature review

Purpose This study systematically reviews the current literature on the role of social capital in adopting digital technologies and achieving sustainability. The current investigation identifies key insights across social capital, digital transformation and sustainability paradig...

Business families and rural social entrepreneurship: an institutional logics perspective

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of social entrepreneurship in rural areas, with a focus on rural business families as integrated local actors. To this end, we employed an abductive multiple-case study design, conducting 68 in-depth interviews with sta...

Specialty choice and educational experiences among medical students in Lithuania: a cross-sectional study

Understanding medical students’ perspectives is important for improving medical education and student well-being. This cross-sectional study examined medical education from the student perspective by describing motivations, concerns, perceived study difficulty, and satisfaction a...

Enhanced coupling efficiency in geometric terahertz rectennas based on scalable CVD graphene

Ubiquitous electromagnetic radiation from wireless communication networks is an untapped energy source for low-power devices. Passive rectennas (a combination of a rectifier and an antenna) can harvest this energy to power devices and systems, such as autonomous sensors. Rectenna...