[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.euros.2025.12.004.].

We establish an equivalence between the existence of Costas polynomials and the existence of a special kind of orthomorphism such that their compositions are also orthomorphisms. Computations are easier over these orthomorphisms. We provide a lower bound for the number of Costas polynomials and derive some of their properties. We show that Costas polynomials, by virtue of being multiplicative analogs of planar polynomials, can also be used to construct complete families of mutually orthogonal Latin squares.

Introduction and Objective: Sex differences in macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D) are known, but evidence on microvascular differences remain limited. Methods: We used an Austrian medical claims database of 8.9 million individuals (1997-2014). Comorbidities co-occurring with T2D were analyzed using sex- and age-specific contingency tables across 2-year intervals (2003-2014), with odds ratios estimated via the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method. Only comorbidities with sufficient case numbers were retained. Sex differences were quantified by the differences of logarithmic ORs between male and females in units of pooled standard errors assessed using a Bonferroni-corrected test. Results: In 40 to 49 year olds, females had more retinopathy (OR 9.3 vs. 5.5), chronic kidney failure (CKI: OR 9.8 vs. 6.5), depression (OR 3.1 vs. 1.9) and cardiovascular complications including chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD: OR 10.8 vs. 5.6), heart failure (HF: OR 12.1 vs. 7.7) and acute myocardial infarction (MI: OR 9.4 vs. 3.9, all p-values <0.001) compared to males with T2D. In 50 to 59 year olds, females had higher rates of CKI (OR 9.2 vs. 6.2), depression (OR 2.8 vs. 1.9) and cardiovascular complications (CIHD: OR 6.8 vs. 4.4, HF: OR 8.7 vs. 5.3, MI: OR 5.7 vs. 2.7) compared to males. Retinopathy showed no sex differences, but cerebral infarction was more frequent in females (OR 4.4 vs. 3.2). In age group 60 to 69 year olds, females had higher rates in cardiovascular complications (CIHD: OR 4.8 vs. 3.7, HF: OR 6.4 vs. 4.3, MI: OR 3.8 vs. 2.5), retinopathy (OR: 2.5 vs. 3.0), CKI (OR 7.3 vs. 4.9) and depression (OR: 2.5 vs. 2.0). Lastly, in 70 to 79 year olds the least differences with a higher rate of cardiovascular complications (CIHD: OR 3.5 vs. 3.2, MI: OR 3.1 vs. 2.3) and CKI (OR 5.0 vs. 4.0, all p-values<0.001) in females compared to males was reported. Conclusion: More comorbidities were associated with T2D in females than in males, including cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. These results support more personalized and effective management strategies. T. Gisinger: None. K. Fenz: None. P. Klimek: None. E. Dervic: None. A. Kautzky-Willer: None.

Effective early warning systems for aquatic contamination require monitoring strategies capable of detecting subtle, long-term shifts in mixture-driven biological activity. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) serves as a carrier and reservoir for complex contaminant mixtures, facilitating their transport and persistence in aquatic systems, yet systematic toxicological time series for archived SPM remain scarce. Regulatory monitoring predominantly targets Priority Substances and River Basin Specific Pollutants, leaving the temporal trends of particle-associated mixture toxicity largely unresolved. Leveraging 18 years (2005-2022) of cryogenically archived annual SPM composites from the Rhine River, we conducted a spatiotemporal effect-based assessment integrating receptor-mediated effects, oxidative stress analysis and untargeted Cell Painting phenomics. This integrated toolbox enabled evaluation of pathway-specific responses and multi-compartment cellular perturbations associated with particle-bound contaminant mixtures. Polar SPM-associated chemicals elicited oxidative stress response and caused endocrine disruption through estrogen receptor α (ERα) activation and androgen receptor inhibition (anti-AR). Trend analysis showed spatiotemporal variation along the river, with statistically increasing trends of oxidative stress and anti-AR activity over time at Koblenz, driven by polar chemicals. Both polar and non-polar SPM extracts activated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), indicating presence of compounds capable of triggering xenobiotic response pathways. Several subcellular compartments were affected, with mitochondrial features being among the most affected. These findings demonstrate that SPM-associated chemicals elicit diverse toxicological effects by acting on several receptors and impacting diverse cellular structures. Combining targeted and phenomics-based effect approaches provided comprehensive mechanistic insights and valuable information to support the early warning systems for chemical contamination in aquatic environments.

This systematic review synthesizes 38 peer-reviewed empirical studies (January 2010-December 2025) on microcontroller use in physics education, following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses procedures and searches in Scopus and ERIC. It describes how platforms such as Arduino, ESP32, Atmega328, and Micro:bit potentially support development of laboratory skills and may facilitate learning of mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism and optics. These low-cost programmable devices most often facilitate learning through automated, high-frequency data collection and real-time visualization, allowing students to observe transient phenomena and connect measurements to conceptual models. Instructions are typically inquiry and project-based, with students building sensor systems, troubleshooting, and developing computational and experimental reasoning. Across studies, motivation and engagement frequently improve, and some report gains in conceptual understanding and laboratory problem-solving. Different barriers include limited teacher training, time constraints, calibration/debugging difficulties, and resource and maintenance demands. Future studies should prioritize longitudinal research and scalable teaching models to support sustained classroom integration.

Timely diagnosis is critical for improving breast cancer outcomes, especially in resource-limited health systems. This study provides the first real-world evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina on diagnostic and treatment intervals, adherence, and survival in women with breast cancer. We conducted a retrospective analysis of breast cancer cases diagnosed between 2019 and 2023 at the Clinical Centre University of Sarajevo, the largest cancer center in the country, managing approximately 60% of cases in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most patients (78.1%; 95% CI: 73.8–82.3) were diagnosed through self-referral due to symptoms, with 62.4% of cancers detected at stages 1 and 2. The mean patient and system diagnostic intervals were 38.1 days (95% CI: 23.4–52.8) and 38.6 days (95% CI: 29.9–47.3), respectively, with a total diagnostic interval of 70 days (95% CI: 58.9–82.5). Almost all diagnostic procedures had a waiting time of less than ten days. Among all women undergoing surgery, radical mastectomy was performed in 61% (95% CI: 55–66), while among women with stage 1–2 disease, 55% (95% CI: 48–62) underwent radical mastectomy. Treatment duration averaged 3.7 months for chemotherapy (95% CI: 3.4–4.1) and 0.48 months for radiotherapy (95% CI: 0.26–0.69), with higher compliance for radiotherapy (99.5%; 95% CI: 98–100) than chemotherapy (78%; 95% CI: 72–84). Three-year progression-free survival was 85.7%, and overall three-year survival was 86%. Early breast cancer detection and favorable survival can be achieved even in resource-constrained settings.

This scoping review maps the scope, characteristics, and emerging patterns of empirical research on doomscrolling. Guided by PRISMA-ScR recommendations, searches were conducted in Scopus and Web of Science, and 50 empirical studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings indicate that doomscrolling is generally conceptualized as repetitive, prolonged, and difficult-to-stop consumption of negative digital news, often driven by uncertainty, informational needs, and emotional discomfort. Research on doomscrolling has expanded rapidly since 2020, with a focus on pandemic-related contexts and growing attention to climate change, natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts, and other crises. Methodologically, the field is dominated by cross-sectional quantitative studies, while longitudinal, experimental, qualitative, and intervention-oriented studies remain limited. Across the reviewed studies, doomscrolling was frequently associated with adverse psychological outcomes, including anxiety, depression, stress, psychological distress, and reduced well-being. Emerging evidence also suggests social and occupational implications, including distraction, reduced productivity, and altered risk perceptions. Key individual-level factors associated with doomscrolling include fear of missing out, intolerance of uncertainty, emotional vulnerability, and low self-regulation. Despite growing scholarly interest, the literature remains fragmented in terms of definitions, measurement tools, research designs, and contextual coverage. This review highlights the need for standardized, cross-culturally validated measures; broader populations and crisis contexts; and stronger longitudinal, experimental, and intervention-based evidence. Overall, the findings position doomscrolling as a multidimensional phenomenon at the intersection of digital media use, crisis communication, and mental health, with important implications for future interdisciplinary research and digital well-being initiatives.

A central promise of topological quantum computing is that increasing the excitation gap improves device performance significantly. Here, we experimentally validate this principle in an InAs--Pb tetron device via interferometric single-shot parity measurements. By replacing aluminum with the higher-gap superconductor lead in our superconductor-semiconductor hybrid devices, we have improved the robustness of our topological phase. In addition, to enable fast and precise bring-up at scale, we have developed an rf measurement technique that resolves low-energy wire-end states and directly measures their energy splitting with $\mu\text{eV}$ precision. We employ this technique to bring up a device in a multi-tetron array and perform parity measurements of one of the tetron's hybrid nanowires (NWs). By controllably switching the wire parity, we observe $h/2e$-periodic bimodal shifts in the quantum capacitance of a quantum dot coupled to the hybrid nanowire in an interference loop. Further time-resolved measurements reveal a characteristic parity switching time of $\sim 20$ s with some instances reaching minute-scale. Such extremely long parity lifetimes are orders of magnitude longer than typical qubit operation times, which are on the order of $\mu\text{s}$. Finally, we discuss potential implications for the fidelity of Pauli measurements.

This research aims to investigate the concept of industrial symbiosis as a change agent in the Circular Economy, with its consequent effects on the economy, the environment, and society in terms of sustainable development. This study employs qualitative research with quantitative support from a structured survey of 152 IS project experts, researchers, and practitioners, utilizing a questionnaire comprising Likert-type and multiple-choice questions. Data were aggregated into composite indicators and analyzed by using a log-log multiple regression model. Empirical results reveal that economic benefits are the most significant positive drivers. The actors’ involvement also contributes positively, highlighting the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration. Conversely, barriers have the strongest and the highest negative scale impact on perceived IS synergies. Broader economic and social conditions moderately enhance synergies, while awareness and training show a weaker but positive effect. IS is both economically viable and environmentally necessary, but its expansion depends on reducing financial, regulatory, and infrastructural barriers. Certain economic policy-driven interventions, such as fiscal incentives, regulatory clarity, and investment, enable infrastructure to scale up the adoption of IS.

Fifth-generation (5 G) network slicing enables multiple logical networks to share the same infrastructure, each designed to support distinct Service Level Agreements (SLAs). While network slicing is well supported in the Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5 G Core (5GC), the Transport Network (TN) backhaul is often treated as a slice-agnostic forwarding substrate. As a result, resource contention on shared links can significantly degrade network performance, such as latency and throughput, breaking end-to-end SLAs. This paper addresses this gap by making the TN sliceaware through a lightweight framework that translates slice requirements into concrete backhaul policies. The framework (i) associates each slice with TN identifiers at domain boundaries, (ii) turns slice requirements into per-slice forwarding and scheduling policies (e.g., priority and queue selection, bandwidth bounds, and optional congestion signals), and (iii) exports perslice measurements for monitoring and closed-loop control. We deploy a proof of concept on a programmable switch and evaluate it on a real-life 5 G testbed. Our results show that, under link saturation, slices designed for mission-critical services preserve their SLAs, while best-effort traffic degrades predictably.

This paper compiles results from six systematic reviews and meta-analyses on associations between environmental and occupational exposure to chemicals and levels of DNA strand breaks in human leukocytes, measured by the comet assay. There are no differences in effect sizes when using different comet descriptors. However, lower central tendencies are obtained by using a non-parametric test as compared to the standard parametric analysis, indicating that the standard meta-analyses tend to overestimate the effect size. The compiled results indicate that exposures can be sorted into three groups with decreasing effect size: high (pesticides), moderate (volatile organic compounds, heavy metals and antineoplastic drugs), and low (anaesthetic gases and air pollution). Interestingly, studies from middle-income countries have higher effect sizes than those seen in studies from high-income countries. This may be related to higher exposures or lower socioeconomic status in middle-income countries. However, there is also some co-variability between studies from middle-income countries and the risk of comet assay measurement bias, assessed as information provided in published papers. Lack of information on assay controls and blinded/coded sample analysis appears to be a general issue in studies on comet assay results. Risk of exposure misclassification is mainly related to the type of exposure; there are good biomarkers for some exposures (e.g. heavy metals), whereas other exposures are more challenging to assess with biomarkers (e.g. pesticides). In conclusion, all examined exposures result in significant increases in DNA strand breaks at the population level, though to varying degrees.