Latest Articles

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  Section: Nutrition ; Topics: Biochemistry

  Protein-enriched soups as a practical strategy to meet protein needs in older adults

  Hadisi, Parisa; Aubry, Laurent; Bourillon, Sylvie; Lopez, Victor; Sante-Lhoutellier, Veronique  

  10.24072/pcjournal.803 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e98

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  Soups are routinely included in home-delivery meals for the elderly, making them an effective vehicle for increasing protein intake in this population at risk of malnutrition. Adequate protein and essential amino acids, particularly branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), are critical for preserving muscle mass in this group, prompting this study to examine whether enriching vegetable-based soups could improve their nutritional quality. Five soups (pumpkin, lentil, chickpea, mushroom, and split pea) were enriched with animal-derived ingredients, including ham, La Vache qui rit® processed cheeses, and egg yolk, or with spirulina as an alternative protein source. Protein content, free iron, and phytic acid were quantified, and a static in-vitro digestion model adapted to older adult gastrointestinal conditions was applied under fixed-volume conditions to assess apparent protein hydrolysis through peptide and free amino acid release, as well as iron bioaccessibility. Protein content increased in all soups after enrichment, although the magnitude of improvement depended strongly on the soup base. After in-vitro digestion, enriched soups generally showed higher soluble protein-derived fractions and higher concentrations of free essential amino acids, including BCAAs. Egg yolk and spirulina produced the greatest increases in bioaccessible BCAAs, while spirulina-enriched soups showed the highest levels of bioaccessible free iron. In contrast, lentil soup, characterized by high phytic acid content, exhibited lower iron bioaccessibility, suggesting that inhibitory matrix components may limit the effectiveness of enrichment. Overall, these findings show that both the enrichment ingredient and the food matrix modulate nutrient release during digestion, and that selected animal-derived ingredients and spirulina can improve the nutritional potential of vegetable-based soups intended for older adults

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  Section: Psychology ; Topics: Psychological and cognitive sciences

  Using Formal and Computational Modelling to Develop an Initial Within-Person System Dynamics Model of Relapse in Smoking Cessation: A Participatory, Iterative, Multi-Method Approach

  Perski, Olga;   Allen, James M.; Kim, Meelim; Pavel, Misha; Hankonen, Nelli; Hekler, Eric

  10.24072/pcjournal.802 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e97

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  Popular relapse prevention theories are represented using natural language descriptions and lack temporal information about how phenomena of interest (i.e., ‘relapse’, ‘prolapse’, ‘abstinence’) are dynamically caused over time and within individuals. We drew on the Theory Construction Methodology to develop a formal and computational model of relapse in smoking cessation. We used a participatory, iterative, multi-method approach involving i) an informal theory and computational model review, ii) stakeholder interviews with researchers, people with lived experience, stop smoking practitioners, and policymakers (N = 15) and iii) in silico simulations. We propose an initial within-person system dynamics model of relapse (‘COMPLAPSE’) in which biopsychosocial factors (e.g., stressors, cigarette cues, cravings, self-efficacy) are represented as time-varying inputs and state variables. These factors jointly determine the momentary preference for each behavioural option (i.e., smoke a cigarette, use a regulatory strategy, do nothing), with the probability of selecting each option (i.e., the output) generated by a softmax function. The simulations highlight the model’s ability to generate representational patterns of the phenomena of interest (i.e., relapse, prolapse and abstinence), thus providing an early sense-check of its explanatory adequacy. In addition, local sensitivity analyses demonstrate that systematic variation of selected model parameters leads to expected qualitative shifts from, for example, prolapse to relapse. We discuss the implications of our work for relapse prevention theories and real-world applications, including the development and optimisation of technology-mediated just-in-time adaptive interventions for relapse prevention in smoking cessation.

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  Section: Mathematical & Computational Biology ; Topics: Evolution, Population biology, Statistics

  Trait evolution with incomplete lineage sorting and gene flow: the Gaussian Coalescent model

  Ané, Cécile;   Bastide, Paul  

  10.24072/pcjournal.789 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e96

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  Most phylogenetic comparative methods use a species-level phylogeny, ignoring the effect of incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and hemiplasy on the traits of interest. We consider here a trait controlled additively by one or more unknown loci. Their gene trees may differ from the species phylogeny due to ILS. The species phylogeny can be any phylogenetic tree or network or admixture graph on any number of taxa or populations. Our process of trait evolution accounts for introgression represented in the phylogeny by hybrid (or admixture) edges, which capture gene flow, admixture or hybridization events. The process models the trait in each individual, for any number of individuals from each taxon. Our model allows for polymorphism in the ancestral population at the root of the species phylogeny, and we can derive the heritable within-population variation expected from our model. Even if each locus evolves according to a Brownian motion, the joint distribution of the trait across all measured individuals is not generally Gaussian due to ILS. We provide a Gaussian approximation, named the Gaussian Coalescent (GC), and show how to compute its variance matrix efficiently using a single traversal of the species phylogeny. In simulations, this model is much more accurate than the model ignoring ILS. In simulations and on a data set of tomato floral traits, it is favored over the standard Brownian motion model with extra within-population variance. The GC model opens new avenues for various phylogenetic methods, accounting for hemiplasy and gene flow simultaneously on any general network or admixture graph. It is implemented in phylolm v2.7.0 and in PhyloTraits v1.2.0.

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  Section: Archaeology ; Topics: Archaeology

  Laying the Groundwork for Moveable Heritage Disaster Risk Management: A Database-Driven Evacuation Tool at the Musée d’Archéologie Nationale

  Yeung, Kai Chun Lennox  

  10.24072/pcjournal.784 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e95

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  This paper presents a case study conducted at the Musée d’Archéologie Nationale (National Archaeology Museum) in France, to develop a dedicated database application to safeguard its moveable heritage from risks, as a foundational component of the museum’s wider Disaster Risk Management (DRM) strategy. It responds to calls from both national and international cultural organisations to implement DRM strategies within cultural heritage institutions, emphasising the importance of preparedness in an era marked by increasing frequency and intensity of natural and anthropogenic disasters worldwide. This study draws on guidelines published by international cultural organisations to implement the first phase of the DRM cycle, to assess, mitigate, and prepare for potential risks. Having identified fire as the primary risk capable of causing irreversible damage to the museum’s archaeological collections, this study determines an evacuation-based approach to be the optimal solution to safeguard artefacts, through which the study then proposes and develops a database application to ensure effective and efficient emergency evacuations when needed. The resulting database has been adopted as the foundation of the museum’s DRM strategy and provides a valuable reference for cultural institutions housing moveable heritage. In summary, this study lays a crucial foundation for a comprehensive safeguarding strategy, offering a blueprint for mitigating and countering risks to protect invaluable heritage for the future.