Browse Articles

Effects of extra training with active cycle of breathing technique relative to whole-body breathing exercise in older adults with stable COPD

Objective To examine the effects of extra training with active cycle of breathing technique (ACBT) as compared to whole-body breathing exercise (WBBE) in older adults with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods Fifty-one participants with stable COPD were randomly assigned into experimental group undergoing extra training of ACBT plus WBBE ( n  = 25), and control group undergoing WBBE only ( n  = 26), 30 minutes daily for 3 months. Lung function including forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1 in percentage of predicted value (FEV1%) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio; exercise capacity (six-minute walk test distance, 6MWD); dyspnea symptoms (modified Medical Research Council, mMRC dyspnea scale score and Dyspnoea-12-Chinese/D-12-C scale score); and quality of life in terms of COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score before and after intervention were evaluated. Results Significantly higher FEV1 (1.82L versus 1.76L, p  < 0.05) was found for the experimental group, with no significant differences in FEV1% and FEV1/FVC ratio. Significantly larger 6MWD (359.72m versus 340.18m, p  < 0.001), significantly lower D-12-C scores (11.47 versus 13.55, p  < 0.001), and significantly lower CAT scores (2.95 versus 3.98, p  < 0.001) were observed in the experimental group relative to the control group. Conclusions Our findings suggested that ACBT in conjunction with WBBE could be effective complementary approaches for improving lung function and exercise capacity, reducing dyspnea symptoms, and enhancing quality of life in older adults with stable COPD. Future studies may explore how ACBT and WBBE could be optimized in training frequency, intensity, and duration specifically for older adults.

Interfacial effects of cobalt in SrTiO3 devices for robust synaptic plasticity

In oxide memristors, improved memory parameters are often associated with physical mechanisms that are also favorable for synaptic operation, including interface-controlled transport. Here, we investigate synapse-like behavior in perovskite-type oxide SrTiO3 synaptic memristor devices with an interface-driven memory window. Using electrical pulse stimulation, the Co/SrTiO3/Au devices exhibit a very high paired-pulse facilitation of 390%, a strong learning response, and robust analog conductance modulation. Our results speculate that the interface between metal and oxide film is a key parameter in enabling short-term plasticity and reliable synaptic functionality in oxide memristors.

Microneedle patch–based delivery of Pyr-Apelin-13 reverses functional and structural deficits in age-related sarcopenia

Abstract Sarcopenia, the age-associated loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, currently lacks effective pharmacological interventions. Pyr-Apelin-13, a potent endogenous peptide that stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and myofiber regeneration, is limited by rapid plasma clearance and the need for frequent injections. We report the first preclinical evaluation of a transdermal Pyr-Apelin-13 microneedle (MN) patch (HeroPatch) in aged mice. The solid-state “drug-in-resin” design achieved near-complete release efficiency ( $$\approx$$ 100% in vitro ; 83–99% in vivo ), enabling reproducible multi-milligram delivery with minimal residual loss. Daily MN dosing significantly improved muscle fiber cross-sectional area and grip strength relative to controls, with outcomes comparable to daily intraperitoneal injection. Histological analysis revealed a shift toward larger fiber sizes, consistent with enhanced myofiber remodeling, and mitochondrial DNA content increased concordantly. Weekly dosing produced smaller, non-significant trends, reflecting lower cumulative exposure. These findings demonstrate that HeroPatch enables efficient, reproducible, and non-invasive systemic delivery of Apelin-13, providing a scalable platform for peptide-based therapy of sarcopenia and related muscle-wasting disorders.

GS-YOLO: A lightweight high-accuracy model for small target detection in drone aerial images

For the problems of weak feature representation, significant scale variation, and background interference in small target features of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aerial images, existing detection methods struggle to achieve both lightweight deployment and detection accuracy. Therefore, this paper proposes an extremely lightweight and accurate small target detection architecture named GS-YOLO. Through modular innovation, it achieves extreme lightness and improved detection performance. The core innovations include: 1) Design of a lightweight small target perception attention fusion module C2FGhostLight, using proportionally optimized GhostConv to replace traditional convolution, combined with a dual-path lightweight attention mechanism, which significantly reduces parameters while dynamically suppressing background interference; 2) Proposal of a lightweight channel attention module for small target perception (SOLCA), through a “channel focusing-local enhancement” dual-branch compact structure and adaptive weighted fusion, to strengthen weak feature representation. Experimental results show that on the VisDrone public dataset, GS-YOLO improves mAP50 by 0.9% compared to YOLOv8n, with a model parameter size of only 0.84M. It maintains lightweight characteristics and provides a solution for engineering applications in UAV aerial photography scenarios.

Effect of N2-flow on nitrogen vacancies, leakage, and polarization switching in sputtered ferroelectric AlScN films

Nitrogen vacancy (VN) defects in AlScN films play a critical yet underexplored role in determining leakage and polarization switching dynamics. In this work, we systematically investigate the effect of N2 flow on modulating VN defects and establish correlations between these defects and key electrical properties. Through combined microscopic and macroscopic characterizations, we demonstrate that increasing N2 flow effectively enhances the in-plane tensile stress and suppresses VN defect formation, while preserving the desired wurtzite structure and Sc composition. The resulting reduction in defects improves insulating properties by limiting Poole–Frenkel emission through VN-related centers. Electrically, a higher N2 flow increases the coercive field without degrading the remanent polarization. Furthermore, frequency-dependent positive-up-negative-down analysis reveals that polarization switching follows the nucleation-limited switching model, wherein VN defects serve as nucleation sites that lower the switching energy barrier. The combination of reduced leakage paths and strengthened metal-nitrogen bonding contributes to the substantially enhanced endurance of AlScN films grown under nitrogen-rich conditions. This work establishes a clear linkage among processing, defect physics, and electrical performance, offering practical insights into the optimization of AlScN films for advanced memory platforms.

Multi-dimensional joint resource scheduling for 5G eMBB by a PER-branch dual deep Q-network

Can AI applied on MRI reliably predict shunt response in INPH? A comprehensive exploration of deep learning and radiomics approaches using preoperative MRI

Objective Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is a treatable neurological condition, yet predicting which patients will benefit from a cerebrospinal fluid shunt remains challenging. Structural brain MRI is a core part of the diagnostic workup, but traditional radiological measures show limited predictive accuracy. This study aimed to assess whether deep learning and radiomics-based machine learning approaches can provide clinically useful predictions of shunt outcome based on preoperative MRI. Methods We investigated 149 shunted INPH patients with available preoperative T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and FLAIR images. Patients were classified as responders (n = 113) or non-responders (n = 36) based on postoperative gait speed improvement. For INPH, this is a large sample with typical outcome distribution. Three artificial intelligence approaches were tested: a late-fusion ensemble of multiple 3D convolutional neural networks; a multimodal intermediate fusion model; and radiomics-based machine learning models trained on features extracted from whole-brain masks. Models were assessed using 10-fold cross-validation. The best performing model on the validation set was selected from each approach. Performance metrics included the area under the receiving operating characteristic curve (AUROC), sensitivity, and specificity. Results Performance was considered poor in all models, and none reached an area under the receiving operating characteristic curve above 70%. Of the three methodologies, the best performance was achieved with a radiomics-based model (Linear Discriminant Analysis classifier on T1-weighted images) which achieved an AUROC of 63.7%. In a reduced subset of clearly separated responders and non-responders (n = 72), the best model (late fusion ensemble of 5 convolutional neural networks) reached an AUROC of 69.2%. Conclusions Despite the use of advanced artificial intelligence techniques, structural MRI alone were insufficient for reliably predicting gait outcome after surgery in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus. To capture the complexity of the condition and enable clinically meaningful predictions, our findings indicate the need for research investigating multimodal input and using large multi-center datasets.

Magnesium oxide–based passivation and anti-reflection stack for back-contact silicon solar cells

Back-contact (BC) crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells require high-quality front-side passivation together with effective anti-reflection. In this work, we report a silicon oxide/magnesium oxide/aluminum oxide (SiO2/MgOx/Al2O3) passivation and anti-reflection stack, in which the passivation performance of atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) MgOx is significantly enhanced by incorporating an ultrathin SiO2 interlayer and an ALD Al2O3 capping layer. The effects of the SiO2 formation process, annealing conditions, and the thicknesses of MgOx and Al2O3 on the passivation properties of the SiO2/MgOx/Al2O3 stack are systematically investigated. As a result, excellent surface passivation is achieved on planar n-type c-Si surfaces, yielding an implied open-circuit voltage (iVoc) of up to 735 mV and a recombination current density (J0) as low as 2.2 fA cm−2. This improvement is attributed to enhanced chemical passivation induced by increased hydrogen incorporation and suppressed hydrogen effusion enabled by the Al2O3 capping layer. In addition, positive fixed charges in the n-Si/SiO2/MgOx/Al2O3 structure further contribute to the passivation through a field-effect mechanism. The demonstrated SiO2/MgOx/Al2O3 stack therefore represents a promising front-side dielectric solution for high-efficiency BC c-Si solar cells.

CMS4 epithelial-intrinsic glycosyltransferase GALNT5 promotes tumor aggressiveness and correlates with poor survival in colorectal cancer

Abstract The “mesenchymal” consensus molecular subtype 4 (CMS4) of colorectal cancer (CRC) has the poorest prognosis and shows stromal activation and bulk epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signatures that largely reflect cancer-associated fibroblast-derived signals, obscuring tumor cell-intrinsic programs. Aberrant glycosylation drives EMT and metastasis, yet the glycosyltransferase landscape intrinsic to CMS4 tumor epithelium remains poorly defined because stromal signals dominate bulk transcriptomes. To overcome this confounding, we analyzed single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets to distinguish CMS4 tumor epithelial cells from CMS1–3 epithelial cells, normal epithelium, and stromal/immune populations. This identified a nine-gene glycosyltransferase signature uniquely upregulated in CMS4 tumor epithelium. Among these, GALNT5 showed consistent transcriptional induction during EMT in CRC cell lines. GALNT5 depletion suppressed proliferation, invasion, and migration, independent of overt changes in canonical EMT markers or AKT/ERK signaling. Immunohistochemical analysis of 431 resected CRC specimens confirmed that GALNT5 protein expression was restricted to cancer cells, particularly at the invasive front. High GALNT5 expression was associated with deeper invasion and advanced stage, and served as an independent prognostic factor for worse overall survival, notably within the microsatellite-stable subgroup. In conclusion, by leveraging single-cell transcriptomics, this study defines a CMS4 epithelial-intrinsic glycosylation program and highlights GALNT5 as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic candidate.

Applying an extended Health Policy Analysis framework to digitally mediated health system reform: Evidence from Saudi Arabia’s Health Sector Transformation Program

Health policy analysis frameworks play a central role in understanding how reforms are designed, implemented, and experienced in practice. Walt and Gilson’s Health Policy Analysis Triangle has been widely used to examine the interaction between policy content, context, actors, and processes, particularly in settings where implementation is shaped by political and organizational dynamics. However, many contemporary health reforms are increasingly digitally mediated and culturally embedded, raising questions about whether existing frameworks sufficiently capture the conditions that structure implementation. This paper proposes a conceptual extension of the Health Policy Analysis Triangle by theorizing Technology and Culture as cross-cutting dimensions that shape how policy content is enacted through actors and processes within specific contexts. The extension is grounded in secondary analysis and theoretical interpretation of empirical patterns previously identified in an evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s Health Sector Transformation Program, a large-scale reform initiative implemented under Vision 2030. Drawing on previously collected policy documents and qualitative interview data from the doctoral study [6] SHSTP evaluation, the paper illustrates how digital infrastructure and sociocultural norms operate as structuring influences on coordination, accountability, participation, and patient-centred care. The proposed framework does not replace the original triangle but enhances its analytical adequacy for reforms unfolding in digitally mediated and culturally complex systems. By making Technology and Culture explicit, the extended model provides a pragmatic analytical framework for analyzing implementation variation and reform learning in Saudi Arabia, with potential relevance for other health systems undergoing rapid transformation when adapted to local contexts.

Differential magneto-ionic artificial synapse

Magneto-ionics offers exciting opportunities to introduce magnetic functionalities into ionics-based artificial synapses. However, learning applications require symmetry and linearity in the weight-update profile, which remains a challenge not only for magneto-ionics but also for all ionics-based synaptic devices. We demonstrate a magneto-ionic synaptic element exhibiting symmetric potentiation and depression under unipolar gate operation and differential anomalous Hall effect readout. The device is composed of two interconnected Ta/CoFeB/HfO2 Hall bars with individual ionic-gate electrodes able to induce a spin-reorientation transition from perpendicular to in-plane magnetic anisotropy. The combined anomalous Hall effect signal is measured through shared Hall voltage leads, enabling the direct subtraction of the individual signals by applying bias currents of opposite polarity to each Hall bar. This configuration enables synaptic operation using exclusively negative gate voltages; gating one Hall bar induces synaptic potentiation, while gating the other one results in synaptic depression. Operating exclusively under gate voltages of the same polarity, this device architecture avoids the asymmetries in magneto-ionic response, switching speed, and retention that appear with the use of positive and negative gate voltage pulses for potentiation and depression. In addition, operating under an external magnetic field provides dynamic control of the weight-update linearity in both potentiation and depression. The proposed approach provides a robust route toward linear and symmetric synaptic behavior in devices that combine magnetic and ionic functionalities.

New fossil evidence from the Late Cretaceous of Europe (southern France) deepens the origin of Salamandridae (Urodela) and refines the biogeography of the family

Identity and mobility through personal ornaments in Upper Paleolithic cantabrian hunter-gatherer societies: Insights from Llonín cave (Asturias, Spain)

The use of personal ornaments is considered a milestone in human cognitive evolution and the development of complex behavior. The Cantabrian region in the north of the Iberian Peninsula served as a hub of occupation and intergroup contact throughout the Upper Paleolithic, and acted as a climatic refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM – 25,000–19,000 years ago), constituting a key region for understanding the social and symbolic structures and interactions of hunter-gatherer groups. This study analyses personal ornaments recovered from the Upper Paleolithic stratigraphical sequence at Llonín Cave (Asturias, Spain), spanning from the Upper Solutrean to the Azilian (c. 21.8–11 kya cal BP), that comprises the regional largest and most diverse assemblage. The combination of taxonomic, biometric, taphonomic, and use-wear analyses reveals rarely documented patterns, such as diachronic shifts in the site’s role as an importer and producer of ornaments, the varying social significance of their use, and the strategies for raw material procurement. Furthermore, the study identifies evidence of coastal-inland interactions, allowing the reconstruction of the complete chaîne opératoire for ornament manufacture. These findings provide a framework for reinterpreting the use of personal ornaments among Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups, facilitating critical discussions on key dimensions such as mobility and identity.

268-nm AlGaN deep-ultraviolet LEDs on AlN substrates with 280 mW output power and wall-plug efficiency above 10% at 500 mA

We report 268-nm AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on single-crystal AlN substrates and achieving an optical output power of 280 mW, an external quantum efficiency of 12.1%, and a wall-plug efficiency (WPE) of 10.5% at 500 mA under pulsed operation at room temperature. In sub-270-nm ultraviolet-C (UVC) LEDs on single-crystal AlN substrates, high-current WPE is still limited by insufficient current-injection efficiency and light-extraction efficiency. Here, these limitations are addressed through three complementary design elements: an O2-annealed Ni(2 nm)/Rh(100 nm) p-contact that provides ∼45% reflectance at 268 nm while reducing the forward voltage relative to a conventional Ni/Au contact; an optimized multiple-quantum-well active region incorporating a thin high-Al-content last quantum barrier before the last quantum well to redistribute radiative recombination and suppress overflow-related droop; and a hemispherical quartz lens attached to the AlN substrate backside to improve light extraction. These results demonstrate an effective design strategy for achieving high-power, high-efficiency operation in sub-270-nm UVC LEDs.

Novel endopeptidase overcoming lysostaphin resistance

Rate of decline in residual kidney function and cognitive impairment in incident haemodialysis patients: A prospective, longitudinal analysis of the BISTRO trial cohort

Background Previous studies suggest loss of residual kidney function (RKF) on haemodialysis is associated with cognitive impairment (CI). This study investigated the association of rate of change in RKF with risk of new CI and change in cognition after haemodialysis initiation and the association between dialysis treatment parameters and changes in cognition. Methods This prospective cohort study used data from the Bioimpedance Spectroscopy to Maintain Renal Output trial (BISTRO). Cognition was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Logistic regression and generalised estimating equations were used to estimate the association of rate of decline in RKF and clinical parameters with risk of CI at 12 and 24 months after haemodialysis start and mean change in MoCA score per year. Results The study included 435 participants. Rate of decline in RKF was not associated with risk of CI at 12 or 24 months or with mean change in MoCA score. Higher dialysate temperature was associated with a mean annual improvement in MoCA score of 1.12 per one degree Celsius (95% CI 0.23 to 2.01). Amongst those without left ventricular failure, an interdialytic weight gain ≥2 kg was associated with an annual increase in MoCA score of 1.62 (95% CI 0.21 to 3.04), compared to those with weight gains ≤0.5 kg. Conversely, a weight gain ≥2 kg was associated with a worsening MoCA score of −3.08 (95% CI −5.76 to −0.40) amongst those with left ventricular failure (p-value for interaction < 0.001). Conclusions We found no association between rate of decline in RKF and cognitive performance. These findings may reflect selection bias or the effect of relatively slow rate of decline in RKF. Higher interdialytic weight gains were associated with worsening cognition amongst those with left ventricular failure, underscoring another challenge of fluid management in this group of patients.

Alcohol‐Directed Carboamination of Conjugated Enynes

ABSTRACT We report a Pd‐catalyzed carboamination of conjugated enynes for the direct synthesis of functionalized allenic amines. The reaction proceeds through a selective 1,4‐coupling of anilines and aryl triflates with enynes, utilizing a free alcohol as a native directing group. The obtained allenes undergo versatile transformations, including cyclization to dihydropyrans, hydroamination, and tandem carboamination sequences. Notably, the use of primary anilines enables a second carboamination to generate multifunctionalized 3‐pyrroline heterocycles through dual C‐N bond formation with two distinct aryl triflates. The transformation represents a novel approach to allene synthesis and heterocycle construction through sequential carboamination events.

High-performance ammonia gas sensor based on three-dimensional interconnected CNT/PANI/SiNW

The detection of ammonia at trace levels is helpful for tracing pollution sources in air pollution control and identifying early-stage diseases, thereby offering practical value in environmental monitoring and medical diagnosis. Although carbon nanotube/polyaniline (CNT/PANI) composites exhibit good response toward NH3, they tend to suffer from serious agglomeration during the growth process. In this work, we modified the three-dimensional structure of the substrate and successfully prepared the CNT/PANI/silicon nanowire (SiNW) ammonia gas sensor. Material characterizations confirmed that the SiNW significantly improved the dispersion of CNTs/PANI composites. Subsequently, the sensor exhibited a response amplitude of 112.8% at 1 ppm NH3 and 260.5% at 10 ppm at room temperature, which surpassed most other similar polymer-based sensors. Furthermore, the sensor exhibited a detection limit as low as 1 ppb, which is approximately one order of magnitude lower than that of most existing sensors. The results also demonstrated that the sensor possessed a fast response time and high selectivity toward NH3 detection.

Cross cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Persian version of a scale measuring perception of workplace gender discrimination among women nurses

Professionals’ perceptions of interprofessional collaboration within condition-based units

Introduction Hospitals can form condition-based units (CBUs) to support value-based healthcare (VBHC). Interprofessional collaboration is key to the success of CBUs, but insights into its quality are lacking. We aimed to examine professionals’ perceived quality of interprofessional collaboration in CBUs, and factors influencing it. Methods A single-center mixed-methods study was conducted within four CBUs in a Dutch top-clinical hospital: (1) geriatric trauma, (2) prostate cancer, (3) colon cancer and (4) breast cancer. A relational coordination (RC) survey was used to examine professionals’ perceived collaboration quality, followed by semi-structured interviews to explore influencing factors. Results Varying RC scores were observed between professionals with different professions and disciplines within CBUs (geriatric trauma: 1.9–5.0; prostate cancer: 2.9–4.8; colon cancer: 2.1–4.8; breast cancer: 1.1–4.9), with higher scores among professionals involved in similar parts of related care pathways. Interview findings suggest that this variation is explained by four factors: (1) streamlined communication, (2) active engagement, (3) mutual recognition and (4) workflow efficacy. Conclusion This exploratory study introduces a novel approach to studying professionals’ perceived collaboration quality in CBUs through relational dynamics. The results suggest that traditional hospital structures can hinder interprofessional collaboration in CBUs by limiting physical interactions and shared administrative systems. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings, and to provide recommendations for improving interprofessional collaboration in CBUs in order to unlock their potential in improving patient care.