Browse Articles

A genome-wide association study unveils the genetic architecture of morphological and biomass partitioning traits in maize under iron-deficient stress

Sorting the mind: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on cognitive functions

Background Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that activates vagal afferents projecting to prefrontal–limbic circuits implicated in attention, memory, and emotion regulation. Preliminary studies suggest that taVNS may enhance cognitive performance; however, the evidence remains fragmented across domains and populations. Objectives This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to (1) quantify the overall effects of taVNS on cognitive functions, (2) examine its efficacy across clinical and non-clinical populations, and (3) identify moderators influencing variability in outcomes, including stimulation parameters, participant characteristics, and study design features. Methods Following PRISMA-P guidelines, this protocol will be prospectively registered with PROSPERO. Six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and Scopus) and major trial registries will be systematically searched. Eligible studies include randomised controlled trials assessing validated cognitive outcomes following taVNS compared with sham or active controls. Effect sizes will be calculated as Hedges’ g and pooled using random-effects models. Heterogeneity will be evaluated with I² and τ statistics; moderator and meta-regression analyses will explore dose–response and population effects. Risk of bias will be assessed with RoB 2 for randomised trials and ROBINS-I for non-randomised studies, and the certainty of evidence will be rated using GRADE separately by study design. Expected Results and Conclusions This review will provide the first quantitative meta-analytic synthesis of taVNS-induced cognitive modulation across executive, attentional, affective, and learning domains in both clinical and healthy populations, complementing recent narrative syntheses by offering pooled effect size estimates, formal heterogeneity assessment, and a GRADE-rated evidence hierarchy. By delineating domain-specific efficacy and optimal stimulation parameters, the findings aim to inform future clinical applications and the development of standardized neuromodulation protocols.

miR-16-5p mediates E2-induced cell proliferation and EMT in benign prostate hyperplasia

Gender disparities in Italian academic medicine: A cross-sectional study of clinicians in the 2024 stanford top 2% scientists database

Background Women remain underrepresented in senior and influential research positions despite gradual improvements over recent decades.The aim of this study was to assess gender representation among highly cited Italian clinical scientists and to examine differences across academic fields, institutions, and geographic regions. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of Italian clinical scientists included in the 2024 Stanford Top 2 Percent Scientists database. Gender was determined from given names, and demographic and academic information was obtained from national physician registries and publicly available curriculum vitae. Characteristics were compared by gender, and a logistic regression model was used to examine factors associated with female representation. Results A total of 3389 clinical scientists were identified, of whom 824 were women. Women represented approximately one quarter of highly cited Italian clinical researchers. They were younger and had more recent years of first publication compared with men. No significant gender differences were observed in academic affiliation or geographic distribution. Representation varied across fields, with surgical specialties demonstrating the lowest proportions of women and toxicology the highest. However, in most disciplines, representation converged toward the overall average when sample sizes increased, indicating that academic fields alone contributed minimally to gender representation. In the multivariable model, only toxicology showed significantly greater female representation, while more recent year of first publication was independently associated with being a woman.. Conclusions Women remain underrepresented among highly cited Italian clinical scientists, despite evidence of gradual improvement in representation over time. The limited influence of academic fields suggests that broader structural and cultural factors likely contribute to these gaps. These findings highlight the need for targeted strategies to promote equal representation and support the career advancement of women in academic medicine.

Synthesis, characterization, biological evaluation, and molecular modeling of novel nimesulide urea derivatives as potential MetAP2 inhibitors

Retraction: Demineralized Bone Matrix Combined Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 and Transforming Growth Factor-β3 Gene Promoted Pig Cartilage Defect Repair

A unified FLAIR hyperintensity segmentation model for various CNS tumor types and acquisition time points

Abstract Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are important for diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring of various brain tumors. Depending on the tumor type, the FLAIR hyperintensity volume is an important measure to assess the tumor volume, surrounding vasogenic edema, or treatment induced changes, such as gliosis. Automatic segmentation would therefore be valuable in the clinic and in clinical trials. In this study, around 5000 FLAIR images of various brain tumors types and acquisition time points, from different neurosurgical centers, were used to train a unified FLAIR hyperintensity segmentation model using an Attention U-Net architecture. The performance was compared against dataset-specific models and was validated on different tumor types, acquisition time points, and against BraTS. The unified model achieved an average Dice score of 88.65% for pre-operative meningiomas, 80.08% for pre-operative metastases, 90.92% for pre-operative and 84.60% for post-operative gliomas from BraTS, and 84.47% for pre-operative and 61.27% for post-operative lower grade gliomas. In addition, the results showed that the unified model achieved comparable segmentation performance to the dataset-specific models on their respective datasets. The documented generalization across tumor types and acquisition time points is a strong indicator for efficient deployment in a clinical setting. The model has been integrated into Raidionics, an open-source software for CNS tumor analysis.

The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on long-term risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation/flutter after COVID-19 infection: A retrospective cohort study

Purpose COVID-19 infection has been associated with cardiovascular complications, including new-onset atrial fibrillation/flutter (NOAF). However, the potential protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination against long-term NOAF risk following COVID-19 infection remains unclear. Methods This retrospective cohort study used the TriNetX Research Network to identify adults diagnosed with COVID-19. Patients were divided into a vaccine group and control group (unvaccinated). After propensity score matching (238,750 patients per group), we assessed the primary outcome of 24-month NOAF incidence, with secondary outcomes at 1, 6 and 12 months. Subgroup analyses examined effects across patient characteristics and comorbidities. Sensitivity analysis was performed by excluding patients with severe COVID-19 illness. Results The 24-month NOAF incidence was significantly lower in the vaccine group compared to the control group (1.91% vs 2.18%; HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.78–0.85). This protective effect was also observed at 1 month (HR: 0.73, p < 0.001), 6 months (HR: 0.71, p < 0.001), and 12 months (HR: 0.77, p < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis confirmed these findings (HR: 0.79 at 24 months). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination provided significant protection against NOAF across all examined subgroups, with younger patients (18–60 years) showing greater risk reduction compared to older individuals. Conclusion COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a significantly reduced 24-month risk of NOAF after COVID-19 infection. These findings suggest vaccination may mitigate long-term cardiovascular sequelae of COVID-19. Future research should elucidate underlying protective mechanisms and optimize vaccination strategies for cardiovascular protection, particularly in high-risk populations.

Data-driven LSTM-HHO optimization framework for strategic V2G connection sitting

Retraction: Analysis of survival for lung cancer resections cases with fuzzy and soft set theory in surgical decision making

AI-driven optimization of integrated solar systems for hydrogen production and building energy supply

Green synthesis and characterization of zinc chitosan nanoparticles with their anti-bacterial study against rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) of rice is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xo o) and leads to significant yield loss. The overuse of antibacterial chemicals casuse environmental toxicity, high cost, and low biosafety generating interest in eco-friendly alternatives.This study evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of biosynthesized zinc–chitosan nanoparticles (ZnChNPs) against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ). Successful synthesis was confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy with a characteristic absorption peak at 356 nm. Comprehensive physicochemical characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed ZnChNPs with diverse polymorphic morphologies, while energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed zinc, oxygen, and carbon as the major elemental components. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis identified key functional groups associated with nanoparticle formation and stabilization, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns verified a crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements showed a mean hydrodynamic diameter of 256.2 nm, and a zeta potential of −25.1 mV indicated good colloidal stability of the formulation. In vitro , ZnChNPs:dH₂O at 8:2 and 10:0 ratios showed inhibition zones of 22.75 mm and 24.84 mm, respectively. In net house conditions, treatments reduced BLB lesion lengths by 36%–73.54% at 14 days and 34.98%–63.66% at 21 days. The Bismerthiazol (0.15%) + ZnChNP:dH₂O (8:2) treatment reduced lesions by 68.28% and 55.48% at 14 and 21 days, respectively. Field trial results showed 66.14% and 61.27% reductions at 14 and 21 days. These findings suggest ZnChNPs can be used as a sustainable strategy for controlling BLB in rice in an effective manner.

Periodontal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Study of Healthcare Providers and Pregnant Women in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

Experimental investigation of bond behavior of steel, GFRP, and CFRP reinforcement in self-compacting and fiber-reinforced concrete using RILEM beam tests

Enhancing electrical conductivity of coal-derived graphite by boric acid catalysis: Correlating 2H/3R phase ratio with crystallite structure

Natural graphite scarcity and conventional catalyst-induced defects limit the scalable production of high-performance coal-derived graphite. Herein, we demonstrate boric acid (H 3 BO 3 ) as a green catalyst for coal graphitization by comparing with Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3 , FeCl 3 , FeS 2 , and H 3 BO 3 +FeCl 3 , with a focus on crystallite structure, 2H/3R polytypic graphite, and electrical conductivity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals that H 3 BO 3 catalysis significantly elevates structural order, presenting a narrow and sharp (002) band, and increasing in-plane crystallite size (La), stacking height (Lc), and the proportion of graphite (f ɑ ) in the bulk sample. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR TEM) identifies graphite-like nanostructures and planar graphene nanostructure as the key contributor to electrical conductivity. A linear relationship between La and 2H/3R is established, associated with electrical conductivity, confirming the intrinsic correlation between graphite-like nanostructures and crystalline size. This work clarifies the feasibility of boric acid, providing a low-cost and efficient strategy for fabricating high-performance coal-derived graphite, which holds great potential for applications in energy storage and conductive fields.

What elite sport prepared me for in the lab — and what it didn’t

Wikipedia-based AI model reveals the 100 technologies to watch

Evidence of the pair-instability gap from black-hole masses

Mechanically driven Li dendrite penetration in garnet solid electrolyte

Abstract All-solid-state batteries promise improved safety and higher energy density by replacing flammable liquid electrolytes and graphite anodes with solid electrolytes and lithium metal 1–4 . However, the penetration of soft lithium dendrites into hard ceramic electrolytes remains a substantial obstacle to realizing all-solid-state lithium metal batteries 5–7 . The mechanism by which mechanically soft lithium dendrites fracture hard ceramic electrolytes remains under debate 7–10 owing to the challenges of characterizing nanoscale lithium distribution and its microstructure at the dendrite tip 11 . Here we investigate the fracture process driven by lithium dendrites in garnet electrolytes using multiscale cryogenic electron microscopy and micromechanical fracture models. We directly visualize lithium dendrites fully filling nanoscale crack tips and extending into micrometre-scale cracks. Limited crystal lattice rotation and plasticity in lithium dendrites indicate that the plated lithium generates substantial hydrostatic stress, which induces tensile stress in the solid electrolyte and drives both intergranular and transgranular fracture. By contrast, the region ahead of the lithium dendrite tip shows no measurable enrichment of lithium or lithium metal nuclei. The mechanically driven lithium penetration in garnet solid electrolyte can be redirected by geometrically engineered voids in the electrolyte, thus mitigating short-circuiting. Our findings suggest that grain boundary toughening and defect engineering are effective strategies for designing dendrite-resistant solid electrolytes.

Symmetry classification of magnetic orders using oriented spin space groups