Browse Articles

Elucidating Leader Peptide–Enzyme Dynamics in Lactazole Biosynthesis Using mRNA Display

Community resilience to urban flooding across comparative neighborhoods in China

Charge Ordering and Incommensurate Modulations in the Metamagnetic Layered Manganese Oxysulfide Sr ₂ MnO ₂ Cu _3.5 S ₃

Aerospace aluminum surface defect detection method based on Multi-Scale Convolution and attention mechanism

A Flavin Enzyme Catalyzes Epoxidation and Furofuran Formation in the Biosynthesis of Mycotoxin Erythroskyrines

Decoding environmental regimes and spring phytoplankton bloom occurrence in the central Yellow Sea

Flexural performance of RC beams strengthened with CFF and SCCFL sheets under cyclic loading

Abstract Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets have a high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance, and consequently they have attracted much attention for flexurally strengthening deteriorated reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The study experimentally evaluated the flexural performance of RC beams strengthened with two types of CFRP materials carbon fibre fabric (CFF) and silicone coated carbon fibre laminates (SCCFL), under static cyclic loading (load-controlled). Three series of beam specimens were static cyclically loaded until significant damage including unstrengthened control beams and beams strengthened with single and double layers of CFF and SCCFL. As key parameters ultimate load capacity, the load deflection behaviour, the energy dissipation, crack propagation and stiffness degradation were evaluated. Results indicated that strengthening of the beam with CFRP increased the nominal flexural strength, and its fatigue resistance. The two materials used for strengthening exhibited different performance behaviour, among which the SCCFL strengthened beams exhibited higher load capacity and energy dissipation, less crack width and retained stiffness under static cyclic loading (load-controlled). SCCFL is proved to be more effective in retrofitting RC structure to dynamic or fatigue loadings.

Photo- and Copper Dual-Catalyzed <i>Z</i> -Selective Chlorosulfonylation of Allenes for Tetrasubstituted Alkenes

A retrospective assessment of antimicrobial resistance patterns in WHO-access, watch, and reserve-classified antibiotics across two large hospitals in a resource-limited setting

Generic Vitrification of Prototype Metal–Organic Frameworks Linked by Rigid Dicarboxylate Linkers

Fine-grained evaluation of large language models in medicine using non-parametric cognitive diagnostic modeling

Abstract With the rapid advancement of large language models (LLMs), efficiently and accurately evaluating their capabilities is essential for both developers and users. Unfortunately, most benchmarks evaluate the functionality of LLMs using average scores. This approach oversimplifies evaluation by overlooking nuanced performance differences across specific knowledge domains, failing to provide a comprehensive analysis of the models’ strengths and weaknesses. Safe clinical deployment of LLMs requires moving beyond simple accuracy scores to identify specific knowledge gaps. This study introduces an innovative interdisciplinary approach by integrating measurement theory and psychometric modeling into LLM research, bridging artificial intelligence with educational psychology. Based on 2,809 items from the test bank administrated by National Center for Health Professions Education Development, it employs a non-parametric cognitive diagnostic approach based on cognitive diagnostic assessment to evaluate 41 LLMs performance across 22 medical subdomains. The number of attributes mastered by the evaluated LLMs ranges from 17 to 20. Models with similar total scores can differ notably in their mastery of specific areas, highlighting strengths in some fields and gaps in others. Furthermore, factors such as model size does not always predict comprehensive medical knowledge. The LLMs demonstrate exceptional performance in several areas, achieving 100% mastery in 15 fields such as Cardiology, Dermatology, and Endocrinology etc., underscoring their strong medical knowledge. However, notable variations exist across certain domains. For instance, while Pharmacology and Neuroscience achieve high mastery proportions of 97.56%, Anesthetics &amp; ITU and Emergency Medicine achieve lower proportions of 95.12%. Similarly, radiology has a mastery proportion of 87.80%, while ECG &amp; hypertension &amp; lipids and Liver Disorders show 0%, revealing substantial gaps in these specialized fields. This psychometrically-grounded approach provides multidimensional evaluation of LLMs, identifying specific competency gaps critical for clinical deployment. This methodology serves as an essential quality assurance tool for hospitals, developers, and regulators, enabling domain-specific validation to mitigate risks and ensure patient safety before clinical implementation.

Integrated Native Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Soluble and Membrane Proteins

Practical approach to last-mile converged free-space and fiber QKD for secure city-scale networks

Abstract Current Free-Space Optical Quantum Key Distribution (FSO-QKD) systems are mainly focusing on the development of critical components needed towards the realization of satellite-based QKD, relying on bulky optical telescopes equipped with expensive optical systems. The cost and complexity of these systems hinder the establishment of a practical FSO-QKD infrastructure deployed as the wireless last-mile segment of Quantum Communication Infrastructure for applications in urban environments. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate successful transmission of polarization encoded qubits over 0.5 km free space metropolitan link with enhanced noise suppression for both nighttime and daylight operation. Βy deploying two low-cost, Single Mode Fiber-coupled, optical terminals along with a prototype quantum sender station operating in C-band, Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER) values below 3.5% were achieved, with expected Secure Key Rates up to 1 kbps during nighttime. The FSO link was integrated with existing in-building fiber infrastructure, demonstrating stable operation and acceptable QBER values below 5.5%, even when coexisting with intense C-band light signals (&gt; 10 mW) propagating alongside the photonic qubits. The field trial and its comprehensive verification paves the way for practical FSO-QKD in city-scale environments, enabling end users to share quantum keys over kilometer-scale wireless links between building rooftops in last-mile connectivity scenarios.

Molecular profiling of primary versus paired asynchronous metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma reveals heterogeneity in tumor immune microenvironment

Atomically Precise Single-Walled Cluster Nanotubes of Giant Polyoxometalates

Simulating different scenarios of vegetation dynamics under the influence of human and climatic factors based on the residual trend analysis and machine learning

Ion Diffusion and (Photo)redox Conductivity in a Covalent Organic Framework

Comprehensive 4E (energy, exergy, economic, and environmental) assessment of a repowered natural gas-fired combined power plant

Abstract Natural gas-fired combined power plants (NGFCPP) stand out as a promising technology for electricity generation, boasting high conversion efficiency and relatively low carbon dioxide emissions. Numerous researchers have explored diverse strategies to further optimize the performances of these systems. The main aims of this work are to model the 4E (energy, exergy, economic, and environmental) performances of a new design of an NGFCPP and compare them to those of an operating conventional plant (Hadjret Enouss plant). The obtained results show that the plant operating with the new design achieved a higher energy efficiency of 63.77%, compared to the Hadjret Enouss plant’s 58.87%. Moreover, its exergy efficiency of 56.58% also surpassed the Hadjret Enouss plant’s 55.54%. Although the NPV of the new design was slightly lower at 764.57 M€ compared to the Hadjret Enouss plant’s 776 M€, the developed plant demonstrated superior sustainability with the lowest CO 2 emissions at 40.77 kg/s and the least cooling water consumption at 5.984 m³/s. In conclusion, this new design offers significant long-term benefits, with the potential to save a considerable amount of fuel and reduce environmental impact over its lifetime. For example, over 35 years of operation, the developed plant can save 154.526 million kg of natural gas compared to conventional NGFCPPs, leading to an annual reduction in CO 2 emissions of approximately 24.28 million kg.

An innovative meshless approach for solving 2D Allen-Cahn equations using the RBF-compact finite difference method

Flavoaffinins, Elusive Cellulose-Binding Natural Products from an Anaerobic Bacterium