Browse Articles

Geospatial modeling and forecasting of urban land use change using Google Earth Engine and machine learning

Urban expansion and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change pose critical challenges for sustainable urban planning and risks to food security. This study analyzes multi-temporal Landsat imagery from 1990 to 2020 for five major cities, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta in Pakistan using the Smile Random Forest (SRF) algorithm within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Classification accuracies ranged from 86–90%, with Cohen’s Kappa coefficients between 0.86 and 0.92, demonstrating substantial to almost perfect agreement. The results reveal significant increases in urban areas: Karachi expanded from 12.4% in 1990 to 41.3% in 2020, Lahore from 15.2% to 39.8%, and Islamabad from 9.1% to 28.6%, primarily at the expense of vegetation and barren land. Elevation also influenced LULC dynamics, with higher-altitude cities like Quetta exhibiting slower but more resource-constrained urban development. A change matrix quantified class transitions, showing that urban land predominantly expanded into agricultural and vegetative land areas, raising concerns about long-term food security. Future projections using the MOLUSCE–ANN model indicate continued urban expansion by 2030, particularly in Karachi and Lahore, where built-up areas are projected to exceed 45% of total land cover. Compared with previous studies that employed Classification and Regression Trees (CART), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and CA–Markov models in single-city or short-term contexts, this study provides a multi-decadal, multi-city analysis with predictive capacity and robust validation, offering novel insights into Pakistan’s urbanization trajectory. By linking LULC change to the implications for natural resources and food security, the study contributes actionable evidence to support actions against disaster risk reduction, sustainable development and SDGs-aligned with urban policies.

Spiderweb-like Vessels in Retinopathy of Prematurity

Establishing the phenological development stages of Sophora moorcroftiana using the BBCH scale

Anatomical mapping and quantitative functional analysis of lower limb lymphatic flow in normal cynomolgus monkeys using indocyanine green lymphography

Background The lymphatic system is essential for fluid balance and immune regulation, but its anatomy and function in translational models remain insufficiently defined. Indocyanine green (ICG) near-infrared fluorescence lymphography enables real-time visualization of superficial lymphatics, yet baseline functional data in non-human primates are lacking. Cynomolgus monkeys closely resemble humans and represent a relevant model for lymphatic research. This study established baseline drainage patterns and functional contractility metrics of the lower limb lymphatic system. Methods Five healthy female cynomolgus monkeys were studied, with a total of 10 lower limbs evaluated. Lymphatic drainage was mapped using 11 intradermal injection sites and near-infrared fluorescence imaging. For functional analysis, ICG was injected into the anteromedial and anterolateral regions, which consistently exhibited clear lymphatic channels suitable for signal extraction. Fluorescence signals were analyzed using peak–valley and wavelet methods to quantify contraction metrics. Functional parameters were assessed at multiple time points for temporal stability. Comparisons were performed within each pathway, and pooled values were used for paired comparisons between the medial and lateral pathways. Results Anatomical mapping revealed four major drainage groups. The anteromedial, posteromedial, and anterolateral regions drained predominantly to the inguinal lymph node, whereas posterolateral regions drained mainly to the popliteal lymph node. Functionally, lymphatic contractions remained temporally stable, and medial pathways exhibited significantly higher peak frequency, wavelet mean frequency, amplitude, and wavelet amplitude compared with that of the lateral pathways, indicating more frequent and stronger contractions. Lateral pathways showed slightly greater variability in contraction rhythm. Conclusion This study provides the first integrated anatomical and functional characterization of lower limb lymphatics in cynomolgus monkeys. The findings establish baseline parameters that may guide comparative analyses, support pathway-specific investigations, and serve as baseline data for future studies of lymphatic dysfunction and disease modeling in non-human primates.

Evidence to Action — Single-Dose HPV Vaccination and Cervical HPV Infection

In praise of inefficiency, failure and friendship: ten galvanizing reads for this festive season

Publisher Correction: How seas whisper to snow: teleconnections drive spatio–temporal variability of snow cover in Western Himalayas

Agent-based modelling reveals feedback loops and non-linearity between mating system evolution and disease dynamics

Despite its potential for providing a deeper understanding of both evolutionary processes and epidemic dynamics, the reciprocal interrelationship between mating system evolution and sexually transmitted diseases remains largely unexplored. Here we developed an agent-based model simulating the evolution of two different female mating strategies (monandry versus polyandry) under the spread of a hypothetical sexually transmitted disease implying reproductive costs. Our results strongly support the existence of feedback loops between the pathogen’s transmissibility and the evolution of mating strategies. Importantly, we found several unexpected, non-linear emerging behaviours of the system, as well as tipping points which were undocumented under the conditions we considered here: i) medium-high/high probabilities of disease transmission per sexual contact reveal switches between disease-free and endemic outcomes, ii) counterintuitively, the disappearance of the pathogen might be a good indicator and predictor of the imminent extinction of the polyandrous genotype/phenotype/strategy from the population, and iii) probabilities of transmission above a medium-low threshold can offset the spread of polyandry even when this behaviour entails pronounced benefits. More broadly, our results illustrate that research into reciprocal influences between the dynamics of disease spread and sexual behaviour can provide valuable insights into disease transmission and the evolution of reproductive strategies, as well as into the sensitivity of mating systems’ evolution to small variations in ecological and disease contexts.

Trial of High-Dose Oral Rifampin in Adults with Tuberculous Meningitis

Correction: Phytochemical characterization and biological activities of wild Ceratonia siliqua L. leaves: antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic effects

Retraction: Role of Vitamin-D Receptor (VDR) single nucleotide polymorphisms in gestational hypertension development: A case-control study

NEJM Clinician — Finding the Medicine That Matters in an Age of Infinite Evidence

Mechanisms for agricultural companies in enabling smallholders’ integration into modern agriculture

Retraction: Clinical implications of first-trimester ultrasound dating in singleton pregnancies obtained through in vitro fertilization

Merkel-Cell Carcinoma

A multi-scale adaptive framework for high-precision rail track damage detection via StarNet and bidirectional feature pyramid network

OpenIDS2: A low-cost, 3D-printed, open-source platform for reproducible construction of DNA microarray synthesizers

Oligonucleotide synthesis is a fundamental technology in various fields of life science, including synthetic biology, molecular diagnostics, and biotechnology. In this study, we present OpenIDS2, an open-source, second-generation inkjet-based DNA synthesizer designed to enable flexible and low-cost synthesis in laboratory settings. Built upon the original OpenIDS platform, OpenIDS2 reduces the overall device volume to approximately one-third, integrates all control electronics through a custom-designed printed circuit board (PCB), and improves operational stability and fabrication accessibility via a peristaltic pump–based bulk solution delivery system. Notably, most mechanical components are designed for 3D printing, allowing users to fabricate and assemble the system at low cost using widely available tools. This design significantly enhances reproducibility and global accessibility as an open-source hardware platform. The system supports phosphoramidite chemistry and successfully synthesized 15-mer poly(dT) sequences on CPG-based substrates, which were subsequently analyzed by urea-PAGE and HPLC. OpenIDS2 not only demonstrates the practicality of a fully open, benchtop oligonucleotide synthesizer, but it also serves as a reproducible and extensible foundational platform that lowers the barrier to entry for laboratory automation through its nature as an open-source contribution.

Asteroids, antibiotics and ants: a year of remarkable science

First pathogenomic insights into Ganoderma ellipsoideum as an emerging causal agent of basal stem rot in oil palm

Proteomic screening of TMEM43 binding partners identifies VDAC leading to mitochondrial dysfunction

The transmembrane protein 43 (TMEM43) S358L mutation is the most common mutation found in patients with ARVC5, a severe subtype of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Characterizing the interacting proteins of TMEM43 mutants is important for unraveling the underlying mechanisms of the relative pathogenesis. Here, we applied quantitative immunoprecipitation (IP)-mass spectrometry (MS) to screen the differential binding partners between TMEM43 and TMEM43 p.S358L and identified 166 interacting protein candidates. Functional enrichment of these proteins highlighted their involvements of calcium signaling, lipid metabolism and cardiovascular diseases. Immunofluorescence (IF) staining and TurboID proximity-labeling further confirmed the interaction of several selected proteins. Moreover, we found that the interaction of both voltage-dependent anion-selective channel proteins (VDAC1 and VDAC2) to TMEM43 mutant significantly decreased. Importantly, lower VDAC binding mediated the mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiac myoblast H9c2 cells of TMEM43 p.S358L. The study provides a comprehensive view of the binding protein landscape of TMEM43 p.S358L, and implies a critical role of TMEM43 in mitochondria.