Browse Articles

Prediction of mechanical properties of Austempered Flake Graphite Iron and compacted graphite iron using response surface methodology

Neural circuits for valence updating in social memory

Social animals recognize familiar conspecifics and selectively avoid harmful ones. As social relationships shift, continuous updating of social valence is essential, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Here, by artificially transforming a previously neutral conspecific into an aggressive one, we show that valence updating depends on enhanced synaptic connectivity and physiological changes within the hippocampal ventral CA1 (vCA1)–basolateral amygdala (BLA)–nucleus accumbens (NAc) circuit. Following defeat, social memory engram neurons in the vCA1 strengthened their connections with BLA neurons carrying negative valence. The vCA1–BLA–NAc neural circuit flexibly regulates adaptive social behaviors.

Setmelanotide for the Treatment of Acquired Hypothalamic Obesity

Determination of the surface properties and isomer pair separation powers of benzoin gums using inverse gas chromatography

A single freeze cycle redirects iron mineral transformation

Polycrystalline ice formation concentrates mineral nanoparticles into liquid boundaries between growing ice crystals. Here we show that minutes of freezing dictate iron mineral fate over subsequent months of aqueous aging. A single freeze–thaw cycle irreversibly aggregates ferrihydrite through converging physical and chemical mechanisms. Freeze concentration collapses electrostatic barriers while cryosuction strips hydration layers and compresses nanoparticles into micrometer-scale planar aggregates. Chemical evidence points to interfacial (hydr)oxo bridging, alongside hydrogen bonding, that resists disaggregation. These mechanisms lock nanoparticles into mesocrystal-like assemblages that retain their nanoscale identity but inhibit dissolution–reprecipitation to goethite, instead favoring solid-state transformation to hematite. Ice formation thus acts as a geochemical reactor, driving aggregation and interfacial bonding that redirect iron speciation, with broad implications for nutrient cycling and carbon preservation across the cryosphere.

Nutrition Therapy in Critically Ill Adults

EBCS-SDN: an enhanced blockchain-based framework for control plane security in multi-domain SDN

Abstract Software Defined Networking (SDN) enhances network programmability and management by decoupling control and data planes. However, this logically centralized control plane introduces scalability issues and security vulnerabilities. In multi-domain SDN architectures malicious entities can compromise controllers to inject false flow rules, disrupting network integrity. Existing solutions often rely on static cryptographic authorizations, failing to monitor the real-time operational integrity of controllers. To address these limitations, this paper proposes an enhanced blockchain-based control layer security framework in multi-domain SDN (EBCS-SDN). The framework introduced a dynamic trust scoring model, an optimized dual-phase controller authentication mechanism and a decentralized behavioral-deviation hijack detection system to ensure continuous controller accountability. The empirical evaluations in a simulated multi-domain SDN environment demonstrated significant performance and security improvements over existing baselines models Voting-based, Proof-of-work (PoW)-based, DLCA_R_P, and BCS. Simulations in an emulated environment show that the proposed framework optimally reduces controller authentication latency by up to 75% and achieves a hijack detection accuracy of 96.78%. Under these simulated proof-of-concept conditions, the system demonstrated a post-attack throughput of 980 Mbps with detection and isolation times under 1.2 s. The proposed framework optimized the CPU utilization at full network nodes. Ultimately, the proposed system provides a scalable, computationally lightweight, and operationally resilient security foundation for SDN deployments.

Relativistic collapse of the classical triple bond in the CBi ⁻ molecular ion

The conventional framework for chemical bonding between main-group elements involves separate σ and π orbitals to describe multiple bonds. However, relativistic effects mix these orbitals in molecules containing heavy elements through spin–orbit coupling, leaving the total angular-momentum projection (ω) as the only good quantum number. Direct experimental evidence that relativistic effects change the σ-π bonding framework has remained elusive. Here, we probe the carbon-bismuth triple bond in the CBi − anion using high-resolution cryogenic photoelectron spectroscopy, coupled with relativistic four-component Dirac-Coulomb coupled-cluster calculations. Even though the CBi − anion is isovalent to the well-known CN − species, we demonstrate that the traditional σ + 2π triple-bond picture collapses into a pure π-like |ω| = 3/2 and two |ω| = 1/2 Kramers pairs containing substantial σ/π mixing.

Case 19-2026: A 68-Year-Old Man with Fatigue, Fever, and Hypoxemia

Mechanical assessment with data-driven hybrid machine learning-based optimization of compressive strength of sustainable biochar-concrete composite

Prioritizing a vital river’s restoration

Preserving Lung Function in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Predicting the spatial distribution patterns of albic horizon thickness and burial depth in Northeast China

A phase microscope for quantum gases

Coherence properties are central to quantum systems and are at the heart of phenomena such as superconductivity. In this work, we studied coherence properties of an ultracold Bose gas in a two-dimensional optical lattice across the thermal phase transition. To infer the phase coherence and phase fluctuation profiles, we used direct matter-wave imaging of higher Talbot revivals and introduced a phase microscope based on a site-resolved mapping of phase fluctuations to density fluctuations during matter-wave imaging. We observed the algebraic decay of the phase correlations in the superfluid phase and a linear temperature increase of the exponent. These techniques may enable studying coherence properties in strongly correlated quantum systems with full spatial resolution.

Treating Acquired Hypothalamic Obesity

Characterization of microbiome diversity and its association with healing outcomes in diabetic foot ulcer patients

Indium-free perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells with tin oxide recombination layer and electrodes

Indium-based transparent conductive oxides are widely used as electrodes and recombination layers in perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, yet their scalability is constrained by indium scarcity and sputtering-induced damage. We report high-efficiency and stable indium-free perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells enabled by reactive plasma deposited tin oxide (RPD-SnO x ). For RPD-SnO x as the recombination layer, we achieved a certified efficiency of 33.6%. Fully indium-free tandems that used RPD-SnO x as both recombination layer and electrodes delivered a champion power conversion efficiency of 33.2% (1 square centimeter) and a minimodule with a certified efficiency of 31.0% (207.9 square centimeters). Dense and uniform self-assembled monolayer anchoring enabled by RPD-SnO x suppressed nonradiative recombination and reduced halide migration. Indium-free minimodules exhibited high thermal, damp-heat, and outdoor operational stability and retained 65% of their maximum initial efficiency after 105 days of outdoor operation.

Contextualizing the Dead Donor Rule in an Era of Voluntary Euthanasia

Human Papillomavirus vaccination uptake and its determinants among female secondary school students in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia: institution-based cross-sectional study

Erratum for the Research Article “Granzyme A from cytotoxic lymphocytes cleaves GSDMB to trigger pyroptosis in target cells” by Z. Zhou <i>et al</i> .