Browse Articles

Transparent artificial intelligence-enabled interpretable and interactive sleep apnea assessment across flexible monitoring scenarios

Abstract Early detection of widespread undiagnosed sleep apnea is crucial for preventing its severe health complications. However, large-scale diagnosis faces inaccessible monitoring and trust barriers in automated analysis, particularly due to the absence of transparent artificial intelligence frameworks capable of monitoring adaptation. Here, we develop Apnea Interact Xplainer, a transparent system enabling sleep apnea diagnosis through flexible channel analysis across clinical and home settings. Analyzing 15,807 polysomnography recordings from seven independent multi-ethnic cohorts, our system achieves accuracies of 0.738-0.810 for four-level severity classification, with 99.8% accuracy within one severity grade and R-squared of 0.92-0.96 for apnea-hypopnea index prediction on external test cohorts. The system provides multi-level expert-logic interpretable visualization of respiratory patterns enabling transparent collaborative decision-making. Notably, it achieves a sensitivity of 0.970 for early sleep apnea detection using only oximetry signals, while providing nightly risk assessment and intelligent monitoring reports. This study establishes a paradigm shift in advancing early and cost-effective sleep apnea diagnosis through transparent artificial intelligence.

Open vocabulary detection for concealed object detection in AMMW image

PPP2R1A mutations portend improved survival after cancer immunotherapy

Non-reciprocal frequency conversion in a non-Hermitian multimode nonlinear system

A novel approach in diagnosing knee osteoarthritis for content based image retrieval in big data analytics and medical images

Impact of catastrophic flood might have been exacerbated by river-management programme

Impact of early life antibiotic and probiotic treatment on gut microbiome and resistome of very-low-birth-weight preterm infants

Abstract Preterm infants (<37 weeks’ gestation) are commonly given broad-spectrum antibiotics due to their risk of severe conditions like necrotising enterocolitis and sepsis. However, antibiotics can disrupt early-life gut microbiota development, potentially impairing gut immunity and colonisation resistance. Probiotics (e.g., certain Bifidobacterium strains) may help restore a healthy gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated the effects of probiotics and antibiotics on the gut microbiome and resistome in two unique cohorts of 34 very-low-birth-weight, human-milk-fed preterm infants - one of which received probiotics. Within each group, some infants received antibiotics (benzylpenicillin and/or gentamicin), while others did not. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing on 92 longitudinal faecal samples, we reconstructed >300 metagenome-assembled genomes and obtained ~90 isolate genomes via targeted culturomics, allowing strain-level analysis. We also assessed ex vivo horizontal gene transfer (HGT) capacity of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterococcus using neonatal gut models. Here we show that probiotic supplementation significantly reduced antibiotic resistance gene prevalence, MDR pathogen load, and restored typical early-life microbiota profile. However, persistent MDR pathogens like Enterococcus , with high HGT potential, underscore the need for continued surveillance. Our findings underscore the complex interplay between antibiotics, probiotics, and HGT in shaping the neonatal microbiome and support further research into probiotics for antimicrobial stewardship in preterm populations.

Visualisation and quantification of the effects of surgical humidification on intestinal perfusion and viability in a porcine model

Atomic Off-Centering Driven Phonon-Glass Electron-Crystal-like Thermoelectric Transport in Entropy-Stabilized Quinary Telluride

Early evidence for capacity standardisation in Western Europe. The vessels from Mailhac (Aude, France) 9th-7th centuries BC

This paper presents an original study of the metrological characteristics of a series of vessels discovered in the necropolis of Le Moulin (Mailhac, southern France) and dated to the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Early Iron Age. A metrological study of the capacities of these artefacts is presented, based on a protocol of 3D modelling from 2D drawings to calculate the internal volumes of the vessels, and a series of mathematical and statistical analyses. The results make it possible to identify one of the earliest evidence for metrological practices based on capacity in Western Europe.

Binuclear Metal-Based Covalent Organic Framework Mimicking Metallohydrolases for Direct Photoreforming of PET Plastic

Drone-based application of whale tags: A “tap-and-go” approach for scientific animal-borne investigations

Deploying animal-borne suction-based tag devices on whales has been one of the primary tools used by researchers over the past several decades to gather high-resolution scientific information, such as bioacoustics, heart rate, dive depth, and body orientation. However, the process of successfully applying animal-borne tags is logistically challenging and requires substantial operator skill. Current methods apply tags by approaching the whale in a boat and adhering the tag via a long extension pole. In this study, we explore an alternative approach to apply animal-borne suction-based tag devices using First Person View (FPV) racing drones. These drones have been specifically adapted to withstand exposure to seawater, allowing them to operate effectively in marine environments. The drones are equipped with a custom interface, allowing to release the tag when it is applied on the whale’s back. In this study, we present the development of the delivery drone as well as tag deployment techniques. The proposed method was demonstrated on sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) off Dominica, resulting in fast deployment time (one minute and fifteen seconds on average) and a relatively high deployment success rate (over 55 %). In addition, the presented deployment process offers a less invasive technique for tagging, as boats are not needed for close approaches. These methods also serve as a framework to enable future development of more automated solutions to apply the tag on exact anatomical targets with controlled initial adhesion pressure and without manual operation.

Associations between neighborhood social capital, oral health risk factors, and tooth decay among Medicaid-enrolled adolescents: A hypothesis-generating preliminary study

Neighborhood-based social capital – defined as resources within neighborhood social networks – is a potential contributor to adolescent oral health, but mechanisms that link the two are not well elucidated. We evaluated the potential mediating role of neighborhood, household, and individual oral health risk factors in the neighborhood social capital-tooth decay relationship. We collected cross-sectional data from 331 Medicaid-enrolled adolescents (ages 12–18 years) and one of their caregivers from 73 census tracts (neighborhoods) in three counties in Oregon, U.S.A in 2015 and 2016. Medicaid is a public insurance program in the U.S. providing no-cost dental insurance to low-income children. We measured four neighborhood social capital constructs: social support, social leverage, informal social control, and neighborhood organization participation. Oral health risk factors included worrying about food money, poor access to vegetables and fruits, inconsistent family and oral health routines, and adolescent stress. The outcome was number of untreated decayed tooth surfaces. Causal mediation analyses with mixed effect models were used to examine associations. Neighborhoods with higher social support had a lower prevalence of worrying about food money (prevalence ratio [PR] 0.74;95% CI: 0.56, 0.96;p = .02) as did neighborhoods with higher informal social control (PR 0.75;95% CI:0.58, 0.97;p = .03). All oral health risk factors were strongly associated with untreated decayed tooth surfaces. No form of neighborhood social capital was significantly associated with tooth decay. Natural indirect effects of neighborhood social support and informal social control operating through worrying about food money were not statistically significant. Future longitudinal studies that include robust measures of neighborhood social capital and adequate sample sizes are needed to enable neighborhood-based interventions that promote adolescent oral health.

The impact of free trade port construction on regional import and export: Evidence from Hainan

The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port (HFTP) represents one of the most advanced regional development models explored by China. This study clarifies the concept of the free trade port and analyzes it from a trade perspective. Our empirical results show that the construction of the free trade port has significantly increased trade volumes, enhanced the diversification of products, and reduced the volatility of exports. A marked short-term surge in export volumes was observed immediately after the policy’s implementation. Moreover, the effects of the free trade port’s construction on trade are heterogeneous when viewed through the lens of product categorization.

Tuning Entanglement Molecular Weights with Ultrahigh-Molecular-Weight Polystyrenics

Catalytic activity evaluation of phyto synthesized SrO and chitosan encapsulated SrO nanomaterials

Industrial wastewater contaminated with organic dyes poses significant environmental and health risks. Developing effective and eco-friendly removal methods is crucial to mitigate the harmful impact of dye pollution. This study explores the green synthesis and application of strontium oxide (SrO) nanoparticles and chitosan-encapsulated strontium oxide (CS-SrO) nanocomposite as adsorbents for the removal of cationic and anionic dyes from aqueous solutions. Characterization revealed that the SrO nanoparticles exhibited a sharp localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak at 274 nm, while the CS-SrO nanocomposite depicted a broad LSPR peak between 230–280 nm. XRD analysis confirmed the face-centered cubic structure of the SrO nanoparticles, with an average crystallite size of 32 nm. Detailed dye removal studies revealed that the SrO nanoparticles achieved up to 80% removal of the cationic crystal violet dye, while the CS-SrO nanocomposite demonstrated 81% removal of the anionic methyl orange dye under optimized conditions. Further investigations into adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics provided insights into the mechanisms governing the dye removal processes. This work contributes to the advancement of green nanotechnology for environmental remediation purposes. These findings pave the way for the development of practical applications in water purification and pollution control strategies.

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness

Each fall, Eastern North American monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) leave their northern range and migrate to their overwintering sites high atop mountains in central Mexico. Although monarchs primarily rely on the use of a bidirectional time-compensated sun compass to maintain southwards directionality en route to Mexico, on overcast sky days when directional daylight cues are unavailable, monarchs can use an inclination-based magnetic compass to maintain correct directionality. As compass cues can only be used to determine direction, monarchs must use other mechanisms for recognizing, locating, and ultimately stopping at their overwintering sites. Although previous work found no evidence of monarchs using a fine-scale magnetic map for locating their specific overwintering sites, monarchs might still use magnetic cues in a general sense, such as when recognizing that they have overshot their destination or have gone off course. Here, using righting response orientation trials, we show that fall monarchs maintain equatorward (southward) orientation even when tested under artificially generated magnetic field conditions consistent with either their overwintering sites or magnetic conditions geographically south of these sites. We also found that fall migrants exposed to overwintering-like coldness reverse their orientation poleward (northward). This result indicates that the monarch’s magnetic compass is also recalibrated by the cold temperature microenvironment at the overwintering sites, as has been shown previously with its time-compensated sun compass. Our results indicate that migratory monarchs must use other cues for locating and stopping at their migratory destination. Our discovery that coldness recalibrates multiple compass mechanisms in a long-distance migratory species underscores the threat of climate change and corresponding increasing temperatures on animal migration.

Understanding the perspectives of people with dementia and family carers about clinical pharmacists in primary care: A qualitative study

Background The number of people living with dementia is increasing, placing significant strain on healthcare systems and family carers. Primary care teams, including clinical pharmacists, are crucial in supporting people with dementia. While clinical pharmacists have demonstrated benefits in other areas of healthcare, their role in dementia care is less understood. This study aims to explore the perspectives of people with dementia and family carers on the potential contributions of clinical pharmacists to dementia support within primary care in England. Objectives To explore the views and perspectives of people with dementia and family carers of dementia care received from primary care teams, with a specific focus on clinical pharmacists in England. Methods We conducted thirteen semi-structured interviews with family carers and fifteen with people with dementia in 2022–2024. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Three overarching themes, were developed from the interviews: 1) Recognising the value of clinical pharmacists 2) Building and developing rapport, with personalised care and a holistic approach; and 3) The needs of patients without clinical pharmacy support – left in uncertainty about their care. Conclusion This study highlights the potential of clinical pharmacists in dementia care, highlighting both positive experiences as well as unmet needs of those who did not have access to the service. Awareness of these services hinder the impact that they might be able to achieve otherwise. Increasing awareness, standardising training, and further research on service delivery models are crucial.

Elucidating the Biosynthetic Pathway and Mechanisms of Retrochalcones

The effect of tablet-based multimodal training on cognitive functioning in Alzheimer’s disease: A randomized controlled trial

Background Computerized cognitive training conducted in a home setting has shown beneficial effects on cognitive functions in people with mild cognitive impairment. Similar effects in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have not yet been found. We aimed to examine the effect of a six-month tablet-based multimodal training in community-dwelling people with mild to moderate AD on cognitive functions and on the volume of (sub)cortical structures. Methods Within a randomized controlled trial, a six-month (un)supervised tablet-based multimodal training including cognitive and physical exercises in people with mild to moderate AD (n = 11) was compared to a control group (n = 11) that received cognitive paper-and-pencil exercises for voluntary, unsupervised training. Participants in the intervention group were visited by professional trainers on a weekly basis for joint, supervised training sessions and were encouraged to train alone or with a caregiver as often as possible. Neuropsychological examination included assessments of global cognitive functions, memory, attention, executive functions, and verbal fluency. Freesurfer analyses of T1-weighted scans from structural magnetic resonance imaging were used to assess volumes of specific (sub)cortical areas (e.g., hippocampal volume). Results Over six months, the intervention group showed a stable global cognitive function score (Mini Mental Status Examination), whereas the control group showed a cognitive decline (ANCOVA-interaction: F1, 14 = 5.083, p = .041; controlled for disease duration and education). No other selective cognitive domain showed a significant time-by-group difference. No difference in cerebral volumes were detected. Conclusion The tablet-based multimodal training with cognitive and physical activation has positive effects on global cognitive functions of people with mild to moderate AD over a six-month training period, but lacks measurable transferability to other cognitive domains such as memory, attention or executive functions or brain structure. Further research on such interventions using high-quality longitudinal designs is recommended. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04628702).