Browse Articles

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the 2025–26 measles resurgence in Mexico: A national scan‑statistic analysis

Background Following over two decades of eliminated endemic transmission, Mexico experienced a significant measles resurgence in 2025–26. Declining vaccine coverage and pandemic-related service disruptions created subnational immunity gaps. We aimed to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of this outbreak to identify areas of sustained transmission. Methods We conducted a retrospective surveillance study of all confirmed measles cases reported nationally over a 50-week period (mid-February 2025 to February 10, 2026). Using municipal-level data and population projections, we applied Kulldorff’s space–time scan statistic (discrete Poisson model) to identify statistically significant clusters where incidence exceeded population-based expectations. Results A total of 8,205 confirmed cases were reported across 337 municipalities during the study period. Overall, 23 space–time clusters were identified, of which 19 were statistically significant ( p  < 0.001). The primary cluster, located in northern Mexico between epidemiological weeks 6 and 30, represented the focus of transmission, encompassing 89 municipalities and 4,012 cases (relative risk [RR] = 103.7). Secondary clusters reflected additional transmission patterns, including a large late-phase cluster in western Mexico with 1,493 cases (RR = 31.5), as well as several smaller, short-duration micro-outbreaks with markedly elevated localized risk (RR > 200). Conclusions The resurgence of measles was characterized by marked subnational heterogeneity, with both sustained regional transmission and localized surges. A late-stage, low-intensity cluster spanning 244 municipalities suggested a transition toward more diffuse national transmission. These spatiotemporal patterns suggest that geographically differentiated approaches, including subnational surveillance and targeted “mop-up” immunization campaigns, may be needed to address immunity gaps and support efforts toward restoring Mexico’s elimination status.

A High‐Performance, Low‐Cost and Recyclable Solid Electrolyte for Practical All‐Solid‐State Lithium‐Based Batteries

ABSTRACT The commercialization of all‐solid‐state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) is constrained by the absence of a suitable solid electrolyte (SE) that simultaneously offers high ionic conductivity, favorable processability, electrochemical stability with electrodes, and cost‐effectiveness. Herein, we report a novel polyoxometalate‐based SE, Li 4 SiW 12 O 40 (LSWO), featuring a Keggin‐type anion framework that constructs a three‐dimensionally interconnected lithium‐ion migration network, endowing it with a high room‐temperature ionic conductivity (6.19 × 10 −4 S cm −1 ). Additionally, the discrete Keggin‐type anion framework endows the material with excellent compressibility, achieving a relative density of 90.3% under 300 MPa. A robust gradient interfacial passivation layer can also be generated to stabilize the Li metal electrode, enabling the Li/LSWO/Li symmetric cell to achieve a critical current density of 4.2 mA cm −2 and sustain long‐term cycling for over 2400 h at 0.2 mA cm −2 . Notably, the ASSLMBs with Li/LSWO/LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 configuration exhibit remarkable cycling stability, delivering capacity retentions of 93.3% after 140 cycles at 0.5 C in coin cells and 88.2% after 200 cycles at 0.5 C in pouch cells. Techno‐economic analysis reveals that LSWO exhibits significant cost‐effectiveness compared to representative SEs. The high‐performance and low‐cost LSWO SE presents a promising candidate to facilitate the commercialization of ASSLMBs.

Physics-informed deep learning-based adaptive beamforming for phased array weather radar

Non-reciprocal coalescence-breakup dynamics in flowing concentrated emulsions

Abstract Dense stabilized emulsions are mixtures of immiscible fluids where the high-volume fraction droplet dispersed phase is stabilized against coalescence by steric interactions. The production of emulsions-a key process in food, cosmetics and chemical industries-involves high-shear flows, elastic and steric interactions, and proceeds thanks to coalescence and breakup of droplets and interfaces. The complex interplay between all these interactions is key in determining both small-scale droplet morphology as well as large-scale emulsion rheology. It is well known that at a critical volume fraction, ϕ c , the emulsion loses stability, undergoing an extremely rapid process where the fluid components in the emulsion exchange roles. This process, called catastrophic phase inversion, which resembles in several respects a dynamical phase transition, has remained widely elusive from an experimental and theoretical point of view. In this work, we present state-of-the-art experimental and numerical data to support a dynamical-system framework capable of precisely highlighting the dynamics occurring in the system as it approaches the catastrophic phase inversion. Our study clearly highlights that at high volume fractions, the droplet population starts to fluctuate wildly, leading to dramatic changes in the emulsion’s rheology and stability. Additionally, we show that at approaching the critical volume fractions, the dynamics can be simplified as being controlled by the evolution of a correlation length represented, in our systems, by the size of the largest droplet. This dynamics shares a close connection with non-reciprocal phase transitions where two different physical mechanisms, coalescences and breakups, can get out of balance leading to large non-symmetric periodic excursions in phase space. We clarify the phenomenology observed and quantitatively explain the essential aspects of the highly complex dynamics of flowing stabilized emulsions undergoing catastrophic phase inversion. More generally, our approach sets the basis for the definition and modeling of a vast number of dynamical phase transitions in hydrodynamic systems out-of-equilibrium where the flow, or other advection mechanisms, can enhance both aggregation and breakup of aggregates.

Correction: Randomized trial of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation to treat overactive bladder in older women

Synergy Between Ru ₃ Nanoclusters and Pt Nanoparticles for High‐Efficiency Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

ABSTRACT To achieve efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), catalysts should be rationally designed with optimized water adsorption energy, low H‐OH dissociation energy barrier, and appropriate hydrogen bond energy (HBE). However, simultaneously satisfying these requirements remains a major challenge for single‐component catalysts. Here, we report a dual‐site synergistic catalyst composed of atomically precise Ru 3 nanoclusters and Pt nanoparticles (Ru 3 @Pt NPs/C). Characterization results reveal Ru 3 nanoclusters are distributed around Pt nanoparticles. Compared with single‐component catalyst, Ru 3 @Pt NPs/C exhibits superior catalytic activity, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm −2 at an ultra‐low overpotential of only 10 mV, and the mass activity reached 0.488 A mg −1 PGM , which was 1.85 times that of commercial Pt/C (0.264 A mg −1 PGM ). Furthermore, Ru 3 @Pt NPs/C exhibits a low cell voltage of 1.75 V at 1 A cm −2 in the anion exchange membrane electrolyzer. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal its superior performance stems from a relay catalytic mechanism: water molecules are preferentially adsorbed and dissociated at Ru site, while the generated *H rapidly migrate to neighboring Pt sites, where they efficiently recombine to form H 2 . This study proposes an innovative dual‐component catalytic architecture that integrates triatomic clusters with nanoparticles, providing new perspectives for atomic‐scale design of advanced catalysts.

Vision transformer framework for host based cryptojacking malware detection

Salmonella SopB suppresses post-transcriptionally regulated cytokine release to reduce early tissue inflammation and delay disease progression

Abstract Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium ( S . Typhimurium) manipulates cellular processes through the translocation of effector molecules into the host cell cytosol. Using a recently established neonatal S . Typhimurium infection model, we provide functional insights into how Salmonella outer protein B (SopB) suppresses early mucosal tissue inflammation and prolongs host survival. Mechanistically, SopB prevents a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) activation, plasma membrane translocation and the release of membrane-bound TNFα from enterocytes and reduces epithelial secretion of IL-18 via mTOR-controlled secretory autophagy. This abolishes the early epithelial transcriptional response and reduces immune cell recruitment and programmed cell death-mediated mucosal barrier disruption delaying disease progression. The immunosuppressive effect of SopB is independent of the C-terminally encoded phosphatidylinositol phosphatase and phosphotransferase activity but requires an intact N-terminal domain. Also, it is restricted to the neonatal mouse model characterised by Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)1 type 3 secretion system (T3SS)-dependent enterocyte invasion-driven mucosal translocation. Thus, here we demonstrate that SopB suppresses the early, post-transcriptional regulation of epithelial cytokine release in an inositol phosphatase-independent manner likely promoting pathogen transmission.

Genetic structure of traditional cacao reveals four new genetic lineages in indigenous Amazonian sites in Peru

Cacao genetic resources in Peru are largely uncharacterized. Knowledge of their genetic structure is needed for their conservation and use. Indigenous on-farm cacao trees (n = 390) from the Departments of Amazonas (n = 130), Ayacucho (n = 76), Cajamarca (n = 1), Cusco (n = 110), Madre de Dios (n = 10), Piura (n = 59), San Martín (n = 3) and Ucayali (n = 1) in Peru were fingerprinted with 192 single nucleotide polymorphic markers. Identity, group differentiation, phylogenetic, multivariate and ancestry analyses were conducted. Four new populations were identified guided by phylogenetic, accepted ancestral backgrounds of reference samples and least admixture among samples. The cacao from these eight Departments were variably mixed containing both pure members of new populations and admixed samples with these new populations and Amelonado, Contamana, Criollo, Curaray, Guiana, Iquitos, Marañon, Nacional, Nanay and Púrus. The findings of this study suggest that while the cacao germplasm is genetically related across different departments, each region harbors its own distinct genetic composition. The Clade IV (Chuncho 2) population was associated with the Contamana cluster and Clade I (Chuncho 1) was associated with Purus cluster. Clades II (Awajun) and III (Porcelana) were associated with the Nacional cluster. The ancestry of the economically desired CCN 51 cultivar was revealed to be better assigned as 15% Amelonado, 13% Criollo, 25% Iquitos and 45% Awajun. The results of this study will improve the understanding of the genetic landscape in Peru, enhance genebank collections in Peru and enable the differentiation of the fine flavour industry in Peru. The new groups of cacao identified in this study will help understand the genetic structuring of cacao and represent a valuable new resource to search for valuable traits for breeding and commercialization programmes in the fine flavour cacao industry in Peru.

Converting One In Vitro Selected DNA Molecule Into Two Bacteria‐Responsive DNAzymes by Regulation of Reaction Conditions

ABSTRACT Bacteria‐responsive DNAzymes have been widely used in pathogen detection. We report a “one stone, two birds” strategy that uses one selected DNA molecule to develop two DNAzymes for targeting two bacterial species. Through in vitro selection, we isolated an RNA‐cleaving fluorogenic DNAzyme, brRFD2, that can be activated by Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) and Escherichia coli (EC) under different reaction conditions. Target assessing experiments indicated that RNases from KP and EC function as the activating components for brRFD2, but they differed in properties: the KP RNase is acid‐tolerant, while the EC RNase is heat‐tolerant. By exploiting these differences, brRFD2 exhibited a strong response to KP at pH 3.6, with a k obs ∼6600‐fold higher than that for EC, while showing high activity to EC at pH 4.5 using pre‐heated bacteria, with a k obs ∼520‐fold higher than that for KP. brRFD2 also demonstrated outstanding performance in the diagnosis of hospital‐acquired pneumonia (HAP) caused by KP and EC, achieving an 88.9% sensitivity and 96.7% specificity for KP and 100% sensitivity and specificity for EC across 48 clinical samples. This work demonstrates that a single DNAzyme sequence can function as two different bacteria‐responsive DNAzymes by simply regulating the reaction conditions.

Morphogenic adversarialism: reaction-diffusion patterns reveal structural vulnerabilities in deep neural networks

Patterns of emergence and circulation of West Nile Virus in Algeria

Abstract In recent years, many countries have experienced increased outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus (WNV). WNV is primarily transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Culex mosquitoes and has an enzoonotic transmission cycle involving birds. In Algeria, serological evidence of WNV in humans dates back to the 1970s, but circulation patterns are poorly characterized. To address this, we conduct a cross-sectional seroprevalence survey of WNV in humans and fit serocatalytic models to the data. We also analyze data on severe WNV cases. In this study, we report a seroprevalence of 16.7%. We identify age, region, and residence type as risk factors for infection. We also show that patterns of spread in two provinces in the south are consistent with low level endemic risk over decades, while those from three provinces in the north are all consistent with single outbreaks that occurred within the last 10-15 years. An outbreak may have occurred in Oran in 2010 and in Jijel and Tizi Ouzou near the time of data collection in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Investigation of potential drivers of viral establishment, along with continued surveillance of WNV cases, especially in the northern provinces, is warranted.

Immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception in Ethiopia: A scoping review

Background Immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (IPP-LARC) is vital for reducing unintended pregnancies and improving maternal health. Despite extensive research in Ethiopia, evidence remains fragmented. The primary objective of this scoping review was to systematically map and synthesize the available evidence on IPP-LARC in Ethiopia and identify research gaps to inform future interventions. Methods A scoping review was conducted following the JBI framework. Comprehensive searches were performed across PubMed, Cochrane Library, Hinari, Google Scholar, and grey literature sources. Studies reporting on IPP-LARC in Ethiopia were included. Data were charted and synthesized narratively. Two independent reviewers screened studies using Rayyan. Findings were presented in graphical, tabular, and narrative formats, adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Results A total of 845 records were identified through database searches and other strategies, of which 42 studies met the inclusion criteria. Among these, 42 employed quantitative designs, two were implementation-focused quality improvement studies, one used a mixed-methods approach, and one was purely qualitative. Thematic focus varied: 16 studies assessed IPP-LARC uptake, 12 examined IPP-IUCD uptake, seven evaluated intention or acceptance of LARC, one evaluated IPP-IUCD acceptance and uptake, one assessed informed choice, one examined receipt of IPPFP counseling, one explored barriers and facilitators, and one focused on knowledge and attitude. Reported uptake of immediate postpartum family planning ranged from 20.0% to 53.2%, with variation influenced by socio-demographic, service-related, psychosocial, and relational factors. Conclusion Evidence on IPP-LARC in Ethiopia highlights consistent determinants but is constrained by methodological and contextual gaps. Research remains dominated by cross-sectional, woman-centered studies, with limited attention to male engagement, community-level platforms, and qualitative insights. Addressing these gaps through rigorous, gender-inclusive, and context-sensitive intervention research is essential to strengthen shared decision-making and improve contraceptive uptake.

Cation Modulation of Layered Self‐Assembled Polyoxometalates Enables Efficient and Robust Hydrogen Evolution

ABSTRACT Superstructures assembled from polyoxometalate (POM) with alkyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (TAB) surfactants have generated rising attention owing to their compositional tunability and structural diversity. However, the role of alkyl chain length in dictating architectures and performance remains poorly understood. Herein, we report the controllable self‐assembly of four‐layered superstructures based on the giant POM K 28 Li 5 H 7 P 8 W 48 O 184 ·92H 2 O (P 8 W 48 ) and systematically elucidate the influence of chain lengths in alkyl TABs on their electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Short chains limit the exposure of catalytic sites, whereas excessively long chains impede charge transport. The superstructures assembled with an optimal chain of cetyl TAB (denoted as P 8 W 48 ‐CTAB) exhibit the highest HER activity, demanding an overpotential of only 55 mV to afford 10 mA cm −2 . In situ electrochemical spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that the pronounced interfacial electronic coupling between P 8 W 48 and CTAB promotes electron redistribution at the active centers, increases the density of electrocatalytically active sites, and lowers the reaction energy barrier, thereby improving the adsorption free energy of *H. This work establishes a clear correlation between organic cation chain length and electrocatalytic performance, providing general guidance for designing multifunctional POM‐based superstructures through molecular‐level self‐assembly.

Robust unsupervised medical image registration using a recursive deformable pyramid network

Abstract Medical image registration is an important task in medicine for providing an accurate anatomical correspondence between multimodal images, which is essential for diagnosis, treatment planning, and longitudinal follow-up. Nevertheless, the natural variability of biological shapes as well as the absence of annotated data in unsupervised settings make conventional registration-related algorithms extremely challenging to apply. In this work, we introduce a new Recursive Deformable Pyramid Network (RDPN) for the task of unsupervised medical image registration that aims to model both global and local deformation fields by hierarchically incorporating multi-scale feature representations. The adopted network consists of a deformable convolutional backbone that is used recursively on the pyramid level, where such instantiation allows us to estimate the adaptive spatial transformation without inheriting ground truth correspondences. Our method is tested on a synthetic brain MRI dataset which was meticulously generated to simulate inter-patient and intra-patient anatomical variability and a real abdominal CT dataset. Experiments show that RDPN achieves a robust performance gain in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods in the aspects of Dice similarity coefficient, target registration error and deformation smoothness. The pyramid mechanism in recursive level is especially effective for the purpose of aligning fine-grained anatomical structures with global structure consistency. Moreover, a thorough ablation study demonstrates the importance of recursive feature fusion and deformable modeling in learning a robust unsupervised registration solution. This work contributes by presenting a pragmatic approach to scalable registration for difficult registration problems in medical imaging, which could elevate the quality of the clinical workflow downstream.

An HMA-like integrated domain in the wheat tandem kinase WTK4 recognises an RNase-like pathogen effector

Abstract Proteins with a tandem kinase structure have recently emerged as players in race-specific resistance in cereal crops. However, the molecular understanding of these immune receptors’ resistance mechanisms is limited by the lack of knowledge about the pathogen effectors that they recognise. In this work, we identify AvrWTK4, the wheat powdery mildew RNase-like effector recognised by the wheat tandem kinase protein WTK4, through a combination of bi-parental genetic mapping and mutagenesis. We demonstrate that mutations in the AvrWTK4 gene or a reduction of its expression lead to virulence on WTK4 . Transfection of AvrWTK4 specifically induced cell death in WTK4 -expressing Aegilops tauschii protoplasts. The avirulent AvrWTK4 variant interacts more strongly than the virulent variant with the N-terminal heavy metal-associated (HMA)-like domain of WTK4. We found that the integrated HMA-like domain possibly serves as a direct effector-binding decoy for WTK4, providing a mechanistic paradigm for effector recognition by tandem kinase proteins.

Is correction for gradient nonlinearity necessary in a brain diffusion tensor MRI clinical study?

Nonlinear gradients alter the diffusion encoding in brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), leading to spatially varying diffusion weighting which bias quantitative measures if uncorrected. Although the overall effects of gradient nonlinearity correction in brain studies are typically minimal and often fall below the detection limits of traditional imaging resolutions and sensitivities, their cumulative impact on clinical outcomes requires further study. This study investigates the significance and effects of correcting gradient nonlinearity in DW-MRI, focusing on the microstructural and macrostructural changes in white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) across a clinical cohort. Our primary aim is to clarify whether the observed nonlinearity significantly alters the interpretation of aging in clinical settings, particularly in studies comparing healthy individuals to those with neurological conditions. We assess the extent of nonlinear fields impact on individual scans, interscanner observations, and a tract-based analysis. Using data from the Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project (n = 948 imaging sessions, 933 on Scanner B and 15 on Scanner A acquired with single-shell diffusion tensor imaging protocol), we find 1%, 3.3%, and 5-degree changes in microstructure measures, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and primary eigen vector (V1) respectively, affecting at least 20% of the brain. Across sessions, head positioning sampled typical clinical variability, with head offsets of approximately 0–10 mm and rotations of 0–10° relative to magnet isocenter. Subcortical regions in the superior regions, occipital lobules, and parietal lobules exhibit relatively higher impacts. Macrostructural measures show changes up to 12% after nonlinear field correction. GNL effects are 5% and 0.33% of FA and MD changes between mild cognitive impairment and controls. A simple power analysis indicates that these subtle effects of gradient nonlinearity correction can become statistically detectable in larger multi-site studies exceeding ~1000 subjects, suggesting that GNL should be considered and, where possible, corrected or at least quantified in such settings.

Andrey Lvov

Site‐Dependent Hydrogen Adsorption of Pt Single Atoms for Ampere‐Level Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

ABSTRACT The intermediate adsorption on single‐atom sites critically governs the catalytic performance of single‐atom catalysts. Site‐specific single atoms exhibit distinct intrinsic properties that modulate their intermediate adsorption behaviors. Herein, we elucidate the site‐dependent hydrogen adsorption of Pt single atoms by anchoring them at oxygen vacancies (Pt V /CoOOH), three‐fold hollow sites (Pt T /CoOOH), and lattice sites (Pt L /CoOOH), respectively. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate Pt T /CoOOH achieves an overpotential of 8 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 and long‐term stability for 1000 h. Anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) integrated Pt T /CoOOH just required 1.90 V to reach the industrial current density of 1.0 A cm −2 with 1000 h stability time. In situ/operando x‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), ambient pressure x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP‐XPS), attenuated total reflection surface‐enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR‐SEIRAS), and theoretical calculations collectively demonstrate that Pt T /CoOOH exhibits moderate H 2 O dissociation kinetics and near‐thermoneutral hydrogen binding energy. The optimal hydrogen adsorption facilitated a balanced H adsorption‐H 2 desorption kinetics, thereby contributing to a superior alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity compared to Pt V /CoOOH with weaker hydrogen adsorption and Pt L /CoOOH with stronger hydrogen adsorption. This work proposes a precise synthesis strategy to anchor single atoms at diverse sites and elucidates the influence of site‐dependent intermediate adsorption on catalytic performance.

Exploring the mechanism of NDRG2 in regulating endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation