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Atomically thin heterojunction-based optoelectronic synaptic devices operable from −190 °C to 450 °C
Air pollution implies unequal threats to adverse birth outcomes across maternal educational levels in Madrid, Spain
A family of ultrathin non-van der waals kamiokite-type oxides for two-dimensional electronics
A novel hybrid transformer-based framework (H-ConvNeXt–Swin) to classify brain tumors using MRI
Abstract This paper introduces a hybrid deep learning model combining ConvNeXt and Swin Transformer for classifying brain tumors from MRI scans. The ConvNeXt backbone is employed to obtain detailed local spatial features, whereas the Swin Transformer identifies hierarchical long-range dependencies, facilitating complementary feature representation. The proposed model is evaluated on a combined public MRI dataset of 7,023 images distributed across four categories: glioma, meningioma, pituitary, and no tumor. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid architecture outperforms several state-of-the-art convolutional and transformer-based models, achieving an accuracy of 95.37% with competitive precision and F-score. Additionally, qualitative explainability assessment using attention-based visualization techniques offers insight into the model’s decision-making by highlighting diagnostically significant regions. Furthermore, we evaluate the proposed H-ConvNeXt-Swin model on the unified dataset and also report source-stratified performance on each of the three constituent datasets: Figshare, SARTAJ, and Br35H. Future work will focus on validating the proposed framework on multi-center clinical datasets and extending it to more complex tasks such as tumor localization and segmentation.
Synergies and trade-offs for reaching global biodiversity and climate commitments
Multi-objective optimization for backpressure forming of thin-walled complex scrolls via a hybrid PSO-BPNN, NSGA-III, and TOPSIS framework
Farming practices exert selection pressures on the resistome of natural populations of house mice
Abstract The factors maintaining antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in non-domesticated animal microbiomes remain unclear for species inhabiting human-dominated or less human-impacted landscapes. We analysed 875 gut metagenomes from natural populations of house mice ( Mus musculus ) on German farms between 2016 and 2022 to identify environmental and host determinants of ARG occurrence. Using joint species distribution models, we quantified the influence of landscape, climate and mouse associated characteristics on the occurrence of individual ARGs and on trait dependence among genes. Environmental variables and livestock farming intensity explained 27% of ARG variation, whereas host characteristics accounted for 8%. Analysis of ARG traits revealed that agricultural land use and exposure to livestock increased the occurrence of potentially mobile ARGs. Pig density was strongly associated with an integron-encoded sulfonamide resistance gene ( sul1) and genes conferring tetracycline ( tet ) and beta-lactam resistance ( cblA-1 ) (posterior probability 0.75). Consistently, mouse resistomes have a distinctive resistome, but share more than 50% of ARGs with livestock manure, including widespread genes and those promoted in livestock. Here, we show that landscape conditions, particularly farming intensity, shape the distribution of specific ARGs and potentially mobile ARGs in house mice microbiomes.
Idiomatic english–marathi neural machine translation: a comparative study with an idiom preservation accuracy metric
Going with the flow to solve for symmetry-driven PDE dynamics with physics-informed neural networks
Diff-PCR: diffusion-based correspondence search in doubly stochastic matrix space for point cloud registration
Nutrient starvation and phosphonate utilization coordinate buoyancy and high-light tolerance in Trichodesmium
A perforator-based adipocutaneous skin paddle derived from free muscle flap reconstruction as a hypothesis-generating human tissue model of early localized lymphatic insufficiency
Abstract Secondary lymphedema remains poorly understood, particularly with regard to early human tissue responses after lymphatic outflow disruption. This study evaluates the perforator-based adipocutaneous skin paddle (PBASP) from vascularized free muscle flaps as a hypothesis-generating human tissue platform for early localized lymphatic insufficiency. The PBASP, receives arterial and venous perfusion but is not reconnected to physiological lymphatic outflow and was therefore hypothesized to develop changes consistent with early local lymphatic outflow insufficiency. Tissue samples were collected from 15 patients who underwent free muscle flap transfer, with PBASP samples obtained 7–14 days post-surgery. Histological, immunofluorescence, molecular, and protein analyses were performed to assess lymphangiogenesis, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and adipogenesis. PBASP tissue exhibited epidermal thickening, dermal expansion, subcutaneous matrix loosening, and leukocyte infiltration. Immunofluorescence showed a 3.6-fold increase in LYVE-1 + lymphatic vessel cross-sectional area. Gene expression analysis revealed upregulation of markers like VEGF-C, VEGFR3, IL-6, and MMP-9. ELISA demonstrated increased LYVE-1, IL-6, and COL1A1 protein levels. Together, PBASP tissues showed structural, lymphatic-marker, inflammatory, and early remodeling changes consistent with early localized lymphatic outflow insufficiency. Together, these findings support the PBASP-derived approach as a paired human tissue platform for studying early, localized lymphatic insufficiency and for generating mechanistic hypotheses relevant to secondary lymphedema.
Dissociating water clusters via polyhydroxy quaternized interface for enhanced water permeation in nanochannels
Abstract Water clusters with distinct structures in confined nanochannels exhibit unusual transport phenomena such as fast permeation, yet how to functionalize nanochannels to regulate this process and enhance water transport remains elusive. Herein, we report a water transmembrane transport mechanism based on the dissociation of water clusters and, accordingly, develop a highly permeable nanofiltration membrane with polyhydroxy quaternized interface. The results, observed by in situ liquid time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry in combination with molecular dynamics simulation, reveal that the functional groups (-OH and quaternary-N⁺) of membrane pore entrances can enthalpically/entropically favorably dissociate water clusters, i.e., (H 2 O) 5 H + , into smaller species, i.e., (H 2 O) 3 H + with higher transport mobility through hydrogen bond interactions based hydration competition, which reduces water transmembrane transport energy barriers and broadens the cross-sectional area available to water molecules, thus improving the water permeance. The polyhydroxy quaternized membrane exhibits high permeability with a membrane flux of 43.01 L m −2 h −1 bar −1 , while maintaining favorable divalent salt retention performance and mechanical properties, which effectively improves the selectivity-permeability upper bound of the nanofiltration membrane. Our findings demonstrate an interface-functionalized strategy for regulating the water cluster structure, showing implications for various applications including nanofluidics, desalination, bio-medicine, and energy technology, etc.
Distinct gut microbial signatures associated with disease onset and clinical course in Guillain–Barre syndrome
Structure of human cytoplasmic Pol II complex explains global transcription repression by GDOWN1
Abstract RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a 12-subunit enzyme crucial for gene transcription in the nucleus. However, its assembly in the cytoplasm, nuclear import, and nuclear function of assembly factors remain poorly understood. Here, we isolated Pol II from the cytoplasmic fraction of human cells (cfPol II) and find it associated with the assembly and transport factors GDOWN1, RPAP2, GPN1, and GPN3. Cryo-EM analysis of cfPol II resolves RPAP2 and GDOWN1 bound to Pol II at 2.9 Å resolution and shows that Pol II is fully assembled in the cytoplasm before nuclear import. Our structure of GDOWN1 bound to the Pol II surface reveals three distinct regions of GDOWN1 that interact with the RPB2 protrusion domain, RPB3, and RPB10. Biochemical analyses show that GDOWN1 facilitates soluble expression of a subcomplex comprising RPB3, RPB10, RPB11 and RPB12, suggesting a role for GDOWN1 in Pol II assembly. Further, GDOWN1 binding to Pol II overlaps with binding sites of the essential transcription factors IIB and IIF, rendering cfPol II inactive in promoter-dependent transcription initiation in vitro. Our results provide a basis for GDOWN1-dependent global transcription repression and suggest a model for a role of GDOWN1 in Pol II assembly, import, and transcription regulation.
Effects of serial casting on cardiac autonomic modulation in children with cerebral palsy: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial
Abstract To examine whether serial casting promotes autonomic nervous system adaptation in children with spastic CP, in comparison to ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) and no intervention. Thirty children with spastic CP (aged 6–12 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Serial Casting ( n = 10), AFO ( n = 10), or Control ( n = 10). Autonomic function was assessed using heart rate variability (HRV), recorded during rest, upright activity, and recovery phases over a 30-day intervention period. Changes in parasympathetic and sympathetic activity were analyzed using time-domain and non-linear HRV indices, including the standard deviation of instantaneous beat-to-beat variability (SD1). The Serial Casting group showed a significant increase in parasympathetic activity, with root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) increasing from a baseline mean of 22.1 ms to 33.8 ms at Day 30 ( p < 0.01), and SD1 increasing from 15.6 ms to 23.9 ms ( p < 0.01). These children also exhibited a more dynamic HRV pattern across task and recovery phases. In contrast, the AFO and Control groups did not demonstrate statistically significant changes in any HRV indices over the intervention period. Serial casting may facilitate recovery of autonomic nervous system function in children with CP by reducing neuromuscular effort and supporting more efficient physiological regulation. These findings suggest that the benefits of casting extend beyond motor outcomes, highlighting the importance of evaluating autonomic markers in pediatric rehabilitation research. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) number RBR-5ynppq, registered 23/09/2020.
Truncated Gpr114-based ultrasound-hypersensitive gene circuit for controlled expression of therapeutics
Recombinant DyP peroxidases for green synthesis and characterization of poly(pyrogallol)
Abstract Phenolic compounds pose a major threat to water pollution due to their high toxicity. Enzymes have emerged over recent years to act as a green alternative for cleaning up and utilizing phenolic compounds in nature. DyP peroxidases, a member of the oxidoreductase family, have shown promising ability to convert dyes into harmless compounds and have been found indispensable tools for green polymerization. In this study, three recombinant DyP peroxidases were used to convert pyrogallol (PG) into a polymer which upon characterization using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have revealed intricate details characteristic of poly(pyrogallol) (PPG). The synthesized polymer showed a rigid structure, with potential use in material science applications such as coatings or binding agents, as well as broader aspects in environmental and biomedical research.