Browse Articles

Radio wave attenuation by a large-scale photonic crystal sculpture

Abstract In this work, we present an artwork that embodies the by far largest photonic crystal ever published, operating at radio frequencies. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally the existence of band gaps. While photonic crystals are typically investigated on the nano and micro scale, our aim is to present not only a remarkable example of art with scientific relevance but also to highlight the potential for large-scale applications that have so far been underrated.

EcoTaskSched: a hybrid machine learning approach for energy-efficient task scheduling in IoT-based fog-cloud environments

Can trauma from violence be genetically inherited? Scientists debate Syria refugee study

A global survey on the associations between the lockdown group, free memory recall and emotional responses during the COVID-19 lockdown

A systematic qualitative review of ethical issues in open label placebo in published research

Health risk and toxicity assessment of exhaust air from non-incineration devices for hospital waste treatment in Tehran, Iran

Aircraft range fuel prediction study based on WPD with IAPO optimized BiLSTM–KAN model

Oroxylin A may promote cell apoptosis and inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition in endometrial cancer, associated with the ERβ/PI3K/AKT pathway

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving

Personality traits and their effects in patients with hemifacial spasm

Identification and characterization of Eco-miR 169-EcNF-YA13 gene regulatory network reveal their role in conferring tolerance to dehydration and salinity stress in finger millet

AlphaFold is running out of data — so drug firms are building their own version

Change of heart rate variability in children and adolescent with drug resistant epilepsy

Clinical subtypes identification and feature recognition of sepsis leukocyte trajectories based on machine learning

Abstract Sepsis is a highly variable condition, and tracking leukocyte patterns may offer insights for tailored treatment and prognosis. We used the MIMIC-IV database to analyze patients diagnosed with Sepsis-3 within 24 h of ICU admission. Latent class mixed models (LCMM) were applied to leukocyte trajectories to identify sepsis subtypes. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, with secondary outcomes including the need for life-support therapies. Associations between leukocyte trajectories and outcomes were assessed using multivariate regression, and findings were externally validated with the eICU database. Use the XGBoost model to identify baseline characteristics of high-risk mortality sepsis subgroups for predicting subgroup allocation upon patient admission to the ICU, and apply the SHAP method to interpret the contributing variables of the model. Among 7410 sepsis patients, eight distinct leukocyte trajectory subtypes were identified. Among those subtypes, patients with persistently high leukocyte levels had the poorest prognosis (HR 3.00; 95% CI 2.48–3.62) and a significantly greater need for life-support therapies; Patients with persistently low white blood cell levels had a higher risk of death (HR 1.68; 95% CI 1.24–2.27) but were less likely to receive invasive mechanical ventilation. Incorporating early ICU baseline variables into an XGBoost algorithm enables effective prediction of high-mortality risk subgroups (AUC > 0.8). SHAP method reveals distinct early clinical characteristics between hyperinflammatory subtypes (class 4, 7, and 8) and the hypoinflammatory subtype (class 1). In ICU-admitted sepsis patients, eight leukocyte trajectories are identified, which is the key independent predictors of prognosis, separating from single leukocyte measurements. High-mortality risk subgroups exhibit distinct clinical characteristics at ICU admission, providing valuable insights for their prediction and personalized early intervention.

Assessment of the toxic effect of benzalkonium chloride on human limbal stem cells

The effect of defocus incorporated multiple segment spectacles’ lenses combined with different concentrations atropine for myopia control

Lung nodule detection using a multi-scale convolutional neural network and global channel spatial attention mechanisms

Abstract Early detection of lung nodules is crucial for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer. However, current methods face challenges such as missing small nodules, variations in nodule size, and high false positive rates. To address these challenges, we propose a Global Channel Spatial Attention Mechanism (GCSAM). Building upon it, we develop a Candidate Nodule Detection Network (CNDNet) and a False Positive Reduction Network (FPRNet). CNDNet employs Res2Net as its backbone network to capture multi-scale features of lung nodules, utilizing GCSAM to fuse global contextual information, adaptively adjust feature weights, and refine processing along the spatial dimension. Additionally, we design a Hierarchical Progressive Feature Fusion (HPFF) module to effectively combine deep semantic information with shallow positional information, enabling high-sensitivity detection of nodules of varying sizes. FPRNet significantly reduces the false positive rate by accurately distinguishing true nodules from similar structures. Experimental results on the LUNA16 dataset demonstrate that our method achieves a competitive performance metric (CPM) value of 0.929 and a sensitivity of 0.977 under 2 false positives per scan. Compared to existing methods, our proposed method effectively reduces false positives while maintaining high sensitivity, achieving competitive results.

Children engage neural reward structures for creative musical improvisation

Abstract Children spontaneously engage in creative behaviors. However, little is known about the biological underpinnings of creativity in children. We identified neural substrates associated with musical improvisation in children aged 9–11. Participants played a non-ferromagnetic piano keyboard in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner using a musical paradigm that required no prior musical experience, in which they played a rote pattern from memory or improvised melodies using those same notes. fMRI analysis of children’s brains during musical improvisation revealed (1) heightened functional connectivity between emotion and reward brain areas and (2) deactivation of auditory, limbic, and parietal structures, particularly the middle temporal gyrus, angular gyrus, precuneus, and cingulate cortex. Importantly, improvisation engaged reward structures more than the control condition. Neural results suggest that children possess nascent creativity networks that form the roots for later adult creativity networks.

Author Correction: Identification of texture MRI brain abnormalities on Fibromyalgia syndrome using interpretable machine learning models

Optimal nitrogen rates and clonal effects on cannabinoid yields of medicinal cannabis