Recent Publications

Cureus. 2025 Dec 8;17(12):e98689. doi: 10.7759/cureus.98689. eCollection 2025 Dec.

ABSTRACT

Multiple myeloma (MM) can have an insidious onset, particularly in its early stages, which may contribute to delays in diagnosis. Acute encephalopathy is a rare and atypical manifestation of MM that can further complicate timely recognition and management. We present the case of a 57-year-old woman who initially reported fatigue, back pain, recurrent falls, and significant unintentional weight loss and was found to have hypercalcemia, anemia, acute renal dysfunction, and bone lesions. Her clinical course rapidly evolved into profound encephalopathy, characterized by a change in mentation from her baseline, agitation, and eventual unresponsiveness requiring intubation. Extensive investigation, including a bone biopsy, revealed elevated IgA lambda paraproteins consistent with MM. She also had borderline serum hyperviscosity, mildly elevated ammonia levels, and diffuse microhemorrhages on brain MRI. Despite interventions, including plasmapheresis and high-dose steroids, her encephalopathy persisted until initiation of bortezomib-based chemotherapy, resulting in neurological improvement. This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing MM as a potential cause of unexplained encephalopathy and highlights the complexity of its neurological manifestations, underscoring the need for prompt hematologic evaluation and interdisciplinary management.

PMID:41510463 | PMC:PMC12776540 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.98689

Sci Rep. 2026 Jan 8. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-35196-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in mission-critical operations has intensified the need for efficient, scalable, and adaptive clustering in Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs). This paper presents a clustering optimization framework based on the Secretary Bird Optimization Algorithm (SBOA), a bio-inspired metaheuristic that simulates the strategic hunting behavior of the secretary bird. Compared to the Fire Hawk Optimization Algorithm (FHOA), the Portia Spider Optimization Algorithm (PSOA), and multi-objective optimization algorithm based on sperm fertilization procedure (MOSFP), SBOA results in a balanced exploration-exploitation trade-off that facilitates dynamic and energy-efficient cluster head (CH) selection in high-mobility 3D UAV networks. It is modeled as a multi-objective optimization problem with the aim of minimizing intra-cluster distance, maximizing residual energy, and load balancing. The population of UAVs ranges from 30 to 160 nodes, the communication range from 100 to 900 m, and the 3D grid scale. It emerges that SBOA outperforms all its counterparts in terms of up to 15% higher optimization fitness, 10% higher cluster density, and 40% reduced load imbalance. SBOA's superiority with respect to convergence stability, cluster uniformity, and CH workload distribution is further validated using several visualization tools like heatmaps, t-SNE projections, and statistical plots. SBOA has also been able to achieve over 85% optimal fitness even in highly sparse environments to establish its scalability and robustness. Statistical validation confirmed that SBOA significantly outperformed FHOA, PSOA, and MOSFP to achieve as high as 0.15 higher fitness, with p < 0.001, reduced the convergence time by almost four frames, with p = 0.003, provided 40% lower load imbalance, with p < 0.001, with consistently tighter cluster stability distributions to validate its robustness for large-scale real-time FANET deployments. Such findings make SBOA a viable and high-performance clustering solution for next-generation, real-time, energy-constrained FANET deployments in critical and dynamic environments. SBOA may be extended to incorporate mobility prediction and energy-aware routing to enhance real-time scalability in larger and more dynamic FANET scenarios using a hybrid approach.

PMID:41507307 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-35196-z

Eur Spine J. 2026 Jan 8. doi: 10.1007/s00586-025-09734-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: Technical case report.

INTRODUCTION: Severe thoracic hyperkyphosis caused by multiple osteoporotic fractures can lead to significant disability. When deformities are rigid, surgical correction may be required. This report describes a rare case of four-level pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) to address a fixed deformity, with focus on technique, outcomes, and complications.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 65-year-old female with Scheuermann's disease developed progressive thoracic hyperkyphosis due to osteoporotic vertebral fractures. Radiographs showed a rigid kyphosis of 130.3°. The patient underwent a two-stage surgery: cement-augmented instrumentation (T2-L3), followed by contiguous PSOs from T6 to T9. Neurophysiological monitoring was used throughout.

RESULTS: Kyphosis was corrected from 130.3° to 48°. Postoperatively, the patient developed progressive lower limb weakness due to spinal cord kinking. Revision surgery allowed neurological recovery. At two years, radiological parameters remained stable, and the patient reported reduced pain, improved mobility, and restored quality of life.

CONCLUSION: Four-level PSO can be an effective treatment for severe rigid thoracic hyperkyphosis in osteoporotic patients. Although technically demanding and associated with potential complications, careful planning and staged correction can result in successful outcomes.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV (Case Report).

PMID:41501208 | DOI:10.1007/s00586-025-09734-8

JMIR Res Protoc. 2026 Jan 7;15:e79022. doi: 10.2196/79022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention (JITAI) recognizes the dynamic nature of individuals' states and contexts, predicts support needs, and sends tailored support at more opportune, actionable times.

OBJECTIVE: This paper outlines the application architecture and protocol for the pilot "Walking With Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions" (WWJ) study, which uses a JITAI approach to improve walking behavior-duration, speed, and distance-and reduce stationary time, defined as idle sitting or standing.

METHODS: This study targets 20 adults who are physically inactive and leverages the Apple Watch to deliver fully automated tailored intervention notifications to "walk faster," "walk longer," or "stand up and move around" based on real-time data and contextual factors, including time-of-day activity patterns, geographic locations (eg, home, work, park, and gymnasium), weather conditions (eg, precipitation, wind speed, and humidity), and receptiveness. The protocol involves a preintervention assessment of demographics, behavior change constructs, anthropometrics, and resting vital signs; a 2-week observation period to establish walking behavior and stationary time baselines; a 2-week just-in-time learning period to evaluate receptiveness to untailored prompts at all applicable times; the 2-week JITAI intervention phase; and a postintervention assessment. Feasibility will be evaluated through protocol fidelity, participant adherence, Apple Watch wear-time compliance, user burden, acceptability ratings, and perceptions of benefits and preferences.

RESULTS: The WWJ architecture development began in spring 2021 and concluded in fall 2022. Participant recruitment and enrollment began in fall 2022. A total of 18 participants were recruited. Upon completion of the analyses, the results of this study are expected to be submitted for publication.

CONCLUSIONS: Distinctively, the WWJ just-in-time learning period aims to train the learner based on user receptiveness within contexts by sending interventions whenever a participant meets the predetermined thresholds regardless of the likelihood that the user will be receptive to the notification to prune out nonopportune or "nonactionable" times. This approach may allow for greater customization during the JITAI period.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/79022.

PMID:41499773 | DOI:10.2196/79022

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Dec 24;279:113016. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.113016. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Evidence on the association between tobacco/nicotine and other substance use (TOSU) and adolescent nicotine pouch (NP) awareness and use is lacking but vital for policy and prevention planning.

METHODS: The sample was drawn from the 2023 Monitoring the Future study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. adolescents (8th, 10th, 12th graders). One-third of participants were randomly selected to complete questions on NP awareness and use (lifetime, past 12-month, past 12-month frequency) and past 30-day TOSU measures (yes/no). We estimated risk ratios (RRs) and incident rate ratios (IRRs) to examine the associations between TOSU and NP awareness and use.

RESULTS: Overall (n = 6958; 53.4 % female), 35.4 % reported NP awareness, 2.5 % reported lifetime use, and 1.8 % reported past 12-month use. Past 30-day use of tobacco/nicotine products was each positively associated with NP awareness (RRs:1.42-1.70), lifetime (RRs:7.14-20.40), and past 12-month (RRs:5.84-22.44) use, with the strong associations for youth with vs. without smokeless tobacco use. Cannabis, alcohol, and other drug past 30-day use were each associated with NP awareness (RRs:1.49-1.68), lifetime (RRs:3.47-10.49), and past 12-month (RRs:4.70-15.70) use.

CONCLUSIONS: NP awareness and use prevalence were disproportionately high among adolescents with various forms of TOSU in 2023, especially smokeless tobacco. These findings suggest the importance of monitoring NP use among youth with TOSU while recognizing that awareness may also reflect broader marketing, product availability, or incidental exposure. Policy and prevention efforts should address NP use alongside TOSU with established health risks.

PMID:41494224 | DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.113016

Sci Rep. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-34262-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Colon cancer continues to be a major contributor to cancer-related deaths worldwide, highlighting the critical need for reliable and early detection methods. In response, this research introduces an advanced deep learning framework for the automated identification of colon cancer through histopathological image analysis. The framework integrates Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) with Bayesian optimization to efficiently fine-tune hyperparameters, enhancing classification accuracy while minimizing overfitting. The model was trained and tested using a publicly accessible dataset that merges data from Kaggle and the Kaggle Cancer Data Portal (KCDP), covering nine distinct tissue types: Normal, Tumor, Stroma, Lympho, Complex, Debris, Mucosa, Adipose, and Background. The optimized CNN demonstrated strong performance, achieving an accuracy of 96.84%, a precision of 97.02%, a recall of 96.50%, and an F1-score of 96.71%. Additionally, the model attained an AUC (Area Under Curve) of 0.97, indicating high discriminative capability. Compared to baseline CNN and ResNet architectures, the proposed method demonstrated superior robustness and generalization due to effective data augmentation and stain normalization techniques. These findings suggest that the model offers substantial promise as a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool to assist pathologists in clinical decision-making, and can be extended to other cancer types through transfer learning and model adaptation. While the framework demonstrates strong within-dataset performance, external validation on independent, multi-institutional cohorts is required before clinical deployment.

PMID:41492074 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-34262-2

J Nutr. 2025 Dec 31:101309. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.101309. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A new generation of standard reference diets (SRDs) is essential to enhance the integrity of research associated with the use of laboratory animal models in the study of human disease. Support for the value of this fundamental facet of experimental methodology is provided via an historical overview, an assessment of current status, and the advancements and opportunities that will be realized through further development and routine use. An outline of the extensive investment in animal nutrition research by NIH during the past 30 years is presented with specific reference to rodent animal models and standardization in dietary methodology. Timely recommendations for renewed action that revitalize and expand the use of SRDs in rodents and other models, such as zebrafish, are provided with the aim of achieving more rigor, transparency, replicability, interpretability, and integrity in pre-clinical and translational animal model-based research. Ultimately, benefits of these efforts will be fulfilled through expeditious development of prophylactic and therapeutic approaches for human diseases.

PMID:41482233 | DOI:10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.101309

J Chem Phys. 2025 Dec 28;163(24):244708. doi: 10.1063/5.0291158.

ABSTRACT

The temperature-dependent structural dynamics of Si dimers on the reconstructed Si(001) surface are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations with a newly developed machine learned interatomic potential trained on a database derived from density functional theory-based calculations. We find a finite probability of dimers occupying the higher energy symmetric configurations (associated with metallic behavior) even at temperatures as low as 300 K and that this probability continues to grow with increasing temperature as the lower energy asymmetric dimers flip rapidly with rates ranging from 106 to 109 s-1. Furthermore, above 700 K, some dimers are found to dissociate, leading to the presence of Si adatoms on the surface. These results are in accord with the experimental observations of metallicity on Si(001) with an onset around 400 K, which increases with increasing temperature followed by an abrupt rise around 700 K. By capturing the dynamics of dimer flipping, which on average reflect a domination of the symmetric configuration over the ground state asymmetric geometry, these simulations provide a rationale for the origin of the observed metallicity.

PMID:41467679 | DOI:10.1063/5.0291158

Sci Rep. 2025 Dec 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-32520-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Reliable identification of agricultural pests and beneficial insects is crucial for sustainable crop protection and ecological balance, yet most vision-based models remain black boxes and require high-dimensional features. This paper proposes an explainable hybrid insect-classification framework that combines convolutional neural network (CNN) feature extraction with a dual-XAI feature selection strategy. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Permutation Feature Importance (PFI) are applied in parallel to rank handcrafted and CNN-derived features, and their intersection yields a compact, biologically meaningful subset for final classification. The selected features are evaluated using lightweight classifiers and a hybrid ensemble, enabling accurate inference under field variability. Experiments on a curated, balanced dataset of four classes (Colorado potato beetle, green peach aphid, seven-spot ladybird, and healthy leaves) collected under diverse lighting and background conditions achieve 96.7% overall accuracy, with precision, recall, and F1-scores all above 96%. Importantly, performance remains stable when reducing dimensionality, retaining ≥90% accuracy using only the top 11 hybrid-selected features. These results demonstrate that integrating SHAP and PFI improves both robustness and interpretability, supporting practical deployment for automated pest monitoring and precision agriculture.

PMID:41455740 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-32520-x

JACS Au. 2025 Nov 14;5(12):5917-5923. doi: 10.1021/jacsau.5c01209. eCollection 2025 Dec 22.

ABSTRACT

DNA nanotechnology has emerged as a promising field for biomedical applications, in both the therapeutic and diagnostic domains. The ability of DNA nanostructures to carry cargos in precise numbers and orientations makes them competitive candidates for drug delivery, biosensors, or imaging agents. Two of the main challenges for translating DNA nanostructures from the laboratory to the clinic are achieving cost-effective large-scale production and establishing comprehensive safety profiles. Having the ability to reliably and efficiently purify functionalized DNA nanostructures is key to both challenges and an open question in the field of DNA nanotechnology. Here we present a scalable method for the fast and efficient purification of a high concentration of peptide- or protein-functionalized DNA nanostructures. We use a gravity-driven size exclusion chromatography approach that has the potential to purify DNA nanostructures within 10 min in yields of up to 93% with purities of over 99.9% and is appropriate for both protein and peptide conjugates.

PMID:41450627 | PMC:PMC12728597 | DOI:10.1021/jacsau.5c01209

Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Dec;21 Suppl 6:e101583. doi: 10.1002/alz70860_101583.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Asian immigrants can experience health disparities and inequities due to language barriers and the limited availability of culturally appropriate services. Dementia education is needed to combat dementia misperceptions and promote help-seeking. This scoping review describes the characteristics and impacts of community-based dementia education programs for large East and Southeast Asian immigrant groups worldwide, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese communities.

METHODS: Publications in the English language from the last two decades were identified through a database search of Scopus, CINAHL Plus, PsycInfo, Embase, and OVID (MEDLINE and Emcare). We included education programs for community-dwelling Asian adults and people with dementia and their carers. Studies conducted in both the immigrant origin and destination countries were included as education programs in both contexts might address shared health beliefs and practices. Educational programs for clinical workforces or professional development were excluded, given that workforce building is the focus of this review.

RESULTS: The search identified 3,431 publications. Twenty-seven articles (17 in Asian countries, 8 in the USA, 2 in Australia, n = 10-4,333) met the inclusion criteria: 12 for community members, and 15 for carers. Six involved people living with dementia or carers in program design. Programs for community members were delivered via group meetings in-person or online, as well as with YouTube videos and virtual reality experiences. Two publications addressed cultural beliefs towards aging and dementia. Many educational programs for community members demonstrated improvement in health literacy. Dementia education programs for carers tended to be structured. Two of the 15 carer programs involved cultural adaptation. Carer programs reduced carer burden, improving skills and self-efficacy. Most programs were conducted with Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese populations, one included Filipino community members, and no carer programs involved Filipino carers.

CONCLUSIONS: Educational programs can be successful, but need more cultural specificity, and most were at the pilot-testing stage. Publications on programs for Filipino communities were scarce compared to other Asian communities. Future reviews should include publications that are not in English and those on South Asian immigrants.

PMID:41434547 | DOI:10.1002/alz70860_101583

Brain Neurosci Adv. 2025 Dec 15;9:23982128251406340. doi: 10.1177/23982128251406340. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

ABSTRACT

On 10-11 September 2025, the Cambridge Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Research Centre held its eighth biennial symposium on the topic of Interventions and Recovery. The meeting saw basic and clinical neuroscientists come together from Cambridge and beyond to discuss the latest advancements in cell and gene therapies, pharmaceutical innovations and cutting-edge neurotechnology aimed at addressing neurological diseases. Here, we provide a summary of the meeting, which shined a light on reasons to be optimistic for the future of treating conditions of the nervous system.

PMID:41415128 | PMC:PMC12708998 | DOI:10.1177/23982128251406340

J Cardiothorac Surg. 2025 Dec 17;20(1):459. doi: 10.1186/s13019-025-03706-1.

ABSTRACT

Aortic arch surgery is a complex and high-risk operation undertaken to correct aneurysms, dissections, and traumatic aortic injuries. Despite notable improvement in surgical technique, perioperative care, and neuroprotection, the risk of neurological complications remains a predominant cause of concern. Such complications, which include permanent and transient neurological deficits, spinal cord damage, intellectual dysfunction, and seizures, are caused by conditions like cerebral hypoperfusion, embolism, reperfusion injury, and systemic inflammatory responses. The review seeks to summarize available evidence to cover the incidence, risk factors, mechanisms, prevention, and management of neurological complications in aortic arch surgery. It also evaluates the effectiveness of preventative strategies such as selective antegrade cerebral perfusion, hypothermia, intraoperative monitoring, and new pharmacologic approaches (i.e., hypertonic saline dextran, thiopental) in reducing neurological risk. Despite advances, there are important gaps in the management of long-term complications, reflecting the need for ongoing innovation in surgical and perioperative care. This review is a summary to assist clinicians in decreasing adverse outcomes in this high-risk group of patients.

PMID:41408330 | DOI:10.1186/s13019-025-03706-1

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2025 Dec 17;19(12):e0013855. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013855. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic pathogen with high case-fatality rates, recurring outbreaks, and significant public health implications in Bangladesh, particularly in regions known as the "Nipah belt." This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the general population regarding NiV transmission, prevention, and control measures.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 2024 to April 2025 among 545 respondents, selected through multi-stage sampling from 48 upazilas across 16 districts. A structured questionnaire, prepared in Bengali and English, covered four domains: sociodemographic, knowledge, attitude, and practice. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews and reported through KoboToolbox and analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Findings revealed that only 29.2% of participants demonstrated good knowledge of NiV infection, while 94.1% showed positive attitudes toward prevention and control. However, correct preventive practices were reported by just 33.0% of respondents. Awareness of bat-to-human transmission was relatively high (66.2%), yet knowledge of the disease's high fatality rate (11.4%) and preventive measures (28.8%) was low. Over half of participants (53.2%) reported consuming raw date palm sap, a key transmission route. Higher education, employment, and proximity to sap collection areas were associated with better knowledge, while younger age, female gender, and higher income were linked to better practices.

CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This first nationwide community-level KAP survey highlights critical gaps between awareness and behavior, underscoring the need for sustained, culturally tailored interventions, strengthened surveillance, and One Health approaches to reduce NiV spillover and transmission risks in Bangladesh.

PMID:41406171 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0013855

bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Nov 29:2025.11.26.690749. doi: 10.1101/2025.11.26.690749.

ABSTRACT

Small molecule activators of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), hereafter SMAPs, have attracted substantial interest, for their potential to inhibit cancer cell proliferation by targeting PR65, the scaffold subunit of the PP2A heterotrimer. PR65 is a uniquely flexible and stable molecule composed of 15 tandem HEAT (Huntingtin, Elongation factor 3-PP2A-TOR1) repeats. We characterized the binding sites and interactions of two SMAPs ATUX-8385 and DT-061 with PR65 and evaluated effects on PR65 structural dynamics using docking and molecular dynamics simulations. We initiated SMAP-bound PR65 simulations starting from two binding sites: S1, determined by cryo-electron microscopy for DT-061 bound to PP2A, on the inner helices of the HEAT repeats 2 and 3 (2 i and 3 i ); and S2, predicted by docking of ATUX-8385 onto PR65, on 4 i and 5 i and outer helices 5 o and 6 o consistent with footprinting experiments. S2 proved to be a stable site for both SMAPs when initiating the simulations at S2. However, neither DT-061 nor ATUX-8385 demonstrated stable binding to S1. DT-061 rapidly dissociated from S1 to settle instead at a neighboring site S4 overlapping with our previously identified S3 for PR65 in extended form, suggesting that binding to S1 may be a 2-step process: an initial binding to PR65 alone, either to S3/S4 or S2, followed by movement to S3/S4, and then an induced relocation to S1 upon complexation with the regulatory and catalytic subunits. Targeted in silico mutagenesis showed that mutations at S2 and S4 destabilized SMAP binding to the PR65 (subunit). Heterotrimeric PP2A simulations showed that S3 and S4 binding were not persistent upon complexation. Together, these results corroborate our findings. Furthermore, preferentially stabilized a relatively extended PR65 conformation that would accommodate, if not promote, the assembly of the catalytic and regulatory subunits to prompt the activation of the trimeric phosphatase.

PMID:41394555 | PMC:PMC12697531 | DOI:10.1101/2025.11.26.690749

Biophys Rev. 2025 Jul 28;17(4):1119-1132. doi: 10.1007/s12551-025-01343-5. eCollection 2025 Aug.

ABSTRACT

The material properties of biomolecular condensates, such as interfacial tension, viscoelasticity, stiffness, and molecular dynamics, are crucial for their biological functions in processes like signal transduction, stress response, and gene regulation. These properties influence both endogenous condensates, like the nucleolus and stress granules, and synthetic condensates engineered for potential drug delivery applications. In vitro studies, using purified components, provide controlled environments to explore the fundamental physics of phase separation, offering high precision in manipulating molecular components and conditions. However, cell-based characterisations are indispensable for understanding the physiological relevance of biomolecular condensates, accounting for molecular crowding, post-translational modifications, and interactions with cellular structures. Light-microscopy techniques offer the potential to bridge in vitro findings with in cellulo behaviour. This review outlines some fundamental challenges of in cellulo studies and discusses the potential of fluorescently labelling biomolecular condensates using the tetracysteine tag/biarsenical dye strategy. We describe how fluorescence-based techniques, including fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and emerging techniques like fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), flicker spectroscopy, and raster image correlation spectroscopy (RICS), may be used to gain a detailed understanding of the material properties of biomolecular condensates within the cellular environment. Finally, we discuss the potential of Brillouin light scattering (BLS) microscopy, a label-free technique that holds potential for deciphering the cellular biophysics of biomolecular condensates.

PMID:41378109 | PMC:PMC12686230 | DOI:10.1007/s12551-025-01343-5

Data Brief. 2025 Nov 14;63:112281. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2025.112281. eCollection 2025 Dec.

ABSTRACT

The agricultural landscape of Bangladesh is significantly influenced by the cultivation of vegetables, which is directly involved in the nutritional intake of the people, the economy, and the food security of the entire nation. Precise identification of vegetables is essential to efficient cultivation, inventory management, and smart agricultural practices. In our study, we introduce a comprehensive dataset for vegetable detection, consisting of 3534 high-resolution images captured in natural, real-world settings using a Redmi Note 12 from multiple roadside vehicles of local vendors. The dataset encompasses 22 distinct vegetable classes, covering a wide range of appearances, shapes, and natural daylight environments to enhance model robustness and practical applicability. Each image has been meticulously annotated using the Roboflow platform to facilitate object detection tasks, and the resulting dataset is provided in Pascal VOC format. Unlike other imaging datasets, our work emphasizes ground-level perspectives, making it particularly relevant for handheld and low-cost monitoring systems. The primary goal of this dataset is to support the development of computer vision models for accurate vegetable recognition, thereby aiding decision-making in vegetable cultivation and contributing to smarter and sustainable agricultural practices.

PMID:41377183 | PMC:PMC12686877 | DOI:10.1016/j.dib.2025.112281

RSC Adv. 2025 Dec 9;15(57):49063-49073. doi: 10.1039/d5ra07413d. eCollection 2025 Dec 8.

ABSTRACT

Energy loss at the interface between the subcells limits the efficiency of existing tandem solar cells. In this work, we propose a novel two-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell with vertically aligned silicon (Si) nanowires (NWs) incorporated between the two subcells. The sub-wavelength dimensions of the embedded Si NWs, grown on top of the Si bottom subcell, allow efficient light trapping and lead to guided resonant modes. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) analysis shows that, across the entire spectrum, these guided modes effectively couple the incident light between the subcells, reducing reflection losses in the interlayer and enhancing absorption in the underlying bottom c-Si cell. To evaluate the performance of the proposed tandem solar cell, we performed electrical simulations using the enhanced carrier generation profile obtained from the FDTD simulations. The proposed embedded NW tandem configuration yields 22.6% enhancement in short-circuit current density compared to conventional architectures, boosting the power conversion efficiency from 26.98% to 32.11%. These findings offer the necessary theoretical framework for experimentalists, providing a clear pathway towards realizing high-performance perovskite/Si tandem solar cells.

PMID:41377156 | PMC:PMC12687930 | DOI:10.1039/d5ra07413d

BMC Bioinformatics. 2025 Dec 9. doi: 10.1186/s12859-025-06333-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Sequence sketching-a class of techniques aimed at generating compact representations of longer sequences-has become widely used in numerous long read applications, including assembly and mapping. Instead of comparing sequences, sketches allow us to sample from a subspace of k-mers and use those samples for comparison, saving both time and memory in the end application. One of the important metrics that determines the performance of a sketch is the sketch density, which refers to the fraction of the sampled k-mers retained by the sketch. While a lower density is preferable for space considerations, it could also impact the sensitivity of the mapping process. In this work, we visit the problem of reducing sketch density while preserving accuracy in the context of long-read mapping. We present an efficient algorithm called MHsketch that uses Jaccard estimators to reduce sketch density in mapping applications. Starting from an initial ground set of k-mers generated through a sketching method of choice, the approach applies MinHashing to derive a smaller sketch and uses that for mapping. In addition to reducing density, this approach is also easily parallelizable. To demonstrate the efficacy of our method, we modified a recently developed long read mapping tool (JEM-mapper) to adopt different sketching schemes, including Syncmer and Strobemer, and incorporated MHsketch to evaluate the effectiveness of downsampling. Experimental evaluation demonstrates the ability of our approach to significantly reduce density and reap performance benefits from it. In particular, our experiments reveal that MHsketch (syncmers) achieves high-quality mapping while reducing time-to-solution (speedups between [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]), and drastically reducing memory usage ([Formula: see text] savings) compared to state-of-the-art tools. Availability: https://github.com/TazinRahman1105050/MHsketch.

PMID:41366730 | DOI:10.1186/s12859-025-06333-8

BMC Gastroenterol. 2025 Dec 8;25(1):855. doi: 10.1186/s12876-025-04526-2.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:41361773 | DOI:10.1186/s12876-025-04526-2