Falls among older adults often begin with changes too subtle to be noticed during an ordinary walk. A person may still appear steady while moving through a familiar environment, yet struggle when asked to divide attention between walking and another task. A new study by researchers Dong, Hu, Guo and colleagues examines whether machine-learning techniques can identify this hidden vulnerability in community-dwelling older adults by analyzing how gait changes during dual-task walking. Published in BMC Geriatrics in 2026, the research focuses on a potentially powerful combination of digital movement measurement and artificial intelligence: spatiotemporal gait parameters recorded while people walk and perform a second mental or motor activity.

Walking is not a single, automatic action. It requires continuous coordination between the brain, muscles, sensory systems and balance mechanisms. When a person walks while counting backward, answering questions or carrying an object, the nervous system must distribute attention between locomotion and the competing task. This is known as dual-task walking. Older adults who have limited cognitive or physical reserve may respond by slowing down, shortening their steps, widening their base of support or becoming more irregular in their timing. These adaptations can provide clues about fall susceptibility that may remain invisible during conventional clinical walking tests.

The study’s central idea is that gait should be evaluated under realistic cognitive pressure rather than only in ideal, distraction-free conditions. Spatiotemporal gait parameters describe measurable features of movement across time and space, including walking speed, stride length, step time, cadence, stance duration and the variability between consecutive steps. In a dual-task setting, researchers can also examine the degree to which these variables change compared with normal walking. This difference, often called dual-task cost, can reveal how much a person’s mobility is affected when attention is divided. A larger cost may indicate reduced ability to manage competing demands while remaining stable.

Machine learning offers a way to analyze these patterns simultaneously. Traditional clinical assessment may focus on one or two measurements, such as walking speed or the number of previous falls. A machine-learning model can process many variables at once and search for combinations associated with elevated risk. Depending on the model design, the system may learn from labeled examples, in which participants’ gait data are linked to fall-related outcomes, and then estimate risk for new individuals. Algorithms can detect nonlinear relationships that are difficult to capture with conventional statistical methods, although their usefulness depends heavily on the quality, size and representativeness of the data used for training.

The community setting is especially important. Many studies of balance and falls are conducted in hospitals or specialist laboratories, where participants may be healthier, more closely supervised or less representative of the broader older population. Community-dwelling adults live independently and encounter the complex conditions that make falls more likely: distractions, uneven surfaces, hurried movement, household obstacles and the need to perform several tasks at once. By focusing on this group, the research addresses a practical question for preventive medicine: can accessible gait testing identify people who appear independent but may require additional support before a serious fall occurs?

A potential advantage of this approach is its ability to move fall-risk assessment toward objective, repeatable measurement. Gait sensors, pressure-sensitive walkways, wearable devices or camera-based systems can convert movement into numerical data. Those data may be more sensitive than a brief visual observation, particularly when they capture step-to-step variability and changes induced by a secondary task. In the future, similar measurements could potentially be collected in clinics, rehabilitation centers or even at home. However, a prediction tool would need to be tested across different ages, health conditions, walking environments and technology platforms before it could be trusted for widespread use.

The research also highlights the technical challenges behind apparently simple predictions. Falls are influenced by numerous factors, including muscle strength, vision, medication use, reaction time, fear of falling, neurological disease and environmental hazards. Gait features alone cannot explain every incident. A machine-learning model may also perform impressively on the data used to develop it but less reliably on people from another population, a problem known as limited generalizability or overfitting. For clinical adoption, researchers must therefore evaluate calibration, sensitivity and specificity, test the model on independent datasets and make its decisions understandable to health professionals and patients.

Although the citation identifies the study’s objective and methodology, it does not provide detailed numerical findings such as sample size, predictive accuracy or the specific algorithm used. Those results will determine how close this technology is to practical deployment. Even so, the study reflects a broader shift in geriatric care: fall prevention is increasingly being treated as a problem of measurable, dynamic performance rather than a simple checklist of past incidents. By combining dual-task gait analysis with machine learning, the researchers are investigating whether the body’s response to distraction can serve as an early warning signal—one that could eventually help clinicians intervene before a dangerous fall changes an older person’s independence.

Subject of Research: Fall-risk prediction in community-dwelling older adults using machine learning and dual-task spatiotemporal gait parameters.

Article Title: Machine learning-based fall risk prediction in community-dwelling older adults using dual-task spatiotemporal gait parameters.

Article References: Dong, G., Hu, H., Guo, Y. et al. “Machine learning-based fall risk prediction in community-dwelling older adults using dual-task spatiotemporal gait parameters.” BMC Geriatrics (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-07998-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12877-026-07998-3

Keywords: machine learning, fall risk prediction, older adults, community-dwelling older adults, dual-task walking, gait analysis, spatiotemporal gait parameters, geriatric medicine, balance, mobility.

As populations age, scientists are looking more closely at a hidden biological process that may help explain why some older adults remain mobile and independent while others experience a rapid decline in strength, balance, and endurance. A systematic review by A. Boshnjaku, R. Obërtinca, M. Hoxha, and colleagues examines whether five inflammation-related biomarkers—CRP, high-sensitivity CRP, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha—are linked to physical performance in older adults living in the community. Published in BMC Geriatrics, the review focuses on a question with major implications for healthy aging: can signals circulating in the blood reveal who is at greater risk of losing physical function?

The study centers on chronic, low-grade inflammation, a biological condition often associated with aging and commonly described as “inflammaging.” Unlike the intense inflammation triggered by an infection or injury, inflammaging can persist quietly over years. It may be influenced by immune-system changes, excess body fat, physical inactivity, chronic disease, and cellular stress. Although inflammation is essential for repairing tissue and fighting pathogens, prolonged activation can affect muscle metabolism, blood-vessel function, nervous-system signaling, and energy production. These changes could, in theory, make everyday movements such as walking, rising from a chair, or climbing stairs increasingly difficult.

C-reactive protein, or CRP, is one of the most widely used indicators of systemic inflammation. It is produced primarily by the liver in response to inflammatory signals, especially interleukin-6. Standard CRP testing is useful for detecting relatively pronounced inflammatory activity, while high-sensitivity CRP, known as hs-CRP, can measure much lower concentrations. That distinction matters in research on older adults, where subtle inflammatory differences may exist even when there is no obvious acute illness. However, neither CRP nor hs-CRP identifies a single disease or proves that inflammation itself caused a decline in physical ability.

The review also considers three signaling proteins known as cytokines. Interleukin-6, or IL-6, can promote inflammation but also participates in muscle adaptation and energy regulation, making its effects highly dependent on timing, tissue, and physiological context. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or TNF-α, is a potent inflammatory mediator that can influence muscle protein breakdown and interfere with insulin signaling. Interleukin-10, or IL-10, generally acts as an anti-inflammatory regulator, helping restrain excessive immune activation. Examining these markers together offers a more nuanced picture than relying on a single laboratory value.

Physical performance is a crucial measure of aging because it reflects how effectively multiple systems work together. Muscle strength alone does not determine whether a person can remain independent. Walking speed, repeated chair stands, balance, grip strength, endurance, and composite tests such as the Short Physical Performance Battery can reveal the combined effects of the muscular, cardiovascular, neurological, and skeletal systems. For people living outside hospitals and care facilities, these measures may also provide a practical snapshot of resilience in everyday life. A small difference in performance can translate into a major difference in fall risk, mobility, and the ability to manage daily activities.

By bringing together evidence from studies of community-dwelling older adults, the authors address an important gap between laboratory research and real-world aging. Older people living independently are not a uniform group: some have multiple chronic conditions, while others remain highly active; some take anti-inflammatory medications, and others do not. Diet, smoking, obesity, socioeconomic conditions, sleep, recent infections, and exercise can all alter cytokine levels and physical performance. A systematic review can help determine whether associations between biomarkers and function appear consistently across this complex population or whether they vary substantially from one study to another.

The review’s importance lies not only in asking whether inflammatory markers are associated with poorer performance, but also in highlighting the limitations of interpreting such relationships. A high biomarker level may be a consequence of frailty, reduced activity, obesity, or an undiagnosed illness rather than the original cause of decline. Conversely, a single blood sample may fail to capture fluctuations in inflammation over time. Differences in laboratory methods, cutoff values, participant health, medication use, and performance tests can make studies difficult to compare. These issues are central when translating population-level associations into decisions about an individual patient.

The findings may ultimately support a broader approach to healthy aging in which inflammation is considered alongside strength, nutrition, cardiovascular health, cognition, and social environment. The biomarkers discussed in the review are not presented as standalone tests that can predict the future with certainty. Instead, they may help researchers understand why physical function changes and identify biological pathways that could be targeted through exercise, weight management, treatment of chronic disease, or other interventions. The study also underscores the need for longitudinal research capable of separating cause from consequence and for standardized testing that can connect laboratory signals with meaningful improvements in daily life.

For now, the review places a spotlight on the immune system as a possible contributor to the physical changes associated with later life. Its focus on CRP, hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α reflects the growing recognition that aging is not simply the result of muscles becoming weaker, but of interconnected changes across the body. Understanding how these inflammatory signals relate to mobility could help scientists develop more precise strategies for preserving independence—while reminding clinicians and the public that a blood test is most informative when interpreted together with a person’s functional ability, medical history, and lived environment.

Subject of Research: The relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and physical performance in community-dwelling older adults.

Article Title: What is the impact of CRP, hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα in physical performance in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review.

Article References: Boshnjaku, A., Obërtinca, R., Hoxha, M. et al. What is the impact of CRP, hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα in physical performance in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review. BMC Geriatrics (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08080-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12877-026-08080-8

Keywords: aging, older adults, inflammation, CRP, hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, physical performance, inflammaging, systematic review

Chronic pain is often treated as a medical problem that can be measured with scales, prescriptions, and clinical guidelines. For older adults, however, the experience of pain is also shaped by mobility, memory, sleep, mood, independence, and the ability to communicate with health professionals. A new study published in BMC Geriatrics places that lived experience at the center of the discussion, examining how older adults perceive chronic pain management in primary care settings.

The article, authored by P. Gopal, A. Kagarmanova, E. Staab and colleagues, focuses on a point where many long-term health decisions are made: the primary care clinic. Primary care clinicians are often the first professionals to evaluate persistent pain and the people most likely to coordinate treatment over months or years. This makes the setting especially important for older patients, who may be managing several chronic diseases and taking multiple medications at the same time.

Chronic pain is generally defined as pain that persists or recurs for longer than the expected period of tissue healing, commonly described as three months or more. It may arise from osteoarthritis, neuropathy, spinal disorders, previous injuries, cancer, or several conditions acting together. Unlike acute pain, which can serve as a warning signal, chronic pain involves complex changes in the nervous system. Repeated signals can increase the sensitivity of pain pathways, a process known as central sensitization, meaning that pain may continue even after the original injury has stabilized.

For older adults, treating this type of pain is rarely a matter of simply choosing a stronger drug. Age-related changes in kidney and liver function can alter how medicines are absorbed, processed, and eliminated. This can increase the risk of side effects from opioids, sedatives, anti-inflammatory drugs, and other treatments. At the same time, many older patients live with hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, or depression, conditions that can influence both the perception of pain and the safety of available therapies.

The study’s focus on perceptions is scientifically significant because clinical success cannot be judged only by changes in a numerical pain score. Two people who report the same intensity on a ten-point scale may have very different levels of disability, fear, sleep disruption, or confidence in their treatment. Older adults may value the ability to walk to the shops, sleep through the night, remain socially active, or avoid dependence on family members more than achieving complete elimination of pain. Understanding these priorities can help clinicians define treatment goals that are meaningful in everyday life.

Primary care also presents a distinctive communication challenge. Appointments may be brief, while chronic pain is influenced by physical, psychological, and social factors that require time to explain. Some patients may hesitate to report pain because they fear being dismissed, appearing demanding, or being prescribed medications they do not want. Others may assume that pain is an unavoidable part of aging. When these assumptions remain unspoken, clinicians can underestimate the burden of pain or recommend plans that patients cannot realistically follow.

A patient-centered approach attempts to address this gap by combining clinical evidence with the individual’s preferences, circumstances, and goals. In practice, that may involve medication review, physical therapy, exercise adapted to ability, occupational strategies, psychological support, sleep interventions, and education about pain biology. The technical principle is multimodal care: different treatments target different mechanisms and consequences of pain, potentially reducing reliance on any single intervention. For older adults, coordinated care can also help identify harmful drug interactions and prevent avoidable loss of function.

The research is arriving as health systems confront a rapidly aging population and growing demand for long-term pain care. Chronic pain affects quality of life, physical activity, and healthcare use, yet treatment remains inconsistent across communities. Access to physiotherapy, behavioral health services, specialist pain clinics, and transportation can vary sharply. These structural factors matter because a treatment plan may be clinically sound but ineffective if a patient cannot afford it, reach appointments, understand the instructions, or obtain help at home.

By examining older adults’ views, the paper contributes to a broader shift in pain research: away from treating patients as passive recipients of medical decisions and toward recognizing them as experts in their own daily experience. Their perspectives can reveal whether treatment goals are understandable, whether risks are being communicated clearly, and whether care plans fit real lives. Such information may help primary care teams design more responsive conversations about benefits, harms, uncertainty, and acceptable trade-offs.

The publication does not make the patient’s voice a decorative addition to pain medicine; it treats that voice as evidence relevant to clinical quality. As the medical community searches for safer and more individualized ways to manage chronic pain, the central question is increasingly practical: does the treatment help an older person live better, function more safely, and retain control over daily life? The study by Gopal, Kagarmanova, Staab and colleagues brings that question into primary care, where many of the most important decisions about persistent pain are made.

Subject of Research: Older adults’ perceptions of chronic pain management in primary care settings

Article Title: Perceptions of older adults on chronic pain management in primary care settings

Article References: Gopal, P., Kagarmanova, A., Staab, E. et al. “Perceptions of older adults on chronic pain management in primary care settings.” BMC Geriatrics (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08000-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12877-026-08000-w

Keywords: Older adults, chronic pain, pain management, primary care, patient perspectives, geriatrics

Alzheimer’s disease may be leaving a more precise anatomical signature in the brain than scientists once realized. A new study published in Translational Psychiatry investigates regional changes in the fine structure of brain tissue immediately beneath the cerebral cortex, known as the juxtacortical region, and links those changes to patterns of gene expression associated with neurodegeneration. The work, led by J. Zhang, L. Sun, X. Yang and colleagues, offers a combined view of Alzheimer’s biology that connects what can be detected through brain imaging with the molecular programs active inside vulnerable neural tissue.

The juxtacortical zone is a narrow but biologically important interface. It lies directly beneath the cortex, the outer layer responsible for functions including memory, language, perception and decision-making. Although much Alzheimer’s research has focused on cortical thinning, large-scale tissue loss and abnormalities in deeper brain structures, the tissue bordering the cortex may reveal earlier or more regionally specific changes. Its organization includes densely packed axons, dendrites, neurons, glial cells and blood vessels, all of which can be affected as the disease progresses. Subtle disruption in this area could therefore provide clues before dramatic anatomical damage becomes visible.

The study’s central idea is that Alzheimer’s disease does not alter every brain region in the same way. Instead, neurodegeneration follows a complex geography shaped by cellular composition, connectivity, metabolism and genetic vulnerability. By examining regional juxtacortical microstructural changes, the researchers seek to move beyond a simple question of whether tissue has shrunk. Microstructure refers to the organization of brain components at scales smaller than conventional anatomical imaging can directly resolve. Variations in water diffusion, tissue organization and local architecture can serve as indirect markers of changes to axons, membranes, extracellular space and other microscopic features.

This regional perspective matters because the same imaging signal can arise from different biological processes. A change in tissue organization may reflect loss of neuronal connections, damage to myelinated fibers, altered glial activity, inflammation or shifts in the balance of cellular compartments. Imaging alone can reveal where abnormalities are concentrated, but it cannot always explain why they occur. The researchers therefore paired their investigation of juxtacortical structure with gene-expression information, creating a bridge between regional anatomy and molecular biology. That combination can help identify which biological pathways may underlie the imaging patterns seen in Alzheimer’s disease.

Gene expression describes the activity of genes within cells and tissues: which genetic instructions are being read, and at what levels. In the Alzheimer’s brain, these molecular signatures can point toward processes such as synaptic dysfunction, immune activation, impaired energy production, protein handling and cellular stress. Mapping gene-expression patterns onto regions showing microstructural alterations may reveal whether vulnerable areas share particular molecular characteristics. It may also help distinguish tissue changes related directly to neurodegeneration from those associated with aging or general brain atrophy. The result is a more layered portrait of disease, linking microscopic organization to the biological machinery that maintains it.

The findings described by the paper’s title suggest that these two forms of evidence—regional microstructure and gene activity—provide complementary insights into Alzheimer’s pathology. Rather than treating the brain as a uniform organ undergoing gradual damage, the research emphasizes a mosaic of vulnerability. Some areas may show distinctive structural disruption alongside gene-expression profiles associated with neuronal injury or altered support-cell function, while other regions may be relatively resilient. Such differences could help explain why symptoms vary between individuals and why memory, language, attention and other abilities can deteriorate along different trajectories.

The work could also influence how scientists think about biomarkers. A biomarker is a measurable biological feature that helps indicate disease presence, progression or response to treatment. Traditional markers of Alzheimer’s include abnormal amyloid and tau proteins, brain volume loss and changes in metabolism. Juxtacortical microstructural measures, especially when interpreted alongside molecular data, could eventually add regional detail to this toolkit. They might help researchers identify tissue at risk, track the spread of degeneration or evaluate whether an experimental therapy is protecting neural architecture even before clinical improvement becomes obvious.

However, the study should not be interpreted as proof that a single imaging signature can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease or predict an individual’s future with certainty. Microstructural measurements are indirect, and gene-expression data often come from specialized datasets that may not capture every cell type or every stage of disease. Differences in age, disease severity, medication, vascular health and individual brain organization can also influence results. The strength of the approach lies not in one isolated measurement, but in the convergence of regional imaging and molecular evidence. Together, these methods can generate testable hypotheses about how and where neurodegeneration unfolds.

The broader message is that Alzheimer’s research is moving toward increasingly integrated maps of the human brain. The study by Zhang, Sun, Yang and colleagues presents the juxtacortical region as a potentially informative frontier, where microscopic tissue organization and gene regulation intersect. If future research confirms these relationships in larger and more diverse groups, the approach could sharpen disease staging and improve the design of targeted therapies. For now, the findings add weight to a crucial principle in neuroscience: understanding Alzheimer’s requires knowing not only which brain regions are damaged, but also how their cellular architecture and molecular identity make them vulnerable.

Subject of Research: Regional juxtacortical microstructural changes and gene expression in Alzheimer’s disease

Article Title: Regional juxtacortical microstructural changes and gene expression provide insights into neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease

Article References: Zhang, J., Sun, L., Yang, X. et al. “Regional juxtacortical microstructural changes and gene expression provide insights into neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.” Translational Psychiatry (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04292-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04292-z

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, neurodegeneration, juxtacortical microstructure, gene expression, brain imaging, neuroscience, biomarkers, translational psychiatry

Bentham Science Launches Two New Journals to Accelerate Research in Wireless Communications and Engineering

Bentham Science Publishers has announced the launch of two new peer-reviewed journals designed to capture the rapid transformation of modern technology: Wireless and Communication Letters and Current Engineering Letters and Reviews. Both publications are now open for manuscript submissions, offering researchers an international platform to share emerging discoveries in communication systems, engineering technologies, and interdisciplinary innovation. The launches arrive as advances in artificial intelligence, sixth-generation wireless networks, satellite systems, advanced materials, and sustainable engineering continue to reshape scientific research and industrial development.

Wireless and Communication Letters is focused on the technologies that enable today’s increasingly connected world. The journal will publish original letters, full-length research articles, comprehensive reviews, mini-reviews, and guest-edited thematic issues addressing both theoretical developments and practical applications. Its scope covers the complete communication chain, from antennas and radio-frequency hardware to signal processing, network architecture, cybersecurity, and intelligent software. By emphasizing the efficient dissemination of research, the journal aims to provide a rapid channel for findings that could influence the next generation of wireless infrastructure.

The technical challenges addressed by the journal are central to the future of digital connectivity. Fifth-generation networks have already introduced high-speed mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, and massive machine-type connectivity, but researchers are now investigating 6G systems capable of supporting even greater data rates, extremely precise sensing, and seamless integration with artificial intelligence. These systems may combine terahertz frequencies, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, distributed antennas, edge computing, and advanced machine-learning algorithms. Such technologies require new approaches to spectrum allocation, energy efficiency, network coordination, and data security.

The journal also welcomes research on the Internet of Things and machine-to-machine communication, areas in which billions of sensors and devices are expected to exchange data with minimal human intervention. In these environments, communication protocols must operate reliably despite limited power, unpredictable radio conditions, and enormous numbers of connected nodes. Research into low-power wide-area networks, intelligent scheduling, network virtualization, and secure device authentication could help support applications ranging from industrial automation and smart cities to remote healthcare and environmental monitoring.

A further component of the journal’s scope involves the physical science of communication. Antenna design, electromagnetic propagation, microwave engineering, optical links, and satellite communication determine how information travels through real environments. Engineers must account for obstacles, atmospheric conditions, interference, polarization, bandwidth limitations, and the movement of users or spacecraft. Developments in compact antennas, beamforming, optical wireless communication, and satellite-terrestrial integration could improve connectivity in rural regions, disaster zones, transportation systems, and future space missions.

Wireless and Communication Letters is led by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Nasimuddin of the Antenna and Optical Department at the Institute for Infocomm Research in Singapore. Supported by an international editorial board, the journal states that it will apply a rigorous and objective peer-review process. This is particularly important in a field where theoretical claims must often be tested through simulations, prototypes, channel measurements, or performance comparisons. Research involving modulation, coding, information theory, cognitive radio, software-defined networking, artificial intelligence, privacy, and communication protocols will be considered within the journal’s broad technological remit.

Alongside the communications title, Bentham Science has introduced Current Engineering Letters and Reviews, an interdisciplinary journal intended to connect research across the full spectrum of engineering sciences. Announced on 3 August 2026, the journal will publish research articles, short communications, comprehensive reviews, mini-reviews, and thematic issues. Its mission is to bring together discoveries that are often separated into specialist fields, reflecting the reality that many modern technologies emerge from collaboration among mechanical, electrical, materials, chemical, biomedical, environmental, and computer engineers.

The new engineering journal will cover aerospace, civil, structural, transportation, manufacturing, energy, robotics, automation, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and digital engineering. It will also address sustainable engineering, renewable energy systems, smart materials, advanced manufacturing, and biomedical technologies. These subjects are increasingly connected: an electric vehicle, for example, depends simultaneously on materials science, power electronics, software, communications, manufacturing, and transportation engineering. An interdisciplinary publication can provide a forum for examining such systems as integrated technological platforms rather than isolated components.

The scientific importance of this approach is becoming more visible as engineers confront challenges involving climate change, resource efficiency, resilient infrastructure, and automation. Renewable energy systems require improved storage, power conversion, and grid management; smart materials can respond to changes in temperature, pressure, or electromagnetic fields; and artificial intelligence can optimize industrial processes by identifying patterns in large streams of sensor data. At the same time, engineering research must demonstrate reliability, scalability, safety, and economic feasibility if laboratory innovations are to produce measurable benefits in society and industry.

Both journals invite contributions from researchers, engineers, scientists, academics, and industry professionals worldwide. Bentham Science says that information about open-access policies, article processing charges, waiver eligibility, editorial policies, and complaints and appeals procedures is available through the respective journal websites. With their emphasis on rapid communication, technical rigor, and interdisciplinary exchange, the two publications seek to become new hubs for research at the intersection of connectivity, intelligent systems, sustainable technology, and engineering innovation.

Subject of Research: Wireless communications, communication engineering, interdisciplinary engineering research, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, sustainable engineering, and advanced technological systems.

Article Title: Bentham Science Launches Two New Journals to Accelerate Research in Wireless Communications and Engineering

News Publication Date: 3 August 2026 (for the announcement of Current Engineering Letters and Reviews; no publication date is provided for Wireless and Communication Letters).

Keywords

Wireless communications, 5G, 6G, Internet of Things, satellite communications, antenna design, signal processing, artificial intelligence, engineering research, sustainable engineering, robotics, renewable energy, smart materials, advanced manufacturing.

A new study suggests that deep brain stimulation may do more than control movement disorders: it could also help repair social behavior disrupted by pain experienced early in life. In research published in Translational Psychiatry, Wan, Du, Yang and colleagues report that stimulating the brain’s anterior cingulate cortex alleviated social deficits associated with early-life pain. The proposed mechanism is a restoration of the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neural signals, a fundamental process that determines how brain circuits respond, adapt and communicate.

Early-life pain has effects that can extend far beyond the moment of injury or medical treatment. During development, the nervous system is rapidly building connections, refining sensory pathways and establishing the networks that support emotion and social behavior. Excessive or poorly regulated pain signals during this period may alter that process. Instead of remaining confined to pain-processing circuits, these changes can influence stress responses, emotional regulation and the ability to interact with other individuals later in life.

The anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC, is particularly important in this story. Located in the frontal region of the brain, it helps integrate emotional information with attention, motivation and decision-making. It is also involved in processing the unpleasantness of pain and in evaluating social experiences. Because the ACC sits at the intersection of pain, emotion and social behavior, disturbances in its activity could provide a neural explanation for why early-life pain is linked to later difficulties with social interaction.

At the cellular level, the brain depends on a delicate equilibrium between excitation and inhibition. Excitatory neurons generally increase the likelihood that neighboring cells will fire, while inhibitory neurons suppress or constrain that activity. This excitatory/inhibitory, or E/I, balance allows neural circuits to remain flexible without becoming either silent or excessively active. If excitation dominates, networks may become unstable and hypersensitive; if inhibition dominates, communication and behavioral responses may be weakened. The study connects social deficits after early-life pain with disruption of this balance in the ACC.

Deep brain stimulation offers a way to influence such malfunctioning circuits directly. The technique uses electrical pulses delivered through precisely positioned electrodes to modify activity in targeted brain regions. Although DBS is best known clinically for treating Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and several other neurological conditions, researchers are increasingly investigating whether it can reshape circuits involved in mood, motivation and social behavior. The new findings place the ACC among the brain regions that may be responsive to this approach.

According to the study, stimulation of the ACC improved social abnormalities linked to early-life pain while also normalizing indicators of excitatory and inhibitory signaling. This is important because it suggests that the behavioral improvement was not simply a generalized effect of activating the brain. Instead, the intervention may have acted on a specific circuit-level disturbance. By bringing opposing neural forces back toward equilibrium, DBS could make the ACC more capable of processing social information and generating appropriate responses.

The result also highlights a shift in how scientists understand the consequences of pain during development. Pain is often treated as a temporary sensory event, but developing neural systems can interpret repeated or intense pain as an organizing signal. That signal may alter synaptic strength, neuronal excitability and communication between brain regions. Over time, these changes could become embedded in circuits that regulate social engagement. The study’s emphasis on E/I balance suggests that developmental pain may produce lasting behavioral effects through measurable changes in network physiology rather than through an unexplained psychological process.

The findings are likely to attract attention because social deficits are difficult to treat and can appear across many neurological and psychiatric conditions. However, DBS is an invasive therapy involving neurosurgical implantation, and the study does not mean that the treatment is ready for routine use in people affected by early-life pain. Translating a circuit-level discovery into a safe human therapy requires extensive work, including confirmation in independent models, determination of the most effective stimulation parameters and careful assessment of possible side effects. The ACC is involved in many functions, so altering its activity could influence emotion, attention or pain perception in unwanted ways.

Even with those limitations, the research offers a potentially powerful framework for future therapies. If social difficulties can be linked to a specific imbalance between excitation and inhibition, treatments might eventually be designed to correct that imbalance with greater precision. DBS is only one possibility. Noninvasive stimulation, pharmacological treatments that selectively influence inhibitory or excitatory signaling, and therapies combining behavioral training with neuromodulation could also emerge from the same biological insight.

The study’s central message is that the developing brain may retain a capacity for repair, even after early adverse experiences have changed its circuitry. By targeting the ACC and restoring the neural balance that supports its function, deep brain stimulation improved social behavior in the reported research. The work does not erase the complexity of developmental pain, but it identifies a concrete biological pathway connecting early injury, altered brain networks and later social difficulties. That connection could help move the field closer to treatments that address not only pain itself, but also the long-term social consequences it can leave behind.

Subject of Research: Deep brain stimulation, early-life pain, social deficits, and excitatory/inhibitory balance in the anterior cingulate cortex

Article Title: Deep brain stimulation ameliorates social deficits from early-life pain by restoring excitatory/inhibitory balance in the anterior cingulate cortex

Article References: Wan, X., Du, T., Yang, D. et al. Deep brain stimulation ameliorates social deficits from early-life pain by restoring excitatory/inhibitory balance in the anterior cingulate cortex. Transl Psychiatry (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04311-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04311-z

Keywords: deep brain stimulation, early-life pain, social deficits, anterior cingulate cortex, excitatory/inhibitory balance, neuroscience, brain stimulation, developmental pain, social behavior

A new study is challenging one of the most comforting assumptions in urban climate design: that adding vegetation to dense cities always makes hot weather safer. Research published in npj Urban Sustainability reports that compact, high-rise urban forms can amplify humid heat risks associated with vegetation transpiration—a process usually considered an essential cooling service. The finding does not suggest that trees and plants should be removed from cities. Instead, it reveals that the success of green infrastructure depends heavily on building geometry, airflow, humidity, and the way heat and moisture move through the urban atmosphere.

Vegetation transpiration occurs when plants release water vapor through microscopic openings in their leaves. This process consumes energy and can lower leaf and surrounding air temperatures, much like evaporation from human skin. In a well-ventilated environment, the added moisture may be dispersed efficiently, allowing evaporative cooling to provide a net thermal benefit. But in tightly packed high-rise districts, the same moisture can become trapped between buildings. The result is a more humid microclimate in which the body’s ability to cool itself through sweating is weakened.

That distinction matters because humid heat is more dangerous than air temperature alone suggests. The human body relies on evaporation to transfer heat away from the skin. When atmospheric moisture is already high, sweat evaporates more slowly, forcing the body to work harder to maintain a stable internal temperature. Heat-stress indicators such as wet-bulb temperature and the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature account for this interaction between heat and humidity. A neighborhood with slightly lower temperatures but substantially higher humidity can therefore feel more oppressive—and pose greater health risks—than a drier location with hotter air.

The study focuses on the urban “canyon” effect created by tall buildings arranged close together. These structures can obstruct wind, reduce the exchange of air with the atmosphere above, and alter the amount of sunlight reaching streets and façades. When vegetation in such spaces transpires, the released water vapor may accumulate rather than disperse. The compact geometry can also create complex circulation patterns, with warm and moist air repeatedly moving through pedestrian-level spaces. In this setting, greenery may cool surfaces while simultaneously increasing the moisture burden experienced by people outdoors.

This is a crucial refinement of the popular idea that urban greening is universally beneficial. Plants perform several valuable functions: they provide shade, intercept solar radiation, reduce surface temperatures, store carbon, and improve the visual and psychological quality of public space. Yet their cooling performance is not fixed. It changes with species, soil moisture, canopy density, irrigation, wind conditions, building height, street width, and background humidity. The new research emphasizes that these factors must be evaluated together rather than treating vegetation as an isolated solution to urban heat.

The implications are particularly significant for rapidly growing cities where vertical development is being used to accommodate rising populations. High-rise construction can reduce land consumption, but dense towers may produce localized atmospheric conditions that differ dramatically from those in surrounding neighborhoods. A cooling strategy designed for an open suburban street may behave differently in a narrow urban canyon surrounded by tall façades. Planners could therefore face a difficult balancing act: maximizing shade and ecological benefits without creating stagnant pockets where moisture and heat combine into dangerous conditions.

The findings also raise questions about how cities measure the success of climate adaptation projects. A street may record a lower surface temperature after trees are planted, yet still expose pedestrians to greater physiological stress if humidity increases and air movement declines. This means future assessments should include multiple variables, including air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, radiant heat, and human thermal response. Satellite observations and conventional weather stations may not fully capture conditions at street level, where building walls, tree canopies, pavement, and human activity interact within a few meters.

The research is likely to intensify debate over “smart” urban greening rather than green infrastructure in general. Possible responses include selecting vegetation according to local humidity and wind conditions, designing wider or better-connected ventilation corridors, combining trees with reflective or permeable surfaces, and ensuring that shaded areas do not become poorly ventilated enclosures. Building orientation and spacing may be as important as the number of trees planted. Irrigation practices could also matter, since additional water supplied to vegetation may increase transpiration during precisely the periods when atmospheric moisture is already high.

For residents, the message is both cautionary and practical. A leafy street can still be healthier than an exposed one, particularly when shade reduces direct solar radiation. But during extreme heat, people should not assume that every green space offers the same level of protection. Dense, humid, windless areas may require additional measures such as cooling centers, drinking-water access, timed outdoor activities, and heat alerts that account for humidity. The study’s central contribution is to show that urban climate risk is not determined by temperature alone—or by the presence of greenery alone—but by the interaction between city form, plant physiology, and human vulnerability.

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of heat extremes, these interactions could become more consequential. The research presents cities with a deceptively simple lesson: cooling the urban environment is not just a matter of adding more plants. It requires understanding where the water released by vegetation goes, how buildings control its movement, and how the resulting air feels to a human body. In the race to make cities greener, the next generation of design may need to be equally focused on keeping them breathable.

Subject of Research: The relationship between compact high-rise urban form, vegetation transpiration, humidity, and humid heat risk.

Article Title: Urban high-rise compact form amplifies humid heat risk from vegetation transpiration.

Article References: Zhang, Y., Yang, K., Zhu, Y. et al. “Urban high-rise compact form amplifies humid heat risk from vegetation transpiration.” npj Urban Sustainability (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00459-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s42949-026-00459-1

Long-term care residents moving from a nursing facility to an emergency department enter one of the most complex transitions in modern healthcare. The journey may begin with a sudden change in consciousness, breathing, mobility, pain, or behavior, but it quickly becomes a transfer of information, responsibility, and risk between institutions. A new qualitative study published in BMC Geriatrics examines how this cross-setting transition is experienced by the people involved, highlighting a vulnerable point in the healthcare system that is often treated as a routine logistical event.

The study, led by PC Hsu, LY.A. Chen, and YC Chen and colleagues, focuses on residents of long-term care facilities who are transferred to emergency departments. Unlike quantitative research, which typically measures outcomes such as admission rates, waiting times, or mortality, qualitative research investigates how individuals interpret and experience a process. Through this approach, researchers can identify communication breakdowns, conflicting expectations, emotional pressures, and practical barriers that may not appear in hospital databases.

For older adults living in long-term care, an emergency transfer can be medically necessary but physically and psychologically destabilizing. Many residents live with multiple chronic conditions, frailty, dementia, sensory impairment, or limited ability to communicate. These characteristics can make it difficult for them to describe symptoms, understand unfamiliar surroundings, or participate directly in decisions. The emergency department, meanwhile, is designed for rapid assessment and acute treatment, not always for the slower, highly individualized care needs of frail older people.

The transition also creates a handover challenge. Clinical information must travel with the resident, including medication lists, allergies, advance-care preferences, baseline cognitive and functional status, recent symptoms, and the reason for transfer. If any of this information is incomplete, delayed, or misunderstood, clinicians may have to reconstruct the patient’s history under intense time pressure. This can lead to duplicated tests, inappropriate medication decisions, delays in treatment, or care plans that fail to reflect the resident’s usual condition.

A central technical issue is the difference between a patient’s baseline and an acute change. A resident with dementia may appear confused in the emergency department even when their behavior is consistent with their usual state. Conversely, a subtle change in alertness or mobility may indicate infection, dehydration, stroke, or another serious condition. Without reliable baseline information from long-term care staff or family members, emergency clinicians may struggle to distinguish chronic impairment from delirium, a sudden disturbance in attention and cognition associated with substantial risks in older adults.

By examining experiences across care settings, the research addresses the concept of continuity of care. Continuity is not simply the transfer of documents; it includes consistency in clinical goals, communication, decision-making, and personal knowledge of the resident. A successful transition requires coordination among long-term care workers, emergency medical services, hospital clinicians, residents, and families. Each group may possess only part of the relevant information, making the quality of interaction between them as important as the technology used to transmit records.

The study’s qualitative design is particularly valuable because transitions are shaped by human factors. Staff may face time constraints, staffing shortages, unclear responsibilities, or different documentation systems. Families may experience anxiety when they are asked to make urgent decisions without a complete explanation of the resident’s condition. Residents may feel disoriented or powerless as they move between unfamiliar environments. Capturing these perspectives can reveal why formal protocols sometimes fail in practice, even when they appear comprehensive on paper.

The findings are relevant to a wider healthcare challenge: populations are aging while medical care is becoming increasingly fragmented. Long-term care facilities and hospitals often operate under separate administrative structures, with different workflows, electronic records, professional cultures, and performance measures. Emergency departments may focus on rapid diagnosis and disposition, whereas long-term care teams emphasize daily function, prevention, and quality of life. The transition between these systems can therefore become a vulnerable interface where important context is lost.

Improving that interface could involve standardized transfer forms, interoperable electronic records, direct clinician-to-clinician communication, clearer escalation pathways, and explicit documentation of a resident’s baseline function and care preferences. Yet the study’s focus on lived experience suggests that technical solutions alone may not be sufficient. Better transitions also depend on mutual understanding, shared accountability, and recognition that a transfer is not an isolated event but a continuum extending from the long-term care facility to the emergency department and back again.

As healthcare systems search for ways to reduce preventable harm among older adults, the experience of cross-setting transitions deserves greater attention. The study by Hsu, Chen, Chen, and colleagues places this often-overlooked process at the center of inquiry. Its subject is not merely how residents are transported, but how information, clinical judgment, dignity, and responsibility move with them. That perspective may help health services design emergency transfers that are safer, more coordinated, and more responsive to the realities of long-term care.

Subject of Research: Cross-setting care transitions of long-term care residents to the emergency department.

Article Title: The experience of cross-setting care transitions of long-term care residents to the emergency department: a qualitative study

Article References: Hsu, PC., Chen, LY.A., Chen, YC. et al. “The experience of cross-setting care transitions of long-term care residents to the emergency department: a qualitative study.” BMC Geriatrics (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08059-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12877-026-08059-5

Cancer-associated cachexia, the wasting syndrome that erodes muscle, fat and physical resilience in many people with advanced cancer, has long resisted treatment. Now, researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) report a preclinical strategy that targets the disorder from an unexpected location: the brainstem. In tumor-bearing mice, an RNA-based therapy designed to silence a neural receptor preserved body weight, muscle mass, fat stores and physical function, while dramatically improving survival even after cachexia had already developed.

The study was conducted by a joint team led by Minho Shong and Jinkuk Kim of KAIST’s Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, in collaboration with the KAIST faculty startup THOR Therapeutics. Their approach focuses on the biological circuit formed by growth differentiation factor 15, or GDF15, and its receptor, GFRAL. GDF15 is a signaling protein released in elevated amounts during several disease states, including cancer. When it reaches the hindbrain and binds to GFRAL, it activates neural pathways associated with nausea, appetite suppression and profound metabolic changes.

Cachexia is more complex than ordinary weight loss. Patients can continue losing muscle and body fat even when food intake is adequate, because cancer and the host response to cancer disrupt the systems that regulate energy use, inflammation and tissue maintenance. The resulting decline can weaken immunity, reduce mobility and make chemotherapy more difficult to tolerate. Although the syndrome affects an estimated 50 to 80 percent of people with cancer, available treatments have generally focused on stimulating appetite or providing nutritional support. Such measures may increase food intake temporarily, but they do not necessarily halt the breakdown of muscle or correct the underlying metabolic disturbance.

The KAIST researchers reasoned that the GDF15–GFRAL pathway could act as a central command system for this wasting response. GDF15 produced in the body circulates to the brainstem, where GFRAL is concentrated in a specialized region known as the area postrema and its surrounding neural circuitry. Once activated, this receptor can influence brain networks that control feeding behavior and autonomic metabolism. Rather than attempting to neutralize GDF15 throughout the body, the team chose to disable the receptor itself in the brainstem, preventing the signal from being received.

To accomplish this, the researchers developed antisense oligonucleotides, or ASOs, directed against Gfral messenger RNA. ASOs are short, chemically modified strands of nucleic acid engineered to bind a specific RNA sequence. When an ASO binds its target messenger RNA, cellular enzymes can promote its degradation or interfere with its processing, reducing production of the corresponding protein. In this case, the treatment lowered the supply of GFRAL receptors in the brainstem. The strategy therefore acts at the RNA stage, before the receptor is assembled and displayed on the surface of neural cells.

The experiments were performed in mice carrying tumors and showing established signs of cancer cachexia. This timing is important because many experimental interventions appear effective only when administered before severe wasting begins. According to the researchers, GFRAL silencing after cachexia had progressed substantially reduced the loss of muscle and fat. Treated animals also showed restoration of metabolic functions that had deteriorated during tumor growth, suggesting that the intervention did more than increase appetite. It helped interrupt the physiological program driving the breakdown of energy reserves.

The most striking result involved survival. At approximately day 50, the endpoint used in the study, about 90 percent of the mice receiving the GFRAL-targeting ASO remained alive, compared with roughly 20 percent of untreated tumor-bearing animals. The treated mice retained greater body weight and muscle mass and performed better in measures of muscle function. These findings indicate that cachexia itself can be a major determinant of outcome in cancer-bearing organisms and that blocking its central signaling pathway may provide benefits beyond nutritional improvement.

The work does not yet establish whether the same treatment will be safe or effective in people. GFRAL signaling is involved in the body’s response to circulating stress signals, and manipulating a receptor in the brainstem requires careful assessment of neurological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic effects. Human cancers also vary widely in their production of GDF15, tumor location and inflammatory biology. Nevertheless, the results offer a mechanistically precise alternative to therapies that merely encourage patients to eat. By targeting the receptor rather than broadly suppressing the signaling protein, the ASO approach may eventually be combined with chemotherapy, immunotherapy or other cancer treatments.

The findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, represent an early step toward translating a brain-directed RNA therapy for cachexia. The researchers plan further preclinical studies, along with development of manufacturing and quality-control systems, with the stated goal of beginning clinical development in cancer patients by 2030. If the biology can be reproduced safely in humans, silencing GFRAL could become an adjunct treatment intended to preserve physical function, extend treatment tolerance and improve survival. For now, however, the evidence remains limited to tumor-bearing mice, and the central challenge will be determining whether a signal that can be switched off experimentally can be controlled with equal precision in patients.

Subject of Research:
An antisense oligonucleotide therapy targeting brainstem GFRAL to treat cancer-associated cachexia in tumor-bearing mice.

Article Title:
Therapeutic Gfral silencing via antisense oligonucleotides ameliorates cancer-associated cachexia and extends survival in tumor-bearing mice

Web References:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102939

References:
Cell Reports Medicine, published 27 July 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102939

Image Credits:
KAIST

Keywords:
Cancer cachexia, GFRAL, GDF15, antisense oligonucleotides, RNA therapy, brainstem, muscle wasting, cancer metabolism, preclinical research, KAIST

A common complication of early birth is being thrust into a medical debate that reaches far beyond the neonatal intensive-care unit: how low is too low when a late preterm baby’s blood glucose falls, and what—if anything—does that episode mean years later? A new article in Pediatric Research examines late preterm hypoglycemia through the lens of long-term evidence, highlighting why a seemingly brief metabolic disturbance has become one of neonatology’s most closely watched questions.

Late preterm infants are typically born between 34 weeks and 36 weeks plus six days of gestation. They often appear stronger and more mature than very preterm babies, but their brains, hormone systems and feeding abilities are still developing. After birth, glucose levels can drop as the infant transitions from a constant placental supply to intermittent feeding. Immature glycogen stores, limited fat reserves, difficulty coordinating sucking and swallowing, and illness-related stress can all increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Glucose is the brain’s primary energy source during early life, making neonatal hypoglycemia biologically concerning. When glucose delivery falls, the brain may initially compensate by using alternative fuels, including lactate and ketone bodies. If the shortage is severe, prolonged or repeatedly missed, however, energy production can become insufficient. This may interfere with neuronal signaling and, in extreme cases, contribute to cellular injury. The challenge is that many affected newborns show no obvious symptoms, while symptomatic infants may display only subtle signs such as jitteriness, poor feeding, lethargy, temperature instability or apnea.

The article by U. Felderhoff-Müser focuses attention on a crucial gap between immediate treatment and long-term certainty. Hospitals commonly screen infants considered vulnerable to hypoglycemia, including late preterm newborns, and intervene with feeding, buccal dextrose gel or intravenous glucose when indicated. These measures are designed to restore glucose quickly and prevent neurological stress. Yet the threshold used to define hypoglycemia is not a universal biological line. It is a clinical value shaped by gestational age, postnatal age, symptoms, measurement method and the balance between avoiding harm and preventing unnecessary intervention.

That uncertainty has made long-term follow-up essential. Researchers have investigated whether neonatal hypoglycemia is associated with later problems involving cognition, executive function, attention, language, motor coordination and school performance. Some studies have reported higher risks after severe, recurrent or prolonged episodes, while others have found limited or inconsistent effects, particularly when low glucose was detected and treated promptly. The differences may reflect more than glucose itself: prematurity, fetal growth restriction, maternal diabetes, infection, respiratory illness and socioeconomic conditions can independently influence neurodevelopment.

This is one reason the evidence remains difficult to interpret. Most long-term studies are observational, meaning researchers cannot randomly assign infants to experience different glucose levels. Instead, they compare children who had hypoglycemia with those who did not, while attempting to account for other medical and social factors. Even sophisticated statistical adjustments may not eliminate hidden confounding. In addition, studies use different definitions of hypoglycemia, different monitoring schedules and different ages or tools for developmental testing, making direct comparisons challenging.

The timing and pattern of low glucose may be as important as the lowest recorded number. A single short episode may carry a different biological significance from repeated episodes or an extended period below a treatment threshold. Continuous glucose monitoring has raised further questions by revealing fluctuations that intermittent heel-stick testing can miss, although sensor accuracy in newborns and the clinical meaning of every detected dip are still being evaluated. The emerging picture is therefore more complex than a simple division between “normal” and “abnormal.”

For clinicians and families, the practical message is not to dismiss hypoglycemia or to assume that every low reading predicts disability. Instead, the long-term evidence supports careful surveillance of infants at risk, rapid confirmation of abnormal results, and treatment strategies that protect the brain without disrupting feeding or exposing babies to unnecessary interventions. Developmental follow-up may be particularly important for infants with severe or recurrent episodes, neurological symptoms, or multiple additional risk factors. Such monitoring can identify difficulties early, when speech, occupational or educational support may have the greatest effect.

The discussion also underscores the need for better research. Future studies will need standardized glucose definitions, precise records of duration and recurrence, improved measurement technologies and follow-up extending into school age and adolescence. Researchers must also distinguish the effects of hypoglycemia from the conditions that caused it and examine outcomes beyond a single global developmental score. Felderhoff-Müser’s review places late preterm hypoglycemia in that broader scientific context: a common neonatal event whose immediate management is well established, but whose long-term consequences still demand careful, nuanced investigation.

Subject of Research: Late preterm hypoglycemia and its long-term neurodevelopmental evidence

Article Title: Late preterm hypoglycemia through the lens of long-term evidence

Article References: Felderhoff-Müser, U. “Late preterm hypoglycemia through the lens of long-term evidence.” Pediatric Research (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-026-05316-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-026-05316-6

Keywords: late preterm infants, neonatal hypoglycemia, blood glucose, neurodevelopment, brain health, newborn care, long-term outcomes