The stillbirth rate in Europe has been steadily improving over the last few decades, but there are some exceptions. In Germany and Belgium, rates have significantly increased since 2010, while other European countries have seen declines or stability. Researchers have investigated how factors like increasing maternal age and multiple births may have influenced these trends and differences across Europe. The analyses indicate that these factors explain only a small portion of the variations.
Read more …Understanding the increase in stillbirth rates in Germany amid European declines
Researchers have explored how integrating machine and deep learning techniques can create a standardized system for evaluating rock climbing routes to provide a difficulty grading scale that promotes inclusivity, accuracy and accessibility for all experience levels. The study found that the most successful approach for determining the difficulty of a rock-climbing route used route-centric, natural language processing methods.
Read more …Research aims to standardize rock climbing route difficulty through machine learning techniques
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) -- commonly known as bad cholesterol -- have long been on scientists' radar as a major contributor to heart disease. But these microscopic troublemakers have hidden their inner workings behind a maze of complexity. That is, until now. Researchers have now revealed the specific shape and structure of one of the body's most important yet complicated proteins: ApoB100. Acting as a kind of molecular exoskeleton, this protein wraps around LDL particles, allowing them to travel through the bloodstream, researchers found.
Read more …A protein at the heart of heart disease