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Elsevier BV

Preprints posted in the last 90 days, ranked by how well they match SoftwareX's content profile, based on 15 papers previously published here. The average preprint has a 0.01% match score for this journal, so anything above that is already an above-average fit.

1
Robean: A Standalone Freeware for Automated Rodent Neurobehavioural Analysis with Integrated Tracking, Visualization, and Reporting

Mishra, V.; Verma, R.; Rajinikanth, P. S.; Kaundal, R. K.

2026-07-17 animal behavior and cognition 10.64898/2026.07.11.737999 medRxiv
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Quantitative analysis of rodent behaviour is fundamental to neuroscience, preclinical drug discovery and neurotoxicology research. Although several commercial and open-source software packages are available for behavioural assessment, some are expensive, some require programming expertise, and some provide limited flexibility for user-defined experimental configurations. To address these limitations, we developed Robean, a freely available standalone software platform for automated rodent neurobehavioural analysis from both live camera feeds and pre-recorded videos. Robean provides an intuitive graphical user interface that enables users to design experimental arenas, define custom analysis zones, perform spatial calibration, and automatically track rodent movement without requiring programming knowledge. The software currently supports automated analysis of three widely used behavioural paradigms: the Morris Water Maze, Elevated Plus Maze, and Open Field Test. Robean extracts behavioural metrics including escape latency, path efficiency, platform crossings, target quadrant preference, thigmotaxis, locomotor activity, zone occupancy, arm entries, and centre exploration specific to behavioural tests. In addition, the software generates trajectory maps, occupancy heatmaps, comma-separated value (CSV) datasets, comprehensive PDF reports, and batch study summaries for multiple experimental sessions. Developed using open-source software technologies and distributed as a standalone freeware application, Robean provides an accessible and reproducible solution for behavioural neuroscience laboratories. Its modular architecture facilitates future integration of additional behavioural paradigms and analytical modules, making it a flexible platform for automated rodent behavioural assessment.

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AnimalTA: A simple yet flexible tool for video tracking and manual corrections.

Chiara, V.; Buatois, A.; Kim, S.-Y.

2026-06-30 animal behavior and cognition 10.64898/2026.06.27.733780 medRxiv
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1. Video-tracking programs have now become an essential tool for researchers measuring animal behavior across biological fields. The panel of available programs is growing rapidly, providing researchers with numerous specific tools that will match their precise needs. However, their proliferation may complicate post-tracking data processing, and some programs do not even provide tools for correcting tracking errors or analysing tracking data. In the case of commercial software, the loss of access to a program due to budget limitations or researchers' mobility from one institution to another could prevent them from accessing and visualizing their tracking data. 2. There is therefore a growing need for an accessible and flexible tool to handle post-tracking processes such as the correction and analysis of tracking data obtained across different video-tracking programs. 3. We present here the latest update of the video tracking and analysis program AnimalTA. With this new release, we propose to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing the scientific community with a program that will allow for data importation from other video-tracking programs. Like in its previous versions, AnimalTA remains a free, open-source, and highly user-friendly program, ensuring that it will always be accessible without restriction. Now, with this new importation option, users who performed their tracking with other programs can benefit from AnimalTA's complete toolset of data visualization, correction, and analysis. 4. Finally, this article gives an overview of the other main improvements associated with this new release. The program is now faster in both video importation and tracking, proposes an amplified toolset for data visualisation and correction, and features new options for data analysis.

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HydraMPP: A lightweight library for distributed massive parallel processing in Python - threading at scale.

Figueroa, J. L.; White, R. A.

2026-06-08 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.06.04.730204 medRxiv
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We now exist in the era of massive datasets from genomics, large language models, and all the known knowledge of humanity right at our fingertips. Much of this data is becoming more accessible; however, processing such data remains an ongoing issue across systems including high performance computing (HPC) infrastructures. Massively parallel computing (MPP) has solved this using a divide and conquer approach by splitting workloads across independent nodes (i.e., central processing units (CPU) allowing for higher scaling of data). The main engine for this in python is Ray; however, it has many issues including a large code space, security issues, debugging opacity, and memory management issues. Here, we present HydraMPP, a lightweight, ease of use and utilization, with high auditability, and with SLURM ergonomics.

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GeneAutomate: A Browser-Based, Integer-Indexed Platform for Dual-Gene-List Functional Annotation and Interactive Network Visualization

Singh, R. P.; Kumar, A.

2026-07-21 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.16.738882 medRxiv
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Comparative interpretation of two gene lists, for example, two treatment arms, two tissues, or a discovery and a validation cohort, is a routine task in functional genomics. While several tools offer dual-list comparison (e.g., EnrichmentMap, RRHO packages), they typically require local software installation, R/Bioconductor, or manual reconciliation of separate single-list outputs. Most widely used web-based enrichment tools (DAVID, g:Profiler, Enrichr, ShinyGO, WebGestalt) are built around the analysis of a single gene list at a time, and those that support comparison often lack interactive, publication-ready visualization or depend on server-side query latency. Here we present GeneAutomate, a browser-based tool purpose-built for side-by-side comparison of two gene lists. GeneAutomate performs Over-Representation Analysis (ORA) against Gene Ontology (GO) and Reactome using an exact hypergeometric test with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) when ranked (log2 fold-change) input is supplied, alongside Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) subgraph extraction from BioGRID physical interactions. All reference data (Gene Ontology, Reactome, BioGRID, and NCBI/Ensembl identifier cross-references) are pre-compiled offline into a single integer-indexed database of approximately 32 MB for Homo sapiens, in which every gene identifier Ensembl ID, Entrez ID, official symbol, or alias is resolved to one canonical integer prior to any user query. This design removes live database round-trips from the runtime path, enabling fast, at-your-desk enrichment without installation or a server-side per-query bottleneck. The tool renders thirteen interactive, D3.js- and Cytoscape.js-based comparative visualizations, including a Rank-Rank Hypergeometric Overlap (RRHO) heatmap, a GO-slim "Radar/Spider" functional fingerprint, and chord/edge-bundled cross-talk diagrams that are, to our knowledge, not offered as an integrated set by any existing academic or commercial ORA/GSEA platform. GeneAutomate is an unfunded, individual student project developed with feedback from a professor, and is in its final stage of development. It requires no installation or login. We describe the tools architecture, statistical methods, and comparative feature set relative to established academic tools (DAVID, ShinyGO, g:Profiler, Enrichr, WebGestalt, STRING, PANTHER, GeneMANIA, Cytoscape, clusterProfiler, GSEA, Metascape) and commercial platforms (IPA, MetaCore, Pathway Studio, iPathwayGuide, Partek Pathway), and we state candidly the current versions limitations, which are planned to be the added in next version: single-species (human-only) coverage, no upstream regulator analysis, and comparison currently limited to two (occasionally three) concurrent lists. GeneAutomate is available at https://geneautomate.tech/.

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Using large language models for enhancing accessibility for Monte Carlo photon transport simulations and beyond

Yen, F.-Y.; Liu, Y.; Fang, Q.

2026-07-21 bioengineering 10.64898/2026.07.20.738933 medRxiv
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SignificanceComputational modeling and the use of simulation software tools are essential for biomedical optics research. Designing effective simulations often requires in-depth understanding of the underlying physical problems and proper configuration of the software settings, which often constitute key barriers for novice users including students. The rapid emergence of large language models (LLMs) offers new opportunities for natural-language-based interaction, but integrating them with technical software remains challenging because of their limited output reproducibility. Overcoming these limitations would allow more intuitive, efficient, and reproducible interaction between scientists and scientific software. AimWe investigate the use of LLMs in quantitative biophotonics simulation tools, with a goal of enabling novice users to build complex photon simulations using intuitive natural-language-based problem descriptions. ApproachWe have explored prompt engineering strategies that enable LLMs to bridge the gap between natural language descriptions and advanced simulation software by constraining LLM outputs using a data schema (i.e., format) and a modular component architecture, followed by deterministic validation to ensure correctness and reproducibility of the outputs. ResultsUsing Monte Carlo eXtreme (MCX) - a widely used photon transport simulator - as an example, we showcase the capability of the proposed framework to convert user descriptions to structured simulation inputs. Benchmarked using 33 diverse natural language simulation descriptions, our LLM interface, MCX-LLM, achieves 98% accuracy and 99% repeatability, with an average processing time of 8.96 seconds per prompt. The framework also successfully handles various linguistic styles and diverse simulation settings, achieving a 100% success rate on 20 unconstrained real-world prompts. With only minor adjustments, our LLM interface also produces valid inputs for a finite-element-based diffusion solver to demonstrate generality towards other optical simulators. ConclusionsBy combining LLMs capability for textual data comprehension with structured constraints, this work provides a pathway to making complex scientific tools accessible while ensuring the reliability and technical correctness required for rigorous scientific research. MCX-LLM has been integrated with MCX Cloud accessible at https://mcx.space/cloud.

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pylimma: a faithful, AnnData-native Python port of R limma for differential expression analysis

Mulvey, J.

2026-07-10 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.06.736732 medRxiv
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pylimma is a faithful Python port of limma, intended to bring one of the most widely used tools for differential expression analysis to the developing Python ecosystem for transcriptomics and proteomics. We validated pylimma against the existing R implementation through 227 function-level comparisons and across six real world datasets spanning microarray, RNAseq, proteomics and single-cell transcriptomics. pylimma reproduces limmas numerical output to a median agreement of 13 significant figures and calls identical sets of differentially expressed features and gene sets. This supports its use as a drop-in replacement for the R implementation.

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Neurokraken: A fully flexible, open-source, python-based neuroscience behavior platform

Wallerus, A.; Castro e Almeida, S.; Passecker, J.

2026-07-06 animal behavior and cognition 10.64898/2026.06.30.735592 medRxiv
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A major challenge in behavioral neuroscience is the lack of a unified software framework capable of implementing diverse paradigms across species and experimental setups. Researchers currently face a trade-off: they must either spend significant time developing custom, siloed solutions that hinder reproducibility, or incur substantial costs purchasing inflexible, closed systems. Here, we present Neurokraken, an open-source, Python-native platform designed to overcome these limitations. Neurokraken allows writing experiment progression entirely in standard python, while its core architecture automatically sets up a microcontroller for the connected hardware components and enables python side access with millisecond-precision timing and automatic logging. The system prioritizes ease of use and flexibility, enabling advanced series of events and conditions, the usage of python ecosystem code and packages within experiments, and the addition of any arduino-compatible electronic devices for custom experiments. As a result, users can easily create interactive virtual and real environments to engage, monitor, and record subjects. We present Neurokraken's versatility across a wide range of paradigms, for human and non-human primate psychophysics, and complex rodent behavior in both head-fixed and freely moving paradigms. Its modular design allows for rapid hardware reconfiguration, while a fully customizable user interface enables real-time monitoring and interactive experimental control without compromising timing precision. By uniting laboratory-grade precision with an accessible and flexible open-source philosophy, Neurokraken provides a single, powerful solution to design and execute next-generation behavioral experiments. We hope Neurokraken helps accelerate research, improve reproducibility throughout the neuroscience community, and make advanced behavioral experimentation more accessible through its substantial cost-efficiency.

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The recount3 Python package for programmatic access to uniformly processed RNA-seq data

Alsalihi, A.; Flight, R. M.; Moseley, H. N. B.

2026-06-20 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.06.17.732943 medRxiv
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The recount3 online resource provides tens of thousands of uniformly processed RNA-seq samples across human and mouse from major sequencing repositories like the Sequence Read Archive. While access to these datasets has traditionally been centered in the R/Bioconductor ecosystem, the growing prominence of Python in bioinformatics and machine learning necessitates native, efficient tooling for Python users. Therefore, we present the recount3 Python package with robust application programming interface (API) and command-line interface (CLI) for discovering, downloading, and materializing recount3 resources. The software orchestrates uniform resource locator (URL) resolution, persistent on-disk caching, and the automatic parsing of data into analysis-ready data structures, including Pandas DataFrames and BiocPy RangedSummarizedExperiment objects. The recount3 Python package drastically lowers the barrier to entry for large-scale utilization of RNA-seq data in Python-based computational pipelines, bridging the gap between massive public transcriptomic data and modern machine learning ecosystems.

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An Open-Source Magnetofluorescence Imaging Platform forPlate-Scale Screening of Magnetic Field Effects in LiveBacteria

Lodesani, A.; Ross, B. L.; Sridharan, V.; Aiello, C. D.

2026-07-29 bioengineering 10.64898/2026.07.28.741305 medRxiv
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Magnetic field effects (MFEs) in biological systems are typically small and experimentally challenging to measure reproducibly across large sample populations. Existing approaches to measure such effects often rely on low-throughput microscopy or custom-built magnetic stimulation systems that provide limited control over magnetic field geometry, synchronization, or experimental automation. Here, we present an open-source magnetofluorescence imaging platform designed for bacterial plate-scale screening of MFEs in live colonies. The instrument integrates a programmable three-axis vector electromagnet, synchronized fluorescence excitation and imaging, and integrated acquisition software with per-frame metadata logging on a hardware-synchronized data acquisition card. An extensive calibration procedure enables accurate generation of arbitrary magnetic field vectors, while synchronized triggering ensures deterministic alignment between field application, illumination, and image acquisition. The system images an entire 100 mm Petri dish in a single acquisition. Typical experiments monitor hundreds of bacterial colonies simultaneously over multi-hour acquisition sequences. Control software, calibration routines, mechanical design files, and acquisition workflows are provided openly to facilitate replication. Instrument performance is demonstrated through detection of magnetic field-dependent fluorescence changes in E. coli expressing the engineered magnetosensitive fluorescent protein MagLOV2. This instrument provides a flexible and scalable platform for high-throughput magnetobiology, synthetic biology, and quantum biology experiments.

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MCD Stitcher: An open-source tool for whole-slide stitching and conversion of Imaging Mass Cytometry data

Chaurasia, P.

2026-07-01 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.06.26.732348 medRxiv
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Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC) combines metal-tagged antibody labelling with laser ablation mass spectrometry to generate highly multiplexed spatial images of tissue sections. However, the area that can be acquired within a single region of interest (ROI) is limited by hardware and software constraints, requiring large tissues to be imaged as multiple tiled ROIs. Reconstructing these ROIs into whole-slide images requires additional processing, while the proprietary .mcd file format can hinder integration with standard bioimage analysis workflows. Here, we present MCD Stitcher, an open-source Python package for converting .mcd files into OME-TIFF images with automated whole-slide stitching. The tool supports rectangular and polygonal ROIs, accommodates variable pixel sizes between ROIs, and uses memory-aware chunked reading during data ingestion to process large datasets on standard workstations. The generated OME-TIFF outputs preserve spatial, channel, and acquisition metadata for downstream analysis in tools such as QuPath, napari, and ImageJ/Fiji. MCD Stitcher provides a reproducible workflow for converting raw IMC data into interoperable image formats, enabling whole-slide spatial analysis without reliance on vendor-specific software.

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golgi: open-source software for automated nerve model generation and recruitment simulation

Lung, D.; Jia, Y.; Moro, A.; Fachino, M.; Haberbusch, M.

2026-07-13 bioengineering 10.64898/2026.07.10.737846 medRxiv
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golgi is an open-source platform that takes a peripheral nerve from image to stimulated fiber population through a single graphical interface, with an equivalent scriptable Python API and command-line interface for batch and high-performance use. It integrates promptable image segmentation, automated multi-region tetrahedral meshing, anisotropic finite-element solution of the extracellular field with an explicit perineurium contact impedance, generation of realistic fiber populations and their three-dimensional trajectories, and biophysical activation thresholds through interchangeable backends-- NEURON (via PyFibers) and a GPU-accelerated surrogate (AxonML). Every study exports as an integrity-hashed bundle whose image-to-recruitment provenance is verifiable byte-for-byte. golgi lowers the barrier to in-silico peripheral nerve stimulation modeling for experimentalists and clinicians, using a fully open finite-element stack with no commercial dependencies.

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CARDIAX-NNFE - A Cardiac Mechanics SciML Framework

Thomas, B.; Sacks, M. S.

2026-07-28 bioengineering 10.64898/2026.07.27.741090 medRxiv
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One goal of Scientific Machine Learning (SciML) is to advance traditional scientific computing frameworks with modern machine learning tools. This includes extending established methods, such as the finite element method, with cardiac function applications due to their complexity and need for very rapid execution times for real time clinical use. In this work, we present an advanced form of the Neural Network Finite Element (NNFE) method specialized for cardiac simulations, termed CARDIAX-NNFE. The NNFE method learns the parameter-to-displacement field map by training over the residual of the hyperelastic material PDE, using the domain represented by finite elements. The implementation is developed in Python using JAX to leverage its automatic differentiation, highly parallel GPU, and JIT-compilation capabilities. To demonstrate CARDIAX-NNFE effectiveness, we trained full cardiac pressure-volume responses using a simplified heart model, spanning the entire cardiac physiological functional range. Results indicated the ability to simulate a family of pressure-volume solutions with average nodal positional error of 0.023 mm and maximal error of 0.054 mm, with a single complete PV loop evaluated in 0.002 seconds. The CARDIAX-NNFE software platform thus provides for a robust platform for cardiac functional simulations. Moreover, it provides the structure for residual-based SciML methods, which can apply to a variety of physics-based biomedical problems that require high execution speed for clinical applications.

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OMIO: A policy-driven Python library for reproducible microscopy image I/O

Musacchio, F.; Antony, H.; Crux, S.; Fuhrmann, F.; Gockel, N.; Hoffmann, D. M.; Mercan, D.; Nebeling, F. C.; Fuhrmann, M.

2026-06-11 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.06.09.731118 medRxiv
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Modern fluorescence and multiphoton microscopy workflows operate within a heterogeneous ecosystem of file formats, partially overlapping metadata standards, and reader-specific conventions. In practice, this frequently leads to silent axis misinterpretations, loss or corruption of physical voxel size information, and laboratory-specific glue code that is fragile, poorly documented, and difficult to reproduce. OMIO, short for Open Microscopy Image I/O, addresses these issues by providing a lightweight, policy-driven image I/O layer for Python that enforces a canonical, OME-compatible data representation at the API boundary. The central contribution of OMIO is the explicit separation of low-level format access from semantic normalization. Existing reader libraries are used as interchangeable backends for extracting pixel data and available metadata, while OMIO enforces axis conventions, metadata interpretation, and fallback decisions in a centralized and auditable policy layer. This design allows heterogeneous microscopy inputs to be converted into a stable representation without propagating backend-specific assumptions into downstream analysis code. The core design principles of OMIO include canonical axis semantics (TZCYX), robust metadata normalization with explicit and auditable fallbacks, memory-aware operation via optional Zarr-based backends, and workflow-level semantics that extend beyond individual files to folder stacks and BIDS-like project structures. This architecture allows OMIO to orchestrate existing reader libraries into a coherent and reproducible I/O pipeline without replacing or duplicating their functionality. OMIO is implemented as an open-source and community-oriented system in which support for additional file formats and metadata conventions can be added incrementally through modular reader backends. By encouraging the contribution of example datasets, backend extensions, and feature requests, OMIO is designed to evolve alongside emerging acquisition systems while preserving strict semantic guarantees at the interface level. The resulting standardized OME-TIFF outputs are immediately suitable for downstream quantitative analysis and interactive inspection in scientific Python workflows, including workflows based on ImageJ and Napari.

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ComBatFamQC: Streamlining Interactive Batch-Effect Diagnostics and Harmonization for Neuroimaging Data in R

Ren, Z.; Horwath, E.; Wen, S.; Melhem, R.; Anderson, J. K.; Johnson, W. E.; Shinohara, R. T.; Chen, A. A.; Shou, H.

2026-08-04 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.29.741509 medRxiv
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As multisite and multi-study data aggregation becomes increasingly common for improving statistical power and sample diversity, robust harmonization methods are needed to address biases introduced by batch variation, particularly in neuroimaging research. Although a variety of harmonization approaches are available, the lack of systematic guidance for diagnosing batch effects and selecting appropriate methods remains a major challenge. To address this gap, we introduce ComBatFamQC, a comprehensive R package designed to streamline batch-effect diagnosis, harmonization, and post-harmonization analysis. ComBatFamQC integrates a user-friendly Shiny app for interactive batch-effect diagnostics, state-of-the-art harmonization methods from the ComBat family, including ComBat, longitudinal ComBat, ComBat-GAM, and CovBat, and tools for downstream analysis after harmonization. The package provides qualitative visualizations, statistical tests for batch-effect assessment, and a consistent interface that supports both in-sample and out-of-sample harmonization through the Shiny app, the R console, or the command line. In addition, it includes functions for post-harmonization analyses to facilitate downstream modeling. Its modular design also supports the systematic incorporation of future harmonization methods and expanded downstream analysis capabilities.

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User-friendly transcriptomic data analysis with ArrayAnalysis

Koetsier, J.; Cinar, O.; Willighagen, E. L.; Ammar, A.; Karthik, V.; Jennen, D.; Evelo, C. T.; Curfs, L. M. G.; Reutelingsperger, C. P.; Bahram Sangani, N.; Eijssen, L. M. T.

2026-07-18 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.13.738193 medRxiv
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Transcriptomic profiling has become a cornerstone of modern biomedical research. To make transcriptomic analyses accessible to a broader scientific community, specifically including researchers with limited bioinformatics expertise, we introduced ArrayAnalysis in 2013 as a user-friendly web-based application for microarray data analysis. We now present a major update (https://arrayanalysis.org), introducing a strongly interactive platform that facilitates the dedicated exploration and analysis of both microarray and RNA-seq data, and allows for the generation of publication-ready outputs. Users can perform key analysis steps, including data pre-processing and quality control, differential expression analysis, and gene set analysis, via a sequential, interactive workflow. At each step, the application provides interactive visualizations accompanied by information pages to support interpretation. Users can dynamically adjust figure layouts and colour palettes and export figures as vector graphics and high-resolution raster images. For non-expert users, ArrayAnalysis offers step-by-step guidance to support correct usage and facilitate learning, while for experienced bioinformaticians, it provides a streamlined and flexible workflow ideal for large-scale analyses requiring efficient and consistent processing. ArrayAnalysis is available both as a web application and for local deployment as a desktop application, Docker image, or R package, making it suitable for diverse computational environments, user groups, and analytical purposes. Together, ArrayAnalysis empowers a broad community of biomedical researchers to unlock the full potential of transcriptomic data. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=96 SRC="FIGDIR/small/738193v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (39K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1072123org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@11095e0org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1dfaee7org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@53d31e_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

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msaGUI: Multispectral Analysis Graphical User Interface for Ratiometric Analysis and Background Correction

Hoy, G. R.; Davis, C. M.

2026-07-03 biophysics 10.64898/2026.06.30.735666 medRxiv
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Chemical imaging is a powerful branch of modern microscopy encumbered by a lack of flexible, high-throughput analysis tools. Bespoke analytical pipelines typically perform ratiometric analysis on two layers in a multispectral image to describe the relative composition of molecules in a sample. This strategy has been implemented across fields, spanning histopathology, cell biology, environmental science, and materials science. The commercialization of chemical imaging microscopes has facilitated the collection of large multispectral datasets, necessitating accessible ways to process them. This paper describes Multispectral Analysis Graphical User Interface (msaGUI), a desktop graphical user interface to analyze individual and batch datasets of multispectral images. Data is loaded as CSV, TSV, or TIFFs and processed through a user-defined sequence of modular image operations that can be flexibly combined, e.g. to reduce spectral crosstalk or background noise. After analysis, data is visualized as exportable images, histograms, and statistics. To yield publication-quality figures, outputted images are fully customizable. Written in Python with open-source libraries, the msaGUI program is packaged into an executable for Windows and Mac for a fully no-code application. Other operating systems are supported via the Python source code. In summary, msaGUI provides a rapid and user-friendly solution for analyzing and visualizing multispectral data.

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From Abandoned Scripts to FAIR Community Pipelines: Rescuing Orphan Bioinformatics Workflows with nf-core - Lessons from Light-Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy

Schwitalla, C.; Kuhn Cuellar, L.; Hoertenhuber, M.; Grote, N.; Woller, T.; Lamberti, I.; Pavie, B.; Kuestner, T.; Kyere, F. A.; Curtin, I.; Stein, J. L.; Nahnsen, S.

2026-08-03 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.29.741447 medRxiv
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BackgroundResearch software is essential for modern data analysis but is often developed and maintained by a small number of researchers. When developers leave, software may become orphaned, limiting reuse and risking the loss of valuable domain knowledge and computational methods. While the FAIR Principles for Research Software (FAIR4RS) provide an essential foundation for improving the reuse of research software, compliance with these principles alone does not guarantee practical reusability. Here, we investigate whether orphaned scientific software can be systematically rescued and transformed into sustainable, reusable workflows using established software engineering practices and community standards. FindingsWe re-engineered the abandoned MATLAB-based NuMorph toolkit for large-scale light-sheet microscopy image analysis into nf-core/lsmquant, a Nextflow-based workflow developed according to nf-core community guidelines. The re-engineered workflow preserved the original scientific methods at comparable computational cost while improving the softwares FAIRness, portability, and reproducibility. Integration into the nf-core ecosystem provides a community-driven framework that supports software sustainability through distributed maintenance and shared development practices, while the modular workflow architecture simplified adaptation of nf-core/lsmquant to additional light-sheet microscopy datasets beyond the original application ConclusionOur work demonstrates that orphaned scientific software can be successfully rescued through systematic re-engineering guided by FAIR and software sustainability principles. By transforming a legacy codebase into a community-maintained workflow, we preserve valuable domain-specific methods while improving usability, maintainability, and reproducibility. This approach provides a practical strategy for recovering orphan research software and integrating it into modern, reusable research ecosystems.

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3dcon: tomogram denoising by deconvolution

Kirchweger, P.; Melnikovsky, L.; Seifer, S.; Elbaum, M.

2026-06-18 biochemistry 10.64898/2026.06.15.732138 medRxiv
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Cryo-electron tomography is an expanding technology for the study of macromolecules, viruses, and cells. It is often applied to specimens that are too large or heterogeneous for methods based on 2D image averaging such as single particle analysis, e.g., intracellular membranes or organelles. Current practice records a tilt series of projection images in rotation. Reconstruction is normally an ill-posed mathematical problem. Particularly for the under-determined case of sparse data, discrete tilt angles, and a limited tilt range, characteristic artifacts appear in the reconstructed slices. Much of what appears as noise is in fact structural: the projection of contrast from different planes. Various schemes are employed to regularize the reconstruction, including machine-learning frameworks built on neural networks. To the extent that the noise is structural, it might be suppressed by deconvolution with a suitable kernel. This was demonstrated and has been used regularly in cryo-STEM tomography of thick specimens where the under-sampling problem is particularly acute. Here we present 3dcon as an open-source extension of the entropy-regularized deconvolution algorithm that had been adopted from fluorescence microscopy. It takes advantage of modern computing hardware for convenient and fast processing. Deconvolution is entirely algorithmic, meaning that successful processing of the data does not depend on the data itself. As such it should be robust in a wide variety of applications.

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Spectronaut-nf: A Nextflow Pipeline for Parallel Processing of DIA Data with Spectronaut

Kotimoole, C. N.; Arefian, M.; McKay, E. C.; Kasaragod, S.; Skoraczynski, G.; Collins, B. C.

2026-07-30 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.29.741433 medRxiv
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SummaryContemporary proteomics methods can now generate large-scale DIA datasets of thousands of files that demand substantial computational resources for efficient analysis. Spectronaut is a widely used platform for DIA data processing; however, large-scale searches are often constrained by computational performance and long execution times when run on single workstations. Here, we present Spectronaut-nf, a Nextflow-based pipeline that enables scalable and parallelized execution of Spectronaut analyses across high-performance computing (HPC) environments. The workflow divides directDIA analysis into modular stages, including spectral library generation, DIA searching, and merging results, allowing efficient distribution of tasks across multiple compute nodes. Benchmarking using 72 diaPASEF raw files using typical hardware demonstrated that Spectronaut-nf completed searches in 23.77 hours, compared with 39.09 hours on a Windows workstation and 67.04 hours on a single-node Linux HPC setup. Stress testing with 1,037 diaPASEF raw files further demonstrated the scalability and robustness of the workflow for large proteomics datasets. Across platforms, protein and peptide identifications remained consistent, with only minimal variability attributable to platform-specific differences. Overall, Spectronaut-nf provides a flexible, scalable, and efficient framework for high-throughput DIA proteomics analysis in HPC environments. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=129 SRC="FIGDIR/small/741433v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (33K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4a7107org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14287d8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e484e9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d21c07_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

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PhytoFam: A Nextflow Pipeline for Genome-Wide Analysis of Plant Gene Families

Parajuli, S.; Adhikari, B.; Fennell, A.; Nepal, M. P.

2026-07-23 bioinformatics 10.64898/2026.07.23.740317 medRxiv
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Genome-wide identification of plant gene families is essential for functional and evolutionary studies but often requires the use of multiple independent tools for homolog detection, domain validation, orthology assignment, and phylogenetic analysis. This fragmented approach involves extensive manual scripting, complicates reproducibility and parameter tracking, and may require additional steps to remove redundant protein isoforms. To address these challenges, we developed PhytoFam, a Nextflow-based workflow that automates gene family identification from proteome input through phylogenetic reconstruction. The pipeline integrates HMMER for candidate sequence identification, isoform-aware deduplication, InterProScan for domain confirmation, BLAST reciprocal best hit (RBH) analysis for orthology assignment, MUSCLE for multiple sequence alignment with optional outgroup incorporation, TrimAl for alignment trimming, and IQ-TREE3 for phylogenetic reconstruction. PhytoFam is portable across local workstations and high-performance computing environments and supports deployment through Conda, Docker, and Singularity. We validated the workflow using the Morus alba MADS-box gene family, where the complete analysis finished in 1 h 10 min (9 CPU h). IQ-TREE3 accounted for most of the execution time, whereas InterProScan showed the highest memory requirement with a peak resident set size of 4.5 GB. PhytoFam provides a reproducible, automated, and scalable solution for plant gene family identification and phylogenetic analysis. The pipeline is freely available at https://github.com/sanamparajuli/PhytoFam.