Brain-Computer Interfaces Using Flexible Electronics: An a-IGZO Front-End for Active ECoG Electrodes.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are evolving toward higher electrode count and fully implantable solutions, which require extremely low power densities (<15mW cm). To achieve this target, and allow for a large and scalable number of channels, flexible electronics can be used as a multiplexing interface. This work introduces an active analog front-end fabricated with amorphous Indium-Gallium-Zinx-Oxide (a-IGZO) Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs) on foil capable of active matrix multiplexing.

The challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR): current status and future prospects.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a critical global threat, compromising the effectiveness of antibacterial drugs as bacteria adapt and survive exposure to many classes of these drugs. This phenomenon is primarily fueled by the widespread overuse and misuse of antibacterial drugs, exerting selective pressure on bacteria and promoting the emergence of multi-resistant strains. AMR poses a top-priority challenge to public health due to its widespread epidemiological and economic implications, exacerbated not only by the diminishing effectiveness of currently available antimicrobial agents but also by the limited development of genuinely effective new molecules.

Hardware implementation of backpropagation using progressive gradient descent for in situ training of multilayer neural networks.

Neural network training can be slow and energy-expensive due to the frequent transfer of weight data between digital memory and processing units. Neuromorphic systems can accelerate neural networks by performing multiply-accumulate operations in parallel using nonvolatile analog memory. However, executing the widely used backpropagation training algorithm in multilayer neural networks requires information-and therefore storage-of the partial derivatives of the weight values preventing suitable and scalable implementation in hardware.

Measurement of the superfluid fraction of a supersolid by Josephson effect.

A new class of superfluids and superconductors with spatially periodic modulation of the superfluid density is arising. It might be related to the supersolid phase of matter, in which the spontaneous breaking of gauge and translational symmetries leads to a spatially modulated macroscopic wavefunction. This relation was recognized only in some cases and there is the need for a universal property quantifying the differences between supersolids and ordinary matter, such as the superfluid fraction, which measures the reduction in superfluid stiffness resulting from the spatial modulation.

Considering hormones as sex- and gender-related factors in biomedical research: Challenging false dichotomies and embracing complexity.

The inclusion of sex and gender considerations in biomedicine has been increasing in light of calls from research and funding agencies, governmental bodies, and advocacy groups to direct research attention to these issues. Although the inclusion of both female and male participants is often an important element, overreliance on a female-male binary tends to oversimplify the interactions between sex- and gender-related factors and health, and runs a risk of being influenced by cultural stereotypes about sex and gender. When biomedical researchers are examining how hormones associated with gender and sex may influence pathways of interest, it is of crucial importance to approach this work with a critical lens on the rhetoric used, and in ways that acknowledge the complexity of hormone physiology.

Vitality surveillance at distance using thin-film tandem-like narrowband near-infrared photodiodes with light-enhanced responsivity.

Remote measurement of vital sign parameters like heartbeat and respiration rate represents a compelling challenge in monitoring an individual's health in a noninvasive way. This could be achieved by large field-of-view, easy-to-integrate unobtrusive sensors, such as large-area thin-film photodiodes. At long distances, however, discriminating weak light signals from background disturbance demands superior near-infrared (NIR) sensitivity and optical noise tolerance.

Identification of the Origin of Ultralow Dark Currents in Organic Photodiodes.

Organic bulk heterojunction photodiodes (OPDs) attract attention for sensing and imaging. Their detectivity is typically limited by a substantial reverse bias dark current density (J ). Recently, using thermal admittance or spectral photocurrent measurements, J has been attributed to thermal charge generation mediated by mid-gap states.

Multidimensional Perovskites for High Detectivity Photodiodes.

Low-dimensional perovskites attract increasing interest due to tunable optoelectronic properties and high stability. Here, it is shown that perovskite thin films with a vertical gradient in dimensionality result in graded electronic bandgap structures that are ideal for photodiode applications. Positioning low-dimensional, vertically-oriented perovskite phases at the interface with the electron blocking layer increases the activation energy for thermal charge generation and thereby effectively lowers the dark current density to a record-low value of 5 × 10  mA cm without compromising responsivity, resulting in a noise-current-based specific detectivity exceeding 7 × 10 Jones at 600 nm.

Ultralow dark current in near-infrared perovskite photodiodes by reducing charge injection and interfacial charge generation.

Metal halide perovskite photodiodes (PPDs) offer high responsivity and broad spectral sensitivity, making them attractive for low-cost visible and near-infrared sensing. A significant challenge in achieving high detectivity in PPDs is lowering the dark current density (J) and noise current (i). This is commonly accomplished using charge-blocking layers to reduce charge injection.

Spatial Bloch Oscillations of a Quantum Gas in a "Beat-Note" Superlattice.

We report the experimental realization of a new kind of optical lattice for ultracold atoms where arbitrarily large separation between the sites can be achieved without renouncing to the stability of ordinary lattices. Two collinear lasers, with slightly different commensurate wavelengths and retroreflected on a mirror, generate a superlattice potential with a periodic "beat-note" profile where the regions with large amplitude modulation provide the effective potential minima for the atoms. To prove the analogy with a standard large spacing optical lattice we study Bloch oscillations of a Bose Einstein condensate with negligible interactions in the presence of a small force.

A Communication Infrastructure for the Health and Social Care Internet of Things: Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: Increasing life expectancy and reducing birth rates indicate that the world population is becoming older, with many challenges related to quality of life for old and fragile people, as well as their informal caregivers. In the last few years, novel information and communication technology techniques generally known as the Internet of Things (IoT) have been developed, and they are centered around the provision of computation and communication capabilities to objects. The IoT may provide older people with devices that enable their functional independence in daily life by either extending their own capacity or facilitating the efforts of their caregivers.

Collisions of Self-Bound Quantum Droplets.

We report on the study of binary collisions between quantum droplets formed by an attractive mixture of ultracold atoms. We distinguish two main outcomes of the collision, i.e.

Self-Bound Quantum Droplets of Atomic Mixtures in Free Space.

Self-bound quantum droplets are a newly discovered phase in the context of ultracold atoms. In this Letter, we report their experimental realization following the original proposal by Petrov [Phys. Rev.

Canceling the Gravity Gradient Phase Shift in Atom Interferometry.

Gravity gradients represent a major obstacle in high-precision measurements by atom interferometry. Controlling their effects to the required stability and accuracy imposes very stringent requirements on the relative positioning of freely falling atomic clouds, as in the case of precise tests of Einstein's equivalence principle. We demonstrate a new method to exactly compensate the effects introduced by gravity gradients in a Raman-pulse atom interferometer.

Crossing Over from Attractive to Repulsive Interactions in a Tunneling Bosonic Josephson Junction.

We explore the interplay between tunneling and interatomic interactions in the dynamics of a bosonic Josephson junction. We tune the scattering length of an atomic ^{39}K Bose-Einstein condensate confined in a double-well trap to investigate regimes inaccessible to other superconducting or superfluid systems. In the limit of small-amplitude oscillations, we study the transition from Rabi to plasma oscillations by crossing over from attractive to repulsive interatomic interactions.

Quantum Phase Transitions with Parity-Symmetry Breaking and Hysteresis.

Symmetry-breaking quantum phase transitions play a key role in several condensed matter, cosmology and nuclear physics theoretical models1-3. Its observation in real systems is often hampered by finite temperatures and limited control of the system parameters. In this work we report for the first time the experimental observation of the full quantum phase diagram across a transition where the spatial parity symmetry is broken.

Clinical assessment instruments validated for nursing practice in the Italian context: a systematic review of the literature.

Aims: With the aim to identify the instruments validated for Italian nursing practice, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken.

Results: A total of 101 instruments emerged. The majority (89; 88.

Test of the universality of the three-body Efimov parameter at narrow Feshbach resonances.

We measure the critical scattering length for the appearance of the first three-body bound state, or Efimov three-body parameter, at seven different Feshbach resonances in ultracold ^{39}K atoms. We study both intermediate and narrow resonances, where the three-body spectrum is expected to be determined by the nonuniversal coupling of two scattering channels. Instead, our observed ratio of the three-body parameter with the van der Waals radius is approximately the same universal ratio as for broader resonances.

[CardiReset: general medicine and monitoring of cardiovascular risk factors in a whole region].

Background: The CardioRESET project was carried out in 2005 to evaluate the feasibility of a cardiovascular risk factor survey by general practitioners in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a north-eastern Italian region.

Methods: We randomized 2701 subjects (1336 males and 1365 females), aged 35-74 years, from the general population. The family doctors surveyed the randomized population sample using the standardized methods of the Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare, a reference national survey.

Magnetic dipolar interaction in a Bose-Einstein condensate atomic interferometer.

We study the role played by the magnetic dipole interaction in the decoherence of a lattice-based interferometer that employs an alkali Bose-Einstein condensate with a tunable scattering length. The different behavior we observe for two different orientations of the dipoles gives us evidence of the anisotropic character of the interaction. The experiment is correctly reproduced by a model we develop only if the long-range interaction between different lattice sites is taken into account.

A method for monitoring vascular access function during hemodialysis.

We tested a new bedside method to determine the function of native arteriovenous fistula in 16 patients performed during hemodialysis without stopping the treatment. We initially measured vascular access flow (Q(a)) in each patient using the Transonic HD01(plus) device. We then measured the pressure in arterial and venous drip chambers at different blood pump flow rates (Q(bset)=0, 50, 100, 250, 300, 350 ml/min).

Anderson localization of a non-interacting Bose-Einstein condensate.

Anderson localization of waves in disordered media was originally predicted fifty years ago, in the context of transport of electrons in crystals. The phenomenon is much more general and has been observed in a variety of systems, including light waves. However, Anderson localization has not been observed directly for matter waves.

Atom interferometry with a weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate.

We demonstrate the operation of an atom interferometer based on a weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate. We strongly reduce the interaction induced decoherence that usually limits interferometers based on trapped condensates by tuning the s-wave scattering length almost to zero via a magnetic Feshbach resonance. We employ a 39K condensate trapped in an optical lattice, where Bloch oscillations are forced by gravity.

Validation of a robust and sensitive method for detecting hydroxyl radical formation together with evoked neurotransmitter release in brain microdialysis.

Sodium terephthalate was shown to be a new robust and sensitive chemical trap for highly reactive oxygen species (hROS), which lacks the drawbacks of the salicylic acid method. Reaction of the almost non-fluorescent terephthalate (TA2-) with hydroxyl radicals or ferryl-oxo species resulted in the stoichiometric formation of the brilliant fluorophor, 2-hydroxyterephthalate (OH-TA). Neither hydrogen peroxide nor superoxide reacts in this system.

Strong dipolar effects in a quantum ferrofluid.

Symmetry-breaking interactions have a crucial role in many areas of physics, ranging from classical ferrofluids to superfluid (3)He and d-wave superconductivity. For superfluid quantum gases, a variety of new physical phenomena arising from the symmetry-breaking interaction between electric or magnetic dipoles are expected. Novel quantum phases in optical lattices, such as chequerboard or supersolid phases, are predicted for dipolar bosons.