Towards personalized immersive virtual reality neurorehabilitation: a human-centered design.

Background: Head-mounted displays can be used to offer personalized immersive virtual reality (IVR) training for patients who have suffered an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) by tailoring the complexity of visual and auditory stimuli to the patient's cognitive capabilities. However, it is still an open question how these virtual environments should be designed.

Methods: We used a human-centered design approach to help define the characteristics of suitable virtual training environments for ABI patients.

Lilobot: A Cognitive Conversational Agent to Train Counsellors at Children's Helplines : Design and Initial Evaluation.

To equip new counsellors at a Dutch child helpline with the needed counselling skills, the helpline uses role-playing, a form of learning through simulation in which one counsellor-in-training portrays a child seeking help and the other portrays a counsellor. However, this process is time-intensive and logistically challenging-issues that a conversational agent could help address. In this paper, we propose an initial design for a computer agent that acts as a child help-seeker to be used in a role-play setting.

Exploring the potential of the ketogenic diet in autism spectrum disorder: metabolic, genetic, and therapeutic insights.

Current treatment approaches for Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) primarily focus on symptom management rather than addressing underlying dysfunctions. The ketogenic diet (KD), a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet inducing nutritional ketosis, has shown promise in treating epilepsy and may offer therapeutic benefits for ASD by modulating metabolic and neuroprotective pathways. This review examined the potential impact of KD on underlying mechanisms in ASD.

Compositional flexibility in irreducible antifluorite electrolytes for next-generation battery anodes.

Solid-state batteries currently receive ample attention due to their potential to outperform lithium-ion batteries in terms of energy density when featuring next-generation anodes such as lithium metal or silicon. One key remaining challenge is identifying solid electrolytes that combine high ionic conductivity with stability in contact with the highly reducing potentials of next-generation anodes. Fully reduced electrolytes, based on irreducible anions, offer a promising solution by avoiding electrolyte decomposition altogether.

A multi-model approach identifies ALW-II-41-27 as a promising therapy for osteoarthritis-associated inflammation and endochondral ossification.

Low-grade inflammation and pathological endochondral ossification are key processes underlying the progression of osteoarthritis, the most prevalent joint disease worldwide. In this study, we employed a multi-faceted approach, integrating publicly available datasets, analyses, experiments and models to identify new therapeutic candidates targeting these processes. Data mining of transcriptomic datasets identified EPHA2, a receptor tyrosine kinase associated with cancer, as being linked to both inflammation and endochondral ossification in osteoarthritis.

Enhancing Magnetic Hyperthermia Efficiency in Pd/Fe-Oxide Hybrid Nanoparticles through Mn-Doping.

Multifunctional, biocompatible magnetic materials, such as iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), hold great potential for biomedical applications including diagnostics (e.g., MRI) and cancer therapy.

Feasibility of relaxation along a fictitious field in the 2nd rotating frame (T) mapping in the human myocardium at 3 T.

Purpose: Evaluate the feasibility of quantification of Relaxation Along a Fictitious Field in the 2nd rotating frame (RAFF2) relaxation times in the human myocardium at 3 T.

Methods: mapping was performed using a breath-held ECG-gated acquisition of five images: one without preparation, three preceded by RAFF2 trains of varying duration, and one preceded by a saturation prepulse. Pixel-wise maps were obtained after three-parameter exponential fitting.

Viscoelastic Behavior of Cellular Biomaterials Based on Octet-Truss and Tetrahedron Topologies.

Cellular biomaterials offer unique properties for diverse biomedical applications. However, their complex viscoelastic behavior requires careful consideration for design optimization. This study explores the effective viscoelastic response of two promising unit cell designs (tetrahedron-based and octet-truss) suitable for high porosity and strong mechanics.

Communal Load Sharing of Miscarriage Experiences: Thematic Analysis of Social Media Community Support.

Background: Miscarriage is a common experience, affecting 15% of recognized pregnancies, but societal ignorance and taboos often downplay the mental distress and personal impact following a miscarriage. Emerging stories on social media in which women express their miscarriage grief are breaking such taboos. Research in the area of online health communities is increasingly focused on studying how people share their health experiences on social media.

Alzheimer's disease-specific transcriptomic and epigenomic changes in the tryptophan catabolic pathway.

Background: Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), have been linked to alterations in tryptophan (TRP) metabolism. However, no studies to date have systematically explored changes in the TRP pathway at both transcriptional and epigenetic levels. This study aimed to investigate transcriptomic, DNA methylomic (5mC) and hydroxymethylomic (5hmC) changes within genes involved in the TRP and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) pathways in AD, using three independent cohorts.

FLASH Bragg-Peak Irradiation With a Therapeutic Carbon Ion Beam: First In Vivo Results.

Purpose: In recent years, ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) irradiation has emerged as a promising innovative approach to cancer treatment. Characteristic feature of this regimen, commonly referred to as FLASH effect, demonstrated primarily for electrons, photons, or protons, is the improved normal tissue sparing, whereas the tumor control is similar to the one of the conventional dose-rate (CDR) treatments. The FLASH mechanism is, however, unknown.

Safety notices and registry outlier data measure different aspects of safety and performance of total knee implants: a comparative study of safety notices and register outliers.

Background And Purpose:  Safety notices for medical devices such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA) implants may indicate problems in their design or performance that require corrective action to prevent patient harm. Safety notices are often published on national Ministries of Health or regulatory agencies websites. It is unknown whether problems triggering safety notices identify the same implants as those identified by registries as "outlier.

Multiphysics simulation of liposome release from hydrogels for cavity filling following patient-specific breast tumor surgery.

Several studies have recommended the use of hydrogels for localized targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs following tumor removal surgery. This approach aims to both fill the cavity and prevent cancer recurrence. The use of Multiphysics-based simulation emerges as a valuable strategy for minimizing experimental work, providing detailed insights into how drug release occurs in the tissue, and enabling the optimization of the design.

Manganese pollution in eastern India causing cancer risk.

Groundwater poisoning by heavy metals has caused serious health hazards in the exposed population globally. Manganese (Mn) poisoning causing human health hazards is very meagerly reported worldwide. The present research elucidates for the first time the catastrophic effect of manganese causing cancer in the Gangetic plains of Bihar (India).

Frustrated Radical Pairs: From Fleeting Intermediates to Isolable Species.

We present the design and comprehensive investigation of stable para-substituted triarylamine-2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) radical ion pairs (RIPs) generated via single-electron transfer (SET). We quantified the degree of SET in both solution and solid phases, utilising a suite of spectroscopic techniques including IR, EPR, NMR, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD). Our findings reveal that the extent of SET is significantly influenced by the nature of the substituents (MeO > Bu > Br) and the polarity of the solvent (MeCN > DCM > toluene).

Spatio-temporal Kriging for spatial irradiance estimation with short-term forecasting in a thermosolar power plant.

This article proposes a method to improve the efficiency of solar power plants by estimating and forecasting the spatial distribution of direct normal irradiance (DNI) using a sensor network and anemometer data. For this purpose, the proposed approach employs spatio-temporal kriging with an anisotropic spatio-temporal variogram that depends on wind speed to accurately estimate the distribution of DNI in real-time, making it useful for short-term forecast and nowcast of DNI. Finally, the method is validated using synthetic data from varying sky conditions, outperforming another state-of-the-art technique.

Omics-based analysis of cultivation in food-grade media.

Over the past years, the gut microbiota and its correlation to health and disease has been studied extensively. In terms of beneficial microbes, an increased interest in () has been observed since its discovery. Direct evidence for the role of in host health has been provided in both mice and human studies.

Absence of genotoxicity following pulmonary exposure to metal oxides of copper, tin, aluminum, zinc, and titanium in mice.

Inhalation of nanosized metal oxides may occur at the workplace. Thus, information on potential hazardous effects is needed for risk assessment. We report an investigation of the genotoxic potential of different metal oxide nanomaterials.

Contact with nature, nature prescriptions, and loneliness: Evidence from an international survey of adults in Australia, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Evidence to support nature contact and nature prescriptions to reduce loneliness is scant. A total of 2100 individuals took part in a survey conducted in Australia (n = 525, mean age = 34.1), India (n = 526, mean age = 29.

Nothing personal, it's the organization! Links between organizational culture, workplace bullying, and affective commitment.

Extensive attention in organizational research has been dedicated to workplace bullying, primarily focusing on its frequency and impact on both the victim and the bully, emphasizing interpersonal dynamics. This study extends current research by shifting the focus to the organizational level, examining the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment, mediated by workplace bullying. Utilizing data from two surveys ( = 650 in 2012 and  = 553 in 2017), the study reveals that dimensions of organizational culture, such as assertiveness, performance orientation, and ingroup collectivism significantly influence work-related workplace bullying.

Multi-physics numerical simulation study on thermo-sensitive gel delivery for a local post-tumor surgery treatment.

Numerous studies in the literature have proposed the use of thermo-responsive hydrogels for filling cavities after tumor resection. However, optimizing the injection process is challenging due to the complex interplay of various multi-physics phenomena, such as the coupling of flow and heat transfer, multi-phase interactions, and phase-change dynamics. Therefore, gaining a fundamental understanding of these processes is crucial.