Analysis of bulletproof performance of structurally optimized ceramic composite armor through numerical simulation and live fire test.

This work aims to address key issues in the ballistic performance of ceramic-based composite armor, particularly at the joints of spliced ​​bulletproof panels. The edge structure of C/C-SiC ceramic plates and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is redesigned to superimpose the joint areas. These structurally optimized composite pads are examined by numerical simulation of impact dynamics to understand their anti-penetration performance whose accuracy is then validated by live fire tests.

The effects of chicken hydrolyzed proteins in extruded diets on plasma and fecal metabolic profiles in adult dogs.

Research has shown various hydrolyzed proteins possessed beneficial physiological functions; however, the mechanism of how hydrolysates influence metabolism is unclear. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the effects of different sources of protein hydrolysates, being the main dietary protein source in extruded diets, on metabolism in healthy adult dogs. Three complete and balanced extruded canine diets were formulated: control chicken meal diet (CONd), chicken liver and heart hydrolysate diet (CLHd), mechanically separated chicken hydrolysate diet (CHd).

Strongly coordinating mediator enables single-step resource recovery from heavy metal-organic complexes in wastewater.

Heavy metals complexed with organic ligands are among the most critical carcinogens threatening global water safety. The challenge of efficiently and cost-effectively removing and recovering these metals has long eluded existing technologies. Here, we show a strategy of coordinating mediator-based electro-reduction (CMBER) for the single-step recovery of heavy metals from wastewater contaminated with heavy metal-organic complexes.

Strained two-dimensional tungsten diselenide for mechanically tunable exciton transport.

Tightly bound electron-hole pairs (excitons) hosted in atomically-thin semiconductors have emerged as prospective elements in optoelectronic devices for ultrafast and secured information transfer. The controlled exciton transport in such excitonic devices requires manipulating potential energy gradient of charge-neutral excitons, while electrical gating or nanoscale straining have shown limited efficiency of exciton transport at room temperature. Here, we report strain gradient induced exciton transport in monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe) across microns at room temperature via steady-state pump-probe measurement.

World-making for a future with sentient AI.

The ways people imagine possible futures with artificial intelligence (AI) affects future world-making-how the future is produced through cultural propagation, design, engineering, policy, and social interaction-yet there has been little empirical study of everyday people's expectations for AI futures. We addressed this by analysing two waves (2021 and 2023) of USA nationally representative data from the Artificial Intelligence, Morality, and Sentience (AIMS) survey on the public's forecasts about an imagined future world with widespread AI sentience (total N = 2401). Average responses to six forecasts (exploiting AI labour, treating AI cruelly, using AI research subjects, AI welfare, AI rights advocacy, AI unhappiness reduction) showed mixed expectations for humanity's future with AI.

Guidelines for the standardization of pre-analytical variables for salivary biomarker studies in Alzheimer's disease research: An updated review and consensus of the Salivary Biomarkers for Dementia Research Working Group.

There is a pressing need for accessible biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis to facilitate widespread screening, particularly in underserved groups. Saliva is an emerging specimen for measuring AD biomarkers, with distinct contexts of use that could complement blood and cerebrospinal fluid and detect various analytes. An interdisciplinary, international group of AD and related dementias (ADRD) researchers convened and performed a narrative review of published studies on salivary AD biomarkers.

A sample size analysis of a mathematical model of longitudinal tumor volume and progression-free survival for Bayesian individual dynamic predictions in recurrent high-grade glioma.

Patients with recurrent high-grade glioma (rHGG) have a poor prognosis with median progression-free survival (PFS) of <7 months. Responses to treatment are heterogenous, suggesting a clinical need for prognostic models. Bayesian data analysis can exploit individual patient follow-up imaging studies to adaptively predict the risk of progression.

Increasing Aridity May Threaten the Maintenance of a Plant Defence Polymorphism.

It is unclear how environmental change influences standing genetic variation in wild populations. Here, we characterised environmental conditions that protect versus erode polymorphic chemical defences in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a short-lived perennial wildflower. By manipulating drought and herbivory in a 4-year field experiment, we measured the effects of driver variation on vital rates of genotypes varying in defence chemistry and then assessed interacting driver effects on total fitness (estimated as each genotype's lineage growth rate, λ) using demographic models.

Examining social attention as a predictor of problem drinking behavior: A longitudinal study using eye-tracking.

Background: Researchers have long been interested in identifying objective markers for problem drinking susceptibility informed by the environments in which individuals drink. However, little is known of objective cognitive-behavioral indices relevant to the social contexts in which alcohol is typically consumed. Combining group-based alcohol administration, eye-tracking technology, and longitudinal follow-up over a 2-year span, the current study examined the role of social attention in predicting patterns of problem drinking over time.

Like Father, Like Daughter: A Family With a Constitutional Thrombocytopenia Variant Due to a Novel Heterozygous Missense Mutation in GP1BA.

Constitutional platelet disorders have become better understood since Bernard and Soulier first described a case in 1948. Their diagnosis can also be challenging due to overlap in clinical presentation and lab findings with platelet type von Willebrand. Bernard-Soulier syndrome is a disorder caused by GPIb receptor mutations that decrease its affinity for von Willebrand factor resulting in reduced platelet function and macrothrombocytopenia.

Life-Space Mobility Is Related to Loneliness Among Living-Alone Older Adults: Longitudinal Analysis With Motion Sensor Data.

Background: Life-space mobility can be a behavioral indicator of loneliness. This study examined the association between life-space mobility measured with motion sensors and weekly vs. annually reported loneliness.

Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Detect Differences in Micturition-Related Brain Activity Between Volitional and Involuntary Detrusor Contractions.

Introduction: Detrusor contractions can be classified as either volitional or involuntary. The latter are a hallmark of urge urinary incontinence. Understanding differences in neuroactivation associated with both types of contractions can help elucidate pathophysiology and therapeutic targets.

The Ontogeny of Attitudes Toward Migrants.

Immigration is among the most pressing issues of our time. Important questions concern the psychological mechanisms that contribute to attitudes about immigration. Whereas much is known about adults' immigration attitudes, the developmental antecedents of these attitudes are not well understood.

Expanding the phenotype and genotype spectrum of TAOK1 neurodevelopmental disorder and delineating TAOK2 neurodevelopmental disorder.

Purpose: The TAOK proteins are a group of serine/threonine-protein kinases involved in signalling pathways, cytoskeleton regulation, and neuronal development. TAOK1 variants are associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) characterized by distinctive facial features, hypotonia and feeding difficulties. TAOK2 variants have been reported to be associated with autism and early-onset obesity.

Two-year outcomes from the Cook IVC Filter (CIVC) Study.

Purpose: Report 2-year outcomes from a prospective, multicenter, non-randomized, single-arm study designed to further assess the safety and effectiveness of the Celect and the Günther Tulip Vena Cava Filters.

Materials And Methods: The BLIND study enrolled patients requiring temporary or permanent IVC filter placement for the prevention of pulmonary embolism (PE). The primary effectiveness endpoint was the rate of technical placement success and 12-month freedom from new symptomatic PE while a filter was indwelling.

SLC26A3 (DRA, the Congenital Chloride Diarrhea Gene): A Novel Therapeutic Target for Diarrheal Diseases.

Diarrhea associated with enteric infections, gut inflammation, and genetic defects poses a major health burden and results in significant morbidity and mortality. Impaired fluid and electrolyte absorption and/or secretion in the intestine are the hallmark of diarrhea. Electroneutral NaCl absorption in the mammalian GI tract involves the coupling of Na/H and Cl/HCO exchangers.

The Recent Increase in Invasive Bacterial Infections: A Report From the National COVID Cohort Collaborative.

Background: When coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation efforts waned, viral respiratory infections (VRIs) surged, potentially increasing the risk of postviral invasive bacterial infections (IBIs). We sought to evaluate the change in epidemiology and relationships between specific VRIs and IBIs [complicated pneumonia, complicated sinusitis and invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS)] over time using the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) dataset.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of all prospectively collected pediatric (<19 years old) and adult encounters at 58 N3C institutions, stratified by era: pre-pandemic (January 1, 2018, to February 28, 2020) versus pandemic (March 1, 2020, to June 1, 2023).

Singlets-Driven Photoredox Catalysts: Transforming Noncatalytic Red Fluorophores to Efficient Catalysts.

Red-light absorbing photoredox catalysts offer potential advantages for large-scale reactions, expanding the range of usable substrates and facilitating bio-orthogonal applications. While many red-light absorbing/emitting fluorophores have been developed recently, functional red-light absorbing photoredox catalysts are scarce. Many photoredox catalysts rely on long-lived triplet excited states (triplets), which can efficiently engage in single electron transfer (SET) reactions with substrates.

Systematic review: differences in complete blood count component rhythms.

Study Objectives: The complete blood count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered blood tests with a large range of reference values that does not consider time of day for interpretation. Our objective was to systematically review this topic to report on peak and trough timing of CBC values.

Methods: A systematic search was performed for studies evaluating any component of the CBC with at least three collections over 24 hours.

Combined effect of confinement and dielectric exclusion on ion adsorption in slits, pores, and cavities.

We present simulation results for the Donnan equilibrium between a homogeneous bulk reservoir and inhomogeneous confining geometries with varying number of restricted dimensions, . Planar slits ( = 1), cylindrical pores ( = 2), and spherical cavities ( = 3) are considered. The walls have a negative surface charge density.

Virtual versus in-person didactic modalities: A national survey of emergency medicine residencies.

Background: Following the widespread shift from in-person to virtual delivery of didactics during the COVID-19 pandemic, some emergency medicine (EM) residency programs have retained virtual didactic time while others have returned exclusively to in-person didactics. In this national survey of EM residency programs, we explored the current national distribution of virtual versus in-person didactic time and the circumstances and motivators for use of each.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with branched logic was designed via Qualtrics.

Cognitive abilities are associated with rapid dynamics of electrophysiological connectome states.

Time-varying changes in whole-brain connectivity patterns, or connectome state dynamics, hold significant implications for cognition. However, connectome dynamics at fast (>1 Hz) timescales highly relevant to cognition are poorly understood due to the dominance of inherently slow fMRI in connectome studies. Here, we investigated the behavioral significance of rapid electrophysiological connectome dynamics using source-localized EEG connectomes during resting state ( = 926, 473 females).

Rapid dynamics of electrophysiological connectome states are heritable.

Time-varying changes in whole-brain connectivity patterns, or connectome state dynamics, are a prominent feature of brain activity with broad functional implications. While infraslow (<0.1 Hz) connectome dynamics have been extensively studied with fMRI, rapid dynamics highly relevant for cognition are poorly understood.

Hemodynamic cortical ripples through cyclicity analysis.

A fine-grained understanding of dynamics in cortical networks is crucial to unpacking brain function. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) gives rise to time series recordings of the activity of different brain regions, which are aperiodic and lack a base frequency. Cyclicity analysis, a novel technique robust under time reparametrizations, is effective in recovering the temporal ordering of such time series, collectively considered components of a multidimensional trajectory.

Barriers to Interconception Care Delivery in Primary Care: Clinician, Staff, and Patient Perspectives.

Purpose: Many reproductive age women, cared for routinely by primary care providers (PCPs), would benefit from interconception care, yet a minority of primary care visits include interconception care. This study assessed barriers to providing interconception care from the perspective of primary care clinicians, staff, and patients.

Materials And Methods: Clinicians ( = 11), staff ( = 14), and patients eligible for interconception care ( = 6) from three primary care clinics in Chicago, Illinois participated in focus groups or interviews.