Understanding the interplay between social isolation, age, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous studies indicate differences in experiences of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic but are constricted by limited timeframes and absence of key risk factors. This study explores temporal and inter-individual variations of loneliness in Canadians over the pandemic's first year (April 2020-2021), by identifying loneliness trajectories. It then seeks to provide information about groups overrepresented in high and persistent loneliness trajectories by examining their associations with risk factors: social isolation indicators (living alone, adherence to health measures limiting in-person contacts, and online contacts), young adultood, and the interactions between these factors.

Correlation of triglyceride glucose index with all cause mortality in acute myocardial infarction patients following percutaneous coronary intervention.

The Triglyceride glucose (TyG) index is a dependable indicator of IR, with numerous studies underscoring its influence on Cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, the connection between the TyG index and prognosis in AMI patients after PCI is still uncertain. This investigation aims to explore the link in individuals who have received PCI for AMI.

Magnetochiral charge pumping due to charge trapping and skin effect in chirality-induced spin selectivity.

Chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) generates giant spin polarization in transport through chiral molecules, paving the way for novel spintronic devices and enantiomer separation. Unlike conventional transport, CISS magnetoresistance (MR) violates Onsager's reciprocal relation, exhibiting significant resistance changes when reversing electrode magnetization at zero bias. However, its underlying mechanism remains unresolved.

Intracellular pressure controls the propagation of tension in crumpled cell membranes.

Propagation of membrane tension mediates mechanical signal transduction along surfaces of live cells and sets the time scale of mechanical equilibration of cell membranes. Recent studies in several cell types and under different conditions revealed a strikingly wide variation range of the tension propagation speeds including extremely low ones. The latter suggests a possibility of long-living inhomogeneities of membrane tension crucially affecting mechano-sensitive membrane processes.

Prediction and observation of topological modes in fractal nonlinear optics.

This item from the News and Views (N&V) category aims to provide a summary of theoretical and experimental results recently published in ref. , which demonstrates the creation of corner modes in nonlinear optical waveguides of the higher-order topological insulator (HOTI) type. Actually, these are second-order HOTIs, in which the transverse dimension of the topologically protected edge modes is smaller than the bulk dimension (it is 2, in the case of optical waveguide) by 2, implying zero dimension of the protected modes, which are actually realized as corner or defect ones.

A New Perspective in Epilepsy Classification: Applying the Taxonomy of Seizure Dynamotypes to Non-Invasive EEG and examining dynamical changes across sleep stages.

Epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures, significantly impacts patient quality of life. Current classification methods focus primarily on clinical observations and electroencephalography (EEG) analysis, often overlooking the underlying dynamics driving seizures. This study uses surface EEG data to identify seizure transitions using a dynamical systems-based framework-the taxonomy of seizure dynamotypes-previously examined only in invasive data.

Integrated use of electrochemical anaerobic reactors and genomic based modeling for characterizing methanogenic activity in microbial communities exposed to BTEX contamination.

In soil polluted with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), oxygen is rapidly depleted by aerobic respiration, creating a redox gradient across the plume. Under anaerobic conditions, BTEX biodegradation is then coupled with fermentation and methanogenesis. This study aimed to characterize this multi-step process, focusing on the interactions and functional roles of key microbial groups involved.

What is the most effective antibiotic monotherapy for severe Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objectives: To compile the evidence of sub-groups of patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) infection from randomized control trials (RCTs) evaluating different definite antipseudomonal monotherapies for severe P.aeruginosa infection.

Enhanced cyanophycin accumulation in diazotrophic cyanobacterium through random mutagenesis and tailored selection under varying phosphorus availability.

This study explored a sustainable alternative to the Haber-Bosch process by enhancing production of nitrogen-rich polymer cyanophycin (CGP) in the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC7120. Applying UV-mutagenesis followed by canavanine selection, we isolate an initial mutant with enhanced CGP accumulation.

The Association between All-cause Mortality and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults: A U-Shaped Curve.

Rationale And Objectives: The relationship between Sleep Apnea (SA) and mortality remains a topic of debate. We explored the relationship between the severity of SA and mortality and the effect of age on this association.

Methods: Using a Veterans' database, we extracted the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) from physician interpretation of sleep studies, by developing a Natural Language Processing (NLP) pipeline (with 944 manually annotated notes) which achieved more than 85% accuracy.

Composite Hyaluronic Acid Gas-Entrapping Materials to Promote Wound Healing.

Tissue repair is often impaired in pathological states, highlighting the need for innovative wound-healing technologies. This study introduces composite hyaluronic acid gas-entrapping materials (GEMs) delivering carbon monoxide (CO) to promote wound healing in pigs. These composite materials facilitate burst release followed by sustained release of CO over 48 h.

Proteomic and Metabolomic Signatures in Prediabetes Progressing to Diabetes or Reversing to Normoglycemia Within 1 Year.

Objective: Progression of prediabetes to type 2 diabetes has been associated with β-cell dysfunction, whereas its remission to normoglycemia has been related to improvement of insulin sensitivity. To understand the mechanisms and identify potential biomarkers related to prediabetes trajectories, we compared the proteomics and metabolomics profile of people with prediabetes progressing to diabetes or reversing to normoglycemia within 1 year.

Research Design And Methods: The fasting plasma concentrations of 1,389 proteins and the fasting, 30-min, and 120-min post-oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) plasma concentrations of 152 metabolites were measured in up to 134 individuals with new-onset diabetes, prediabetes, or normal glucose tolerance.

Prescribing Trends of Antidiabetes Medications Near End-of-Life Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Cohort Study.

Objective: To assess prescribing trends of antidiabetes medications in the last year of life among older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and explore whether frailty is associated with differential prescribing.

Research Design And Methods: In this observational cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥67 years (2015-2019) with T2D, we assessed temporal trends in prescribing an antidiabetes medication, stratified by frailty. The main outcome included antidiabetes medication fills within 1 year of death.

Restart uncertainty relation for monitored quantum dynamics.

We introduce a time-energy uncertainty relation within the context of restarts in monitored quantum dynamics. Previous studies have established that the mean recurrence time, which represents the time taken to return to the initial state, is quantized as an integer multiple of the sampling time, displaying pointwise discontinuous transitions at resonances. Our findings demonstrate that the natural utilization of the restart mechanism in laboratory experiments, driven by finite data collection time spans, leads to a broadening effect on the transitions of the mean recurrence time.

Hidden human costs of AI University of Chicago Press, 2025. 336 pp.

A sociologist interrogates the invisible labor that underlies "autonomous" systems.

Sexual Harassment in Academic Anesthesiology: A Survey of Prevalence, Sources, Impact, and Recommendations.

Background: A report by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) showed that academic anesthesiology has the highest prevalence of sexual harassment among specialties for both men and women. We aimed to explore the prevalence, sources, and impact of sexual harassment on anesthesiologists in academic centers in the United States and Canada. We also sought recommendations for its mitigation.

Approach to the Patient with Thyroid Cancer: Selection and Management of Candidates for Lobectomy.

Thyroid lobectomy has gained increasing popularity over the past decade as a treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), largely due to a rise in the diagnosis of low-risk cancers and evidence showing no benefit from radioiodine in low-risk disease. Multiple studies have confirmed lobectomy as an effective and safe option. Its advantages over total thyroidectomy include lower complication rates and a reduced need for lifelong levothyroxine (LT4) therapy.

A novel approach for inferring effects on pregnancy loss.

Identifying the determinants of pregnancy loss is a critical public health concern. However, pregnancy loss is often not noticed, and even when it is, it is inconsistently recorded. Thus, past studies have been limited to medically-identified losses or small, highly selected cohorts, which can lead to biased or non-generalizable results.

Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Electrocardiography for Prediction of Incident Hypertension.

Importance: Hypertension underpins significant global morbidity and mortality. Early lifestyle intervention and treatment are effective in reducing adverse outcomes. Artificial intelligence-enhanced electrocardiography (AI-ECG) has been shown to identify a broad spectrum of subclinical disease and may be useful for predicting incident hypertension.

Tracking Somatic Mutations for Lineage Reconstruction.

The human genome is composed of distinct genomic regions that are susceptible to various types of somatic mutations. Among these, Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) stand out as the most mutable genetic elements. STRs are short repetitive polymorphic sequences, predominantly situated within noncoding sectors of the genome.

Stereospecific Radical Bromination of ß-Aryl Alcohols with Thiourea Additives Through A Serendipitous Discovery of A 1,2-Aryl Migration.

The development of new protocols for stereospecific and stereoselective halogenation transformations by mild reaction conditions is a highly desirable research target for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Following the straightforward methodology for directly transforming a wide scope of alcohols to alkyl bromides and chlorides using substoichiometric amounts of thioureas and N-halo succinimides (NXS) as a halogen source in a single step, we noticed that in apolar solvents bromination of chiral secondary alcohols did not produce the expected racemates. In this study, the stereochemical aspects of the bromination reaction were examined.