Oscillatory Transcranial Electrical Stimulation and the Amplitude-Modulated Frequency Dictate the Quantitative Features of Phosphenes.

Previous research demonstrated that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can induce phosphene perception. However, tACS involves rhythmic changes in the electric field and alternating polarity (excitatory vs. inhibitory phases), leaving the precise mechanism behind phosphene perception unclear.

Serial Examination of Platelet Function Tests Might Predict Prognosis of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke-A Cohort Study.

Background: This study investigated whether point-of-care platelet function measurements could predict favorable outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Antiplatelet agents, such as aspirin, are known to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke by 20-30%. However, identifying nonresponders to therapy remains a clinical challenge.

A deep learning-based ADRPPA algorithm for the prediction of diabetic retinopathy progression.

As an alternative to assessments performed by human experts, artificial intelligence (AI) is currently being used for screening fundus images and monitoring diabetic retinopathy (DR). Although AI models can provide quasi-clinician diagnoses, they rarely offer new insights to assist clinicians in predicting disease prognosis and treatment response. Using longitudinal retinal imaging data, we developed and validated a predictive model for DR progression: AI-driven Diabetic Retinopathy Progression Prediction Algorithm (ADRPPA).

Nocturnal sentry duty and cardiometabolic characteristics in armed forces personnel.

Background: Sleep deprivation can lead to increased body weight and blood pressure (BP), but the latent effects of partial sleep deprivation related to required night sentry duties within a short-term period on cardiometabolic characteristic changes in military personnel are unclear.

Aim: To investigate the association between night sentry duty frequency in the past 3 months and cardiometabolic characteristics in armed forces personnel.

Methods: A total of 867 armed forces personnel who were aged 18-39 years and did not take any antihypertensive medications in Taiwan in 2020 were included.

Cacao agroforestry adoption by smallholder farmers and forest loss prevention in the Maya Golden Landscape, Belize.

Unsustainable land use practices have led to increased forest loss rates. Implementing cacao agroforestry can reduce forest loss by preventing the clear-cutting of forests for monoculture plantations. However, research is needed on its effectiveness in preventing forest loss and the factors influencing its adoption between full-time and part-time farmers.

Bithiophene Imide-Based Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) on NiOx for High-Performance Tin Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated Using a Two-Step Approach.

Three new bithiophene imide (BTI)-based organic small molecules, (), (), and (), with varied alkyl side chains, were developed and employed as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) applied to NiOx films in tin perovskite solar cells (TPSCs). The NiOx layer has the effect of modifying the hydrophilicity and the surface roughness of ITO for SAM to uniformly deposit on it. The side chains of the SAM molecules play a vital role in the formation of a high-quality perovskite layer in TPSCs.

Cross-facility absolute charge calibration of scintillating screens for laser wakefield accelerated beam diagnostics.

Scintillation screens are widely used to diagnose high-charge density, low-average current electron beams from laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs). However, the absolute response between emitted photons and electron charge has only been calibrated at a limited number of facilities, and there have been discrepancies between these calibrations. In this report, we comprehensively revised the absolute charge calibration of two high relative brightness scintillating screens of LANEX Regular (Carestream) and PI200 (Mitsubishi) by employing the high-brightness photoinjector at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), which provides electron beams with variable charges (50-350 pC per pulse) and energies (26.

A functional eutectogel based on ultrahigh-molecular weight polymers: Physical entanglements in deep eutectic solvent.

Eutectogels have emerged as a promising material for wearable devices due to its superior ionic conductivity, non-volatility, and low cost. Despite numerous efforts, only a limited number of polymers and gelling mechanisms have been successfully employed in the fabrication of eutectogels. In this study, an effective three-dimensional network is developed based on the entanglements of polymer chains, facilitating the formation of an entangled eutectogel.

Enhancing Amperometric Ozone Gas Sensing with Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids and Platinum-Based Electrodes.

Ozone (O) poses serious health risks, prompting numerous countries to implement regulations that establish exposure limits and emission controls, for example, the air quality index (AQI) for O ranging from 50 to 150 parts per billion (ppb), with natural levels at around 30 ppb. Electrochemical sensors are favored for detecting pollutant gases due to their high sensitivity, low cost, portability, energy efficiency, and capability for selective detection. In this study, we developed an O sensor employing carbon-supported Pt-based binary and ternary nanorods (NRs) combined with room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as electrolytes, aiming at highly sensitive and selective detection of O at ppb levels.

Structural evolution and nanodomain formation in blend films of a block copolymer and homopolymer.

This study explores the concurrent formation of surface perforations, parallel cylinders, and double gyroids in symmetric PS--PMMA/hPS blend films during isothermal annealing at 205 and 240 °C. By controlling the weight fraction ratio of PS--PMMA to hPS at 75/25, we systematically examined the impact of film thickness and annealing temperature on nanodomain development. Using GISAXS and SEM, we observed that thin films rapidly formed surface perforations and underlying parallel cylinders at both annealing temperatures.

Formation and Microfilamentation of Spiral Density Waves in Plasmas Induced by Circularly Polarized Field Ionization.

The formation and subsequent self-organization of a spiral electron density modulation initialized in a plasma produced by optical-field ionization of various gas species is studied. Our analytical model predicts that the spiral density modulation results from space-dependent drift velocities of the ionized electrons due to the spatial and temporal intensity distributions of the circularly polarized ionizing laser. The spiral topology of the electron density has been validated by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

Long-Range Temporal Correlations in Electroencephalography for Parkinson's Disease Progression.

Background: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) present progressive deterioration in both motor and non-motor manifestations. However, the absence of clinical biomarkers for disease progression hinders clinicians from tailoring treatment strategies effectively.

Objectives: To identify electroencephalography (EEG) biomarker that can track disease progression in PD.

Evolution of aluminum aminophenolate complexes in the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone: electronic and amino-chelating effects.

A series of aluminum complexes bearing phenolate (O-Al and O2-Al), biphenolate (OO-Al type), aminophenolate (ON-Al), aminobiphenolate (ONO-Al), bis(phenolato)bis(amine) (NNOO-Al), and Salan (ONNO-Al) type ligands were synthesized. ε-Caprolactone (CL) polymerization using these aluminum complexes as catalysts was investigated. The overall polymerization rates of Al catalysts with different ligands were found to be in the following order ( values): ONBr-Al (0.

Molecular structure of enzyme-synthesized amylose-like chimeric isomaltomegalosaccharides and their encapsulation of the sulfasalazine prodrug.

The glucoconjugation between linear chimeric α-(1→4)- and α-(1→6)-glucosidic segments exhibits functional properties throughout their structure. In this study, we enzymatically synthesized three new series of chimeric nonreducing isomaltomegalosaccharides (N-IMS-n/m), each featuring a constant n, α-(1→4)-segment (average degree of polymerization, DP = 22-25) at the nonreducing terminal, and varying m, α-(1→6)-main chain lengths (DP = 7-53). The synthesized compounds-N-IMS-25/7, N-IMS-24/19, and N-IMS-22/53-were compared to amylose (DP = 28) and previous samples of N-IMS-15/35 and D-IMS-28.

Quantifying the effects of the microphysical hygroscopic restructuring of soot on ensemble optical properties and satellite aerosol optical depth retrievals.

Black carbon, or soot, significantly contributes to atmospheric light absorption due to its low single scattering albedo (SSA). This study investigates the impact of soot's hygroscopic restructuring on satellite remote sensing, focusing on radiative forcing, top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals. We characterized soot aging using relative humidity (RH) growth factor functions and modeled fresh and aging soot aggregates using a cluster-cluster aggregation algorithm.

Meteorological and traffic effects on air pollutants using Bayesian networks and deep learning.

Traffic emissions have become the major air pollution source in urban areas. Therefore, understanding the highly non-stational and complex impact of traffic factors on air quality is very important for building air quality prediction models. Using real-world air pollutant data from Taipei City, this study integrates diverse factors, including traffic flow, speed, rainfall patterns, and meteorological factors.

A robust likelihood approach to inference for paired multiple binary endpoints data.

We introduce a robust likelihood approach to inference for paired multiple binary endpoints data. One can easily implement the methodology without dealing with the model that incorporates a large number of joint probabilities of no direct relevance to the inference of interest. We present the robust score test statistic for testing the equality of two treatment effects to exemplify the utility and simplicity of the method.

Judicious Molecular Design of 5H‑Dithieno[3,2‑b:2',3'‑d]Pyran-based Hole-Transporting Materials for Highly Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

The structural modification of hole-transporting materials (HTMs) is an effective strategy for enhancing photovoltaic performance in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, a series of dithienopyran (DTP)-based HTMs (Me-H, Ph-H, CF3-H, CF3-mF, and CF3-oF) is designed and synthesized by substituting different functional groups on the DTP unit and are used fabricating PSCs. In comparison with Me-H having two methyl substituents on the dithienopyrano ring, the Ph-H having two phenyl substituents on the ring exhibits higher PCEs.

Improving Interpretation Consistency of Serum Capillary Electrophoresis by Development of Quantitative Graphic Indexes.

Capillary zone electrophoresis-immunosubtraction (CZE-IS) is an essential laboratory test in diagnosing plasma cell neoplasms. However, the current interpretation of the test results is subjective. To evaluate CZE-IS in a more precise manner, this study proposed five key indexes, namely sharpness index, light chain index, immunoglobulin G index, immunoglobulin A index, and immunoglobulin M index.

Bimetallic NiCo Nanoparticles Embedded in Organic Group Functionalized Mesoporous Silica for Efficient Hydrogen Production from Ammonia Borane Hydrolysis.

In this study, bimetallic NiCo nanoparticles (NPs) were encapsulated within the mesopores of carboxylic acid functionalized mesoporous silica (CMS) through the chemical reduction approach. Both NaBH and NHBH were used as reducing agents to reduce the metal ions simultaneously. The resulting composite was used as a catalyst for hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NHBH, AB) to produce H.

Search for Soft Unclustered Energy Patterns in Proton-Proton Collisions at 13 TeV.

The first search for soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs) is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, collected in 2016-2018 by the CMS detector at the LHC. Such SUEPs are predicted by hidden valley models with a new, confining force with a large 't Hooft coupling. In events with boosted topologies, selected by high-threshold hadronic triggers, the multiplicity and sphericity of clustered tracks are used to reject the background from standard model quantum chromodynamics.