All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Associated with Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter in Japan: The Ibaraki Prefectural Health Study.

Aims: Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is causally associated with mortality and cardiovascular disease. However, in terms of cardiovascular cause-specific outcomes, there are fewer studies about stroke than about coronary heart disease, particularly in Asia. Furthermore, there remains uncertainty regarding the PM-respiratory disease association.

Potential of carbon micro/nanofibers derived from lignocellulose biomass valorisation for CO adsorption: A review on decarbonization biotechnology for climate change solutions.

Biomass, as a source of lignocellulose, can be valorized into carbon micro/nanofibers for adsorbing greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, especially CO. This article is derived from systematic evidence evaluation of published studies, presenting new, innovative, and systemic approaches to lignocellulose-based carbon micro/nanofiber studies. The review covers a general overview of carbon micro/nanofiber studies, mapping chronicles of the studies, carbon micro/nanofiber types for CO uptake, carbon micro/nanofibers fabrication and characterization, obtained carbonaceous material activation and performances, regulatory frameworks, and sustainability.

Emerging trends and innovations in polysaccharide-derived EMI shielding materials: A comprehensive review of bibliometric and performance analysis.

The increasing reliance on electronic devices has created a pressing demand for high-performance and sustainable electromagnetic interference shielding materials. While conventional materials, such as metals and carbon-based composites, offer excellent shielding capabilities, they are hindered by high costs, environmental concerns, and limitations in scalability. Polysaccharide-based materials, including cellulose, chitosan, and alginate, represent a promising alternative due to their biodegradability, renewability, and versatility.

Advancing the quantitative understanding of adverse outcome pathways: current status, methodologies, and future directions.

An adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework maps the sequence of events leading to adverse outcomes from chemical exposures, providing a mechanistic understanding often absent in traditional methods. The quantitative AOP (qAOP) advances AOP by integrating quantitative data and mathematical modeling, thereby providing a more precise comprehension of relationships between molecular initiating events, key events, and adverse outcomes. This review critically examines three primary methodologies: systems toxicology, regression modeling, and Bayesian network modeling, highlighting their strengths, limitations, and specific data requirements within toxicology.

The association of medical cannabis use with quality of life in Illinois' opioid alternative pilot program.

Background: In Illinois, the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP) was launched to expand access to medical cannabis to use as a direct substitute for opioids. Although therapeutic benefits have been reported in reducing opioid use, there is an absence of literature that examines how medical cannabis use impacts an individual's quality of life (QoL). This study examines the association of medical cannabis use with QoL among the first enrollees in OAPP.

A phylogenetic approach to delimitate species in a probabilistic way.

Different species concepts and their associated criteria have been used to delimit species boundaries, such as the absence of gene flow for the biological species concept and the presence of morphological distinction for the morphological species concept. The need for different delimitation criteria largely reflects the fact that species are generated under various speciation mechanisms. A key question is how to make species delimitation consistent in a species group, especially when we want to delimit the species boundaries over many newly discovered evolutionary lineages and add these new lineages into a comparative analysis.

Total population for a resource-limited single consumer model.

In the past several decades, much attention has been focused on the effects of dispersal on total populations of species. In Zhang (EL 20:1118-1128, 2017), a rigorous biological experiment was performed to confirm the mathematical conclusion: Dispersal tends to enhance populations under a suitable hypothesis. In addition, mathematical models keeping track of resource dynamics in population growth were also proposed in Zhang (EL 20:1118-1128, 2017) to understand this remarkable phenomenon.

Mechanism of microscopic behind the influence of stress loading on gas adsorption by coal.

This study aims to explore the mechanism behind the influence of stress on gas adsorption by coal during deep mining and improve the accuracy of gas disaster prevention and control. To achieve this aim, thermodynamic analysis was conducted on the process of gas adsorption by loaded coal, and modified thermodynamic model proposed by previous scholars. It is found that stress plays an important role in gas adsorption by coal.

Solvent-dripping modulated 3D/2D heterostructures for high-performance perovskite solar cells.

The controlled growth of two-dimensional (2D) perovskite atop three-dimensional (3D) perovskite films reduces interfacial recombination and impedes ion migration, thus improving the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Unfortunately, the random orientation of the spontaneously formed 2D phase atop the pre-deposited 3D perovskite film can deteriorate charge extraction owing to energetic disorder, limiting the maximum attainable efficiency and long-term stability of the PSCs. Here, we introduce a meta-amidinopyridine ligand and the solvent post-dripping step to generate a highly ordered 2D perovskite phase on the surface of a 3D perovskite film.

Atomically thin high-entropy oxides via naked metal ion self-assembly for proton exchange membrane electrolysis.

Designing efficient Ruthenium-based catalysts as practical anodes is of critical importance in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. Here, we develop a self-assembly technique to synthesize 1 nm-thick rutile-structured high-entropy oxides (RuIrFeCoCrO) from naked metal ions assembly and oxidation at air-molten salt interface. The RuIrFeCoCrO requires an overpotential of 185 mV at 10 m A cm and maintains the high activity for over 1000 h in an acidic electrolyte via the adsorption evolution mechanism.

The endothelial surface layer-glycocalyx - Universal nano-infrastructure is fundamental to physiology, cell traffic and a complementary neural network.

The glycocalyx and its associated endothelial surface layer which lines all cell membranes and most tissues, dwarfs the phospholipid membrane of cells in extent. Its major components are sulphated polymers like heparan and chondroitin sulphates and hyaluronic acid. These form a fuzzy layer of unknown structure and function.

A mathematical model for derivation of Elevated-Electrode-Placement Electrocardiogram (EEP-ECG) leads from a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram.

Background: Placement of right precordial leads in higher intercostal spaces (EEP-ECG) improves the detection of Brugada Syndrome (BrS). Given the potential difficulty of lead placement and the transient nature of BrS ECG patterns, we developed a model to predict EEP-ECG from a standard 12‑lead ECG.

Objective: To create and validate a model that derives EEP-ECG leads from a standard 12‑lead ECG.

Influence of family socioeconomic status on academic buoyancy and adaptability: Mediating effect of parental involvement.

Prior studies highlight the importance of academic buoyancy and adaptability in educational trajectories, yet the influence of family-related factors remains less explored. Anchored in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this research examines how family socioeconomic status (SES) influences academic buoyancy and adaptability, the predictive relation between family SES and parental involvement, and whether parental involvement mediates the impact of family SES on academic outcomes. We surveyed 1164 junior high school students from China.

Epidemiology of metabolic syndrome.

The global increase of overweight and obesity in children and adults is one of the most prominent public health threats, often accompanied by insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The simultaneous occurrence of these health problems is referred to as metabolic syndrome. Various criteria have been proposed to define this syndrome, but no general consensus on the specific markers and the respective cut-offs has been achieved yet.

Evaluation of Intermittent Restricted Eating Using the Interval Weight Loss Online Platform in an Everyday Setting.

: Obesity remains a global health challenge. Many commercial online weight loss programs are available, and they have advantages in terms of scalability and access. Few of these programs have been evaluated for effectiveness in a real-world context.

Study of Adhesion-Cohesive Interactions of Modified Bitumen Compositions.

The aim of the work was to study the effect of additive concentration on changes in the adhesive and cohesive strength of bitumen. To evaluate the effectiveness of modifiers in the composition of binary and triple bitumen systems in relation to mineral fillers of two grades, the method of determination of the adhesive efficiency and thermodynamic calculations of adhesion and cohesion work were used. The following compounds were used as additives: synthesized from the oil refining waste and (waste sealing liquid).

The Effectiveness of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Extraction Methods in Gram-Negative U.

Bioplastics are emerging as a promising solution to reduce pollution caused by petroleum-based plastics. Among them, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) stand out as viable biotechnological alternatives, though their commercialization is limited by expensive downstream processes. Traditional PHA extraction methods often involve toxic solvents and high energy consumption, underscoring the need for more sustainable approaches.

Natural Product Identification and Molecular Docking Studies of Leishmania Major Pteridine Reductase Inhibitors.

: Pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1) has been one of the prime targets for discovering novel antileishmanial therapeutics in the fight against Leishmaniasis. This enzyme catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of pterins to their tetrahydro forms. While chemotherapy remains the primary treatment, its effectiveness is constrained by drug resistance, unfavorable side effects, and substantial associated costs.

Compact Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Noninvasive Glucose Sensor Upgraded with Direct Comb Data-Mining.

Mid-infrared spectral analysis has long been recognized as the most accurate noninvasive blood glucose measurement method, yet no practical compact mid-infrared blood glucose sensor has ever passed the accuracy benchmark set by the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA): to substitute for the finger-pricking glucometers in the market, a new sensor must first show that 95% of their glucose measurements have errors below 15% of these glucometers. Although recent innovative exploitations of the well-established Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have reached such FDA accuracy benchmarks, an FTIR spectrometer is too bulky. The advancements of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) can lead to FTIR spectrometers of reduced size, but compact QCL-based noninvasive blood glucose sensors are not yet available.

Using Inertial Measurement Units and Machine Learning to Classify Body Positions of Adults in a Hospital Bed.

In hospitals, timely interventions can prevent avoidable clinical deterioration. Early recognition of deterioration is vital to stopping further decline. Measuring the way patients position themselves in bed and change their positions may signal when further assessment is necessary.

Developing a Health Support System to Promote Care for the Elderly.

In light of the demographic shift towards an aging population, there is an increasing prevalence of dementia among the elderly. The negative impact on mental health is preventing individuals from taking proper care of themselves. For individuals requiring hospital care, those receiving home care, or as a precaution for a specific individual, it is advantageous to utilize monitoring equipment to track their biological parameters on an ongoing basis.

Survey of Autonomous Vehicles' Collision Avoidance Algorithms.

Since the field of autonomous vehicles is developing quickly, it is becoming increasingly crucial for them to safely and effectively navigate their surroundings to avoid collisions. The primary collision avoidance algorithms currently employed by self-driving cars are examined in this thorough survey. It looks into several methods, such as sensor-based methods for precise obstacle identification, sophisticated path-planning algorithms that guarantee cars follow dependable and safe paths, and decision-making systems that allow for adaptable reactions to a range of driving situations.

Passive Monitoring of Parkinson Tremor in Daily Life: A Prototypical Network Approach.

Objective and continuous monitoring of Parkinson's disease (PD) tremor in free-living conditions could benefit both individual patient care and clinical trials, by overcoming the snapshot nature of clinical assessments. To enable robust detection of tremor in the context of limited amounts of labeled training data, we propose to use prototypical networks, which can embed domain expertise about the heterogeneous tremor and non-tremor sub-classes. We evaluated our approach using data from the Parkinson@Home Validation study, including 8 PD patients with tremor, 16 PD patients without tremor, and 24 age-matched controls.

PC-YOLO11s: A Lightweight and Effective Feature Extraction Method for Small Target Image Detection.

Compared with conventional targets, small objects often face challenges such as smaller size, lower resolution, weaker contrast, and more background interference, making their detection more difficult. To address this issue, this paper proposes an improved small object detection method based on the YOLO11 model-PC-YOLO11s. The core innovation of PC-YOLO11s lies in the optimization of the detection network structure, which includes the following aspects: Firstly, PC-YOLO11s has adjusted the hierarchical structure of the detection network and added a P2 layer specifically for small object detection.

A Novel Particle Filter Based on One-Step Smoothing for Nonlinear Systems with Random One-Step Delay and Missing Measurements.

In this paper, a novel particle filter based on one-step smoothing is proposed for nonlinear systems with random one-step delay and missing measurements. Such problems are commonly encountered in networked control systems, where random one-step delay and missing measurements significantly increase the difficulty of dynamic state estimation. The particle filter is a nonlinear filtering method based on sequential Monte Carlo sampling.