Comparing approaches for predicting behavioural speech-in-noise performance using cortical responses to unattended stimuli.

The cortical tracking of the acoustic envelope is a phenomenon where the brain's electrical activity, as recorded by electroencephalography (EEG) signals, fluctuates in accordance with changes in stimulus intensity (the acoustic envelope of the stimulus). Understanding speech in a noisy background is a key challenge for people with hearing impairments. Speech stimuli are therefore more ecologically valid than clicks, tone pips, or speech tokens (e.

Permeability Benchmarking: Guidelines for Comparing , , and Measurements.

Permeability is a measure of the degree to which cells can transport molecules across biological barriers. Units of permeability are distance per unit time (typically cm/s), where accurate measurements are needed to define drug delivery in homeostasis and to model dysfunction occurring during disease. This perspective offers a set of community-led guidelines to benchmark permeability data across multidisciplinary approaches and different biological contexts.

Fractures in sub-Saharan Africa: epidemiology, economic impact and ethnography (Fractures-E ): study protocol.

The population of older adults is growing in sub-Saharan Africa. Ageing exponentially increases fragility fracture risk. Of all global regions, Africa is projected to observe the greatest increase in fragility fractures.

Inefficient transfer of diatoms through the subpolar Southern Ocean twilight zone.

The Southern Ocean, a region highly vulnerable to climate change, plays a vital role in regulating global nutrient cycles and atmospheric CO via the biological carbon pump. Diatoms, photosynthetically active plankton with dense opal skeletons, are key to this process as their exoskeletons are thought to enhance the transfer of particulate organic carbon to depth, positioning them as major vectors of carbon storage. Yet conflicting observations obscure the mechanistic link between diatoms, opal and particulate organic carbon fluxes, especially in the twilight zone where greatest flux losses occur.

Large-scale evaluation of outcomes after a genetic diagnosis in children with severe developmental disorders.

Purpose: We sought to evaluate outcomes for clinical management after a genetic diagnosis from the Deciphering Developmental Disorders study.

Methods: Individuals in the Deciphering Developmental Disorders study who had a pathogenic/likely pathogenic genotype in the DECIPHER database were selected for inclusion ( = 5010). Clinical notes from regional clinical genetics services notes were reviewed to assess predefined clinical outcomes relating to interventions, prenatal choices, and information provision.

Development of a Perioperative Risk Mortality Calculator for Humanitarian Surgical Care.

Background: Risk models to predict perioperative mortality rates (POMR) are critical to surgical quality improvement yet are not widely adapted for use in humanitarian and low-resource settings (LRS). We developed a POMR and corresponding nomogram and calculator for use in humanitarian surgical care.

Methods: Electronic health record data from a high-income academic medical center from 2015 to 2019 were retrospectively extracted, selecting variables and operations specific to LRS.

Risk Factors for Residual Unablated Tumour Following CT-Guided Percutaneous Renal Cryoablation: Lessons from the EuRECA Registry.

Objective: To assess tumour factors that reduce primary technical efficacy (PTE) from CT-guided renal cryoablation.

Methods: Patients were taken from the EuRECA registry between December 2014 and November 2020. To focus on tumour factors rather than individual technique, this study was limited to cases using CT and excluded procedures using cone beam, US, MRI, or laparoscopy.

Radical-cation salts of BEDT-TTF with tris-coordinated racemic dysprosium(III) and terbium(III) anions.

This paper reports the synthesis, crystal structures and conducting properties of the first BEDT-TTF radical-cation salts with symmetry tris-coordinated racemic lanthanide(III) anions. It is also the first crystallographic determination of the nine-coordinate tris(chelidonato)terbate and tris(chelidonato)dysprosate anions (chelidonic acid = clo = 4-oxo-4-pyran-2,6-dicarboxylic acid). Salt α-(BEDT-TTF)M(chelidonato)·EtOH·2HO is semimetallic for M = Tb, and semiconducting for M = Dy.

Household food insecurity, living conditions, and individual sense of security: A cross-sectional survey among Burkina Faso refugees in Ghana.

Food insecurity and achieving adequate nutrition is a major global challenge, especially in vulnerable groups such as refugee communities. In West Africa, thousands of Burkina Faso refugees have crossed the border into northern Ghana due to conflict and instability in their home country. We conducted a one-off cross-sectional survey to assess household food insecurity, living conditions, and sense of security among Burkina Faso refugees currently residing in the Upper East region of Ghana.

Discovery of a potential open ocean nursery for the endangered shortfin mako shark in a global fishing hotspot.

Populations of large pelagic sharks are declining worldwide due to overfishing. Determining the overlap between shark populations and fishing activities is important to inform conservation measures. However, for many threatened sharks the whereabouts of particularly vulnerable life-history stages - such as pregnant females and juveniles - are poorly known.

Automated system for diagnosing pulmonary fibrosis using crackle analysis in recorded lung sounds based on iterative envelope mean fractal dimension filter.

Patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) often experience long waits before getting a correct diagnosis, and this delay in reaching specialized care is associated with increased mortality, regardless of the severity of the disease. Early diagnosis and timely treatment of PF can potentially extend life expectancy and maintain a better quality of life. Crackles present in the recorded lung sounds may be crucial for the early diagnosis of PF.

High-resolution X-ray phase-contrast tomography of human placenta with different wavefront markers.

Phase-contrast micro-tomography ([Formula: see text]CT) with synchrotron radiation can aid in the differentiation of subtle density variations in weakly absorbing soft tissue specimens. Modulation-based imaging (MBI) extracts phase information from the distortion of reference patterns, generated by periodic or randomly structured wavefront markers (e.g.

Investigating male factors and their relationships with reproductive health outcomes: a case-control study protocol for Towards Optimal Fertility, Fathering, and Fatherhood studY (TOFFFY) in Singapore.

Introduction: Despite the global prevalence of low fertility rates, male contributions to fertility and reproductive health outcomes have been understudied. This study aims to investigate the male contribution to fertility and explore the underlying biological mechanisms. Specifically, we aim to (1) identify male factors associated with successful pregnancy, (2) develop a fertility index incorporating modifiable factors for both males and females to predict pregnancy rate and (3) explore the relationship of male modifiable factors with semen parameters and molecular characteristics.

PET-Based Risk Stratification in Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma: A Comparative Analysis of Different Segmentation Methods in the IELSG37 Trial Patient Cohort.

Standardizing tumor measurement on F-FDG PET is crucial for the routine clinical use of powerful PET-derived lymphoma prognostic factors such as metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG). The recent proposal of an SUV of 4 as a new reference segmentation threshold for most aggressive lymphomas may homogenize volume-based metrics and facilitate their clinical application. This study compared MTV and TLG in primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) patients estimated using an SUV of 4 and the current threshold at 25% of SUV Baseline PET metrics were evaluated in 501 PMBCL patients from the IELSG37 trial.

Adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa: crisis? What crisis? Solution? What solution?

Addressing adolescent mental health care across sub-Saharan Africa faces numerous challenges, including underfunded public health systems, a shortage of mental health professionals, barriers to access, and pervasive stigma. Untreated adolescents often experience worsening symptoms, academic and social difficulties, physical health risks, and engage in risky behaviours. Early detection and appropriate treatment of common mental health conditions can support adolescents in developing robust social and emotional foundations and enhancing their mental well-being.

"It's a struggle": a qualitative investigation of relations between cancer-related fatigue and work outcomes.

Purpose: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) has been associated with various adverse work outcomes in quantitative research. However, there is limited understanding regarding how and why these outcomes arise for survivors experiencing fatigue. In response, this qualitative study explores survivors' narrative accounts to understand relations between CRF and work outcomes.

Ketone monoester ingestion improves cardiac function in adults with type 2 diabetes: a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomised, crossover trial.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a metabolic disease associated with cardiovascular dysfunction. The myocardium preferentially uses ketones over free fatty acids as a more energy efficient substrate. The primary aim was to assess the effects of ketone monoester (K) ingestion on cardiac output index ().

'Entanglement of nursing care': A theoretical proposition to understand the complexity of nursing work and division of labour.

Ongoing challenges in the provision of care, driven by growing care complexity and nursing shortages, prompt us to reconsider the basis for efficient division of nursing labour. In organising nursing work, traditionally the focus has been on identifying nursing tasks that can be delegated to other less expensive and less highly educated staff, in order to make best use of scarce resources. We argue that nursing care activities are connected and intertwined.

Exploring the Interface Between Planetary Boundaries and Palaeoecology.

The concepts of planetary boundaries are influential in the sustainability literature and assist in delineating the 'safe operating spaces' beyond which critical Earth system processes could collapse. Moving away from our current trajectory towards 'hothouse Earth' will require knowledge of how Earth systems have varied throughout the Holocene, and whether and how far we have deviated from past ranges of variability. Such information can inform decisions about where change could be resisted, accepted or where adaptation is inevitable.

Proteomic analysis reveals dysregulation of peripheral blood neutrophils in patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a complex auto-inflammatory disease affecting the brain and spinal cord, which results in axonal de-myelination and symptoms including fatigue, pain, and difficulties with vision and mobility. The involvement of the immune system in the pathology of MS is well established, particularly the adaptive T cell response, and there has been a particular focus on the IL-17-producing subset of Th17 cells and their role in driving disease. However, the importance of innate immune cells has not been so well characterised.

Associations between skeletal muscle mass and elevated blood pressure are independent of body fat: a cross-sectional study in young adult women of African ancestry.

Although research on the relationship between lean body mass and blood pressure (BP) has been inconsistent, most studies reported that measures of lean body mass are associated with a higher risk of hypertension. We explored relationships between body composition (fat and skeletal muscle mass) and BP in 1162 young adult African women. DXA-derived measures of whole body, central and arm fat mass were associated with higher systolic and diastolic BP, while leg fat percentage was associated with lower systolic and diastolic BP.

Antifouling Copper Surfaces Interfere with Wet Chemical Nitrate Sensors: Characterization and Mechanistic Investigation.

Wet chemical sensors autonomously sample and analyze water using chemical assays. Their internal fluidics are not susceptible to biofouling (the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, algae, and animals in natural waters) due to the harsh chemical environment and dark conditions; however, the sample intake and filter are potentially susceptible. This paper describes the use of copper intake filters, incorporated to prevent fouling, on two different wet chemical nitrate sensors that each use different variants of the Griess assay (in particular, different nitrate reduction steps) to quantify nitrate concentrations.

Multi-modal integration of MRI and global chamber charge density mapping for the evaluation of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent clinical arrhythmia, posing significant mortality and morbidity challenges. Outcomes of current catheter ablation treatment strategies are suboptimal, highlighting the need for innovative approaches. A major obstacle lies in the inability to comprehensively assess both structural and functional remodelling in AF.

'It Feels Very Weird and Normal at the Same Time': Sibling Perceptions of Their Relationships With an Autistic Brother or Sister With Complex Care Needs.

Background: The impact of having a disabled brother or sister on siblings' psychological well-being and sibling relationships has been the subject of several research studies. However, research which focuses on the relationship between siblings and their autistic brother or sister with an intellectual disability and complex care needs is rare. We explored siblings' views and experiences of their sibling relationship with their autistic brother or sister with complex care needs.