Increased arterial stiffness is associated with poorer social cognition in older age.

It is now well established that vascular aging is a significant predictor of cognitive decline in older age. But what remains less clear is the role that vascular health plays in social cognitive aging. Therefore, we aimed to provide the first test of the relationship between arterial stiffness and theory of mind (ToM) in late adulthood.

Human-robot interactions and experiences of staff and service robots in aged care.

The rise of robotics in aged care is transforming how older adults are cared for, addressing staff shortages and workload. Daily interactions with staff and residents highlight an urgent need to better understand and improve human-robot interactions. This study investigates how 34 staff interacted with 10 service robots in a regional Australian aged care facility over 5 years, focusing primarily on their experience with service robots that transported meals and laundry.

Comfortable knowing little about lymphoedema? A qualitative study of medical interns in Australia.

Objectives: Knowledgeable doctors are needed for timely assessment, diagnosis and management of lymphoedema. This qualitative study explored the thoughts and feelings of Australian interns (medical graduates in their first postgraduate year) towards (i) their understanding of the lymphatic system and lymphoedema, (ii) curricula pertaining to lymphoedema within their Australian medical degree and (iii) how they perceive that their understanding and medical training in lymphoedema influence their clinical practice.

Study Design And Methods: Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with interns employed within their first postgraduate year in Australia.

Can a novel computer vision-based framework detect head-on-head impacts during a rugby league tackle?

Background: Head-on-head impacts are a risk factor for concussion, which is a concern for sports. Computer vision frameworks may provide an automated process to identify head-on-head impacts, although this has not been applied or evaluated in rugby.

Methods: This study developed and evaluated a novel computer vision framework to automatically classify head-on-head and non-head-on-head impacts.

The recent (2018-2022) US monthly mortality for acute myocardial infarction still peaks in December and January.

Purpose: To verify whether the trend of AMI mortality throughout the different months of the year may have recently changed in the US due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and climate changes.

Methods: We examined monthly mortality trends for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the U.S.

The acculturation challenge: A longitudinal investigation of acculturative stress and mental health of Chinese international students in Australia.

The Australian university sector had almost one million international students in 2024. This population faces significant mental health challenges that affect their wellbeing and academic success, but these issues have received minimal empirical attention. Past research reports that international students experience acculturative stress due to language barriers, lack of social support, and discrimination, which contribute to poor mental health.

Evening Alpha-Lactalbumin Supplementation Alters Sleep Architecture and Reduces Morning Reaction Time in an Athletically Trained Population With Sleep Difficulties.

Evening consumption of a whey protein rich in the amino acid tryptophan, alpha-lactalbumin (ALAC), has previously shown to benefit sleep-particularly among poor sleepers. Given trained populations often experience sleep difficulty, this study investigated whether evening supplementation of ALAC would influence sleep outcomes, mood, and next-day cognitive performance within a trained population with sleep difficulties. Nineteen trained participants (females, n = 11) with sleep difficulties (Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire: 8.

Examining the Relationship of Cannabis use Patterns, Mental Health, and Sociodemographic Factors: A Focus on Cannabis Vaping, Smoking and Dual-Use.

Background: Cannabis vaping, and co-use with cannabis smoking, can exacerbate the risks of developing respiratory diseases and cannabis dependence. This study aims to examine the mental health profiles and sociodemographic correlates of adults who vape cannabis and engage in dual cannabis use (vaping/ smoking), compared to those who smoke cannabis.

Methods: The most recent, cross-sectional wave of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (Wave 6) was used in this study.

A first-in-human study of JNJ-70218902, a bispecific T-cell-redirecting antibody against TMEFF2 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Background: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has a poor prognosis, necessitating the investigation of novel treatments and targets. This study evaluated JNJ-70218902 (JNJ-902), a T-cell redirector targeting transmembrane protein with epidermal growth factor-like and 2 follistatin-like domains 2 (TMEFF2) and cluster of differentiation 3, in mCRPC.

Patients And Methods: Patients who had measurable/evaluable mCRPC after at least one novel androgen receptor-targeted therapy or chemotherapy were eligible.

Exploring the lived experience of Chinese family caregivers caring for end-of-life cancer patients at home: a phenomenological study in Singapore.

Purpose: The Chinese community constitutes the largest demographic and faces the highest rates of cancer incidence in Singapore. Given this, palliative care plays a crucial role in supporting individuals, particularly those nearing the end of life, with family serving as their primary source of support. Many Chinese family caregivers in Singapore reported significant unmet needs in cancer care provision, with studies indicating that they often bear the brunt of caregiving responsibilities.

Barriers and enablers to measuring resting metabolic rate in the high-performance sporting system: A qualitative exploratory study.

Measurements of resting metabolic rate (RMR) may be undertaken for dietary planning purposes or to assess for low energy availability (LEA). This study investigated barriers and enablers to measuring RMR in real-world, high-performance sport environments. Twelve interviews were conducted with technicians ( = 6 dietitians,  = 6 physiologists) employed across six National Institute Networks, two National Sporting Organisations and one professional sporting code.

Electrochemical Fluorination of Organic Compounds Using a Hexafluorosilicate Salt as an Inexpensive and Widely Available Fluorine Source.

The introduction of fluorine into organic molecules is of the utmost importance in the preparation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). While a wide range of fluorine sources for organic synthesis have been used over the past decades, the associated safety risks, cost, or environmental impact are still serious limitations. Hexafluorosilicate salts are one of the most inexpensive and readily available sources of nucleophilic fluorine, but they have so far not been used in organic synthesis.

Cre-Lox miRNA-delivery technology optimized for inducible microRNA and gene-silencing studies in zebrafish.

While many genetic tools exist for zebrafish, this animal model still lacks robust gene-silencing and microRNA-delivery technologies enabling spatio-temporal control and traceability. We have recently demonstrated that engineered pri-miR backbones can trigger stable gene knockdown and/or express microRNA(s) of choice in this organism. However, this miRNA-expressing technology presents important limitations.

Comparative Analysis of COVID-19 Severity and Mortality Among Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Individuals During the Delta Variant Surge in a Tertiary Care Center: A Cohort Study.

Background And Aims: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus started in June 2021 and accounted for the fifth peak of COVID-19 in Iran in July 2021. According to reports from other countries, vaccination protects against severe diseases caused by COVID-19, including the Delta variant.

adapted to steppe-desert climate extremes one million years ago.

Questions about when early members of the genus adapted to extreme environments like deserts and rainforests have traditionally focused on . Here, we present multidisciplinary evidence from Engaji Nanyori in Tanzania's Oldupai Gorge, revealing that thrived in hyperarid landscapes one million years ago. Using biogeochemical analyses, precise chronometric dating, palaeoclimate simulations, biome modeling, fire history reconstructions, palaeobotanical studies, faunal assemblages, and archeological evidence, we reconstruct an environment dominated by semidesert shrubland.

Nanofiltration Membranes for Efficient Lithium Extraction from Salt-Lake Brine: A Critical Review.

The global transition to clean energy technologies has escalated the demand for lithium (Li), a critical component in rechargeable Li-ion batteries, highlighting the urgent need for efficient and sustainable Li extraction methods. Nanofiltration (NF)-based separations have emerged as a promising solution, offering selective separation capabilities that could advance resource extraction and recovery. However, an NF-based lithium extraction process differs significantly from conventional water treatment, necessitating a paradigm shift in membrane materials design, performance evaluation metrics, and process optimization.

Genomic regions associated with spot blotch resistance in elite barley breeding populations.

Unlabelled: Spot blotch (SB), a prevalent foliar disease of barley, is caused by the hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen . Predominately occurring in humid growing regions worldwide, SB can result in yield losses of up to 30%. Genetic resistance remains the most effective strategy for disease management; however, most Australian barley cultivars exhibit susceptibility despite the previous identification of major resistance loci.

A novel non-invasive murine model for rapidly testing drug activity via inhalation administration against .

The efficacy of many compounds against is often limited when administered via conventional oral or injection routes due to suboptimal pharmacokinetic characteristics. Inhalation-based delivery methods have been investigated to achieve high local therapeutic doses in the lungs. However, previous models, typically employing wild-type strains, were intricate, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and with poor reproducibility.

Wood-loving magic mushrooms from Australia are saprotrophic invaders in the Northern Hemisphere.

Magic mushrooms are fungi that produce psilocybin, an entheogen with long-term cultural use and a breakthrough compound for treatment of mental health disorders. Fungal populations separated by geography are candidates for allopatric speciation, yet species connectivity typically persists because there is minimal divergence at functional parts of mating compatibility genes. We studied whether connectivity is maintained across populations of a widespread species complex of magic mushrooms that has infiltrated the Northern Hemisphere from a hypothesised centre of origin in Australasia.

Fungal Planet description sheets: 1697-1780.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: , from accumulated snow sediment sample. , on leaf spots of . , on submerged decaying wood in sea water, on , as endophyte from healthy leaves of .

Understanding the pathophysiology of colonization as a guide for future treatment for chronic leg ulcers.

Chronic leg wounds represent a major burden of disease worldwide, costing health care systems billions of dollars each year. Aside from the financial implications, they also impose a significant physical and psychosocial burden on the patient, their relatives and/or carers, and the community. Whilst measures such as maintenance of wound hygiene, debridement, dressings and compression are the current standard of care, complete healing is not always achievable and ulcer recurrence is common.

STI/HIV risk prediction model development-A novel use of public data to forecast STIs/HIV risk for men who have sex with men.

A novel automatic framework is proposed for global sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and HIV risk prediction. Four machine learning methods, namely, Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), Random Forest (RF), XG Boost, and Ensemble learning GBM-RF-XG Boost are applied and evaluated on the Demographic and Health Surveys Program (DHSP), with thirteen features ultimately selected as the most predictive features. Classification and generalization experiments are conducted to test the accuracy, F1-score, precision, and area under the curve (AUC) performance of these four algorithms.