Source apportionment of ultrafine particles in urban Europe.

There is a body of evidence that ultrafine particles (UFP, those with diameters ≤ 100 nm) might have significant impacts on health. Accordingly, identifying sources of UFP is essential to develop abatement policies. This study focuses on urban Europe, and aims at identifying sources and quantifying their contributions to particle number size distribution (PNSD) using receptor modelling (Positive Matrix Factorization, PMF), and evaluating long-term trends of these source contributions using the non-parametric Theil-Sen's method.

A Novel non-invasive optical framework for simultaneous analysis of contractility and calcium in single-cell cardiomyocytes.

The use of a video method based on the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) algorithm from experimental mechanics to estimate the displacements, strain field, and sarcolemma length in a beating single-cell cardiomyocyte is proposed in this work. The obtained deformation is then correlated with the calcium signal, from calcium imaging where fluorescent dyes sensitive to calcium Ca are used. Our proposed video-based method for simultaneous contraction and intracellular calcium analysis results in a low-cost, non-invasive, and label-free method.

Reducing self-stigma in psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological interventions.

The burden of self-stigma in psychosis has been widely studied, leading to the development and implementation of self-stigma reduction programmes to ameliorate its impact. In order to successfully improve self-stigma in psychosis, we must evaluate the effect of available interventions to help clinicians select the most appropriate approach for their patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of self-stigma reduction interventions in people with psychosis while considering the interventions' characteristics as an important moderator of their effect.

Cell response to extracellular matrix viscous energy dissipation outweighs high-rigidity sensing.

The mechanics of the extracellular matrix (ECM) determine cell activity and fate through mechanoresponsive proteins including Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP). Rigidity and viscous relaxation have emerged as the main mechanical properties of the ECM steering cell behavior. However, how cells integrate coexisting ECM rigidity and viscosity cues remains poorly understood, particularly in the high-stiffness regime.

Green Synthesis of Urea from Carbon Dioxide and Ammonia Catalyzed by Ultraporous Permanently Polarized Hydroxyapatite.

The sustainable synthesis of urea from ammonia (NH) and carbon dioxide (CO) using ultraporous permanently polarized hydroxyapatite (upp-HAp) as catalyst has been explored as an advantageous CO-revalorization strategy. As the simultaneous activation of N and CO (single-step) demands an increase of the reaction conditions, we have re-visited the industrial two-step Bazarov reaction. upp-HAp has been designed as a stable multifunctional catalyst capable of promoting both CO and NH adsorption for their subsequent C-N bond formation.

Effect of genetically predicted sclerostin on cardiovascular biomarkers, risk factors, and disease outcomes.

Sclerostin inhibitors protect against osteoporotic fractures, but their cardiovascular safety remains unclear. We conducted a cis-Mendelian randomisation analysis to estimate the causal effect of sclerostin levels on cardiovascular risk factors. We meta-analysed three GWAS of sclerostin levels including 49,568 Europeans and selected 2 SNPs to be used as instruments.

Effect of Action Video Games in Eye Movement Behavior: A Systematic Review.

Previous research shows that playing action video games seems to modify the behavior of eye movements such as eye fixations and saccades. The aim of the current work was to determine the effect of playing action video games on eye movements behavior such as fixations, saccades and pursuits. A systematic research review in PubMed and Scopus databases was conducted to identify articles published between 2010 and 2022 which referred to action video games and eye movements, including fixations, saccades and pursuits.

Urban background sounds under various weather conditions categorized for virtual acoustics.

One of the major problems in the auralization of complex urban scenarios is the creation of ambience, i.e. the diffuse background which represents the sound floor on which the acoustic scene of interest is created.

Mediterranean Diet Is a Predictor of Progression of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in a Mediterranean Population: The ILERVAS Prospective Cohort Study.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains a major health issue, often developing silently as subclinical atherosclerotic disease (SAD). The Mediterranean diet (MDiet) is known for its cardiovascular benefits, but the combined influence of both MDiet adherence and physical activity (PA) on SAD progression has not been previously documented. We aimed to investigate how adherence to a healthy lifestyle, defined as MDiet adherence and PA level, influences SAD progression in subjects from the ILERVAS cohort follow-up.

Enhancement of the Elastocaloric Performance of Natural Rubber by Forced Air Convection.

We study the enhancement of the elastocaloric effect in natural rubber by using forced air convection to favour heat extraction during the elongation stage of a stretching-unstretching cycle. Elastocaloric performance is quantified by means of the adiabatic undercooling that occurs after fast removal of the stress, measured by infrared thermography. To ensure accuracy, spatial averaging on thermal maps of the sample surface is performed since undercooled samples display heterogeneities caused by various factors.

Internet of Things Long-Range-Wide-Area-Network-Based Wireless Sensors Network for Underground Mine Monitoring: Planning an Efficient, Safe, and Sustainable Labor Environment.

Underground mines are considered one of the riskiest facilities for human activities due to numerous accidents and geotechnical failures recorded worldwide over the last century, which have resulted in unsafe labor conditions, poor health outcomes, injuries, and fatalities. One significant cause of these accidents is the inadequate or nonexistent capacity for the real-time monitoring of safety conditions in underground mines. In this context, new emerging technologies linked to the Industry 4.

A New Feasible Opportunity for Recycling Lead and Silver from Zinc Plant Residues by Flotation.

Millions of tons of zinc plant leach residues (ZPLR) have been stockpiled in Iranian hydrometallurgical zinc plants during the last few decades. Due to the low grades of zinc, lead, and silver in these residues, these residues have been abandoned without treatment. The authors of this paper studied zinc plant leach residues (ZPLR) to propose a flotation process for separating and producing lead and silver concentrate.

Hand-Washing Habits in a Sample of Spanish Soft Contact Lens Wearers.

Contact lens (CL) wear is a safe method for the correction of refractive errors. However, rare, severe ocular complications may occur which may lead to visual loss. As most of these complications are related to poor patient compliance with care and maintenance instructions, resulting in the contamination of hands, CLs and accessories, it was the purpose of this study to assess hand-washing habits in a sample of Spanish soft CL wearers.

Plasticity of 3D Hydrogels Predicts Cell Biological Behavior.

Under 3D culture conditions, cells tend to spread, migrate, and proliferate better in more viscoelastic and plastic hydrogels. Here, we present evidence that the improved cell behavior is facilitated by the lower steric hindrance of a more viscoelastic and plastic matrix with weaker intermolecular bonds. To determine intermolecular bond stability, we slowly insert semispherical tipped needles (100-700 μm diameter) into alginate dialdehyde-gelatin hydrogels and measure stiffness, yield strength, plasticity, and the force at which the surface ruptures (puncture force).

Estimation of Jacquard's genetic identity coefficients with bi-allelic variants by constrained least-squares.

The Jacquard genetic identity coefficients are of fundamental importance in relatedness research. We address the estimation of these coefficients as well as other relationship parameters that derive from them such as kinship and inbreeding coefficients using a concise matrix framework. Estimation of the Jacquard coefficients via likelihood methods and the expectation-maximization algorithm is computationally very demanding for large numbers of polymorphisms.

A Physical Framework to Study the Effect of Magnetic Fields on the Spike-Time Coding.

A temporal neural code reliant on the pattern of spike times rather than spike rates offers a feasible mechanism for encoding information from weak periodic external stimuli, such as static or extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields. Our model focuses on the influence of magnetic fields on neurotransmitter dynamics near the neuron membrane. Neurotransmitter binding to specific receptor sites on membrane proteins can regulate biochemical reactions.

Development of an automated artificial intelligence-based system for urogenital schistosomiasis diagnosis using digital image analysis techniques and a robotized microscope.

Background: Urogenital schistosomiasis is considered a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is estimated to affect 150 million people worldwide, with a high relevance in resource-poor settings of the African continent. The gold-standard diagnosis is still direct observation of Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine samples by optical microscopy.

Thiocoumarin-based Au(I) Complexes and Au(0) Systems over TiO as Hybrid Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Generation under UV-Vis Light.

This work focuses on the photocatalytic production of hydrogen from the photodehydrogenation of ethanol using several gold(I) complexes and gold(0) systems over titanium dioxide (P90 TiO) as hybrid photocatalysts. The photocatalytic systems are composed of at least one coumarin-based ligand, which can enhance the photocatalytic activity by its photon-absorbing capacity due to its chromophore properties. The photocatalytic behavior for hydrogen generation of the studied samples is compared under UV-vis light setting the total gold-based co-catalyst loading at 1 wt% onto the TiO photocatalysts and when the gold content is maintained at 0.

Thermal equation of state of rhodium characterized by XRD in a resistively heated diamond anvil cell.

The high-pressure and high-temperature structural, mechanical, and dinamical stability of rhodium has been investigated via synchrotron X-ray diffraction using a resistively heated diamond anvil cell and density functional theory. The isothermal compression data have been fitted with a Rydberg-Vinet equation of state (EoS) with best-fitting parameters =55.046(16) Å , = 251(3) GPa, and = 5.

Effects of colour and scene dynamism on visual fatigue in animated films.

Animated films are highly popular in society, particularly among children and adolescents. During film production, selecting an adequate colour palette and scene dynamism is crucial for creating a visual impact on the audience. However, the influence of visual aesthetics, such as colour and scene dynamism on visual fatigue remains unexplored.