Browse Articles

Association between high plasma p-tau181 level and gait changes in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Nanoengineered polyaniline/carbon black VXC 72 hybridized with woven abaca for superior electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract The growing demand for efficient electromagnetic (EM) shielding materials has driven extensive research into sustainable and functionalized composites for high-frequency applications. This study investigates the electromagnetic (EM) shielding properties of Polyaniline (PAni)-functionalized woven abaca fibers, reinforced with Carbon Black (CB) VXC 72, in the ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) range (500–4500 MHz), as determined using Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The composite was developed by functionalizing abaca fabric with PAni through in situ chemical oxidative polymerization and depositing CB via a dip-and-dry method. The morphological structure and elemental composition were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), while Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to confirm functional group interactions. Electrical resistivity was determined using the four-point probe method, and EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) was evaluated in the ultrahigh frequency (UHF) range of 500 MHz to 4500 MHz using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). Experimental results indicate that PAni/CB functionalization successfully imparted shielding properties to abaca fabric. PAni/1CB/Abaca exhibited the highest shielding effectiveness with an average SE of 5.96 dB, corresponding to 74.34% attenuation of incident electromagnetic waves, and a peak attenuation of 7.45 dB at 4.5 GHz. In contrast, 2CB/Abaca and PAni/2CB/Abaca showed selective EMI shielding, with peak attenuation values of 8.27 dB at 1.67 GHz and 7.98 dB at 1.69 GHz, respectively. The electrical resistivity measurements revealed that PAni/1CB/Abaca had the lowest resistivity at 891 Ω·cm, whereas 1CB/Abaca exhibited the highest at 5238 Ω·cm. The primary shielding mechanism was absorption rather than reflection, making the composite a lightweight, corrosion-resistant alternative to traditional metal-based EMI shields. These findings demonstrate the potential of natural fiber-based conductive composites for flexible EMI shielding applications in telecommunications, healthcare, and aerospace industries.

Survival prediction from imbalanced colorectal cancer dataset using hybrid sampling methods and tree-based classifiers

Spin dependent thermoelectric transport in a multiterminal quantum dot hybrid including a superconductor and ferromagnets

Abstract We investigate the thermoelectric response of a hybrid system consisting of two ferromagnetic electrodes and one superconducting lead coupled to a single-level quantum dot with finite Coulomb repulsion. Using the non-equilibrium Green’s function technique within the Hubbard-I approximation, local and non-local thermoelectric coefficients, along with their spin counterparts, such as electrical and thermal conductance, and the Seebeck coefficient are calculated up to linear order with respect to generalized forces. Here, we present a derivation of spin-dependent thermoelectric coefficients for a three-terminal system, extending the existing theory which allowed to describe only cases independent of spin-bias voltage, i.e. when spin accumulation is irrelevant. In the considered system, four competing processes- single particle tunneling, quasiparticle tunneling, direct and crossed Andreev reflection make the system highly adaptable for tuning charge and heat currents. A full analysis of their impact on thermoelectric effects is provided. Moreover, the output power and efficiency of the system operating as a heat engine are evaluated. The extensive goal of this work is to demonstrate how the presence of an additional terminal modifies the hybrid QD-based device’s performance and under which conditions non-local thermoelectric effects become significant.

Improving spinal alignment through innovative resistance training with outdoor fitness equipment in middle-aged and older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Predicting the uplift capacity of circular anchors in frictional-cohesive soils using Kolmogorov-Arnold networks

The influence of the marker set on inverse kinematics results to inform markerless motion capture annotations

Abstract Markerless motion capture has the potential to enable biomechanical analyses without specialised, high-cost equipment. However, the comparability of many markerless motion capture frameworks with the most used marker-based method is limited. One reason for this is the lack of high-quality, biomechanically-informed datasets that are needed to train markerless models. This study aimed to inform the development of such a dataset by systematically analysing the agreement between a gold-standard marker set and a reduced number of markers to solve inverse kinematics (IK). We analysed the impact of different marker positions on the IK solution using an OpenSim lower body model with real and synthetic data of running, walking and counter movement jumps. We found that one mid-segment marker in addition to two anatomical markers per segment result in the best agreement to a gold-standard marker set. The results for real and synthetic data across all movements were similar, with synthetic data showing slightly better agreement with a reduced number of markers (root mean squared error 1.55–8.27° real data, 1.27–7.79° synthetic data), likely due to limited soft tissue artefacts and missing human error in marker placement. These findings can support the development of a dataset to retrain markerless models incorporating biomechanical knowledge.

Time required to achieve optimum viral load suppression with Ravidasvir/sofosbuvir in chronic hepatitis C patients with or without compensated cirrhosis

Abstract A study indicated that ravidasvir (RDV) has excellent safety and tolerability when used with sofosbuvir (SOF) to treat chronic HCV infection. The aim of this study was to determine the time taken by RDV/SOF to achieve optimum viral load suppression in chronic hepatitis C patients with or without compensated cirrhosis. Data from the open-label, multicentre, single-arm, phase II/III clinical trial (STORM-C-1) were utilized. Time‒to-event analysis via Kaplan–Meier curves was performed to determine the time required to achieve optimum viral load suppression in both the cirrhotic and noncirrhotic groups. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify potential predictors of achieving suppression within four and eight weeks. The time to achieve optimum viral load suppression ranged from six to 85 days and from five to 148 days among noncirrhotic and cirrhotic patients, respectively. Among noncirrhotic patients, 80.6% achieved optimum viral load suppression within 4 weeks, and 92.6% achieved this within 8 weeks. Among cirrhotic patients, 76.1% and 90.4% achieved optimum viral load suppression within 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. Notably, optimum viral load suppression differs from sustained virological response (SVR12), which is defined as undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks after treatment completion. While the study demonstrates promising early viral suppression, it does not evaluate the efficacy of a shortened regimen. Further research is needed to assess whether shorter treatment durations maintain high SVR12 rates without compromising treatment success.

Treatment outcome and determinant factors of bacterial meningitis at pediatric ward: a multicenter study from Northwest Ethiopia

There is no six-year periodicity in tidal forcing

A scoring system with high predictive performance for poor outcomes in acute carbon monoxide poisoning

The effect of students’ attitudes towards elderly patients on satisfaction with removable complete dentures

Changes in thyroid surgery over last 25 years

Association between pre-season lower limb interlimb asymmetry and non-contact lower limb injuries in elite male volleyball players

Design of a multi-epitope vaccine against Staphylococcus Aureus lukotoxin ED using in silico approaches

Amplified quantum battery via dynamical modulation

An LLM-based hybrid approach for enhanced automated essay scoring

Evaluation of serum calprotectin levels in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Automating multi-task learning on optical neural networks with weight sharing and physical rotation

TAS2R38 gene methylation is associated with syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and clinical symptoms

Abstract TAS2R38 is the T2R receptor primarily associated with the innate immune response of the respiratory system. It activates a response mediated by nitric oxide (NO), which has been shown to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2. TAS2R38 polymorphisms (SNPs) that decrease receptor functionality contributing to individual differences in susceptibility to airway infections. DNA methylation (DNAm) may affect gene expression influencing disease development, including COVID-19. We analyzed the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the methylation pattern of TAS2R38 (at cg25481253, a CpG site located in the coding region) during infection and after the cessation of the exposure to the virus, also considering the disease severity and TAS2R38 SNPs. Our results showed a positive relationship between TAS2R38 DNAm levels and disease severity in the COVID-19 patients and a return to a normal state after the infection. In addition, our results showed an association between DNAm level and the TAS2R38 genotype in participants who recovered from the disease. PAV/PAV genotypes showed lower TAS2R38 DNAm levels than heterozygous and AVI homozygous. In conclusion, our results clearly indicate the involvement of TAS2R38 DNAm alteration in COVID-19 severity and suggest a role of the methylation changes at cg25481253 in the regulation of the TAS2R38 expression.