Cyclic combing of untreated and bleached human hair: Analysis of the time-dependent breakage of hair through recording the formation of fibre fragments.

Objectives: Machine-based cyclic combing of hair tresses under dry conditions is a proven method for evaluating hair strength and the impact of treatments. Recent advancements in image analysis allow for a detailed review of hair fragment lengths and quantities produced after specific combing cycles. Our aim is to provide an in-depth analysis of the kinetics of hair fragment formation.

Students' relationship quality in class: Exploring latent profiles, latent transitions and links to student motivation.

Background: Early secondary school students' perceptions of their social relationships in class are closely linked to their levels of motivation. However, person-centred research examining patterns of social relationships with both peers and teachers remains limited.

Aims: This study explored the existence, stability and transitions of latent profiles of students' social relationships over time, as well as their interconnectedness with students' motivation, gender, immigration background and educational track.

A Reaction-Diffusion-Coupled Strategy for Ampere-Level Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia.

Ampere-level electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (eNRA) offers a carbon-neutral alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. However, its energy efficiency is critically hampered by the inherent conflict between the reaction and diffusion. Herein, we propose a reaction-diffusion-coupled strategy implemented on a well-tailored CuCoNiRuPt high-entropy alloy aerogel (HEAA) to simultaneously realize energy barrier homogenization and accelerate mass transport, endowing ampere-level eNRA with a high energy efficiency.

Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass Is Associated With Reduced Cytotoxic T Cell Abundance and Poor Survival in Advanced Lung Cancer.

Background: Body composition alterations such as skeletal muscle (SM) loss in cancer patients are associated with poor survival. In turn, immune cell-driven pathways have been linked to muscle wasting. We aimed to investigate the relationship between body composition, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and survival in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Quantifying the Environmental and Food Biodiversity Impacts of Ultra-Processed Foods - Evidence from the EPIC Study.

Objective: While associations of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption with adverse health outcomes are accruing, its environmental and food biodiversity impacts remain underexplored. This study examines associations between UPF consumption and dietary greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe), land use, and food biodiversity.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Effective Computation of Coupling Force Constants: Metal Carbonyls as a Test Case.

An automated protocol enabling the efficient computation of unique potential coupling constants is presented. Several modern density functional (DFT) methods are tested against coupled cluster theory (CCSD(T)) in order to evaluate their quality in producing reliable compliance matrix off-diagonal elements. While force coupling constants could serve as descriptors of electron delocalization in general, we tested the ability of coupling compliance constants as descriptors of the Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson model in VCO, CrCO, MnCO, FeCO, NiCO, CuCO, FeCO and the isoelectronic hexacarbonyls of the 3d and 5d series from Ti to Co, and Hf to Ir, respectively.

Hormonal Contraceptives and Depression: A Proteomic Analysis Using Neuronal Models.

Purpose: Hormonal contraceptives are linked to a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. Given their popularity in Western countries, understanding the biochemical effects on neuronal cells is crucial to minimizing mental health risks.

Experimental Design: Neural progenitor cells were treated with ethinyl estradiol (EE) and levonorgestrel (LNG), two synthetic sex hormones commonly used in oral contraception, and S-23, a selective androgen receptor modulator developed as a potential synthetic sex hormone for male hormonal contraception.

Influence of Age on Fracture Healing in Young and Middle-Aged Mice in a Proximal Femur Fracture Model.

Osteoporotic hip fractures are a considerable cause of pain and disability particularly among the elderly. Osteoporosis causes loss of bone stability, which in turn leads to an increased risk of fractures especially in metaphyseal bone. Moreover, the body's capacity for healing is diminished, resulting in prolonged recovery times following these fractures.

Recognition of stroke symptoms indicative of anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion via telephone and video calls: a simulation study.

Background: Identifying suspected anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion (aLVO) strokes during emergency calls could enhance dispatch efficiency, particularly in rural areas. However, data on emergency medical dispatchers' (EMDs) ability to recognize aLVO symptoms remain limited. This simulation study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of identifying side-specific arm paresis, side-specific conjugate eye deviation (CED), and aphasia during emergency calls by instructing layperson callers to perform brief, standardized examination steps.

Psychological and neurophysiological measures of emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background: Emotion dysregulation is a central feature in trauma-associated disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, it remains unclear whether emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic phenomenon closely linked to childhood trauma, or if disorder-specific alterations in emotion processing exist. Following a multimethodological approach, we aimed to assess and compare the reactivity to and regulation of emotions between patients with BPD and PTSD, as well as healthy controls, and identify associations with childhood trauma.

3D printed teeth for bridge preparation training: development and assessment in dental education.

Background: Bridge preparation skills are a vital component of dental education and require specific techniques. This study aimed to develop and evaluate 3D printed teeth for use in defect-oriented bridge preparation and pre-prosthetic exercises in dental training, addressing the limited customization and lack of integrated workflows found in commercial typodont teeth. The null hypothesis stated that 3D printed teeth offered no advantage over established typodont training methods for bridge preparation.

Designing an AI companion to support informal caregivers in role transition: insights from a design science approach.

Background: As populations age, informal caregivers play an increasingly vital role in long-term care, with 80% of care provided by family members in Europe. However, many individuals do not immediately recognize themselves as caregivers, especially in the early stages. This lack of awareness can increase physical and emotional stress and delay access to support services.

Bridging the knowledge gap: a mixed-methods study on general practitioners' information needs for mHealth apps in hypertension treatment in Germany.

Background: Hypertension remains a critical public health issue in Germany, affecting millions of individuals. Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) offer promising solutions for improving patient outcomes and adherence in hypertension management. Despite their advantages in healthcare, the adoption of mHealth apps by general practitioners (GPs) in Germany remains limited to date.

Theories, models and frameworks of school nursing - a scoping review.

Background: School nursing is a complex clinical specialty practice that varies across different countries. Theories, models and frameworks can inform nursing practice. This scoping review aims to explore the conceptualisation and operationalisation of school nursing in theories, models and frameworks.

Competence and control beliefs in three cultures: a German personality test applied at home, in Kenya and Poland.

Background: Competence and control beliefs are core self-evaluations with increasing value as predictors (e.g., in clinical, organizational, environmental, and educational psychology), and they are assumed to have a universal core that is shared across cultures.

Caffeine mitigates ROS accumulation and attenuates motor neuron degeneration in the wobbler mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by oxidative stress and progressive motor neuron degeneration. This study evaluates the potential neuroprotective effects of caffeine in the Wobbler mouse, an established model of ALS.

Methods: Wobbler mice received caffeine supplementation (60 mg/kg/day) via drinking water, and key parameters, including muscle strength, NAD metabolism, oxidative stress, and motor neuron morphology, were assessed at critical disease stages.

Trends in nonurgent mental health presentations to emergency departments: insights from the first nationwide study in Germany.

Background: Patients with mental health conditions represent a significant concern in emergency departments, consistently ranking as the third or fourth most prevalent diagnoses during consultations. Globally, over the past two decades, there was a marked increase in such incidences, largely driven by a rise in nonurgent visits related to somatic complaints. However, the implications of these nonurgent visits for mental health patients remain unclear, and warrant further investigation.

High-resolution time-series transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling reveals the regulatory mechanism underlying salt tolerance in maize.

Background: Soil salinization represents a critical global challenge to agricultural productivity, profoundly impacting crop yields and threatening food security. Plant salt-responsive is complex and dynamic, making it challenging to fully elucidate salt tolerance mechanism and leading to gaps in our understanding of how plants adapt to and mitigate salt stress.

Results: Here, we conduct high-resolution time-series transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of the extremely salt-tolerant maize inbred line, HLZY, and the salt-sensitive elite line, JI853.

User experience study to evaluate a clinical decision support system prototype supporting continuous kidney replacement therapy in a simulated ICU environment.

Background: The increasing amount of data routinely collected on ICUs poses a challenge for clinicians which is aggravated with data-heavy therapies like Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy (CKRT). We developed the CKRT Supporting Software Prototype (CKRT-SSP), a clinical decision support system for use before, during and after CKRT. The aim of this user experience (UX) study was to prospectively evaluate CKRT-SSP in terms of usability, user experience, and workload in a simulated ICU setting.

P2X7 receptor antagonism suppresses epileptiform-like activity in an inflammation-primed human iPSC-derived neuron model of drug-resistant epilepsy.

Background And Purpose: Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognised to contribute to drug-resistant epilepsy. Activation of ATP-gated P2X7 receptors has emerged as an important upstream mechanism, and increased P2X7 receptor expression is present in the seizure focus in rodent models and patients. Pharmacological antagonists of P2X7 receptors attenuate seizures in rodents, but this has not been explored in human neural networks.

Impact of Flow Restrictors on Aerosol Delivery of the Respimat® Soft Mist Inhaler.

Introduction: The modification of an inhaler's air flow resistance influences a patient's inhalation flow profile, thereby affecting the exit velocity of an aerosol leaving the Respimat® mouthpiece. A slower inhalation maneuver results in reduced plume velocity and thus a decreased oropharyngeal deposition due to reduced impaction. This could not only lead to fewer unwanted side effects associated with inhaled therapies, but also enhance lung deposition.

Research efforts and gaps in the assessment of forest system resilience: A scoping review.

This study investigates how the seven core resilience principles are integrated into assessments of forest system resilience to natural or human-induced disturbances across engineering, ecological, and social-ecological resilience concepts. Following PRISMA guidelines, a literature search in the Web of Science database using the keywords "resilience", "forest" and "ecosystem services" yielded 1828 studies, of which 330 met the selection criteria. The most commonly used criterion was diversity, a sub-criterion of "diversity and redundancy", appearing in 50% of studies.

Comparison of and SAR efficiency for a high-impedance metamaterial shield with different remote RF arrays at 7 T MRI: A simulation study.

Introduction: This study explores high-impedance surface (HIS) metamaterial shields for enhancing the transmit field in whole-body MRI at 7 T. We studied the possibility of placing a metamaterial layer between the gradient coil and bore liner using electromagnetic simulations to evaluate B and SAR efficiency across different impedances.

Materials And Methods: Simulations were performed in three stages, first metamaterial design and characterization, then single-element dipole simulations with a homogenous phantom, and finally, simulations including a four-element arrays with a virtual body model, including the whole scanner geometry.