33 Unresolved Questions in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Significant advances in science and engineering often emerge at the intersections of disciplines. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are inherently interdisciplinary, uniting researchers from chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, materials science, and engineering. This convergence has fostered novel ways of thinking and enabled the development of materials, tools, and technologies that have transformed both basic and applied research, as well as how we address critical societal challenges.

Household air pollution exposure in adult women is associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness: A cross-sectional study of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network trial.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, disproportionately affecting people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Biomass fuels used for cooking in LMICs contribute significantly to household air pollution (HAP), which has been associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and other pathways linked to atherosclerosis. We evaluate the association between HAP exposure and atherosclerosis by use of carotid artery ultrasound.

The Caribbean American Dementia and Aging Study: protocol for a population-based study of older adult health and dementia in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

Background: The Hispanic Caribbean region is rapidly aging but national population-based aging surveys are rare. The Caribbean American Dementia and Aging Study (CADAS) is a multi-purpose household study of aging with a particular focus on the life course determinants and consequences of health and dementia in three countries with many similarities but divergent recent histories: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

Methods: CADAS will survey population-based samples of adults ages 65 and over.

Optimal experimental design for partially observable pure birth processes.

We develop an efficient algorithm to find optimal observation times by maximizing the Fisher information for the birth rate of a partially observable pure birth process involving n observations. Partially observable implies that at each of the observation time points for counting the number of individuals present in the pure birth process, each individual is observed independently with a fixed probability p, modeling detection difficulties or constraints on resources. We apply concepts and techniques from generating functions, using a combination of symbolic and numeric computation, to establish a recursion for evaluating and optimizing the Fisher information.

Multispacecraft Observations of the 2024 September 9 Backside Solar Eruption That Resulted in a Sustained Gamma Ray Emission Event.

We report on the 2024 September 9 sustained gamma-ray emission (SGRE) event observed by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi satellite. The hevent was associated with a backside solar eruption observed by multiple spacecraft such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), Parker Solar Probe (PSP), Solar Orbiter (SolO), Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Wind, and GOES, and by ground-based radio telescopes. Fermi/LAT observed the SGRE after the EUV wave from the backside eruption crossed the limb to the frontside of the Sun.

Nonclinical Human Cardiac New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) Predict Vanoxerine-Induced Proarrhythmic Potential.

New approach methodologies (NAMs), including microphysiological systems (MPSs), can recapitulate structural and functional complexities of organs. Vanoxerine was reported to induce cardiac adverse events, including torsade de points (TdP), in a Phase III clinical trial. Despite earlier nonclinical animal models and Phase I-II clinical trials, events of QT prolongation or proarrhythmia were not observed.

Type-assisted taxonomy and biogeography of Corallina (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the eastern Pacific: Corallina americana sp. nov., C. bathybentha, C. hommersandiorum sp. nov., and C. saundersii sp. nov.

The articulated coralline genus Corallina is common in temperate rocky ecosystems and provides settlement substrate and refugia for other organisms. However, our ability to understand species-specific traits and interactions has been confounded by overlapping morphological characteristics among species. DNA sequences from type specimens and recently collected specimens have begun to address these issues by clarifying phylogenetic species boundaries and geographic distributions.

Tuberculosis in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults in California, 2000-2023.

Objectives: To identify trends in pediatric tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology in California and measure progress in reducing health disparities.

Methods: Demographic, clinical, and neighborhood health support data in persons younger than 25 years with TB during 2000-2023 in California were analyzed across age groups.

Results: A total of 8249 individuals younger than 25 years were identified with active TB.

High-dimensional Subgroup Regression Analysis.

Classical regression generally assumes that all subjects follow a common model with the same set of parameters. With ever advancing capabilities of modern technologies to collect more subjects and more covariates, it has become increasingly common that there exist subgroups of subjects, and each group follows a different regression model with a different set of parameters. In this article, we propose a new approach for subgroup analysis in regression modeling.

Advancing Equity: Lean Leader Practices and a Path Forward.

Unlabelled: Policy Points This study highlights health care leaders' use of lean management practices to advance equity and scale initiatives supporting the delivery of high-quality care for all patients. As a next step in this work, there is a need to develop new measurement systems with clearly defined performance metrics that ensure accountability to equity standards. Standards can be reinforced by government agencies, professional associations, and accrediting bodies.

Investing in the development of the next generation of MCH leaders.

The public health landscape is constantly evolving to address the strengths and needs of the community. Training for the public health workforce is leading the way, establishing an ecosystem approach that integrates individuals within social, political, and environmental contexts to promote health equity within a framework of social justice. One area of public health that is innovatively preparing the next generation of leaders is maternal and child health (MCH).

A Wireless, Multicolor Fluorescence Image Sensor Implant for Real-Time Monitoring in Cancer Therapy.

Real-time monitoring of dynamic biological processes in the body is critical to understanding disease progression and treatment response. This data, for instance, can help address the lower than 50% response rates to cancer immunotherapy. However, current clinical imaging modalities lack the molecular contrast, resolution, and chronic usability for rapid and accurate response assessments.

Foodscapes for salmon and other mobile consumers in river networks.

Mobile consumers track fluctuating resources across heterogeneous landscapes to grow and survive. In river networks, the abundance and accessibility of food and the energetic consequences of foraging vary among habitats and through time, providing a shifting mosaic of growth opportunities for mobile consumers. However, a framework integrating the spatiotemporal dynamics of growth potential within riverscapes has been lacking.

Large-Area Metallic Nanohelices for Engineering Optical Chirality.

Submicrometer helical structures possess unique properties and functionalities arising from their intrinsic twisting nature. However, existing fabrication methods are often limited to small sample sizes, hindering comprehensive characterization and practical implementation. In this study, a scalable self-assembly method for fabricating metallic helices through a transformation of planar microstrips into helical geometries upon their release from the substrate is presented.

Ancestral sequence reconstruction as a tool for structural analysis of modular polyketide synthases.

Modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) are large multi-domain enzymes critical for the biosynthesis of polyketide antibiotics. However, challenges with structural analysis limits our mechanistic understanding of modular PKSs. In this report, we explore the potential of ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) for structure analysis of target proteins.

Performance of Cross-Validated Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation.

Background: Advanced methods for causal inference, such as targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE), require specific convergence rates and the Donsker class condition for valid statistical estimation and inference. In situations where there is no differentiability due to data sparsity or near-positivity violations, the Donsker class condition is violated. In such instances, the bias of the targeted estimand is inflated, and its variance is anti-conservative, leading to poor coverage.

EVscope: A Comprehensive Bioinformatics Pipeline for Accurate and Robust Analysis of Total RNA Sequencing from Extracellular Vesicles.

Motivation: Extracellular vesicle (EV) RNA sequencing has emerged as a powerful approach for studying RNA biomarkers and intercellular communication. Nevertheless, the extremely low abundance, fragmented nature and ubiquitous tissue origin of EV RNAs, alongside potential contamination from co-isolated materials, such as free DNA and bacterial RNA, pose substantial analytical challenges. These complexities highlight a pressing need for a standardized, computational workflow that ensures robust quality control and EV RNA characterization.

Robust High-Spin State in One-Dimensional CrX (X = Cl, Br, I) at the Single-Chain Limit.

Low-dimensional magnetic materials have garnered significant interest due to their unique physical properties and potential applications. Nevertheless, the synthesis of one-dimensional (1D) magnetic materials presents challenges, and the properties of these 1D materials at the single-chain limit have not been well investigated. We here explore experimentally and theoretically 1D CrX (X= Cl, Br, I) magnetic single chains residing within carbon nanotubes.

Multistage adaptive cyberattack in power systems with CNN identification feedback loops.

The increasing integration of digital technologies in hybrid hydrogen-power networks has introduced new cybersecurity vulnerabilities that existing static or single-phase cyberattack models fail to adequately exploit or defend against. These models typically lack dynamic adaptability, coordination across multiple attack stages, and obfuscation mechanisms, thereby limiting their effectiveness and realism. To address this gap, we propose a novel Cyberattack Design Based on CNN-DQN-Blockchain Technology for Targeted Adaptive Strategy (CDB-TAS)-a three-stage, dynamically evolving cyberattack framework tailored for hybrid hydrogen-electric networks.

Striatal dopamine can enhance both fast working memory, and slow reinforcement learning, while reducing implicit effort cost sensitivity.

Associations can be learned incrementally, via reinforcement learning (RL), or stored instantly in working memory (WM). While WM is fast, it is also capacity-limited and effortful. Striatal dopamine may promote WM, by facilitating WM updating and effort exertion and also RL, by boosting plasticity.

Understanding the impact of antenatal corticosteroids via placenta and fetal lung microphysiological analysis platform (MAP) on a chip.

Antenatal corticosteroids are recommended for preterm births to enhance lung maturity; however, the guidelines are based on limited studies. Here, we present a placenta-fetal lung microphysiological analysis platform (MAP) to study how corticosteroids promote fetal lung maturation and determine their optimal concentration with minimal side effects. We create trophoblast-capillary-pneumocyte MAP on chips to analyze the transport of corticosteroids from mother to fetus through the placenta.