Tech
The first mechanism establishes a relationship between the phase of the heartbeat and conscious experience. In a regular rhythm, the heart contracts in the so-called systolic phase and pumps blood into the body. In a second phase, the diastolic phase, the blood flows back and the heart fills up again. In a previous publication from the MPI CBS, it was reported that perception of external stimuli changes with the heartbeat. In systole, we are less likely to detect a weak electric stimulus in the finger compared to diastole.
INDIANAPOLIS - The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted nursing home residents, and many have been hospitalized. To help nursing homes and emergency departments (EDs) handle these difficult patient transfers, Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist and Indiana University School of Medicine Associate Professor Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D., MHA, and colleagues have developed the top 10 points for safe care transitions between nursing home and emergency departments during the pandemic.
A key challenge to capturing and controlling fusion energy on Earth is maintaining the stability of plasma -- the electrically charged gas that fuels fusion reactions -- and keeping it millions of degrees hot to launch and maintain fusion reactions. This challenge requires controlling magnetic islands, bubble-like structures that form in the plasma in doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion facilities.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2020 -- Laboratory blood tests are often done by forcing samples through small channels. When the channels are very small, as in microfluidic devices, red blood cells (RBCs) are deformed and then relax back to their original shape after exiting the channel. The way the deformation and relaxation occur depends on both the flow characteristics and mechanical properties of the cell's outer membrane.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2020 -- A device which simulates borehole ballooning, a detrimental side effect of deep-water drilling operations, is expected to ensure safe and efficient operations. If not prevented, borehole ballooning can lead to irreversible damage and serious drilling accidents, which can result in reservoir pollution and huge economic loss.
WASHINGTON, D.C. and SAN DIEGO, CA - About 1 in 7 Americans say they would avoid seeking medical care if they experienced key symptoms associated with COVID-19 out of fear of the potential cost. Another six percent - representing about 15 million people - report that they or a family member have been denied medical care for some other health issue due to heavy volume brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.
Proteins are composed of amino acids connected by amide bonds. The amide bond exhibits high chemical stability and has a planar structure around the bond. Although the high stability of amide bond is indispensable to maintain protein functions, it is problematic to convert the building block into some other molecular species by selective dissociation of a relevant amide bond. There have been attempted to control reactivity of a specific amide bond with selective twisting of the bond by complicated chemical modifications.
RICHLAND, Wash. -- The same material you'll find at the tip of a pencil--graphite--has long been a key component in today's lithium-ion batteries. As our reliance on these batteries increases, however, graphite-based electrodes are due for an upgrade. For that, scientists are looking to the element at the heart of the digital revolution: silicon.
One of the greatest challenges facing humanity is how to grow more food while reducing the negative impacts of agriculture upon the environment. Our ability to do so requires ever-more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices. The promising news is that researchers have found out that the spatial pattern in which a farmer sows their crops is an important determinant of what they will reap.
Surface chemistry of chainmail links from the wrecked warship Mary Rose analysed using state-of-the-art X-ray facility
Team led by Universities of Warwick and Ghent reveals composition of the armour and extent of corrosion since recovery from the seabed
Traces of lead and gold hint at further history to be unearthed
Research confirms the effectiveness of the conservation techniques used
Sensitive X-ray detectors are essential for medical radiography, industrial inspection and security screening. However, commercially available X-ray instruments require high dosages for imaging. Further lowering the radiation dose will reduce health risks to patients; and will also increase the frequency with which X-ray images can safely be acquired, ultimately paving the way toward truly personalized patient care.
Simultaneous deep brain stimulation (DBS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is critical for understanding the functional neural networks and the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of DBS therapies. Conventional DBS electrodes typically lead to severe distortion of the surrounding magnetic field, which creates large artifacts in MR images and thus impedes the functional investigation of DBS-fMRI.
Recently, Professor Zhan Xiaowei's group from the College of Engineering at Peking University made new progress in non-fullerene acceptors for organic solar cells (OSCs). They developed a new fluorinated fused-ring electron acceptor (FREA) with 3D stacking and exciton and charge transport (Adv. Mater., DOI: 10.1002/adma.202000645).
The extreme cold, harsh environment and constant hunt for food means that Arctic animals have become specialists in saving energy. Now, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a previously unknown energy-saving method used by birds during the polar night.
The design of materials with high capacity, excellent rate capability and long cycle life is one of the major challenges for the rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Among the virous anode materials, TiO2 stands out due to its nontoxicity, high abundance, high activity, safe operation, electrochemical and structural stability. However, the kinetics of Li+ insertion-extraction and the electrochemical performance of TiO2 are always limited by slow Li+ diffusion and charge transport as well as the low electrode/electrolyte contact area.