Objective: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for anxiety and depression disorders. Nonetheless, nearly 50% of all patients do not respond. Besides other factors, this seems to be linked to the experience of traumatic life events. This study aims to assess the effects of trauma history on the choice of therapy interventions and treatment outcomes. Methods: We analyzed data from 340 CBT outpatients diagnosed with a depression or anxiety disorder and possibly a trauma history treated under naturalistic conditions. Based on their written therapy files, we collected information on trauma history, psychiatric diagnoses, duration of therapy, applied interventions, and severity of depression and anxiety symptoms at the start and end of therapy. The influence of trauma, diagnoses, and intervention use on the development of depression and anxiety symptoms were analyzed. Results: Patients with a trauma history reported higher overall depression and anxiety symptoms than those without trauma. No differences in the duration of therapy, applied interventions, or decrease in symptom severity were found between patients with and without a trauma history. Trauma-specific interventions failed to boost treatment success; however, they were also seldom applied. Conclusion: Although no differences between traumatized and non-traumatized patients were found for naturalistic CBT, traumatized patients maintained higher levels of symptom severity irrespective of diagnoses. These results indicate a need for more trauma-specific and personalized interventions. Therapists may need evidence-based guidelines to personalize CBT for patients with a trauma history and high symptom severity.

Background: To evaluate the predictive value of a nomogram with Ki-67 in overall and disease-free survival in glioma patients. Methods: A total of 76 patients diagnosed with glioma were enrolled. The baseline data and followups were retrospectively collected from medical records. The associations between Ki-67 and survival status were examined using log-rank test, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models. Calibrations were performed to validate the established nomograms. Results: Ki-67 negative group showed a longer OS survival time and a longer PFS survival time with log-rank test (x2=16.101, P<0.001 and x2=16.961, P<0.001). Age older than 50 years (HR=2.074, 95% CI: 1.097-3.923), abnormal treatment (HR=2.932, 95% CI: 1.343-6.403) and Ki-67 positive (HR=2.722, 95% CI: 1.097-6.755) were the independent predictive factors of death. High grade pathology (HR=2.453, 95% CI: 1.010-5.956) and Ki-67 positive (HR=2.200, 95% CI: 1.043-4.639) were the independent predictive factors of recurrence. The C-index for the nomogram of OS and PFS were 0.745 and 0.723, respectively. The calibration results showed that the nomogram could predict the overall and disease-free 1-year survival of glioma patients. Conclusion: The nomograms with Ki-67 as independent risk factor for OS and PFS could provide clinical consultation in the treatment and follow-up of malignant glioma.

The use of automation in mining can be found at all stages of the mining process, covering exploration, excavation, loading, transportation, mineral processing, and search and rescue missions in emergency situations. Due to the harsh conditions during an underground mine disaster, robots can be of great assistance to rescue teams by entering areas that are unsafe for human rescuers, locating trapped workers and collecting valuable data. The design and implementation of mine rescue robots is characterized by great complexity since it encompasses the consideration of a great range of components and requirements. However, comprehensive guidelines for design and deployment of robots in harsh underground environments have not been established. As a result, the developers of mine rescue robots (MRRs) are to exercise their own judgment on the development and evaluation of the platform functionalities. This review attempts an extensive discussion of design and functionality requirements based on the common practices and lessons learned from the existing MRRs. Common considerations, as well as current and future trends are identified with the aim of facilitating future research and development on mine search and rescue robots.

The use of strategic implants for the optimization of prosthetic balance of distal extension removable mandibular prosthesis: a five- year follow-up report

Marchiafava-Bignami disease: prompt diagnosis made by magnetic resonance brain imagingSatroi Akita, M.D, 1,2Takeshi Takakuwa, M.D. 1Kouji Kajinami, M.D. 21. Department of Internal Medicine, Nanto Chuo Hospital, Nanto City, Toyama, Japan2. Department of Cardiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, JapanCorrespondence should be addressed to:Kouji Kajinami, M.D.Department of Cardiology, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada 920-0293, Japan.Phone: +81-76-286-2211 Ext.33206Fax: +81-76-286-3780E-mail: kajinami@kanazawa-med.ac.jpKey WordsMarchiafava-Bignami diseaseMagnetic resonance imagingAlcohol consumption

Recent efforts to assess the ability of current salt marsh extent to persist over the next 50-100 years conclude that under intermediate sea-level rise (SLR) projections, salt marsh extent in North America will suffer a dramatic decline by 2100. This occurs as the rate of SLR reaches 12-14mm/y, exceeding the ability of most marshes to accrete sufficient sediment to keep up, and migration space becomes limited, eliminating the ability of marshes to move up. Increasing future marsh resilience by building or restoring marshes at higher elevations often comes with a contemporary decrease in the provision of some marsh ecosystem services, such as fishery use, denitrification, and primary production, which are optimal at mid to low marsh elevations. Current state and federal environmental laws and regulatory policy are designed to protect current salt marsh habitat, and prevent actions that result in a loss of habitat and associated ecosystem services. An approach that better balances the need to protect current marsh habitat with the need to ensure future marsh habitat is needed to create and restore resilient coastal wetlands. Marsh restoration and resilience projects should be evaluated over a 50-75 year time period, utilizing updated NOAA SLR predictions and spatial models incorporating projected SLR rates and migration space. Examples of marsh restoration and shoreline stabilization projects that provide long-term marsh resilience to SLR, but may reduce ecosystem services short-term, are provided from sites in North Carolina.

The content and density of traffic signs directly affect the operation of urban road traffic and the acceptance of drivers. In order to make up the limitation of quantitative research on density threshold of traffic signs on urban roads, a real vehicle experiment was used to record the drivers’ psychophysiology characteristics. The psychological and physiological indexes of drivers, such as pupil area, fixation intensity, heart rate change rate and heart rate variability, were explored and then principal component analysis was used to present a new index S to represent driving visual comfort level, which was divided into 5 grade scales. The information entropy theory was applied to quantify the amount of information for road traffic signs in driving tests, and a regression relationship between the information content of traffic signs and the comfort index S was established. To meet the requirements of driving comfort, the visual psychophysiological load threshold was -2.289≤S<-1.526 for the level of very comfortable, 1.526≤S<-0.763 for the level of relatively comfortable, -0.763≤S≤0.763 for the level of comfortable, 0.763

Background: Thrombin is a critical protease modulating thrombosis as well as inflammation which are one of the main pathophysiological mechanisms in sickle vasculopathy, and its levels were reported to be high in sickle cell disease (SCD). The thrombin-thrombomodulin complex activates an inhibitor of fibrinolysis called TAFI acting by reducing plasmin affinity for its substrate hindering fibrinolysis. Objective: We aimed to determine the influence of the Thr325Ile single nucleotide polymorphism on TAFI antigen levels and potential effects on the severity of SCD in a cohort of Egyptian patients. Methods: Genotyping of Thr325lle polymorphism using Taq-Man SNP genotyping assay and TAFI level measurement using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) were performed for 80 SCD patients and 80 health control subjects. Results: Plasma TAFI levels were higher in SCD patients with Thr325Ile polymorphism, yet the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.204). SCD patients with polymorphic genotypes had a greater number of hospital admissions (p=0.03), Ten patients with acute chest syndrome had the homozygous polymorphic genotype (GG), and all patients with pulmonary hypertension had the polymorphic genotype (6 were homozygous [GG] and 5 were heterozygous [GA]). SCD patients complicated with pulmonary hypertension showed significantly higher plasma TAFI levels (p= 0.044). Conclusion: The analysis of Thr325Ile polymorphism combined with plasma TAFI level possibly suggests that the analyzed SNP could influence plasma levels and subsequently disease severity and hospitalization rate, which might be regarded as predictors for complex disease.

Weeks or months after recovering from COVID-19, a significant number of people are still experiencing fatigue, ‘brain fog’, headaches, cognitive impairment, smell or taste disturbances, myalgia and one or more other symptoms. This condition has been termed as Long COVID and dysautonomia is thought to play one of the important roles in the pathophysiology of this condition. The stellate ganglion block (SGB) is thought to restore autonomic nervous system functioning by temporarily inhibiting cervical sympathetic activity and is under investigation as a potential option for the treatment of persistent olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, headache and other symptoms of Long COVID. In this case series, we report that by performing SGB, we successfully treated and improved the quality of life of two patients with a Long COVID diagnosis who presented us with complaints of smell and taste sensory impairment.

Differences in the number of alien plant species in different locations may reflect climatic and other controls that similarly affect native species and/or propagule pressure accompanied with delayed spread from the point of introduction. We set out to examine these alternatives for Himalayan plants, in a phylogenetic framework. We build a database of alien plant distributions for the Himalaya. Focusing on the well documented regions of Jammu & Kashmir (west) and Bhutan (east) we compare alien and native species for (1) richness patterns, (2) degree of phylogenetic clustering, (3) the extent to which species-poor regions are subsets of species-rich regions, and (4) continental and climatic affinities/source. We document 1,470 alien species (at least 600 naturalised), which comprise ~14% of the vascular plants known from the Himalaya. Alien plant species with tropical affinities decline in richness with elevation and species at high elevations form a subset of those at lower elevations, supporting location of introduction as an important driver of alien plant richness patterns. Separately, elevations which are especially rich in native plant species are also especially rich in alien plant species, suggesting an important role for climate (high productivity) in determining both native and alien richness. We find no support for the proposition that human disturbance or resistance to invasion by native species affect alien distributions. Results imply an ongoing expansion of alien species from low elevation sources, some of which are highly invasive.

As virtual reality display technologies advance, resolutions and refresh rates continue to approach human perceptual limits, presenting a challenge for real-time rendering algorithms. Neural super-resolution is promising in reducing the computation cost and boosting the visual experience by scaling up low-resolution renderings. However, the added workload of running neural networks cannot be neglected. In this paper, we try to alleviate the burden by exploiting the foveated nature of the human visual system, where acuity decreases rapidly from the focal point to the periphery. With the help of dynamic and geometric information (i.e.,pixel-wise motion vectors, depth, and camera transformation) available inherently in the real-time rendering content, we propose a neural accumulator to effectively aggregate the amortizedly rendered low-resolution visual information from frame to frame recurrently. By leveraging a partition-assemble scheme, we use a neural super-resolution module to upsample the low-resolution image tiles to different qualities according to their perceptual importance and reconstruct the final output heterogeneously. Perceptually high-fidelity foveated high-resolution frames are generated in real-time, surpassing the quality of other foveated super-resolution methods.

Abstract: The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has raised concerns about the need for human control over AI systems\cite{Hoellinger2023}. This paper explores the ethical implications and challenges of ensuring human oversight and control of AI. Furthermore, it examines the ethical principles of AI intervention and the management of bias in AI systems. The paper concludes by emphasizing the significance of human-centered AI and the ethical considerations in ensuring human control over AI systems\cite{account}.Introduction:The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in various fields, including healthcare, decision-making, and research. However, ensuring human control over AI systems is a critical concern. Several scholars have emphasized the need for human oversight and control in the development and application of AI\cite{governance}. In the realm of decision-making, particularly in high-stakes public sector decision-making, human oversight at all stages of the development of AI systems has been emphasized as a safeguard within governance proposals\cite{oversight}. This aligns with the view that AI should be a tool and not a master, with human oversight being a core factor in establishing meaningful human control of such systems\cite{control}. The development and application of AI raise legal and ethical considerations, with the need for trustworthy AI and the regulation of AI systems being recognized. The proposed Artificial Intelligence Act takes a risk-based approach to regulate AI, aiming to foster an ecosystem of trust that gives citizens confidence in AI applications and provides legal certainty for innovation using AI.Methods:The discussion in this paper is informed by a range of scholarly works that address the ethical dimensions of AI governance and human-centric use of AI. For instance,  \cite{intelligence}delve into the ethical assessment of AI systems in comparison to humans, shedding light on the fundamental differences that are relevant to ethical considerations. Additionally, the study  \cite{102249} highlights the potential for algorithmic decision-making processes to lead to more objective decisions than those made by humans, emphasizing the need for human-centric use of AI. Moreover, the paper draws on insights from the literature on AI governance and human rights, such as the work \cite{29pn4q}, which emphasizes the potential of AI to fundamentally alter the human experience.Discussion:It is imperative to emphasize the need for human control over AI systems. The potential impact of AI on various aspects of daily life, including healthcare, decision-making, and societal interactions, underscores the significance of ensuring human oversight and control\cite{ethicsa}. The ethical and practical implications of AI in everyday life necessitate the establishment of frameworks that prioritize human control and responsibility in the development and application of AI systems\cite{ethics}. This aligns with the fundamental principle that AI should serve as a tool under human direction, rather than as an autonomous decision-maker\cite{ethicsa}. The potential risks associated with the misuse or abuse of AI technology further underscore the critical need for human oversight and control to ensure the ethical and responsible deployment of AI in everyday life Therefore, prioritizing human control over AI systems is essential to uphold ethical standards, mitigate potential risks, and ensure that AI serves the best interests of humanity in everyday life\cite{system}.In the context of AI in education: . AI-powered tools can help teachers to personalize learning, identify and address student learning gaps, and provide real-time feedback\cite{technologies}. However, it is important to use AI in a way that does not replace human teachers. AI should be used as a tool to support teachers and students, not as a replacement for them. There are several reasons why AI should only be used as a tool in the education sector.AI cannot replicate the human qualities that are essential for good teaching. These qualities include empathy, compassion, and the ability to build relationships with students\cite{implications}. AI systems can be programmed to recognize and respond to certain emotions, but they cannot understand or empathize with students.AI systems are often biased. This means that they may produce outputs that are unfair or inaccurate. This is especially concerning in the context of education, where AI systems could be used to make decisions that have a significant impact on students’ lives\cite{itfytq}.AI systems can be opaque and difficult for humans to understand. This makes it difficult to hold AI systems accountable for their decisions and to ensure that they are being used in a fair and responsible manner\cite{ethicsb}.Here are some specific examples of how AI can be used as a tool in the education sector:AI can be used to create personalized learning plans for students. These learning plans can be based on the student’s individual needs, interests, and learning style\cite{plan}.AI can be used to identify and address student learning gaps.AI systems can analyze student data to identify areas where students are struggling and to provide them with targeted support\cite{plan}.AI can be used to provide teachers with real-time feedback on student progress. This feedback can help teachers identify students at risk of falling behind and provide them with the additional support they need.Conclusion:Prioritizing human control over AI systems is essential to ensure that AI is used ethically and responsibly in all aspects of our lives, including education, healthcare, decision-making, and societal interactions\cite{ethicsa}. AI-powered tools can be valuable tools for supporting human goals, but they should not be used to replace humans or make decisions on our behalf. AI systems are often biased and opaque, and they can have a significant impact on our lives if they are not used responsibly\cite{survey}.To ensure that AI is used for good, we need to develop frameworks that prioritize human control and responsibility in the development and application of AI systems\cite{performance}. This means ensuring that humans are always in the driver’s seat and that AI systems are used to support our goals, not to replace us.

Physical processes that transfer mass and energy by diffusion or convection occur in gaseous combustion. The management of internal features of a cavity structure for channels offers the possibility of inherently effective operation within the flammable limits of a combustible fluid stream while preserving high stability for the flame. However, the precise mechanism by which the cavity method generally provides increased flame stability for millimeter-scale systems remains unclear. The combustion characteristics of methane-air mixtures in millimeter-scale systems with a cavity structure are investigated experimentally and numerically to gain a greater understanding of the mechanisms of flame stabilization and to gain new insights into the characteristics of combustion within spaces with extremely small dimensions. Stable temperature profiles are obtained from thermographic measurements using infrared radiation. The measurements are compared with the model predictions. Subsequent model calculations demonstrate the effects of variations in wall thermal conductivity, heat losses, and equivalence ratio. Methods of applying a cavity structure to channel walls are developed, which may be utilized with presently existing designs of micro-combustion systems. The factors affecting flame stability and combustion characteristics are determined for the systems. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity of the burner walls plays a vital role in flame stability. The design with anisotropic thermal conductivity has significant performance advantages. Improvements in flame stability are achievable by using walls with anisotropic thermal conductivity. Heat-insulating materials are favored to minimize external heat losses. There are issues of efficiency loss for fuel-rich cases. Burners with large dimensions lead to a delay in flame ignition and may cause blowout. The combustion is stabilized by recirculation of hot combustion products induced by the cavity structure.Keywords: Thermographic measurements; Infrared radiation; Internal features; Flammable limits; Fluid streams; Effective operation

While burners designed in a backflow way enable operation with very low noxious emissions, they frequently operate very close to the extinction limit of the flame. Cavity structures have been designed for the purpose of improving flame stability. However, the precise mechanism by which the cavity method provides increased flame stability remains unclear. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are conducted to gain insights into burner performance such as reaction rates, species concentrations, temperatures, and flames. Factors affecting combustion characteristics and flame stability are determined. The results indicate that burner dimensions greatly affect flame stability. Burners with large dimensions lead to a delay in flame ignition and may cause blowout. The combustion is stabilized by recirculation of hot combustion products induced by the cavity structure. The inlet velocity of the mixture is a critical factor in assuring flame stability within the cavity-stabilized burner. There is a narrow range of inlet velocities that permit sustained combustion within the cavity-stabilized burner. Design recommendations are provided.Keywords: Burners; Flames; Temperatures; Species concentrations; Reaction rates; Combustion

A document by Hao Zhou . Click on the document to view its contents.

This letter proposes a low-complexity, one-snapshot angle, range and channel gain estimation algorithm for a sparse multipath near-field spatial-wideband system. With upcoming mm-wave & sub-THz systems expected to operate massive antenna arrays, the transmitted wideband signal is not only sensitive to the propagation delay across the array aperture but the resulting wavefront is no longer planar. A modified wideband discrete linear chirp transform (DLCT) is used to estimate the multipath parameters of such a system. Furthermore, an iterative neighbourhood search is proposed to acquire super-resolution estimates of the scatterer locations, path gain and the multipath’s arrival angle. We also show that they are asymptotically optimal approaching their respective Cramer-Rao bounds.

A formulation based on the anelastic approximation yields time-dependent simulations of convective updrafts, downdrafts and other aspects of convection-such as stratiform layers-under reasonably flexible geometry assumptions. Termed anelastic convective entities (ACEs), such realizations can aid understanding of convective processes, and potentially provide time-dependent building blocks for parameterization at a complexity between steady-plume models and cloud-resolving simulations. Even for cases deliberately formulated to provide a comparison to a traditional convective plume, ACE behavior differs substantially because dynamic entrainment, detrainment and nonhydrostatic perturbation pressure are consistently included. Entrainment varies with the evolution of the entity but behavior akin to deep-inflow effects noted in observations emerges naturally. The magnitude of mass flux with nonlocal pressure effects consistently included is smaller than for a corresponding traditional steady-plume model. ACE solutions do not necessarily approach a steady state even with fixed environment but can exhibit chains of rising thermals, and even episodic deep convection. The inclusion of nonlocal dynamics allows a developing updraft to tunnel through layers with substantial convective inhibition (CIN). For cases of nighttime continental convection using GoAmazon soundings, this is found to greatly reduce the effect of surface-inversion CIN. The observed convective cold top is seen as an inherent property of the solution, both in a transient, rising phase and as a persistent feature in mature deep convection. An embedded ACE configuration allows stratiform cloud formation by time-dependent detrainment modified by dynamic feedbacks during the grid-scale adjustment process. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Convective storms cause hazardous events such as flooding, often with economic losses. Forecasting such events and how they change in a warming climate for mitigation planning is hard. In modern numerical weather and climate models, one issue standing out is that model cannot satisfactorily simulate nighttime storms over land commonly observed over, for instance, the North American Great Plains or the Amazon basin. Here, we propose a new model-named anelastic convective entity (ACE)-with two purposes in mind: (i) to be useful for improving numerical models; and (ii) to help understand convective processes in general. Preliminary results covered here are promising, especially for the nighttime convection problem.

Background Survivors of childhood medulloblastoma are particularly susceptible to late effects because of the location of the tumour and the treatment required to achieve a cure. Living with these long-term toxicities is challenging and greater understanding of the impact of the disease and treatment have on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is needed. Procedure We report a cross-sectional study to assess patient HRQoL outcomes for 52 long-term survivors of medulloblastoma aged 1–25 years of age at diagnosis and treated during a ten-year period at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Child self-reports and parent – proxy reports of PedsQL scores correlate with clinical information, long-term toxicity (assessed using CTCAE) and neurocognitive assessment (using WISC-IV) to examine the impact that disease and treatment have on HRQoL after treatment. Results Reported late toxicities included ataxia (62%), hearing impairment (59%), endocrine disorders (57%) and memory impairment (44%). Reduced HRQoL outcome scores for patients showed a significant correlation with reduced verbal comprehension (0.51; p=0.025), and processing speed (0.5; p=0.04). Memory impairment showed significant association with the cancer module PedsQL (p=0.024) scores. Parents’ perception of their child’s quality of life was lower than the patient’s self-assessment (mean 55.9 for parents and 63.8 for patients, p=0.004). Conclusions The findings from this study confirm the impact of late toxicities and neurocognitive sequelae on HRQoL in patients previously treated for medulloblastoma in childhood and adolescence. In particular verbal comprehension, processing speed and memory impairment influence patient reported outcomes in this cohort.

Aerosol increases over the 20th century delayed the rate at which Earth warmed as a result of increases in greenhouse gases (GHGs). Aggressive aerosol mitigation policies arrested aerosol radiative forcing from ~1980 to ~2010. Recent evidence supports decreases in forcing magnitude since then. Using the approximate partial radiative perturbation (APRP) method, future shortwave aerosol effective radiative forcing changes are isolated from other shortwave changes in an 18-member ensemble of ScenarioMIP projections from phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). APRP-derived near-term (2020-2050) aerosol forcing trends are correlated with published model emulation values but are 30-50% weaker. Differences are likely explained by location shifts of aerosol-impacting emissions and their resultant influences on susceptible clouds. Despite weaker changes, implementation of aggressive aerosol cleanup policies will have a major impact on global warming rates over 2020-2050. APRP-derived aerosol radiative forcings are used together with a forcing and impulse response model to estimate global temperature trends. Strong mitigation of GHGs, as in SSP1-2.6, likely prevents warming exceeding 2C since preindustrial but the strong aerosol cleanup in this scenario increases the probability of exceeding 2C by 2050 from near zero without aerosol changes to 6% with cleanup. When the same aerosol forcing is applied to a more likely GHG forcing scenario (i.e., SSP2-4.5), aggressive aerosol cleanup more than doubles the probability of reaching 2C by 2050 from 30% to 80%. It is thus critical to quantify and simulate the impacts of changes in aerosol radiative forcing over the next few decades.

Release of iron (Fe) from continental shelves is a major source of this limiting nutrient for phytoplankton in the open ocean, including productive Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. The mechanisms governing the transport and fate of Fe along continental margins remain poorly understood, reflecting interaction of physical and biogeochemical processes that are crudely represented by global ocean biogeochemical models. Here, we use a submesoscale-permitting physical-biogeochemical model to investigate processes governing the delivery of shelf-derived Fe to the open ocean along the northern U.S. West Coast. We find that a significant fraction (∼20%) of the Fe released by sediments on the shelf is transported offshore, fertilizing the broader Northeast Pacific Ocean. This transport is governed by two main pathways that reflect interaction between the wind-driven ocean circulation and Fe release by low-oxygen sediments: the first in the surface boundary layer during upwelling events; the second in the bottom boundary layer, associated with pervasive interactions of the poleward California Undercurrent with bottom topography. In the water column interior, transient and standing eddies strengthen offshore transport, counteracting the onshore pull of the mean upwelling circulation. Several hot-spots of intense Fe delivery to the open ocean are maintained by standing meanders in the mean current and enhanced by transient eddies and seasonal oxygen depletion. Our results highlight the importance of fine-scale dynamics for the transport of Fe and shelf-derived elements from continental margins to the open ocean, and the need to improve representation of these processes in biogeochemical models used for climate studies.

Title: Exploring Renewable Energy: Build Your Own Solar-Powered CarAbstract:This lesson plan aims to engage students in hands-on learning about renewable energy by constructing their own solar-powered cars. By exploring the principles of solar energy conversion and mechanical engineering, students will gain a deeper understanding of sustainable energy sources and their applications. The lesson plan is designed for middle school students and aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for engineering design and energy.

Compact ultra massive array (CUMA) is a new form of the emerging fluid antenna system (FAS) where a huge number of flexible-position antennas are selected to produce the output signal. By making sure that the in-phase channels (similarly for the quadrature channels) of the desired signal at the selected antenna ports align, it builds an advantage of the desired signal over the interference. It is known that CUMA as a multiple access scheme is able to deal with hundreds of users on the same channel use, in the case of rich scattering, if binary phase shift keying (BPSK) is considered. It is nevertheless unclear if higher-level modulation can bring even greater network rate in this extreme massive connectivity scenario. In this letter, we investigate this situation by presenting the average data rate expression of CUMA when M-ary amplitude shift keying (ASK) is used, assuming a binary symmetric channel. Numerical results reveal that M-ary ASK can indeed raise the rate performance considerably.

Cardiac interoception, the ability to sense and process cardiac afferent signals, has been shown to improve after a single session of acute physical exercise. However, it remains unclear whether repetitive engagement in physical exercise over time leads to long-term changes in cardiac interoceptive accuracy and neural activity associated with the processing of afferent cardiac signals. In this study, we aimed to investigate this hypothesis through two cross-sectional studies, categorizing participants as high or low fit based on physical fitness (Study I) or self-reported physical activity levels (Study II). Interoception was assessed using the Heart-Evoked Potential (Studies I and II), the Heartbeat Counting task (Study II), and the Rubber Hand Illusion (Study II). Despite consistent between-group differences in electrocardiogram recordings in both studies, there were not statistically significant between-group differences in any of the measures of interoception. Consequently, our results do not provide evidence to support the notion that regular physical exercise leads to an increase in cardiac interoception.

The Pd-catalyzed dipolar cycloaddition represents a significant synthetic strategy for the construction of useful heterocyclic com-pounds. This study developed the dipolar [4+2] and [6+2] cycloaddition reactions of benzo[d]isothiazole 1,1-dioxides (BDs) leading to the synthesis of BD-fused 1,3-oxazinane and 1,3-oxazocane derivatives, respectively. In particular, the synthesis of BD-fused 1,3-oxazinanes demonstrated regio- and enantioselective characteristics, resulting in products with good yields, enantioselectivity and regioselectivity (if applicable). Furthermore, the [6+2] cycloaddition reaction developed in this work represented the first strat-egy for the synthesis of medium-sized ring compounds based on BDs.