In childhood, diets high in sodium and low in potassium contribute to raised blood pressure and cardiovascular disease later in life(1). For New Zealand (NZ) children, bread is a major source of dietary sodium, and fruit, vegetables, and milk are major dietary sources of potassium(2,3). However, it is mandatory to use iodised salt in NZ bread meaning reducing the salt and thus sodium content could put children at risk of iodine deficiency(4). Our objective was to measure the sodium, potassium, and iodine intake, and blood pressure of NZ school children 8-13 years old. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in five primary schools in Auckland and Dunedin. Primary schools were recruited between July 2022 and February 2023 using purposive sampling. Seventy-five children (n= 37 boys, 29 girls, and nine children who did not state their gender) took part. The most common ethnicity was NZ European and Other (n=54 or 72%) followed by Māori (indigenous inhabitants; n=9 or 12%) and Pasifika (n=5 or 7%). The main outcomes were 24-hour sodium and potassium intake, sodium to potassium molar ratio, 24-hour iodine intake, and BP. Sodium, potassium, and iodine intake were assessed using 24-hour urine samples and BP was assessed using standard methods. Differences by gender were tested using two-sample t-tests and nonparametric Wilcoxon two-sample tests. The mean (SD) 24-hour sodium excretion, potassium excretion, and sodium to potassium molar ratio for children with complete samples (n=59) were 2,420 (1,025) mg, 1,567 (733) mg, and 3.0 (1.6), respectively. The median (25th, 75th percentile) urinary iodine excretion was 88 (61, 122) µg per 24 hours and the mean (SD) systolic and diastolic blood pressure (n=74) were 105 (10) mmHg and 67 (9) mmHg, respectively. There was a significant difference between boys and girls for iodine (77 (43, 96) vs. 98 (72, 127) µg per 24 hours; p=0.02) but no other outcomes. In conclusion, children consumed more sodium and less potassium and iodine than World Health Organization recommendations(5). However, future research should confirm these findings in a nationally representative sample. Evidence-based, equitable interventions and policies with adequate monitoring should be considered to reduce potentially suboptimal sodium, potassium, and iodine intakes in New Zealand.

New Zealand and Australian governments rely heavily on voluntary industry initiatives to improve population nutrition, such as voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling (Health Star Rating [HSR]), industry-led food advertising standards, and optional food reformulation programmes. Research in both countries has shown that food companies vary considerably in their policies and practices on nutrition(1). We aimed to determine if a tailored nutrition support programme for food companies improved their nutrition policies and practices compared with control companies who were not offered the programme. REFORM was a 24-month, two-country, cluster-randomised controlled trial. 132 major packaged food/drink manufacturers (n=96) and fast-food companies (n=36) were randomly assigned (2:1 ratio) to receive a 12-month tailored support programme or to the control group (no intervention). The intervention group was offered a programme designed and delivered by public health academics comprising regular meetings, tailored company reports, and recommendations and resources to improve product composition (e.g., reducing nutrients of concern through reformulation), nutrition labelling (e.g., adoption of HSR labels), marketing to children (reducing the exposure of children to unhealthy products and brands) and improved nutrition policy and corporate sustainability reporting. The primary outcome was the nutrient profile (measured using HSR) of company food and drink products at 24 months. Secondary outcomes were the nutrient content (energy, sodium, total sugar, and saturated fat) of company products, display of HSR labels on packaged products, company nutrition-related policies and commitments, and engagement with the intervention. Eighty-eight eligible intervention companies (9,235 products at baseline) were invited to participate, of whom 21 accepted and were enrolled in the REFORM programme (delivered between September 2021 and December 2022). Forty-four companies (3,551 products at baseline) were randomised to the control arm. At 24 months, the model-adjusted mean HSR of intervention company products was 2.58 compared to 2.68 for control companies, with no significant difference between groups (mean difference -0.10, 95% CI -0.40 to 0.21, p-value 0.53). A per protocol analysis of intervention companies who enrolled in the programme compared to control companies with no major protocol violation also found no significant difference (2.93 vs 2.64, mean difference 0.29, 95% CI -0.13 to 0.72, p-value 0.18). We found no significant differences between the intervention and control groups in any secondary outcome, except in total sugar (g/100g) where the sugar content of intervention company products was higher than that of control companies (12.32 vs 6.98, mean difference 5.34, 95% CI 1.73 to 8.96, p-value 0.004). The per-protocol analysis for sugar did not show a significant difference (10.47 vs 7.44, mean difference 3.03, 95% CI -0.48 to 6.53, p-value 0.09).In conclusion, a 12-month tailored nutrition support for food companies did not improve the nutrient profile of company products.

This study explored mental workload recognition methods for carrier-based aircraft pilots utilising multiple sensor physiological signal fusion and portable devices. A simulation carrier-based aircraft flight experiment was designed, and subjective mental workload scores and electroencephalogram (EEG) and photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals from six pilot cadets were collected using NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and portable devices. The subjective scores of the pilots in three flight phases were used to label the data into three mental workload levels. Features from the physiological signals were extracted, and the interrelations between mental workload and physiological indicators were evaluated. Machine learning and deep learning algorithms were used to classify the pilots’ mental workload. The performances of the single-modal method and multimodal fusion methods were investigated. The results showed that the multimodal fusion methods outperformed the single-modal methods, achieving higher accuracy, precision, recall and F1 score. Among all the classifiers, the random forest classifier with feature-level fusion obtained the best results, with an accuracy of 97.69%, precision of 98.08%, recall of 96.98% and F1 score of 97.44%. The findings of this study demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method, offering insights into mental workload management and the enhancement of flight safety for carrier-based aircraft pilots.

Objectives: Studies in PD have traditionally focused on motor features, however, interest in non-motor manifestations has increased resulting in improved knowledge regarding the prognosis of the disease. Although several studies have explored the incidence of dementia in PD cohorts, these studies have been conducted mainly in reference centers in high-income countries (HIC). In this study we aimed to analyze the prevalence of cognitive impairment in people with parkinsonism and PD and its association with incident dementia in a population- based study, of elderly from six Latin American countries.

Methods: This report consists of the analysis of data from a follow-up of 12,865 elderly people aged 65 years or older, carried out by 10/66 Dementia Research Group. Residents of urban and rural areas, from six low and middle- income countries (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru). Exposures include parkinsonism and PD defined according to the UK Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank diagnostic criteria. Cognitive impairment was the main exposure and dementia was measured through the dementia diagnosis algorithm from 10/66 DRG.

Results: At baseline, the overall prevalence of cognitive impairment was 14% (n = 1,581), in people with parkinsonism and PD, it was of 30.0% and 26.2%, respectively. Parkinsonism and PD were individually associated with prevalent and incident dementia after controlling for age, sex, and education. The pooled odds ratios from a fixed-effects meta-analysis were 2.2 (95% CI: 1.9 – 2.6) for parkinsonism and 1.9 (95% CI: 1.4 – 2.4) for PD. Regarding incident dementia, the pooled sub-Hazard ratio estimated using a competing risk model was 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2 –1.9) for parkinsonism and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.0 – 2.2) forPD.

Conclusions: Parkinsonism and PD were associated cross-sectionally with the presence of cognitive impairment, and prospectively with incident dementia in elderly people in the community population of Latin America studied. Systematic screening for cognitive impairment and dementia with valid tools in PD patients may help with earlier detection of those at highest risk for adverse outcomes. Identifying modifiable risk factors could potentially lead to efficient interventions even in advanced stages of PD.

Background: Limited knowledge exists about the association between Parkinsonism or Parkinson’s disease (PD) and cognitive impairment and dementia in Latin America.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the cross-sectional and prospective associations between Parkinsonism and PD with cognitive impairment and dementia in a large multi-country cohort in Latin America.

Methods: The 10/66 is a prospective, observational cohort study. This population-based cohort study was based in six Latin American countries: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru. The study includes 12,865 participants from six countries, including residents aged 65 years and living in urban and rural catchment areas. Exposures included diagnosed Parkinsonism and PD defined according to the United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank diagnostic criteria. Cognitive impairment was the main outcome measure for cross-sectional analysis and dementia was used to measure the prospective association with the exposures. Logistic regression models were used to explore the association between Parkinsonism/PD with cognitive impairment at baseline. Competing risk models were used to assess the prospective association between Parkinsonism/PD with incident dementia accounting for competing risk of mortality. Individual country analyses were combined via fixed-effect meta-analysis.

Results: At baseline, the prevalence of cognitive impairment in people with Parkinsonism and PD was 30% and 26.2%, respectively. Parkinsonism (OR 2.2 (95%CI 1.9 – 2.6)) and PD (1.9 (95%CI 1.4 – 2.4)) were individually associated with baseline and incident cognitive impairment after accounting for age, sex, and education, after pooling. In competing risk models, the pooled sub- hazard ratios for dementia in the fixed effect metanalysis were 1.5 (95%CI 1.2 – 1.9) for parkinsonism and 1.5 (95%CI 1.0 – 2.2) for PD.

Conclusions: Parkinsonism and PD were cross-sectionally associated with cognitive impairment and prospectively associated with incident dementia in Latin America. Routine screening for cognitive impairment and dementia with validated tools in PD patients may aid earlier detection of those at greater risk ofadverseoutcomes.

The main purpose of this article is to present the nonlinear unsteady behaviour for jet transport aircraft response to serious atmosphere turbulence in cruise flight and to provide the appropriate mitigation concepts for pilots in the pilot training course of the IATA – Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) program. The flight data of a twin-jet and a four-jet transport aircraft encountered serious atmosphere turbulence are the study cases for this article. This study uses flight data mining and fuzzy-logic modeling of artificial intelligence techniques to establish nonlinear unsteady aerodynamic models. Since the rapid change of aerodynamic characteristics in turbulence, so the study uses decoupled longitudinal and lateral-directional motion to identify various eigenvalue motion modes of nonlinear unsteady behaviour through digital 6-DOF flight simulation. It is found that the changes of the main flight variables in the aerodynamic scene and flight environment of the two aircraft are different, but the profiles of five eigenvalue motion modes are actually similar. Those similar eigenvalue motion modes can formulate preventive actions related to the flight handling quality for safe and efficient control by pilots to execute the flight tasks. The one with a large drop height during the ups and downs motion between the two is chosen to construct the movement mechanism of nonlinear unsteady behaviours. The assessments of dynamic stability characteristics of nonlinear unsteady behaviour based on the approaches of oscillatory motion and eigenvalue motion modes related to loss of control will be demonstrated in this article. To develop preventive actions, the situation awareness response to the induced mutation of nonlinear unsteady behaviour on the pilot’s operations will be a further research task in the future.

We systematically study the dissipative anomaly in compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence using direct numerical simulations, and show that the total dissipation remains finite as viscosity diminishes. The dimensionless dissipation rate $\mathcal {C}_{\varepsilon }$ fits well with the model $\mathcal {C}_{\varepsilon } = \mathcal {C}_{\varepsilon,\infty } + \mathcal {D}/R_L^-$ for all levels of flow compressibility considered here, where $R_L^-$ is the generalized large-scale Reynolds number. The asymptotic value $\mathcal {C}_{\varepsilon,\infty }$ describes the total energy transfer flux, and decreases with increase of the flow compressibility, indicating non-universality of the dimensionless dissipation rate in compressible MHD turbulence. After introducing an empirically modified dissipation rate, the data from compressible cases collapse to a form similar to the incompressible MHD case depending only on the modified Reynolds number.

Unhealthy food environments are major drivers of obesity and diet-related diseases(1). Improving the healthiness of food environments requires a widespread organised response from governments, civil society, and industry(2). However, current actions often rely on voluntary participation by industry, such as opt-in nutrition labelling schemes, school/workplace food guidelines, and food reformulation programmes. The aim of the REFORM study is to determine the effects of the provision of tailored support to companies on their nutrition-related policies and practices, compared to food companies that are not offered the programme (the control). REFORM is a two-country, parallel cluster randomised controlled trial. 150 food companies were randomly assigned (2:1 ratio) to receive either a tailored support intervention programme or no intervention. Randomisation was stratified by country (Australia, New Zealand), industry sector (fast food, other packaged food/beverage companies), and company size. The primary outcome is the nutrient profile (measured using Health Star Rating [HSR]) of foods and drinks produced by participating companies at 24 months post-baseline. Secondary outcomes include company nutrition policies and commitments, the nutrient content (sodium, sugar, saturated fat) of products produced by participating companies, display of HSR labels, and engagement with the intervention. Eighty-three eligible intervention companies were invited to take part in the REFORM programme and 21 (25%) accepted and were enrolled. Over 100 meetings were held with company representatives between September 2021 and December 2022. Resources and tailored reports were developed for 6 touchpoints covering product composition and benchmarking, nutrition labelling, consumer insights, nutrition policies, and incentives for companies to act on nutrition. Detailed information on programme resources and preliminary 12-month findings will be presented at the conference. The REFORM programme will assess if provision of tailored support to companies on their nutrition-related policies and practices incentivises the food industry to improve their nutrition policies and actions.

Facing increasing nonrenewable and environmental concerns with fossil power generation, renewable energy is being supported by government mechanisms. With the power generation cost of renewables generally higher than fossil fuels, determining the optimal level of these mechanisms requires an understanding of households’ prosocial behavior toward renewables. The issue is determining the magnitude households are willing to pay (WTP) for alternative renewables. Our hypothesis is this behavior varies by the type of renewable energy. As a test of this hypothesis, we apply a discrete choice experiment to measure households’ WTP. Results support our hypothesis with a positive WTP for solar energy, leading to a 62% reduction in solar subsidy, and a negative WTP for biomass and wind sources.

With the wide application of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the requirements for their safety and reliability are becoming increasingly stringent. In this paper, based on the feedback of airframe performance health perception information and the predictive function control strategy, the autonomous maintenance of a quadrotor UAV with multi-actuator degradation is realised. Autonomous maintenance architecture is constructed by the predictive maintenance (PdM) idea and the Laguerre function model predictive pontrol (LF-MPC) strategy. Using the two-stage Kalman filter (TSKF) method, based on the established UAV degradation model, the aircraft state and actuator degradation state are predicted simultaneously. For the predictive perception of system health, on the one hand, the system health degree (HD) based on Mahalanobis distance is defined by the degree of airframe state deviation from the expected state, and then the failure threshold of the UAV is obtained. On the other hand, according to the degradation state of each actuator, a comprehensive degradation variable fused with different weight coefficients of multiple actuators degradation is used to obtain the probability density function (PDF) of remaining useful life (RUL) prediction. For the autonomous maintenance of system health, the LF-MPC weight matrixes are adjusted adaptively in real-time based on the HD evaluation, to achieve a compromise balance between UAV performance and control effect, and greatly extend the working time of UAV. Simulation results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The proton-boron (p 11 B) reaction is regarded as the holy grail of advanced fusion fuels, where the primary reaction produces 3 energetic α particles. However, due to the high nuclear bounding energy and bremsstrahlung energy losses, energy gain from the p 11 B fusion is hard to achieve in thermal fusion conditions. Owing to advances in intense laser technology, the p11 B fusion has drawn renewed attention by using an intense laser-accelerated proton beam to impact a boron-11 target. As one of the most influential works in this field, Labaune et al. first experimentally found that states of boron (solid or plasma) play an important role in the yield of α particles. This exciting experimental finding rouses an attempt to measure the nuclear fusion cross section in a plasma environment. However, up to now, there is still no quantitative explanation. Based on large-scale, fully kinetic computer simulations, the inner physical mechanism of yield increment is uncovered, and a quantitative explanation is given. Our results indicate the yield increment is attributed to the reduced energy loss of the protons under the synergetic influences of degeneracy effects and collective electromagnetic effects. Our work may serve as a reference for not only analyzing or improving further experiments of the p 11 B fusion but also investigating other beam-plasma systems, such as ion-driven inertial confinement fusions.

The third-order law links energy transfer rates in the inertial range of magneto- hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence with third-order structure functions. Anisotropy, a typical property in the solar wind, challenges the applicability of the third-order law with the isotropic assumption. To shed light on the energy transfer process in the presence of anisotropy, we conducted direct numerical simulations of forced MHD turbulence with normal and hyper-viscosity under various strengths of the external magnetic field ($B_0$), and calculated three forms of third-order structure function with or without averaging of the azimuthal or polar angles with respect to $B_0$ direction. Correspondingly, three estimated energy transfer rates were obtained. The result shows that the peak of normalized third-order structure function occurs at larger scales closer to the $B_0$ direction, and the maximum of longitudinal transfer rates shifts away from the $B_0$ direction at larger $B_0$. Compared with normal viscous cases, hyper-viscous cases can attain better separated inertial range, thus facilitating the estimation of the energy cascade rates. We find that the widespread use of the isotropic form of the third-order law in estimating the energy transfer rates is questionable in some cases, especially when the anisotropy arising from the mean magnetic field is inevitable. In contrast, the direction-averaged third-order structure function properly accounts for the effect of anisotropy and predicts the energy transfer rates and inertial range accurately, even at very high $B_0$. With limited statistics, the third-order structure function shows a stronger dependence on averaging of azimuthal angles than the time, especially for high $B_0$ cases. These findings provide insights into the anisotropic effect on the estimation of energy transfer rates.

The target backsheath field acceleration mechanism is one of the main mechanisms of laser-driven proton acceleration (LDPA) and strongly depends on the comprehensive performance of the ultrashort ultra-intense lasers used as the driving sources. The successful use of the SG-II Peta-watt (SG-II PW) laser facility for LDPA and its applications in radiographic diagnoses have been manifested by the good performance of the SG-II PW facility. Recently, the SG-II PW laser facility has undergone extensive maintenance and a comprehensive technical upgrade in terms of the seed source, laser contrast and terminal focus. LDPA experiments were performed using the maintained SG-II PW laser beam, and the highest cutoff energy of the proton beam was obviously increased. Accordingly, a double-film target structure was used, and the maximum cutoff energy of the proton beam was up to 70 MeV. These results demonstrate that the comprehensive performance of the SG-II PW laser facility was improved significantly.

Background: Efgartigimod is a human IgG1 antibody Fc-fragment that reduces IgG autoantibody levels through FcRn blockade. This study reports safety of efgartigimod across IgG-mediated disorders. Methods: The safety of intravenous efgartigimod was evaluated in 204 efgartigimod-treated subjects with generalized myasthenia gravis (phase 3 ADAPT and 3-year open-label extension ADAPT+ trials), primary immune thrombocytopenia (phase 3 ADVANCE trial), or pemphigus (open-label phase 2 trial). These studies examined different efgartigimod doses (10–25 mg/kg), including cyclical dosing in generalized myasthenia gravis and continuous weekly dosing in primary immune thrombocytopenia and pemphigus. Results: Across all indications and doses studied, efgartigimod demonstrated a consistent safety profile, with treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) rates comparable to placebo (ADAPT, 77.4% efgartigimod/84.3% placebo; ADVANCE, 93.0% efgartigimod/95.6% placebo; and 85% in the pemphigus study). Most TEAEs were mild to moderate in severity. Discontinuation rates due to adverse events were consistently low (ADAPT, 3.6% efgartigimod/3.6% placebo; ADVANCE, 3.5% efgartigimod/2.2% placebo; and 3% of pemphigus study participants). In ADAPT+, no increases in TEAEs or infections occurred with additional efgartigimod dosing (19 cycles). Conclusions: Efgartigimod was well tolerated across indications and doses studied. Most TEAEs, including infections, were mild or moderate in severity and did not increase in frequency with recurrent dosing.

As a typical plasma-based optical element that can sustain ultra-high light intensity, plasma density gratings driven by intense laser pulses have been extensively studied for wide applications. Here, we show that the plasma density grating driven by two intersecting driver laser pulses is not only nonuniform in space but also varies over time. Consequently, the probe laser pulse that passes through such a dynamic plasma density grating will be depolarized, that is, its polarization becomes spatially and temporally variable. More importantly, the laser depolarization may spontaneously take place for crossed laser beams if their polarization angles are arranged properly. The laser depolarization by a dynamic plasma density grating may find application in mitigating parametric instabilities in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion.

In the present study, we investigated the influence of different mid-stage N compensation timings on agronomic and physiological traits associated with grain yield and quality in field experiments. Two japonica rice cultivars with a good tasting quality (Nangeng 9108 and Nangeng 5055) were examined under eight N compensation timings (N1–N6: one-time N compensation at 7-2 weeks before heading; N7: split N compensation at 5 and 3 weeks before heading; N8: split N compensation at 4 and 2 weeks before heading) and a control with no N compensation. The highest yield was obtained with N7, followed by N3. The yield advantage is mainly attributable to the improved population structure (higher productive tiller rate with a stable number of effective panicles), higher total number of spikelets per unit area (large panicles with more grains per panicle), larger leaf area index in the late period and higher photosynthetic production capacity (more dry matter accumulation and transportation in the middle and late periods). Delaying N compensation timing improved the processing and nutritional quality of rice, but decreased the quality of appearance and cooking/eating traits. Our results suggest that, from the perspective of achieving relative coordination between high yield and high quality of japonica rice, the optimal N compensation should be divided equally at 5 and 3 weeks before heading. However, if simplifying the number of operations and the pursuit of eating quality were considered, one-time N compensation should be conducted at 5 weeks before heading.

This paper studied the use of eye movement data to form criteria for judging whether pilots perceive emergency information such as cockpit warnings. In the experiment, 12 subjects randomly encountered different warning information while flying a simulated helicopter, and their eye movement data were collected synchronously. Firstly, the importance of the eye movement features was calculated by ANOVA (analysis of variance). According to the sorting of the importance and the Euclidean distance of each eye movement feature, the warning information samples with different eye movement features were obtained. Secondly, the residual shrinkage network modules were added to CNN (convolutional neural network) to construct a DRSN (deep residual shrinkage networks) model. Finally, the processed warning information samples were used to train and test the DRSN model. In order to verify the superiority of this method, the DRSN model was compared with three machine learning models, namely SVM (support vector machine), RF (radom forest) and BPNN (backpropagation neural network). Among the four models, the DRSN model performed the best. When all eye movement features were selected, this model detected pilot perception of warning information with an average accuracy of 90.4%, of which the highest detection accuracy reached 96.4%. Experiments showed that the DRSN model had advantages in detecting pilot perception of warning information.

The long-distance stable transport of relativistic electron beams (REBs) in plasmas is studied by full three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Theoretical analysis shows that the beam transport is mainly influenced by three transverse instabilities, where the excitation of self-modulation instability, and the suppression of the filamentation instability and the hosing instability are important to realize the beam stable transport. By modulating the transport parameters such as the electron density ratio, the relativistic Lorentz factor, the beam envelopes and the density profiles, the relativistic bunches having a smooth density profile and a length of several plasma wave periods can suppress the beam-plasma instabilities and propagate in plasmas for long distances with small energy losses. The results provide a reference for the research of long-distance and stable transport of REBs, and would be helpful for new particle beam diagnosis technology and space active experiments.