In recent years, the rapid convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and low-altitude flight technology has driven significant transformations across various industries. These advancements have showcased immense potential in areas such as logistics distribution, urban air mobility (UAM) and national defense. By adopting the AI technology, low-altitude flight technology can achieve high levels of automation and operate in coordinated swarms, thereby enhancing efficiency and precision. However, as these technologies become more pervasive, they also raise pressing ethical or moral concerns, particularly regarding privacy, public safety, as well as the risks of militarisation and weaponisation. These issues have sparked extensive debates. In summary, while the integration of AI and low-altitude flight presents revolutionary opportunities, it also introduces complex ethical challenges. This article will explore these opportunities and challenges in depth, focusing on areas such as privacy protection, public safety, military applications and legal regulation, and will propose strategies to ensure that technological advancements remain aligned with ethical or moral principles.

Context effects occur when the preference between two alternatives is affected by the presence of an extra alternative. These effects are some of the most well studied phenomena in multi-alternative, multi-attribute decision making. Recent research in this area has revealed an intriguing pattern of results. On the one hand, these effects are robust and ubiquitous. That is, they have been demonstrated in many domains and different choice settings. On the other hand, they are fragile and they disappear or even reverse under different conditions. This pattern of results has spurred debate and speculation about the cognitive mechanisms that drive these choices. The attraction effect, where the preference for an option increases in the presence of a dominated decoy, has generated the most controversy. In this registered report, we systematically vary factors that are known to be associated with the attraction effect to build a solid foundation of empirical results to aid future theory development. We find a robust attraction effect across the different conditions. The strength of this effect is modulated by the display order (e.g., decoy top, target middle, competitor bottom) and mode (numeric vs. graphical) but not display layout (by-attribute vs. by-alternative).

In educational and psychological measurement when short test forms are used, the asymptotic normality of the maximum likelihood estimator of the person parameter of item response models does not hold. As a result, hypothesis tests or confidence intervals of the person parameter based on the normal distribution are likely to be problematic. Inferences based on the exact distribution, on the other hand, do not suffer from this limitation. However, the computation involved for the exact distribution approach is often prohibitively expensive. In this paper, we propose a general framework for constructing hypothesis tests and confidence intervals for IRT models within the exponential family based on exact distribution. In addition, an efficient branch and bound algorithm for calculating the exact p value is introduced. The type-I error rate and statistical power of the proposed exact test as well as the coverage rate and the lengths of the associated confidence interval are examined through a simulation. We also demonstrate its practical use by analyzing three real data sets.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common progressive central nervous system neurodegenerative disease globally(1). At present, the treatment of AD involves only symptomatic medications which have continually demonstrated little efficacy(2). Hericium erinaceus (HE), commonly known as lion’s mane mushroom, has not yet been fully utilised among western pharmacology for its medicinal purposes, demonstrating a possible omittance of a highly beneficial neuro-altering substance. To date, studies that have investigated the potential medicinal properties of HE have found that various neuroprotective effects are exerted when following consumption(3). The aim of this review is to systematically investigate the neuroprotective pathways impacted by dietary supplementation of HE, determine specific bio-compounds responsible, and highlight the importance of continued research to determine the true potential relevance of this therapeutic treatment for AD.

Electronic databases were systematically searched for studies investigating the relationship between HE and AD. For inclusion in this review, human studies must have been of a clinical design involving adults >30 years that are healthy, have mild cognitive impairment, probably AD or memory deficits. Animal studies were required to involve interventions that directly impact AD-related mechanisms. The exclusion criteria involved any observational studies that involved participants with other neurological implications, or any studies that noted existing interventions (i.e., medications, post-surgery, dietary intervention). A study quality assessment was conducted for all qualified studies using Cochrane RoB2 tools. Data extraction was undertaken according to PRISMA guidelines.

A total of 16 studies (including 3 human clinical trials and 13 animal model studies) met the criteria for inclusion. All studies included either behavioural, biochemical, ophthalmic, and neuroimaging assessments which demonstrated to be directly influenced by HE intake and highlighted key mechanisms previously associated with neurohealth promotion or neuropathological decline. Behavioural and biochemical clinical trial results revealed statistical differences (p < 0.05) between result comparison between HE and control groups and various week intervals. Animal model behavioural and biochemical assessments demonstrated positive findings. Histological assessments of AD-induced rodents following HE administration revealed statistically significant results (p < 0.05) in cholinergic transmitter and NGF concentrations, β-amyloid peptide plaque accumulation, and microglia and astrocyte activation compared to control groups.

Evidence suggests that an intake of HE, specifically the compound erinacine-A may be an appropriate and relevant candidate for the future therapeutic treatment for the prevention and delayed progression of AD. Application of HE demonstrated numerous improvements in AD-related behaviour, biomarker parameters, histological features, and physiological mechanisms while neuroprotective and neurotrophic properties were also clearly established. Nevertheless, the review highlights the necessity for continued research specifically human clinical trials to contribute continued evidence surrounding the use of HE for AD, to provide direction for future research and provide constructive methods for the possible future targeting of AD populations.

This study conducts experimental investigations into wake-induced vibration (WIV) of a circular cylinder placed downstream of an oscillating cylinder. Surprisingly, it is observed that the previously identified WIV phenomenon, characterized by a sustained increase in amplitude at higher reduced velocities, does not occur when the upstream cylinder oscillates at large amplitudes. Instead, a different phenomenon, which we refer to as the ‘wake-captured vibration’, becomes dominant. The experiments reveal a negative correlation between the vortex-induced vibration amplitude response of the upstream cylinder and the WIV amplitude response of the downstream cylinder. Through a quasi-steady and linear instability analysis, the study demonstrates that the previously proposed wake-displacement mechanism may not be applicable for predicting the cylinder WIV response in the wake of an oscillating body. This is because the lift force gradients across the wake, measured through stationary cylinder experiments, decrease significantly when the upstream cylinder vibrates at higher amplitudes. Consequently, actively controlled vibration experiments are conducted to systematically map the hydrodynamic properties of the downstream cylinder vibrating in the wake of an oscillating cylinder. The findings align with observations from free-vibration experiments, and help to explain the amplitude and frequency response of WIV. Additionally, wake visualization through particle image velocimetry is conducted to provide further insights into the complex wake and vortex–body interactions.

A distributed cooperative guidance law without numerical singularities is proposed for the simultaneous attack a stationary target by multiple vehicles with field-of-view constraints. Firstly, the vehicle engagement motion model is transformed into a multi-agent model. Then, based on the state-constrained consensus protocol, a coordination control law with field-of-view (FOV) constraints is proposed. Finally, the cooperative guidance law has been improved to make it more suitable for practical application. Numerical simulations verified the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed guidance law in the presence of acceleration saturation, communication delays and measurement noise.

Background: Hyperacute stroke care demands rapid, coordinated care. Traditional metrics like Door-to-Needle time are pivotal but insufficient for capturing the complexity of endovascular stroke interventions. The SMILES collaboration aims to standardize and optimize protocols for door-to-intervention times, incorporating Crew Resource Management (CRM). Methods: The multidisciplinary initiative integrates both hospitals, ED, neurology, and QI teams. We employed a comprehensive approach: stakeholder engagement, simulation-based learning, process mapping, and literature review. Emphasis was placed on enhancing situational awareness, triage and prioritization, cognitive load management, role clarity, effective communication, and debriefing. Results: The collaboration led to PDSA cycles and development of refined stroke protocols. Interventions included: 1) A ’zero point survey’ for team pre-arrival briefings, enhancing situational awareness and role clarity; 2) Streamlined patient registration to reduce cognitive load and improve triage efficiency; 3) Direct transfer of patients to imaging. Additionally, digital tools were implemented to facilitate communication. Simulation sessions reinforced CRM principles, leading to improved team cohesion and operational performance. Conclusions: The SMILES initiative is grounded in CRM principles by standardizing protocols and emphasizing non-technical skills crucial for high-stakes environments. This improves outcomes but also fosters a culture of safety and efficiency. Future directions include an evaluation of these protocols’ impact on patient factors.

Background: Meningiomas are the most common intracranial tumor with surgery, dural margin treatment, and radiotherapy as cornerstones of therapy. Response to treatment continues to be highly heterogeneous even across tumors of the same grade. Methods: Using a cohort of 2490 meningiomas in addition to 100 cases from the prospective RTOG-0539 phase II clinical trial, we define molecular biomarkers of response across multiple different, recently defined molecular classifications and use propensity score matching to mimic a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the role of extent of resection, dural marginal resection, and adjuvant radiotherapy on clinical outcome. Results: Gross tumor resection led to improved progression-free-survival (PFS) across all molecular groups (MG) and improved overall survival in proliferative meningiomas (HR 0.52, 95%CI 0.30-0.93). Dural margin treatment (Simpson grade 1/2) improved PFS versus complete tumor removal alone (Simpson 3). MG reliably predicted response to radiotherapy, including in the RTOG-0539 cohort. A molecular model developed using clinical trial cases discriminated response to radiotherapy better than standard of care grading in multiple cohorts (ΔAUC 0.12, 95%CI 0.10-0.14). Conclusions: We elucidate biological and molecular classifications of meningioma that influence response to surgery and radiotherapy in addition to introducing a novel molecular-based prediction model of response to radiation to guide treatment decisions.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is a common complication of minimally invasive tubular microdiscectomy (MIM). However, it is not known whether patients with CSF leak can be safely discharged home the same day. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with incidental durotomy after MIM from January, 2009 to August, 2023. Patient demographic information, surgery information, CSF leak management, and postoperative outcomes were recorded. Results: There were 16 patients (53%) who were admitted to hospital and 14 (47%) patients discharged home the same day post CSF leak. There were no differences in patient demographics between the two groups at baseline. Twenty-nine out of 30 (97%) of the patients had onlay duraplasty, and one (3%) patient was repaired using sutures. The hospitalized group was kept on bed rest overnight or 24 hours. The discharge group was kept on best rest for 2 hours or mobilized immediately after surgery. The average length of admission for the hospitalized group was 2.4 ± 4.0 days. No patients in either group required readmission or revision surgery for CSF leak. Conclusions: Patients with CSF leak post minimally invasive tubular microdiscectomy can be safely discharged home the same day provided that duraplasty or primary repair was performed intraoperatively.

Ultrafast optical probing is a widely used method of underdense plasma diagnostic. In relativistic plasma, the motion blur limits spatial resolution in the direction of motion. For many high-power lasers the initial pulse duration of 30–50 fs results in a 10–15 μm motion blur, which can be reduced by probe pulse post-compression. Here we used the compression after compressor approach [Phys.-Usp. 62, 1096 (2019); JINST 17 P07035 (2022)], where spectral broadening is performed in thin optical plates and is followed by reflections from negative-dispersion mirrors. Our initially low-intensity probe beam was down-collimated for a more efficient spectral broadening and higher probe-to-self-emission intensity ratio. The setup is compact, fits in a vacuum chamber and can be implemented within a short experimental time slot. We proved that the compressed pulse retained the high quality necessary for plasma probing.

The purpose of this study was to explore the electroencephalogram (EEG) features sensitive to situation awareness (SA) and then classify SA levels. Forty-eight participants were recruited to complete an SA standard test based on the multi-attribute task battery (MATB) II, and the corresponding EEG data and situation awareness global assessment technology (SAGAT) scores were recorded. The population with the top 25% of SAGAT scores was selected as the high-SA level (HSL) group, and the bottom 25% was the low-SA level (LSL) group. The results showed that (1) for the relative power of $\beta$1 (16–20Hz), $\beta$2 (20–24Hz) and $\beta$3 (24–30Hz), repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in three brain regions (Central Central-Parietal, and Parietal) × three brain lateralities (left, midline, and right) × two SA groups (HSL and LSL) showed a significant main effect for SA groups; post hoc comparisons revealed that compared with LSL, the above features of HSL were higher. (2) for most ratio features associated with $\beta$1 ∼ $\beta$3, ANOVA also revealed a main effect for SA groups. (3) EEG features sensitive to SA were selected to classify SA levels with small-sample data based on the general supervised machine learning classifiers. Five-fold cross-validation results showed that among the models with easy interpretability, logistic regression (LR) and decision tree (DT) presented the highest accuracy (both 92%), while among the models with hard interpretability, the accuracy of random forest (RF) was 88.8%, followed by an artificial neural network (ANN) of 84%. The above results suggested that (1) the relative power of $\beta$1 ∼ $\beta$3 and their associated ratios were sensitive to changes in SA levels; (2) the general supervised machine learning models all exhibited good accuracy (greater than 75%); and (3) furthermore, LR and DT are recommended by combining the interpretability and accuracy of the models.

While there is a recognised role of optimising lifestyle behaviours such as diet and physical activity in the management of infertility, the best practice for lifestyle management of infertility remains unknown, and factors influencing the lifestyle behaviours of people with infertility are not well understood. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the barriers and enablers to a healthy lifestyle in people with infertility, from the perspectives of people with infertility and health professionals, in order to inform optimal behavioural change strategies for lifestyle management of infertility. Ovid MEDLINE(R), PsycINFO, EMBASE, EBM Reviews, and CINAHL Plus were searched from inception to 12th September 2022. Eligible studies were qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods primary studies which explored barriers and/or enablers to lifestyle for infertility management, from the perspectives of people with infertility and/or health professionals. Two independent reviewers performed quality assessment, using the Centre for Evidence-Based Management Critical Appraisal of a Survey Tool (quantitative and mixed-methods studies) and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Checklist (qualitative and mixed-methods studies). Data were analysed by inductive thematic analysis with themes mapped to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COM-B) model(1) and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)(2). Relevant behaviour change techniques (BCTs)(3) to target the identified enablers and barriers were suggested. After screening 10703 citations and 82 full-texts, 22 studies were included (12 quantitative, 7 mixed-methods and 3 qualitative) with 18 studies including women with infertility (n = 2442), 10 including men with infertility (n = 1372) and 6 including health professionals (n = 261). From the perspectives of people with infertility, themes related to capability (e.g. strategies for behaviour change), opportunity (e.g. limited time, resources and money) and motivation (e.g. interplay between lifestyle and emotional state); themes mapped to 8 TDF domains. From the perspectives of health professionals, themes related to capability (e.g. identification of patients appropriate for lifestyle intervention), opportunity (e.g. mode of delivery) and motivation (e.g. professional responsibility); themes mapped to 6 TDF domains. 34 BCTs were identified across the suggested interventions. This systematic review found that several interacting factors influence lifestyle in people with infertility as well as health professional behaviour with regards to provision of lifestyle interventions for infertility. These factors can be targeted for optimisation of interventions. In light of the limited number of qualitative studies, there is a need for more qualitative research to gain deeper insights into the perspectives of people with infertility and health professionals for further exploration of the complex and interacting factors which shape lifestyle during the fertility journey.

Schistosoma species have traditionally been arranged in groups based on egg morphology, geographical origins, and the genus or family of snail intermediate host. One of these groups is the ‘S. indicum group’ comprising species from Asia that use pulmonate snails as intermediate hosts. DNA sequences were obtained from the four members of this group (S. indicum, S. spindale, S. nasale and S. incognitum) to provide information concerning their phylogenetic relationships with other Asian and African species and species groups. The sequences came from the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of the ribosomal gene repeat, part of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene (28S), and part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene. Tree analyses using both distance and parsimony methods showed the S. indicum group not to be monophyletic. Schistosoma indicum, S. spindale and S. nasale were clustered among African schistosomes, while S. incognitum was placed as sister to the African species (using ITS2 and 28S nucleotide sequences and CO1 amino acid sequences), or as sister to all other species of Schistosoma (CO1 nucleotide sequences). Based on the present molecular data, a scenario for the evolution of the S. indicum group is discussed.

The status of Schistosoma sinensium (samples from Thailand and from Sichuan, China) relative to other species of the genus Schistosoma was investigated using DNA sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene (partial) and the nuclear ribosomal DNA second internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2). Trees inferred from these sequences place S. sinensium as sister to the S. japonicum group and suggest a basal position in the clade utilizing snails of the family Pomatiopsidae. The sequence differences between specimens of S. sinensium from China and Thailand are at least as great as between S. malayensis and S. mekongi. Schistosoma sinensium is probably best regarded as a species complex.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The 'field effect' is a concept in pathology that pre-malignant tissue changes forecast health. Spatial transcriptomics could detect these changes earlier than histopathology, suggesting new early cancer screening methods. Knowing how normal tissue damage relates to cancer’s origin and progression may improve long-term outcomes. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We trained DEGAS, our machine learning framework, with prostate cancer data, combining both general cancer patterns and in-depth genetic information from individual tumors. The Tumor Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) shows how gene patterns in tumors relate to patient outcomes, emphasizing the differences between tumors from different patients (intertumor). On the other hand, spatial transcriptomics (ST) shows the genetic variety within a single tumor (intratumor) but has limited samples, making it hard to know which genetic differences are important for treatment. DEGAS bridges these areas by finding tissue sections that resemble those in TCGA profiles and are key indicators of patient survival. DEGAS serves as a valuable tool for generating clinically-important hypotheses. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: DEGAS identified benign-appearing glands in a normal prostate as being highly associated with poor progression-free survival. These glands have transcriptional signatures similar to high-grade prostate cancer. We confirmed this finding in a separate prostate cancer ST dataset. By integrating single cell (SC) data we demonstrated that cells annotated as cancerous in the SC data map to regions of benign glands in the ST dataset. We pinpoint several genes, chiefly Microseminoprotein-β (MSMB, PSP94), where reduced expression is highly correlated with poor progression-free survival. Cell type specific differential expression analysis further revealed that loss of MSMB expression associated with poor outcomes occurs specifically in luminal epithelia, the putative progenitor of prostate cancer. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: DEGAS reveals that normal-appearing tissue can be highly-associated with tumor progression and underscores the importance of the 'field effect' in cancer research. Traditional analysis may miss such nuance, hiding key transitional cell states. Validating gene markers could boost early cancer detection and understanding of metastasis.

Physically compliant actuator brings significant benefits to robots in terms of environmental adaptability, human–robot interaction, and energy efficiency as the introduction of the inherent compliance. However, this inherent compliance also limits the force and position control performance of the actuator system due to the induced oscillations and decreased mechanical bandwidth. To solve this problem, we first investigate the dynamic effects of implementing variable physical damping into a compliant actuator. Following this, we propose a structural scheme that integrates a variable damping element in parallel to a conventional series elastic actuator. A damping regulation algorithm is then developed for the parallel spring-damping actuator (PSDA) to tune the dynamic performance of the system while remaining sufficient compliance. Experimental results show that the PSDA offers better stability and dynamic capability in the force and position control by generating appropriate damping levels.