Effects of face masks on speech recognition in multi-talker babble noise.

Face masks are an important tool for preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, it is unclear how different types of masks affect speech recognition in different levels of background noise. To address this, we investigated the effects of four masks (a surgical mask, N95 respirator, and two cloth masks) on recognition of spoken sentences in multi-talker babble. In low levels of background noise, masks had little to no effect, with no more than a 5.5% decrease in mean accuracy compared to a no-mask condition. In high levels of noise, mean accuracy was 2.8-18.2% lower than the no-mask condition, but the surgical mask continued to show no significant difference. The results demonstrate that different types of masks generally yield similar accuracy in low levels of background noise, but differences between masks become more apparent in high levels of noise

Microplastic Occurrence and Effects In Commercially Harvested North American Finfish and Shellfish: Current Knowledge And Future Directions

Commercial fisheries yield essential foods, sustain cultural practices, and provide widespread employment around the globe. Commercially harvested species face a myriad of anthropogenic threats including degraded habitats, changing climate, overharvest, and pollution. Microplastics are pollutants of increasing concern, which are pervasive in the environment and can harbor or adsorb pollutants from surrounding waters. Aquatic organisms, including commercial species, encounter and ingest microplastics, but there is a paucity of data about those caught and cultured in North America. Additional research is needed to determine prevalence, physiological effects, and population-level implications of microplastics in commercial species from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Investigations into possible human health effects of microplastic exposure from seafood are also greatly needed. This synthesis summarizes current knowledge, identifies data gaps, and provides future research directions for addressing microplastics effects in commercially valuable North American fishery species

Warmsie Onesie – Thermal protection for Peruvian infants

Infant mortality rates due to hypothermia are extremely high in the Q’eros nation of Peru. The purpose of this design research was to develop a garment/wrapping system that will help the infants maintain adequate body temperature to prevent cold related illness/death and at the same time be compatible with Q’eros cultural traditions.</p

Thigh-length compression stockings and DVT after stroke

Controversy exists as to whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer, despite randomised controlled trials of more than 3000 patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of such treatment on survival in patients with this disease

Structural and Functional Characterization of Indane-Core CD4-Mimetic Compounds Substituted with Heterocyclic Amines

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer on the virion surface interacts with the host receptors, CD4 and CCR5/CXCR4, to mediate virus entry into the target cell. CD4-mimetic compounds (CD4mcs) bind the gp120 Env, block CD4 binding, and inactivate Env. Previous studies suggested that a C(5)-methylamino methyl moiety on a lead CD4mc, BNM-III-170, contributed to its antiviral potency. By replacing the C(5) chain with differentially substituted pyrrolidine, piperidine, and piperazine ring systems, guided by structural and computational analyses, we found that the 5-position of BNM-III-170 is remarkably tolerant of a variety of ring sizes and substitutions, both in regard to antiviral activity and sensitization to humoral responses. Crystallographic analyses of representative analogues from the pyrrolidine series revealed the potential for 5-substituents to hydrogen bond with gp120 Env residue Thr 283. Further optimization of these interactions holds promise for the development of CD4mcs with greater potency

People-Powered Research and Experiential Learning: Unraveling Hidden Biodiversity

Globally, thousands of institutions house nearly three billion scientific collections offering unparalleled resources that contribute to both science and society. For herbaria alone - facilities housing dried plant collections - there are over 3,000 herbaria worldwide with an estimated 350 million specimens that have been collected over the past four centuries. Digitization has greatly enhanced the use of herbarium data in scientific research, impacting diverse research areas, including biodiversity informatics, global climate change, analyses using next-generation sequencing technologies, and many others. Despite the entrance of herbaria into a new era with enhanced scientific, educational, and societal relevance, museum specimens remain underused. Natural history museums can enhance learning and engagement in science, particularly for school-age and undergraduate students. Here we outline a novel approach of a natural history museum using touchscreen technology that formed part of an interactive kiosk in a temporary museum exhibit on biological specimens. We provide some preliminary analysis investigating the efficacy of the tool, based on the Zooniverse platform, in an exhibit environment to engage patrons in the collection of biological data. We conclude there is great potential in using crowd‐sourced science coupled with online technology to unlock data and information from digital images of natural history specimens themselves. Sixty percent of the records generated by community scientists (citizen scientists) were of high enough quality to be utilized by researchers. All age groups produced valid, high quality data that could be used by researchers, including children (10 and under), teens, and adults. Significantly, the paper outlines the implementation of experiential learning through an undergraduate mathematics course that focuses on projects with actual data to gain a deep, practical knowledge of the subject, including observations, the collection of data, analysis, and problem solving. We here promote an intergenerational model including children, high school students, undergraduate students, early career scientists and senior scientists, combining experiential learning, museum patrons, researchers, and data derived from natural history collections. Natural history museums with their dual remit of education and collections-based research can play a significant role in the field of  community engagement and people-powered research. There also remains much to investigate on the use of interactive displays to help learners interpret and appreciate authentic research