Split-half reliability estimates of an online card sorting task in a community sample of young and elderly adults.

Executive function is vital for normal social, cognitive, and motor functions. Executive function decline due to aging increases the risk of disability and falls in older adults, which has become an urgent public health issue. Fast and convenient neuropsychological tools are thus needed to identify high-risk groups as early as possible to conduct a timely intervention. Card sorting tasks, such as Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and its variants, are popular tools for measuring executive function. This study investigated the reliability of an open-source, self-administered, online, short-version card sorting task with a sample of young (n = 107, 65 females, age: M = 30.1 years, SD = 5.5 years) and elderly Chinese (n = 113, 53 females, age: M = 64.0 years, SD = 6.7 years). We developed an automated scoring and visualization procedure following the recent recommendations on scoring perseverative responses to make the results comparable to the standardized WCST. Reliability estimates of commonly used measures were calculated using the split-half method. All task indices' reliabilities were reasonably good in both old and young groups except for "failure-to-maintain-set." Elderly Chinese adults showed compromised task performance on all measures compared with the young Chinese adults at the group level. The R script of automated scoring and estimation of reliability is publicly available.

Detecting Light Dark Matter with Magnons.

Scattering of light dark matter with sub-eV energy deposition can be detected with collective excitations in condensed matter systems. When dark matter has spin-independent couplings to atoms or ions, it has been shown to efficiently excite phonons. Here we show that, if dark matter couples to the electron spin, magnon excitations in materials with magnetic dipole order offer a promising detection path. We derive general formulae for single magnon excitation rates from dark matter scattering, and demonstrate as a proof of principle the projected reach of a yttrium iron garnet target for several dark matter models with spin-dependent interactions. This highlights the complementarity of various collective excitations in probing different dark matter interactions.

Implications of an Improved Neutron-Antineutron Oscillation Search for Baryogenesis: A Minimal Effective Theory Analysis.

Future neutron-antineutron (n-n[over ¯]) oscillation experiments, such as at the European Spallation Source and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, aim to find first evidence of baryon number violation. We investigate implications of an improved n-n[over ¯] oscillation search for baryogenesis via interactions of n-n[over ¯] mediators, parametrized by an effective field theory (EFT). We find that even in a minimal EFT setup there is overlap between the parameter space probed by n-n[over ¯] oscillation and the region that can realize the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. The mass scales of exotic new particles are in the tera-electron-volt-peta-electron-volt regime, inaccessible at the LHC or its envisioned upgrades. Given the innumerable high energy theories that can match, or resemble, the minimal EFT that we discuss, future n-n[over ¯] oscillation experiments could probe many viable theories of baryogenesis beyond the reach of other experiments.

Time to Go Beyond Triple-Gauge-Boson-Coupling Interpretation of W Pair Production.

W boson pair production processes at e^{+}e^{-} and pp colliders have been conventionally interpreted as measurements of WWZ and WWγ triple gauge couplings (TGCs). Such an interpretation is based on the assumption that new physics effects other than anomalous TGCs are negligible. While this "TGC dominance assumption" was well motivated and useful at LEP2 thanks to precision electroweak constraints, it is already challenged by recent LHC data. In fact, contributions from anomalous Z boson couplings that are allowed by electroweak precision data but neglected in LHC analyses, which are enhanced at high energy, can even dominate over those from the anomalous TGCs considered. This limits the generality of the anomalous TGC constraints derived in current analyses and necessitates extension of the analysis framework and a change of physics interpretation. The issue will persist as we continue to explore the high-energy frontier. We clarify and analyze the situation in the effective field theory framework, which provides a useful organizing principle for understanding standard model deviations in the high-energy regime.

Adenosine Triphosphate/Chitin Whisker/Phenylboronic Acid-Modified Wool Fabrics with Enhanced Dyeability.

Promoting the uptake of dyes is an important part of the sustainable processing of wool products. This study presents an effective modification approach to enhance the dyeability of wool fabric with adenosine triphosphate as an activator, 3-carboxyphenyl boronic acid as a ligand-binding agent, and chitin whisker as a couple agent. The structure and surface morphology of the as-prepared wool fabric was characterized in detail. Natural luteolin and acid red 1 were used to dye the modified wool fabric, and the effect of different dyeing parameters on dyeing properties was discussed. The results indicated that the modified wool gained better surface color depth (K/S) and uptake without additional agents than the untreated wool fabric. When the modified wool fabric was dyed at 45 °C with luteolin and at 60 °C with acid red 1, the dyeing processes of the two dyes on the modified wool fabrics followed the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the dyed modified wool fabrics possessed improved color fastness. Overall, this work offers a facile, effective, and sustainable way to improve the low-temperature dyeability of wool products.

To Investigate Whether Hematocrit Affects Thromboelastography Parameters.

Background: Thromboelastogram (TEG) is an experiment to detect coagulation function with whole blood. Red blood cell (RBC) is the most abundant component of blood. Whether RBC has an impact on the results of thromboelastogram? Study Design and Methods. The correlation between hematocrit (HCT) and TEG was analyzed. 17 samples were reconstituted with different HCT. They were tested separately. Correction tests were performed on 17 samples from patients with anemia. HCT was corrected to 0.40 in female and 0.45 in males. The correction formula was determined according to the experimental correction. Results: HCT was negatively correlated with TEG parameters. As HCT increased, CI and angle decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.001) and K increased (P < 0.001) in reconstituted samples. In the correction test, the angle measured value was 69.48 ± 4.98 and corrected value was 62.48 ± 6.25, MA measured value was 61.44 ± 7.10 and corrected value was 55.94 ± 7.12, K measured value was 1.45 ± 0.48 and corrected value was 2.11 ± 0.79, and CI measured value was 1.07 ± 1.67 and corrected value was -0.45 ± 1.64. There was a significant difference. The correction formulas of anemia were derived from the experimental correction results. K Correction value = (0.7903∗ A 2 - 2.1803A + 2.8268)∗ K Measured value; Tan angleCorrection value = Tan angleMeasured value/(0.6596∗ A 2 - 1.7478A + 2.4608); MACorrection value = MAMeasured value/(0.1853ln (A) + 1.0197); CICorrection value = -0.6516RMeasured value - 0.3772K Correction value + 0.1224MACorrection value + 0.0759angleCorrection value - 7.7922. Conclusion: HCT has a negative impact on TEG parameters. Coagulation state of anemia patients is overestimated by TEG. The test results of anemia patients need to be corrected whether through the experimental correction or the formula correction.

[The morphology of the cells in the cartilage of rabbit mandibular condyle].

PURPOSE: To study the tissue layers and their function of the cartilage in mandibular condyle in rabbits. METHODS: Six adult Japanese white rabbits were subjected. Their temporomandibular joints were studied by immunohistochemistry for FGFR3 and PCNA, and in situ hybridization for aggrecan and collagen II mRNA expression, as well as ultrastructure. RESULTS: The upper proliferative cells did not express FGFR3, but the lower proliferative cells expressed FGFR3. Only few cells in the upper proliferative layer were PCNA positive, but all cells in the lower proliferative layer were positive for PCNA. No collagen II mRNA expression was found in the upper proliferative cell, but aggrecan and collagen II mRNA coexpressed in the lower proliferative layer. The cells in both layers were different in ultrastructure. CONCLUSION: The cartilage in mandibular condyle should have the 5 following tissue layer: fibrous layer, proliferative layer, transitional layer, cartilaginous layer and calcified cartilaginous layer. The cells in the proliferative layer are undifferentiated and the cells in the differentiated layer are prechondrocytes.