In alkali metal thallides, a huge variety of thallium clusters can be realized, which are surrounded only by alkali metals. In most cases, different cluster types are present in the crystal structures at the same time. One example is the [Tl5]7- trigonal bipyramid, which has only been observed beside [Tl9]9-, [Tl4]8-, [Tl3]7-, [Tl]5-, or [Tl8Cd3]10-. In the new ternary alkali metal thallide phase K7-xAxTl5 (A=Rb, Cs; 0<x≤2.35), exclusively [Tl5]7- clusters are present, and the compound can be described as a salt-like Zintl-phase, where the electron count is balanced in terms of the anionic moiety and counter cations. This phase crystallizes in the orthorhombic noncentrosymmetric space group Ama2. Different temperature programs applied during synthesis suggested metastability, which was subsequently proven by DSC measurements. DFT calculations reveal a minimum in the DOS at EF and support the salt-like description. Dissolution experiments in the style of well-known group 14 and group 15 solution chemistry in liquid ammonia were performed and showed oxidation of the alkali metal thallide. Initial 205Tl NMR studies in liquid ammonia allow for the detection of the first signal of a dissolved thallium species emerging from a thallide Zintl phase.

With the increasing aging population, more implants are being used in the body. However, these implants often fail, and they suffer from a lack of integration or proper function. Efforts have been made to generate implants by employing bioactive materials, adding cellular components, and integrating smart characteristics such as self-healing properties. The vision is, however, to develop an implant that can mimic native tissues in their way of doing things, responding to challenges and remodeling. Such automated implants require the integration of advances made in various fields of science. Although early, there are good steps taken in this way, e.g., the development of stimuli-responsive, self-powering, self-actuating, self-healing, self-regenerating, self-aware implants. Attempts to combine more than one smart property into these implants are still at the beginning, e.g., the integration of such special characteristics requires a new set of skills and thinking, which presents new challenges that warrant exploration and investment. Such an implant evolution is expected to be in stages, where the first implant will be able to communicate with doctors and hospitals; then, in the next stage, with patients, and later, they will be independent, sense any disturbances and aberrations from normal early on, and correct themselves before damage becomes irreversible. This forward-looking review looks at the research done thus far in this direction and efforts to assemble individual aspects of smart implants into multifunctional implants in the future. The stages of material, in vitro, and in vivo testing and clinical application, if any, are critically reviewed. In addition, the challenges facing the development of autonomous smart implants are discussed, and research directions and ideas are suggested.

The present reflections on the treatment of place and space in the debut novel by a contemporary English author, Polly Crosby (b. 1980), The Illustrated Child (2020), are mostly inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s topoanalysis, mentioned in his Poetics of Space, which ascribes the house a crucial role in the life of a child. The combination of the youthful protagonist and the setting of the novel, Braër, an old solitary farmhouse amid the Suffolk countryside, provides fertile ground for the consideration of multiple phenomenological notions of this French philosopher, who has recently become of interest again to artists, architects and academics. In addition to the house itself, special attention is paid to his conception of the attic and of the casket in confrontation with how they are presented in the novel. This initial kinship of the setting with Bachelard’s writing is further reinforced by the significance of water in the narrative, which resonates well with his treatment of the imagination of matter, namely in his book Water and Dreams. In the latter part of this paper, the focus shifts to the novel’s specific secondary locations tracing the protagonist’s rare but significant journeys from the intimacy of home to the outside world. These destinations, among which the most important are the circus and the nursing home, recall and offer confrontation with the concept of heterotopias introduced by Michel Foucault in his seminal essay “Of Other Spaces”.

Diaphragmatic breathing training (DBT) improves symptoms in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease; however, the effect of DBT on the anti-reflux barrier and esophageal motility is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in specific parameters of EGJ function and esophageal motility before and after DBT using high-resolution manometry (HRM) in patients with reflux symptoms. Prospectively collected data from adult patients with persistent reflux symptoms who underwent initial and follow-up HRM after at least 3 months of DBT were analyzed. Esophagogastric junction (EGJ) function was assessed using basal lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure (LESP), the EGJ contractile integral (EGJ-CI), and integrated relaxation pressure (IRP). Esophageal motility was assessed using the distal contractile integral (DCI) and percentage of ineffective esophageal motility (IEM). Data from 53 patients with a median age of 45 years (range 25-77) were analyzed. LES pressure increased after DBT (mean LES pressure 25.6 [SE 1.3] vs. 29.1 [SE 1.4] mmHg after DBT; p = 0.02). This effect was also observed in patients with an initially hypotensive LES, but no effect was found on the size of hiatus hernia. There was a trend to increased EGJ-CI (mean EGJ-CI 52.8 [SE 3.7] vs. 59.9 [SE 4.3] mmHg·cm after DBT, p = 0.07). Esophageal contractility improved (mean DCI 1046.6 [SE 112] vs. 1264.1 [SE 137] mmHg·s·cm after DBT; p < 0.01) with the prevalence of IEM reduced from 38.0% [SE 5] to 29.2% [SE 4] after DBT; p = 0.03. Diaphragmatic breathing training increased LES pressure and esophageal peristaltic vigor in patients with reflux symptoms.

IntroductionDue to the requirements for research on motor skills in elite hockey players, an attempt was made to assess the skills following the application of PAPE and BFR-enhanced PAPE to enhance lower limb power.MethodsAn on-ice exercise program was used to determine PAPE factors that included three sets of 3 repetitions of specific on-ice effort, 15 s of work, 15 s of rest, separated by 90 s of free skating. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the PAPE program was measured at the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, and 15th minutes after its application. The flight time during the CMJ and SJ jump was recorded with the OptoJump system, and the jump height (JH) and peak power (PP) were determined. The study involved 20 professional male hockey players aged 17 ± 1 years with 11 ± 2 years of training experience.ResultsNo differences between JH and PP values in CMJ and SJ before and after PAPE and PAPE with BFR intervention were statistically significant. The BFR application during specific effort showed a statistically significant p ≤ 0.001 increase in work time.DiscussionSignificant individual differences in the magnitude of the PAPE and BFR effect between the subjects were also found. The individualization of exercise stimuli should consider the individual athlete's profile in terms of susceptibility to the PAPE and BFR program, considering the amount of fatigue it may cause.

Individuals vary substantially in their responses to rewarding events and their motivation to pursue rewards. While the ventral striatum (VS) plays a central role in reward anticipation, its functional connectivity with the default mode network (DMN)—critical for self-referential processing and value integration—potentially represents a key mechanism through which trait differences manifest in reward-related behavior. In the present study, we examine how trait reward sensitivity and state-level behavioral motivation relate to connectivity between the DMN and VS during reward anticipation. Forty-six participants completed the Monetary Incentive Delay task while undergoing fMRI, with trial types reflecting varying levels of reward and loss salience. Behavioral motivation, indexed by reaction time modulation across high-stakes and low-stakes trials, and self-report measures of anhedonia and reward sensitivity were assessed. Reward sensitivity interacted with anhedonia to predict behavioral motivation, such that individuals with higher anhedonia showed stronger behavioral motivation when reward sensitivity was greater, while those with lower anhedonia showed weaker behavioral motivation when reward sensitivity was greater. Critically, during high-stakes trials, reward sensitivity was associated with stronger DMN-VS connectivity in highly motivated individuals and weaker connectivity in less motivated participants. This moderation effect was consistent across gain and loss contexts, though with distinct directionality patterns. These findings provide novel insights into the neural correlates of individual differences in reward processing, demonstrating that trait reward sensitivity, anhedonia, and behavioral motivation are associated with distinct patterns of DMN-VS interactions during reward anticipation. These findings highlight the importance of considering motivational context when investigating reward-related neural mechanisms.

Insects are the most successful group of living organisms on the earth. They are a regular part of the school curriculum and, in light of ongoing insect extinction, should become one of the crucial topics in education. For proper understanding, it is necessary to support learning activities with a focus on species identification. We compared two demonstrative methods of teaching insect species at the lower secondary stage in elementary schools. Demonstrations using entomological collections and images were evaluated to determine which method is more effective for knowledge acquisition. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between the two observed learning methods. Pupils who used biological collections achieved better results compared to those who learned using images only.